Monday, May 4, 2015

Another WIP Off the Pile

and another one that had to be de-constructed to so I could make it the right way.
LOL
 
Last week, I took a seam ripper to my mini Swoon blocks.
 
 
My original plan had been to use this as an element on the back for my full sized Scrappy Swoon quilt.  Alas, it was too long for this and sat in a box until I found it again a couple of weeks ago. 
 
Love my Scrappy Swoon!
 
 
This is how the Scrappy Swoon finished out and it gets a lotta, lotta use!
 
 
My mini Swoons ended up as a mini-quilt.  LOL  This lil' sweetie finished out at 21" square.
 
 
Here is the scrumptious back!  Found this fabric at Joann's a while ago and fell in love with how happy and cheerful it is.  Plus, it reminds me of a vintage sheet from the 70's I crush on.
Simple, stripey binding again.  I'm having a fling with stripes for bindings.
 
 
This time I tried a spiral pattern for quilting instead of just circles.
Ahhhhh!  Just can't get over how much this way of quilting adds to this quilt.
I need to work on the beginnings for the next quilt I use this for, but this is one of my favorite ways to quilt right now.
Now I just need to find a place to hang it.
 
 
Another Pinspiration from Anita at the Bloomin' Workshop.  Can you see why it caught my eye?  Sew many happy, cheerful scraps!  Yummy!
 
 
 A couple of years ago, I dove into the scrap piles and tried my hand at recreating the beautiful quilt from Anita.
Fail! 
What is working in her quilt as a play on value, gets so screwed up in mine.  One should never try a new quilt in the depths of chemo brain symptoms!
(my mom says cancer is a family disease and we all suffer from chemo brain at one time or another!)
LOL
...and since the seam ripper was already warmed up from the Mini Swoon...
 
 
I unpicked all the HST units, ironed them and started over.  Let me tell you, that.  was.  not.  fun.
But I'm so glad I didn't just pitch all that cutting and sewing into the trash.
Do you ever just File 13 projects that make you cry and vomit and wish you had never starter them and regret all the time and fabric on them?
 
 
Rebeginning (is that even a word?) with three vertical rows of four HST units.
Clear zig zag rows of light and dark.
Pretty happy with how it's going.  More true to Anita's use of fabric to create value.
I think.
Do you think it's working?  Looking better?  Can you see the zigs?  The zags?
 
 
Sorting, sewing.
More rows added.
Not sure where this is going.  Maybe a lap quilt?  Baby quilt?  Wall hanging?
It's been another soothing project that engages my puttering, centering, peaceful need.
 
and
 
I also wanted a PMM (proud mom moment) to congratulate our youngest son, Ben, on winning 1st place in an essay contest.  It's a county-wide one involving 26 elementary, jr. high and sr. high schools.
Ben took top essay for the sr. high category.
 
 
Ben, in part, wrote about his experiences in the Civil Air Patrol and how integrity is needed to advance in rank.
So proud of him!
Now returning to NMM (nagging mom mode) to make sure he gets his schoolwork and chores done!
Thanks for letting me go off character!
 
Hope you find time this week to do something you love!