On Time

Woo! It's the New Moon and I am not late for the Totally Useless Stitch A Long! Go! Get out your camera and snap a photo of your gorgeous ORTs!

Can you believe I actually have some cross-stitching ORTs? I got a little bug and stitched a motif from one of my Blackbird Designs books. These are my first embroidery ORTs of the year!

My leaf bowl is stuffed with scraps and thread ends. Although I usually have a Leader/Ender pair under my needle, I mostly can't when sewing the Dresdens. It drives me batty to toss all that thread! The scraps are from cutting more 2 inch squares for Leader/Enders.

My Leader/Ender box was nearly empty before I cut up those scraps. I grab a pair of these (light+dark) and start it through the machine, followed by what ever blocks I am piecing and follow those with another pair. This keeps me from having wasted threads and if the machine is going to gobble up the starting piece it can gobble my scraps and not my important pieces. Lots of people use a little piece of folded fabric as a leader and just keep sewing on it over and over. That is still wasting thread! Why not use that Thread?

Here is the box of two patches I've completed. I need to start feeding pairs of these through to make four patches...this box is getting full! One day these will be a big postage stamp quilt, all sewn while sewing other quilts.

If you'd like to learn more about Leader/Ender quilts click here. You don't have to sew tiny squares as L&E...you can sew any second quilt.

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Now it is YOUR turn...we want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your March TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.

Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

Try, Try, Try Again

I made some mini Dresden blocks to practice with. These blades get appliqued onto background squares with a blanket stitch. Doing these...It's harder than I thought it would be! Those corners are tricky and if you forget which part of the stitch your machine is at when you turn? Things go really wonky. I am positive after doing 16 blocks, I will have it down pat. 

Once the blades are applied you cover the center hole. Good grief! There are so many different ways of doing these! I decided on fabric and iron-on interfacing.

The top set in the photo above was my first try. I subtracted a quarter inch from my circle and sewed. Too small! Middle set, I did not subtract the quarter and they are the correct size...but I got the interfacing on the inside. BAH! Bottom row, correct size, interfacing going out. Whew! It's a good thing I am patient. However...I see myself doing this same mistake in the future. Often. BAH!

I start sewing them on. 

Eeeek! That's the wrong side! Rip, rip!

That looks better. It's a good thing I'm patient.

Four completed blocks!

Dresden blocks done this way, in five blade sets, are called a Grandmother's Fan. Maybe this will be a little throw pillow to match my quilt?

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Busy Bee

I've been busy in the studio. I ironed and folded this massive 8.5 yards of fabric to ready it for cutting.

I carefully measured my lengths and cut them out. I pin any fabric this long before sewing. It is so heavy it can easily stretch! I had to maneuver the fold-out table next to me at the machine to hold up the bulk. 

I sewed my three pieces together and ironed the seams open. My backing is complete!

Ready for quilting!

I got nervous of my ability to sew dresdens. Or maybe I was just intimidated to learn how to do it during the retreat...in front of witnesses? Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I sewed a test block. It took a bit of fudging a couple of the seams fatter but it lays flat as a pancake. Beautiful! 

Now, I need to teach myself how to blanket stitch this block on! And how to make the center part. Oh, this is such fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Uglemor Isn't Crazy After All.

Yesterday, I received a very perplexing comment:

What? TUSAL isn't until next week. This girl is crazy! Then I go check the calendar and see I am a week late. Uglemor, my very abject apologies for my belief you had lost your mind! You seem to be the only one on top of things this month! Thank you for letting me know I forgot the Totally Useless Stitch A Long!

OMG I missed the New Moon! Did you? I was off in la la land with finishing one quilt and starting a new one. That means I cheated! I have added HANDFULS of ORTs into the leaf bowl since last Sunday.  I must say, they are beautiful ORTs:

I am working on cutting the background blocks of Kona Snow for the Dresden quilt. 

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Now it is YOUR turn...we want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your February TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.

Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox 

Dresdens Anyone?

I officially started a new project this week but I've been collecting the fabrics for a long time. I have a retreat planned and this is going to be my project for it. Today, I finished cutting the plate fabrics out.

Yes, this is a Dresden Plate! I plan on 16 blocks, all in blues on white Kona Snow with blue borders.

There are 56 different blue fabrics. Whoops! I am NOT done cutting...I still have to cut the white fabric!  Once I get the white cut, I still need to sew the backing fabric for En Provence. 

I found this pink and purple Paris fabric at Hobby Lobby a couple months ago and dithered. When I went back to see if they still had it for sale I found it in the clearance bin, an entire bolt!

While I was busy playing with fabrics, Dash went for a ride on the motorcycle. He stopped by Pops and got me six different sodas. I don't drink soda as a rule but I do like a treat every now and again. I think I'll try the peach one first!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox