DRUMMER BOY AND SEAGULLS

This week as been more productive.  The floor in our home office was installed on Tuesday, and the installers were so nice they even moved our huge roll top desk back into the office for us.  It weighs a ton, so we were very appreciative of their help.  All the furniture is back in and now just doing a bit of touch up painting on the closet and room entry door and the job is finished.  Plus we did a good deal of cleaning out and organizing.

I finished putting my Drummer Boy quilt top together this past week.  The original plan was to be 100 blocks, but when I pulled all the blocks outs of a container that was stashed away I only had 80 done, so I sewed one more together and called it done. I laid it out in 9 rows of 9 blocks, a good size at 54 by 54 inches.  I bought the pattern from Stitched in Color a good 2 or 3 years ago.  Rachel has since moved from South Carolina to the Netherlands.  My hope was to have her quilt it, but postage being what it is I will have it quilted in the US.  I love the multiple scraps in this quilt, there are lots of them and many really different.

I finished my Gadget Girl's Tool Kit this week as well.  This was a really fun project and great for taking with me on the go. 

I have been fussing around with this Seagull Paradise Block 1pattern put out by Suzy's Crafters and Quilters.  I am not sure I will actually go on from Block 1.  I have 9 blocks downloaded and I think more to come.  They are released each month.  It makes a 52 by 68 inch quilt, so not sure I want to continue beyond this one block. 

We sadly had to have our little dog Ginger put to sleep on Sunday.  We have been back and forth multiple times to the vet since January with heart problems.  Lots of up and downs, but by last week she was having a good deal of problems breathing.  When we took her into our vet Sunday morning, he told us she was experiencing severe heart and kidney failure.  We loved her dearly but could not see her suffer.  We will really miss her.

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MYSTERY SOLVED & GADGET GIRL'S TOOL KIT

Well this past week has finally solved the guild's mystery quilt lay out problem.  I finished my guild mystery quilt, squared it up and then received this correction.  

Yes, the original layout given was not correct. 

The big question was do I fix the lay out.  Well, I thought about it and came up with an absolutely NO!  It would involve ripping out four rows, six blocks and I just am not going to do that.  Once it is quilted I think it we look OK.  Now, however, as I put this up on my blog I am having a great deal of misgivings.  Not sure maybe I will fix it after all!

To sooth my misgivings about his whole mystery delemi I decided to search through my UFO piles.  I bought this kit while on a mini vacation in the spring of 2019.  Yep, two years ago.  Smart me for a change after this week's madness, all the needed supplies, thread, and even fusible interfacings and fleece are in with it in the storage container.  I had cut out all the pieces and that was as far as I got before something else caught my eye.  This seemed like a great thing to escape my creative problems.

The pattern calls for using vinyl for the pockets, I did modify that to this mesh instead.  I happened to have the nice matching blue color and thought it would be fun to use it instead.  

The pattern calls for this tape to use when securing the vinyl to the zippers.  I had never used this before.  I am a huge fan!  This was great stuff and a great solution when pins or even clips get in the way.

All the pockets are on and the inside of the tool kit is complete.  Yes, a bit fussy but the directions are absolutely right on.  I am excited to finish it up.

My husband called to me to come out into the yard to see the pretty flowers we had growing.  I called out and said pick a couple and put them in a vase.  He said no come see.  They are chive seed blossoms.  Actually really pretty too.  They will seed them selves and we have fresh chives growing all year long. 

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QUILT MISHAPS AND TURKEYS

This past week has not been terribly productive, at least not in the sewing studio.  A remodel of our home office found me painting, ripping out carpet, and ordering new laminate flooring.  The last coat of painting of baseboards has me at the end of this ordeal.  This a a beautiful site.  I am done, the floor installers will put these on and caulk them too.  I survived!

I did finish up the cars quilt.  It will go off with its prepared binding and then make its way to the local Pregnancy Center along with several others finished off in earlier weeks.  I still have three more cut out, but I am a bit burned out and want to do something more artsy.

This quilt had me wondering where I left my brain.  I had all four rows completed and when I went to sew the top rows to the bottom two they did not fit.  The red strips between the car blocks at the top finished at 4 inches wide, cut at 4 1/2 inches. So I cut the bottom row strips at 5 inches instead of 4/1/2.  However before I was done I ended up un-sewing rows several times.  Sometimes the simplest things cause the most problems. 

I have all the guild's mystery blocks done and started putting it together.  I think there is an error in the lay out right in the middle where two pink florals touch each other.  It just doesn't look right.  I have checked the pattern over and over several times and according to the directions I have laid it out correctly.  I will get the last three rows on and see if in the end it makes since.  Maybe its me, given my sewing week so far I will not be surprised if it is.  Will I take it apart if in deed it is me.  NO!  It is a charity quilt, and hopefully the person getting it will be less of a critic than me.

The wild turkeys have come to town.  You can see boss man Tom Turkey with all his ladies taking over the park area  A bit of an issue for everyone.  They are not nice, leave a big mess behind themselves, and make lots of noise too.  

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JUST A LOT OF THIS AND THAT

 I have spent this past week just finishing up a few things in-between  working on painting our home office.  I am the painter, husband hates to paint, but is a great wing man.  He holds the ladder, pours paint into paint trays, and cleans up brushes and rollers when I am finished for the day.  This project is a bit of an over haul, the very old carpet is coming out and a new laminate floor going in so it has become a real on going project for the next week or two.  I am not a marathon painter though and 3 or 4 hours in the mornings and I am DONE for the day.  

One thing I did accomplish this past week is a clean up of the floor in my sewing room.  Walking over piles of in progress projects just got to much.  JoAnn's had this cart on sale and I decided it was the perfect way to solve that issue.  The hope is three trays so only three projects at a time.  That is a bit of a joke for me!

I have finished up several projects this past week though.  This first baby quilt for our local Pregnancy Center is ready to go to the quilter.

And this second one is done as well.

Plus another cat project finished for a fund raiser one of my daughters participates in that trap and neuter stray cats.  With our area opening up a bit after Covid closures they hope to have an event in the next couple of months.  So I may be putting another one or two of these together for her these next couple of months.   

A yes another baby quilt project.  This one is going to take a bit of work.  I am fussy cutting out the little cars.  All different sizes of fussy cut pieces that have to be fitted into a 9 1/2 inch block.  Not sure what I was thinking of but these last three baby quilt tops have been an exercise in getting rid of rather small left overs.  I am very much a math person so the challenge to do this type of thing is fun, at least it beats painting.

No photos of my youngest daughters peacocks, chickens or ducks.  Only this guy one of her cats.  Not sure what he was looking for, but seems very intent on watching something or someone.  

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CONFESSIONS OF A FABRIC ADDICT