WIP Wednesday

I set aside my central medallion for the Marcelle Medallion quilt.  The Y-seam was getting my goat and I was getting frustrated, so I set it aside until I could approach it without wanting to wad it up and throw it out.

So, in the meantime, Texter and Lady K threw in a couple of projects on me.

The first one, which is finished all except for the stuffing, is a large floor pillow.  Based on a McCalls pattern, I made it out of flannel from my stash.

The finished size is about 27 x 27 inches and will make a nice play pillow for Lady K.

The other project will take a little longer to accomplish.  Texter and I are making stuffed baby blocks.  I saw this tutorial on Sew Like My Mom and decided it would be nice for Lady K.  However, Texter took it a step further and wanted the entire alphabet and numbers.  

So we have the letters cut out and with fusible webbing on them, are putting them on the blocks.  I, however, got the great idea of rather than machine appliquéing them, I would do a blanket stitch around them to be sure they stay on well.  I have 6 letters down and only 30 more letters and numbers left to stitch.  But it is a great project for sitting in front of the TV in the evening and doing.

I had purchased several yards of flannel when Joann's had it on sale, so we are using it for the blocks.  Today we are finishing up cutting out 36 4.5" squares from each fabric and ironing on the letters to the different colors of blocks.  Then they will go into my stitching bag to blanket stitch before we assemble them into actual blocks.

Luckily, we have coupons for both Michael's and Joann's for polyfil.  We will need a ton of it for 36 blocks.  And a large bin to keep them in.  But can you imagine a kid sitting in a pile of cushy blocks to play with.  I want to play too!

Sunday's Spicy Spiral

I finished up the top of my "Spicy Spiral Table Runner" by School House Quilts between feeding Lake K and her napping.  I had cut out the strips earlier and last night sewed the strips together and cut out my wedges.

Texter and I loved the lime green and black combination when we saw it at the quilt show.  This color combo really speaks to me.  I want to do more with this neon green and black.

So, with Lady K up and entertaining herself, I used this Sunday morning to stitch the wedges together.

You cut out the wedges by layering two 'strata' of strips.  By inverting one on top of the other, when you cut, you get a light and dark wedge.  Once the two curves are together you stitch them together to form this lovely spiral.

Now I have to even up the outside edges so it makes a nice curve.  I also have to find a backing fabric for it, then layer and quilt.  I will probably use it on my dresser as a runner.

Couple things I really like about this pattern.  First, I have never sewn wedges.  This was a great starter project using wedges.  Since I want to do some really large circles made of wedges, I had a taste of what it is like to work with the wedge ruler.  Secondly, I now have my thinking cap on about how, other than appliqué I can use this pattern and set it into a quilt. 

Warning:  this pattern is addictive, so approach with care!

Projects on the Burner

One of the wonderful, and crazy, things about being retired is that my list of 'to-do's' is growing by leaps and bounds.  In the stuff I am having shipped from North Carolina are two big bins of needlework which I now have the time to work on.  Hopefully, I will finish up some of those partially completed pieces that have been languishing for ages.

Not content with that, I have also lined up a couple of 'new' projects.  The first one is weaving on this loom. 

I saw this loom at the quilt show in April and bought one.  I want to make some woven rugs out of old sheets and jeans.  I have been buying old sheets at yard sales and Goodwill for the vintage fabric for quilts, but I will probably use some of them for rugs.  This is something I will probably work on while watching TV in the evenings.

Another project I to do is one that I have wanted to do for decades.  I saw this pattern years and years ago and was probably one of the reasons I learned to knit.

Photo by Vogue Knitting

This is the Map of the World Afghan.  It is knit in four panels and sewn together, which I really don't like.  I had thought I might try knitting all the way across but I have a couple of road blocks for that plan.  The first is that there are 'points' along the long edges of the afghan.  If I wanted to do it all in one go, then I would have to knit all the points and have then on needles to add as I go along.  Doable, but fussy.  The second, and most important one, is the weight.  A friend pointed this out to me.  Being in worsted weight yarn, the 324 stitches across would get bulky and heavy to knit in one go.  But I HATE seaming.  So I might try to do it in two panels rather than four panels in order to only have one seam to sew.  

The original is knitted in a tweedy yarn.  I went with the "Michael's option" (cheaper) and the amount of yarn needed fills this bin. 

Somewhere in there is my 40 inch circular needle (or somewhere else in the house!).  This is another project which will wait until the weather turns cooler and will be worked on in the evenings.