Leap Day!!

What are you doing with your extra day?
I am preparing for a brand, spankin new month!!

While finishing up Auntie Nyla's Coffee Time table runner I kept thinking "What am I going to do with this?" 
My dining table is round and I tend to leave it bare.  The runner is really too big for the countertop under the coffee-making things.  Then I remembered the most-appealing "Small Quilt Wall" I once saw somewhere on the internet. 
Here is an example: 

So, now, I too shall have a Small Quilt Wall!

Coffee Time is mounted above Misunderstood.  And, you might recognize the Happy Camper small quilt from July, 2021.  

Next item to finish and add to the wall is Snugly Bugly.

Snugly Bugly has a story....HERE

This one, lonely block was part of a BOM from Orange Quilt Bee in Orange, CA. Each month was packaged up with the pattern and the fabrics.  I bought them all, but only ever completed one block.  All the blanket stitch was done by hand....took   F O R E V E R!  I should have switched to doing it by machine. 
But, Water under the bridge...

After announcing on FaceBook the remaining kits were free, they did go to a good home.  Hopefully she finished what I did not.

This one block will be quilted and bound and a label added for historical purposes.... it was for Cash when he was a youngin' (he is now 17) and then add it to my new Small Quilt Wall. 

And, What is on my March UFO list?  THREE more small wall quilts!!

Pretty Little City

by Muppin's Sewing Emporium

And part of a sewing panel (purchased from Muppin's). 

This will make two.

The wall quilt for my Sister Wife was from this panel.  HERE

 

 

SSOOOoooo looking forward to March! (It's my birthday month, too.)

I've already changed out my door hanging, that's how excited I am!!

P.S.  Happy Birthday to you if you happen to be a "Leapling."

Intervention

 ...I think I need one...."During an intervention, people gather together to face their loved one, talk about the effects of their addiction and ask them to accept treatment."

....or some other sewing related doo dad....

Am I addicted?  Yes, I suppose I am....I have way more projects than I can ever finish in a Month-of-Sundays
and yet I've added two more to the list.

So, here is what happens....on Friday nights (right after Zoom Ukulele Jam)  from 7:00 to 8:00 pm Central Time my friend, Cheryl Slaboda of Muppin's Sewing Emporium streams live on YouTube and FaceBook.  Each week she demonstrates some sort of needle craft like ruching or rouleau or making tiny strawberry pincushions.  It's always fun and interesting.

Well, one Friday evening it was all about these porcelain doll bodies used to make pincushions.  She gets these from all over, Germany, Japan, etc.  And who could resist!?  Obviously not me.  I rushed down to the shop the very next day!!

 

 

Yes, I got hooked...but I got a really good deal.

Watch the episode for the pincushion doll HERE.
(You can see at time stamp 46 where I caved....) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheryl is so creative and stocks unique items in her little shop in downtown Paducah.   Coming to the AQS Quilt Show in April?  Go see Cheryl!!
And notice this pattern was produced for Muppins,
Cheryl designed this Pincushion Doll Pattern herself!  She is a very talented lady.

Tune in on Friday night.   Click HERE to subscribe on YouTube.
See her shop HERE.

The other item I just could NOT resist....Steampunk Kitty by eQuilter.com.

The very first time I saw this panel last year I thought "it's King Louie!!!" 
But, I didn't buy it right then...I waited and I'm not kidding this panel sold out in ONE DAY!

Sometimes when eQuilter has a popular panel, they do a second print run...so I waited...and Waited...and WAITED.  Finally I emailed them and asked if they were going to do a second printing.  

To my amazement I received a very prompt reply*  and Yes, there would be a second printing in January, 2024.

As soon as it became available, I snapped one up.  

Not paying attention, the panel did turn out to be much bigger than I thought it would be.  Too big for a wall quilt at 36" X 44".   
So, it will be a lap quilt.  

 

Firing up EQ8** I designed a pattern.

 

It's been so long since I've done anything in EQ8, I'm amazed
I even remembered how to upload a picture of the panel and design interesting borders.
Finished Size 68.5" X 76.5"

You might remember the last Steampunk lap quilt I made. 
Aquatic Steampunk. Also from eQuilter.com A lap quilt for Sabrina, Christmas, 2021.  HERE

 Do you need a good idea for panels? 
eQuilter.com has a lot of FREE patterns.

 

 

I'd be a liar if I said "no more fabric, no more panels, no more fun sewing stuff until..." 
So, why even go there???  

There are two road trips in the works, one to Indiana with my sister and one to Texas with my Babes.
Perhaps there'll be some Quilt Shop stops along the way....So, who knows?

  * I have always had good customer service from eQuilter.com.
** Electric Quilt 8

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

What's Under Your Needle This Week? 

 

My projects for February....

Finishing a table runner started by my Quilting Auntie Nyla, Coffee Time.

 

I could not even tell you how long ago Auntie made this table runner, she passed it down to me before her passing
... 5 years ago already?  The very least I can do is quilt it and bind it and get it out of the UFO queue. 

The cute little cups are needle-turn applique.  If memory serves me she was going to hand quilt this.
I'm not a hand quilter,  I'm just sewing straight lines.

She loved to do needle-turn and she did beautiful work.  She tried to teach me... bless her heart.  I miss her so much! 
(There is some slight puckering...I don't think she used any sort of spray basting.
It is too late to go back and spray baste now as all the applique is done.  Oh, well, DONE is better than PERFECT, right?)

 

 

 

 

 Hat-on-a-Cat for March

Working on Binding.
I wasted an entire evening quilting this...I forgot to put my walking foot on....I do not know where my brain was!

Sewing along I kept thinking "why is there so much puckering....?!*^?"

Finally the light bulb went on .... I did consider leaving it but in the end Jack and I had some quality time.

 

 

 

Fran is back from the Spa*  The technician said "what a great machine."  (Boy, don't I know it!)

I did inquire about getting a new case for her and he said "zero chance."  There is just no source.  Darn.

On The Road Again Memorial

The last item on my list for February is Auntie's memorial.  It needs quilting and binding.  I am finally going to set up the Flynn and give it a whirl, and here is were Fran can show her stuff!

2024 Is the year I'm either going to use it, or lose it!  I have had this poor-man's quilting frame for far too many years. 
It's time to either figure it out or thank it for it's service and pass it on. (Well, it didn't really "serve" but it wasn't his fault.)

 

 

 

 

Speaking of passing it on....I tried using this laser light for sewing straight lines....nope, didn't work for me at all.**  Could not keep the little light ball straight.    Into a baggie it went and into the "give away" pile.  I could not even thank it for it's service because it has not served!


And with that, I'm swearing off gadgets....no more new-fangled sewing gadgets. 
OK, drawing the lines for HST*** might take longer, but it ALWAYS WORKS! 
(Can you tell how much this thing frustrated me!)

Now that False Spring has passed and we're back in the COLD weather,
I don't feel so bad staying in and neglecting the yard.
Time to finish up these February Projects!!

 

 

*    English's Sew & Vac
**  You might recall I bought this at the Paducah quilt show last year (2023.)
*** HST = Half Square Triangles

Instant Everything!

There's Instant Pots, Instagram, Instant Coffee (ick...)  Now we have Instant Quilts !!!

A nice byproduct of Karen Brown's De-Clutter Challenge is uncovering buried treasures.
And while I don't have a Mount Scrapmore,* I do have scraps...and I'm determined to use them!

Fellow quilter, Susan Jones, Suggested the Potato Chip Quilt. (Our FB exchange.)

It looked so familiar....Hold The Phone! Think back....wasn't I working on something like this?
Why, Yes, Yes I was!  May, 2017!  That was SEVEN years and a life time ago!!!  Bonnie Hunter's Crayon Box! 
And I know EXACTLY where it is in my studio!

 I can use these as Leaders and Enders, or just some easy, mindless sewing.

Instant Quilt !!!

*     Mount Scrapmore - Karen Brown's label for all the mounds of fabric scraps you feel compelled to keep.
**   There are a lot of  Bonnie Hunter Videos on YouTube using Leaders and Enders.
*** I check MSQC's Daily Deal quite often...one day this beautiful, 108" wide fabric popped up...and, it IS beautiful.  A thoroughly nice piece of fabric.  I bought the maximum yardage allowed per customer (3 yards) for $10 a yard. I had a different project in mind at the time (it wasn't a mindless purchase) but I think it's just been re-allocated.

January's Wins and A Bonus

Following along with American Patchwork & Quilting UFO Challenge:  HERE

These are my January finishes: 

Karen Brown's De-Clutter Challenge...went to the very last day and did clean, de-clutter and purge
"The Unnecessary, The Unwanted and The No Longer Needed" from my studio. 
This first WIN will pay dividends for the rest of the year! (I believe this will be an annual thing.)

 

 

Mending (my own): Wet Hair wraps--I'm embarrassed to tell you how long these have been in the queue waiting for a teeny piece of elastic... but now they're back in service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ana's curtains!  Finally stopped procrastinating and shortened them per Ana's measurements.  

Bonus pillow from the left over fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This type of sewing is not enjoyable to me,
nothing creative or interesting about it.
It is a labor of LOVE, though.

Hung in their new Home.

 

 

 

 

Of course I finished the Hat-on-a-Cat door hanger for February.

This is a Kit-of-the-Month from MSQC*.  HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BONUS:  A Valentine bag for Miss Catalina! Riley Blake "Sugar and Spice" panel.

 

 

 

 

AND, looky-there!  An Empty Bin!!!

Woo-Hoo!!! The best WIN for January!!

 

Just ELEVEN more Bins to go!!

 

 

 February's number is FOUR.

 

*MSQC= Missouri Star Quilt Company