Working on the Swap

Since I haven't posted much, I thought I would include some photos of my current swap progress, Goose In the Pond. As you can see, Polly came along to help. This is my cutting table. It's one of those resin folding tables sold in some big box hardware stores. Not perfect, but I do ok. That little white container at the end is my 2 inch squares - the current leader/ender project that will ultimately end up as heart blocks.



Of course, I can't accomplish anything with her help, so I had to resort to bribery. Despite the fact that there are several bed choices, all very costly, her preference is a cardboard box with or without a quilt folded into it. Obviously, she needed the quilt for some prompting. I've made a quilted pad for her - just have to add the binding. Unless she is in the box, I can't take the risk of using the rotary cutter - cats move so darn fast.



Anyway, by the end of tonight, I have finished all the rows for this block and will start assembling the rows into blocks tomorrow. I'm hoping to press, bag and tag to mail on Saturday. I plan to do Round 2 of this swap, and then I should have nearly all the blocks I need to complete a large quilt.

Swap Works

Haven't posted in a bit, but I have been working on projects! Currently working on a swap and I hope to have a photo soon. Yes, I really need to stop participating in swaps for awhile so that I can finish other stuff, but couldn't help it. I had always wanted to do this other one and then someone came up with an easy peasy Halloween swap, so just the way it goes. So far, I've resisted joining a charm swap, but it's hard. I was collecting charms for SO many years, but really don't need them now that the Pyramids top is done.

I hope to spend some time soon making my sidebar look a little less crowded. I've seen how some people are linking between multiple blogs in order to streamline. Not sure my stuff can do that, but I'll try. Part of why I have so many links is simply to maintain them for me. At least if my bookmarks go astray, my most important ones are on the blog!

Progress on UFOs

While I still have more work to do, periodically, I go through my links to make sure everything works. I noticed that my list of 'selected UFOs' has shrunk a lot in the last 2 years.

These items have been on there for at least 2 years. Potentially 3, if not 4, will still come off the list yet this year! In some cases, due to a quick cleanup, parts were separated and I'm finding them now. For instance, the Summer Sling bag has been completely crocheted for 2 years. I just found all the parts a couple of days ago. So, I'm going to make an effort to make that lining and attach, so that I can finish assembling the bag. I need to add a zippered pocket to the inside of this bag, so it's great that I have some additional yarn left over, as I don't have enough lining fabric to make one.

July Was A Bust

I got so little crafting done in July. I spent much of it mostly cleaning, cutting up scraps and doing other things. I've made a fair amount of progress on the granny afghan. Photos to be up later this week.

I did start working on a hand pieced Apple Core quilt from the scraps I've been accumulating. I have roughly 500 apple cores and according to the sheet, you need about 900 to make a queen sized quilt. Well on my way, I'd say. Why hand pieced? I have tried machine sewing these and I seem to spend as much time taking some apart to fix than it would take to hand sew these in the first place. It's a mostly mindless task. I have a needle with a larger eye and don't even need my needle threader to do this AND my bifocals aren't driving me nuts while sewing them up. I sew 5 or 6 sets of two during an hour of watching a show. No rush to get it done. It will likely become my take-a-long project when I finish the granny afghan.

August projects include quilting the Pine Grove quilt and continuing to work on the Spiderweb quilt top. While I'm getting progress on the quilting, the Spiderweb has come to a stop given that my sorting areas include the ironing board. Finishing that this week and can then focus on my swap and the Spiderweb. Swap? Yes, bad me. I joined another swap, that again required me to buy fabric because I didn't really have stash. This time, it's a plaids/strips Goose in the Pond block using shirtings as a background. It's a simple pattern - HSTs with 9 patches and rail fences. The fabric choices will make it look very cabin like and homey. We're doing a 15 inch finished block, so that should go fast. Who gets it? Me. All quilts are for me unless I decide I can part with it. (evil grin).