Monday, September 29, 2014

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I've resumed work on another project that had been set aside late last year.  This one was my October 2013 NewFO and I wrote about it here last November and at that time linked to Cat Patches where Barbara hosts her monthly NewFO Challenge.

Pinned to design wall for block placement.
The project, titled Gathered Over Time was all cut out and the 9-Patch units were all sewn together.  Last night I laid them all out on the design wall, then removed them by rows, labeling as I did.  Today I began sewing the blocks together and they are going together so very nicely.  With this project being set on point (not to be confused with ballet's en pointe) I put the first corner section together, well sort of.  When I pulled out the half-square triangle corner unit, my-oh-my but it looks big, and it IS!

This is what's WRONG!

It may not be the easiest to see, but look at the size of that corner unit, it's ginormous! 
A close up which shows it extending on the two sides about an inch beyond where it needs to be.  My first thought of course, was 'oh, I goofed'.  I went back to the instructions and double-checked my cutting.  Nope, I didn't goof, as instructed, I cut two 6" squares in half diagonally to make four half-square triangles for the corner units. 
I searched online to see if an errata had been posted anywhere and there was not.  I shouldn't complain, better to be way too big and be able to cut down, than have the reverse, and this was a free pattern put out by Windham Fabrics...oops!  I noticed too that the quarter-square setting triangles for the sides are a wee bit over-sized too, but not as badly as the corner triangles.  I'll just trim all four sides of the quilt when the top is done.

While typing this up, I remembered it's Monday which means I can link this up over at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday - way cool!  Then I can get back to sewing while watching-listening to The Voice.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Stash Report - Week 39, 2014

I'm reporting in for Judy's Stash Report Sunday, though it IS late in the day.  Better late than never!

Used This Week: 7.92 yards 
Used Year to Date: 11.42 yards  
Added This Week: 0 yards  
Added Year to Date: 75.81 yards  
Net Used Added for 2014: 64.39 yards                  
Linking @ Patchwork Times

While I didn't get Circle of Light to the flimsy stage yesterday, I DID get it there today, and rather than show it on the design wall - wish I could reach 8' high without the stool, which is a pain - I spread it out over a double bed.

Here are a couple of pictures:


 

Friday, September 26, 2014

Making Progress

Time passes way too quickly for my comfort these days.  My time home is already approaching the half-way mark!

Over the last four days, I have finally been able to get in some sewing time in between all the cleaning 'catch-up'....trust me, you do not want to know what my breakfast bar and stove looked like before I hit them with a scrubby sponge and ammonia! 

Instead of working on the project I mentioned on the 23rd, The Twisted Sister project by Ami Simms, I pulled out Circle of Light which I had written about as my January NewFO in 2013, that's right, 2013! Previously, I had all of the blocks completed but needed to fix two of them and that's how it remained from 8 January 2013 until the 23rd of this month.  Fixing the two blocks was really easy, and now I have six rows completed, and the remaining four only need one or two more seams each to connect the remaining segments, then I can begin pinning the rows together.  
From the pattern: Circle of Light designed by Susan Dyer & Nancy Raschka-Reeves, Glad Creations, Inc, Minneapolis, MN
It's possible for me to have this become a flimsy by the time the weekend is over, but only if I can stay motivated.  I'm finding that hard to do after having so much quilty-down-time with the path life has taken this year.  I keep thinking of a whole lot of other things that I should be working on as well. 

I'm really liking the earth tones of this scrappy quilt.  It's perfect for fall.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Bulb Success

I successfully found a new bulb for my sewing machine at a local machine shop.  I forgot to take a photo before putting it into the machine - not as easy as removing it - but by comparison to the photo of the old one, the new one is perfectly clear and you can see the filament that is in it.  I was wondering if perhaps I shouldn't have purchased a spare as one never knows how hard it will be to find one after another 10-plus years!

I also thought I'd have been sewing by now, but am struggling to stay focused long enough to figure out which project I should work on.  And so far today, I've only been attempting to clear an area in the garage for the stuff I brought back from the wet land that needs to be stored for now, and now I have a sinus headache from the dust stirred up from packing stuff up for charitable donations and moving a whole lot of empty boxes around.

Well, the day isn't over!  

Maybe I'll re-tackle this one that I've had so many problems with.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

And Sew It Goes

I've been home for six days, and will be home until 10/13.

There has been no fabric in, nor out, since my last post - wow, that was a long time ago!

My machine and table are back up and ready for action though.  But what did I notice as soon as I went to turn it on?  The light bulb has burned out!  It's the first time since buying the machine that I've needed to replace the bulb.  I've had the machine for probably 10+ years.


Look how small that bulb is!  It's on my rotary mat and is barely an inch long and only 3/8" wide.  Clearly I cannot steal the bulb from my other old monstrosi machines, so will have to see if a sewing machine shop locally has one.  

Someone mentioned perhaps our Joann's sewing center may have them as Singer, Viking & Pfaff are all owned by the same company now; my machine is a Pfaff.  I was wondering why, when I Googled it, I could only find it for Viking.  For my birthday back in July I was given a Joann's gift card, so maybe I'll head there first.

Now, to clear off all the paperwork I've also been sorting through in my sewing room and pull out a project and get some sewing in while I'm home.


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