A few weeks ago I was asked by the charity, Under My Wing Pug Rescue (who I do the books for), if I could donate a quilt for their event coming up on October 30, 2011. I had offered months ago that if they needed a quilt for an event, just let me know and I'd see what I could do.
Well, I had a disappearing 9-patch top put together that I didn't know what to do with. I decided I could use it for this, add an applique of a pug (which I'm still very inexperienced at), and border it.
I found the cutest little pug applique pattern from FourTwinSisters.com. The quilt is almost done. The top is anyways, I just have to sandwich, quilt and then bind it. It's a good size. It'll finish at about 54" x 64". Probably bigger than a lap quilt, and smaller than a twin, but it'll be nice to cuddle under on the couch. I think it's too big to be a wall hanging, but I'll put a sleeve on it anyways.
My design wall is very small, I really need a bigger wall. This little area can't even fit the whole quilt.
I hope the Board members like it. Odds are it will be raffled off, so I hope it brings a good amount of money for the Rescue.
After this I know I need a lot more practice doing applique.
Now to finish the mending I started yesterday before we head to Smith's Fall's (Jim's mom's) for Thanksgiving.
Yes, for us Canadians, it's our Thanksgiving weekend.
Since we spend it at Jim's mom's house (tomorrow), I've made the stuffing, stuffed the bird, and put it in the oven.
Later on today when it's out of the oven, I'll make the gravy and start on the pumpkin cheesecakes. YUM!! And for a low-carb, diabetic friendly version, they're DELICIOUS! (I'll post the recipe on my recipe page later).
While the turkey's cooking, laundry's being done, you guessed it, I'm sewing!
First thing's first. Fix my buckwheat husk pillow. Jake decided to chew on it a while back and I hadn't had time to empty the husks and make a new case for it. I used half of an old pillowcase for it, so that's done.
Next is to fix the comforter cover that he chewed a few holes in (aren't puppies wonderful?) Put the cover through the washer and dryer. I have one of the two pillow cases for the set (the one he chewed a hole in as well), and I'm going to use pieces of that to patch the cover.
But I swear I'm falling prey to that old joke where the elderly lady goes to do one thing, see's something else that needs to be done, goes to do that, finds something else out of place, goes to return that, realizes she has to put something else back in it's place, and you know the routine. By the end of the day she wonders why she hasn't accomplished anything, especially the first items that she started.
Anyways, along that line, I had a pile of bow ties on my sewing machine table. I'd cut up a ton of cheddar 2 1/2" squares and every other fabric I could lay my hands on into 2 1/2" and 1 1/2" squares to make some of Bonnie's bow ties. I made 5 the other night just so I could see what they looked like. I had already sewed the corners on all of them, and sewed one set of the pairs together. I really didn't want to just gather them all up and put in a box until later.
Sew, sew, sew, iron, iron, iron, Voila! Thirty five more bow tie blocks!! hehehe
Now.. how many am I going to need for a quilt top? These are 4 1/2" unfinished. Oh geeze! I've started another project that will have to be added to my UFO list... LOL
Jim saw them on my design wall and said he really liked them.
All in all, I can't say my day is unproductive. I am getting things done, turkey cooking, pies later, sewing repairs, bow tie blocks.... just maybe not in the order I had originally planned.
Now where did I put my crumb blocks.... oh wait! I still have to mend the cover... lol
I've put together a "sewing package" for Jim's mom. She purchased a sewing machine from a yard sale or goodwill not long ago and wants to learn how to sew. I figured I could grab some fabrics from my stash, strips, strings, crumbs, a rotary cutter, rulers, cutting mat, thread, machine needles, and my sewing machine repair kit.
I'll take a look at her machine, give it a cleaning and oiling (where needed), and get her started on some crumb blocks. Simple ones like 4 patches and maybe some triangles and adding strips until she gets the hang of it. Who knows... maybe by christmas she'll have enough blocks to make a lap quilt. Or she may decide she doesn't like piecing. Who knows? We won't know til we try.
If we don't fall asleep right after turkey dinner tomorrow, we'll be sewing! I'm taking my featherweight so I can make some more crumb blocks for my project too.
Ok, back to mending.
Another batch of pictures. I'm participating in the "Crumb-a-Long" started by Jo.
These are seriously addictive!
These are so cute and measure 6 1/2 inches (unfinished). They're a wonderful excuse to just sit and sew with no real pattern in mind and talk about using up all the little bits and scraps!
I love the little maverick stars... thanks for the demo of them on the cruise Bonnie! :)
I finally have a chance to post the pictures I took of the String Blocks I received in the string block swap from the quiltvilleswap yahoo group.
They are so beautiful!! Now... what am I going to make with them?
