Weekly Recap of 15 Minutes to Stitch

This is my weekly recap.

The sun was shining today so I thought I should take a group picture of Sweet Land of Liberty blocks while I could. I forgot the map is on the sewing machine for the applique to be sewn down so it didn't get to participate. I finally got the smart idea to make the houses improv instead of trying to copy the measurements of the Cheri's blocks.  These houses will now be fun to make. I will make more houses and fewer stars.

I kept working on sewing circles together and have almost finished sewing two rows of circles together. (They had to be done together because of the big blocks). I put them under the previous rows to make sure nothing stood out at me. I don't know if you remember, but there were a couple of rows that needed a coping strip because the rows did not match up.  I don't think I should have done that, because now those rows don't match up with the new rows.  Coincidentally the gap is about the size of the coping strip.

One of my rules for this quilt apparently is that I want to avoid ripping out seams.  (It was a rule I didn't know I had but came up when I decided I had to rip the row.)  I now have to decide whether ripping out the seam would be a good rule to break for the rule breaking rule, or whether I can adjust the rest of the borders and make it a non-rectangular quilt, or at least a nonrectangular border. I'm also tempted to add the new rows to the top instead of the bottom of the quilt. I'll decide later.

The picture is from April 24, 2017. The coping strip is the blue on the left side. Once I figure out what to do, I will have four rows I can add to the quilt.

15 Minutes to Stitch

I didn't work on the bricks quilt this week, although I am close to making a top so I should.  My focus has been on Sweet Land of Liberty and the circles as I explained already.

My progress as of Sunday was:

15 Minute sessions of stitching this week:  7 out of 7
15 Minute sessions of stitching this year:  233 out of 280 sessions
Success rate: 83%

Linked to:
15 Minutes to Stitch

I've started to add more posts to my High Road Reader blog if you care to take a look.  I review books, and have started showing pictures of my library shelf.

More Sweet Land of Liberty blocks

Another couple of blocks are made for Sweet Land of Liberty.  This one isn't one of the better blocks, but hopefully it will add to the primitive feel of the piece. I didn't position the birds close enough to hold the heart and they are pretty far from the banner so I might leave them the way they are without adding their legs. I know the pattern has long legs but these legs will be even longer. Maybe I can add a branch that can hold the banner.

Some applique and embroidery are left to be done. I hate putting pins on faces, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

I've also been sewing together some Circle 365 blocks to make a couple of rows. I'll show them to you when I am finished.

Rogue Sweet Land of Liberty Block

I've made another block for Sweet Land of Liberty. You may not recognize it in the original pattern or the quilts others have made because it is a rogue block that comes from another pattern. I want to make mine wider, and am not sure if I will make mine shorter, so I figured rogue blocks would fit right in. Or it could replace another block I don't feel like making in the future. It may make it harder for me to figure out how the blocks work together, but there is enough background fabric to fill a big space, and sashing or bordering the block is always an option if it needs to be even bigger.

I really like this block, since I have been wanting to make a map quilt like this for a while. Even though the purpose of making this block for this quilt is to get it out of my system and my to-do list, I'm now debating whether I should make another one for my small quilt collection.

The directions require fusible applique and since I am all about following the rules, I made this one fusible. I still need to sew it down.  But the bonus we got out of this block is that fusible applique is now on the table for future blocks.

There's some good news here.  The flag bird is back.  I was hoping to find it on the ironing board all nice and flat, but nope, it was with scraps of fabric.  There has been more whispering, because the bird did not return with the star.  There is a betting pool for whether it has been a big break up, the star ran off with someone else, or if the star was disappeared. 

P.S. The Orphan Block box is where the circles are stored.  During some reorganization a few years ago, the orphan blocks were kicked out of the box. Don't worry, I'm sure they were moved to a nicer home.

Sweet Land of Liberty Progress

I am very late in starting this quilt, which is a quilt-along with Lori Humble Quilts. She broke out the pattern into months, and I started on the last month so I could at least keep up with the group for the month. They are in their last month and I am in the first.

I have made almost all of the last month's blocks and a couple of other blocks. I just put them on the table - this is not the final layout.

The flag bird appliqued leaves has run off with the star from the moose bird on star vase. It may be a scandal, but I do know that fabric morals are different from people morals, so I'm not sure what to make of it.  I didn't want to mention it, but I did notice that circle block 248 had some fabric from the Sweet Land of Liberty as well as the Colonial Bricks quilt, both of which are just babes and hardly old enough to be having offspring, so it does seem suspicious.  I think that is normal and not only acceptable, but actually encouraged here on the High Road, so I don't know if blocks and block pieces running off together are all right, as long as they return on a timely basis.

Do you know what the name of this style of quilt is? I would love to know what to call this type of quilt. A Life of Plenty is similar - with folk art blocks, pieced and applique, a collage of sorts, but I imagine it has a name.

Circle Block 249

This one is a well behaved block, as far as I can tell.  The star fabric did look more blue at night and looks more purple during the day, but with the other scandals going on around here, we will let this go.

Circle Block 250

This one looks innocent, using fabric from Sweet Land of Liberty, but that cream triangle is from A Life of Plenty.

Linked with:
Humble Quilts

Who's The Leader?

I am working on teaching my quilts some to have some self-control and patience.  They have to wait their turn as I randomly throw bits and pieces of several different quilts into the sewing machine to see what turns up.

I've been diligently working on the Sweet Land of Liberty blocks. I am very late in starting this quilt, and would at least like to be timely in getting one month's blocks done in a month. I showed you the two applique blocks already.

This is the next applique block. If it doesn't look like oak leaves to you, what can I say?  I did my best.

This is not the right size, as it should be a square, but I figure I will add or subtract fabric as needed when joining with the rest.

Circle Block 247

This block showed up while I was sewing.  The red fabric is from the new fat quarter pack. I used it to make the churn dash for the applique block.

Circle Block 248

This one started with leftovers from the Colonial Bricks quilt.

I am also making the Colonial Bricks quilt.

Each of the quilts have been patiently taking turns as I decide which piece gets done next.  I choose the order in which the pieces get put into the machine.  It may be a mad frenzy to avoid starting any new quilts.

I am the leader here.

 Either that, or the squirrels are taking over my brain and my head is about to burst soon.

Weekly Update

 It's time for my weekly update for my stitching 15 minutes a day. I am happy to report that I spent more than 15 minutes a day every day this week.  I worked on the applique blocks for the Sweet Land of Liberty quiltalong at the beginning of the week. Then knowing that Moda had a Jelly Roll Day on Saturday, I worked on stitching the 2 1/2" strips I bought.  I'm not sure if it is a Jelly Roll (made by Moda) or some other name from some other manufacturer, and I am not honoring a holiday just for one company, as I am hardly ever brand loyal, but I figured it was as good a motivation as any to work on the Colonial bricks quilt.

I really admire people who say "Here's the quilt I made today", since I've been working on the bricks quilt all week, and even though I've made substantial progress, it is nothing like a whole quilt top.  This quilt reminds me of the rail fence quilt I made, as they are both simple and made up of rectangles.  The rail fence quilt is a generous lap quilt and I really like the size, and even though I was planning on making this Bricks quilt small enough to be a baby/toddler quilt, I've decided I want to make it bigger. The fabric in this collection is already looking like a scrap quilt, since some of them don't really match each other without the intermediary fabric, so it won't ruin the mood/style by adding others to the mix.

Stash Update

I hardly ever provide an update for my stash since I don't buy new fabric on a regular basis anymore. I have avoided going to stores that will provide too much temptation. But I did manage to open an email about a clearance sale and bought some backing fabric and the "jelly roll" I am using for the Bricks quilt, and then I won two fabric prizes, so my stash has been thoroughly enhanced this week. I'm sure my neighbors must be thinking I won the lottery, getting packages every day.


Linked to: 15 Minutes to Stitch 
WIPs on Wednesday 
Off the Wall Friday 

Edited to add the stats!

15 Minutes to Stitch

I am late posting my progress for last week, but I definitely sewed all seven days working on the bricks quilt and the Liberty quilt I mentioned in my last post. My progress as of Sunday was:

15 Minute sessions of stitching this week:  7 out of 7
15 Minute sessions of stitching this year:  212 out of 259 sessions
Success rate: 82%

Scrappy Prize Winner!

I am working on piecing the backing for the Stars Wars quilt, so the top looks like the last time I showed it to you.

I finished my Angel block (for Sweet Land of Liberty) I showed you a couple of posts back. Despite the fact that our angel is hovering under the Death Star, she is clearly holding a flag and not a hatchet. I used the embroidery floss I won from Okan Arts.

Speaking of winning, my luck is running over!  I won a big bunch of scraps from Silly Mama Quilts. Thank you so much, Brooke!  So many beautiful scraps.  There is no debate about how to use these scraps. They simply get picked up and absorbed into current projects.

The next block for Sweet Land of Liberty needed a star applique.  There was no way I was going to actually applique a star this tiny, and was considering embroidering a star, but the scraps said "you wanted a star?" and all of a sudden my angel had a star almost as soon as I opened the package. The blue background was also in the package and perfect for that spot and the sashing for the block.

By the way, I saw that in the past people sometimes used cross-stitch or a running stitch to hold down the applique. I decided for this casual quilt that I don't have to hide my stitches. I am using the same color thread for the applique throughout the quilt. This is a necessary decision that makes it easier to make this quilt in the winter when it is so dark much of the day.

Here's the angel with the star.  I made her neck too long and thought I would give a v-neck to the dress to help shorten the neck.  I made a mistake with the neck in that I made it so low that it didn't shorten the neck, just gave a v-neck, so I had to rip it out and move it up, but now it looked strange since it didn't fit with the shoulders.

I considered removing the v-neck and let her just have a long neck, but I'd already ripped it out once and it seemed like a lot of waste of time. Then I got an email about a ribbon for 9-11, and decided I could add a ribbon around her neck. One of the neat things about making a quilt like this is that it is subject to change from the whims of the day.  I've now added a ribbon to this quilt and don't have to start another project.

It may look like a scarf and not a ribbon, but I think it fits better with the neck.

  Circle Block 246

 

The other good thing about making an applique quilt and with winning the scraps is that I have an association with making circles with scraps.  The last time I made any circles for my Quilty 365 circles was in February, and here's yet another one. I need to cut out some background squares so that more circles can be easily made when the mood strikes.

Linked to:
Slow Sunday Stitching 
ScrapHappy Saturday 
UFO Busting - the completion date of the circle quilt has definitely expired
Show Off Saturday

One Quilt Finished; Two Quilts Started

After I showed you the finished Unassuming Quilt, which somehow wound up being its official name, I knew that I could start a new quilt.  After some deliberation (there are so many quilts I want to make), I decided it would be Sweet Land of Liberty, which is a quilt along that is being hosted by Lori of Humble Quilts. That's a flag, not a hatchet, and has not been sewn down yet. I need to cut a bigger piece to turn the edges under.

That quilt would have been more than enough, because I do want to take my quilting time to finish some of the quilts I have already started.  But there was a sale at Keepsake Quilting and I bought this jelly roll without having a specific plan.  It's called Colonial. When I got it, I liked it even better than the picture, and decided to make a simple baby quilt out of it.

I considered making one of the quilts on my list, but in the end I decided to make it easy and make a simple bricks pattern, alternating lights and darks. It will be a rectangular checkerboard! I will have to supplement the jelly roll with lights from the stash, but that is all right if the quilt becomes a little bigger. I'm thinking it will make a nice baby/toddler quilt as my supply is running low.

I checked my spreadsheet to make sure I record the new quilts, and the finish, but it looks like my Unassuming quilt was so unassuming, it didn't even make it on the list as a started quilt! I was just making some blocks and playing and somehow a quilt showed up.  You would think that one finish of a quilt that wasn't even on the list and two starts would lower my percentage of finished quilts, but I had also forgotten to list my Valentine's Day swap quilts, so I am still at finishing 80% of the quilts I start. Of the quilts I finished, it took me an average of 262 days to make each one.

When I was in school, I would be thoroughly disappointed with an 80%, but as an adult, I think it shows me as a free spirit who doesn't have to follow anyone's rules, even mine. Quilting is fun for me, and it is going to stay that way.

Linked to:
Moving it Forward 
What I Made Monday 
Let's Bee Social
WIPs on Wednesday

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.    

C. S. Lewis

Stitchery Progress

I've picked up the Droid quilt to finish up before I can start a new project. This involved me my choosing some new fabrics to finish it up.

I thought I should clean up a little bit while I was in there in the Cave of Wonders, and immediately noticed that I had TWO boxes of plaids. Why do I have two boxes? I made a plaid flannel quilt and flannel takes up more room than normal fabric, but still, I hardly ever use plaid in my sewing.  One of those boxes have to go!  So in an effort to clean up one of the boxes, I just have to start the Sweet Land of Liberty quilt, you know, just to clean up the sewing room. I know it is technically not a scrap box, and the boxes were properly sitting on the shelf, but I am sure I will be able to find fabrics in the scrap box to use in this quilt.

Those two projects are now bubbling up to be worked on first, but even before that, the stitchery is still sitting here, while I am lazily watching internet videos resting and regrouping.  As a result, I managed to get at least 15 minutes of sewing done every day. The picture was taken earlier this week. I decided to read the directions for this stitchery.The directions are copyrighted MCMLXXIII, which translates to 1973.  It's practically an antique!

 I see that I did not follow the directions for the dress.  It is supposed to be weaving and couching stitches instead of cross stitches. I wonder if that is why this project was abandoned. The weaving stitches were easier, and the second half of the cross stitches, therefore became the harder way to make this.

Also the directions said to use one strand of yarn, which as you can see, does not work very well. I worried about running out of yarn, but figured that I could make do with something else.  That changed my perspective on this project, and instead of trying to make it perfect, I decided to just enjoy the process and trust that all will work out in the end. This is my rule for the year, but it is amazing how many times I have to relearn it.

With the new and improved attitude, I am more than 80% done on this.

15 Minute sessions of stitching this week:  7 out of 7
15 Minute sessions of stitching this year:  191 out of 231 sessions
Success rate: 83%

Linked to:
15 Minutes to Stitch

“Sometimes I think that maybe we are just stories. Like we may as well just be words on a page, because we're only what we've done and what we are going to do.” Jodi Lynn Anderson, Tiger Lily