New Project

A few weeks ago I saw this post on Instagram

This is Sweetwater's Rag Runner - pattern HERE - and knew I had to make one...actually, many more  than one, but as soon as I saw this, I started pulling fabric. First up will be a western one...of course!

These are so simple, yet that stitching and fringe adds such a fun detail!

I like having a runner across my washer and dryer to keep it from taking a beating. My entryway is a laundry room/mudroom/coat closet/storage room and I try to keep it at least somewhat presentable. With men walking in and out it often has spurs and guns and ammo and tools and hats and vaccine guns sitting on available surfaces. Thankfully Skeet hasn't taken to bringing in his treasures
and depositing them there as well! His treasures are pretty nasty, but far be it for me to judge our beloved sidekick's choice of precious discoveries.

So, this rag runner will be perfect, although mine will be much longer. The original is 10" x 30" and I'm making mine 16" x 75".

It took a long time to cut strips off of each fabric I selected from my stash, but I chose 25 fabrics and cut three strips from each, stitched them up, added batting, and a backing from my stash and basted it:

                                         

And the hand stitching has begun:

                                         
With 75 strips, it's going to take a while, but it's the perfect project to work on when I get a few minutes in the evening.

I also know I'll want one in 30's prints, and patriotic fabrics, and a fall and Christmas one. And it all starts with a dive into my stash. I love that part!

Here a Stitch, There a Stitch

Seems that lately, I've been adding a lot of quilts to the "to be made" list and not spending any time sewing. I finally spent some time with my sewing machine the last few days though.

 I dug into my stash for borders for the Stars and Bars QOV and stitched those on as well as made a backing and binding for it:

I also pieced my Color Box top. Tell me: how is it possible to begin with a box of 2 1/2" scraps:

Piece a top that is 72 x 84:

And still have this left:

I think I am going to simply piece all of these into 9-patches and find another pattern for them. I am determined to empty this box! I'm no longer going to stash 2 1/2" squares. I'll just keep strips because I think they'll give me more options in the long run.

 Next up was the Valentine table runner and I quilted it, just using organic straight line stitching:

I made the binding and am stitching it on in the evenings as time allows.

Still, progress has been made. Makes me feel less guilty about adding new things to my list if I can cross a few off. :)

Today, I'm meeting my partner in crime in town and we're taking a road trip to another town to check out a new quilt shop that opened up 2 weeks ago. Stay tuned for my investigative report. :)

January Sewing

Since it's already the 24th, the January sewing isn't going to amount to much. With the exception of joining my Quilt Squad group last Saturday, and stitching on a binding, I haven't done any sewing since a few weeks before Christmas.

We had an old worn out office chair in the office that I finally threw out so my sewing chair ended up as the new office chair. That left me chair-less in my sewing space so I began the hunt for a new chair. My sewing machine table sits on top of another table. That puts my sewing machine at 34" and a regular office chair never really was quite high enough. I always padded it with pillows so during my chair search, I decided to go with a drafting chair. Buying something like this online is a gamble and I hemmed and hawed while I compiled my list of possibilities. A chair is such a personal choice. Thankfully, this one is just right for me although it's got a modern look that looks out of place in our home. The armrests sit farther back than I am used, but I don't really even need the armrests and they can swing down and out of the way, and the back is not adjustable, but I actually love that for sewing. It's very supportive.

So now that I've got a place to perch, sewing can commence, and yes, I can still reach the foot pedal. :) And I'm finally carving out a little bit of time to play with fabric. I've got a few things to finish, but my UFO list is in pretty good shape. My main goal is to get everything back from the quilters' and finish those.

When I was cleaning and moving some random items around the other day, I picked up the project box that had these blocks in it and it became the first project I'd work on this year.

 I had worked on  this stack of leader-ender blocks last year and started piecing them into a top today. I never did empty my box of 2 1/2" squares, but I'm thinking I may be adding a patchwork border in hopes of leaving me with an empty box.

The inspiration for this quilt came from Lollyquilts...she called it Crayon Box:

As I sewed, I started thinking about quilts I wanted to make this year. This one has been on my list for a few years:

It's called Saddle Tramp and it pretty much fits the bill when it comes to my love of scrappy quilts.

I also need to add a border to Stars and Strips and get it to Jackie:

Then I ran across this table runner that needs to be quilted:

And I've had this Valentine's Day table runner top hanging in my closet for a number of years:

Time to see if I can get it finished this year. That ought to keep me busy and out of trouble for the remainder of January. I can count on the busy part, but don't hold me to the out of trouble part. :)

Do I Really Need A New Craft Hobby?

No, No, And NO. There are not enough hours in the day as it is.

However...

you knew that was coming, didn't you?

When I popped into our local quilt shop a few weeks ago with a friend, I saw these:

And I was smitten. Carolyn, the store's owner, said there were classes being offered and before she even finished her sentence, I heard myself quip, "Sign me up!"

I immediately thought this would be a great use for scraps and strips and a good way to use some of that fabric stash. I never take classes because they require more trips to town, but sign up I did and last week I went into town 2 days in a row and before you could say. "What are you thinking?", I was seated before one of these:

This is a Schacht Rigid Heddle Loom called the Cricket.

I knew I wanted to use fall colors for my project so I dug into my stash and pulled fabrics that evoked the feel of autumn for me:

I was intimidated by the threading of the warp, but Lois patiently walked us through it. It was a bit tedious, but I'm thinking I was just anxious to begin weaving. My fingers hurt after tightening the warp threads umpteen times:

And then the fun began:

I found out not to worry about the pretty design on your fabric because its just going to get good and scrunched up and color is the only thing that matters.

My finished runner is 46" x 12" not counting the fringe and I love the rustic look of it.

My friend, C, took the class with me and she decided to make a Christmas version. She is a quilter, but does not have a stash - I tease her about it mercilessly. So, I pulled some fabrics from my bins and sent her pictures to see if they were what she had in mind. I was really looking forward to taking the class. Here's a snippit of our texting conversation:

Me: I want to make a Fall one and a Christmas one and a patriotic one and ... Oh, good gravy! I'm going to end up with a loom, aren't I?

C: I'm thinking you are!

I thought these table runners would make great gifts, but in the middle of the class, I told C that there had been a change in plans and I would be making coasters for Christmas instead. LOL. Those are cute too! NEXT Christmas they would get table runners. :)

I was the last one to finish, but I was using this wooden tool called a beater to draw the fabrics together even tighter, thus I was using more strips. And the fabric has the tendency to turn back on itself and show the wrong side, but that just adds to the rustic nature of the project. Still, I was rather picky about it misbehaving and I spent a lot of time trying to keep it turned the right way. If you used batiks you wouldn't have that problem.

The teacher, Lois Weaver, was wonderful, and she was patient with those of us who were perfectionists and liked to laugh and combine work with play. She weaves beautiful creations that you can peek at, here, on her FB page.

So even though they are forecasting 100°  for the next 5 days, I'm thinking it may be time to decorate for fall. Here's my runner on the buffet in the dining room:

I may or may not be saving my pennies.

Don't ask. :)