Sew I See!

  This "ta-da" has been a long time coming, so I don't really have much to say about it...   I started by making string blocks on the treadle.  (Wanting to sew strings on the Minnesota treadle was the whole reason for starting this project.)  I then transformed these string blocks into HSTs (two HST blocks per original string block) with a plain white background.  A stitch-and-flip HST to the other corner of sixteen of these blocks is what makes the scrappy on-point squares in the center of each star.  The layout is easy enough to see.  I added some sashing and borders of background fabric, then topped it off with a simple string-pieced border on just the top and bottom of the quilt.   I pieced a backing from a couple of flannel prints, then free-motion quilted the whole thing with easy swirls.  The final touch was a scrappy binding.   That about covers it.  It's just an easy string-star quilt.  The "exploded" el...

Well, clearly I haven't done a good job of keeping up with craft blogging!  I'm busier these days, but the problem really isn't that I don't have the time.  I waste time online each and every day, reading things that at best bore me and at worst leave me in a worse mood.   I have other things I "should" be doing, yet I still end up drawn into the black hole of time-wasting on the Internet.  I'd feel guilty just saying, "You know what?  I'm really just not going to organize my closet or scrub the shower today.  Yes, there are weeds, but I'm not going to do any weeding right now, either.  I'm going to sew/quilt/doodle/blog!"  It's easier to just sit at the laptop and allow myself to pour minute after minute into time-wasting online, rather than committing to shirking duty 😁 by investing my "wasted" time in something I'd actually enjoy.   Some pointless Internet scrolling is okay, but after a certain point, I'm ju...

I applied the binding to the latest quilt ("Retro-Cali Ribbon Stars").  Then it spent a week waiting for me to stitch down the last side of the label.  I tend to put off hand-stitching, because I don't love it.  When I finally did it, though, it really wasn't that bad, so I went ahead and stitched down the label for the long-languishing second "Tall Tales" quilt that has been nearly-done for such a long time.  I labeled both quilts, let the ink set (at least 24 hours recommended), and gave them their first washes.  Photos and "ta-da" posts to follow soon, I hope.   In the meantime, there are a couple of other projects I can share progress reports on.   First, I completed the fox diamond painting Kimberly gave me for Christmas.  I'm happy with how it turned out!  (They always look better from a distance, but here's a photo, anyway...) I'm already zooming through the next diamond painting-- a picture of flowers in glass jars.  Th...

Monday evening's recording from the county courthouse released us from jury duty (if were weren't already serving on a jury), so I'm freeeeeeee!  (Happy-dance time!)  But seriously, it is a relief to know that my time is officially my own again.  No more feeling of being in limbo!   Also on Monday, I finished up the quilting on the current active WIP.  It's not a perfect quilting job, but with that 100% cotton batting, the post-washing crinkle should hide a multitude of sins mistakes.  At least I didn't have too many more problems, once the first couple were ironed out.  Whew!  The issues this time are more to do with my needing more practice, but again, it'll be fine once it's washed and crinkled up. This quilt is nearly done, and it still doesn't have a name!  Hm... The block pattern looks similar to one I've seen called a "ribbon star"-- one of many quilt blocks that are apparently known by that name-- but I'm not sure it's exac...

It's been so long, I don't remember where I was with this project, the last time I blogged about it!   A while ago, I made some oversized string-pieced stars.  I wanted to do string-piecing on the treadle, without having to think too much about it.  I just used whatever was in my "every color"/"busy multicolor" bag of strings, with a few more solid strings pulled in, here and there, to supplement the variety.   The strings were much fun to sew on the Minnesota, and then I took them to the modern sewing machine to make half-square triangles by pairing the string squares with solid white.  Still fun, but not as much fun as the string-piecing, to be honest!  I stalled out.  For months, I had three of the four blocks finished, and pieces for the fourth block moping around on the design wall...  Sometime after the start of the new year, I decided it was tine to get this project off my to-do list.  I finished the fourth block, joined them...

Gosh, I knew it had been a while since my last blog post, but I didn't realize it had been that  long!   For more than a year, now, Donald's been sole owner of his web-design business, and I've been pitching in where I could, originally with small, sporadic jobs.  I've been depositing checks, mailing invoices (before everyone switched over to email), copywriting, emailing reports to clients, occasionally doing some of the simplest parts of building websites and filling in the content-- that kind of thing.  As time has progressed, the work has become more consistent.  I still handle the monthly checks and assist with the occasional data entry, etc. for new sites, but my primary focus is on copywriting-- specifically, writing for SEO (search engine optimization).  I usually enjoy it when I have an idea.  When I don't  have any ideas (or the idea involves researching and writing about health problems and medical procedures 😱), it's somewhat les...