Because it has been the weirdest week of not much machine time at all, and just like the screaming 3-year old who needs a nap, I needed to be grounded for some time out in my sewing room just feeding pieces through.
Do you get that way too?
So I'm starting this post off focusing on that, and we'll get to the other stuff later. I promise.
Do you remember my talking about taking all of those mismatched charm squares that I rarely if ever use, slicing them up and working with them as strips instead?
Do you remember my talking about taking all of those mismatched charm squares that I rarely if ever use, slicing them up and working with them as strips instead?
I needed some simple sewing yesterday, and that is what I tackled.
Strips became pairs while podcasts played.
Piles of pressed pairs.
(Say that three times fast!)
Precuts are just NOT my favorite thing. Quite a few of these "charm" squares were not exactly charming - very seldom are they SQUARE (they tend to be more trapezoidal or parallelogramish than square.) and quite a few of them were 1/8'' shy of being 5'' in any direction - and then there is that danged pinked edge to deal with. Get what I mean?
But if I cut them in strips an use them as strip sets - I can set aside all of the reasons I'm not a fan and focus on what they can become, instead of what they cannot.
Pairs became fours -
And I used my Accuquilt Studio to cross-cut them into something much more useable:
Weee!
The bells and whistles rang as I cranked these through - I love strip sewing with short strip sets as they increase my variety and minimize my repeats of the "same thing" ending up next to that "same other thing." Just wait until you see what these become!
And I could do all of this while ignoring the slightly sore arm, and the barely there nagging headache due to this:
Yesterday was also 2nd booster day.
It's a weird way to celebrate Mother's Day, I know but since there are no retreats happening Mother's Day weekend, what better day is there to do it?
I can lay low today if I need to. I'll be better by tomorrow for actual Mother's Day (Should we even do anything? We have no plans.) and I'll be back in full form when retreats start back up on Wednesday.
Shots were at 10am, so we are almost 24 hours out and really little side effects other than what I mentioned. I may need a nap. I may pop a couple of Excedrin.
The root canal a couple of weeks ago was way worse.
AND - it put us in close proximity of the antique mall to do a second glance at this:
And yes, it came home to reside at the inn!
But as most furniture stories go - the wall where you THINK it will go, turns out not to be the best wall, which means other furniture has to be swapped around and places traded.
The step-back cupboard is now here.
And yes, there was much grumbling from you-know-who about having to empty everything out of the step-back cupboard so that we could move it.
I'll go back over today and put everything back where it goes.
The BEAST (due to the feet and the sheer weight of the thing) now lives HERE.
There will be much use of furniture restorer and wax to happen. But the storage places for all of the things I need to keep close at hand on the ground floor are WONDERFUL.
When the question came of "Are we done accumulating furniture for this house?" I believe I can honestly say YES. All bases are covered.
And by afternoon time today I'll be back playing with my strip sets. Just wait until you see what they become!
Book found on Thursday with Martha.
I love the title page of this book! "And those other heroic self-sacrificing souls who, from time immemorial have taken the places and performed the duties of mother."
Mother's Day is for celebrating ALL who have mothered, including those children of others who have benefited from your care.
One doesn't need to give birth to be a wonderful mother. It goes way beyond biology.
As we celebrate Mother's Day this weekend, I hope remembrances of mothers who have passed on are kind to your heart.
If your personal relationship with your mother is/was a tough and complicated one, I hope you also find time to be gentle with yourself and with your feelings. Mother's Day can be hard for so many.
And for those of us who are mothers in the traditional sense (even if that is a human-made construct) are feeling less than perfect, you are NOT a failure at motherhood. You have done the best you could with what you knew at the time. Enjoy your day of rest and reflection. You earned it.
Mothering and motherhood is truly the hardest job in all of the world, and you have done it to the best of your ability.
We learn as we go. We learn as we grow.
Much love to you all!
Did you enter our Mother's Day Week drawing yet? Those Quiltmaker issues and IronEZ sets are still up for grabs!
Head on over to the Gift-Away post and get your entry in. We'll be drawing for our 3 winners (USA Addresses only please) on Monday 5/9/2022.
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Get out of the safety zone!
Failures are only a sign that we are pushing our boundaries for something much greater.
Vintage whirligig quilt from my collection.
I'll catch you back here on Monday -
13 comments:
Looking forward to what the charm squares will be turned into - I have a bin of old charm squares that I got with a craigslist fabric purchase and am trying to think of a project using them.
HMmmm... got my first booster in Dec... contemplating whether or not I should do #2--sigh probaby will... also!!! the thought of sitting mindlessly strip sewing and pressing is quite delicious... of course that means i shall have to clear my table with the GO Big accucutter machine... I gifted myself that on my 75th birthday, didn't get the "Studio" because of aging shoulders and so far I've been very happy with the gift AND the investment. I hadda laugh at your comments, Bonnie, about charm squares not being square... sigh... the reason to purchase pre-cuts (IMO) would be for accuracy and convenience, neither one happens when uniformity and accuracy are not present. Happy Mother's Day to all who have a maternal bent... and yes, indeed, we did the best we could with what we had at the time! Love and light, peace and blessings, Cats in Carlsbad, CA.
You really know how to peak my curiosity! Can't wait to see what you do with those. I have a stack of mismatched charms left from left right center wins.
Moving and shaking over there to make room. Furniture moving is a project I dislike when moving means unloading. Breakables have to be unloaded. Glad you got to play. I had fun dashing from my new frinds
I say that all the time... I did the best I could with what I knew at that time!
Thank you for all the ways in which you mother your quilting fans :)
Happy Mother's Day!
Will you be sharing the process and products you use to clean/renew/refinish your new acquisition?
Oooh! I hate charm packs! For some reason unknown, when I decluttered this year, I found gads of them….and many I only had one pack. What did I think I was going to make with that?🙄🙄. I’m also looking forward to see where this object goes. I may chop up some layer cakes and make them into charm packs for this project..🤔🤔. Thanks for sharing Bonnie!
I love your quote today! We learn more from our failures than our successes. Look at the light bulb, Thomas Edison tried many, many times before he found the right combination to make a functional light bulb. I remember reading a quote from him that was something along the lines of "I now know of 247 (or whatever the number was) ways NOT to make a light bulb."
I have always told my children "Persistence Pays Off".
Have a wonderful Mother's Day!
I am curious about Bonnie's new project. I have a huge bin of charm packs and a huge bin of layer cakes....I love them both but I need to use them up. I can hardly wait, Happy Mother's Day to you all!
I'm happy to hear that I'm not alone in my displeasure for charm squares! I never understood the purpose of pinked edges, wonky squares, less than 5-inch squares, and the colors/patterns represented. :)
I enjoyed reading this Bonnie.
I appreciate all precuts but they have their usefulness and they certainly have a few pieces that I do not even like. It depends a lot of the designer.
I am happy to know you are tolerating the shots. Happy Mother's Day to you and all of your readers. Stay healthy and full of pep and joy!!
Bonnie, I had my second booster yesterday also. I figured it was a great Mother's day gift for myself. It will take me a few days to get back to normal. In the meantime, my daughter has forbidden me the use of an iron and rotary cutter. Just watching quilting videos and reading quilting blogs in the meantime. I can be slowed but I can't be stopped.
I finally caved and just ordered a digital cutting machine (Cricut Maker) yesterday. Not being in a hurry since I am retired, time is not so much an issue, but the ability to import SVG files for specific shapes to be cut (which do take more time than squares or triangles) rather than purchase individual dies was the deciding factor. Now I just have to find a place to put it!
Post a Comment
If you are commenting as "anonymous" please leave your name at the end of your comment.
Did you know that ad space on this blog provides for all of the free patterns and free mysteries and challenges at no cost to you? Without ads, this blog would not be possible.
Thank you for understanding the many hours that go into this blog 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. :)