I know I can't be the only one!
I had some time to clean up my cutting table at the QPO studio and was making good progress with it.
It feels so good to put things in order, to wipe things down and vacuum things up - and then. SQUIRREL!
I had block parts for Rocky Road to Grayson using 3 methods of construction! Just sitting there on the cutting table.
All I needed to do was complete 3 quick block quarter assemblies and....
There went the whole clean up idea -
Right out the window!
The first method presented is to sew random widths of scraps to the inner triangle on the paper template - just covering to fill. It can be a bit tedious. Lots of starting and stopping, but no rulers are required -
You can see the seams on this construction photo. Sewing in the MIDDLE of a paper template really makes things hard to chain piece. So it goes a bit slower.
But the method I used the most to use up all of the smallest saved scraps in a much faster able-to-chain-piece way?
I pre-pieced my string triangles by cutting paper triangles from phone book pates using the
Creative Grids 45 degree ruler.
Remember me making tons of these?
They go really fast because you can chain sew them - finding the perfect spot to use your scraps all the way to the small piece at the top. You can choose where seams are going to fall - and that is so helpful.
My goal this year has been to really find places to use the smallest of saved scraps to give myself some breathing room. I loved working this way.
Trimming up with the Creative Grids 45 degree ruler.
But what about that third method?
Yes, you can strip sew!
You do end up with some repeats this way, but in the whole of a big quilt - you really can't tell if you spread things out away from each other. The Rocky Road to Grayson pattern shows you all three methods in detail, so you can choose which one works best for the way you like to sew.
The Creative Grids 45 degree ruler makes trimming triangles from a strip set super easy.
When using pre-pieced triangles, I simply remove my phone book paper foundations before centering that pre-pieced triangle over the center unit on the foundation piecing template where I am going to sew on the printed lines to add my background triangles.
I grabbed my pieces, cut some more yellow background, and continued on to sew the 3 more block quarters that I needed for this speedy little clean-up project.
Trimming up! Only 2 more to go!
Trimmed and de-papered -
Ready to sew together!
So super cute!
But I'm not done yet!
My plan is to turn these leftover demo pieces into a cushion cover - So here I go!
Yes! Lola is always on the job!
This part came together quickly. I surrounded my block with a narrow inner blue border -
And then dug into my yellow string bin for a few sets of already sewn yellow string panels that came to me in a scrap box from a friend.
Those string panels were cut to border width!
Oh, Lola!
How cute is this? And so quick!
I quilted it up with a backing layer of something that I didn't really care about (bye bye ugly fabric!) as it's going to be in the inside of the cushion cover.
I've gotten as far as applying the envelope backing and binding!
More photos when it is done and the pillow insert is in place - for now I've got to finish up binding the Boxy Bow Ties quilt, and then on to binding this (which may also happen on the porch at the inn this weekend - the Stitch Mob girls are arriving TODAY!
Which brings me full circle to that cutting table - did I ever get it cleaned up? Well. Sort of.
Now there is the whole "What shall I do with the leftover yellow string panels?" thing!
If you'd like to give Rocky Road to Grayson a try using any of the above mentioned methods -
The printable PDF pattern for Rocky Road to Grayson is available in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store. The introductory price is already marked 25% off - no coupon code required!
The introductory price is good through 8/31/21, and will revert back to full on 9/1/2021.
To sweeten this deal, let's have a Gift-Away!
I will be drawing for one lucky winner to receive a PDF pattern for Rocky Road to Grayson for them AND A FRIEND!
AND!
Our winner (And their friend!) will EACH receive a This n' That Fabric Roll from Cotton to Quilts!
And yes, there are other colors available (neutrals too!) so go give them a look-see. I love the variety they provide.
Fabric prize must be shipped to a USA address. If you are drawn and live outside of the USA, we can ship the fabric prize to a friend inside the USA who can then forward it on to you.
To be entered to win, visit the original post HERE! I will draw for our winner (and their friend) on THIS COMING Friday, 8/27/202. That's only a few days away, folks!
My road lead through here yesterday.
I made a quick trip down to visit son Jeff, Ashlyn & Casden yesterday afternoon.
While Casden was napping (Kindergarten can wear a body out!) Jeff took care of preparing our dinner while Ashlyn and I headed out for much needed pampering time with pedicures.
I had promised her one for MOTHER'S DAY, but yesterday was the first day the stars aligned for both of our schedules.
And no photos happened - because that was the last thing on my mind as I enjoyed the time we sat and relaxed in massage chairs while our feet were pampered, and then arrived to their sweet home for a meal of linguini, salad, garlic bread and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.
I'm so glad they are only an hour away!
And as I look at the clock, it's heading up to 9am and I've got to get a move on to have everything ready for the Stitch Mob.
More fun to come -
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Vintage bow tie quilt top from my collection.
These quilty folks and others I have met on this quilty journey we are living make me feel just this way!
It’s an awesome experience, and there is so much more yet to come.
However you spend your day today - I hope you find something to laugh out load about!
Have a wonderful Wednesday, folks!
That happens to me every time I try to have a good straighten up Bonnie! I reason that in the long run, it’s a little better not to just put out of sight those quick(ish) “it just needs a bit more and it will be gone for good” things and just do it. It does feel good.😉
ReplyDeleteI love the photos of Lola giving you the judgmental look as if she's saying "just say NO to squirrels"! Such a great idea to turn a leftover block into a pillow to match the quilt!
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to this. I started to declutter my fabric closet yesterday because I had just finished making a sample quilt for a fabric shop and since I wanted to get it done quickly I shoved other things onto shelves in that closet. Time to pay the piper...except that I came across unfinished projects...and well I decided to put all the clutter into one bin....for a later time! Yup, a squirrel moment. Maybe tomorrow I will feel motivated to organize????
ReplyDeleteSister, Mom, aunt and I are headed to our favorite Mennonite quilt shop today for some retail therapy. We ALWAYS have a great time together at this shop!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bonnie. This post has made me smile on a difficult day. I am exciting about this new quilt pattern. I have recently started saving my strips and wasn't sure how I would use them. The phonebook pre-cut triangles look like the method I want to try and I might even already have that ruler (Creative Grids are my favorite rulers!!!) Happy stitching!!!
ReplyDeleteSo great that life is allowing for some sweet family time.
ReplyDeleteSuper cute pillow form... I love the "woof"fabric...
ReplyDeleteIt’s like that book “ if you give a mouse a cookie”
ReplyDeleteThanks for the peek at the different methods used in your new pattern. I was really on the fence about whether to get it or not, but now I'm convinced and heading over the the shop.
ReplyDeleteCreative Grids rulers are the best. I love the dots on the back so they don't slip.
ReplyDeleteA pillow is a good way to use an extra block. String borders and a quick quilting.
I haven't gotten my Quilt Machine unburied since I got home yet. Gotta get some oil into it before I tackle my Granddaughters Quilt top.
Siempre me pasa eso. Y termino con tener más telas por todos los sitios.
ReplyDeleteYa sabe mi familia que el dÃa que cuando vengan a mi casa y todo este recogido, que se preocupen porque algo no funciona bien. Gracias por los ratos entretenidos que paso siguiéndote. Y más ahora que mi compañero falleció el 30 de julio.
Se llamaba Patch y tenÃa 12,5 años. Lo hecho de menos en todo momento.
Gracias Alicia!! For those who don't speak Spanish, Google Translate for the win: "That always happens to me. And I end up having more fabrics all over the place. My family already knows that the day when they come to my house and everything is collected, that they worry that something is not working well. Thanks for the moments"
DeleteBonnie, thanks for sharing the translation for us.
DeleteSeems that a “clean off the cutting table” ALWAYS results in following a squirrel for something!
ReplyDeleteLast year, I tried to spend as much time as possible with my 20-year-old granddaughter as she was attending school here. I got to know her as an adult, and she helped me find more contemporary music, helped me with technology, and made me laugh out loud when she would roll her eyes at me. She moved back to MN to continue her education, and I miss all of those things we used to do together. Sniff, sniff.
Hi Bonnie: No, You are not alone. It happens to me every day. I start out doing/ looking for one thing and get side tracked, end up doing several things, then remember; " Oh, Yeah, I was going to look for such and such, I was going to start a load of clothes, then go to the garden, etc. It's a wonder I get anything accomplished at all!
ReplyDeleteI just returned home from a 3/4 day road trip. I went to Wasilla for two days of long arm training, one morning was spent learning about Pro-Stitcher, as I will get one in a year or two. The other was one on one learning more about my machine, answering questions, and of course getting more fabric. They have totally different fabric than what we have locally. Then yesterday was spent shopping in Anchorage, and hitting CISTCO on the way out of town to come home.
I even went looking at, testing out adjustable base beds, mattresses, new recliners, looking at dressers, etc.
It is wert and soggy here, and I have lots to accomplish yet, like finish planting berry bushes and get my front flower beds made!
Donna
Kssilof, AK
THIS is why I read your blog every day (except Sunday!!)!! I have only TWO UFOs left that require finishing blocks, and the one next up is Bonnie Hunter's "Virginia Bound" (the pattern is in Bonnie's "Scraps & Shirttails" book) I think this same string piecing on the triangle technique will work for the inner point construction, even if it is a slightly different angle! Virginia Bound is another wonderful Bonnie Hunter quilt that I started years ago when Bonnie came to Virginia to teach (and she is so fabulous!) and I want to finish it, but it has been languishing. I hope this new construction idea will help me to get it finished! Thank you for all you do Bonnie!! Cheers from Lois in Florida!
ReplyDeleteTo clean up you often have to make a mess first. Yesterday got 25 years of batting scraps organized into what is usable, 2 bags ready for donation and 6 inch squares cut for a new to me quilt as you go string block technique for donation quilts. Have put aside some pieces for a sister quilter who makes darling bags too. Cleared a big hamper for other storage in the process. Now for a vat of 1 1/2 strips.
ReplyDeletethis is exactly why my sewing space is in a jumble. I went in after dinner yesterday wanting to do something in there and cleaning should have been the priority. But as I often do I will pull out something to read and it's usually a Bonnie Hunter book and I found a pattern in Adducted to Scraps that will use up my pink scraps. So I stated stitching HST and worked until about 10 pm. So that will be my go to filler project between others that I want to work on. I have a winter blue and beige bird quilt all sandwiched and ready to start quilting . But I am not a fan of that part of the process. so it sits there. Maybe today???
ReplyDeleteWhen I get distracted like that , I call it Quilters’s ADHD!
ReplyDeleteIn our home we call that the ""but first. . ." syndrome!
ReplyDeleteLots of squirrels at my house!!
ReplyDeleteLove those blocks, great lesson for the different methods. Thanks.
SO, clearly you don't speak Cat. Lola is quite emphatically telling you to get your stuff off her table!!! Unless, of course, you're giving her treats, in which case, carry on.
ReplyDelete