A new quilt 'Candy Box'

Hi There.....

I hope you all are staying healthy and safe.  

I'm enjoying sewing time at home and quality time with my husband.  Even though he's at his desk working all day but we have a great time taking lunch together.  We talk more and I really feel at ease having him around.  I have to cook more, yes, but I love it.  When he signed off from work, we walk with our dog in the nearby park everyday.  At the beginning, I think our dog was confused why he's home all day!!  Now he's loving it too.

I'm starting a new project.  It will be an unplanned and totally improv quilt.  No pattern in mind and design as I go kind of quilt.  As you may find out from my previous projects that I absolutely love curved triangles.  I will use scraps from old projects and make lots of curved triangle blocks and see what will happen.  The colors will be orange, yellow, grays, green, black and white.  These colors are the most in my scrap box.

I have started some and here they are on the design wall.

My daughter said it reminded her of a box of mixed chocolates or candies.  I really like that so I'll call this quilt 'Candy Box'.

I'll be working on this for the OMG for May.  I'll at least finish the top in May.



Stay calm and quilt on......

A new quilt finished

For the April OMG, I said I would finish a new quilt top.  You can read about it here.   I'm crazy about geometric shapes of all kinds.  May be because I was a math major in college.  I think geometric shapes go well with modern quilt aesthetic.  I especially love HST and Curved Triangle shapes.  Not only did I finished the top, I went ahead and quilt it too.  Well, my quilty friends, here is 'Subtraction'.

'Subtraction' (36"x36")

I also tried spray baste for the first time.  I liked it, but I think I put too little adhesive spray because while I was quilting it, some part of the top became loose.  I had to reset the glue with hot iron a few more times and put some more basting stitches to secure it, as seen in the pictures below.

All in all, I'm very happy with the way this quilt turned out. 




Keep calm and fight on................... 




 

Problem solved

My mask making came to a halt last week.  When I first started making them, I knew that I didn't have any 1/4" elastic and couldn't find it anywhere.  I also knew I had a bias tape maker somewhere in my old sewing room which was turned into a storage room when we tried to fix up an old spare bedroom into my new sewing room.  I gave up looking for them.  

As I stated in my previous blog, I found a pattern on Julie Cefalu's blog: Thecraftyquilter.com.  I started making them using 1/4" grosgrain ribbons and quickly ran out of the ribbons after only few masks.  One spool only has enough for 2 1/2 masks.  I have plenty of 1/8" ribbons but feel that they are too narrow.  I ordered some more 1/4" ribbons online and to no avail, I cancelled them.  They said they had over 300 orders ahead of mine.

I continued making the masks but without any ties.  Frustrated with the feeling of defeat, I turned to Youtube and came across this:  How to sew a reusable face mask with filter pocket.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm_NmpdgWWA&feature=share

Her mask style is different than the ones I was making but the ties turned the light bulb in my head on.   Here is the new and improved mask.

Thanks to Brie from Homemadeonourhomestead.com that I got this solution.  In the video, Brie used a piece of  3/16" synthetic cotton clothesline cut to 50-60" which I didn't have but I happened to have a bundle of soft cord as shown in the picture above.   I finished 26 masks for my family in a matter of a few hours.  What a relief!!   All the masks were delivered last weekend.  I still have plenty of cord left, I can make more.

With this method, I found it to be a quicker way to put the mask on and off.  I just slip my head through the loop with the inside of the mask facing out when it hangs around my neck.  When I need to put the mask on, I just tie the ends behind my head and I'm ready to face the world!!

In crisis, I found kindness.  In sorrow, I found love.  In despair, I found hope.  I'm grateful.



Keep calm and fight on.

Link to Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday, Alycia Quilts Finished or not Finished Friday.

Take a break to make masks

Hi Everyone,

How are you all doing?  The Mayor of Los Angeles just announced that we should wear masks when we go out and about.   In the past couple days, I've been making masks for my family members.  There are 13 of us and I plan to make 2 masks for each person.  That's 26 masks!!  I don't have any elastic and can't get it anywhere so I used grosgrain ribbon instead.

I got this pattern from TheCraftyQuilter.com by Julie Cefalu.  You can also check out SewCanShe.com by Caroline.  Caroline also has video to show you how to put a HEPA filter insert in the mask that she makes here.

Here is what I've made so far.

Stay calm and fight on...............

A New Project

Today I pulled out some Kona solid for a new project and here they are. 


  
For this quilt, I limit myself to 6 colors; 2 shades of yellow, 2 shades of gray, black and white.  This quilt top will be my OMG for April. 

In these past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed being home and sewing.  Last year a dear friend gave me an orchid plant.  It bloomed and gave me tremendous joy, and this year, it re-bloomed !!  This is the first time that I have an orchid re-bloom with so many flowers.  I’m glad I have these flowers to enjoy during this time.   Behold the beauty!! 

When I visited my sister in Thailand last year, she unloaded her stash of fabric on me because she doesn't want to sew any more.  As a younger sister, I had to take it even after telling her that these fabric are not what I use nowadays.  I really had no say in the matter.  That's the way things are back home; you can't argue with your older siblings.  Most of the fabric is for garment sewing but there are some Japanese cotton and a few pieces of Thai silk in the mix.  Japanese quilting style is big in Asia.  I said to her that I would take it on one condition, that I would make quilts for her and her daughter.  I'm sure with solids and other fabric in my stash, I should be able to make 2 quilts with these. 

Cotton fabric sorted by colors

Last week, I put together a quilt top.  It's the one on the design wall in  the flower picture above.  This is just a background for something special which will come later.  I sent this picture to my sister to show her the progress but she wasn't impressed.  :-)
I'll finish it and send her another picture.  If she doesn't like it, I'll make her a new one.  

Do you know about  Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge from Confessions of a Fabric Addict ?  I just found out about it last week.  Check it out, and sign up.


I'm counting my blessings.  My husband still has his job and I still can do things that I love.  It's been four years since my brain surgery and I'm still here.  I'm grateful for every sunrise in the morning. 

Here's something funny to lighten up your day.

 


Stay calm and sew on.......