Easter Paper-Pieced Project Done!

Jumping jellybeans! I actually have a finish this week!  It feels like it's been such a looooong time since I've gotten something completely done, not just to the flimsy status, but quilted and bound.

Okay, so it's only 24 x 24 inches, but my delight is as big as a house!

This Easter table topper/wall hanging was Becky's design for the Paper Pieced Quilt-Along she is leading at Sarcastic Quilter.  I was a little apprehensive about paper piecing, but her videos 'splained it all so well that it finally clicked.  Thank you, Becky!

I can't take credit for the color combination, as I had her pattern in hand when I bought fabric.  I liked the springy-ness of her color scheme and followed it as closely as I could.

Now the back, that is me going off the rails.  I made the crumb block (not paper pieced) from scraps left over from the front, framed it in green, and then added an outer border from stash.  The paisley print is from the April in Paris line by Timeless Treasures.  It coordinated perfectly.

Who cares if it looks like an Easter basket exploded, it's reversible!

Be sure to hop over to Sarah's and the others in her Friday linky, Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop?  Happy Easter!

15-Minute Challenge Weekly Update

I'm a day late posting my 15-Minute Challenge stats for the week, but I am nevertheless happy to report that those little bits of time did add up to something in the way of a finish.

The week didn't start out well, as I seemed to have gotten comfortable in the habit of not doing anything sewing related for a few days.  How easy it is to fall into that pattern.  On Tuesday, I did manage to throw some fabric for a pair of scrub pants into the washer and dryer. Does that count?  Okay, probably not.

Things picked up on Wednesday when I thought I'd take 15 minutes to remove the paper from the paper-pieced blocks.  Ha!  Fortunately, there was something interesting on TV to take my mind off the fact that the paper was not going to go quietly.  Various implements and maneuvers were employed to separate the reluctant vellum from the fabric while simultaneously trying to preserve the stitches and not stretch the shape.  I could have torn all my hair out faster than it seemed to take to remove the foundation paper on those blocks—and I'm pretty sure I would have, had there been more than four squares to deal with.

At any rate, the momentum continued through the rest of the week, and I got the backing for the paper pieced project made and started quilting it on the weekend.  My Juki sewing machine came through nicely (no bobbin winding issues).  Come back Friday for pictures of the finished project!

A peek at the back of  the paper-pieced Easter Table Topper.

This week, the mailman brought a package from my Hands2Help Charity Quilt swap partner, Sharon, on Monday.  Here are the fabrics she sent:

Aren't those kids cute?  The wheels are turning as to what I'm going to make, and I'm sure I'll settle on a plan soon enough.  We have a couple months to get these quilts finished and mailed in, which is good because I need to finish some other PhDs (Projects Half Done), in the meantime!

Por Arriba, Por Abajo

During my 15-Minute Challenge (turned one hour) sessions this week, I finished the paper-pieced Easter table topper flimsy.  Needs quilting, etc., which I hope to finish this weekend between work assignments and whatever folly comes my way.

I took this photo in front of my patio door to get whatever light I could on the subject on this cold, gray day.  The 80-degree sunshine of last weekend has been replaced by a steady rain/snow and temps in the mid-30s today.

After I moved the flimsy, I lay on the floor in the same spot and looked up through the patio door at the sky.

Interesting contrast, huh?  I didn't change these to black and white; they're right out of the camera.

A good day to be in the sewing room.

Sometimes we have to create our own sunshine.

The post title translates to "From Above, From Below."  It's also the title to a Ricky Martin song that'll get your booty moving. 

Paper Piecing Whoop-de-Doo!

This paper piecing thing?  Oh, mama.

I mean that in a good way.

It is a persnickety person's dream come true!  And by dream, I mean the kind that features Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman hanging out in your hot tub giving you a foot massage, and, by the way, you look like Charlize Theron, and, oops, everyone forgot their bathing suits.  You know, the good kind.

I mean, just look at those points.  Doesn't a part of you just go, "Ahh..."  The Mozart-loving part, the part that is mesmerized by a good drill team, the part that understands the Pythagorean Theorem and covalent bonds and string theory.  Okay, totally kidding about string theory.  I'm lucky I can understand Steven Hawking's speech emulator, never mind quantum mechanics.

But I think I do understand the appeal of paper piecing now.  Yes, it's fiddly.  No, I don't think I want to make a whole quilt that way (not now, anyway).  I sure like the results though, the gratifying precision that sewing exactly on the lines affords.

After making four blocks, I had a lovely little pile of scraps alongside the cutting mat, and another part of me took over.  The playful, Jackson Pollack-loving, bad joke appreciating, who cares that I should have been back to work an hour ago part.

Maybe I'll use it in the backing?  

These blocks are for the Paper Piece Quilt-Along hosted by Sarcastic Quilter.  It's the only sewing-related thing I've worked on this week, but I'm happy about how they turned out and that I feel more comfortable with the process of making them.  

What are you excited about having accomplished this week?  Join the linky party at Sarah's and share!

I Woke Up Pointing

Before GPS was invented, there were human navigators who sat in the front passenger seat shouting directions guiding the driver.  These helpful people were known as spouses, significant others, or (questionably) friends.

My husband and I do not have GPS.  Therefore, I am still the navigator.  Norm does not read maps, due to dyslexia.  He does have an uncanny ability to remember landmarks, whereas I do not.  But if we have never been somewhere before, I am the designated map and sign reader and navigator.  "Just tell me where to go," he says.  And you better believe I do.

And here is where I apologize to my daughter for all those car trips where her father and I raised our voices with each other. Okay, we argued.  Right there in the front seat, in front of God and everyone who wasn't already flipping us off or honking their horns as we momentarily drove the wrong way in traffic and had to jump the curbed median to change lanes (I am not making this up).  I have learned over the years that telling a dyslexic driver "left" and "right" needs to be accompanied by the appropriate hand gestures.

So I've been doing a lot of the driving lately (go figure), which is fine but it leaves me to both navigate and drive in unfamiliar territory, and that's not always easy.  Now I really do need that GPS.

But my point is (pun intended) that I woke myself up from a vivid dream this morning, right arm and index finger extended, pointing to "THAT LANE!"  The lane Norm needed to be in, in my dream, the far right lane that was exiting at that very moment, and for Pete's sake, what about "Just stay in the right lane" did he not understand?

Hmm...do you think this dream might have anything to do with the Paper Piece Quilt-Along I'm starting on?  It's certainly true that I'm about to navigate some unfamiliar territory with paper piecing.  And...there are rules.  

Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski:  "This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules."

 
Shay at Quilting in My Pyjamas mentioned that the directions seemed to her to appear in a foreign language, and I could only laugh in agreement.  They are well written, don't get me wrong; it's just my own paper piecing mental block/dyslexia that is the issue.  Thankfully, our fearless navigator, Becky, has also posted videos (yay!), for those of us who are thus challenged.  After watching all three of them this morning, I am happy to report, it made perfect sense.  Now to just put theory into practice.

Exit lane! 

Sunday Sundry - Vol. 31

It was a beautiful spring day yesterday.  I am loving these  longer hours of daylight.  I can feel the energy returning, my mojo workin', even while the rest of me enjoyed the day off.

Found this pretty blue glass dish at one of the thrift stores Norm and I visited yesterday.  At a different store, there was the vintage gingham to match, as well as the thread.

My Pyrex radar went off as I neared a cart of to-be-shelved items at Goodwill.  There were all sorts of random clear glass lids in a pile.  As I shifted a couple of them, this divided dish peeked out.  Then over at the very bottom of the domestics table was a five-pack of fat quarters for $1.49.  Can you believe it?  It pays to dig!

Love the prints, but especially the koi.

A Lover and a Fighter
My good friends and I gathered for breakfast yesterday and part two of our Pride and Prejudice marathon.  Ooh, it's getting good now.  The plot thickens.  Meanwhile, Darcy got hot (and still is) and went for a swim.  We were hopeful he would remove more than his overcoat, but alas, he kept his shirt on.

However, there was plenty of shirtlessness in The Fighter, which Norm and I watched on DVD last night.  In fact, I suspect the world might be a better place if Mark Wahlberg were simply required to be shirtless at all times.

Kidding aside, it was a great movie, and based on a true story.  You can meet the real people behind the story in the DVD special features.

Further in Fabric and Philanthropy
I have gathered my fabrics for the Paper Piece Quilt Along with Sarcastic Quilter.  (Gathered, as in I did a little fabric shopping yesterday too.)  I am hoping to make the Easter table topper or wall hanging.  You can see all the fun designs she's got worked out for the paper piece-along  in the Flickr group.  Join the fun, if you're sew inclined.

I also picked out a few cute veggie and fruit prints to send Mary at Mom Wald's Place for the quilt she is making to be auctioned for Japan relief.  It will have embroidered fruits and veggies, as well as four-patch blocks in fruit/veggie prints.  

The auction proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross for Japan.  You can check out the details HERE and HERE.  It's going to be so cute!

Friends, that's about all the time we have for today, but I'll be back in a day or two with more, including pics of the of heaviest thing I thrifted this weekend.  Hint:  It's the third such item I've bought in a year.  What is the saying?  Three of anything equals a collection?  Oh, no!