What I’ve Been Up To

I woke up this morning at 5:30. Those who know me well know that I generally don’t describe myself as a morning person. I am a night owl, definitely. I was thinking about that this morning, that right now I’m a night owl and an early bird. That combination often causes a mid-afternoon nap. Anyway, I’ve had two cups of really good coffee this morning, while looking at this lovely view.

We finally have some nice snow to cover all the drab brown and ice. I’m looking forward to a day of conversation with my sewing machine! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’m working on a quilt for a friend. I’ve been cutting all the pieces for this quilt over the last week or so. It amazes me that in this little basket (6″ x 6″) are almost all the pieces for the top of a quilt! This is probably the last you will see of this project until the quilt is done and in her hands.

When working on a project like this, I can tend to get tunnel vision and work on nothing else. I get frustrated when I do that, because the work becomes mundane and I lose the joy of the process. So I’m learning to schedule time inbetween working on this project to play with something new. So here’s a peek at what I’ve been doing to take a break from cutting, especially when my lower back is tired.

I’m still working on X blocks for The 70273 Project. I currently have 17 blocks done. I’m all out of white fabric, so I’ll be replenishing that this week. I have friends coming on Friday to stitch some blocks with me. It should be a fun day!

I’m also keeping up with the Winter Solstice Challenge by Pat Sloan. She sends out a new block each Wednesday. Here is the block from 2 weeks ago, called Cobble Stone. I seem to be taking these names literally, since I looked for some scrap fabric that might look like cobblestones. This was a piece left over from a quilt backing. It’s not an easy fabric to blend, but it seems to work okay for me in this block.

And this is last week’s block, called Gramma Anna’s Basket. I used cotton fabric from Margo Krager’s line along with purple wool for the basket. I may add some embellishing at some point; the basket seems lonely . . .

I have now finished the blocks for two separate wool block quilt alongs. This is the last of the 9 blocks from the Little Woolen Sampler by Jenifer Gaston of Woolen Willow. I’m sorry to be done with this one; it was such fun to stitch these little blocks!

Last of all, this block is a work in progress. The original pattern, by Jan Patek, is a pillow. I’m not sure if I’ll go with a pillow or just make it a mini quilt. The top and right side of the block will have half-square triangles added to it. I’m also thinking I’ll add some of Sue Spargo’s fun stitches to the flower and heart, to add a little pizzazz and uniqueness.

Keep in mind that I haven’t done all these this week, I’m just not quite that productive! Sometimes I get so distracted I don’t feel like I make any progress at all. Little projects like these help me stay focused and provide a nice break from the slow work of cutting pieces.

I hope you enjoy a cozy day of stitches!

Wendy