Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Putzing Along

I'm still here, just putzing along. I've been too busy to have much time in the quilt studio. Last week was full of social things, which were fun, and errands, which weren't as much fun.  But I finally made it to the sewing machine and got a few things accomplished.




This is a mug rug that I made for my sister.  I thought she might like it personalized with her initial.  I had trouble getting the letter as small as I wanted, and finally settled on this one, which was actually the first one I did.   


I started piecing together some batik strips for the back of the mug rug, but when I got them done, I decided that they were way too cute to just go on the back. Then I talked myself out of making a 2nd mug rug. So I sliced and diced, sewed on a little border and came up with this.

But I was thinking this was way too static a design.  Cute enough but not really what I wanted.




It needed more "wonk".  So I started piecing some little 4-patches together.  No rotary cutter, just scissors.  So, here's where I'm at now.  I'm still not sure this is quite what I wanted, but I think I'm stopping now.  It could be wonkier, but I'm done.  What's funny is there's wonky where I wasn't trying for wonky.  I've never needed to intentionally add a "humility block", it just comes naturally!  *grin*


I'm on the quilt show committee this year, and our Fearless Leader has decided we all need to make potholders to sell.  We had a workshop last Friday on potholders.  I had pieced together the selvage one before then, and also had the flowered one together, but not quilted.  Well, I forgot my new walking foot (oops), so when I quilted these, they got a little skewed.  So I had to trim the flowered one down some, to make it square again.  Then I was trying the binding method that one guild member was teaching, and I didn't have enough binding.  So I trimmed that potholder down some more!  Then I applied the binding to the wrong side.  That means the pretty stuff on the binding is on the wrong side of the potholder.  Oh well, it will still work, it's just not "purty".  Like DH says, we can set this one on fire and no one will care!

I've gotten the name banner for DGD#2 at the flimsy stage and need to get it ready to quilt it.  I'm kind of stockpiling little projects that need to be quilted and will make a day or two of it and get them all quilted at once.  And I'm still working up to making kitty names.  I'm not *stalling* exactly, as I needed to get some other things done first, but it's starting to feel a bit like stalling now.

We've had maybe 2 or 3 inches of snow today.  But it's all been snow flurries, with some great, huge snow flakes.  It'll stick for a little bit, then melt away.  Then an hour later, it will do it again.  So, there's been no accumulation.  It's just teasing us.  I was hoping for an "official" snow day.  But then, I could actually declare just about any day a "snow day".  I know all you folks in the East are laughing at me - but I'll take snow over all the rain and gloom we've been having.  At least the sun shines once in a while!

It's snowing again!  Time to go sew!  

5 comments:

  1. The mug rug is great! She'll love it. And I agree, the batiks are far too pretty to use on the back. Hey, I've never needed to make a humility block either - isn't it good that we love wonky? *G* LOVE what you did with the batiks - so gorgeous! Your potholders are great, and it would seem we are sisters in the sewing room, lol. I never have a project anymore that goes as planned.

    Do you want me to pack up some snow and send it to you? We have a huge pile at the end of the driveway....

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  2. Loving what you're doing with the batiks. They are gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!

    I hear you with the doom and gloom. I'm just wondering if the sun will ever shine again!

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  3. LOVE that little wonky piece.......whimsical? Yes but Gorgeous too. Bright and fun, just what is needed as we near the end of February

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  4. I love how the little batiks evolved into their own little project.

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  5. Your batik mug rug-or a mini quilt-is cheerful and liberated; your additions to it are just right. Would you like to post a photo at the Lib-Quilters group?
    Kathleen in CT (from Lib-Quilters; I'm visiting Members' Blogs and having fun).

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