Soft and serene sewing

Life handed me a hacker this morning.

DIStressing!!!

(sorry if you received one of the

unwanted emails!)

I needed some

DE-stressing.

I opened a scrap drawer.

Soft.

Serene.

Soothing. COLOR.

JUST what I needed.

This is where little scraps end up

when I'm too lazy to file them

any other way!

;/

They're KIND of by color....

I pulled out some of the LIGHT pieces.

Kind of like a dump and sew quilt.

This one is more of a DIG and sew quilt!

I made blocks.

DE-STRESSING the whole time!

I lined the blocks up into columns.

The columns are ALL different WIDTHS.

I sewed the columns together.

Wasn't SURE how much

DE-STRESSING

I needed!!!

Thought I might need a QUEEN sized DE-stress session.

Turns out....

I only needed a 48"x54"

DE-stress session.

Smaller than a twin.

Bigger than a Baby.

Hmmmm....

All in all I'd say....

Destress sewing DID the trick!

Every which way

The blocks are going

EVERY which way in this baby quilt....

but...

I like it THAT way.

 

I could have made some SUNBURSTS....

but

I like it THIS way.

 

The quilting lines are also going

EVERY which way.

I made a sort of ZIG zag in each block.

 

Every quilt is a

"NEW quilting design OPPORTUNITY".

A chance to try something NEW/different.

When it's a NEW block...

it's even MORE of an opportunity!!!!

Here's the back.

Gotta LOVE that alphabet fabric.

I USED IT UP

on this quilt!!!

 

Not to worry...

I've got LOTS more fabric in my stash!!!!

Cough...cough....sputter...sputter....

I hope this quilt has many happy days ahead.

 

days in the crib....

evenings in the rocking chair.....

mornings on the floor with toys....

 

Many happy days of

BABY love.

Saturday

I was able to SQUEEZE in some fabric therapy today.

:)

I pulled out this cute print.

 I'll probably use it for the backing.

I pulled out some coordinating fabric.

Mostly solids.

Not ALL.

Notice the orange shirt that I didn't use in the last quilt???

LOL!!

After cutting some 8" squares.....

 

I layered three or four in a stack

and made TWO diagonal cuts.

Mixed up the pieces and made some blocks.

Very simple.

The edges don't line up with this method...

so...

I had to trim them.

 

Then....

I got to PLAY!!!

Laying the blocks out

this way and that....

 

There ARE chores on Saturday....

but I always manage to

squeeze in some

PLAY TIME too!!!!

Extreme Crafting

Yep.

I made a REAL RAG rug this time.

 

I took the VERY BOTTOM of the BARREL scraps.

The stuff that would have been thrown out!

The t-shirt leftovers from t-shirt quilts.

The necks.

The Bulky hems.

Oh....

I used some of the smooth strips too.

;)

 

 

I HAD to find out what would happen.

???????

This is definitely EXTREME crafting.

LOL!

I'm going to use this in my bathroom

and I'm going to LOVE it!!!

 

My Bumpy.

Beautiful.

Bathmat.

 

 

After that experiment with scraps...

I longed for something soft and simple.

I used THREE strands of SOFT.

Mmmm....

It feels so nice!!!

 

The THING about weaving.

You HAVE to finish your project

BEFORE you begin another.

(unlike quilting....right?)

 

Good....

You have to finish

BEFORE

beginning.

 

Bad....

Even though you WANT to begin something new...

(right now!)

YOU CAN'T...

IF

You're not DONE!!!!

 

But.....

Finishing is ALWAYS a good thing.

Right?

 

 

 

A little Trivet

 

 

I know you've seen yo-yo's

 and Yo-yo quilts.

 

but....

Have you seen

STUFFED yo-yo's??

 

They are practical little things!

;)

 

 

 

I attached them all together by hand....

and decided they make a very nice

RETRO-vintage- quirky-trivet.

 

The back side.

 

The front.

;)

Five by Five.

All ready for dinner!!!

 

 

This project begins with a 3 1/2" circle

with a running stitch all around.

I cut FOUR little pieces of batting.

Layered them INSIDE

and pulled it closed with the thread

making a nice TIGHT knot to hold it closed

One little STUFFED YO-YO

only 24 more to go!

 

 

Put them in rows....

hand stitching the sides.

See?

It works!

Modern orange

Modern Orange is now a quilt!

All that white really sets the color off.....

doesn't it??

A nice soft cotton/poly batting.

I had fun piecing this "improvisationally"!!!

One piece at a time....

Round and round I went.

 

Strips and squares.....

White?

Blue?

Orange??

 

Love the way it came together!!!

I DID wonder how to quilt this one...

and then I thought about these lines!

PERFECT!!!

Not sure what to call these crooked lines...

but I sure do LIKE THEM!!!

All rolled up....

and READY!!!

You asked

Some of you wondered about my loom.

You wondered what the process looks like.

This one's for YOU!

;)

 

This is the cotton crotchet thread I used this time.

A nice varigated green/blue/tan.

I warp it onto my loom

following the simple instructions

in the little book that came with my loom.

I began at the end with a small bit of cream crotchet thread.

I think it gives my table runner a nice finish.

I ended with the same.

 

The comb there is used to push the yarn/thread tighter

as I go along.

 

The picture above shows the loom resting on my knees

as it leans against the table.

I could buy a stand....

but this takes up LESS space in my home this way.

;)

 

Then..... I make my RAG YARN.

1 1/4" strips of fabric.

I make a whole bunch!

Lots of greens, tans and whites were chosen.

I sew them together to make

a LONG piece of "YARN".

As I run out...

I make some more!

;)

I wrap it around my shuttle

folding in half as I go.

 

In and out

Back and forth.

Pushing each row down as I go....

 

That's weaving in a nutshell.

 

This is the beautiful results!

I LOVE it!