I finished the Suburbia Moonshadow quilt I ordered from Craftsy. Well, I say finished, but I don’t even want to wash it because the creative dreamer in me would love to add some quilting in those wonderful spaces. I’ve got the dinosaur panel off the table and in the process of hand binding. The wonderful, dino obsessed kid isn’t sure she likes it, something about the quilting, but I told her I am happy to put it in the gift box – our “gift box” is a drawer I keep things in that I’ve picked up with the thought of gifting. Right now it has a coloring book, a coin purse, special color pens for Autumn, a handy pocket size lint remover, also for Autumn…. anyway, you get the idea. So, if the dino piece we were going to use as a play mat doesn’t meet her standards that is okay.
We are having a rare day of sunshine – which means is is EXTRA cold – but even the sun can’t capture the rich color of the moonshadow fabric. Dino panel on the side- that guy almost looks like he’s smiling – and my next one ready for basting is on the bottom left. But the Plan is to do some more free motion practice, (aka make more pads for the dog beds) before I tackle the quilting on the piece I hope to gift.
The kid had two days of school this week between the holiday and school closings due to icy roads, so I haven’t been on top of the projects as much. Today, I am taking a little time to straighten the table and prepare for the next thing as she plays around me.
There was the usual bit of material to cut off after the quilting process with the dino. I don’t feel the need to keep every little scrap these days, but what can be used again is put away. There was one strip that was small and had incomplete dino bodies, so that is cut into little squares I’ll use at the machine. I sew through it before I start sewing and at the end of a block/chain/strip. I love this little trick! When I start with the scrap, then chain the working piece on, it prevents the beginning of my block from getting mangled and lets me end the set without any pull on the good stuff. I’ve been using pieces over and over and am glad to have expanded my collection.
Next, pieces of batting….. I’d love to have enough 2 1/2″ strips to someday make a jelly roll rug, but not excited enough to take too much time with it. While I may save some pieces, I cut up smaller ones. I keep one taped next to the machine acting as a perfect thread catcher. I also put one next to my small table ironing area, along with some thread snips. Seems there are always loose threads, fraying edges, and general clean up when I press seams, and it’s nice to feel a bit neater as I work, especially since it’s simple and cheap.
One more thing… I have a regular trash can handy, but see that bag hanging in front of it? That is where bits and pieces go. Anything that can be run through a washing machine, relatively safely, goes in there. Things like the piece that is cut off to get edges straight for rotary cutting, the batting with captured threads, the pieces I use to start sewing (explained above), stuff like that. I filled up one with fleece pieces as I made a costume. These are special savings. I don’t mind wasted pieces as much and even include a few extras now and then. When I have a couple of bags full, I empty them in an old pillow case, sew it up, and it is an easy-to-wash cushion for the dogs. I’ve got one that is just loose stuff, but it has a lot of the fleece in it. The other, I ran a few basting stitches through to keep the insides from getting too balled up. I do think the dogs are a bit spoiled with their fancy beds, but this way of practicing quilting and recycling aren’t just practical, they are joyful!
So much for today. The kid and I are going to run some errands and maybe I’ll get some more sewing in later! As nice as it is having her around most days, I am hoping for more school days next week, for both of us.
Take care of yourself! Love always,
Cathy
Busy Cat Studio 