MORE PROGRESS ON MY TABLE RUNNER...

I finished the 7 blocks I needed for my table runner on Sunday.  After I had taken this picture I removed the stabilizer and cut them all down to size.  At my next class we will begin assembly.  I can't WAIT! 

More to come...

LEARNING SOMETHING NEW...

Tuesday I attended a class at the wonderful shop where I purchased Ellie (my sewing machine).  I have always wanted to learn how to do applique with my embroidery module, and Hayes Sewing Machines in Wilmington, DE is the perfect learning environment.  The whole Hayes family is incredibly knowledgeable, talented, patient and SUPER friendly!  They make everyone feel right at home...which is why I travel 50 miles each way to take their classes!

Want a peak at my first two blocks?

I am making a Christmas Table Runner for my kitchen island. 

I still have 5 more blocks to applique and then I have to trim all 7 blocks before our next class.

FUN homework!

A NEW QUILT...my least favorite part...

A few months ago I began designing a quilt for J & K for Christmas.  The quilt was to be modern (to suit both of them) with Celtic touches to highlight her heritage.  I was still up in the air as to whether each block would be separated by a sashing that was quilted heavily in a Celtic theme. 

Unfortunately, since that time, their 4 year relationship/engagement has ended.  It has been a rough time for all of us, especially my dear, sweet J who firmly believed he had found his soul-mate in K.  But life goes on...

Now that I have finished the placemat gift for our friend, it is time to begin work on a quilt that is J's alone.  His quilt is going to be made exclusively of HST's (half square triangles), without sashing between each block.  I feel this will make his quilt more masculine and modern.  His quilting will be "loosely" themed around his love of computers.  He has been a "computer geek" for the past 16 years and currently works at a computer service company.  Technology is truly "him". 

I designed his quilt to be either 3 or 4 (pictured above) blocks wide and 4 or 5 blocks long. 

His blocks will be made primarily of the light gray, medium blue and dark blue, his favorite colors.  The beautiful batik fabric will be used for the binding.  While sized to fit his queen bed, this quilt will also be perfect draped across the gray sofa we purchased for his apartment last Christmas. 

I have never before made a quilt that consisted of so many small pieces and decided maybe it was time to give my Sizzix Big Shot its first real workout.

I waited for a sale at the Sizzix website and purchased a HST cutting die. 

The die cuts two half square triangles at a time and can be stacked with 8 pieces of fabric per pass through the machine.  Given that the "squares" formed by sewing together the two HST's will "finish" at 4", it is going to take A LOT of HST's to finish his quilt! 

I began by cutting 5.5" wide strips of fabric...

...cutting 5.5" squares to place into the Big Shot...

...stacking 8 squares at a time...

...and running them through the machine.  I realize that I could have "accordion folded" the fabric instead of cutting individual 5.5" squares...but I HATE having to remember which is the front and back of the fabric!  By stacking, I know the front of the fabric is facing up in the machine...and I feel I am less likely to have a triangle miscut. 

Unfortunately, the cuts are not always complete and I sometimes need to snip one or two tiny threads in order to separate the HST's. 

While using my Big Shot is definitely easier and more precise than rotary cutting, I have discovered something about this part of the process that had never quite dawned on me before.  I HATE the fabric cutting stage of making a quilt!  It seems like I am making absolutely NO progress on the finished project...which is frustrating me to no end! 

So, I have decided to move on to cutting some HST's from the other two fabrics and begin piecing the individual blocks, each consisting of a whopping 32 gray HST's, 20 light blue HST's and 20 dark blue HST's.  Maybe then my creative self will feel fully engaged in the process. 

While I had never REALLY believed I could finish J's quilt in time for Christmas, this long "cutting" process is pushing it back as far as his birthday or maybe even NEXT Christmas!  And to think...I hoped to complete a postage stamp quilt some day!  Maybe not...

SHARON....I never got your email...

Sharon,

It appears you are a no-reply blogger and I can't respond to your emails.  I have never received your address.  Please send it to:

jusmom88blog@gmail.com

Please reply to this post and let me know when you have sent it.

Thanks,
Lin

AND THE WINNER IS....

I know.  I am not very computer literate, lol.  For some reason I could NOT get this copied onto my computer, so you have to settle for a photo of the results. 

Number six...Sharon J. Hughson you are the winner! Please send me your address and I will get the green one out to you right away! 

Thanks everyone for helping me to celebrate my 2 year blogiversary.  It sorta got buried with all of the other goings on in our home (dad is doing GREAT) but this little contest kept it near the top of my mind as I counted down to today.

Toodles!

GIFT PLACEMATS ARE FINISHED...

Today I finally finished the six placemats that will be a gift for a friend.  We will deliver them next weekend and I can't wait to see her reaction!

Here is the front:

And the back:

These placemats have taken FOREVER and involved a whole lot of ripping!  BUT, I have gotten a LOT better at binding by the time I had binded, and then rebinded, them LOL.   Dear Hubby questioned why the cans weren't centered on the back, and why each back is just slightly different.  This fabric was from Spoonflower and, given the cost of their fabric, it would have taken a whole lot more material and money to be able to make the back as pretty as the front, lol.  I guess she COULD use them as reversible, though they weren't meant to be that way. 

Whew, I need a rest!  Maybe tomorrow I will start on a few other Christmas gifts!

Toodles...

TWO YEARS....

Can it really be that my little blog will be two years old on September 7th?  As I said to an old friend the other day, "We must REALLY be having fun because time sure is flying!"

I know things are going to get even crazier in my life with my Dear Dad's surgery next week, so I am going to celebrate my Blogiversary with a little less fanfare than normal.  I don't have time to go out and shop for a ton of goodies to giveaway in celebration, so I am going to give away something handmade by me! 

Starting today, followers to my blog will be able to win one of two drawstring sewing pouches...complete with a matching needle case and pincushion inside. 

Simply follow my blog and leave me one comment telling me:  a) How you follow and b) Which color you prefer...brown or green.   That's it! Easy, peasy!  Winner will be picked on 9/21/14.  This giveaway is open to all readers.