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Ironing strips



My apologies for my long delay in checking in, however the time away has been well-spent. Progress is being made.   Slowly the dungeon is getting whipped into shape.  I've been going through more boxes and getting rid of fabric I know I will never use, which has been wonderful.  Freeing up boxes and more importantly space to allow for the existing fabric to flex and flow into the space.  It's liberating to allow myself to "throw away" fabric. 

Checking in on the Bonnie Hunter Scrap Users Project:


Less than 12" strips destined to be squares and bricks

 So far I am done with the 1.5" condos...all sixteen of them! I went through and took out the less than 12" strips and cut these into squares and bricks. I opted not to sort them by colour, only by size. The 2" condos have been started. 

Fleece:
No changes at this time, just finding more and more bits and pieces and trying to get them corraled.
Cotton:
No real changes, just keeping up with what is being found.  I pinned a couple quilts and rather than toss the scraps on the pile, I went ahead and cut them into the proper widths.  Good for me.

Stuff:
Managed to sort out my thread into hand quilting, sewing thread (vintage and new), embroidery thread and specialty threads.  It's great to go to the shelf and get exactly what I need without having to tear the house apart.  The rewards make the work to get to this point so much richer.

**** The pressing table has been created! ****



BEFORE



AFTER



I decided to sacrifice a solid wooden table and attach one of the leaves to make the topper long enough to cover the space. I used an acrylic blanket covered by a wool blanket to create the cushioning for the ironing board.  This was covered with a large piece of canvas washed but not dried to be folded under on the edges.  The entire thing was ironed until dry and I am pleased to share that this surface is PERFECT for laying out quilts, pinning, ironing and it's a great staging area for sorting stuff.  I delight in ironing on it everyday!

 

Throughout this whole process I am learning a lot about myself and my collecting tendencies.  For those who know me, I hail from the school of "Waste Not Want Not" and have the genetic predisposition for being a collector/obtainer.  Mostly because this behaviour is constantly reinforced by people asking me if I have a this, that or another and usually I do.  As a part of this whole process I have come to the conclusion I have entirely too much shit and too many hobbies.  But, what can you do? Life is too short not to enjoy it.

Each day I try to do a little, and after a while it really adds up to something big! 

Peach Out, Apricots.

heart, Morg

All Plaid Raggedy Fun!



 My mum dug her plaid raggedy quilt so much she asked me to make more.  This fun quilt was made from 7" squares and sewn together with an inch wide open seam to allow for the edges to be nipped.  When washed the edges fray and give the characteristic raggedy quilt look.

Detail of colours


These type of quilts are fast, fun and easy to do.  I think it took me longer to choose the colour pattern than it did to actually sew and snip!  I love the way this quilt came out with the playful sprinkling of reds and blues with a surprise of purple in the middle.


Back of quilt

 The backing fabric was made from an incredible deal I got on a seventeen yard roll of this wonderful grey and fushia flannel.  It's fun and funky and gives an unexpected snap of colour.

Vital Stats:

Approximately 36 x 60 inches finished.

Squares: 7"

Fabric: Flannel

Completed: Summer 2012

Quilt for Caroll

Springing into Fall

When my neighbour Caroll told me she was having a baby I said cautiously, "Is a congratulations in order?" 

She smiled widely and said, "Yes.  Very unexpected, but very much welcomed."   

 Colours of Fall

Caroll's favourite time of year is Halloween.  She plans for the magic of Samhain all year.   I designed this quilt to play with the colours of the season, to play on nature and complement Caroll's love of plants.

Back of quilt

Leaf it to me

Which witch is which?

When I first met Caroll Patten she told me she was a practicing witch.  I told her I was a professional bitch and we should get along just fine.  I found this fun "prim" fabric and immediately thought of Caroll.  One of the few times when I made my own binding.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

We spent many hours talking over the fence, under the pear tree. 

Our dogs were the best of friends.  Her little Shih Zsu, Wicket and my Xolo, Remus.  They would chase and sniff and water and chase and run and sniff all over each others yards.   

Sadly, that all ended when Caroll and her husband, Laramie moved away in the fall of 2012.  I am not sure where she is living now, or if she has had her son, Kelly Theodore, but I hope they are healthy, happy.  I hope Kelly likes his quilt, each stitch was made with love.

 



Vital Stats:

Approximately 46 x 37.5 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch:  body 4, binding 4

Batting Type: Cotton (Warm and Natural)

Binding: Made by Morg
Fabric: Scraps from lots of different places, lots of different sources.
Completed: Late Summer 2012

I miss you Caroll and Remus misses Wick. 

Hugs. 

Operation Dungeon Do Over - January update

As promised, pictures:

Greens ready for trimming.

 Progress is coming along, across the top of the shelves are the more than a yard cuts.  These have been organised by colour or colour group depending on the amount of fabric.  I was pleased to find these file boxes at WalMart for a reasonable price.  They will serve me well. 

 My table is a mess in this picture but you get the general idea of where I am going with this mess.  The pop up laundry bin on the left is where I dump my scraps and when the polyester bag is full I sew it up and instant pet bed!
 

 
 The future pressing table is still a mess with stuff accumulating on it all the time.  It will eventually be cleared off and a large piece of lumber will be added.  I will probably use duck or canvas for the ironing surface and use some type of material for the padding, not sure yet, but when I get there I'll know what I need. 

 

Update Reports:

Fleece - I'll start with fleece today as there has been a little progress but nothing more than rehousing.  I am using the "special boxes" for fleece and after this past weekend have enough to contain all the cut stuff!  This is great!  I now have all the main cuts in labeled boxes even the mice and wedgies.  At last!

Organised Chaos.

Cottons - I just finished the Bin of Greens.  The bins are a group of plastic cat litter containers designated to hold my strips and scraps when I first started obtaining such fabrics from friends and strangers.  The number of bins expanded to about eighteen and now four remain unsorted.  With the completion of the reds I am going to tackle the greens.  I started presorting these into three piles:  more than a foot, less than a foot, bits and pieces.  Bits and pieces go straight into the trays for the applique scraps.  Less than a foot get subdivided by width and then get cut into bricks and squares.  More than a foot get divided by width and then are put away in the appropriate colour condos.

Still in progress is The Bonnie Hunter Scrap Users Project.  This is my official label for the process of going through the cut/sorted strips and making them into easily usable pieces.  As I break from bins and other organising I go through the cut strips and pull out the pieces that are shorter than 12" and cutting these pieces into squares and bricks (2x width in length).  So far I've completed the pinks and purples in all 4 widths.

Charms have been divided up into bins by colour groups.  The single box was bursting at the proverbial seams so it had to be done.  I am steadily filling these boxes as I work my way through the colour bins. 








It is such a delight to work through this organisational process.  As bins are emptied and banker boxes pile up in the corner I look at the work I've accomplished and smile.  Things are coming together "sew" very nice and neat.  

 Guess that is about it.  Hoping to get some more pet beds made with the confetti left overs.  I have plenty of polyester waiting to be repurposed!  ;)

Confetti leftovers destined for pet beds.

Peach out Apricots.
heart, Morg