Keeping Busy!

I have been doing so many things, that I tend to neglect this blog, but following the library sale and the acquisition of lots of new crafting books and magazines, I had to go through them all and then after several forays into Erie which had me stopping at the Salvation Army and Goodwill I ended up with even more items to look through and process. In my office, I am surrounded by sewing patterns, craft kits, Christmas fabric project panels and other assorted items. I go as fast as I can, but I also had a lousy month physically and got behind. Some of my great deals was a very large 4-5 yard chunk of a turquoise fabric as well as more batik or hand dyed fabric chunks. I found Fabric in all sorts of colors and designs that I would normally never touch.

 

 

I have found that buying leftover quilting fabric at places like thrift stores, I get a lot of fabric that I would have never bought at full price. The photos above, are just a small amount of fabric I have found at thrift stores! That was just one trip! Some of those fabrics have already made their way into my current quilt project! One fabric in particular is that mustardy brownish color that reminds me of what breast feed babies produce. Yet when cut up into smaller pieces I found it went very well with another print. When I have time I will be taking some photos of these quilt blocks as they are part of the article or book that I am slowly trying to write on color and quilting. This will be from a different perspective with not a color wheel included!

 

 

 

 

Many of the pieces in this quilt that I am working on come from my pre-cut pieces stash, or the pre-cuts that I make as I go along. One of the things that has really been helping me square up these 8 1/2" unfinished blocks was a Get Squared 8 1/2" ruler than you can see in the photos of the squares. As I make many of my blocks, for many different projects, I thought the 8 1/2" size would be perfect to have and it is immensely helpful. Because of the many lines on it, it is much easier to get the block as centered as possibly. It will also come in handy when I start in on my project of machine embroidering the center square of a block and then trimming it and adding pieces around it, the embroidery won't be off kilter. The Get Squared ruler comes in different sizes so you can get whichever sizes you need most. I also make heavy use of my 8 1/2" square rotary ruler that I bought at Joanne Fabrics. I have gobs of rulers that I have bought or been given over time, but some I just consistently go back to.

 

I am enjoying working on this quilt and it is paring down some pre-cut scraps that have been hanging around for a very long time. Time for some new scraps to take their place.

 

 

Just a reminder that if you still need patterns and supplies for your holiday sewing to check out my store: Moonwishes Sewing and Crafts.