News From the Studio, Episode 1645

Posted on March 3, 2018 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio News

Popping in today with some links for you, and a few updates on what’s been going on around here!

I’ve only completed three small (easy) projects this year. I need to up my game. My year has gotten off to a rough start!

One of those three things was this Crochet Spa Washcloth that I made for my daughter. I made one for her, then her sister saw it, so now I have to make more — you know how that goes?

This photo is of the washcloth before I put the edging on it. The simple edging neatens it up a lot. You can get the free pattern for this washcloth HERE. I’ve since found another free washcloth pattern on Ravelry that I’d also like to try.

Speaking of making things for my daughters, I found a few links for some really cute things I’ll probably never find the time to try, but I thought I’d share them anyway!

I’ve been running the longarm quite a bit. Here’s a block that I quilted with a design I’m calling “improv crosshatching” — very fun, quick, and easy to quilt:

I also snuck in a very quick wholecloth throw quilt that only needed a pantograph. I made this quilt for my daughter’s best friend from some sheets she gave me. It’s just two sheets — one on the back, one on the front — with Quilter’s Dream Poly Select batting in the middle. I used the Feather Meander panto by Jessica Schick and stitched it out with Superior OMNI thread. (I get a lot of my panto patterns at Urban Elementz.) I even used the sheet fabric for the binding.

I know lots of people don’t like to quilt on sheets, but these sheets were very expensive, and very soft, and this quilt came out great. When she gave them to me, she said, “Just do whatever you want with them.” So I did — I made her a throw quilt! The more she uses it, the softer it will get.

I’ve actually sorta been in hibernation mode this year, and have hardly left the house for anything.

A lot of the reason for that has been these little girls. I took them outside for the first time a few days ago, and they didn’t quite know what to do. As the weather warms up, we’ll keep trying, and I think they’ll eventually get the hang of it!

And also, I stayed home a lot because the dog has been sick. I wrote about her condition HERE, and I tried to stay with her as much as possible to minimize her anxiety to prevent those attacks. But last Monday morning, she had an attack that she didn’t snap out of, and before I could even take her to the vet, she gave up, and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on her own terms. She was 13 1/2 years old.

This big old house has seemed so quiet and empty since she’s been gone. I miss her terribly.

I did sneak out of the house last Saturday for a few hours to sew with my friends at the Scrap Attack Club at Sew Sweet Quilt Shop, leaving My Cowboy in charge at home. I felt like a mother who was leaving her newborn children for the first time, craving adult conversation and a break from baby bottles and poop cleanup for just a short time!

I took handwork along, and began stitching down these little Grandmother’s Flower Garden blocks onto some background fabric. These little flowers were gifted to me by a friend, and I thought it might be too difficult to try and set them together as they were, and there are only 19 of them, so I decided to individually appliqué them down onto base fabric. I’m half done already!

Since this was my first real outing this year, and I had not bought any fabric up till then (gasp!), I picked up backing for a quilt I intend to finish soon (yes, one of my own!), and a few bright pieces from the clearance room:

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I’ve been trying to clean up and organize just a little bit every day, and slowly it’s making a dent in the mess (too slowly, but still, baby steps). This is the current state of my cutting table:

I’ve been getting inspired by the article that Amy Smart over at Diary of a Quilter posted. It’s a guest post by Andy at A Bright Corner, giving 10 Tips to Help Organize your Sewing Room. There are links to Andy’s entire series in that article, so if you need organizing help, too, go check it out. These are two more blogs that you could easily get lost in, so refill your cup first!

Yesterday, after finishing up a customer quilt, I took a break from the longarm and made a scrappy binding for a charity quilt:

I do love a scrappy binding, and while you probably already know how it’s done, if you need help with making one, I have a tutorial HERE that walks you through it.

And before I leave, here’s a gratuitous Ranger shot — he finally got his chance at being King of the Hay Bale! He’ll always be my baby!

I hope your weekend is going to be great! The sun is shining here, finally, so that always helps. I’ll be trying to teach baby goats how to play outside!

16 responses to “News From the Studio, Episode 1645”

  1. Sorry about your pup. Hugs!

    I love the cooking utensil fabric. Super unique.

  2. BJ says:

    So sorry about Molly. At least there are no more spasms. Love what you did with the sheets! I usually think of high thread count when I hear “expensive sheets”, which sometimes makes quilting harder, but these look great! Have fun outside with the little ones.

  3. Sandy Weber says:

    So sorry about your dog. It is so hard to lose one. I really like the panto. I don’t have time to get like st the n th links so probably won’t check them out. ?

  4. Sherry V. says:

    My sympathies on your loss of Molly. It is never easy.

    Your quilting looks great on the sheets. I am sure the throw will be appreciated.

  5. Julie A Craven says:

    Your cutting table looks just like mine. hehe

    My heart is broken for your loss.

  6. Meloney says:

    Sorry for the sad news. I know she will be missed.
    I love the brightness of your binding.

  7. Judy S. says:

    So sorry about Molly, it is so hard to lose our furbabies. I’m glad to made it to Scrap Attack, I bet that helped.

  8. Patricia Hotz says:

    Sorry about the loss of your fur baby..

  9. Sandra Famuliner says:

    Sorry to read of your loss. Your projects are wonderful.

  10. Virginia Smith says:

    Sorry about Molly, loosing pets is hard for anyone.
    As for the cutting table, mine us usually similar to yours but because I had to lay out a quilt to get the squares all going the correct way and make sure there were enough of each block it is totally clear for now. The question is how long will that last.

  11. randy says:

    Sad about your dog. Dogs are part of ones family. I think you are do for an early spring.

  12. Rose Marie says:

    I hate it that your pup died…..I know he was a mature dog, but always a puppy in your heart. I would have told you that I was sorry last night but I didn’t read this until today. So long, Molly, it’s been good to know you. (I’m humming this)

  13. Marilyn Holder says:

    So sorry for your loss…not easy to move on but sewing/quilting helps – helps me. Baby goats look sooo cute! Show more pics of them when they play. I like the log cabin on the wall (looks like entirely scrap, maybe 1″ finished logs?) and the grunge triangles! I have never met a grunge that I did not love!

  14. Billie F says:

    So sorry for your loss, I’ve been down that road myself.

  15. Shirley Guier says:

    So sorry to hear about your dog. We lost Sam our cat in Feb. She was 17. Feb was a rough month for me…march has to be better. Always love seeing pics of your goats. Harlan talks about getting some sometime. We’ll see. Love your stories.

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