Do you see that sunshine?
With spring on its way - it's about to be project season around here as well.
Something we've needed to do is about to happen.
Our porch railings are about 20+ years old and were added at the time the cabin was built.
Old railing on the right, new railing on the left!
I love how the wire mesh doesn't block my view when I'm sitting in a chair the way that the wooden slats did.
One problem though (And this is me speaking as a mom who wasn't consulted) Husbeter Dave and son Jeff who are in charge of this project brought the wire mesh down to the floor of the porch instead of leaving a couple inches of space.
"Isn't this going to make it harder to blow out the leaves come fall?" I asked.
I got looks of "We didn't consider that."
SO....we will see if they will fix that issue, or think it's not much of an issue and can be ignored as "mom talk."
They'll be working on it as weather permits, and today it's supposed to rain so I don't think today will see any more progress on it.
Look what's coming up!
While waiting for the March Quiltvillians to arrive I took a little look behind the brick wall off the back porch at the inn.
There they are! They are coming up!
This made me extremely happy -
Back in the studio: Remember me sharing those sawtooth sashing strips I've started in on?
For years I've been stuffing those cut off triangles form other projects into this tall pretzel jar just waiting for "Some Day."
Getting the colors out of here that I want is proving to be a bit of a problem, so along with reoganizing my sewing station a bit to make it more sewing friendly I did this:
It's now a basket I can pull from easily.
Honestly, it's a bit like an archeological dig in here. Some of these cut off corners are from quilts I bound years and years go.
I've had questions on "how small is too small?" And honestly it depends on the project you are saving them for but to stop myself from being overly ridiculous I "ONLY" save the cut off triangles if the strip or square I am saving the from is at least 2 1/2'' wide. Anything smaller and there is really not a lot to sew with unless you want your finished triangle to end up at 1/2'' or something.
I'm trying to be real here. Half of a 2 1/2'' square used as a stitch and flip triangle I can easily use. Anything smaller?
Well - it just ends up here:
How do you know Bonnie has been paper piecing?
Just take a look in her trash can!
Oh, that blue shirt plaid triangle? Yep. I pulled it back out and sewed it onto a triangle sashing. LOL!
By the time I am done using my fabric there literally isn't anything left.
Last evening's resuming of the hand quilting.
I was tired. I only managed to quilt one hoop's worth of cross-hatching. I've moved the hoop to the next section and it is ready for tonight.
But it is so nice to have that excess batting and backing removed and the edges bound. It makes it so much easier to work with.
Abbeygate will have its pattern release when the hand quilting is finished. Stay tuned on that one.
Throwback Thursday!
Remember this one? Checkerboard rails was our Leader & Ender challenge several years back.
It's still available under the Free Patterns tab if you are looking for a way to sew up a whole bunch of 1 1/2'' strips.
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
This is my plan and I'm sticking to it!
Have a terrific Thursday, everyone!
I'm on the Future Project Preparedness System Plan as well! :-)
ReplyDeleteNew wire porch railing looks nice. It'll be interesting to see if the guys raise it. Happy Thursday, Jenny
Every time a picture of Abbeygate shows up I take in an audible breath - love it and love the hand quilting! Mom talk comment made me laugh. Thank you, a little sunshine to start my day. Carolyn
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I thought I was the only one who fussed about getting leaves off a deck!! Our second-story deck is under oak trees (worse yet - neighbors' oak trees...). I begged my husband and the deck builder to PLEASE leave something - a trap door perhaps - so I could sweep leaves off. The men laughed...the deck builder assured me there would be "space" under the privacy railing for the leaves to go... Well you know what happened. I ended up with "space" alright...if I want to stand there and put each leaf individually through the space, like putting letters in a mail box slot! I am so frustrated every fall. Will never let my husband forget! So Bonnie - get that "trap door" or "doggie-style leaf door" or SOMETHING before it's too late!! Show your husband this post and let him see you're not nuts and not the only one who thinks of this!!!
ReplyDelete"Doggie-door style leaf door." Read what I wrote up there and sheesh, that almost sounds X rated. A door like a little doggie door is what I meant. Time for more coffee.
DeleteI do remember that Checkerboard Rails quilt - put it on my 'someday' list - it's still there :)
ReplyDeleteSince I paper piece, I will save scraps down to 1" square. Sometimes you need a piece that size for the center of a design. I do projects with small PP blocks, so 1" works. Before I toss anything in the trash, I ask myself if it could be PP'ed. Other than that, I don't see much in that trash can that could be saved, except maybe to stuff pet beds. Someone in my guild will take scraps like that for stuffing.
ReplyDeleteI also remember the checkerboard rails. I may make a jelly roll sized donation quilt with this soon. I can't imagine an upper deck without a space, especially with our yard that features 8 mature oak trees and several maples!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely have stash on hand for 100s of quilts. That said, I track my yardage in/out and I have used more than purchased since 2010. I'm fairly stable around 3000 yards. Retirement has me using about 450y/year so it's a fairly short-term size stash right now. I sew primarily for "Sleep In Heavenly Peace" these days gifting 37 last year. If anyone needs a recipient for your art and don't know about them, they started here in Idaho in a very small town named Kimberly (near my hometown). https://shpbeds.org/chapter/id-boise/
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday everyone. I'm off to quilt my next donation flimsy!!!! It's gonna be a FANTASTIC DAY! 😊😊
Your Checkerboard Rails quilt is gorgeous! It reminds me that I still haven't quilted mine. I don't understand how you could have bound your beautiful Abbeygate quilt before quilting. How can you prevent the quilt from puckering as you quilt it?
ReplyDeleteYou must have not been following my whole process. I basted my quilt by longarm machine before starting the hand quilting. It's basically quilted already and shifting can not happen. I am removing the machine quilting (basting) as I hand quilt each area. There is no shifting or bunching. Always time to learn something new :)
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