What I've been working on.......................

I confess - I am a scatter brain!  I have tons and tons of projects that need attention and what was I doing this morning???   Yup - I was scoping out not ONE, but TWO NEW projects!!!   Just shoot me in the head now!!!  One of them will be very easy and I have got stuff mostly prepped and it will make a good project for the retreat or do for an hour at the sewing days!

The mostly prepped quilt - I know looks a bit bland at this point, but wait!!!

However the other one is going to take a bit of time. It is a mystery. I know - I said that I had had enough of mysteries, but NO - I am a sucker for punishment.  You can follow along if you would like, although the mystery started in September last year (and had six installments so I think all the installments must be up).  I had printed off the fabric requirements and first installment and then it got put away and I forgot about it until someone asked me if I could quilt their mystery (which isn't completed yet).  I HAD to find the mystery instructions because I remembered that I had put them away with some other paperwork that I needed (and I had been trying to find for the last week). I had searched in several places and no luck, but this morning I went right to the spot where ALL that missing paperwork was!!!!

Anyway - if you want to follow the mystery - it was designed by Sherri Hisey of Border Creek Station Pattern Company for the Black Creek Pioneer Village. The link above will take you to the fabric requirements. Three colours!!! I am making mine scrappy.     (Hold your mouse over the "Mystery Quilt Challenge" in the black title bar and the six clues will pop up). Sherri's directions are VERY good and it is free!!!

Finding that paperwork results in a HUGE amount of work for me to do, but better get it done NOW!!!!   So I am going through my scrap bins (they needed some work anyway!)  I had to laugh because as I was standing looking at the scrap bins - I needed three colours for the mystery quilt. Hmmm - which bins were the fullest and that is how I chose!!!!

The scrap bins - most are exploding!!!!

The first two colours for the mystery quilt - beige and brown. The third colour is red!

See how that scrap bin is much more under control!

Oh - I think I had better fess up even more. I in fact did start another project yesterday - no it is more like I got some more work on another project (I'll show you tomorrow - it is for my class today) and that resulted in about three more being pulled from the closet. ACK - I can't help myself. Which is why it blows my mind that people give these "old" projects away. Nope - they are all things that I still want to complete and I WILL COMPLETE them - some day!!!!

Oh oh - I just thought of something else I did yesterday. Saw a quilt posted on Facebook. Tracked down a copy of the pattern (thanks to a comment on Facebook) and it should be winging its way to me along with THREE other patterns. I joined a sew along group to start working on this quilt in April!!!!!  

Anyway - enough of the chatting, let's get looking...........

So here is the sewing machine apron. I had mentioned before that mine has TWO rows of pockets which makes it a bit long and brushes along the top of my legs when I am sitting. Carol made this for me and she is as anal as I am about tiny little stitches in the binding. Anyway - I had a very hard time trying to find a stitch big enough and visible enough to pop with the ripper!!!  Good binding skills!!!!

Sewing machine apron

But I got found one!  I have started to remove the binding from the bottom. 

 I will remove enough so that I can cut that bottom pocket off and then I will rebind it!!!!  Can't wait as it is very useful to keep your stuff in!!!!

Got more of these half square triangles trimmed. 

Got the last seam on these blocks sewn and trimmed them up when I got home

Remember my dilemma with that black. I had JUST ENOUGH for the sashing

WAIT A MINUTE - I am certain that I had purchased a BOLT of this fabric and sure enough, when I went into my bolts of fabric, there is was on the very bottom!!!!

The missing black fabric!

I am going to put a skinny sashing in between the blocks and around the outside. Then I will decide what else goes on the edges. That is too far away to think about at this moment!!!

Back to my basket of scraps............

Basket of scraps for string piecing!

I managed to get TWENTY of the center seams done!  I only had twenty squares of muslin cut so that is as far as I could go

I have cut another 60 squares - 80 in total and I have made that center seam in about half of them.

About half of the muslin squares have a center seam done

 I still have quite a bit of fabric in the basket - hopefully enough for the rest of the 80 blocks. However as I went through some of the bags for the pet mats, I did pull some of the wider strips and threw them in this basket!!!!  You see what I mean - I could sew from scraps for the rest of my life!!!!

Speaking of which - I am now up to date with the sewing of my hour glass blocks. These just need to be trimmed.

Hour glass blocks to trim

 It is not just me that has the scrap bug - Janice was working on the same quilt this past Thursday, but I think hers is going to look a lot prettier than mine will!!!

Janice's scrap blocks

Crazy eh!!!!   And there is still more that I was working on at Monday, but I still haven't had a chance to get them pressed yet. Maybe I could take a bit of time this morning???   What I need to be doing is some applique. I think I will take it to the upcoming retreat or start doing some applique at the sewing days. I have tons that NEEDS to be done before I can advance on the next projects.

Sparky went to the vet yesterday for her annual check-up. She is going to be 14 in two months. ACK!  Not even going to go there!  For the most part, she is in pretty decent shape. The vet thinks her stiffness might be her back, as she doesn't seem to have arthritis in her legs. But she came home with ear drops for her ears as she has a bit of an infection, she has parasites so might account for the three pound loss of weight since November, four needles and her nails got clipped. She wasn't that happy when they did all that work, but she got lots of love while that was happening and treats afterwards so it wasn't all that bad!!!!  Of course, Sammy could NOT be left home alone so she had to come along even though she was nervous as all get out. She is getting a bit braver though, but her leg shakes so bad from stress it is pretty funny.

Waiting at the vet

 Speaking of dogs, here is a picture of Lynn's grand dog SUCKING on HIS sucky quilt.  His grandmother had to make him his own quilt as he was sucking on the grand daughter's quilts which just won't do!!!!

Prince and his sucky quilt!!!!  (nice quilt for a sucky quilt!!)

Anyway - I have oodles of things to do this morning before the class. Just wait to see what the class is - a bag - that is all the hint you get.  The girls have been prepping for days for this one!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!