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Saturday, April 25, 2020

Sewing, Blowing, and a Wee Bit of Rain -


Yesterday I dug into to one of the many “Someday I wanna” projects.

Have you been doing the same?

This project has been started before – shoot, many many moons ago and my test blocks ended up in a random sampler orphan block quilt top that I finished in 2002.

That project took me more than another 10 years  to quilt – I think I finished the quilting while here at the cabin within the past couple of years.

Some projects are just like that.


Snail’s Trail block from way back when.

There are times when I look at the different parts of my Scrap User’s System and realize that certain hunks and chunks – namely cut-off triangles that are still “big enough for something” but as of yet have done nothing but fill clear boxes with lids.

Then I dream of a way, and a day - where with time on my hands - I'll find a way to put them to good use.

It’s a veritable archaeological dig, these collections of cut off triangles and hunks that are definitely not strips and not pre-cut squares.


Paper piecing has been a long time friend when it comes to cut off triangles such as this.

That was the whole premise of the Wild & Goosey craze that took the internet quilt world by storm and eventually wound up in the Addicted to Scraps book.   (Still on sale in the Quiltville Store for just $15.99 while lock down lasts! You know the drill!)

I pieced many of these block quarters and sashings from such cut off triangles while on the road because I could simply take a baggie of scraps and a handful of paper foundations and I was good to go for days on end.

Now this home quarantine due to the Covid 19 pandemic is starting to feel like another “days on end” thing (I am in my 6th week of shelter-at-home and am placing this here for future generations who come across this story!) 

I gave a couple of clear bins with lids the evil eye and gave them an ultimatum – YOU ARE GOING DOWN!

Only – I couldn’t remember the size the original orphan test blocks were, and my new test blocks are 1’’ smaller!!! 

I may make a 4th block in the smaller size and turn it into a mug rug or something – and then opt for the larger size, so I can use up more triangles faster. 

But then there is  the whole “print as many as will fit on the page” thing and the smaller size I am able to get 2 blocks per page.

Do I sacrifice more paper for the sake of a bigger block? 

Yep, I’ve been under house arrest for far too long!

At any rate – I had a wonderful time playing with The Free treadle until the rain stopped so Zoey and I could get out for that leg stretch.


This is Wilson Creek – about 1/2 mile up from Quiltville Inn.


Things are so much greener in the week or so since we’ve walked up here!


Wild yellow daisies – I love these in the breeze!

Click to Play:



The road was fairly wet from the morning rain, and it felt like we better keep making a pretty good pace to make it to the top and back before the intermittent rain drops turned into a deluge again.


Patch of blue on the right -

But that dark patch of grey on the left is moving in quickly!


Saying hello to the McMillan Family!

And as you can see – the drizzle is blowing in.  Which means we are going to have to hope for the best on our way back down.  It’s about 1 1/4 miles to the car from here – and this is the highest ground I hike to making it a good turn around spot.


Getting a bit wet and windblown!

(And thinking more on those Snail’s Trail blocks!)


Zoey is busy watching for squirrels -

Not caring about the rain one bit!


Old fence and rusty gate on our way back down.

I was glad we got our steps in – it really started to rain by the time we made it back to the cabin.

And yes, Unity Quilt Along parts are in progress.  There should be more sewing time for that today, so I can do the write up tomorrow!


And now for the moment you’ve been waiting for – as in – who gets the April 2020 Quilty Box??


Who is entry 840 of 5580?


Elizabeth Schneider!

Elizabeth, please reply to the email I have sent to you with your shipping address and I’ll have the kind folks at Quilty Box get your goodies right out to you.

Congrats!

And thanks for participating, everyone.  There will be another great Gift-Away happening soon!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

You Are Enough. Just As You Are.

For those of us under #stayhome advisement, count your 4 walls as a blessing not a curse.

At some point we have to stop beating ourselves and the world up for what we didn't get to do. We are not prisoners, we are protected.

We can only do what we can only do for the good of all.



23 comments:

  1. I am thankful for my four walls--a home to "stay at home" in. A favorite proverb comes to mind: Enough is great riches.

    I enjoyed your walk! :)

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  2. I enjoy your upbeat reporting of each day. Thank you for all you do.

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  3. Love the yellow Daisies

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  4. Loving your blog more than ever during Lockdown -- my daily quilting fix, thoughtful insights, nature and Zoey escapades all in one. Thought you'd like to know the yellow flower isn't a daisy, it's Leopard's Bane, a favorite easy-care spring bloomer.

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  5. Loving your pics of spring, mud, running creeks as I continue to look out at snow (although it has started to shrink in volume!) :)

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  6. I'm making Wild & Goosey right now but replaced the yellow with red...LOVING IT!!! Now I'm in love with that snail trail, guess I know what I'm trying today LOL I was recently gifted 2 bags of scraps sew time to play:)

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  7. I enjoy your blog each day. Thanks for your insight and willingness to share your life. Very inspiring. I've made 7 masks so far, thanks to your instructions, I found them much more helpful than others I have looked at. I'm putting together a quilt top which I have weaved, thanks to your instructions again. I'm on a roll with scraps turned into tiny little blocks and have made many lengths of chain pieced strips, thanks to your instructions on chain sewing. I could go on with much more but I'll stop here. You've helped me very much with all of your wonderful help so freely given. Thanks Bonnie.

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  8. That is about as big as the creek next to our house, and just as dry. It is 60 today, and the ice is not off the lake yet! Poop patrol is on the agenda and maybe some sewing. Depending on what the hub has in store...🙄

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  9. Thanks, Bonnie! I'm so grateful for these 4 walls and feeling safe here. Also love the technology keeping us connected and quilting to keep us inspired! Love love love Zoey Jo!!

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  10. Ok, just give me a good book and a hammock by that creek, and I’d be set! Love the sound of a waterfall!

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  11. The project that is going down for me is Box Kites that I began under your tutelage in Bedford, PA a few years ago. I am tickled to be making good progress with it today.

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  12. I was in your Straits of Mackinac class that you taught at the Seven Sisters Quilt event in SLO last year. I have pulled that out, finished all the blocks and am almost done with the sashing...talk about a way to fill time with our SIP....then I will have to deal with quilting it, but like Scarlett Ohara said, I'll think about that another day!

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  13. Beautiful pictures! I love grey, rainy days :)

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  14. Does that antique block behind the Theodore Roosevelt quote have a name? I'm wondering because I was gifted an old quilt top with that block to repair. Thanks for your daily messages!

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  15. I'm seeing the yellow daisies, blue sky and green grass in the next "mystery" quilt!

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  16. Great post as always, the pictures make me want to move near by.

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  17. I love checking in with you each day! And, I love your mask pattern the best and am cranking them out for family, friends, and for our church to hand out to the community. The t-shirt ties are the best! I'm working on my grandmothers Singer clone called the Hamilton - made in India. I feel her presence since she was 18 years old during the Spanish Flu epidemic. I tell people that the masks are from my grandmother and me. While not as prolific a quilter as many, I am plugging along on a variety of your patterns. Thank you!

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  18. Thank you so much for the video of the creek, so serene! Yes, you are so right, our house is not a jail. It is our safe haven. My gratitude list is still growing.

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  19. which one of you books have your foundation block patterns in? I am actually for the most part not complaining about lock down as I am getting UFO done and making masks for family and friends as the requests come in. I am using much of my for the masks and then have a lot of pieces of various sizes and thought about your foundation piece technique but am unable to find it on the web page. Please respond to judyquiltz@comcast.net which is my primary email address. Thank you for giving us a bright start to our day with your blog, I read it every morning then go to face book later in the day for any new postings. I am not only addicted to scraps but to Bonnie Hunter and Quiltville especially the posts about Zoe Jo and her antics. She is so uplifting. Happy Quilting and as our governor says Stay Home Stay Safe.

    Judy

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  20. By the look and sound of your falls, it appears you have had as much rain as we have in Maryland. It has been absolutely drenching many times. Good indoor sewing weather with or without our citizen's version of Lockup: Extended Stay!

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  21. I have finished step 4 of my unity quilt so I am ready for Step 5. This is the first time I have ever managed to keep up with one of these quilts that are done a week at a time. I love the design of Unity.

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  22. I am so glad to live in the country and be able to go for walks like you do with Zoey. It is refreshing to be outside. We are longing for rain here in Manitoba, Canada but are getting ready to seed crops so that is good. Love reading your blog and love your scrap saver system. Going to cut up more trimmings tomorrow when I am off work to add to my baskets and then I want to start sewing them together.

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  23. I do so enjoy reading what you and yours are up to. I can escape for a few minutes while keeping up our home office and "tidying" my sewing room. So I read and watch and then back to tasks at hand. Stay well and keep a-bloggin'.

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