Garnet and Gray, Day 2

 Wow, I love this pattern! Just two days of cutting and piecing and I have enough blocks for a lap quilt. I am loving the assortment of reds and grays.

I went to my stash for one more gray and dug deep for the marbled print. It is at least 20 years old! You might be able to pick it out. It is the only one with a yellowish cast. The newer grays are bluer.

I pre-washed all the reds and grays together and this is the only piece that picked up any red dye. One color catcher did a great job, but the second one got trapped in the bottom of the machine. After a few minutes in the sink with some detergent and the second color catcher, the gray print came out clean.

I should be able to sew together the top tomorrow. I'll just need to buy something for the backing. At some point, I should probably decide on an Easter menu and go grocery shopping!

Garnet and Gray

I'm ready to start working on a lap quilt for my father-in-law. I picked up a few more "garnets" yesterday at Knit One Quilt Too and Just Quilts. I'm hoping I have enough fabric to make a 60 x 75" Bento Box quilt.

I've gotten out of the habit of pre-washing fabric, but I think it is necessary in this case. This quilt will be washed a lot, so I want to make sure the reds don't run. This fabric is in the washer with the 9-Patch Swing quilt and two color catchers. I'll be cutting up a storm this afternoon!

WIP Wednesday

 I hope this Wednesday finds you all well. There's not much white stuff on the ground this morning, but the sleet and freezing rain woke us up several times during the night.

Finished this week:

A tote for Mom's prayer books with a zippered pocket for rosary beads will be gifted for Easter.

A label was finally added to 9-Patch Swing, so the quilt is now ready to be donated to the Music Boosters' raffle.

New Projects:
My father-in-law has been moved into an assisted living facility and he needs a lap quilt. While we were at MQX, Bill and I went on the hunt for garnet and gray fabrics, Union College colors. This gray pack from Sew Fresh Fabrics is perfect, but he was being rather picky about the garnet (maroon/burgundy).

A squishy package arrived in the mail with my Modern Quilt Guild challenge fabrics. I haven't even thought about what to make with these. For now, I'm just happy to admire these fun and colorful prints.

Ongoing:
I'd like to get back to the Farmer's Engineer's Wife blocks soon.

On hold:
My WIP pile doesn't ever seem to get smaller! You can see the entire list here.

Enjoy visiting WIPs around the world!

Tote for Mom

I was itching to sew something yesterday, so I made a little tote bag for my mother. We have a standing date on Monday mornings to attend Eucharistic Adoration. Every week when I pick her up, she is juggling several small prayer books, and I wish she had a tote bag for them. Now she does!

I included a zipper pocket in the lining for her rosary beads. Thank you, Kindred Quilters, for teaching me this infinitely useful technique!

Blue is her favorite color, so I think she will like it. I'll include a chocolate bunny and give it to her for Easter.

Even the simplest projects leave behind big messes!

Main Fabric: Phillip Jacobs Waltzing Matilda

Cut fabric rectangles 12" x 24" for outer and lining

15" long straps (cut 3" wide)

Military Update

 My beautiful daughter was whisked off to the ROTC ball by her handsome soldier. Her best friend has become her stylist and always does a wonderful job! Genevieve chose the dress, and did Julia's hair, makeup and nails. All I had to do was hem the gown.

 Who needs a horse-drawn carriage when you have a truck?!

The roses from Fred look lovely on my EPP table topper.

 

Pete is doing great in Recon training. To give you an idea of how intense this training is, the class has gone from 84 students to about 30 in just the first two weeks. Some drop on request when they realize the job is not for them, but many are unable to pass the qualifying tests along the way. He's eating 4,000 calories a day and losing weight. The best news is that he will have Friday off (Good Friday) and my husband will be in San Diego on business this week. They will get to spend the whole day together! I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

OOH RAH!

Not Cool

 It was brought to my attention that someone is selling a pattern on Craftsy that very closely resembles my fabric box tutorial. The pattern is being sold for $6. I am not affiliated with the seller in any way.

 Even if she has made significant improvements to the instructions, her finished product looks just like mine. It might be perfectly legal for her to rewrite a pattern and sell it, but it's not cool.

I have allowed people to use the tutorial at guild workshops and quilting retreats. And if you want to make fabric boxes to sell at boutiques or craft fairs, that's fine with me.

But selling a pattern that is available for free is just not cool. I know this kind of thing happens all the time. Thank you to my eagle-eyed anonymous commenter for letting me know about this. 

I don't want to provide a link to the pattern, but if you'd like to compare for yourself, search Craftsy for Treasure Box. I have sent a notice to Craftsy and will let you know when I receive a response.

 

If you'd like to see the variety of boxes being made from my FREE tutorial, please visit my Pinterest board. Thank you, quilty friends!

Orange Ribbon

Hello, blogland! It's good to be back. It has been a crazy couple of weeks, and I'm happy to finally have my feet up for a little break.

Bill and I drove up to Manchester yesterday to visit Chris and Jamie's wedding ring quilt at MQX. It was awarded a faculty ribbon from Page Johnson. It's orange! Thanks, Page!

Before I had a chance to take any other pictures, Sandi with an I and Lynne with an E jumped in for their close up. We had never met before, but we became fast friends. Hello, girls!

I was ready for the craft fair this morning with a full table of goodies. Unfortunately, there weren't very many customers. Thank you to my friends who came out on this beautiful day to support my fabric addiction handmade business. Leftovers will be posted to my Etsy shop very soon. My poor shop has been empty for over a year. It's time to fill it up!

There is an exciting project coming up. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

See you soon!