Erin Underwood Quilts

Take a look at this – all the worry about colors has been done for you with this great kit from The Cozy Quilt Shop in El Cajon, CA. Love the colors!

https://www.cozyquilt.com/Aspx/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=4783

So I frequently don’t go into my sewing room on the weekends because if I want to work on something new, I have to move the current “work” I have going. Usually it is a goal directed project soon to be a pattern or artistic endeavor for my mini-group.

But this evening I have come up with a plan to sooth my need to sew and yet not have it always have to be about the next possible class, pattern or some other goal directed quilt.  Now I suppose we all have one of these…

What is it, you ask?  Why, it a box of scraps! Scraps that are important, have been important or will be important again some day! Its an IMPORTANT box! Everything in this box can be used some how, some way… So it has been diligently saved, pondered upon, organized occasionally and lovingly stored in plain site so as not to be forgotten.

But it is getting in the way. This studio is small enough and storage is at a premium. So the thought  that keeps popping into my head is to start using this stuff or get rid of it. And for Pete’s Sake, quit saving all those little bits and pieces! None of these thoughts have been acted upon but it could happen if I don’t start doing something about my little hoarding problem.

Just to prove my point – this cardboard box shoved into the corner of the big plastic box is 4″ x 6″ and about 6″ deep and filled with trim-able half-square triangles rescued from all those diagonal seams used to sew strips together! First came the triangles that I used as leaders and enders ala Bonnie K. Hunter style. Then, there was the plan to trim them down, of which I have done to some but they are in another box… you didn’t think this was my only box, did you? 😉

So my plan to sooth my addiction to the sewing machine is to complete a project out of the box every month (or so… I know I will slip up a bit). This will provide a lot of weekend sewing for me with no particular goal in mind. There are a lot of opportunities in that box. Some things are left over from other things or things that will never get completed with their original intentions or just pieces here and there that didn’t fit any category in my stash storage system so it became a “scrap”. So there is creativity galore just waiting to be discovered in that box of miscellaneous fabric – just waiting for me to be creative!

The first thing I think I’m going to play around with are the left-overs from a very poorly written pattern- not mine, of course- that never got completed past the center section. That particular quilt is now a table cloth for the coffee table to keep my hubby’s shoes from scratching the wood or to be more precise, to hide all the scuff marks he’s already put there.

Because there were a lot of pieces in that pattern, there was a lot of stuff pre-cut in my excitement to make the quilt. There’s a ton of 1-1/2″ strips, a few blocks, and the best news of all, there is even some of the fabric from this project still languishing in my stash! So I have a lot to work with here – with no particular goal in mind. I may keep it. It may go to charity. The possibilities are wide open right now… I’ll keep ya posted.

Maybe you might want to do the same thing – Use it or loose it! Just saying…

Its finished! Well, maybe almost – still might add  few more beads and there is still the label…

And now its off to a show! Our Fiber Dimensions art group is hanging our collection of Coastal Visions at the JCC Seigle ArtSpace  in Wilmington, Delaware. Show opens on Sunday, the 5th and hangs through February. This little baby will be displayed along with

Out of the Blue

and Midnight Flight

But that’s just my take on it. Other artists in Fiber Dimensions include Virginia Abrams, Barbara Tinsman, Mickey Irr, Ruth Oatman and Arlene Favreau-Pysher. Our talents cover a wide swath of fiber manipulations including weaving, silk painting, hand embroidery, fabric dying and painting, beading and embellishing, to name a few…

So if you are in the Wilmington, Delaware area in the coming months, take a moment to stop by and become inspired!

Work in Progress – must be completed by Friday morning at 9 am!

Got a guild meeting tonight and you know how December meetings go – a pot luck of some sort and lots of chatting – should be a nice quiet evening. Since we’ve got a few inches of snow lingering, attendance may be low. So glad the meeting wasn’t canceled because of the weather though since I spent the morning working on my contribution to the Holiday Block Exchange.

I’ve learned a few years back that if you really like the block you are making to exchange, you should make two. One to keep and one to trade.  This uses the Creative Grids 15-degree Triangle ruler to create the triple dresdens and it was a great use of all the scraps left over from the Triple Dresden Tree Skirts I have made.

Looks pretty cool – I may have to turn this into a pattern….hmmm….

Found this on Pintrest! Quilted Bootie Slippers! You’ll have to go to the link to see what I’m talking about.

http://www.coatscrafts.co.uk/Sewing/Projects/quilted_slippers.htm

Aren’t they adorable??!!! My house is 90% hardwood floors so slipping is an issue. I think I would make one change – I would put those grippy dots on the bottom to keep from sliding down the stairs.  I actually have some grippy dots left over from replacing the feet in my son’s footy pajamas. He’s 27 now – I’ve had that stuff a while…. wonder where it is… but I’m sure your favorite discount fabric store still sells it. Here’s a link to the stuff at Fabric.com.

https://www.fabric.com/buy/el-274/15-grip-tight-cloth-white?cm_mmc=Google-_-Products-_-Products%20Listings-_-Ads&CAWELAID=172000510000028013&catargetid=172000510000043626&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CKayzamombsCFSUOOgodvn8Ajg

Had a great time at our first Diamond Dimensions Trunk Show hosted by Hoppin’ Bobbin. Many thanks to Kelly and all the ladies there! If you didn’t make the opening, you missed a lot of great food! Alas its all gone now but nots to worry, the quilts are still there! Hope you get over there to see them. Here are the last two patterns to compliment the collection – hot off the presses! Literally!

Dining Diamonds – you saw this one earlier but now the pattern is available! Click on the link or pick one up at Hoppin’ Bobbin when you go.

But the Diamond Dimensions Ruler does more than just diamonds. It miters! And it makes the whole process of mitering sooooo easy! Border Mania is a testament to that fact!

Hoppin’ Bobbin, Aberdeen Maryland, tomorrow at 6:30. I was pleasantly surprised to find there are 14 projects for my Diamond Dimensions ruler! 13-1/2 of them are mine! And no, that 1/2 project is not an unfinished quilt – its a complimentary item for another pattern which isn’t mine but uses the Diamond Dimensions Ruler. Hope to see you there! If not Tuesday night, I guess you’ll miss all the food but nots to worry, the quilts will be hanging for a month or so! All of the inspiration will be hanging around for a while – literally! 😉

No – Its not my quilt shop.  I’m pretty sure that owning a quilt shop is not something I would have the energy to do. Lots and lots of work deciding what to carry in the shop, sewing samples, paperwork and money management, staffing, and much more more. My hat goes off to those brave entrepreneurs who venture into this business! I love a good quilt shop so it was exciting to have the opportunity to explore this new one.

Prints Charming in Maple Leaf Maryland – actually, Fulton Maryland,  if you are trying to use your GPS to find it. I would like to call it Round-about-Maryland as I am sure I drove through about 5 traffic circles in the last mile and a half before arriving at the store. Its a little hard to find in this “planned community” where every building looks just like every other building but after a bit of driving around, it popped into view! Its a delightfully arranged, well lit store with lots of patterns and fabric. So if you are in the Baltimore/DC area, drop in for a visit. We need to support our local quilt shops so that they will stay around a while!

Look what popped up on Pintrest! Love this quilt! The blocks are very innovative disceptively easy because they use the Creative Grids 15-degree Ruler.

Fifteen Degree Quilt by Freckled Whimsy

Here’s a link to the pattern at Heirloom Creations too! http://www.heirloomcreations.net/shop/fifteen-degrees/

and they are also carrying the ruler http://www.heirloomcreations.net/shop/15-degree-triangle-ruler/