The Fabric Made Me Do It

So this is what I was doing during April:

It was for a dollhouse exchange where we had to make something “from a tree”. That was pretty much the only instruction we got. And since it was to be kept secret, what we were making, I got no clues from the other participants on what I was doing. I think it came out pretty well, and I hope the recipient will like it.

There’s a bed made from a large seed pod, with moss and feathers, a table made from bark and twigs, and a stool. It’s decorated with pheasant feathers, beads and bits of grapevine. The roof is made of fabric grape leaves, and has a butterfly made from feathers perched on it.

Last weekend was our annual area Quilt Shop Hop. Ten or Twelve of the shops on both sides of the state line coordinate to offer drawings, raffles, and prizes. The idea is to go around to all the shops, get your card stamped and pick up one of the blocks of a quilt pattern. If you fill your card there is a special super grand prize drawing. I was only able to get to five shops near me, because I had something else going on all weekend and guests from out of town, but here is what I got:

Each shop had a little silver colored charm to give away and then you could spin or draw for charm squares in a 30′s theme. I did not do so well picking numbers.

Most of the stores were not having sales during the event, so I was not tempted to buy much. I did pick up a few discounted things:

At the top is a scrap pack, with 4″ charms and coordinating black and orange fabrics and an orange fat quarter to go with it. Then I bought two yards of a repro print in tan and grey to use as a backing for a small quilt. Finally, a fat quarter (it was the only one) in a pink and gold print that matches some pinks I bought a year or two ago.

No time for quilting this month so I’m just going to stash these for now.

It has been beyond beautiful here this week. The entire yard is in bloom, lilacs, redbud, violets, even the dandelions look pretty.

I managed to snap a couple of pictures of some of the butterflies feeding on our lilacs. This one is called American Lady.

This is a Red Admiral. There were several of these flitting around.

This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. It was zipping around so fast I could barely get a photo of it, and even when it was holding still it was flapping its wings like a hummingbird.

Spring is here, only about a month early, that is, it’s been unusually warm here this year and everything is coming up or blooming out. Hard to believe that a year ago we had a foot of snow on the ground. So I’ve been in the garden digging, hoeing, raking compost, clearing debris, and spreading mulch. And planting. Planting a lot.

These pots contain various wildflower seeds. I also have a lot in the ground: lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, bok choy and snow peas. It’s still too early for tomatoes and peppers.

When I’m not outside I’ve been working on this:

It took a couple of weeks of sanding and painting to get all the windows for the 1st and 2nd floors done, and it felt like years. Now that is finished I moved on to some painting, got the 3rd floor in, the large tower attached, lots of fitting work and now I’m ready to start attaching roof sections.

I finished two of my wool applique blocks over the weekend but the light was gone before I could get photos, so here they are now:

Each block will be 6×6″ when finished.

Meanwhile I have been making progress on the purple crossed canoes blocks… but I realized I made an error. I cut blocks for a Double or Queen sized quilt, not a Twin/Single so I have a lot more sewing to do before the top is assembled and ready for quilting. I’m shooting now for the *end* of March.

The Crossed Canoes quilt for my niece is coming along. I think I am going to make this my next goal. At the moment I have 26 out of the 36 blocks I need assembled. Squaring up each of the canoe sections with the square ruler and rotary cutter has been making my hands hurt, but I am going to try and get at least one block done each day over the next two weeks. That means I’ll be ready to assemble the top on March 1st.

The longarm quilting class I took last week was easier than I was expecting. The machines are still a little intimidating but I can see myself getting comfortable using them in no time. My only concern is that the constant vibration is likely to make my hands and shoulder ache after a while. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to spend at the machine, and it might mean multiple trips across town before I can get a quilt finished.

I finally finished this one. It took me most of a year to work up to machine quilting it, in no small part because my machine fought with me every step of the way. Thread broke, thread tangled, stitches pulled out or wouldn’t hold, stitches skipped, the tension was never right, and on and on. The quilting on this one is simply atrocious and I can’t figure out why. It’s quality fabric, a good batting and backing, and new thread.

Anyway, it’s done. My mantra lately has been “Done is better than perfect.” It measures 33″x33″ and it s perfectly square even though it did not photograph that way.

This is where I work. It used to be a small bedroom but two of the walls were removed, opening it up to the living area of the house, to make it a study or reading area. In a way this is good because it makes the room seem larger and brighter. On the other hand, that leaves me with one wall and a corner to put shelves on and my mess is displayed for all to see.

My dream is to someday have floor to ceiling Elfa shelving and bins to store everything in all arranged and neat and pretty like in a magazine photo. Right now I have a catch-all system of Rubbermaid tubs and plastic shoeboxes, and the odd grocery sack.

The tubs in front hold upholstery fabric and fashion fabric, and act as dividers from the hallway. To the left, out of sight, is an armchair piled high with quilt projects, some completed , some not. Behind the tubs is another chair, piled high with more upholstery fabric, batting, and project boxes. My ironing board in is the center of the room, separated from the table with the serger by a mere 12″! Under the table are the shoeboxes where I keep my quilt stash, which is mostly fat quarters.

At the far end of the room I have shelves where I can keep flat fold fashion fabric, and larger cuts of quilt fabric I plan to use as backings. Bolts and boxes of notions are piled as high as I can reach.

My sewing machine sits in front of the window, where I also have a steel shelving unit for plants. In the spring it will become a miniature nursery for seedlings.

Here’s a pair of cute little cosmetics pouches that I made from a tutorial I found. I made one to swap and one to keep. They were so easy to make, they went together in less than half an hour, and that included sewing the zipper in wrong the first time. I made the smallest size, about 7″ long, and it can be done with less than a fat quarter of fabric.

For 2011 I listed 9 projects that I wanted to complete during the year, and then I took on a dozen or more new ones. Needless to say, I didn’t finish nearly as much as I had hoped.

So, I’m going to start 2012 off with a less ambitious goal. First, fewer classes and new projects. So far I have only signed up for one class, to learn to use the longarm quilt machines. This should enable me to get some of my tops quilted because I will then be able to rent time on the machine down at the quilt shop.

I’d like to finish assembling and quilting the little quilts I started in classes last year. I believe I have 4 left.

I have the christmas quilt to finish, but first the longarm lessons.

I also have two partly assembled quilts for nieces, a third, fourth and fifth quilt for myself that is not done yet, too. Longarm lessons.

Then there are the two dolls to dress. At least I have the fabric for one of them.

I’m sure that’s enough projects to keep me busy the entire year, which brings me to Stashbusting!

I’m going to continue with my plan of using up the stash first, and only buying new fabric when needed to complete an existing project (like batting or backing, or zippers…) That will include a ban on fat quarters, which means missing the $1 fat quarter sale next week for the 3rd year in a row. I need fat quarters like I need a hole in the head.

Then there’s dollhouses. The no new fabric rule applies to dollhouses too. No new houses. I already have 3 to finish and more furniture and accessories than will fit in them. So I plan to keep plugging away at those this year, turning my boxes of supplies into finished displays.

Sounds like a good plan.