PICTURE PERFECT

I finally got around to taking photos of the Brassica quilt.

The afternoon got up over 90 degrees, so I finally went in (to the air conditioning) and worked on the binding of this quilt.

SEWING BINDINGS

I sewed on two of the bindings today.

This one I sewed onto the front and will hand sew the back down.

This one I sewed onto the back first, then sewed it down on the front.

 While I've been purging and cleaning I found this treasure.  It's a bag of 500 4" squares of plaids.   I'm going to use them as enders and leaders. 

BINDING DAY

I'm still working on re-arranging and purging the studio, but in between bouts of cleaning I made three different bindings for three quilts.

I was actually surprised to find the yardage for that brown one.  I had finished it's quilt a long time ago and was pissed that I didn't have fabric for the binding.  What do you do at that point!?  I was positive I had bought enough yardage for the binding, but I couldn't find it, so apparently not.  So I set the quilt aside.  And good thing I did, I realized I had bought enough for the binding when I found it today, I had just misplaced it.  So, it's done.

The green one I haven't even made a quilt out of yet.  I finished the top, and wanted to use the leftovers on the back, but I need to make sure I had enough for the binding.  So, I just made the binding and will set it aside (with the top this time) until it becomes a quilt in need of binding.

REMODEL

Here's the latest Splendid Sampler 2 block.  I really like this one's name.

It's 'Point Taken'.

Then I went to work on moving my sewing area down to make room for my new bookshelf.  I forgot to take a 'before' picture.  This first one is after I started moving things. 

Here's how it looked when I quit for the day because it was too hot upstairs.  The bookshelf is in place.  I'm going to give it a few more days for the paint to cure before I put the fabric into it.

I'm getting rid of those wall thread holders - they allowed too much dust to settle on the thread.  I'm buying some storage containers.  We'll see how that works out.

BH2 BLOCK 6

It's Wednesday, which means another Moda Block Heads 2 block was released.

This one seemed like it took a while to make.  It was worth it.

Once I got done with that, we carried the bookshelf up the stairs to my studio.  I put a coat of white paint on it.  It will need another coat tomorrow.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

First things first is to take this box with the Wallflower quilt in it to the Post Office and get it started on it's journey to Virginia, it's new home.

So cool [my first sale!!].

The dogs had to wait in the car and then we went for our walk.

I finished up sewing the 'red' circles into the middle of the wedge circles, then squared down the blocks and sewed them all together.  The top is done.

I like it.

He made a bookshelf for me to store all of the Kona Solids I've been collecting.  I put a coat of primer on it in the driveway and was attacked by mosquitos. 

Here I am, doing the wrong kind of painting again.

BLOOD DONATION 92

I'm determined to donate 100 pints of blood and get my name on a plaque at the donation  center.  Today was number 92.  I've never taken a selfie while donating, so I thought, why not?  I'm not putting it on my FB though.  This is the only place you'll see it.  Grossed out?

I woke up this morning to an email from Etsy announcing the sale of my Wallflower quilt.  I was excited and also nervous.  I spent some time getting it ready to go [I thought it was ready, but it wasn't].

In the afternoon I sewed the 'red' circles onto more of the wedge circles.  I have two rows done.

RED CIRCLES

I've been calling them red, but now that I'm working with the fabric, it isn't really red.  It's more of a tomato color - orangish red.  Whatever it is, I made the circles that will be appliqued into the center of each wedge circle.

I cut out the proper sized circle from heat-resistant template plastic, traced it onto the back of the tomato fabric and cut out nine circles with a generous seam allowance.

I then hand stitch a basting stitch around the outside, keeping the stitches as close together as possible [it makes the circle smoother].  With the template plastic on the inside, I drew the basting thread tight causing the seam allowance to fold over onto the back.  Then iron it, and remove the plastic circle.

Easy-peasy.

After lunch at Coastline Burgers in the Junction I made a few more blocks of the Putty and Mortar quilt and cut out the rest of the pieces.  [Sorry, I didn't take pictures].

Then I made a few more City Sampler Blocks - 46 and 47.  The Challenge has begun on Instagram, today was Day 2.   So far I've been keeping up!

FINISHED THE CIRCLES

I got the applique and embroidery done on this week's Splendid Sampler 2 block.  

I almost got the circles finished.  I still need to applique the circles in the middle.  Actually, I need to make the circles then applique them down.

I did more work than the pattern called for.  I cut the backs of the wedges out and then after the wedge circle was sewn to the background I cut the background fabric out from the back of it.

Imagine them with all with red circles in the middle - the blocks, not the dogs.

 P.S. Today was the start of the 100Days100Blocks2018 Challenge.  I posted mine on Instagram.

CLIENT WORK DAY

I got another job from the same people my last one was with.

This time it's just a little tablerunner.  I got it all quilted by computer, made the binding and got the binding on in one day - about 5-1/2 hours total.  [Made $45]  Let's not think about that too much.

I had to repair a few seams that weren't sewn together before I started.

APPLIQUE PREP

This week's Splendid Sampler 2 block is applique block of a cute little elephant.

I got it prepped today.

As you can probably see, I didn't notice that I should have reversed it - and didn't.  Oh, well.

I worked on some more of the wedges...

And it as a rare day that the dogs shared a bed.  Hmmm.

Jax and Jelly sitting in a tree....

4th OF JULY

Today is the 4th of July, one of the days I just dread.  Jax hates loud booms, he barks and gets scared.  He wants to get right next to me, inside of me. 

The booming has been going on for a few days, but not much of it.  It's ramped up.  It was bad last night.  We got Jax a little stoned last night and he slept through a lot of it.  It was nice.

But today, the booming has started early.  I gave him a dose after lunch, but it only works when he decides to go to sleep.  It helps him stay asleep instead of waking up at every boom.

I took the dogs up into my studio after lunch, closed the windows and turned up the music.  He managed to settle in and sleep for most of the time.  I started a new project...

I gave him another dose after dinner.  It took him a while to go to sleep. He doesn't usually relax until after we've all settled in for the night.  But the booming has been increasing, until it's almost constant at 6:00pm.  He is asleep right now and not barking.  I hope he can stay asleep after it gets dark and the noise becomes incessant.  Poor guy.

BH2 WEDNESDAY

Here's the next Moda Block Heads 2 block.  I think this is number 5.  It's a big one, 24" square.

Darrell has been fight a cold and it took him down today.  He's been napping.  Bentley thought he'd nap along with him.  Nice kitty.

ADVENTURE DAY

Jax was still asleep when Darrell and I and Jelly left for Port Townsend.  So he got left behind.

Darrell needed to go to Edensaw to buy some hardwoods.  Jelly and I went for a nice walk at Fort Worden while he was doing that.

It was a beautiful day for ferry rides and hanging out the window.

We also stopped at a pot shop and bought some coconut oil with THC for Jax.  Hopefully, this will help him relax and not flip out about the fireworks.  Poor guy.

SEWING CIRCLES

I've been sewing the wedges into circles.  Then I got bored with it.  But I was totally distracted by a box of fabrics from Missouri Quilt Company containing a quilt kit.  I've been wanting these fabrics for a while now.  I'll show you later.  In the meantime, here are the wedge circles.  I got six of the nine done today.  

CHAINING

I spent my sewing day chaining these wedges.  They need to have a point on the end, made by sewing the top edges together.  

Then there was lots of ironing to do.