Avoiding Bias....

Last Sunday I avoided bias by going antiquing with Dee and her family.  We both loved this chair.

Saw some great quilts.

Dee held this one up for a picture.

By Monday I was avoiding bias by working on my Itty Bitty Project.  By the time I finished the block on the bottom left (Flower Garden) bias was beginning to look fun!



Front

Tuesday, I avoided bias by going to King's Island.  Riding roller coasters in 100 degree heat is bound to take your mind off bias!!  While there, I noticed how handy drawstring backpacks are.  But, being hot, I was not longing for the synthetic variety.



back

Wednesday, I avoided bias by using a charm pack that I won from my LQS to make this super-cute, non-sysynthetic, drawstring backpack.



inside

I used solids that I won earlier this year.  Since there were no notions used, this bag was free!!!
I think that the charm pack was Just Wing it by Mo Mo.



Thursday, I avoided bias by tidying up the sewing corner.  This great basket organizer was a wonderful gift from a quilty friend.  Thanks Shannon!!

Picked this up at Marshall's for some scrap management.

I really like that I can slide the baskets out.

I love that it slides out of the way under my ironing board.

So finally, I needed to face the bias.  I think that I will likely use a gallon of starch on this quilt. 

Four rows down, four rows to go.  I am determined to finish this soon, bias and all!!

Blessings,

KT

Friday Finish...

Not yet finished making my blocks.  Loving the pattern, hating the bias.

As I finish the block sets, I am squaring up and putting the rows together.  Loving how they look!  Starting to get sick of working on them.

So, for a bit of distraction, I pulled these back out.  Blast from the past!  These just need to be squared and put together into a top.  They are even already marked with their order.  I got discouraged when I realized that a 96" by 108" quilt was never going to fit under my machine.  I think that I am going to try to find wool batting and send it off to the long arm quilter.  This will be our winter quilt for our bed.

Three rows finished!  Kinda breaking up the Kaleidoscope Monopoly of my sewing time!

Squares cut for an Itty Bitty block.

Finished fabric shopping with my Super Sister Chick Dee (well, for today anyway)!  ;0)

Bought the backing for Treasure's Neptune Quilt.

These lovelies also found their way into my fabric shopping bag.  (Still loving it Amy!)  The top two fabrics are for my Paganelli Pile, the bottom two are for stash, and the little fat eighths are for my scrappy double hourglass quilt.

Okay, so nothing really finished, but they will be and I am enjoying every minute of it!!

Blessings,

KT

Quilty Admissions

Virginia Star Itty Bitty

Okay, so after neatly avoiding (though I LOVE it) the Farmer's Wife craze, I have fallen victim to another quilt a long!  I know, you are all shocked.  Finished this one last night.



Greek Cross Itty Bitty

Completed this one this morning.  I really felt called to add some purple to this project.  (Again, I know you are all shocked!)   ;0)



Here they are playing so nicely together.  I hadn't expected to even do this many so soon, but I find I need a little stress relief from...

BIAS!!!!!!!!!  I am loving the look, but apparently my scant 1/4 inch isn't scant enough, or I have stretched them somehow.  I am getting bulls eye warping.  Only thing I know to do at this point is starch the*&@! out of them.  I still love the pattern, and adore the fabric, but I am disappointed in the outcome.  I will press on!  -Pun intended!-  One day I will even do this pattern again and get it right!!!!!  (Why did the "Eye of the Tiger" just start playing in my head?)

Oh, and one last admission.  I am horrible at random.  Can't do it...something about control.  So, I have a whole schematic drawn up with a complex organizational pattern to make it look....random.  Dee would affirm that I am a little neurotic.

Other WIPs (aka "The Doo-doo List):

1.  Binding on April Showers May Flowers---still.

2.  Catch up Birdie Stitches Blocks---still on February.

3.  Quilt Grandma's Peacock---still intimidated to work on a precious antique.

4.  Make a grocery bag pattern.

Well, break is over.  I will be working on these among household chores today!!

Be sure to use the handy WIP button to visit the other lovely WIP's to encourage you to start finish some of your own!

Blessings!

KT

This, That, and the Other

Over the holiday, my family went with Dee's family to an antique mall before going to watch fireworks.  I saw this quilt, and had never seen the stars in the circle like that.  This may be on my bucket list!  Anyone know what the pattern is called?

The poor quilt was so loved and tattered that it is no longer useful, so I didn't bring it home.

I did bring this home though!  She is a 5 quart!  I only paid $12.50.  Now I am finally able to make double batches of our favorite meals.  This way I am off cooking duty through the weekend!!!  Great use of the money if you ask me!!  She is holding Chicken Teriyaki that was a recipe posted on a blog...so long ago that I forgot where.  It is one of our very favorite meals.

Spotted all these aprons yesterday at Marshall's.  They were around $13.00, great if you need an apron, not so great if you just want to pillage the designer fabrics!! 

As I dug through the racks, I just saw more and more.

Can you believe it?

Everywhere I look, I see the Farmers Wife Quilt A Long.  I long to join, but really don't have the time, or need the guilt...

I plan on borrowing the book from the library to read all the fun stuff.  I just have so many patterns already that I should get more use out of.  But oh, those small blocks are cute!!  So I made a list of 12" blocks that I have access to, yup 47!!!  Told you I shouldn't buy another book!  So my plan is to reduce them by 50%, as well as collect some more (without buying more patterns).  This is going to be a scrap project, and it may not be finished for many years. 

The first block that I have done was from an ipod app!!  The app is called Block Fab.  You should check it out if you have an ipod, iphone, or ipad.  It took all the guess work out of reducing a block from its library.

Of course, I still had to make the block!!

It gave me a little break from this!  Now I am on to adding the background to these!!

Boy am I loving this quilt!!

Blessings,

KT

Busy Summer

Been spending some time assisting a Lovely with her 4-H project.

I teach by doing, which is touchy when you are supposed to let them do it all.  So I have worked a step ahead of her, and now have a couple of skirts for a couple of Lovely Littles!

We have had fun, and frustration.  The pattern was The Girly Skirt by Pink Fig Patterns.  Worked up easily, and is sooooooo cute.  Especially in Lecien!

Hoping to get to piecing my Neptune Kaleidoscope Quilt after finishing the waistbands in the skirts.  It has been wonderful teaching with my sewing machine, but it will be awesome to have my machine back to myself too!!

Other WIPs:

Binding for April Showers, May Flowers Quilt

Quilting Grandma's Peacock Quilt

Making Grocery Bag Pattern

Starting Secret Project!

Visit other WIP by clicking on the WIP button on my side bar! 

Blessings,

KT