STRINGS AND THINGS

 

My Low volume String

"Early Spring"

piece is all hand quilted...

And

Here is the back

where you can see that I did the 

vertical and horizontal

seam lines on either side

↧↧↧

(Click to enlarge)

*******************************

Remember I mentioned a BIG

BAG of various scraps??

Cut offs, small bits, orts, etc...

all mostly darker fabrics

that needed sorting?

 this is how I've spent my

day..

What a mess...

DH started to ask me

"Why did you put that one on that

pile--isn't it...?" 

I ignored it totally--if I began

overthinking I would 

NEVER EVER

get it done...

I sorted by color and then bagged

Here are the first few piles

I started...

What a mammoth job!!

👀👹

Maybe now I will REMEMBER

to put the scraps in each color coded bag

AS I GO!!!😱😳😵

YA THINK???

********************

So now I can make a start on hand quilting 

the two dolly quilts for Willa and Fiona...

Nice small projects...

************************

I sent off my donation blocks and

tops yesterday....

AND...

LO AND BEHOLD

👀

Look what I received

in the mail from 

Julie Sefton of 

"Me and My Quilts"

Blog...

All precut and packaged!!

And low volume which 

I really totally need!!

Wasn't this the most generous gift???

With the cutest card....

thank you so much Julie 

💖

Aren't quilters just the nicest

people??

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(so thankful-euse)

GOING AWAY TO COLLEGE QUILTS

 

Here are Greg (L)

and Connor (R)

(my daughter's twin boys)

holding up their "Going Away to

College" quilts I made for them.

Look how tall 

they are

😮😮😮!!!

Greg's is called "Blues"

and Connor's "Red Rhythm".

Here are the reversible sides:

Greg's has Christmas dogs

in funny hats over 

Snowy

Christmas trees;

and

Connor's has a snow-

capped mountains fishing

scene...reflecting his

love of fishing...

We could not believe just how tall and

filled out the twins got in 2 years

since we've seen them...

Connor is big into basketball

and Greg is into gardening..

I totally felt like a midget/shrimpie

next to them

They tower over me...

👵👴

😉

***********************

We had a wonderful visit with time to 

catch up on what lies ahead for

them in colleges they've chosen.

And all about Cassidy's (their sister)

college plans also...

All in all 

A great day!! 

;)))

*************************

Back to quilt's and things....

Since

I can no longer handle big quilt

tops , I thought i would

 get in touch with

a group that puts blocks together

and finished quilt tops

for charities...

I found a 

nice listing at 

"Jo's Country Junction" blog.

I have two sets of blocks ready to be

sewn together right now.

************************

This morning, Tom and I

took a ride to a UPS and

a Kohl's to drop off some

returns we had to make

and on our way we went 

out for

breakfast...

a nice treat on a very 

hot and humid day...

**************************

This week I will be working on re-organizing my

fabrics into functional groupings

for me...

And

getting fabrics pulled out of that 

BIG SCRAP BAG

for my 2nd funfetti piece...

Take care and enjoy your week

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(grateful-euse)

FUNFETTI INTO A FLIMSY , et al

 

Here are the wonky funfetti

blocks sewn together.

(click to enlarge all)

AND then I

pinned those double rows 

of 4 patches--

all gray toned prints--

to the shorter sides 

to see if I liked them

with the main piece...

↧↧↧↧

It was a Plan for  borders...

SO...

I wandered about for a couple

days looking at this a lot...

and finally, 

I decided I did like that 

softer look to surround

the funfetti center

I used up all my gray 

mini charm 4 patches 

here and also a leftover

strip of foggy grayness...

I got to sew it all together

this afternoon 

into a Flimsy:

I had a tiny little little smidgen

of that solid grayness

leftover...

j-u-s-t 

enough!! ;)))

This is my trial piece for making

more confetti blocks...

using the smallest pieces I 

could sew 

and still have them show up;

and also trying out 

a few triangles...

I am thinking now of a dark 

background with low volume

white and off whites

to make next...

I am hoping it will look 

like snow falling...

I will be deciding on 

a background

for this...

And so, this really is 

a TWO-fer

in my 

"USING IT UP" 

series...

I still have more mini charms

😧😰😮

sewn in 2-sies and 4-sies

to be used up

before I embark on 

any really 

totally new projects...

************************

Tom is out mowing our lawn 

in between showers;

very humid here with a 

72 dewpoint and 

80 degree temp.

Needless to say,

our AC is on..

***********************

I have prepared our dining room

table for what will be the 

7 of us tomorrow:

Candice, Cassidy,

Greg, Connor and

Steven and us...

Very French Countryside

dotted with my mini

collection of 

Rooster salt and peppers:

These are Pfaltzgraff--

I have 2 set of these...love how one is 

looking back over his shoulder

:)))))

and

 Mom and I scored

this pair 

at a yard sale:

⇊⇊⇊

We both thought they were

vintage looking..

Soooo cute...

You know, it's been so long

since we've entertained at all

that I had to really think 

👵 about

dishes, serving dishes, etc...

We are so looking 

forward to tomorrow..

:)))

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(Grateful-euse)

BOOKISH FRIDAY, et al

 

A new quilt book has landed

in my mailbox!! 

My reasoning (excuse really!!)

hahaha--

like I need any more quilt books!!

R E A L L Y???

👧😇

is that I have a ton of Charm packs

and want to begin whittling them

down as I've made a big dent in

my mini charms now....

See those page markers???

I have marked 

NINE

out of the 18 quilt patterns

in here that I really

would love to make!

This has to be some 

kind of record

👀💫

for a single book...

***********************

Tonight I am making 

"Magpie's Mumblings" 

(see her blog for recipe)

↡↡↡↡↡

"Smoked Sausage Foil Packets".

I am using Sweet Italian

sausages and having Tom

pre-partial-cook them on

our grill before I incorporate

them (sliced) into the foil packet.  

[For some reason I

cannot fathom

putting RAW

meat of any kind 

alongside veggies,

touching each other,

like those Sheet Pan type recipes..

And these packets will have raw

potatoes and peppers and onions..]

ANYWAAAAY..

that's just me...;))

****************************

Right now we are watching the

Austrian Practice for the

Sunday Grand Prix while we have

our 2nd cuppa coffee...

A slow start for us on

this rainy and muggy

morning.  

****************************

We are in "cleaning/prep

mode" for my daughter and her family's

Sunday visit...

A late celebration of the twins'

graduating High School

when I will give them their 

"Going Away To College"

quilts...

Tom is making his spaghetti sauce

which will be accompanied by

salad and garlic bread

and followed by 

Italian Gelatos and

fancy cookies and brownies

for dessert...

Yesterday I did all the grocery shopping

and today will begin the "picking up" phase.

I am so excited to be seeing my

grandchildren all together here.

AND

catching up

at long last....

👏👏👏👏

That is where I am right now...;)))

{T G I F  ALL}

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse 

(in-prep-mode-euse)

DOLLY QUILT FLIMSIES

 

Here is Fiona's 

Dolly Quilt

Flimsie...

AND

Here is Willa's

Dolly Quilt 

Flimsie

These were both put together from 

leftover chunks and strings,

starting with the string block centers

that I posted yesterday...

Such fun little projects....

I plan to layer and then, 

back them tomorrow...

************************

Today Tom and I did errands

in the morning 

and then walked at our

favorite path at 

the playing fields...

{I managed about 15 minutes

before the sciatica began--

but that is better than not 

walking at all!}

************************

Tonight's menu is:

Roast Pork Loin,

Mashed potatoes,

Gravy,

and steamed corn...

********************

Our hot humid weather was 

blown away overnight by

a strong cold front;

winds from the north

brought us low humidity

and sunshine-y 

low temps today...;)))

All in all a wonderful day--

I hope yours is going well, too

👵💕

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(Still-stringing-along-euse)

STRINGING ALONG, et al

 

Fiona likes purple

(sorry for the darkish photo the

purples are much brighter

in reality)

AND

Willa likes blue

I don't know what these will grow into as yet

[placemats, dolly quilts, lap quilts]

I have raided my leftover blue and

purple scraps and strings to make

these....

They are a work in progress...

I do love to make these string blocks

[to see a lot of other neat

string projects--

visit Cathy at 

"Crazy By Design" blog...]

💝💓💗

**********************

Over the weekend

not much sewing was done;

I took a little break....

And on

Sunday we watched the Formula One

French Grand Prix

Mark Verstappen won for

the Red Bull Team

and a close 2nd was 

↧↧↧↧

Hamilton...

{imagine, they even have

someone to do up their hair}

We had a french toast breakfast

in honor of the race.

So yummy!!!

 

Tom and I so enjoy watching these

races

on Sunday mornings.. 

Next week the race will

be in Austria...

(and what will be 

on the menu

for Austria???

Hmmmm....👵

stay tuned)

***************************

I am still working on my  

Diamond Painting...

she is almost done....

I began this when we shut 

down for

the Corona Virus...

A good way to relieve stress

I've found...

*********************

Hot and very muggy here today...

I hope you are having a 

good week;

stay cool....

hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(still-stringing-euse)

THE CHERRY THIEF, et al

 

I got this finished over

the past weekend--all

bound and labeled...

💝💝💝

Here it is on my cocktail table in

my living room..

Fits nicely...;)))

The backing is a VERY old fabric

that has been languishing

in my stash for-EVER!

I chose to use the bird fabric for

the binding.

 

And

I even remembered to 

label it...;))

****************************

And..

on the family front:

my two handsome twin grandsons--

Greg (L) and Connor(R) 

are attending their last day 

of High School..

Tomorrow they will graduate..

It just doesn't seem possible...

My daughter's youngest two..

S  I  G  H...

Life surely flies by in a moment...

👵✈✈✈

We will be watching the

live stream at

5 p.m. here at home...

We hope to see them soon so 

I can give them

their "Going Away  To College"

quilts...

It will have been such a long time

since my daughter and her family

have all come down here.

We are planning a BBQ 

celebration...

Fingers crossed for good weather...

*************************

I hope you are all well and

being able to sew...

Hugs,

Julierose,

La Blageuse

(Lots of finishing-euse)

LOW VOLUME STRING BLOCKS

 

After my Big Y weekly

food shopping

early this morning,

I came home and settled out on our

deck to begin my hand 

quilting journey on my 

Low Volume String blocks...

[click to enlarge pix]

It is a beautiful low humidity day

here with a lovely breeze

AAAAH....

I am using this lovely

Sulky cotton thread in 

this "perfect" pale green 

color using my

Milliner's needle and little

automatic needle threader.

:)))

(I love that little vintage 

tea napkin edging above)

I will be stitching a row on 

each block's

seamed sides....

both vertically 

and horizontally.

Some of seam crossing spots 

are pretty hard to 

needle through 

and

[I've already bent one

needle !!]

😰

But, I am trying to "navigate 

around" as best I can,

those seam crossings...

That green/white fabric below

is a dense linen leftover from

a crazy quilt block...

↡↡↡↡

Right here I managed to

work underneath

this crossing spot......

I think my title for this one will

be "Early Spring".

Hugs, Julierose,

La blageuse

(hand-quilting-euse)