Project Quilting 11.4

Another successful Project Quilting Challenge finish.  Another hastily written Sunday Morning blog post! 

I actually started this challenge on Sunday, the day it was posted by Kim and Trish.  The challenge was to incorporate traditional Birds in the Air quilt blocks into a project in some way shape or form.  These blocks are made from triangles.  While cleaning my sewing table off on Sunday, I found plethora of itty bitty triangles, some finished half square triangles and a whole bunch of vaguely triangular shaped scraps.  Perfect.  It was a given that those treasures would become my birds in the air blocks.  So, I sat down and made three.  They were SO cute!  SO much fun!  I combined them with the already made HST's and decided they could play nicely enough together to be used int he same project.  Then I made some more HSTs from the scrap pile to pull it together.

I zen-pieced a bunch of low volumes together to use as half of some HST's .  Love the result!  

When I went to bed on Sunday I was't sure what the project was  going to be, but I knew I had a start.  Sometime on Monday it occurred to me that I could use this challenge to make something I've been wanting to make for myself - a tablet stand!  After years of internally rolling my eyes at other people's Netflix addictions I've recently discovered that there are some really GOOD things to watch!  Plus, we ditched cable and got Sling, which I can access on my tablet, so now...HALLMARK CHANNEL IN THE SEWING ROOM!!!  There is a slight possibility my family will file a missing person's report one day soon, because, truly, there is no reason to come out of there now.

With lots to watch, plus my tried and true podcasts to listen to, my tablet is my best sewing accessory these days.  It deserves its own home.  Plus, having it upright makes viewing easier and reduces the likely hood that I will run over the edge with a rotary cutter or loose the tablet under a pile of scraps.

The pink fabric with the birds is the ONE thing here that wasn't scrap.  But it kinda had to be in there.

So, the initial hodgepodge of BITA blocks and HSTs was slowly but surely joined by more through out the week.  I consulted several Youtube video tutorials and a few blog posts including this one by Factotum of Arts to get an idea of how to construct a triangular stand, and then I just kind of went for it.  Getting all my blocks in without cutting them was more important to me than the size of the finished project, so it's a bit ridiculously big.  But, it's done and I love it..  It is filled with walnut shells for the base and a bunch of fiberfill.  I"m so glad to use some of that up.  I had an almost full bag of fiberfill left over from stuffing turbans for Aladdin and I just don't use it that often.  So, the bit that's inside my new tablet stand makes me very happy indeed.  And, I am ridiculously happy to not have just thrown out those itty bitty triangles.  They are so cute in those little bird in the air blocks. 

Virgin River. Are you watching it??  SO Good.  And there's some good quilt spotting to be done, too!

Such a useful little thing...

It's hard to see the bird in the air blocks when you look at my tablet stand in use.  It's actually hard to see the stand when its in use.  But I know they're there, and I'd rather have a cute quilty stand on my table than one ordered from Amazon any day. 

Linking up with  Kim at Persimon Dreams, the Project Quilting Headquarters just under the wire.  Again.  Fingers crossed for a prize this week!!

Project Quilting 11.3 - Put A Heart On It

Time for another Project Quilting Challenge!  I knew going in to this one that it would have to be a quick project.  Well, I guess they always are for me.  I am amazed and astounded at the people who complete a full sized quilt for a challenge.  And, then, do it again two weeks later!  How does that happen?  In a week filled with parent teacher conferences, high school open house/orientation for my youngest, two IEP's to write, rehearsals for a sketch comedy show that I was in on Saturday night and life in general, I knew I would't sew until Friday.  But, OH how I looked forward to Friday!  

 I kicked around a few ideas all week.  At one point I really wanted to make something useful - not another wall quilt.  I kind of wanted to make a tote bag to gift to someone.  I had two someones in mind.  

On Friday afternoon, as the work week wrapped up,  I started to get an "itch" do make some improv letters.  Since it had been "Kindness Week" at school the words "Be Kind" came to mind.  I started working at about 6:00 on Friday night (with a beverage and a Hallmark movie on my tablet!).  

These letters were SO FUN! And so freeing.  Exactly what my brain needed after a long week.  I pulled up a picture of pieced letters as a guide, but then I just went for it.  No measuring and no rulers.  Just free from cutting with my small rotary cutter and sewing without too much thought,  I did unpick a few seams to get a different angle or a skinnier shape.  But for the most part, these letters were "One and Done."  I wish I'd taken a picture of the pile of scraps generated in the process.  It was crazy big and cheerily colorful.  What a mess, though!

 When I started I still had a tote bag in mind.  But once I got the letters done, it was pretty clear a bag wasn't going to happen.  Too big to be practical.  Plus, more work to get it done, and I knew I would only have a few hours to finish on Saturday. And, I still had to incorporate a heart.  I decided to make 4 hearts using the Cluck Cluck Sew method that I've used before.  She has a great free pattern with measurements for these easy peasy hearts in seven different sizes!!! I really love how quickly they go together.  Looking at the hearts and letters together I knew that this would have to be another mini wall quilt.  Oh well.  Maybe next week I'll branch out into new territory.  

Aaaack.  Terrible picture.  That's what you get at 11:30 pm in a poorly lit sewing room!

I found a beautiful piece of Art Gallery fabric in my stash that I just had to use for the space around the hearts.  It says "I can and I will" over and over again.  I think we can all use a reminder now and then that we CAN be kind.  Even when it's easier to find fault, or we need to vent our frustrations over someones' actions or even their personality, we CAN be kind, first. I like this reminder that I CAN and I WILL be KIND.  Plus, I just really liked the way the print looked with the little hearts.  

On Saturday morning I headed straight back into the sewing room to put the pieces together and to quilt.  Because the denim I'd used as the background had a stretch to it, the piece was all kinds of wonky when I started quilting,  I decided on match stick quilting to hopefully keep things pretty straight and give it some body.  It was more or less successful, although there's definitely still some "wonk" to it.  I didn't take the time to hang it well for a picture, and it looks pretty wavy in this one but it actually does hang pretty straight.  It's not a fair project, no one is going to be judging it. Its not about perfection its about happy!  It made me happy to work on this little quilt, so perfect is a perfect does.  Or something like that.

There are few things that are as calming and meditative for me as straight line quilting. This was like a little therapy session! 

I haven't decided on a location for it yet.  Maybe in my classroom?  Maybe it's a gift for the guidance counselor for her office?  Or maybe I'll send it to the wonderful family behind the Summer Shirt Project for the work space in their home.  I recently won a grab bag of awesome T-Shirts and fun Be Kind To Everyone swag.  So maybe this will be a thank you gift to them.  This project came to life on its own with very little planning, so it's fitting that its forever home is still undetermined. 

 

I'm writing this post just an hour and a half before Kim's deadline of noon, Wisconsin time.  I'm cozy under a blanket drinking coffee from a heart mug and watching the snow.  I've decided to BE KIND to myself today and not go to work in my classroom.  I've got plenty to do at home. 

 I hope that kindness finds you where ever you are this week!  This world needs more of it!

Linking up with Kim at Persimmon Dreams for Project Quilting Season 11 .