Cool Aqua During a Heat Wave

This week the temperature was like 3 degrees to cremation. Some companies closed their services in the early afternoon because of the heat. The humidity was so intense!

Some of us (like my cat, Raven) aren't bothered much by the heat. I wish I could sleep through this wave too. 

Let's leave that behind and dive into some cool aqua fabric.

I ironed this aqua forest for my April Fool block. Then I saw "it". Whoah! There's something looking back at me in the forest. Lol. How "cool" is that? (It's an abominable Yeti waving.)

Two light aqua blocks were assembled last weekend and a dark one this week. I'm not sure about the teal. Will it play nice with the others? If I remember correctly most of the blocks are light to medium. Is it the only dark one? I need to check this out. I've to search for more aqua fabric too. 

Baby Quilts Kits

I cut more fabric this week for the kits. Since I have a lot of dark blue, I'll make a kit with blue instead of black for the "I Spy with B/W" kit. 

Got the dark blue scrap basket out and from this 

I got this. (I don't know why the photo is so blue. Too hot for the camera to function properly?)  Anywho! 

The basket holds what is not right or not the right size for the kits. The plastic bag has the little bits for crumb blocks. On the left of it is the pile of the "good" dark blue for the kits, to the left of that, Surprise!, some teal was hiding in there as well. On the top step, there's a binding piece and some too-light-to-be-there blue. 

I'm so happy with this progress of scrap sorting that I got the red basket out. I can kit a red and white "I Spy" quilt, right? It would be different. We'll see what comes out of there. 

Same steps as in the previous photo. My deck is not blue. 

Then, I got bored one evening. Fed up of the heat. Too hot to cook or bake. Too hot to clean. Too hot to sleep. Too hot! Too hot! Too hot! I just didn't know what to do with myself. 

In other words, I felt like a teenager looking for trouble. 

Well, trouble was found, lol, in the form of 2.5" squares 

and some strips. Maybe sashing? Nah! 

Got the box of 1.5" squares out and started sewing. 

Still have a long way to go (boy, there's a lot of squares in that little bag), this is what they'll be. The pile of square is close to 2" high still and I got quite a few done.  Will there be enough for a baby quilt? Hopefully! If not, borders will be added. I'm having so much fun with this, instead of working on what I'm supposed to. 😝

EDITED: there are 120 blue squares. How did she packed them all in the little bag is amazing. Anywho, I have 60 done. The count-down is on! 😊

I also did these. No, I'm not starting a new project. Well, indirectly. 

The Hollow 9 blocks are examples to use when we gather for the "Build Some Kits" day at the Artisanat. Some girls in the group might not know what a Hollow 9 block looks like. I'll also bring the  Potato Chip block.

And finally, the usual little 9-Patch blocks made with whatever I get my hands on. 

Hope your weekend is amazing and cool. 

Happy sewing. 

;^)

Want more inspiration? Check these ladies' blogs. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Nina Marie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

It's July and It's Stinking Hot

It will be another humid, sticky, stinky 35 to 40 Celsius here (again) today. Enough, please!  

On to fun things. 

To make an April Fool block, you need a large piece of scrap. Since my purple scrap doesn't amount to much, I had to get some bigger pieces from the local quilting store (read my stash)! 

I wish I could use and finish this purple one from 2009 but, nope, too small.  

Six more were done over the weekend, three on each day. 

Then the last 2 were done during the week. Yay! All the purple blocks are made for that project. 

The pieces pulled from the stash are now part of the scraps, so instead of decreasing the scraps, I added to it. (Sounds familiar, Diann?) 

Today, I'll look for pieces for Flying Home blocks. 

Of course, I did the usual 9-Patch blocks instead of the Rail Fence that need to be done.

Nine Patch are cuter than Rail Fence in my book. Bottom left is a block for the Bonus Point quilt, all purple and orange. Mmmm! So pretty. 

I had to go to Walmart for some personal items and walked to the craft corner for some white threat. 

WELL!  Can you guess what happened? 

Oh, yep! 

These jumped into my arms. I really don't know how that happened. LOL

The black one is for the baby quilt kit "I Spy with black and white squares". So, that one is needed. The others wanted to be adopted. Sigh! What can I say? I have a sensitive heart. 

I did a new Puss in the Corner block in purple. The block used up all the diagonal purple print I had. 

The blue one has been pinned to the design wall for a while now. It's hard to read on the photo but above the sewing machine it's written: You're Sew Amazing. Awwwhhh! It came in a gifted bag. My friends give the best scrap ever. 

Anywho! It's still on the design wall because I can't find something that matches or compliments it. 

The adopted fat quarters were so happy to be rescued that they went to work right away. 

Ta-dah! 

Also did 2 Rail Fence blocks as leader-ender because I felt bad for ignoring it. 

Tonight, we are celebrating my MIL 85th birthday. It's a BBQ. Outside. I wonder how she will enjoy it in this humidity and heat, poor MIL. 

That's all from me. Have a great week. Stay cool. 

;^)

Want more inspiration? Check these ladies' blogs. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Nina Marie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

The Purple Invasion

Last six orange blocks missing were made. Three on Sunday and 

three on the first of July. 

It was fun to just sew. I have acute "fed-up-itis" of cutting fabric. I'll take a break for a while. 

But! As I was getting the purple scraps out, two fabric begged to become April Fool's blocks. Who am I to say no? So, I cut some more.

Where did the orange scrap finished at ? 

Beginning of June. 

End of June. See the difference? Beside the little baggie getting fully stuffed, I don't see much differences. The basket looks like it was fluffed up. 

On to purple, which is a rare colour in my sewing room. 

Two regular Ziploc bags. Not much of an invasion, haha. I hope I'll have more time to sew in July than I did in June.  

Baby Quilts Kits

Some baby kits were cut, tagged and bagged. I love to look at the crate filling up. 

These are milk crate because in Canada, milk comes in bags. They are very sturdy and light (the crates, not the milk bags, lol).  

To be honest, these are not all CUT baby quilt kits. 

The ones in the crate were mentioned in the last post. 

On the deck, from the left, it's a panel with some matching fabric, not cut. The next three are just matching fabric, not cut. All these have no patterns. The ladies can do whatever they want. They are called Surprise Pattern. In the L'Oréal bag are strips for a Jelly Roll Race kind of quilt or a Surprise Pattern. As they wish. If there isn't enough fabric, we can always add border(s). 

The big bag next to the crate is full of strings. I don't know if one of them likes to make string blocks but I'll soon found out. 

Total is 9 kits done. 

Then I did this: 

Not the best lining job but it works. When we'll get together for a "Cutting Scrap Day", each crate will hold a certain size. The crates carry way more than my little boxes so it will be less trip to car to load everything up at the end of the day. They also stack up better because of the ridge they have. 

The lining fabric is almost as old as I am. It's from my mother's stash. I thought it was a good place as any to use it up. If it rips, so be it. 

Today will see me sewing some purple blocks. Maybe line another crate but will definitely grab the graph paper and plan more baby quilts. It will be an easy, lazy weekend. 🧵✂🍹

Hope you find time to do things you enjoy too. 

;^)

Visiting my stitching sisters for more inspiration. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Nina Marie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Surprise! I'm Here

I didn't think I had something to write about but I do.

In the last post, I showed the two Flying Home blocks I did in orange. I thought I had one already done. Surprise! 

I had two already done! The latest blocks are at the bottom.  

Then, I brought them all out and set them together.

With the addition of purple and maybe more yellow blocks, it will be ready to become a top, I think. 

Also assembled these blocks. The 9-Patch Path on the left and Bonus Point on the right. It gave me a sense of accomplishment. 

On other evenings, I'm so tired that I just stand in front of the cutting table and admire some cats, lol. 

The President of the Artisanat called me on Thursday evening. We had a long and productive chat. She was happy to tell me that the Artisanat will supply all the batting I need to move the baby quilts along. I'm so thrilled. She also found 3 more ladies that want to join my group. We are now 14. Then, she said that I don't have to do all that by myself. "Let me know when you are available and I'll book the room for you and the girls. You'll be able to use the long tables to cut the fabric or the batting ... " What else can I say but "thank you from the bottom of my heart"? This project of making quilt kits is just exploding. I am blessed. 

Two April Fool blocks were assembled. In orange, of course. 

More big orange pieces are on the ironing board, all pressed, waiting for me to cut them up and turn them into April Fool blocks this weekend. 

Caught Mr. Robin having a fight with his own image. 

The windows on the upper deck are covered with a mirror film so that the nosy neighbour stop staring at us. But the birds think that there's another male on their territories. There's always something, isn't there? Haha. 

Hope your week is wonderful and it lets you sew, sew, sew. 

Enjoy! ;^) 

 

Visiting my stitching sisters for more inspiration. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Nina Marie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever

Here Comes Orange!

(Sorry for another long post. My last one. I promise.)

What a fun and busy week this was. Am I Following My Weekly Resolution? Not at all, lol. And why is that? Too much work! I was mostly alone at work this week as Olivia had other priorities in her life to deal with. So, I got home too tired to do much. 

But! I did attend our final reunion of Artisanat for the year 24-25 on Tuesday. The theme was Old McDonald's Farm. 

I found a new friend. It was so soft that I almost trade it for Raven. Nnnnaaahhh! Lol. (If you enlarge the photo you will see that I was the scarecrow made out of straw. Like drinking straw. No, I'm not drunk, just a little crazy on one side.) 

Of course, I came home with a bunch of scrap bags. 

During the week someone came to my house to deliver more boxes from her old aunt. 

Lots of not-quilt-worthy fabric. They are strips of thick fabric for ...  cut from mattresses? blinds?

I don't know what but I have a whole box of it. 

And a box of SHIBs (Squirrel Hiding in Boxes, Bags) 

These are garment SHIBs. The red ones are wool and the strips are jersey. I see relaxed-fit midi summer dresses in those. Oh, I wish I had more time on my hands. 

I don't know how to knit but right now I wish I did. 

31 magazines of knitting patterns and home craft of all kinds and for everyone in the family. Dated from 1920 to 1937. 

16 magazines with crochet patterns. The oldest one is 1912! So precious. 

The aunt had a notebook forgotten with the magazines. I remember those kind of notebook with a paper cover of a Holy picture (as if Jesus was that white) and the time table on the back. But I never seen one with this serious security tips about electricity. It must had been when the electricity was a new thing. Imagine that! Electricity is a new thing! and people did not know not to touch it. Wow!  

The aunt also did Petit Point needlework. She finished this one. Some are halfway done. 

Two frames came with the tapestries. 
I did do some Petit Point a long time ago. I want to start doing it again now. 

But then! 

BUT then!! 

I said to a few of you already that I was thinking of recruiting because of the amount of fabric that comes into my place every week. Well, I did AND they responded. 

It went like this. Brought my idea to the president of Artisanat. The committee agreed to my idea. So, I exposed my idea to the group during our last reunion, that maybe some people would like to sew but don't have the room for a lot of fabric. I would make kits for baby quilts, nothing too big, and at the reunion, they can take one or two kits home and assemble them at their own speed. The instruction, picture and fabric would all be in the kit. 

10 people signed up. TEN!! I'm floored. I'm excited and scared at the same time. Okay, since we don't meet until September, I will try and kit as many quilts as I can during the summer. I got one pattern done, with 20 more patterns to go. I'll make several kits of the same pattern. All the ladies who signed up already know how to make quilts. FANtastic!! 

But did I sew? 

Yes! Just a wee bit. 

All 10 blocks for April Fool were done but I couldn't resist this one. So 11 green ones. 

Same for Flying Home blocks. Three blocks is usually what I do each month but ... 

this green-ish teal (that looks more blue against the green) just twisted my arm. So, one more for the month. 

Itsy bitsy sewing done. 

Only one green crumb block and 9-Patch, of course. There was a little bit of that gorgeous print in the new bags and I just had to get rid of that SHIB! One orange 9-Patch and the brown one was another SHIB. I did way more Rail Fence then those but it will be more fun to show them once they are assembled. Hopefully next week I'll have a few blocks to present to you. 

I thought the pile of green scraps wasn't diminishing much when I realized ... 

it's not fabric. It's Raven! He seems to like green. I caught him a few times sleeping there but he never did that with the other colours. Funny cat. 

Care to see my green garden? 

Yep, that's all. I believe a little chipmunk ate the seeds. All that's growing are a few cucumbers. No flowers. I'll plant more seeds this weekend AND store the pots elsewhere. Sigh!  

Now the end of the month comparison photos of green scraps. 

The green scraps at the beginning of May looked like this. . . 

. . . this big pile was added (from gifted bags). The piece at the front went in the stash. 

The end of the green month looks like this . . . 

Three regular-sized Ziploc bags plus a tall plastic bag and the scrap basket overflowing. I did not moved forward with this one, lol. I was looking for that pear and apple fabric when sewing the Flying Home blocks. It never showed up in time. Whatever, it will be used in an I Spy quilt. 

June is my birth month and Angela called my favourite colour: Orange. I'm so happy! 

This is all I have to play with. :^(  There might be more in the gifted bags but I'm not very hopeful as my friends are not "Orange" people. Haha. 

Phew! That was a lot. I hope life treats you well. 

Enjoy! ;^)

Good friends never let you go crazy by yourself. Love this girl! 

 

Come visit my stitching sisters for more inspiration. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Nina Marie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever