GO! Workout

When I think of things I'm grateful for, that I picked up quilting as my hobby of choice always makes the list. It's brought me good times, helped me through hard times, and invited the friendship of wonderful women into my life. I love, too, how quilting lets us bring gifts to others as well. A friend is fighting cancer and so I've been collecting well wishes from co-workers. This weekend it's been all about sewing up those blocks.  (I whited out the names to protect people's privacy).

These have been great blocks for my leaders and enders tumbler project. Wow, have I made progress this weekend!

They may not look like much all neatly folded up (there's some more strips out of the camera image as well), but I have the rows for the lap quilt nearly all finished. Just a few more patches to add and then I'll be joining the rows together. I'm excited about that -- all part of my current need to finish the old as well as start the new.

The working dies for this week:

I love when dies play well together -- like how the 3" finished half square triangles line up so perfectly with the signature die.

And there is a new Big gadget in my sewing room!

That was an indulgence that nearly had me hyper-ventilating before I clicked purchase. Though there is at least some reason to the madness. My doctor has a habit of starting sentences with "Well, at your age . . . ." And what being an old gray mare of my age means is that those repetitive stress injuries are way too easy to come by. I can feel it on occasion when I'm doing a lot of GO! work -- cranking that handle again and again. I feel it with rotary cutting as well. My elbow and shoulder just ain't what they used to be. So I'm hoping the GO! Big can keep me quilting away with a little less wear and tear, since I am a woman of a certain age (and then some).

Bits and Pieces, This and That

Let's hear it for progress in the sewing room. There's a lot to do yet, but there are corners shaping up.

I've been having fun deciding what quilts to bring out for a change. Those three quilts above? I don't think I've ever had them out for display.  Now, that's just wrong.

Meanwhile, some things remain the same. Lulubelle is back in her corner.

I've taken squatter's rights to the spare room and a bunch of stuff that used to be crowded in this spot is now out for good. Even my own true love noticed. "Wow, that shelf is a whole lot neater." So, yeah, when even the DH can see the difference, I know it's dramatic.

I'm also working on finishing up some of those little quilts in process. Hand quilting!

I'm also playing with the idea of making a grouping of little red and white quilts. I thought I'd run through a bunch of the foundations from Miniatures in Minutes and see how it goes. I'm starting with the 13-Square foundation. In retrospect, this is the foundation I wished I had used in the book to illustrate the Fold and Sew technique.  It's the easiest of all the foundations. Works like a charm.

An additional plus? It's another foundation I can use the AccuQuilt GO! for as well. Since the patches for the 13-Square are just one inch squares, I use the 1" Strip die. I run a length through once to get 1" strips and then run the strips through cross-wise in order to get the squares. (The ruler just helps me insure I've got the strips at a 90 degree angle.)

Two passes through the GO! and I have two satisfying little piles.

This is how far I got on the foundation tonight before it was time for evening socializing and wine.

So between this, that, and the other thing, the sewing room is a regular beehive of activity. Color me thrilled.

GO! All Together Now

Sometimes I hate having bits and pieces left over from a charm pack. I feel like I need (NEED) to get it all used up.  I didn't quite meet that goal with these, but I came darn close!

Just because I have better pictures now, I'll start from the beginning. First came the GO! tablemat for my office.

Then came using the leftovers and the GO! equilateral triangles die along with the Pyramid Triangle Foundation from Miniatures in Minutes to make a miniature quilt (11 1/2" by 12 1/2").

But after that I still had both a handful of little triangles and a few left over charms. I ran a few more bits through the GO! Equilateral Triangles die and then ran some other little leftovers through with the GO! 1" strip cutter. (Run them through twice and the result is 1" squares, easy peasy.)

So I used the 13-Square foundation from Miniatures in Minutes to make a 7 by 7 Trip Around the World -- that became a little zipper pouch.  Because you can never have too many little zipper bags, right?

Next came a 5 by 5 squares block and the Pyramid Triangle foundation.  Those two became pincushions. (For any interested, you can find a pdf on how I use the 13-Square foundation to make smaller blocks here and here).

So, there it is, two charm packs done! (Almost) no little bits leftover. I'll admit to a couple surviving charms, but I can live with that. I have a little private challenge going with myself: can I work on a AccuQuilt GO! related project every week? How long before the semester swamps me and I'm out of my sewing room for a while? Hard to say, but for now, I'm good.