Happy New Year?

Yes, I realize it's the end of January, but things have been a little busy, and sewing has unfortunately taken a back seat. Again.

I began the year reorganizing my stash -- getting all my WIPs and UFOs in the same place, sorting scraps, and taking apart some of those gorgeous little fat quarter bundles that together I realized would probably never become a quilt but separately -- well, if they were in the right bins, they might actually get used. I came to the conclusion that I have a shameful amount of fabric, and an even more shameful amount of unfinished projects, and therefore vowed that 2015 was going to be The Year of Finishing Things.

We'll see how long that lasts.

During my digging I found two bundles of plaid flannel handwovens, purchased probably five years ago and (again, shamefully) forgotten. Since Dad is turning 90 next month and basically lives in plaid all year round, these flannels are perfect. So another "90 Blocks for 90 Years" is in the works.

I knew I wanted to do a basic 9x10 block pattern, nothing too fancy or modern (he still watches Lawrence Welk reruns, for cryin' out loud), and nothing too big that I couldn't get it done in a month. I've never done a snowball quilt, so I figured why not now?

So Step 1:  Cut 6" squares and find a nice arrangement on the kitchen floor while the cat is napping.

(I threw in some Kona solids for a good measure)

Step 2:  Sew on dozens upon dozens of flippy corners. Take a picture and wish you'd considered a plus pattern instead because this looks kind of nice with your glasses off.

 Step 3:  Trim those little corners. Keep trimming.  And trimming.  And trimming.

This is where I'm hovering at the moment -- trimming whenever I have a few spare minutes, corners that never seem to end. But it's coming along!

Dad decided this past weekend to wait to celebrate until the weather is better for travel -- last year my sister's plans to come in from North Carolina were waylaid when she got snowed in and couldn't get out of the driveway, let alone to the airport (where's that ONE snowplow when you need it?) -- so my deadline isn't as crucial as originally thought. That gives me a little breathing room, but I'd like to move it along so I can get on to the next.

Because 2015 is, after all, The Year of Finishing Things.

The best laid plans...

This is what I get for washing the bathroom floor -- a broken toe snagged on the door jamb, ten days with my foot up, and everybody gets circle cowls for Christmas.

There wasn't much sewing this December, as it was the little toe on my pedal foot, so I dug into my chunky yarn stash, fired up Netflix, and went to town. And apparently couldn't stop.

The foot is finally feeling good in hard shoes, just in time to make the trek over the river and across I-94 into Michigan to my parents' house. I haven't been home since this summer, so I'm looking forward to the visit. Archie, however, isn't too crazy about hanging out with Sugar, who rules the roost and doesn't take kindly to interlopers, even if it's temporary.

Sugar showed up three summers ago and started following my father around the garden. She belonged two blocks over, to a family with four cats. At the bottom of the hierarchy and picked on quite a bit, she had had enough and was scouting for a better life. She found two elderly folks in obvious need of her company, darted through the side door when the weather turned cold, and wouldn't leave. Her people tooke her home but she was back the next day, and the next, and the next, until they stopped coming to retrieve her and forwarded her vet records. She is the Queen of the House, the apple of my father's eye (not so sure how I feel about being overthrown from my seat as Dad's favorite), and my mother's "Sweet, Sweet Sugar." She glowers at me and ambushes poor Archie at every possible opportunity. He retaliates by using her litter box, but spends most of his time locked upstairs -- or hiding in the basement.

So that's what we have to look forward to this week. I need to find boxes and wrap all these scarves, and hit the road before the snow moves in.

Happy Holidays to all, and Happy Quilting in the New Year!

December already?

I feel woefully unprepared for Christmas. One big present is off my list, but there's still an awful lot to do.

This top is on its way, though, to getting done.  At least I plan to have it done by Christmas -- "plan" being the operative word.

It was about time to do a HST quilt, and they look so good hanging in the window!

Plenty of sunshine these days here in Chicago, and also plenty of cold. Good for staying inside, making soup...and sewing!

Yellow & blue...

I seem to have yellow -- or maize, as they call it where I come from -- and blue on the brain.

But that's OK. I can live with it.

And another...

There are times when my scrap bin totally surprises me. Like a couple weeks ago, when I found about a strip set and about dozen pieces cut and ready to go. Why I never did anything with them is anybody's guess.

When I laid the pieces out, I did some quick calculating and figured I didn't have to do much more to turn them into a baby quilt. I still had plenty of all three marble fabrics, so I sewed up a couple more strip sets and made this:

All in the name of stash busting, of course.

(Not the best photo with questionable indoor lighting, sorry)

I kind of wish I'd lined up the back better with the quilting on the front, but that's a lesson learned. I suppose using coordinating thread in the bobbin would have made it less obvious. Lesson #2.

All in all, a good quick little quilt. And now more room in the scrap bin.

Yellow...

The sashing dispute has been settled. I went with yellow.

I also took Wanda's advice and took the stripes out all together, but it was just as I'd thought -- too skinny to finish it off without a border. I auditioned every color that appeared in the blocks, and the yellow just made it shine. Five inches of border on either side and three on the ends, it looked too symmetrical and predictable -- so I lopped a few inches off two of the sides to unbalance it a bit. Much better!

So happy to have this one finished! It's not any less bright than the original (especially with the addition of the wacky backing -- which I love), but at least it's not making my eyes hurt.

My entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival...

I'm entering "Split Infinitive" in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side in the Small Quilts category.

Made from a pack of Kona charm-let polka dots, Kona Snow and a few other dotted scraps, these 210 2" (1.5" finished) half-square triangles went through quite a bit of rearranging before I ended up with this design. It's a little improv, a little traditional...kind of like me. The backing is a yellow dotted flannel to keep with the theme.

For all that work, it only measures 31" x 27" -- those triangles are tiny!