Petite log cabin

Yet another scrap quilt from my bottomless pit of a scrap bucket.   It doesn't look like your typical log cabin style quilt, but that's the method I used to construct the blocks.  I squared them up with my 9.5 inch square ruler, added sashing with "points" and a scrappy border.  It measures out at 43x43, which is fine because I already have a gazillion throw size quilts, and it's nice to make one for the fun of it and not worry about the size.  Before the binding was finished, I was already pulling fabrics for the next quilt. It seems my sewing mojo has returned.  I even dusted off the old featherweight.

In between quilts, I'm working on my Farmhouse shawl.  It's a very relaxing knit, nothing too challenging for a newbie knitter like me.  I have this month to finish it up as it doesn't cool down properly here until October and I'm looking forward to wearing it. 

Progress

I'm not sure if you want to call what I'm doing "progress" or quilting myself into a corner.  When I make a visual list of everything I'm working on/want to work on, it's kind of overwhelming. I actually left 2 other quilt projects out of this post, and will talk more about them later.  This is enough even for me.
Last week I drove about 45 minutes into Sacramento to visit the Quilters Corner fabric store.  I don't get there very often but when I do, you can bet I make it worth my while. I bought some neutral backgrounds, a few Karen Kay Buckley tools, 2 Quiltmania magazines, a handful of fat quarters to feed the stash and a Kaffe Fassett bundle (last picture). They didn't carry a lot of modern quilting fabric, it was heavy on the reproductions and batiks, but they had some fun classes going on, awesome samples hanging up, a large supply of Aurifil thread and other notions, even wool for applique. It was a great couple of hours spent by myself, and I stopped on the way home for an iced tea and a sushi roll from Mikuni's (I love their Marilyn Monroll, yum!)

The snowball quilt now measures about 27 x 29 and I think I'm going to add a border of flying geese next. I'll just keep going until it feels like it's done. The dark blue fabric was pulled because I want to make an indigo quilt, maybe with some sashiko stitching.  I'm still dreaming about that one.
I also received 2 little hangers from Temecula Quilt Co.  They're perfect for mini quilts.

Sadly the Killdeer eggs from my garden disappeared 2 days after I posted about them.  I'm not surprised, since the nest was sitting out in the open, unprotected.  There are a lot of cats, hawks and raccoons around here, and I discovered a hole in the ground just a few feet from the nest (snake?) Could have been any of them. There wasn't an egg shell or feather left behind.  Just, Poof! Gone.

So today it's going to be 97 degrees, and like usual, I'm trying to outrun the heat. Everything has been watered early this morning, and I just finished vacuuming and mopping floors. Soon the air conditioner will kick in, and that's my signal to start sewing. I've got lots to do, some of it I like, some of it I don't.  I'm not complaining.  It could be worse.  I could have been born as a Killdeer egg.

Hugs and Kisses Baby Quilt

I finished the Hugs and Kisses baby quilt for the newest member of our clan, squeezing it in just before his due date.  This week my husband and I thought it would be a good idea to take turns getting the flu and I dragged along, hand sewing the binding down, which seemed to require way more effort than usual.  Funny how even the smallest task can feel monumental when you're sick.
So I washed all the germs off it, took some pictures, wrapped it up and sent it on it's way to Canada.  Happy Birth-Day little boy.  It measures 33x41, made entirely from scraps.  You can find a link to the X block in my previous post Happy Place.
I  also just finished another quilt top NOT made with my scraps(shocking), but from a fat quarter stack that's been hanging around for a while.  I have a few of these hoarded piles of fabric from the same fabric ranges, and they need to come out of the cupboard and become something. Anything.

So. Onward. To the next quilt. There may even be a give-away involved.
Also just downloaded The Glassblower onto my kindle.  I love starting a new book as much as starting a new quilt!

Patchwork and linen. A dishtowel.

I spent Sunday playing around with scraps.  This piece of linen from an old skirt of mine became a dishtowel.  Really, I need to make things like this more often.  It was a totally spur of the moment  make-it-up-as-you-go kind of thing.  I had so much fun I want to make another one.
The patchwork to the right will be a quilt.  Eventually.  I'm trying to finish some old WIPs first.  Meanwhile all my 3 1/2 inch squares are being auditioned on the wall.  So far it's looking like another low volume color scheme.

I frayed the edges on the dishtowel by pulling out a few threads, then stay stitched all the way around to keep it from fraying any further.  The patchwork was zig zag stitched down on the raw edges.  Lastly, I added a bit of hand stitching with embroidery floss, leaving the knots on the front.  Kind of Anthropologie meets Zakka.

Love. It.