Welcome back! First post of September and the fall. I am starting to gear up for my upcoming quilt retreat on Lake Tahoe. Last year was spectacular and I don’t expect anything less this year. I went in July last year and it was the hottest week of the year. The conference center doesn’t have AC because it is generally mild on the lake. So here is to hoping that this year will be falltacular!
I am linking up with Carol @ Quilt Schmilt once again for To Do Tuesday. While most projects are quilting, it is for any kind of creative maker. Come join us!
Weekly Progress
I was able to spend more time in the sewing studio this week. I unpacked another 10 or sew boxes and I was super excited to find my rotary blades. This week I was able to finally change my rotary blades. I cheated a little and bought a new 60mm rotary cutter this week as well. It was so nice to cut like butter. I finally cut on my big mat that I have had forever, and I have to say, I am a bit disappointed. (Well maybe). I need to replace the mat.
I am excited to hunt down the new Tula Pink mats for my cutting table. Fresh new start. I have a lot to share with you so let’s get started.
Finishes!
My first finish is my block of the month with Fat Quartershop called Dragonfruit. It was a foundation paper pieced (FPP) project with Tula Pink true color line. I love how it has turned out. I know I bought the backing at the time I signed up, it has yet to make an appearance.
My second finish was my Patriotic Table Runner that I started last summer. I appliqued the stars on as well as pieced the backing (which I forgot to take a picture of it). I already made the binding as well. Next up is layer and quilt.
Olympia 2021 Cotton Cuts Mystery Quilt
I continued working on clue 10 for this mystery quilt. I finished the center last week and I started what they call the Intermediate (have no idea but to me it is the first border). I am making 4 of this section to be placed on all sides of the center.
Spring Placemats
I worked on this project over several days. I did the first placemat in one sitting. Started the second and got interrupted. When I got back to it, I eneded up chain sewing the final 3. I sewed the binding to the back of all three. Then cut and combined the ends of all three at the same time. Then went back to the machine to stitch down the ends section. Now they are in my hand sewing area as I like to tack the corners by hand (I find them to be neater that way) before finishing the binding my machine with my Bernina 71 foot. This Kaffee fabric was perfect for stringtime placemats.
Not My Kitten, A Riley Blake monthly wall hanging kit (or table topper)
I ended up in my sewing studio kind of lost for a moment. It is still a bit chaotic there and sometimes I have a hard time focusing. This kit that came in August was sitting on my cutting table. I found a few labels I could use and sat down to cut this one with the thought of taking it to my upcoming quilt retreat. While I have been collecting these since the first of the year, this is the first one I have cut. I put all the bits and pieces (as well as leftover fabric) back in the cutest magnetic kit box. I love Riley Blakes kit boxes! I can’t wait to start it in just under two weeks!
Churn Dash
While working on the mystery quilt, my go to leaders and enders project is my churn dash blocks that I precut almost 2 years ago now. This orange one is very colorful!
Weekly To Do List
While I opened a lot of boxes this week and found quite a few missing items, the long arm tools and supplies remain MIA as well as my sewing machine insert for my sewing tables.
- Find my insert for the 770 sewing table 📦
- Find my long arm quilting supplies (hopefully before tomorrow)
- Work at least another 30 minutes unpacking the sewing studio
- Appointment with my Gammill consultant for new owner training is tomorrow. Be prepared with questions and to work on the machine.
- Backing for ARE YOU GAME? Quilt top
- Sketch 2nd floor & walls
- Order first design wall
- Finish moving cross stitch supplies to the downstairs office
- Start Queen of Diamond block 3-4
- Prep next Ruby’s Garden block 26
- Cut & prepare Sparkle & Shine binding
- Cut & prepare Dragonfruit binding
- Finish set of 4 Spring placemats
- Quilt patriotic table runner
- Find a main project for upcoming quilt retreat
- Start pulling supplies for quilt retreat
- Finish assembling 2024 Veni AG Sunprint FPP quilt top
- Load quilt on long arm
Musings
September is full of retreats both in person and virtual. First up will be the quilt retreat in Tahoe and I have begun packing for that. I have one more weekend before that trip. On it’s heels is two virtual cross stitch retreats. One is just a morning but has a lot of prep work ahead of time (and I am working on) and the other includes two classes. I was able to get the supplies for one but not the other. I know I got a supply list which I will need to hunt down. Basically, I need to be prepared for all three retreats BEFORE I leave on the first one.
Then end of the month finds me on the road to Oregon for my long arm “Summit”. There is prep work to be done for that but I should have a few days to get ready. The Summit are classes in person regarding the Gammill long arm. I attend one about 3 years ago and found it helpful but not as hands on as I had hoped. This time I am more prepared to take notes.
In all that mess I am signed up for two different one on one consultations for just one hour. The first is with Gammill and the second is with my favorite fabric designer Alison Glass. If they had an emoji for pulling out your hair, then I would be sharing that right now.
I realize I did this to myself. What is a quilter supposed to do when there are so many opportunities? While I am stressed, I am not really. I am on a take it one step at a time mode. So I am off to open boxes 📦 to look for my missing long arm supplies for tomorrow.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the eye candy from this week. There seemed to be a lot of it to me. Stop by on Friday if you want to check out my other crazy life – Cross Stitch!
Happy Quilting,
Peggy Stockwell in Vancouver, Washington
So, sew much accomplished and sew many fun things coming up! “Dragonfruit” is stunning! I haven’t tried a Tula design or even used much of her fabric yet, I definitely see that as something to add to my “Bucket List”. As a still relatively newbie CSer, I haven’t tried doing virtual retreats but hear them talked about on Flosstubes. Yet another thing to add to the “future events to try attending” list! Have fun and learn a lot at them all!