Saturday, November 10, 2018

Squirrels!

OK, so I succumbed. There I was, just sewing along, checking off items on my sewing To-Do list, month after month. Three finishes in August, three in September, four in October. Then out of the blue....


It had to happen. I was bored hurting  Oh heck, no excuse. I just wanted to do some Christmas stuff.  It began with a real, planned project on my WIP list, Let it Snow. I finally managed to get the da** thing quilted. The dense snowy swirl design took four bobbins-worth of thread. Never. Again. Yes, I’m icing my shoulder as I type this.


OK, so my squirrels swirls leave a lot to be desired. Don’t look too closely. Of course, by saying that I realize that you WILL look too closely.... So here is a close up of the wonky swirls. Feel free to shake your head and cluck you tongue. I’ll wait until you’re done....


Let it Snow still needs binding and a small hanging sleeve in back, which will happen today. When it’s done, I’ll do a happy dance and finish post, as this is on my Finish-Along list for this quarter. The rest of the sewing squirrelly projects are not. But let’s take a peek anyway, shall we?

This is a table runner made from cute wonky trees. It’s just pin-basted for now. It will be quilted with a simple stipple this week. The trees are made by layering three 8-inch squares, right sides up and cutting. I used a tutorial from the Block Lotto group, but there is a similar free tutorial HERE.  I used up my old red and cream scraps here as well as some leftover green from Bruce’s Groovy Guitars quilt. Next time I do one of these, I’ll use more contemporary fabrics.


And I had lots of little squares of fabrics that I’d ordered a few years ago from Spoonflower. Cousin Kim gave me the idea to make coasters out of them. So, here they are, all 20 of them. They’re layered and quilted and the edges are stitched. Kim will get 12, we’ll keep 8.


And we needed a tree skirt. So this happened. It still needs to be layered and quilted. That will probably happen this week. The backing fabric will be that cute zig-zag.


Rainbow Scrap sewing? Um.... well..... I DID get Exploding Boxes basted. That will be quilted and finished this week for a reveal next weekend. Ish. And speaking of basting quilts, I’ve been using the quilt basting spray again. Or should I say STILL? There’s more in those 505 Quilt Basting Spray cans than I originally thought. With my current can, I spray basted California Poppies, Let it Snow and Exploding Boxes. I do pin the edges because I get a little spray-shy about not coating the surrounding areas with spray when I use it. But there is still more in the can. I’m definitely going to order more of this stuff! My shoulder is happy about avoiding a bazillion safety pins.

I’ve also been working on my On Ringo Lake. The first diagonal rows of one block and three blocks are sewn. The next row of five blocks is just pinned. Hopefully it will look neater after being sewn. And then there is the next row of seven waiting in the wings. I’m torn between going the distance (after the row of seven would be two rows of nine before reducing down to 7, 5, 3 and 1) or just doing two rows of 7 and then reducing. If I do the latter, it would leave 18 blocks for the back or another project. And it would be a manageable size for me to quilt. Still thinking on this...


I’m linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge (Saturday) and Oh Scrap! (Sunday). 

By the way, if you like Kona cotton solids, JoAnn’s has restocked their colors and even has a dedicated section for them now. Their regular price of $8.99 per yard is ridiculous, but if you get your hands on a 60% coupon - which happens regularly if you get their flyers or subscribe to their app on your phone - you can pick up Kona for $3.60 per yard. So far I’ve stocked up on white and black, but I intend to get some grays, red, etc. 

14 comments:

  1. Oh be still my heart..what lovely Christmas (squirrels--lol) pieces.;)))) No wonder you caved...
    and personally I've never even dared to try SWIRLS (my head is swirley enough--or is it squirrelly enough these days with my allergies--and as hubster says: "So, what else is new? hahaha) But I digress--as per usual...;000

    Really nice work on these and your Ringo Star--well, you are a braver gal than I am...I
    truly cannot take on mysteries--something about not knowing what they will throw at me to do next...too much like my working days....:

    (too much like accompanying music students--oops they already started? Or skipped how many measures? ON STAGE in front of an audience--Ye gods!! Now what? and how can I avoid looking totally lame?) But, as I said : I digress--- YET AGAIN..
    Hugs your wordy, whirley friend---
    ( and Do you remember Joanne Whorley on That Was the Week that Was?) Julierose

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  2. Yous swirls look just fine to me! That pattern they're on, though, keeps calling my name. I'm holding off, though, until I really decide what I'm going to do exactly. So instead I'm chasing my own squirrels. Your quilts and projects are all so beautiful and festive!

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  3. I think your squirrels AND your swirls look great! This spoken from a woman who has lots of squirrels but has never tried even a single swirl... :) I'm so sorry they caused you shoulder pain, though. Hope the ice is helping!

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  4. Unheard of! You chased a squirrel, caught it and finished it. In our family, we run to the window, stare at the squirrel longingly and then go back to napping.

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  5. Love your squirrels and your swirls look fine to me. I’ve really been trying to resist the squirrels but who know what will happen next week! Great work Cathy!

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  6. Squirrel? It looks like you followed the sound of sleigh bells!! :o))

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  7. Look at all those great squirrels! Great job capturing them!
    I totally wimped out on the size of my Ringo - I just made one row of seven blocks and then started tapering again. I'll have a nice square quilt that will live in the recliner by the pellet stove. Nothing wrong with small quilts!

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  8. All I can say is WOW!! Those swirls are perfectly snowy.
    We are commemorating Veterans Day today. Lest we forget.
    xx, Carol

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  9. I love the look of your swirls! They look like cinnamon rolls to me and are perfect for the background as swirling snow. My On Ringo Lake is not finished either. I've had all the units pieced for some time now but, no design wall. I've been agonizing about what to do with it. If I didn't have all the sashing pieces made, then it wouldn't be so difficult, but I don't want to waste all that work either. I would like to do the mystery this year but I don't like the color combo and haven't been able to come up with a better one yet. Are you doing the mystery quilt?

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  10. I sympathize with your angst about doing swirls. I did large swirls on a Scrappy Mountain Majesties quilt I made from my brother-in-law and many of them looked more like ET heads than swirls. It didn't help that I used a gray thread that showed up against the darker sections of the blocks. I should have used a different darker thread color for the dark sections. But he loved the quilt anyway, so that's all that matters. I'm just watching the squirrels outside running around madly burying black walnuts everywhere. I've got to finish quilting a baby quilt for the baby next before he celebrates his first birthday!
    Pat

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  11. The Snow quilt is so cute! I love the peppermint swirl candies. And snow swirls too fast to tell if they are perfect. You will enjoy the tree skirt for years to come, so pretty. Take care of your shoulders, friend.

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  12. I think your swirls look great! It's all about the texture, right? And that impression of flying snow. Works perfectly with the little trees :) Congrats on such a cute and squirrelly finish!

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  13. Hi Cathy! I laughed right out loud, even though I was reading the title during the Packers almost scoring a touchdown!! Everyone looked at me??? I just shrugged. I know exactly what you mean about succumbing to a squirrel. I DID TOO! Me, with six projects that have to get finished by the END of this year. SIX!! And your picture that says squirrel. Too darn cute. Do you really NEED an excuse?? Here among friends, we all understand. You don't need a reason, an excuse, nothing. (They finally scored, by the way.) So very cute!! All of it. And thanks for the heads up on the Kona at Joann's. I don't need - NEED - any, but they have been hounding me with those 60% off coupons. Day after day, day after day. I save them, delete them, try not to read them. Now I at least have something to use the darn coupon on if I do succumb myself. Happy Sunday to you! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  14. I laughed right out load at 'squirrel!!!!' - so funny (but, oh so, apt!). As for your wonky swirl quilting - ummm, my dear, have you ever seen it snowing and windy at the same time. Wonky swirling snow - so it was a brilliant design element on your part. And, rather brilliant as well to create coasters from those squares. Would be a wonderful use for full-sized quilt blocks too - use them as mug rugs. You're welcome.

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