Let There Be Light

     Anyone who has read this blog over the years probably knows what is my least favorite thing to do in quilting--borders! Hate em!  Well, today I actually sewed 2 different sets of borders on a quilt. Uck.

No flash.  Colors are somewhere
in between

Photo with flash

      The story starts Monday when I reached into the UFO bucket and pulled out the first ziploc my hand hit. Turned out to be a bag full of  2 1/2" strip scraps that I inherited in a giant bag of scraps a couple years ago. They obviously were from a jelly roll that someone finished up. They were lovely red, white, and beige pieces. My first and only idea was to do a deconstructed 9 patch. I had all patches done and layed out Tuesday before work and today (Weds.) I put it together. It's kinda small and needed borders so I went to my stash in the sewing room. I found a good red on white that looked nice with it, and a piece of red that was the right shade. Yay me. I cut the white border, sewed it on in the current sewing room. (Yes, I have 2 sewing rooms at the moment, but no bedroom. Such is my life). Anyway I then took it into the kitchen where my ironing board is (yes, the kitchen. Long story involving, light, heat, and exercise) and as I was sewing it on I realized the border was too white. Like "galloping horses" too white. I didn't see it in the light of the sewing rooms, but in the kitchen it was glaringly obvious. So, back to the sewing room to rip it out, back to the stash for a light beige, and I had to sew it on again. Highlight of my only day off in 10 days.  
       So I guess the moral of this story is..check your colors in different lights. They really do change!

It's All About the Blues

      After my dad passed away in August I just have not been able to get enthused about much of anything. I didn't do any Christmas projects, the kiddos didn't get ornaments, I didn't do my usual "January Project". I did layer a couple projects, quilted a couple small quilts (so I'd have enough pins for a big quilt, but really didn't do much. I have a pile of 6 quilts that need bindings and darn it the binding fairy still has not shown up! I was just forcing myself to work on things in my piles but not really enjoying myself. And here's the big one. I haven't bought any fabric since my birthday in July! I know I was depressed but just wasn't enthused.The Lonequilter was really alone.

This tote used to be stuffed to the top.

      Finally I came up with an idea for a project which I thought might be fun for me. I pulled out the tote of blues and greens, pulled out every piece that was smaller than 1/4 yard and started cutting strips of various sizes. I started with the X Marks the Spot quilt. Then I decided to make my favorite crazy log cabin. Then I went with the strippy block. The floor is covered with strips, there are scraps everywhere and I have 3 projects going on. The other night I sewed until 1:45 and forced myself to go to bed. Then the other day I realized something was different.. I was on my way to work, It was a nice day and I had been so busy sewing and cutting I had completely forgotten to take my Pokemon Go walk, which I do almost every day. I looked around and said to myself "You've turned the corner".

Oh Lordy, what a mess I have
to sort through!

Strippy

Crazy log cabin

X marks the spot