PQ 12.6 AB INTRA: Crowded

 

My inner 5 year old is happy with the pink and lace.

 

My inner 12 year old is happy with the denim.

My inner environmentalist is happy with upcycling a messed up shirt into something useful.

My inner fashionista is happy with having something no one else will be wearing.

 

My inner quilter thinks we are nuts for starting on half in half square triangles the night before the challenge is due.

 

My inner old lady says what the heck. I always said I was going to wear purple.

And we all told the inner perfectionist to get back on that galloping horse 'cause we don't see anything wrong with it!

 

This week's Project Quilting challenge was AB INTRA, from within.  Well, there is a lot going on in here but what else would you expect?  

 This is an upcycled denim shirt made with lace and quilter's cotton. The wee small quilt in the pocket is a prairie rose block (from moda bake shop pattern).  It measures just under 4 inches square.  

 

PQ 12.4 CRAZY!

 Not much to say about this week's challenge.  The prompt was Crazy Quilt.  I've had this idea in my head for a while now.  So I decided to take this opportunity to make a prototype pillow.  

This is about 14 inches square.  It is made from scraps of minky.  That is why the colors are kind of whack.  I wanted to use the fabric type to see how it would work but I didn't want to cut into any big pieces.  So, I used what I had.  

I was going for monster faces on the digitizing but I think I ended up a little more cute.

 

I Followed the Snail's Trail! PQ 12.4

Busy Day.  Quick post.  

 This week's Project Quilting challenge was to be inspired by the traditional quilting block called snail's trail.  It is a pretty challenging block that has been giving even experienced quilters some starts and fits.  

I decided to follow the snail's trail to see where it would lead.  And look what I found!  The snail.

 Over the past year I have been working on understanding pattern design,  It is a non-trivial process.  This is really the first three dimensional pattern I have drafted with which I am some what happy.  I think the issues I have with it are more in the realm of sewing rather than in the pattern design itself.  I am pretty sure that once I shrink it down and hand sew it he will be just fine.  

 As it is, this guy is just over 9 inches long about a bit more than that high.  He is made from quilting cotton and stuffed with polyfil.  Just to be sure he meets the letter of the requirements if not the spirit he has some patchwork appliqued on his shell. 

Bearly There. Project Quilting 12.3 Virtual Vacation

 

 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a true "cozy of last resort".  Well technically it is a mug rug of last resort.  

This week's challenge was to make a quilt that interprets the idea of virtual vacation, where you've been, where you want to be, where you actually are.  It was the perfect opportunity to pull out some of my 'travel' fabric.  I have a small set of cuts from Hawaii that my mom and my sister picked out for me when they were there a few years ago.  Since Spud 3 was known for his Hawaiian shirts it is a quilt project destined for him.  I also have a stash of fabrics picked up in Alaska on a trip with my sister, the mister and Spud 3. 

Our trip to Alaska was primarily a fishing trip for the spud.  My sister has taken all of the spuds to Alaska for their graduation present.  I just happened to figure out how to tag along one time.  It was a tightly scheduled vacation with lots of people and one car.  I figured I could finagle in one quilt shop during our travels.  I researched.  I really researched and settled in on the Quilted Raven in Anchorage.  It seemed the most Alaskan.  We had a few days there as we waited for my mom, my brother and my cousin, who summers in Alaska to arrive.  

So my sister and I ventured out shopping one afternoon.  We looked at art galleries.  We tried on mukluks.  We had a blast looking around and spent quite a bit of time in the Quilted Raven.  I carefully considered my options and I purchased a restrained amount of fabric and patterns.  

This table runner was made for a PQ challenge a couple years after our return.  It is from the that little stash of fabric.   

Much to my surprise, my sister declared the following day at I needed to go back to the quilt shop. I was happy to oblige.  I could look around again.  There was so much to see.  So we all piled into the car and went back to the quilt shop.  Much not to my surprise, after a very few minutes, my sister decided she was bored with the quilt shop and she and her husband went off to the mukluk shop next door.  

The mister and the spud found fabric.  They found lots of fabric.  They insisted I needed more fabric.  I ended up buying waaay more fabric than the day before.  It took up most of the spare space in my suitcase.  It really, truly wasn't my fault.  

So... I have a stash of fabric from Alaska.  I never had a plan for it.  It was purchased as blocks and fat quarters, a few yards here an there and a couple panel-ish cuts.  None of it is in my usual selection.  All of it is big bold prints with designs that need to be featured.  It has lingered in my stash for quite a while as one of those sets in need of a plan.  

 So I had fabric from Alaska where I have been and want to return and from Hawaii where I have never been but want to go.  Both fabrics seem destined for spud 3.  Fortuitously he was home this week.  So we looked at the fabrics and came up with a plan.  

North to Alaska.  North the rush was on.  

We decided to use the pack of 7 inch squares and one of the panel-ish pieces of fabric.  Spud 3 has an amazing eye for color and design.  He suggested we use brown as the sashing color.  Of course, my selection of brown was limited so.... off the the store to purchase what looked right.  And we auditioned them all.  We sent pictures to the mister to get his opinion.  We selected the perfect fabric and I got started.  

 

I had to do some math to figure out what size to cut the center panel so that the blocks all lined up and fit.  OF COURSE, there were 18 blocks in the pack and needed 22 blocks no matter what.  That meant I HAD to fussy cut four more blocks.  Those of you who know me, know that the two two things I truly dislike in quilting are fussy cutting and sashing.  Yep. This whole project depended on both of them!  

But I persisted. 

I love using clips to label each block.

I got everything cut and laid out and had to wait for the spud to approve the layout.  He can be very fussy about block arrangement and can see patterns that no one else will ever notice but will make the quilt over the top better when you follow them.  I carefully sewed the rows of blocks together.  I was extremely careful to make sure the seams were consistent so that things would line up in the end.  Things were going swimmingly.  And then.... 

My math was correct but I set up the story problem wrong.  Those  perfect 7 inch blocks actually finish at 6.5 inches.  Yep.  Amateur mistake.  So.  I had to figure out how to fix it.  It threw me for a loop and I lost a day. Then I had to work of the nerve to actually cut the panel down.  No way I could get a replacement.  Fussy cutting an order of magnitude worse.

I did get it done, with an assist from the mister.  I did get much of it pieced, just a few things left to do.  But by late Saturday, I knew I was not going to do the quilt justice if I pushed through and tried to finish it up.  This one is too special to risk making more amateur mistakes.  So I had to come up with the cozy of last resort.  

 

There were 18 blocks in the pack I was using.  Seventeen of them were gorgeous and graphic and wonderful.  And then there was the one that stood out like a sore thumb, or paw as the case may be.  This print was just plain awful in the quilt.  So I had to fussy cut yet another block.  ARGGGHHHH!

This little patch of paw prints was left over.  I decided to take one of the rejected browns, applique a bear on to it and make it a mug rug.  It reminds me more of Colorado than Alaska but as I am always going there on vacation it still works.  So.... Bearly There is my cozy of last resort.  

The real quilt will be finished in short order.  I want to have it ready for the spud to take with him when he heads back out.  

Bearly There.  PQ 12.3.  Virtual Vacation.  7 x 7 inch mug rug.  Raw edge applique.  Outline quilted.  Hand stitched binding.  Made near St Louis, MO. 

  

 

Nailed It! Project Quilting 12.2 Fussy Cut Challenge

 

Let me come right out and say it.  Fussy cutting is not my thing.  Now I will tell you, if you ask me, that I don't like fussy cutting because of the waste.  But the truth is I have limitations and I know it.  Not only do you have to position the fabric and cut it out properly but 99 times out of 10 if you waiver at all in your seam allowance you've blown the whole effect.  I do not like it. 

So when I saw that this week's Project Quilting Challenge was fussy cutting, I may have let out a few rude words like '2020'.   However, I set a goal to make something, preferably something other than a cozy of last resort, for every challenge this season.  So I had to do something.  Fortunately/unfortunately I have set another goal to use only stash and I already blew that one on the first challenge because I had to buy two pieces to make it work.  So..... I had to do this with what I had.  

Now I don't go big on prints and designs in my stash other than for magic bags.  The scale is very tiny on those so they don't make for a big statement in a piece.  And I wanted to make a BIG statement  I like to whine and complain about the challenge prompts.  It is just one of those things that amuses me.  I actually find the challenges I complain about the most, push me the furthest out of my comfort zone. They make me think hard and look at fabric in new and different ways.  This one was no different.  

I did have several different ideas for this quilt.  I didn't have a lot of time to pull it together and I was pretty convinced that even if I did go to the fabric store they would not have the perfect fabric for it.  I had to root through my stash to see what I could find.

 This Heather Ross Print from several years ago was on ridiculous discount at one of the big chain stores.  I bought the ends of the bolts of three different prints because I love Heather Ross and I knew I would find a project for it eventually.  Plus, I could tell the Mr that it was HEATHER ROSS so it was as much an investment as his Magic Cards!  

 

Now before you Heather Ross fans get all shirty with me you need to know that with the exception of the one PERFECT motif in the middle all of the bits in this quilt came from the cut edge and were already essentially destroyed before I mutilated them further.   But I did get that one perfect cut!  Nailed it!

This quilt is approximately 13 x 17 inches.  It has fast finish corners for hanging.  It is essentially a ticker tape quilt.  Each little attempt to fussy cut Chloe was stitched on top of the quilt sandwich with a few extra boxes thrown in for balance.  The binding is also stash fabric.  It was the best I could do since I already knew that the local quilt shops did not have the perfect gray gingham.  (I already looked for a a different project.)  The binding is hand sewn on the back.

I quilt near St Louis, MO. 

The RULZ of Quilting

 

 For any of you who are wondering...

There are only three rules in quilting.

1. Make sure it is structurally sound. (This can one can fly out the window if you are doing a wall hanging or art quilt.)
2. Done is warmer than perfect.
3. If you can't see it from the back of a galloping horse, it isn't there.

Any other RULE anyone tells you is just noise and can either be learned from or ignored.

Yeah, I might have an attitude. I respect and appreciate competition quilters. I admire the quilters who are able to match every corner, keep every point and make tiny perfect stitches. I aspire to their level of quality. I learn from them. 

 

However, it makes me sad to see quilters apologize for their work and point out tiny mistakes that no one else can see. Everyone should be able to enjoy the process and celebrate their successes and finishes. Few of us are actually doing this because it is essential to keeping our families warm.

 

And it hurts my heart to see self-appointed quilt police shut down the enthusiasm of other quilters. I was fortunate enough to have my first experience with an expert turn out to be incredibly supportive. I took my first effort to a quilt shop where the kind lady ever so politely explained to me how to match up corners. I was so green, I didn't even know that was a thing. When I asked if I needed to rip it all apart and start over, she said, "finish is up and move on, dearie. Learn what you can from this one and the next on will be even better." Had she treated me as I have seen some treat others, I would probably have trashed my first effort and never done another one. But she was kind. She was helpful. She encouraged me. And almost thirty years later whenever I am discouraged by a project, I hear her voice in my head saying " finish it up and move one, dearie." And so I do.

Today's Recipe: Green Bean Casserole: Variations on a Theme.

 

It always amazes me how two people can follow the same recipe and come up with completely different final dishes.

When I was in Jr High, I competed in the county fair baking category. The recipe for chocolate chip cookies was printed in the newspaper. To enter your cookies you had to follow the recipe exactly.

Baking is one area of cooking where following the recipe is pretty important. The chemistry that allows flour and sugar to become tasty cake and cookies requires a certain amount of precision and some elements shouldn't be compromised with a good understanding of the purpose they serve in the mix.

A few days before the fair started you had to turn in six of your best cookies on a white paper plate. They had to stand on their own without any of the frills or decorations allowed in some of the other competitions. The judges would sample one or two and the rest would go on display in the glass cases in the homemakers building for the duration of the fair.

It was always kind of strange to look at all the cookies lined up on their identical paper plates. You knew, that in theory at least, they all used the identical ingredients and proportions. And yet the final cookies were so very different. Some were round balls that didn't spread out at all. Some were thin sprawling cookies with lumps where the chocolate chips were. Some were perfectly sized and perfectly smooth, making you wonder if they contained any chips at all. And then there were the ones of even size with just enough chocolate chip peeking through the top. You just knew that they had the perfect mix of chewy center and crunchy, crumbly exterior. Same recipe, different outcomes.

I practiced and practiced that cookie recipe until I am quite certain my entire family was sick of chocolate chip cookies. I definitely have it memorized and made it scale-able. Once I found myself with free range of the commercial kitchen at field camp. I spent at least one evening every week making dozens and dozens of cookies using the floor stand Hobart mixer. My pretty kitchen aid is wonderful but I loved that giant Hobie! (Remind me to tell you the story of the great cookie war and the turtle walk some day.)

Following recipes can be important. We may think we follow them carefully but the more you make something the less likely it is that you actually do what the recipe says.

My mom had a recipe for a soup called Hearty Hodgepodge You can find it in old seventies cookbooks. It is loaded with sausage, beef, ham, potatoes and garbanzo beans. It is the soup I crave on blustery winter days. She readily shared the recipe. It is even in the family cook book. If I haven't made it for a while, I will glance at it to make sure I am headed in the right direction.

One time I was at a potluck where some one else brought the hodgepodge. It was watery and almost inedible. My mom re-read the recipe and started laughing. She said, she hadn't actually made it that way in years! So much of the recipe is subjective. Particularly with something like soup, you have to taste along the way. You really can't just dump it all together and hope to get a perfect result. The recipe provides a guideline and in some cases there are rules but you always have to trust your judgement on the final product.

Which brings me to green bean casserole. I really like green bean casserole. My father-in-law always asked for it. The spuds like it particularly when it is the middle layer in tater tot casserole. There are literally dozens of recipes for green bean casserole. Some are pretentious. Some are basic. At their core, they have green beans, mushroom soup and french fried onion rings.

None of them should ever involve adding milk! Ever. Similar potluck story. Same cook claimed the green bean casserole. It was swimming in watery milk. I politely (yes, truly I was very polite in my questioning) asked for the recipe. It was a national brand that called for adding milk. Ugh.

So the basics....

Three cans of green beans (Drained. For the love of all that is good drain the beans!!!)

One can of cream of mushroom soup (this is the not pretentious, easy to make on a week night version)

A good handful of french fried onion rings

Another good handful or two of shredded cheddar cheese.

(If you must have a definition... a good handful of onions is probably a half a cup and good handful of shredded cheddar is probably about 3/4 of a cup. But don't take my word for it. Use your judgment.)

No salt

No pepper

Nothing else.

And absolutely NO MILK.

Mix. Gently. No bean mash here. Put it in a casserole dish. Top with more onions and bake until bubbly and delicious.

One thing that makes this double delicious (and pretentious) is making your own mushroom soup. I am going to be making some this weekend in preparation for Thanksgiving. I will try to document it so I can share. The key to the rich flavor is using dried wild mushrooms. (OK. Fair call. It does use heavy cream. Heavy cream is milk. So I put milk in my green bean casserole. But..... It isn't the same and it isn't watery.)

The fresh mushroom soup lends a strong mushroom flavor to the casserole. If you don't like mushrooms stick to the prepared versions. You can find some lovely gluten free versions in the specialty aisle. You can probably substitute cream of chicken soup. But never cream of celery soup. Cream of celery soup is an abomination and the bane of every unregulated pot of stone soup at camp everywhere.

So.... follow the recipe. But taste and use your judgement. Unless it is burned to a crisp or the broccoli is full of worms there are ways to fix it. Ask me if you need some help. And enjoy it. Enjoy making your food. Enjoy sharing your food. Enjoy Eating your food.

--- Oh, and that county fair thing. Yeah. I won the blue ribbon.

 

What Can You Do With Different Sizes of Blocks?

 

The problem of having blocks of different sizes has come up in a number of chats I have had over the past month or so.  There are lots of reasons why we end up with blocks that just won't fit together.  T-shirt quilts are notorious for this because the sizes of the logos are all over the map and there is always one that just won't fit in no matter how you try to make it.  Sometimes we get swap blocks where the sizes are all over the map.  Sometimes we have an issue assembling a block and end up with different sizes.  Sometimes, like in the quilt pictured, we have absolutely no idea what we are doing and we just keep winging it until it seems like it might actually fit together. 

 

The easiest answer is to trim.  Find the smallest block and trim everything else to that size.  If you are good with wonky, and believe me, I am often good with wonky, then just go for it.  If you aren't into wonky then you will need to center your blocks and trim them carefully.  Use the lines on your ruler to help you line things up to get the even trim.  In the image above I have drawn a 16 patch trimmed wonky and trimmed square.  Both are exaggerated to show the difference.   These 4, 9, 16 patch blocks are probably the easiest ones to trim up and make work.  You will know the sizes are off but they won't be seen from the back of a galloping horse so they just aren't there for anyone else!

 Blocks with points start to get trickier and you need to look for other answers. Using sashing is one way to address this.  Slight variations in the width of a sashing are less noticeable than a completely severed point. You just need to think carefully about how you are going to place your blocks and how to manage cornerstones if you are using them.  Perhaps put the block that has a wider sash in a bottom corner.  Leave off the cornerstones if you can't make them line up.

Trimming and sashing work for the slight variations you can get when piecing blocks of a similar size.  But it gets more complicated when your blocks are random sizes.  I have a set of wonky house blocks I received in a block swap.  I love them  But they are all different sizes.  I haven't looked at them in a while but I am about ready to address the issue. 

 

When you have blocks of completely different sizes perhaps from fussy cutting or orphan blocks you may need a slightly different approach.  The trick to dealing with random size blocks is figuring out how to make them fit into a common set of sizes.  First you need to figure out the measurements of the largest block you have.  Everything else will have to be sized up to match or paired up with other blocks to make the same size.  

 

One approach is to add borders to the blocks to bring them up to a consistent size.  This allows you to take one small block and make it fit with a bigger block.  Borders can be even but they don't have to be. The block in the center above has a 6 inch block in the center with 3 inch borders placed evenly around it.  The block on the left has a narrow border but it is still centered.  The block on the right is offset.  You can even make the central block sit at an angle (see my example at the end of the post).  It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you like the way it looks. 

 

The blocks pictured above represent a situation where your blocks are wildly different in size.  Let's pretend that the largest block measures 12 inches finished.  (That means the unfinished block is 12.5 inches on each side.)  You can easily put together blocks in units of 3", 6" and 9" (finished) that will all pair up in various ways to equal your 12" (finished) block.

You can also combine smaller blocks into a block of the appropriate size.  These are several examples of how to use 3, 6 and 9 inch blocks and strips to make a 12 in block.  We've already seen the first example of just adding a 3" border to a 6" block.  But each of the squares around it could also be individual 3 inch squares.  The picture on the top right shows a 9 inch block with three 3 inch blocks on the side and a three inch border on the bottom.  Lower Right is four 6 inch blocks.  Lower left show two solid 6 inch blocks and two 4 patch blocks (made of 3 inch blocks) themselves made in to a 12 inch four patch.  The variations are endless.

It is important to remember that you can add in your coordinating fabrics as blocks or swatches.  You can still add in sashing and you can split up a block if you like.  Perhaps adding two stacked 6 inch blocks to one end and finishing up the row with a set of six 3 inch blocks.  It will all come out even in the end.

You can add any other easily stacked up measurements like 2, 4, 6 8 and 12 inch (finished) blocks.  It all depends upon what you have and where you want to go with it.  

The quilt pictured at the top of the page was a quilt without a plan.  I had photos of all sorts of sizes and not idea how to fit them together.  I just kept sewing things together and then sewing them in to rows until it mostly worked.  There are definitely some weird fits and starts in that particular quilt but everyone sees the pictures and no one sees the weirdness.

I was still learning while making this quilt and chose to keep adding random strips to the pictures in this one.  It is vaguely log cabin style but it is mostly just weird angles.  I trimmed each block to the final size and then sewed them together just like they were 'normal' blocks. 

Today's Recipe: No Place Like Home

 

 

 

One of the hardest parts about working with upcycled denim is the variation in color you get not only between pairs of worn out jeans but within the jeans themselves.  That makes choosing the thread colors difficult.  A thread color that stands out on one shade of blue may be dull and lifeless on the next one.  Occasionally I come across a color that translates well to most.  The gold used in this ray gun badge is one of those colors. 

 

It was a random event that lead me to this color.  I bought it at a shop that was selling off a huge selection of odds and ends spools.  It was a large spool.  I have been using it for a couple years.  It is almost empty.  I went searching for a replacement. 

 

Because it was a remnant spool, the labels were not very clear.  I knew what brand it was but the numbers on the spool turned out to be size and type but not color.  They lead me to a page from that manufacturer with 20 shades of gold.  Many of them were close but the images were color swatches and not actual thread.  Without the sheen of the real thread it is very hard to tell if it is the correct one.  I had a flash of inspiration and looked inside the spool.  There was a small sticker with more numbers.  Fortunately, those matched the color numbers for the brand and I was able to find what i believed to be the proper color.

 

Finding that, lead me to a search for a vendor who carries the thread.  That lead me to Amazon where I found a spool!  I ordered it.  It arrived four days later.

 

It arrived with a return address for a shop less than 10 miles from my house.  A shop* I have been to before.  A shop I could have gone to with my almost empty spool to see if I could find a match.  A shop where I could have had the thread in hand immediately.  A shop I would have gone to last year.

 

But 2020... 

 

Next time I need new thread I will call them or go directly to their website.  I need to shop local. I need to do what I can to support the small local businesses that I used to depend on and want to be able to depend on in the future**.  There is no place like home.

 

*Remind me to tell you the story of my first visit to this shop and my first impressions and how they came back to haunt (or maybe just amuse) me some time. 

 

**This badge is one of my favorites.  It is from a series of Steampunk badge I designed specifically for a Steampunk Festival a few years ago.  I am going to have to design a steampunk sash next!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/471612650/steampunk-spaceship-ray-gun-iron-on?ref=shop_home_active_2 

The Monster in the Closet: The Truth About Unfinished Objects.

At some point, every quilter discovers an unfinished quilt stashed away on a shelf or in a bag.  Some of us have several of them.  They can make us feel anxious, inadequate or just plain guilty. The longer they sit there the more we feel the them staring at us with reproach.  But it really shouldn't affect us that way.  

UFOs become UFOs for a reason.  They really aren't sitting there staring at us to make us feel guilty.  They aren't symbols of our failure.  We set projects aside because we run into technical issues, we made a mistake we can't see how to fix, we get frustrated, we start to question our fabric choices or we have emotional responses to the reason we started it in the first place.  

Each of those cases require some perspective.  Asking for help with technical issues is a good thing.  There may be a different way of creating the block that makes more sense or is easier.  There may be a problem with the pattern itself that some one has already identified and solved.  

With a little perspective, you can turn a mistake into a design element.  Add sashing, trim things down, insert a fabric that reads the same color as the one you miss cut. (If you look closely at this quilt you will see where I had to substitute additional fabrics to have enough to finish it.)   Remember that quilts come out of a make do tradition and those quirks add personality and truly make the quilt your own.   Figure out a plan and roll with it.  Advice helps.

Frustration is another thing that may just take some time to get past.  You can always pull out some scrap fabric and practice the technique with lower stress less risk to the project.  Ask for help.  Use the tedious piecing as leaders and enders and before you you know it you  will have it finished.  Give yourself a break and take the time you need.  

Emotional responses are much more difficult.  It is OK to donate a project that makes you angry or recalls emotions you aren't prepared to deal with.  But sometimes it is a good thing to see it through and finish it up.  I just finished and gifted a quilt I didn't finish in time to give to my mother.  It was hard and there may be a few extra tears in that binding.  But I felt good knowing it went to a couple who will love it and I don't have it around as a reminder.  I believe it helped me work through some of the grief.  

We all have reasons we quilt ranging from love of sewing to it keeps me sane.  Enjoy the process wherever it leads you.  Learn and "finish it up and move on, dearie."

Freaky

I guess I must be more tired than I assumed.  I was  looking at tabs on my browser and decided to look at comment spam.  For some reason, I was logged in to an unused blog that had NOTHING.  I was absolutely freaked that my blog of many years had completely disappeared.  But then I remember what it was really called and found it all.  G'night.  I'll try again another day. 

Comment Spam

I wanted to write a new post but I had to wade through pages of comment spam and delete it all. 

I don't even understand the point. 

Another day. 

PQ 10.2 Cozy of Last Resort

 As soon as I heard the challenge, I knew which stash of fabric was going to come out and play.  It was a set of red, white and blues I collected after finding a cute little dress in a thrift shop and deciding the colors were perfect for a quilt.  The reds were easy.  I passed up the white polka dots in my collection as being too transparent.  The blues were harder to match.  I have found that blue is actually a very hard color to match.   They are not perfect but they work.  I tried cutting the appropriate sized triangles and much to my surprise, made it all the way through the stack of fabrics.  Unfortunately, I realized I need twice as many little white ones as large colored ones.

 After much head scratching, internet perusing and seam ripping, I got the hang of using the triangle paper to make flying geese.  It was not entirely self explanatory.  It also required a degree of dexterity that I was missing.  I was making good progress once I got the hang of it all.  However, by Friday morning, I wasn't even half way through piecing.  Even with doing multiple rows at a time to cut down on trips to the ironing board, I just wasn't getting it done.  Another thing that actually made a great big difference was switching from my tiny and sturdy BL9 to my larger machine.  I had to (horror of horrors) change it from embroidery to sewing but that thread cutter and larger sewing surface really make a difference. 

 

Thus it became time for the cozy of last resort.  I call it that because once upon a time, the infamous Quilt Chicken made an air freshener cozy at the last minute just to say she had completed the challenge.  It is  a lovely cozy and a wonderful lesson in get 'er done.

I went to my stash and found the adorable snowpeople in trucks fabric along with the snowflake/star fabric.  I had to argue a bit to avoid getting started on another complicated design.  This was going to be your basic alternating blocks.  A quick table runner.  I did have a blue fabric similar to the red stars but I didn't want to think that hard.  So it is a just a basic checkerboard.

 

I should have started here in the first place.  My skills are very rusty.  There was joy in cutting and sewing simple blocks.  I managed to line up most of my corners and iron most of my seams in the right direction so they all laid flat.  I don't usually even take pictures of the back of my flimsies, let alone post them but I am pleased with how this worked out.

Here it is appropriated shot on a pile of melting snow.  It measures 16" x 24",  The batting turned out to be thicker than I thought, so the quilt is a little puffy for a table topper.  I did a simple cross hatching quilting.  I decided that because I found the walking foot before I found the FMQ foot.  It is the simple things, I know.  An important reminder to self.  Quilting causes the fabric to recede.  I should have quilted over the red squares leaving the snow people to pop out.  However, I knew the white thread would show my errors on the red.  Yes.  I could have gotten the red thread but I didn't think of that until I was already started.

Here you can see my only sort of wavy lines.  It turned out better than I hoped given my rusty quilting skills.  The walking foot is a wonderful invention!

 And an art shot just because I finished in time to try and take arty pictures rather than desperately snapping a blurry shot just to get it linked in time!