Sunday, November 27, 2011

Orca Bay Part 2 Pretty in Pink

Sewed a little yesterday. Love the way the pink strings are coming out. Looks like candy! They sew up very fast. Have 40 done. Will probably get them all done today! I am using painters paper as foundation. Very thin and cheap. It looks like brown wrap and is 15 " x 180 ft for 4 bucks. I had bought it to do Roll Roll Cotton Boll. Still have not started that one. 

I made all my blocks with the center string the same. I figured if there is a specific direction in placement, this will create a secondary design element. Not sure I like the one piece that is brown and pink. My daughter does. It has attitude! I guess a little attitude never hurt anyone. LOL!


Friday, November 25, 2011

Orca Bay Part 2!

So I finished the 224 HGU plus 12 more just in case some are wonky. Still have to trim and square up but the sewing is done.

Now to start sorting strings and getting my paper piecing tissue to start sewing. I decided to look through my ancient clothing patterns and use one of those. Should rip off easily.


I found one that is my mothers from the 60's she never even used. 
It reminds me of something Donna Reed would wear. Fitted and don't forget the Pearls!!
The cost of the pattern in 1960's  was 60 cents!  The next one was a Kaftan I must have made 10 times in the 70's. Cost of pattern $1.00!  The kid pattern $2.25 circa 1982  and the Baptism outfit pattern also 1982 is $3.00. Try to buy that pattern now for under 10.00!

Well the ladies in the Forum are telling me that I should not cut up vintage patterns that have never been used. May be able to sell them on eBay.  Okay, okay, will rethink it.

 Aileen


Monday, November 21, 2011

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt by Bonnie Hunter.

I changed my color selection 3 times already. I had to really think of the person that will be using this quilt. I decided on my youngest Daughter. Her favorite colors are brown, pink, and teal.  So time to get cracking.



So far I have made a dozen HGU. All of them are short a hair. So I am stopping and starting over. I checked my 1/4 in seam and it is good. This only leaves my cutting. Time to cut more strips!











Tuesday, November 15, 2011

November Christmas Pineapple

I have not been able to post for a while. Was in car accident in end of October. No broken bones but lots of discomfort. No sewing for 2 weeks, boy was that sad. My mental therapy has always been to sew or make something creative just to get my mind off what ails me.

In that vain I signed up for a Quick Doll Quilt Swap.  Cutting the strips was an exhausting ordeal. I did over cut as we all do. Then had to take a nap! I am not a napper. Two hours later, I came back to try and sew something. It was a challenge just to sew for 15 to 20 minutes. One little block done.
It is coming along nicely. The theme is Christmas or Wintery. So we are trying to get them done for the Holidays. Time to rest again.

About a week before the accident I received in the mail my Pineapple Ruler and book "Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilts" by Gyleen Fitzgerald !  Love the book and ruler. I have always wanted to make a pineapple quilt but did not want to do it paper pieced because I tend to break stitches getting out the paper. The first block did take me about one hour. Slow and steady with 2 sessions of sewing. Once I had my sample block it did go faster because I knew exactly the placement for each round. I made 6 blocks, 4 for the doll swap, one for AAQI and one for me, that I will turn into a new mini for my work cubicle. The beauty of this method is that you don't have to control the placement. You can design on the fly or do it more controlled. I will be using the remainder of the strips to do a totally scrappy placement and see what evolves!

In posting the picture, I can see that two of the blocks are sewn in reverse to what my intention was. I am going to leave it the way it is. Concussion confusion! I have been staring at it for 2 days trying to see what was odd. The odd was me! LOL!