Charms in the mail

Earlier this month, I visited Donna at her Quilting Bear Gal blog and entered her birthday giveaway. I was the lucky winner, and today I received these lovely charms!
I love the colors and design of this fabric, which has a vintage Southwest look to it. I'm thinking these would make a great bag.
Donna made beautiful quilt from some of these fabrics, which can be seen here.

Thank you so much, Donna, for your generosity! Your blog is interesting and well worth visiting.

Louise

Rolling along

I've finished step 6 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery, Roll Roll Cotton Boll.
Part one, in the photo below, used the pink-green-pink unit, with brown triangles added at each end. I do have an idea of how these will be used, but I'm not sharing because we were asked not to!



Part #2 of clue #6 instructed us to sew 5 of the half-square triangles together in a row, like this:

I also have an idea of how these will be used, but won't share that either! For the blue, I used up a whole shirt. I ran out of "shirt" so I cut into the PJ pants. The blues were very similar and blend together well.

This is going to make a huge quilt, at least queen size. When I see how all the pieces fit together, I'll decide how big to make it and what adjustments are needed.

Can't wait until Friday morning when clue #7 is due!

Louise

RRCB step #5

For step 5 of this mystery, I have 431 HSTs completed....only 169 to go. I'm using an Easy Angle ruler, as Bonnie suggested, and I think this is easier than my usual method of putting 2 squares together, sewing two lines on the diagonal, cutting, then squaring.
I've gotten all the blue from one shirt, but that will probably run out. A pair of PJ pants in the same shade of blue is waiting in the wings for the remaining units.



As I'm sewing these little units, I keep wondering how all these pieces will fit together. Below is one block which came to mind, which is similar to a Bears Paw.
Where do the other units fit into this puzzle, though? I'll just have to be patient to find that out!

I've really enjoyed this mystery so far. By pushing myself to get the clues done in time for the next clue, I'm getting lots of sewing done. Other things are being neglected, though....housework, finishing Christmas cards, blah, blah, blah.........!

RRCB....Still a mystery

Step #4 of Bonnie Hunter's mystery "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" was quick & easy, resulting in these little green and neutral units.



On the other hand, Step #3 (the neutral string-pieced blocks shown below) took hours & hours. The 60 blocks consumed lots of scraps, and I had fun making them all! Some of the fabrics make me smile...I've even got a treadle machine in there.

These are all the completed steps shown together, with the blue "constant" underneath it all. This mystery remains a mystery. I just can't imagine how all these blocks will go together!

Step #5 is expected on Friday.....I'm looking forward to the next clue.............

Louise

Time passes

This says it all..........

I thought of some variations that are relevant to my life.

Life is uncertain..........
Laugh with your friends first.
Read that novel first.
Take that drive in the country first.
Write that letter first.
Travel to [fill in the blank] first.
Cut into the Moda (fabric) first.
Say "I Love You" first.
Wear a dress first. (I always fall back on the easy outfits....jeans...)

I'm sure I can think of dozens more! As time passes & the years slip by, and I find that I am one of the "older" folks now (even though I'm not all that old!), I feel more of an urgency to do the things that really matter to me. This is harder than is sounds! It involves really examining my life and disengaging from activities that really don't matter to me, or that aren't worth the time & effort I put into them.
I yearn for a simpler life, but have a hard time pushing away all the "clutter"! It's a process to re-order my priorities and to act on them.

Louise

Thrifty little quilt blocks

I was sewing a 2.25 inch binding today, sewing the strips together at a 45 degree angle. These little "waste triangles" cut off the seam were so cute, I just had to do something with them!



I paired them up with muslin triangles and made 5 tiny Hourglass blocks, which are about 2 inches square. These went into the box that I throw my vintage-looking scraps in, to be used for a future project.



Feeling inspired, I found a few more forgotten indigo blue triangles, found a scrap to go with them, and made this tiny Broken Dishes block. The triangles were sewn together on the long side this time. The block is about 3 inches square and so adorable! The pink fabric is from a re-purposed cotton ladies shirt.

Being frugal about my fabric, I routinely save little "waste triangles" but rarely use them. I'll most likely be making more of these charming little blocks! It's fun....I love being frugal!

If anyone else saves this little gems of fabric, what do you use them for?

Louise

A new mystery

I probably have no business starting another project, but I couldn't resist joining in on Bonnie Hunter's new mystery "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll".

My color choices are similar to Bonnie's: Pink, green, brown, lights, but for the constant I'll probably use the blue that is shown below. The blue is actually an XL pair of thrift shop men's PJs, barely worn, in a great antique shade of blue. It photographs a little brighter than it really is. The pink and green pieces are my completed "Step #1". So far, so fun!

I saw the movie "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows" this afternoon. DH has not read the books nor seen any of the movies, so I'm glad I explained the whole story and background to him before we went. Without some explanation, he would've been totally confused and bored. He thought the movie was very dark and dreary, but I think it had to be that way to convey the atmosphere of despair and fear that was experienced by wizards and muggles alike!

I haven't been keeping up with my ambitious Random Reads idea. There are simply too many books here at home just waiting to be read!

Louise