It’s Monday

Guess what!  It is Design Wall Monday, again.  And although I feel very accomplished this week, all I did was get the top for a table topper done.


As I am sure everyone who reads Judy’s blog, this is the color pallet for June’s challenge.













This was my plan…..


And this was my finished block.





Next came the project plan.


This was the plan and ….


This was the block with the corner triangles.  I hadn’t intended for the block to float but I couldn’t remember the formula for cutting the triangles, decided to err on the side of being too big and then liked the floating effect and left it that way.







And lastly came the completed top: two borders with on point square in a square blocks in the corners.  The top really is square but I was taking this picture this morning in the bright sunshine (couldn’t really see the image) and while I was talking to my daughter on the same phone.  Anyway, I am really excited with how this has come out and hope to begin quilting it later this week.

I am not a pink fan and am always surprised when I run across this fabric in my stash.  I plan to use it again for the binding but that will not even come close to using it up.  The backing will be the same as the striped background fabric in the block.  The topper measures 32” square and will sit on point on our table.

One of the reasons I didn’t spend as much time in the studio this week is that we had a repair (handy) man out to fix the leak we had around the microwave vent.  He found that the shingles are stapled down and the wind and heat had encouraged some staples to pop up and the wind had torn the shingle and allowed rain water to FLOOD in.  He also said that although our roof looks to be in really good condition, several other shingles/staples are popping up.  We had him pound them back down and today he is coming to add a nail or two to all the shingles on the roof to help with this problem.

Then, while he was here we talked to him about putting a roof over our deck (read front porch).  I have always wanted a fiberglass corrugated translucent roof to allow light while still giving shade and respite from rain.  Well, they don’t seem to make that anymore and the “plastic” stuff is awful (read very poor reviews).  So after searching the internet we spent Saturday afternoon at Lowes and Home Depot looking at what they had and have pretty much decided on a heavy gauge tin roof.  I will be talking to the handyman tomorrow as well as checking out what the local builder’s supply places have and the prices.  Then I think we will start the process of building a cover for 33’ of decking.  How neat to walk out the door and not get wet or hit by the sun. 

Color Challenge in the Works

Today I am showing a partial finish.  This is the 8000 member block (Carol Doak’s yahoo list) I blogged about on Monday.  I am so happy with how this block turned out and hope to work tomorrow on the table topper it will become.










I also wanted to share the last two boot blocks.  I plan to finish the applique tomorrow.













This is my current plan for the boots.  The center medallion is planned to be a wagon wheel.  However I am also looking at another possibility.  That will be a job for another day.





Last Saturday and Sunday we had RAIN.  We got 10+” and lots of wind.  And we also had rain in the house, a first for us.  I walked into the kitchen to find water all over the floor.  On closer inspection I found the top of the stove covered with  water and some dripping from the microwave above it.  Inspecting further I found that the microwave was flooded and there was a waterfall coming down the venting to the roof.  We filled the microwave with towels and rotated them through the dryer for 2 days.   Tomorrow we have someone coming to fix the problem.  Again, we have never had to have anyone work on our roof, or anything on it, so we are holding our breath that it doesn’t cost a whole bunch of money to keep the rain out of the house. 

Anyway, while the guy is up on the roof, I will be in the studio sewing. 

Finishes = Yea!!

A finish here.  I cut the bindings yesterday, sewed them together and pressed them this morning and the put them on this afternoon.  I made one long binding and just cut them off when I had gone around each piece.  I can tell you that they are BRIGHT and really make our table look like summer.

I also got the first block of the new Carol Doak BOM done today.  Isn’t it funny that even though paper piecing almost guarantees that you have perfect points I was able to cut off one of them with my picture?  Anyway, I am using two batiks from my stash that I think play very well together.  If I read Carol right this is a two color quilt (a little more with my batiks) so of course there is orange.

 

One of the things I am trying to learn though this BOM is how to figure fabric cutting for paper piecing.  In the past I have just taken a hunk or strip of fabric, pieced it and then cut off what was left.  Doing this left odd shaped leftovers that frequently couldn’t be used for the next piece.  Carol gives very specific directions on how to cut for her designs and there was almost no leftover scraps.  If I can figure out how she determines her cutting directions I can use this with other projects.

 

Since I completed what I had set out for this week I will spend the rest of this evening redoing my “to do” list.  I have swap blocks to piece (fabric is all cut for all 24 of them), a backing to make for the Carpenter’s Star quilt-along starting June 1st, and 3 2011 BOMs to work on.  And that is just a very small list that I hope to make a dent in over this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend and that we all spend some time remembering those who have given their time and lives to keep our country safe and free. 

Late Design Wall, etc.

I am very late in posting today. My design wall hasn’t changed since last week because I seem to have either not been sewing or I have been shoved off in another direction.

I got my “new” featherweight back this week and doesn’t she look great!

As I thought she only needed a few minor repairs to the electrical wiring and she is as good as new. So I spent some time setting up my paper piecing area and began relearning how to do it.

My first problem was that I needed to learn how to use this machine. I threaded it wrong and had to go online to find a picture of how the thread goes on this machine. Of course it is different from the machines I have! And I actually have to stick my head down in that little space to thread the needle, from the inside out. But we got her done.

The next learning part was the foot pedal.

You don’t just push down on it like I am used to, oh, no! You place your foot on the solid knob (right) and then twist or rotate your foot to press down on the button (left). That takes some getting used to.

But the hardest part of this machine is that when I reach up to touch the thread cutting button, it is not there. Every machine I have, except the HQ, cuts the thread, so I have reached for that darn button every time I need to cut the thread.

However, I did get 1/4^th of my first block done, and this will be my “design table” for this week.

This will be a Carol Doak Radiant Star block, when the other three parts are done. And all I can say is that I am glad I like paper piecing because this was not easy. It’s not the pattern’s fault, it is definitely the sewer’s. I made almost every mistake that could be made but I am remembering and will do better on the next one. And, maybe, by January I will have this block made….ya think?