Broken Cross Check

That sounds like a reference app that's on the fritz, doesn't it? What I've really been doing is checking potential 36-patches for an inadvertent swastika image. I put up pairings for 20 blocks on the design wall, then took a photo and gray-scaled it for simplicity.

As long as there was a definite light frame around the center four dark squares, there was no danger of offensive misunderstandings in the blocks. Here's how they look in color:

Much more fun, yes? These are all "half pinwheels", in that there are only two pinwheel blocks used, paired with two plain 9-patch blocks. I have scores of plain 9-patch blocks already made; not so much with the pinwheel blocks, so in the interest of time I've opted to use what I've already got.

Mind Games

When we were growing up, my mother would send me in to help my youngest sister clean her messy room because, as she explained it to me, I could always make a game out of it.

She was right, of course, and it's something I continue to this day--making a game of Tedious Tasks.

The latest "TT" has been a result of my decision to quilt each wonky star by itself--all 80 of them. I made up the game of "4 Esses" to get through them without losing interest or momentum, and to keep myself active as well.

For every Star I quilted, I'd get up and move to the cutting table where . . .

Burying the beginning threads before stitching over them.

Just another Sewing Sunday

I've been wondering lately: why don't we use the term "sewyer" to describe our craft/hobby/skill set? I usually use "sewist/maker", but the -yer suffix is used to describe people who saw wood, people who make bows, people versed in law. Shall we start a movement?

I was moved to start pinning another quilt sandwich yesterday. In my "pile" of frankenbatts (all both of them; I got bored with that project and did something else rather than make more) I found what seemed, on paper, to be the perfect size. But when I did a dry run the edges fell short in several places, so I had an impromptu frankenbatting session right then and there, sewing a couple of long, thin batting cut-offs to two sides.

Surreality

I realized yesterday while I was listening to my favorite news programs, that it felt a LOT like listening to coverage of pending hurricanes descending upon far-off coasts--interesting, riveting sometimes, but only brushing the periphery of my life, if at all.

Sewing the first borders onto the Wonky Star top is my immediate reality.

I'm wonkin', yes indeed...

Well, most of the project bags are done; they've all been machine sewn, and now there are only 4 left that need one lining seam hand-sewn together.

Most of them came out quite nicely, but one of the fabrics (used in 3 bags) did not stand up well to all the handling, crunching, and manipulating involved in getting these to the finished stage. I don't know if it was the iron-on stabilizer, or the fabric itself, or a combination of the two, but terrible wrinkles and puckering resulted.

I don't know if I'll offer these at half price, or rip them apart and use the zippers (and perhaps the handles) for another project. Since the chorus concert at which I'll be selling these has been moved up to June, I have several weeks to decide.

Hot off the assembly line

This happened today:

Ain't it purty? It finished out at 12"L x 5"W x 4"H.

EPT progress

I'm tired...of that depressing post below!

I've been sewing away on the 14 Embryonic Pod Things, also known as Box/Project Bags (linking to the best of many tutorials). The initial infrastructure steps are done and I'm installing zippers at the moment.

The "infrastructure" consists of sewing down the iron-on interfacing to the main fabrics and the lining fabrics (4 pieces per bag, the way I make them). I like to sew a few length-wise lines along what will be the top of the bag, and several vertical lines along what will be the sides. This secures the interfacing (which doesn't really stick very well to heavy upholstery or even light denim fabrics) and adds interest.

In the past, for bags I've made as gifts, I've used a very analog technique of spacing the sewing lines, but since I'm putting these bags up for sale I want them to be a little more polished in appearance. That necessitated not only marking up the bed of my little Janome Jem, but finding an extension "table" I could mark up as well. She's a little machine (but a hard worker!) with rounded edges, and the best solution I found was the soft binder I keep patterns and inspirations in.

The softness of the binder allowed it to snug right up to the edge of the machine. I didn't try to line up exactly with any of the lines, but rather used them for guidance. For spacing I simply ran 7 stitches between each line.

Wonkiness

Last summer I finally fell to the sirens' call of Wonky Stars. At least, I bought in to the idea of making them, and dug a bunch of neutral 2.5"x4.5" pieces from my Scrap User System's 2-1/2" box. To those I added all the small and dark triangles from my triangle box, and there they sat at the side of my sewing table, ignored, for several months.

As whims do.

The Shoo-Fly Leader-Ender project had stalled because I still needed to cut more pieces for the negative color blocks, so last month while assembling the QAYG behemoth and completing the first steps of fourteen Embryonic Pod Things, I started grabbing these for my leader-enders.