Gettin' er Done, and Ready to Roll

With a restock of some Wonderfil Eleganza perle cotton colors, I've been able to add more big stitch quilting to my Turnabout paint chip challenge quilt. Though the quilt is completely finished, even with facing, I'm adding more quilting to fill in a few "holes." A  couple evenings of stitching should nicely complete it.

After looking online at several tempting wide backs for my Black and White Diagonal Scrap Quilt, I bit the bullet and pulled prints from my stash for a pieced back. Inspiration came from Kelly Youngs' book Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs. It's my go-to when I need ideas, and this is Kelly's "Wide and Skinny."

The 76" X 82" back even included three extra blocks I unintentionally made. As always, making a back seems time-consuming, but the personal satisfaction of making from stash feels great!

 

I still have round loom knitting fever, which I am able to freely indulge in because I have a charity outlet for my creations. All three of these caps - infant, toddler, and pre-teen sizes - were donated last Saturday. For these caps, I experimented with a knitting pattern that begins with a round of purl stitches, alternating knit and purl rounds to form a brim, and continuing with knitting. Sometimes the cap seems like it needs a  for a pom-pom, but if I don't have enough yarn, it goes without. The blue cap and the pink/cream cap were knitted with two different yarns, used simultaneously. I like the sort of tweedy effect.

Using yarn I purchased, I made a pre-teen sized cap for a friend's grandson, and these little face scrubbies. I've gotten into the habit of using them myself, and like them. 

For three whole days, I'm retreating with friends from the Central Florida MQG. Of course it takes time and planning to prep all the projects I think I will work on (Ha!). Six are going with me:

1. Sunny, a FPP pattern by Tara Faughnan that I work on only while on retreats
2. Diagonal Scrap Quilt, a very scrappy pattern by Maryline of @mary_and_patch. This is another version of the Black and White Diagonal Scrap Quilt.
3. Inner City blocks to hand piece
4. Hexagon Coasters, a free design by Sew Mariana. Tutorial here.
5. scrappy blocks for a Big Cypress Quilters quilt-along
6. round loom knitting

I will sew with my Featherweight - a first for me to use during a quilt retreat. Thanks to my friend Courtney, my Featherweight recently had some spa time and is purring so beautifully that I had a difficult time hearing it run!

In the picture is my Featherweight in its aqua carrying case; my project bag with fabrics cut for Sunny blocks and the second Diagonal Scrap Quilt; and on the left are my always-ready-to-hand-piece Inner City blocks. 

Entirely from scraps, I've prepped three sets of six Hexagon Coasters to sew. 

These are scrap fabrics, cut to make the Quilt Along project with Big Cypress Quilters.

Gosh. I'm noticing quite a scrappy theme for this retreat! Though I'll also take round loom knitting. Using yarn that was donated to Boomer Loomers, this will become a teen boy's cap. Donated yarn is offered to club members to take and make whatever they wish, as long as it's donated back to one of Boomer Loomer's charities. 

Have you seen Little Jesus? He's becoming a social phenomenon... like painted rocks. A Little Jesus is meant to be a reminder that we all "need a little Jesus in our lives." He can be given to someone or left anonymously for someone else to pick up.

A friend gave me mine, and He's Lord of my sewing room. This picture of Jesus with my Lego sewing machine makes me smile. He looks as happy as I often feel when I'm sitting at my sewing machine. I am blessed.

I hope a little Jesus makes you happy too. Linda