GO! Get it Done

Which, hey, I did.  One pretty circles table runner coming up!

While my first week of classes was a little more chaotic than usual (technology down, books not in bookstore, a side trip to the dentist which had nothing to do with school but meant I felt even more sorry for myself), the sewing room was a retreat. It's one of the things I love about quilting. Sometimes I feel like I get to be a little kid again just when I need it: "Being an adult is hard. (Sniff). I'm going to go play with colors. (Sniff. Sniff)."  And then I start to feel better. It isn't a cure all but I sure have been grateful over the years for having that sewing retreat.

Here's a photo of the whole table runner at home in the house. Odd angles. Too dark. What you can't see?  Me squeezed into a tight corner I would have fit into much easier twenty years ago.

Which is why I also took a photo out on our deck. Much better light.

Another closer look just because, and to pause a moment to give thanks for those fabric designers who never let you down. All those Kaffe Fassett fabrics? Love 'em.

And because, apparently, I'm still going in circles, I've got a project for this week to work on that uses circles again. It's one of those projects that side-tracked me onto the internet, but that's okay. I've still  got a start: stacks of circles. More to come.

GO! Progress

Or: Just Tumbling Along

Making progress on the table runner. The top is sewn together, layered, basted . . . 

though I still need to close up all those pins.  I'm thinking just some simple straight line quilting on this one. 

So lo-o-o-ong! Off into the shadows we go.

Putting all those squares together was a good reason to pull out my Leaders and Enders project. I have a bad habit of working on it for a while and then stuffing it in the closet and forgetting about it. Oops! But, hey, working on it while I put together all those circle blocks meant I made some good progress.  

Once I started putting some of the tumblers up on the design board, I could see the quilt top was going to be way too dark and boring. I needed to cut more tumblers out anyway, so I'm hoping adding some brighteners will give it a little spark.

Meanwhile, I've got another GO! project in the wings. This is one I just need to get up my get up and go to start!  I think this is the first time in all my years of quilting that I bought fat quarters for an entire line.  (Greetings, Black Friday sale!) Mon Ami -- isn't it fun?

And now, it's back to prepping -- classes start tomorrow. The (break) party's over.

GO! Whew

Yup, I got it done. There I was Christmas Eve quilting the table runner -- very simple in the ditch along the sashing. And there I was Christmas morning adding the binding. But, yup, done! (Or done enough. I may add more quilting later).

A little closer look. I do love those Jim Shore Santas.

And because I am always sewing on Christmas Eve, a Star Wars zipper bag:

Then a zipper bag with a vinyl window to show off those utterly adorable hedgehogs:

Another bag with a window that is all about the pretty blue fabric:

All together now!

So, there it is. Whew! I managed to get the table runner on the table in the nick of time and got my GO! Sew project in for the week. Now to decide what next week will bring . . .

GO! On

It's a keep on keeping on kind of week. Finishing up the semester madness. Very little time for sewing. But since I've been lucky enough (ha!) to have had middle of the night insomnia several nights running, and since last night after counting my breaths for an hour trying to get back to sleep, I finally gave up and went down to the sewing room . . . I managed to get the top to the AccuQuilt GO! Drunkard's Path table runner done!

One of the things I really like about the drunkard's path block is that, once its made, I can trim it square with some wiggle room on what size I make the blocks.  In this case, given the table top I need the table runner to fit, I trimmed the square circle units to 6 1/2 inches square (6 inch finished).

Now I just need to find the time to quilt it before Friday. Along with all those other little sewing projects I'd still like to get done. Sure I can . . .  my capacity for self-delusion about how much I can get done rises in direct proportion to how much closer Christmas celebration gets!

GO! Dove of Peace

As I was finishing up this table runner, I couldn't help but think of Paris and the other cities and countries that have so recently suffered at the hands of terrorists. I believe with all my heart that love is stronger than hate, that those who do good in the world vastly outnumber those who do evil, and that while peace remains elusive, the very fact we cherish it as a dream speaks to the best of who we are.

 I used three GO! dies in the making of this quilt: the dove, the 6" finished quarter-square triangle, and the 1 1/2" strip cutter (for single fold binding).  I rotary cut the central squares 6 1/2" (6" finished).

Wishing peace and comfort to the City of Light, to Beirut, to Russia and all who have suffered these attacks.