Sunday Fun Day.

Good morning, y'all! Happy Sunday!

For the past week, daytime temperatures have ranged from the mid-50s to 70 degrees. All sorts of high temperature records for February in Pennsylvania were broken.

Except for the mountaintops and a few shady areas, most of the snow melted. Neighbors were out and about working in their flower beds and walking the streets and trails. A few of the willows sprouted soft, grey kitty toes.

The birds came back to the feeders. Quite a bit of time throughout the week was spent at the kitchen window simply watching them feed. The feeders seemed to draw in a dozen or so black capped chickadees, a tufted titmouse and a beautiful, iridescent headed grackle (thinking the bronze race, but haven't seen it since it saw me, so can't be sure).

The transition from Winter to Spring can be devastating to our fine feathered friends. Many times they have to travel long distances with little forage. Keeping the feeders stocked and a suet cake available seems a small price to pay for all the enjoyment they provide. Waking to birdsong is on my list of favorite things in life.

Back to reality.

Yesterday the snow began anew. Tiny little pellets about the size of a glass-head pin top. This morning the flakes are the size of goose down.

The warmth was nice while it lasted. We took advantage by getting a bit of fresh air. Amazing how restorative sunshine and warmth in the great outdoors can be after a month of being cold.

Work continues on the Brown Bag Challenge quilt. All but one of the hand-quilted blocks was ripped out. Six of the twenty holly and berry blocks have been embroidered. Am hoping to complete the quilt by the end of March, but a painting project is due in two weeks and another (easier) quilt project is beckoning. (More on that later this week.)

We spent this past week running from Physical Therapy to the Doctor. Back to Physical Therapy. TOPS, Walmart, and getting the Jeep ready for inspection. Doesn't sound like much, but add crafting, chores and a physical disability...

Folks, we're just plumb worn out. Today is truly a day of rest. 

Where ever you are and whatever you choose to do: May you find something to laugh and smile about as you go about your day. Look for the good and chances are you'll find it!

Trapezoids and Triangles

Being new to machine quilting I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. The local Brown Bag Challenge has provided an opportunity to compete with other quilters that I eagerly embraced. The chosen pattern seemed simple enough - a nine-patch surrounded by trapezoids and triangles. Yet something didn't seem quite right after all the pieces were cut.

The central  nine-patches were simple to put together using strip piecing techniques learned earlier. The problem was the trapezoids and triangles that surround the nine-patch blocks. The triangles joining the trapezoids just seemed way too large. I put them together, but there was an awful lot of fabric left that didn't match up. After a bit of help from my friend the seam ripper four blocks were completed. The extra fabric was ignored.


These blocks were supposed to measure 12 inches when completed. Mine measured 11 3/4 inches.  I suspect that my cuts were slightly off.

My original plan was to put sashing between the blocks. The blocks looked fine when laid out against the sashing and background fabric. When joined it just didn't look right. So... rip, rip, rip.

Next I tried joining the blocks together, but the points were disappearing. So... rip, rip, rip.

After two failed attempts to make the points stand out I gave up and decided to hand piece them (in progress).


Here is a picture of the blocks right now (the vertical center seam is still pinned). My question is this: have any of you had problems with trapezoids and triangles? What did you do to fix them?

Local Brown Bag Challenge

A week or so ago I finally decided on the pattern to use with the batik fabric in my stash: Kaleidoscope because I like the optical illusion it forms. It's only taken me three years to decide which pattern to make. lol. Wednesday I went to my local fabric store, Little Fabric Garden to find coordinating fabric.
 
This is a picture of the first completed block along with the "Stonehenge" fabric I purchased.]

The owner, Judy, was sweet and very helpful. As were the other patrons I met while there. She has some beautiful quilts displayed. Some gorgeous fabrics too.  Folks - they have MODA fabric (one of my fav's)... I can see my fabric stash growing by leaps and bounds. ;)

Note: Judy has fresh cookies in the shop...and they are YUMMY!! Don't go there hungry if you're on a diet.

After much browsing and comparing, I was able to find one selection that worked well with one of the batiks, two additional batik prints, the backing fabric and another coordinating fabric for the Bears Paw quilt I'm making for the camp.

But I wasn't through.

While checking out I noticed a milk crate full of brown paper bags and a "Brown Bag Challenge" sign. I thought this would be a good way to show off my skills and perhaps win $25 gift certificate to spend in the shop. Plus - it's not due until August 31st. Plenty of time for even me to complete something using the fabric. Below is a photo of the fabric that was in the bag.

 

Here's how the challenge works:

• All quilters get the same fabric. 
• You can add or subtract one fabric to compliment and complete your creation. So - the project can have as few as 4 fabrics or as many as 6 fabrics.
• You can make anything you want (quilt, wall hanging, etc.)
• The completed project can't be any larger than 2375 square inches.
• All fabrics must be in plain sight -- not hidden.

Patrons vote for their favorite project. The project with the most votes win.

I've already picked out the block pattern I'm going to use for this. Will post more at a later date. In the meantime, if you were going to use the brown bag fabrics what pattern would you choose? Would you make a quilt, wall hanging or some other kind of project?

If you live in or around Bradford, PA stop by and join the challenge.