WiP/FMC - A Vacation from My Vacation

Because life is so hard, I decided to take a vacation from it all. Well, actually, I'm visiting my in-laws and playing tourist in North Carolina. Next week, we're playing tourist in Washington, DC. So there's not going to be as much sewing for a bit.

Finishes:

Before I left, I finished up the Layer Cake Snowballs top.

Fifteen Minute Challenge

  Still steadily working through Big Blue's binding. I turned the third corner yesterday. Home stretch!

In-Progress:

Central Park Sudoku - nine patches are sewn, partially sashed, and triple checked for Sudoku accuracy.

LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 (15/36 blocks) - good GRACIOUS, these blocks were a pain. Such simple blocks, such numerous simple mistakes.

Quilting:

Bad Romance & Fall-gyle - No progress on either of these. Oops. Really not doing well at catching up on my quilting. 

Swapping:

Picture-Perfect Polaroid Block Swap

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Week

Fat Quarter Stars (6/12 blocks)
 

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Summer

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 (12/12 & center) 

Chunky Log Cabin (13/20 blocks)

St. Paul's Cross (2/42? blocks)

Adoption:

Application Submitted - 2/12 

Home Study - approved 5/12

USCIS paperwork - mailed 6/12
Home Study to Korea - 6/12
Referral Accepted - 6/12

New Projects: 0

Completed Projects: 1

In Progress: 10

Stash Report - Week 30

It's a good thing there was no stash report last week - now this week's looks great!

Finishes:

{Nine Patch Snowball}

{Layer Cake Snowball}

Yay for Snowball Fights!

Used this Week: 8.05

Used Year to Date: 73.89

Added this Week: 0

Added Year to Date: 122.20

Net Used for 2012: (48.31) yards

Snowball Fight! {Week 4}

Do you save your snowballs' HSTs? Good, because now you have a whole other quilt!

Here's a Moda Bake Shop tutorial with several different HST layouts.

I'm planning on this one, because there's stars in the pattern.

{Leftovers from the Layer Cake Snowballs make a 12x14 layout, 30x35"}

One of my favorite non-traditional HST layout is Debbie's from A Quilter's Table.

Need more inspiration? There's a whole Flickr Group for that.

Or you can toss like-sized HSTs in a bag - I have my Nine-Patch-Snowballs leftovers in with my leftovers from my Blue Bowties. At 1.5", they're pretty tiny, so I'll add more bonus-HST before I decide what to make. Someday.

Week Three of the Layer Cake Snowballs

 Assembly!

Alternating color corners, sew together seven rows of six blocks.

{57x67"}

You can either lay it out in advance, or wing it. Press each row in alternating directions, and I pressed my final seams open.

My layer cake had a lot of directional prints, so I planned out each row as I went along, but I didn't worry too much about where everything ended up as long as they were right side up.

WiP/FMC - Lots of Little Things

So, where to start...?

How about...we accepted a referral for this little guy!

His name is William WooYeong, he's ten months old, and we have about a year to wait until we get to bring him home.

So that's my favorite little thing...but I did do a lot of other little things this week.

Finished:

Nine-Patch Snowball {Well, the top, at least.}

Fifteen Minute Challenge

 I decided to do Big Blue's binding while supervising the Dude's daily homework. {Which is one worksheet page..but also torture. Apparently. And often takes longer than fifteen minutes.}

I've forgotten how nice a hand-stitched binding looks. Need to do it more often. Anyway, I stitched every day but Sunday, and I'm done with 2.5 sides.

In-Progress:

Layer Cake Snowball Fight - all ready to be assembled!

Central Park Sudoku - really doesn't look like it's changing, but all the blocks are in rows, at least.

LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 (12/36 blocks) - despite screwing up my block last week, I could still make this set by switching the green and brown...and then I miscut the green. That's a six-piece 3" square to make into HST on the top of the green pile. Attractive.

Quilting:

Bad Romance - lines all the way in one direction, third of the way in the other. So I unpinned so that I could free up the basting pins for...

Fall-gyle! I'm probably going to need a new category - Quilted Enough So That I Could Baste Another Quilt. Because buying more basting pins would be silly!

Joining:

Picture-Perfect Polaroid Block Swap - searching for a good charm pack, since I don't have access to my scraps!

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Week

Fat Quarter Stars (6/12 blocks)

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Summer

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 (12/12 & center) 

Chunky Log Cabin (13/20 blocks)

St. Paul's Cross (2/42? blocks)

Adoption:

Application Submitted - 2/12 

Home Study - approved 5/12

USCIS paperwork - mailed 6/12
Home Study to Korea - 6/12
Referral Accepted - 6/12

New Projects: 0

Completed Projects: 1

In Progress: 11

Snowball Fight! {Week Three}

And now, my favorite part of the snowball...combining it with other blocks to make awesome patterns.

Starring my just-finished Nine-Patch-Snowball flimsie!

{Yeah, the picture is a little wonky. I had some help. Small boy help, not cat help.}

This was a three-yard kit, but I decided to snowball the blocks the pattern said to have as squares. Such a simple swap adds so much more movement to the quilt.

Another great example - the combination of the snowball and the "54-40 or Fight" block in the Tennessee Waltz. This is the very first quilt I wanted to make, after seeing how easy it was on Simply Quilts.

Some other good blocks to alternate with a snowball:

{Economy}

{Shoofly}

 {Nine Patch Variation with HST corners}

{Any star block}

{Same star, different coloring in the flying geese}

In all of these, the size of the snowball corner is determined by the other block. In my Nine-Patch-Snowball, the pieces of the nine-patches are 2.5" unfinished, and so are the snowball corners. In the Waltz, the corners match up against a 3.5" unfinished four-patch.

Week Three of the Layer Cake Snowballs

Make 21 snowballs {and the bonus HST} with the other colored corners, just like last week. But press the seams toward the printed fabric {center} this time.

And square them up. The corners should square at 4" and 6" on your ruler.

Random Tools of the Trade

Karen is having a link-up about thread storage tomorrow and I got a chance to try a couple new things in California that I've been meaning to blog about...so I am!

First, thread.

 I used to store it loose and jumbled in a drawer.

Then my dad built me a nice case for it! It's peg board, dowels, 1/2x4" boards and rope-y trim. My threads are sorted by color. And I have a lot more since this picture was taken.

In California, our hotel was right by a Harbor Freight Tools. I think my husband was disturbed by how excited I was about this. {"We live in a hotel. Why do you need tools?"}

HFT was all over the blog world last year for their carpet cutting blades that could be used as rotary blades, and the suction cup handle.

The carpet blades, well, sucked. The two I bought were full of nicks and did not cut cleanly at all, right out of the package. Yes, they fit on the rotary cutter...but I didn't bother trying another package.

The suction cup? Totally works. And at $3 for the small one and $8 for the double? Much better than the ones marketed at quilters.

However... Suction it to the non-printed side of your ruler. {Duh.} Those little teal and red markings used to be on my HST ruler!

My last thing is really just a tip - as I've been shopping in various places/states the last few months, without any real way to remember what I need.

So I started making index cards with the information I needed! Similar to swatch cards, but very project specific. 

For example, on my just finished Nine-Patch-Snowball Quilt, I need backing and binding. I have a scrap to match to, and the yardage needed so I don't need to calculate it in store. Bad Romance just needs the binding, so that's all the info needed on its card.

And it's easy to find index card holder - especially back to school time - so you don't even have to store them in a plastic baggie {like I do!}

That's it for today...tomorrow will be another post in my Snowball Fight series. {There's a prize! And still plenty of time to join in!}

WiP/FMC - Snowballs in the Summer

I think a new routine every week is just going to be how this summer goes. This week, the Dude is in VBS in the morning and swimming lessons in the afternoon, so my sewing time is once again different. But I'm still sewing, so it's all good.

Oh, and I joined Pinterest. I have no idea how to use it yet. I'm not sure how to find people {all my followers were borrowed from my mother}, but I'm katiemaequilts on there if you know how to find me.

Fifteen Minute Challenge

Poor Big Blue. I went to my in-laws for the weekend...but that's the only time I have an excuse for not touching the binding at all. I really need to find a consistent time to work on this! Bath time or cat feeding time or something.

In-Progress:

Layer Cake Snowball Fight - moving right along

Central Park Sudoku - new pain in the butt cat

Nine-Patch Snowball - center is sewn! Adding borders and full reveal on Saturday.

LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 (12/36 blocks) - this is the Buckeye Beauty. And, um, I made a Buckeye Beauty in April. This is why you do your BOMs on a regular basis! Now I'm struggling to see if I have enough fabric to do the actual three blocks from this set.

Quilting:

Bad Romance - all the lines running one direction are in!

Joining:

Picture-Perfect Polaroid Block Swap - searching for a good charm pack, since I don't have access to my scraps!

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Week

Fat Quarter Stars (6/12 blocks)

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Summer

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 (12/12 & center) 

Chunky Log Cabin (13/20 blocks)

St. Paul's Cross (2/42? blocks)

Adoption:

Application Submitted - 2/12 

Home Study - approved 5/12

USCIS paperwork - mailed 6/12
Home Study to Korea - 6/12

New Projects: 0

Completed Projects: 0

In Progress: 9

Stash Report - Week 29

This week had a bit more in and nothing out. My layer cake was meant to arrive last week, but due to a shipping mishap, it was a bit later. And I got a charm pack in exchange for the wait - totally worth it!

Yes, my love can easily be bought with fabric.

Used this Week: 0

Used Year to Date: 65.84

Added this Week: 3.75

Added Year to Date: 122.20

Net Used for 2012: (56.36) yards

Snowball Fight! {Week Two}

This week is all about the corners - those little squares that make a snowball a snowball.

If the snowball is being combined with a second block, the corner size is dictated by the second block. {More on that next week.}

When the snowball is on its lonesome, you get to pick the corner size.

You can go too big - corners that touch in the middle are a square-in-a-square block, and that's made with a completely different method. But you almost can't go too small - sometimes a teeny pop of color in the corner is all a fabric needs to shine.

If you're not sure what size to use, the rule of thirds is always a good starting point. Because of seam allowances, the unfinished snowball corners should be 1/2" bigger than the third - 2.5" on a 6" finished block {6.5" unfinished.}

When you're saving the bonus HSTs, that can be part of the sizing. They will square 1" smaller than the snowball corner - my 4" corners layer cake snowball corners will yield a 3" unfinished HST.

And of course, there's the yardage. I chose 4" corners for my layer cake version because that cuts perfectly out of a yard of fabric! If I had gone up to 4.5" squares, it would require 1.25 yards, and I don't typically keep that on hand.

Week Two of the Layer Cake Snowballs

Make some snowballs!

Pick one of the corner colors and 21 layer cake slices. Sew corner to corner. Sew 1/2" away from the corner line.

Slice between the line, press toward the corner.

Repeat 21 times!

WiP/FMC - New Routines

We are slowly settling into a routine here. It's actually a bit harder, since the only time the Dude is allowed at the pool is the time we avoided the pool in California. So my sewing time has to change, too. And there's a lot more distractions around with family wanting to do things! I'm managing to get some sewing time, though.

Fifteen Minute Challenge

I've been binding Big Blue for fifteen minutes each day...but this week, only Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. At a rate of 30ish" per day, I should be done with the binding in 15 days! Ugh...I should probably do more than 15 minutes a day.

Finished:

Blue Bowties

These, by the way, were the runner up layouts. I think the wave would look better with smaller blocks.

 Three In Color Order bags for a friend. Yes, I skipped the colored top. Yes, you can't really tell that the one in the back is long and skinny...about the size of a wine bottle, coincidentally.

In-Progress:

Layer Cake Snowball Fight - corners are cut, layer cake hasn't arrived yet

Central Park Sudoku - slowly piecing the nine patches as leaders/enders

Nine-Patch Snowball - nine-patches are done, snowballs are in the works

Quilting:

Bad Romance

Joining:

Picture-Perfect Polaroid Block Swap - blocks are due immediately after I get back to Oklahoma. Insane? Yes!

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Week

Fat Quarter Stars (6/12 blocks)
LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 (12/36 blocks) 

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Summer

LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 (12/12 & center) 

Chunky Log Cabin (13/20 blocks)

St. Paul's Cross (2/42? blocks)

Adoption:

Application Submitted - 2/12 

Home Study - approved 5/12

USCIS paperwork - mailed 6/12
Home Study to Korea - 6/12

New Projects: 1

Completed Projects: 1

In Progress: 9

DWM - Central Park Sudoku

It's kind of hard to take a picture of a tablecloth-design-wall...especially when there's five cats willing to walk across it whenever it's on the floor.

This is a Sudoku kit from Moda, using Central Park by Kate Spain. Very simple, very bright, very cheerful. It's a leader/ender in between other projects, but it gets the wall because it's easy to turn the blocks the wrong way!

Stash Report - Week 28

Oh, the ins and the outs. There was actually a decent amount of movement this week. A little too much retail therapy because of my husband leaving...but that's what deployment money is for, right?

In:

California Girl, because I was briefly a California Girl. Hello Luscious, because it's pretty. And on sale.

One yard green, one yard red - for my Snowball Fight. Plus a layer cake for the prize, but I'm not counting that since it's not for MY stash.

Out:

Blue Bowties, done!

Summer Drinks, done! 

{Until I get home to add borders...}

Secret stuff made out of secret fabric, done!

{Don't worry - box was mailed and reveal will be Wednesday. I can't keep secrets very long!}

There's a couple more things coming in the mail this week, but maybe I can finish some things and keep the numbers moving. Maybe.

Used this Week: 3.35

Used Year to Date: 65.84

Added this Week: 7.84

Added Year to Date: 118.45

Net Used for 2012: (52.61) yards