Fabric Friday

 Not a single stitch or snip happened this week in Podunk, unless you count trimming the weeds. On the bright side, my fabric order from LouLousfabricshop.com arrived.   She offers great prices, and her daily deals are even more tempting. Honestly, I don’t visit her site often because it’s hard to resist. But right now, I’m on the hunt for low volume prints for a fall quilt I designed a few years back. I’m giving myself the green light to shop online for this project since the two local stores didn’t have enough of what I needed.

For now, they’re tucked away in a project box alongside the other new low volume fabrics, the pattern, and the dream of making the quilt. There’s no plan to start anytime soon, but you never know when the mood might strike.

Today’s rain means it’s prime time for some hand sewing—yippee! But if the downpour keeps up the weeds will be easy to pull so, I’ll be out in the flowerbeds for some quick and easy muddy weed pulling. The quilt will just have to wait its turn.

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Butteryfly Heart Flutter

It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but every now and then someone tags me on social media with a project made from one of my patterns or tutorials. The latest was from Maggie Beard of pearlinthepinesco on Instagram.  A darling little wall hanging featuring my Flutterby quilt block.

 

The funny thing was the day before she tagged me, I was thinking about starting a new quilt with simple patchwork and a few of these butterfly blocks.  Springtime always puts me in the mood for posies and butterfly quilts.  Well anyway...Maggie isn't just a maker of cute handmade items she also sells her handmade items on Etsy.  You can find her Etsy shop by clicking here.

Thank you Maggie for sharing your creation with me.❤️  It made my little ole heart flutter.  There's nothing more rewarding than knowing others find my creations worth making.

I've used my Flutterby block in several quilts over the years.  You can find the tutorial for this block and the quilt Podunk Posy that you see below by clicking here.

If you make one of my patterns, I'd love to see them.  Send me an email at podunkpretties@gmail.com.  Of course, let me know if it's okay to share them.  If you would prefer they not be shared here on the blog, that's okay too.  I'd still love to see them.

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Racing The Clock

So much to do and so little time, that’s the story of my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m rarely bored.  This week will be non-stop action.  At the top of my want-to-do list is getting the Iris Quilt off the frame and bound, with hopes of sharing a Friday finish blog post.

As you can see it's close to being finished.  

  But I'm not holding my breath on a finish this week because there's much to do on the need-to-do list. Last week I finally started working on the flowerbeds and veggie garden.  Last year I decided to take the year off from the veg garden, you know, let the soil rest. The garden became a jungle.  So last week while Mr. Podunk was tending to the beehives I decided to burn off the garden mess.  As you can see the fire tried to creep out into the yard.  Oh, but what's life without a little excitement.  It kept me on my toes!

Over the weekend, Mr. Podunk tilled the garden.  The planting will begin this week. With our late start this year we can’t grow cold crop veggies, but we’re still going to try for a small batch of snow peas. If I plant them on the garden’s south side, where there’s more shade, they should do fine. Over the next two or three weeks, I should be able to get the whole garden planted.  Well, that's the plan, we'll see how it goes.

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Early Morning Playtime

 Every morning is the same routine...I get up, grab a glass of water, and sip it while watching the local weather on mute. Then it’s a quick scroll through emails and social media. By the time that’s done, my husband has left for work and it’s time to start chores. But yesterday, before I even finished my online check in or he headed out, I had an epiphany. Remember those Wheel/Dresden blocks from Monday’s blog post? The reason I’ve struggled to work them into a quilt is that they have too much color for my taste...it’s the background fabric! So, I cut them off!

At first, I thought the white fabric with black dots would be the perfect match for the wheels...and it is! But as a proud fabric hoarder, I know my stash is basically a treasure chest of possibilities. Time to unleash some of those options and see what magic happens.

This Lakehouse Drygoods print just about sent my little ole heart into a tap dance. I think it plays well with these blocks, but I’m not sure these wheels are worthy of such a treasure, so it’s time to rummage through the stash and see if I can find a not so treasured fabric.

A large pale yellow dot by Poppy Cotton also brought a smile to my face but it doesn’t have the same pizzazz as the previous print. Maybe I could use this and add some patchwork or solid colors in the sashing and borders to make up for what it’s lacking.

Sitting on the cold tile floor for about an hour, I dug through the scrap bins searching for the perfect fabrics to match the wheels. In the process, I came across some squares I had cut years ago when I planned start a scrap saver system. That plan was abandoned after about three days of nonstop cutting. And now, guess what? At the start of this year, I again started cutting all my newly produced scraps into usable sizes for a scrap saver system. I’ll share my progress another time.

It didn’t take long to realize the sashing plan was a dud and that patchwork sashing might look better or the Lakehouse Drygoods print.  Sigh… I was officially done playing with these blocks. There’s a quilt on the frame begging for attention and other UFOs that don’t demand this much attention. Plus, my poor tooshie was freezing from sitting on the tile floor, and all I really wanted was my morning cup of decaf.

Things didn’t turn out the way I had planned in my mind, but I made a little progress after many years of it being a UFO, and that makes me happy. So, back in the box it goes until another great idea comes along. As I sit here looking at this picture, I realized I didn’t add the big yellow dot to the box. I think I’ll keep the black dots in there too, just in case I change my mind again. 

Later this afternoon, the squares I found will be sorted by size and color and stored in my new scrap saver system and then it's back to quilting the Iris quilt.  

With my morning cup of decaf, I decided to have some fun with ChatGPT. I’ve seen quilters using it to whip up pictures and ads, so I figured, why not?  I sent it pictures of me, my dog and an applique quilt block.  I mentioned my sewing room’s white furniture and bright colors, then requested denim overalls and a red gingham shirt.  And I even gave it a link to my blog so it could see my style.

It worked its magic in about one minute.

I must say, I adore the gorgeous thick hair and eyebrows it gave me, plus I look about 15 years younger and considerably slimmer. However, I'm baffled by the random signs everywhere, the jar of salsa on the windowsill, and apparently, every quilter’s must have quilting notions are a mound of soil and filthy garden gloves on the desk! HAHA!  

And when I zoomed in to look at the detail, I noticed something strange about my finger.  What in the world is that?!  EWW!   Obviously, AI still has a lot to learn.  It was fun but I think I'll stick to real photos.

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It's Not My UFO

 If you had to name these blocks, would you call them Dresden blocks or wheel blocks? Whatever they are, they’re adorable. I can’t take credit for making them, they were sent to me years ago by Bev of Blossom and Beverly, who some may also remember as 44th Street Fabrics.  She no longer writes on her blog so reason to provide a link.  She switched over to Instagram, and we haven't chatted in years.  I'm not a big fan of the faster paced social media.  I only had it for business purposes.  I guess that makes me an old out of touch fuddy duddy.  

Oh well I like the slower pace here in blogland.  It reminds of a line from the book/movie Shawshank Redemption.

"The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry"

Anyway... Way back in the day Bev had written a blog post about these quilt blocks saying she made them a long time ago and didn't know what to do with them and wanted suggestions.  

In true smarty pants fashion, I suggested she send to me because I loved them!

As you can see, she did just that.  We had been sending packages to each other for years, so she sent them. It was a total surprise when they ended up on my doorstep.  And here I set in the same predicament for years trying to come up with a plan for using them.

Every time I've to work on them it always ended with them being put back in storage.

Well not this time.  I'm determined to finish this project.  So up on the design wall they go.  This should be a quick and easy finish. Weather I like it or not it will be finished, it's not going back into storage.

Bev and I discussed these a few times over the years.  We both thought that adding a black and white polka dot might be the best option.  I've had a black with white polka dots on hand for a few years and have been keeping my eye out for a white with black dots for quite some time.  Finally last week I found it at Love It Sew our local quilt shop.  So up on the design wall they went for inspiration.  To be honest, I was not inspired.  

Plan B was to take the blocks into EQ8 and start playing with options.  And I quickly realized that this might take longer than I thought.  EWW...I don't like the dots.

I played around with a lot of ideas, and each one produced the same reaction...EWW.

This seemed a little better but still... EWW.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Maybe it's the black that is so yukky to me. After about 3 or 4 fabric auditions in EQ, I found a fabric I think will work.  Gingham of course.  I love ginghams!  I love dots too but not the black and white ones.

What do you think? The yukky dots, green or something totally different for this quilt.  Design options ideas are welcome too!

For now, they will stay on the design wall while I finish up the Iris quilt that has been neglected for days.  I often come up with my best ideas while working quietly on something else.

See you soon!

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Happy Easter

Happy Easter to my lovely family and friends, may your day be filled with laughter and joy. 

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Meeting Corey Yoder

 Once again, time seems to be spinning out of control, and I’ve lost track of the days. Maybe it’s because I turned 57 this week. Whatever the reason, here’s my sewing update a day late. The Iris Quilt? No progress to report. But honestly, who cares... I met Corey Yoder!

She did a trunk show at Love It Sew one of our local quilt shops.  Normally I would never pay to meet fabric designer.  But when I saw that she was going to be here the day after my birthday I said what the heck.  I almost always buy fabric for my birthday and had planned to buy from both of the local shops why not just go on the day that Corey is in town.  It was only $20 or in quilter cash one yard of wide quilt backing.  

I've been following Corey since around 2011 or 12.  Back then she was a Moda Bakeshop designer, that's how I found her.  She had posted a quilt pattern in the Moda Bakeshop website and there was a link to her blog at the end of the pattern post.  Here's a link to the Candy Scraps Quilt I remembered from way back then.  Why was it so memorable?  Linen!  That's right she used an unbleached linen in the quilt and I was in awe.  So I went straight to Joann's and bought some linen that looked like what she had but wasn't designer fabric.  I didn't use it for another year or two, you know how it is...SQUIRRELL!  

Anyway, back to Corey, she was in town for a trunk show featuring her new fabric line, Fruit Salad. I had already come across it online since I often browse manufacturer websites for upcoming collections.

Of course, she brought all the sample quilts for this line and a lot more from other lines.  

I took pictures of some of the quilts just for show and tell here on the blog.  But I didn't bother to write down the names of any of them.  So, if you like any of them here's a link to her pattern shop.  It's rare that I buy a pattern, but when I do I prefer to buy directly from the designer, if possible, they make more profit when you purchase from them.

She shared a good 20 to 30 really cute quilts.  This one below was my favorite.  Again, I have no clue what it's called.  It reminds me of the traditional quilt pattern called Grandmothers Flower Garden.  Y'all know I'm s sucker for posy quilts.  Did I buy the pattern?  No.  I forgot about this one when it came time to shop.

What did I get?  Let's start with the goodie bag put together by the quilt shop.  In the bag was 2 FQ's, scissors, a wristlet and 3 pieces of candy.  The candy is not pictured because...well...it was yummy chocolates. HAHA!   We also got to choose one Corey pattern free of charge.  The goodie bag more than paid for what we paid for the trunk show.  Let me just say I love this quilt shop, they carry all the pretty stuff I love.  Thank goodness it's about a 40 to 50 minute drive.  If it were closer, I'd be in big trouble with hubby all the time.

Of course, I bought a few things while at the shop.  Some half yards of the blue prints in the Fruit salad line and the black dot on white is also a Corey Yoder fabric but not from the current line. We'll talk more about that black dot fabric next week.  Some must have low volume prints came home with me because one can never have too many of those.  And last but not least Corey brought new patterns for her next line of fabric, Joysome, it will be in stores this fall. I chose a pattern that looked like it would be good for scrap busting small squares.

Corey had a YouTube Channel.  She posts a new video almost every Saturday.  Her channel isn't just for plugging her new lines of fabric and patterns, she also does Q&A, free block of the months and the occasional tutorial.  I watch it every week without fail.  Below is her video for the Fruit Salad line. Click on the image below to watch or click this link to watch it on YT and help her YT channel grow. 

 See you soon!  Monday is the plan, but you never know!

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The Iris Quilt

 Quilting the Iris quilt is moving at the speed of a snail, but at least it’s moving. Day one of quilting was nearly a total flop thanks to skipped stitches and a stitch regulator that decided to test my patience. By the time I solved both problems the sun was setting, so I stitched for about an hour before calling it quits for the day.  

The next day was a better day. I had a great time quilting the wave in the sashings with my new wave ruler. It would be wonderful if all longarm rulers had painted lines like this one.

The one inch piano key border gave me a bit of trouble for that very reason. Light fabric, light thread, and faint ruler lines don’t mix well with aging eyes and new bifocals.

I have several different rulers for straight lines and stitch in the ditch.  And every single one of them has etched/scratched hard to see lines. I know not everyone has this problem.  It's just a Granny Lea Anne problem.  All I can do is fix the problem since my new very expensive granny bifocals don't seem to be helping me in the slightest.

Can you see the etched lines on light fabrics?  Do you see the one darker line?

I fixed the problem with a fine tip Sharpie, which fits perfectly into the etched/scored line. I only marked the one inch line since it’s the only one I’m using for this quilt. 

While we're talking about hard to see lines...the preprinted quilting lines are easier to see now that the quilt has been sandwiched on the frame.  Am I concerned about these lines?  Nope. Not one bit.  This is pretty typical of older preprinted embroidery.  Sometimes the lines wash out sometimes they don't.  I know the recipient will love her with or without blemishes.

The good thing is they aren’t noticeable unless you're up close.  And I know the recipient is going to love it even with the blemishes.

This week there's a list as long as my arm of things to be done other than quilting on the frame.  So, the plan is to do what I can and quilt when I can.  See you on Friday!

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