{To Good To Cut} Halloween Fabric

The week before last, the alternator in Teenage Daughter's car went out and she used the van while her car was in the shop. Which was fine. We picked it up and on the drive home Hubby realized that a wheel bearing had gone bad so it sat in our driveway for a few days and then at the mechanic's place for another week. Which was okay.  Friday, they called and the other wheel bearing is bad (but they couldn't tell it was making noise until they replaced the first one.) The boys and I have plenty to do here at the house, but this is starting to get a bit old. If I really want to go someplace, I'll have to drive either my daughter or husband to work and then pick them up, which means a couple of extra hours on the road. I'm not that desperate yet.  

And as if the car wasn't enough fun, I'm having surgery on Thursday. It should make my life much better, but that's what they told me about the knee surgery so I'm a little stressed and the hormones they've got me taking don't seem to be helping matters any. Neither does the fact that they changed the date on me. (I'm completely sympathetic to the patient who needs the emergency hysterectomy and I'll gladly give up my place on the schedule for her, but I wish they'd told me about the change before we went through so much hassle with my husband's employer to get him off the schedule for that day.)   

Except for a yard of clear vinyl that I picked up at Walmart with the groceries, I'm not buying fabric. Instead I'm going through my stash and deciding what I'm excited about. 

Halloween fabric is almost always exciting....

I think the one on the right is going to be the backing for Hocuspocusville (at least that was the plan when I ordered it a few years back), have no plan for the ones in the middle, and am trying to decide whether to applique those potion bottles on a bookshelf quilt.

The boys need bags for carrying library books that aren't feminine or babyish and this zombie drive in print that I found at one of the shops we visited while we were collecting Row by Row patterns has got to be the most non-girly cut of fabric on the face of the Earth! Just one problem....I think when I finish the bag I'm going to want to keep it for myself. Same with the movie posters.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 3/4 yards
Fabric used year to date: 7 1/4 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 29 1/4 yards (+2 sheets)
Net added for 2016: 22 yards

Yarn used this Week: 400  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 5900 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 9118 yards
Net added for 2016: 3218 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

September Scare Socks

Pattern: Jack or Not

Yarn: Knitpicks Stroll  

It took me a full month, but I got the pair done before the first Supper Sock Scarefest pattern was released. I'm a little surprised by that, and very happy!

As I type this on Friday afternoon, there are at least seven hours to go until the next pattern is released. So now I'm on pins and needles, waiting to see if the socks are based on a horror movie that I actually like. Last year I couldn't bring myself to knit Babadook socks. I didn't enjoy the movie and I don't do much colorwork. But I did do The Fly and The Wicker Socks and a couple of pairs from earlier years.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {9/30/16}

How many baby quilts can I back with a four yard length of polar bear fabric? So far, the total seems to be three with the possibility of one more.

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Vintage Blackboard Quilt

I'm not usually a fan of anything that's too school-ish, especially not flashcards, but it was love at first sight when I saw this novelty print. For years it sat in my "too good to cut" stash. I used a little bit for a bag that didn't turn out at all well, then a bigger piece for a rice bag. Seeing the way it looks when I cut it for the rice bag made me decide that the busy novelty print would be great as a wide border.

But a wide border for what? I couldn't decide until I saw an Irish Chain quilt that someone had made with a black background. That made me think of chalkboards...and then I found this fabric in my stash. It was intended for a different project, but with its dusty black color and the paler flecks it was the perfect background. That other project will have to use something else. 

I didn't write down the measurements I used, but the nine patch blocks seem to measure 1 3/4" and the finished quilt is 16" x 21"ish.   don't measure tiny blocks after you quilt them - it's not even remotely accurate.  

I'm loving this little quilt so much that it's currently hanging over my sewing machine in the space that Strawberry Fields had been in since 2011. I'm always pinning little blocks up there and I figure this one is better suited to be a sort-of bulliten board. 

Going back to the picture at the top of the post, the bell belonged to Great Aunt Molly, who taught at a girls' boarding school.  I'm told that she used it in her classroom. The Bobbsey Twins books are from the library bookstore where I scored a huge stack of them for fifty cents a piece. I was never a big fan of that series, but I couldn't leave them behind...not at that price. And once Grandma saw them and told me those were the ones she'd read as a girl, there was no way I was going to part with them!

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts

There's Hope...

If I knit quickly, I may be able to get my September Scare socks done before the first Super Sock Scarefest pattern is released next week.  Last year, I only managed to finish two pairs -- neither of them within the deadlines. This year, I hope I can do better.




The thing I loved best about You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott was the author's voice, which was like watching a crime drama with a dispassionate narrator explaining what led up to the tragedy and its aftermath. I still felt close to the characters, maybe because the entire book focuses on one woman, the mother of an elite young gymnast, and she's not hiding anything from the reader as she figures out the ugly truth. If you're looking for a thriller that isn't too far-fetched, this one may be for you.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copies by the publishers. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, Crazy Mom Quilts , Wrap up Friday  

Because I've Got Fabric With Polar Bears on It...

I had four yards of fabric with polar bears on it and one finished blue baby quilt top. So I made a second top. That left me with enough fabric to back a third blue baby quilt, so I pieced another top. 

The pattern is Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips Around the World. To keep the quilt symmetrical and baby-quilt sized, I used 2" strips.

Aside from laying out the strips to see if any of my blues were oddly glaring, I let the colors fall randomly. Am I the only one who sews the blocks together and then waits until the light is good for picture taking to actually look at the finished quilt?

The backing and batting is cut to size and I've got just enough fabric for one more quilt, as long as I keep it small and/or piece the backing a bit.

I've got to admit that I'm not a fan of this fabric, but it's quilt shop quality and suitable  for babies and - at probably fifty cents a yard - it was definitely the right price!

Be My Neighbor

I love, love, love quilts with houses on them but -- except for that single red schoolhouse block -- I haven't made a house quilt yet.  I've got patterns. Lots and lots of patterns. But there's always been something else to do first.

Last week, I stumbled across the Moda Be My Neighbor Pattern Club and printed the first two patterns. And then I actually got a few quality hours with my sewing machine...

These blocks are HUGE. I know, the measurements are right there on the pattern, but my brain wasn't quilt processing how big an 18" block actually would be. I rarely work with pieces this big and, after making these first two blocks I don't plan on changing my ways.

What this quilt really has going for it, besides houses, is that I can make it with my existing fabric stash and it'll be a great utility quilt when it's done.

This post is linked to Patchwork Times. 

Halloween Supplies

Have you seen the Halloween Haul videos on YouTube?  I discovered them last week and I'm absolutely fascinated.  What struck me most is the difference between those videos and my own trip to the Dollar Tree for seasonal supplies. None of my stuff looks like Halloween -- yet.

It's easier for me to justify the purchase when I'm making something, not just hanging something ready made on the wall.

The bigger part of the haul, which I didn't take a picture of, was the supplies for baking. I've got a working oven this year, cranberries are back on the menu, and I'm determined to bake all of the wonderful yummy things, starting with Homemade Maple Pecan Cranberry Granola.

My boys love granola for breakfast (we get ours from the bulk section at Winco), but I've never tried making it. This is definitely a recipe we'll use again.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 6 1/2 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 29 1/4 yards (+2 sheets)
Net added for 2016: 22 3/4 yards

Yarn used this Week: 0  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 5500 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 9118 yards
Net added for 2016: 3618 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Messy Fun With the Boys

The plan was to make Galaxy Playdough, but after I tracked down the glitter and the black food coloring and read the instructions again, I realized that I do not have the patience to go back to the store for cream of tartar or to cook playdough on the stove....so we used our usual glue/water/borax mix and added the food coloring and glitter to that.

I do the measuring, the boys do the mixing, and I don't get bluish green hands. And once the slime is mixed it's an outdoor experience to keep it far away from quilts and carpet and couches. We're all happier with that system!

I'm linking up with WFMW at Giving Up on Perfect.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {9/23/16}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Triangle Bag

I'm not sure what I'll keep in this oddly shaped little bag, but I love the way it turned out! 

The pattern is Triangle Bag, a free tutorial from Elm Creek Quilts and the fabric is from a black and white scrap bag I bought while we were doing the Row by Row experience. (The original plan was to make a Zentangle quilt, but I've got more than enough fabric to do both.)

Instead of the 2 1/2" squares the pattern calls for, I used 1 3/4" strips. I also adjusted the construction a bit because I was feeling too lazy to try something new.

This post is linked to Elm Street Quilts,  Crazy Mom Quilts , Wrap up Friday

{Thrift Store Temptations} Stuff and Mayonnaise

I've bee wanting to stop at the new thrift shop in town for a while now, but the timing is always wrong. The actual name of the store is Stuff and Nonsense, but Teenage Son read it wrong out of the corner of his eye and his version makes a much better post title.

Yesterday I left the house a bit early. I was hoping to find a scrap of doily to make that spider pincushion, but this isn't that kind of thrift shop. They didn't have a lot of inventory, but what they did have was pretty neat. 

I can't tell you how badly I want a sink like this. I know there's a bathtub out by the barn...maybe it's time to explore a bit and see if we have any other interesting old plumbing fixtures.

This old bookstore sign was neat -- and probably worth what they were asking -- but it was too rich for my blood and I'm not courageous enough to hang a glass sign in my house at this point in our lives.

We had identical gold chairs in our living room through my entire childhood. I love that feeling of coming face to face with something you'd completely forgotten.

Someday, maybe this particular table will fall into that category. Grandma bought us a set just like it when we were first married and, nineteen years later when the top separated from its base, she managed to replace it with its less attractive twin. Same table, same company, different finish.

I am so ready for a different table and chairs!

I was tempted by the ottoman, but it wouldn't go with anything else we own. Hopefully someone with an appreciation for mid century furniture in great condition will find and treasure it.

Do You See the Pumpkins?

I spent way to much time at the doctor's office last week and fell behind on my September Scare socks, but things are looking better now. (No more welts! Still no explanation, but as long as they stay gone I'm happy.) Two more evenings of knitting and I'm halfway through the second foot and the heels are straight forward short rows. Depending on the leg pattern, I may get these done before the next sock pattern is released.

Or not. I still haven't decided how I feel about the pumpkins. They're a neat trick, but mine look a little messy. I think I need smaller needles or tighter stitches or something.

Luckily, feeling too yucky to knit isn't the same as feeling too yucky to read.

Hellhole by Gina Damico is a fun black comedy. The trouble all starts when Max Kilgore steals a sparkly pink plastic kitten from the convenience store where he works, hoping it will cheer up his sick mother. It's a small crime but, combined with the pit to Hell that he just dug, it's enough to unleash a devil with an insatiable taste for junk food (but only if it's stolen) and reality television. Max hopes that if he gives the demanding devil something extra, his mother will be healed in exchange. And we all know how well deals with the devil tend to turn out...

Disclosure -- The book came from the library. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along   

I Hope She's Being Careful!

Looks like Thursday is the "try not to set your dress on fire" day of the weekly chore schedule. (If it makes you feel better, I found an article that says death by setting her dress on fire wasn't actually the number two cause of  death for Colonial women and another that  says women didn't dip their hems in water to keep them from igniting.)  

What I didn't find, probably because I didn't look, was a foolproof method for coming embroidery and applique. The vintage pattern I found online didn't have any instructions and the method I did use wasn't a success, probably because the details of her hat and sleeve are small. 

See the interfacing that's visible along the edges of her hat? And the way her hat looks like a sleeve but her arm is coming out of her waist? I've seen some weird quirks in vintage embroidery patterns, but I managed this problem on my own. The pattern wasn't like that. 

That's probably the best thing about projects that are destined to be used up and worn out. It doesn't matter if my results aren't perfect. It'll dry the dishes and make me smile just the same.

Design Wall Monday

This weekend, I spent some quality time with my rotary cutter, cutting 2" strips for another blue baby quilt and 1 1/2" neutral strips for a project I'm dying to start.

If you think it was an attempt to avoid crawling around on the floor and pin basting, you're right.

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Black and White Appliances

It's time again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. 

I've been having so much fun with my embroidery this year that I decided to link up Black and White Appliances.  This is the only embroidered quilt that I've actually finished, so it's the one I'm posting. Still in progress, I've got the Anatomy quilt, the Garden Party quilt, and a redwork kitchen quilt. And Hocuspocusville. How could I forget that one, especially with October so close? 

These are the sort of appliances you don't see much any more except in old black and white movies and television shows...and stitching them in black meant that I didn't have to choose realistic colors and still somehow make all of the blocks look good together. Building on that idea, I had a piece of fabric in my stash that's white on white with little dots. The dots made me think of static, which fits with the whole "black and white television" idea. So that was my background fabric. I think the black is what was left over from the nail polish quilt, fabric which was originally purchased for something else entirely.

My family owned an appliance store when I was growing up and I love the look of old television sets -- although the one depicted here is way before my time.

I've got a washing machine that's similar to this one out in the barn. The friend who sold it to us says it worked the last time she used it. It's my backup plan for the next time the "real" one gives out.

We had a telephone similar to this one (ours had buttons, otherwise the shape and style were the same.) I had to give up on it when it stopped ringing, but while it worked it was my favorite phone ever. You could actually hear it from across the house! That's why I replaced our cordless phone with the old one. My last cell phone had a ring tone that sounded just like it, which was wonderful unless I was watching old movies or Perry Mason reruns.

And I just think canister vacuums look neat.

No pattern for this one -- I bought the embroidery patterns at Grandma's Attic last spring. There were others available, but these were the four I couldn't live without and thought would make the cutest quilt. The blocks are 9" finished and I made the pinwheels with my Easy Angle ruler and 2" strips of fabric.

Stash Enhancement

While I was doing the Row by Row Experience, my folks were travelling in other parts of the state. The rules say that any person who walks in the door can request a pattern. My dad is a person. So is my teenage son. So when we weren't on the road together, I picked up patterns for her and she picked them up for me. 

I think there are another twenty patterns in this stack to add to my collection. Now it's time to pick my favorites and decide how to combine them. When we started, I had my doubts about whether or not I'd finish a quilt. Now I'm thinking I've got at least two in my future. 

Did you see that Sew Fresh Quilts is doing a Quilt Along for the Mod Bear Paw pattern? 

I'm seriously loving this quilt and I've had a Craft Warehouse gift card riding around in my purse since Christmas. I'd gone into the shop once or twice and come out empty handed. Friday, I headed out in search of brown fabric to use in some Bear Paw blocks. 

No luck with the brown, but I did find shirtings and a couple of novelty prints at a great price. 

And a new-to-me brand of sock yarn for three dollars a skein. I was drooling over this yarn a few weeks back at twice the price (plus shipping), so every color they had in stock made it into my cart. Three dollar pairs of socks? Yes, please! It may push my numbers deeper into the hole, but when I want to do some mindless sock knitting in months to come, I'll be happy to have it.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 6 1/2 yards
Fabric added this week:  11 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 29 1/4 yards (+2 sheets)
Net added for 2016: 22 3/4 yards

Yarn used this Week: 250  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 5500 yards
Yarn added this Week: 1752 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 9118 yards
Net added for 2016: 3618 yards

This post is linked to Patchwork Times.

Ever Used a Free Motion Guide Grip?

I have tops to quilt. There are the two blue baby quilts, and that little vintage school quilt from last month, and Alex's low volume quilt, and Heath's seals, those drunkard's path turtles,  and the nail polish quilt (once I find that fabric I need to finish the outer border...) 

While I was procrastinating last week, I found a post on Inbox Jaunt talking about the Viking Husqvarna’s Free Motion Guide Grip and had a vague memory of  Mom buying something like that years ago. So I called and asked if it actually existed and, if it did, if I could borrow hers to see if it's really as wonderful as Lori made it sound.

So now I've got a guide grip, and a new package of bobbins, and a new pack of needles.

This means I'm out of excuses, right? I'm anxious to see how the grip works.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {9/16/16}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Not the Baby Quilts I had Planned for This Post

I was hoping to have two new baby quilts finished this week. The tops were done, the batting was chosen, I had time set aside... And then I wound up in Urgent Care covered in red welts. Twice. Whatever shot they gave me on my second visit worked wonders and I can move my hands again. (Look -- typing!)

So instead of pretty blue baby quilts you get to see the mittens that I finished last week. I was going to wait until I had a few more pairs done to post pictures, but this will work.

They're destined for the annual mitten tree at the public library.  The yarn I used for the center pair is left from a pair of fingerless mitts I knit for myself back in 2008. The other two pairs are from a skein of Red Heart Strata that I bought at an estate sale for fifty cents in (maybe) 2009.

It feels good to use up really old yarn, doesn't it?

This post is linked to Crazy Mom Quilts.