Catch 22?

I work and work, but I'm getting nowhere. Ever got that feeling? 


There were, in the past two weeks, a good number of job postings up my alley. Out of all the applications I sent, only one turned into an interview. None of the applications came to fruition. I have another interview on Monday morning. I know I will get this job just because it isn't a job I want. It will help to pay the bills while I keep searching though. The quilting group and I are going up to the cottage at the end of February for a weekend of quilting. I don't want hubby to pay for MY vacation. Hence, the (desperate) need to find a job. Fingers crossed. 

Anywho! What happened this week besides the boring stuff? 

The Hole in the Barn Door had its white border sewn. That poor quilt's been lingering on the rocking chair for so long. The last I worked on this quilt was in October 2021. I've worked on the last border on and off, but the quilt itself became my Sleeping Beauty. (My cat must love this one because there's cat hair all over it, lol.) 

Now, here's the Catch 22! I would like to add another scrappy border to it. 

Something like this. 

What do you think? 

Too much? 

One last picture. I definitely need to fix that wavy white border. 

Now if I add the scrappy border, it will mean that this quilt is still NOT ready for quilting. Sigh! 

On another note: green! 

Between the house cleaning, the job searching and the blue Snowflake, the greens were neglected somewhat. I managed to do a few 9 Patch. What else is new? 

Umh! 

These blocks?

It is inspired by Frog Quilter.  The quilt was in her header for a long time and I promised I would make one every time I visited her blog. Now that she has removed it from her header, I'm missing it. It's time to make my own. It's called Stained Glass String blocks. 

I know, I know. 

I said I wouldn't start an RSC block this year and concentrate on finishing UFOs but ... I lied. 

This one appeared on my design wall. It came to me through another blogger's post. Could you, please, stop making beautiful quilts? I'm trying to finish a few of my own, you know. 😂😂😂😂

Then, Angela did an awesome Antique Tile block! Oh! No! Not temptation again! Did I mention Catch 22? 

Yesterday, Friday, I remembered that the Artisanat's challenge for our next meeting is hearts. (Again? It was heart last February!) I only have one heart quilt so I had to make something else, right?

My heart quilt in Log Cabin blocks was presented last year at the Artisanat meeting.

 Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday. I better get a-moving! 

I quickly put this one together. A dark pink thread in the heart and white for the background. Today, I will deal with the end threads and binding. It's only 8 inches.

A cute pink paisley piece for the back. I guess this is my official switch to red. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

;^)

And now, it's time to show what you were up to this week. Come and join us. 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

NinaMarie at Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever 

Not Much

I didn't sew much this week. I couldn't focus on anything and ended up all over the place. I blame the storms. We got our fair share of the 10 inches of snow they were predicting. (No snowman this time.) The storm system sent me into a frenzy of cleaning. (Seriously! Cleaning?  What was that all about?) All I could think of was cleaning the house. That was weird!

Anywho! Some tidying-up found the white borders for the Hole in the Barn Door quilt. 

Hole in the Barn Door scrappy quilt

Yay! It isn't sewn because it needs a good ironing session. It was somehow put back with the white scraps! What's with me?

If only I could stay focused when I'm putting things away, this would never happen. Cleaning is such a boring job that my mind wanders all over while my hands work. If my hands could talk I would never have to search for things. Right? Right! 

Slow stitching was dishcloth knitting this week, and the week before too because I couldn't have knitted three dishcloths in one week. I'm not that fast! But it was fun. All different sizes because I don't count how many stitches I cast on. They are big enough for my hands. 

The pillowcase is done. I followed this video by Crafty Gemini. Because the cat fabric was too short, I had to improvise by adding another flannel fabric (I picked the snowflake one, of course!) and didn't follow all of her instructions. 

Pillowcase in the snow 

It isn't perfect, but it's my first one. Flannel has a tendency to stick together. It would be easier with simple cotton fabric. I'll make more using this video though; it is simple and very well explained.  

While I searched for a flannel that matches the cat fabric, I found this baby print. 

 

It is perfect for the backing of Rainbows on Sidewalk. It is a soft mint green. Very gender neutral. 

Rainbows on the Sidewalk

Should I quilt it with white thread or black, or even a coloured one? Let me know what you would do, please. Thanks. 

And that's all for me. 

Have a great week, everyone.

;^) 

I'm joining these talented ladies to see some lovely creations. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching

Alycia for Finished or NOT Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

All Over the Place

It must be the full moon because I just can't stay put. Painting the house is coming along ... not so fine. 

The background colour is waaayy too orange even for me. It needs to calm down a notch or two. Let's revisit that colour mixer. 

My design wall is very busy with all kinds of projects.

A light blue crumb block is finished. 

Another orange one got done too. Yes, I know, orange is so last month but it was almost done and I wanted to finish it. 

Pink gave me a very light orange solid fabric and I just had to turn it into this Buckeye Beauty variant block. 

Then, there's the Hole in the Barn Door borders. I set them on the floor to take a picture. It was easier that way. 

Will the borders be on three sides only? I have no idea why I haven't started the fourth one. I guess I'm just funny that way. I will fix that today. 

A dark green placemat is also taking shape. I don't have enough light blue fabrics to fill a placemat so I decided to make the Dark Green placemat since I didn't have time to do it during Dark Green Month. Let me rephrase that. I have enough light blue fabrics but the variety is lacking. 

While searching for suitable greens for the placemat I found a dark neutral and a Framed 9-patch block was born. 

Field of Poppies has all its poppies blocks quilted. On with the next blocks in white thread. 

I'm starting to sound like an overachiever but I'm not. My sewing room looks like a mini tornado passed through it. The colours, the textures, the prints, on the wall, on the floor, on every flat and not-so-flat surface, it's overwhelming ... but fun! Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful week everyone. 

;^) 

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

For Orange Lovers

What a lovely month this was. If you read this blog just every now and again (or weekly), you know exactly why this was such a lovely month for me. The best part is sharing the photos, so let's do that.


Many interruptions kept me away from my sewing machine this week but I did sew a bit. 

Like these little bits for the sashing of The Hole In The Barn Door Quilt. (not yet trimmed.) Follow this link to see the quilt which I last worked on during the Orange month of 2021. 

Do you secretly challenge yourself with your sewing? 

Here's what I mean. I did 5 orange Star Bloom blocks. Then, for Jericho Wall blocks, I decided to use only fabrics that weren't used in those 5 blocks so the quilts won't look like twins of a different mother. You know what I mean? I believe I have enough orange to pull this through. 

I used some arrow fabric in this one ...

and some books for the second one. 

More blocks are cut and are ready by the sewing machine for the next sewing session. 

I have just finished, yes at 4 p.m., I finished sewing down the binding for the Table Scrap Challenge. 

Ta-Dah! 

I'm head over heels in love with this one. It is the best placemat so far. I might be a little biased in this statement but look, the first string is exactly in the corner. Wow! The cow fabric is all that I have and I made it work! The white fabric was set aside for a special quilt but this placemat is FOR ME, so out came the GOOD STUFF. 

Can you see the kitty's shadows on the white fabric in this picture? That's what makes it so special. 

The points of the triangle are present, compared to being cut off like they are on other placemats. 

Oh, I know it isn't perfect. Nothing is. That binding corner needs to be redone I think. It was the quickest binding job I've ever done and it shows, haha. Anywho! I love it. So this is my entry for the Table Scrap Challenge. There's no embroidery but there's a chicken! 

This picture shows the true orange colours. Bright enough? It matches my personality, lol.  

That's all for now. There are still a few days left in August to sew more orange. Let's go! 

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy 

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Joy for the Table Scrap Challenge

and Cynthia on Sunday for Oh Scrap! 

Orange Sewing and Much More

Are you tired of hearing about the Hole in the Barn Door? Well, your misery is almost over, lol. 

More sashings were done...

... only three more to go. Yay! 

The assembling process has begun. 

Not sure what has happened at this intersection but no amount of pressing will flatten this out. The seam ripper rescue team has been called. 😋

And then... 

Hole in the Barn Door is a top! 

There are so many fabrics in here. One day, I'll sit down and count the pieces ... Buhahahaha! 

Do you see circles? When I look at one block, I see circles in the corners of the block. I didn't know it would do that. It's cool. 

I am using my DS2's empty room as a photographing room. All my pictures were dark because it is raining again here. Then it dawned on me - I have a vacant room with two fluorescent lights! Awesome! It was my sewing room when the boys were small. Now, one boy has left the nest. Sigh! 

Mommy, where is E? 

As I connected the last rows together, I did this little sewing machine as a leader-ender. 

It is so fun, I want to make some more. It's a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop. It comes in different sizes and I did the 6" one. I don't know why it looks so crooked in the photo. 

But before I embark on anything, I need to clean the mess a crumb quilt can leave behind. 

It needed lots of variety of colours and prints. Every bags of little pieces I have are present or emptied on the cutting table. At the top right you can see that even the drawer of my desk is open in order to have more "flat surfaces" to place bags. I'm quite funny that way. 😁

I found something at the thrift store I didn't know I needed until I saw it. Don't you like it when that happens?

IKEA's storage with baskets. The price I paid barely covers the cost of the baskets. It will be put to good use as I clean and reorganized the sewing room. 

That's all for now. Take care, everyone. 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Tiny Little Bits of Fabric

I am still working on the Hole in the Barn Door Quilt.

Another orange block was made ... because you can never have too much orange in my book. :^D  It has some bees and tomatoes. 

More sashings were done too. I still have miles of those to do. 

A rabbit, a cat, and lots of flowers. 

Little birds and another rabbit. My friends have such interesting leftovers. 

Here's that cat again. I love this one. Sorry for the blurry image but you can see that I had a lot of fun with the middle piece in the purple block on the right. 

Christmas lights and laundry along with the lyrics of a song I do not know.  The smiley face in the corner is a giraffe. 

And of course, this cat that I also love. 

"Mom, please, I am not ready for pictures. Let me wash up."

Well, hurry. I don't have all day. Can you say Hi! at least? 

"Hi, everyone."

I have to drive 4 hours round trip to get a car seat for my son. He will turn it into a video game racing car. Oh, the things we do for our children, haha. Hopefully, I'll get some sewing time after. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Beth at Love Laugh Quilt
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch

Sewing, Rain and Procrastination

That resume my week very well.

More tissue covers were made last Sunday, bringing the grand total to 30 little gifts.

They were very well received by the girls at the office who were all ohs and ahs over them. 

These are my four favourites ... so far, haha. 

I did a lime green block before I knew which colour Angela picked for October.  Great minds think alike. 

There's still a lot of work to be done on this crumb-border quilt and I won't stop just because September is over. There are way too many bags of fabric all over my sewing table to put them all away.  Since I found a white fabric that works, I might as well get the blocks all done while I'm up to my neck in tiny little bits. Right? 

Lime green is missing in the picture has it's under the needle, getting a nice, colourful border. 

It's raining here again so taking nice photos is practically impossible. 

Hope to have better pictures next weekend. Have a great one and take care. 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Beth at Love Laugh Quilt
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch