How Things Are Going
Here’s how things are going at Pieceful Thoughts. I haven’t been posting much lately, so maybe you think I haven’t been sewing, but I have. Time to catch you up a bit!
Things That Haven’t Gone Well
Unrelated to sewing, I had some frozen bananas in my freezer and decided to make banana bread. Things were going along swimmingly, as I plopped the first thawed banana into the batter and began to mix. Hmm – that banana has an odd texture. Oh – oops – that’s masala paste!! Okay, hmm. Scoop out as much as I can (I had just begun to mix it in). I’ll let you know if I’ve created a new twist to banana bread. Ha!
Meanwhile, in my quilting room . . .
I decided to try making a Hemingway Pouch (pattern by Center Street Quilts). Things were going along just fine, I had read the instructions, finished the quilting . . . and then forgot to trim the quilted panel before going on. This was supposed to be an eyeglass pouch for my sunglasses, but it turned out wide enough to hold two pairs of glasses. Oh well, maybe that will be handier??
In my quilt room, take two . . .
A few of you have seen this, and I wasn’t going to post this on my blog, but hey, let’s just keep going with the theme. I had found some Primitive Gathering Triangle papers on clearance at a quilt store, so I picked them up. One size finished at 1/2 inch, the other size finished at 3/4 inch. I thought it would be fun to try, and I had a Primitive Gathering pattern book, which I also found in that clearance section. I am fond of Bear’s Paw blocks because it is the block I used to make my very first bed-sized quilt. I thought it would be easy to make this particular block with those papers. Right. Look at all those lost points – ack! The block is 12-1/2″ unfinished, so that gives you a bit of reference to those teeny little lobbed off points. This block is now a pillow that gives me angst every time I look at it. But I gave it a try, and I have some idea of what to do better IF I decide to give it another go.
Things That Have Gone Well
Purple improv fish! I’m following along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge from the sidelines (because I forget to post to the linky party) and March’s color was purple. Some of my fish blend into the background; I’ll just say that those fish are swimming in deep, murky water and we’ll be okay with that. It will all work out in the final quilt. You might wonder why I haven’t trimmed those blocks – I’ll trim them when I’m working out the layout of the quilt top. April’s color is yellow, and I’m looking forward to stitching up yellow fish!
Meanwhile, I have this little stack of blue scraps that I have moved around time and again, so I finally decided to sew them up into a mini runner.
The scraps are from this bag, which I made ages ago and has since been gifted. The 12-patch in the center was already sewn, so I just added the other scraps around it. This little runner measures 10″ x 24″. I added the same backing I used for my Clover runner, added some quick straight line quilting, and used up the remainder of the scraps for the binding.
So that’s how things are going here at Pieceful Thoughts. Not everything always goes to plan, but life would be dull if it did!
Wendy
A Little Irish
25 Comments
Sandi
I love that you tell it like it is!! Hugs,
marissthequilter
Well, your fish are coming along swimmingly and I think a double glasses pouch is an excellent idea! Your blue runner is very stylish. I think you were very brave to tackle such small blocks with points. And next time I make banana bread I am going to add some masala!
Now I will Google primitive gathering. Have never heard the term
Diann@ Little Penguin Quilts
You might have some spicy banana bread, lol! I love that Hemingway pouch – I need to try making one of those. The bear paw block is a neat one – I wouldn’t worry about those cut off points – your bear is just a little gentler than most! Love the fish blocks and your little runner, too. You have been busy!
texasquiltgal
Loved this post – I am still laughing over the masala paste! 😀 I get it. Yesterday Hubs found me rifling through the freezer and said “I really don’t know how you find anything in there”, because I save bits and dabs. In my defense, I label everything. 😉
That Hemingway bag is beautiful, even if it’s double. I Googled and read about “triangle papers” and still don’t understand them. I did find a few Primitive Gatherings books I want though – lol! Love the fishies!
Barbara J Stanbro
You’ve been doing a LOT of sewing. Love your improv fish, and your pouch turned out so cute, even if it isn’t exactly what you were going for. Love the fabrics, and that diagonally set zipper is so much fun.
Heather Blair Pregger
How did the masala banana bread turn out? You may have come up with a new twist! 🤣 But seriously, I love the fish!
Kate
Oh don’t get me started on the freezer, My Guy has all manner of things in it that he’s not sure what they are anymore, but won’t let me throw them out. So sorry for the things that went wrong. But if nothing ever went wrong, we wouldn’t enjoy all the stuff that’s right as much. Looking forward to seeing your yellow fishes this month. You are going to have a very bright school of fish after April.
The Morning Latte
I love the little runner–something about the fabrics make it just soothing to look at (if that makes sense?). I’m sure you’ll find the right use for the pouch. Maybe you should pick up some of those GINORMOUS sunglasses that were popular back in….the 60’s? 70’s? Or go all Elton John? It’s very cute no matter what goes in it.
I have to admit my very first thought on the masala was Oh, I wonder how that would turn out? Inquiring foodie minds want to know! Yeah our freezers (yes, plural are packed with things which gets me constant comments from the hubs but he’s always packing it with meats so it sure isn’t just me! I dread power-outages and keep saying we should get a little backup generator just for the big freezer.
Helen
Well, isn’t that a cheeky little Hemmingway Pouch with the cute slanted zipper! I may have to add it to my little-bag-possibilities list!
Laura Kate
Good to hear from you.
J Mur
Oh, goodness, Wendy! We ALL have times like those. SEW glad you shared (so that we can feel a little better when things like that happen to us.)
karenfae
I don’t always label things in the freezer and at times I’m surprised at what I have when it thaws out! So many pretty things at your house
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
My sister-in-law and her partner were visiting us years ago and I was making homemade cinnamon rolls. Instead of dusting the dough with cinnamon I grabbed the garlic powder… we dabbed what we could off with a damp paper towel, but those were kinda strange cinnamon rolls! Well, like you said, life would be dull if everything always went according to plan, but hopefully you’ve worked through your series of things going sideways for a bit. The fish are really delightful and hooray for using up scraps fully in the table runner!
Bernie
Well Wendy – such is life!! How was the banana bread after baking it?
The projects are all super – love the colors in the mini runner and the fabric for the glasses case. Happy to hear from you. I haven’t been in the mood to post either – comes and goes, right??
Vicki in MN
I have seen many Hemmingway pouches online and really like the look, might have to some day make one. You sure had the perfect fabric for it! I don’t always label stuff in the freezer, in fact rarely do I.
rmgsummers413a14ca5a
I enjoyed reading your post. It takes a humble person to talk about the little things that go wrong! I’m not sure what masala paste is but…. I’ve had bloopers in the kitchen and with quilting that have left me wondering if I’m safe to be around. But I do love that pouch. The colors are wonderful and the zipper is so cute. The table runner is very nice. And you have a humble pillow. Thank you for sharing.
LINDA P
I use frozen, icky bananas often and they are great in the finished bread.. smells wonderful in the house!
tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles
Okay the bananas sounds like a disaster but the other things you thought didn’t go well don’t seem too bad 🙂
Vicki Welsh
I had to look up masala paste…..that’s funny! I love your little fish. The little zipper pouch is cute. Nice table mat too!
Brenda @ Songbird Designs
Love the little improv fishes!! You are much braver than I to try those teeny tiny triangles!!
Cocoa Quilts
Wendy you always bring out the best in things. You little fish looking swimmingly!! Hope the banana bread was useful, maybe a new twist for the future.
TextileRanger
That is a lovely group of finishes!
I think you should start a linky party for “things that give me angst when i look at them,” and I am sure we would all have something to contribute! 🙂
Diane Harris
You make me smile, my friend!
Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting
Cute runner, Wendy!!!
Quilting is in my Blood
I could relate to much of your “keeping it real” section of this blog post. That stuff happens to all of us, at least it does for me! As always, I love your improv fish. It’s such a cool and innovative take on a rainbow scrap challenge.