Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

Monday, February 29, 2016
The Alletaire blocks are slowly being sewn together--


Once I have the diagonal rows together I'll work on the setting triangles.  With the design wall in use I had to find another way to lay blocks out--


Meet the design sheet!  The R/W/B album blocks were laid out on a white sheet.  When it was time for bed I just rolled the sheet up with the blocks on it.  Please see everyone's design wall posts at Patchwork Times.

Weekly Goals--

Sew more Alletaire blocks together
Finish cutting for April classes
Dye a backing
Load and quilt a top
More binding
Two brown Jacobs Ladder blocks
Look at Block Party

The last few days I've been working on pressing fabrics/scraps and cutting for the two classes in April.  One Class is My Blue Heaven.  The Easy Angle and Companion Angle are used in this quilt.  I've never used them.  Never WANTED to use them.  But its always good to learn new things so I'm willing to give it a try.  Lorri2Rs, Sandy, and I are going to swap blue strips.  Mine are cut and rolled into small jelly rolls and tied with selvages--I can put them in my project box and they won't get lost or wrinkled.  Liz sent me an envelope with pink strips in it for Jared Takes a Wife.  My stash doesn't have a lot of pink and Liz's strips were perfect!  Thank you Liz!

A few random pictures--


Before I quilt another top I'll have to clean off the longarm table.


Last week I quilted a top backed with fleece.  Fleece quilts BEAUTIFULLY!  To control the stretching of fleece put it on TOP.  The pieced top (on the bottom) supports the fleece.  Quilt it loosely, too dense of quilting and the fleece gets hard and stiff.  This panto is Lida by Keryn Emmerson, the stitching lines are 1.50" to 1.75" apart, perfect for fleece. The top was very scrappy and busy, the quilting disappeared.


 A pile of pressed fabrics/scraps.


I'm trying to be more productive and actually sew something together as L/E instead of just using a thread bunny.  This small plastic drawer unit fit into my sewing machine cabinet drawer (its laying on its back)It holds light squares, dark squares, and twosies.  They will become 4 patches for my Jacob's Ladder blocks.  Its still feels strange and clunky.     
Soon it will be spring and I need to start organizing myself.  Lists are being made of what piecing projects I'll take in the camper.  I'm going to try and move some UFOs to the finished top stage.  If the cutting and organizing is done sewing blocks/sashings etc in the camper is easy.  

April can't get here soon enough.  I miss green grass and leaves on trees.  The smell of dirt.  I miss the red striped garter snakes!  What do you miss?

~LORI~   

7 comments:

Nann said...

You probably didn't intend it, but the kind of wonky off-center placement of the album blocks is rather appealing. You're certainly having a bonny (Bonnie) season with both Allietare and My Blue Heaven. And I look forward to seeing how your Jacob's Ladder turns out!

Sara said...

I need to work on Allietare some more too. All of the star blocks are done but only about 1/3 of the other blocks are finished. Yours looks great!

I'm always inspired by how other quilters get (or stay) organized.

Sandi1100 said...

Your Allietare and blocks that were are your bed are beautiful!

Kat Scribner said...

Your Allietare quilt is going to be gorgeous. Don't tell Marianne that you pressed scraps. lol I started cutting little squares from leftovers, saving for a "possible"..."maybe".... L/E project. In the meantime, my little stiff thread bunny is saving me lots of thread tails.

QuiltinLibraryLady said...

Is that a bag of Dove chocolates I see on your machine table?? :) Mine is covered with empty canning jars! It's amazing how those pile up when you eat a lot of home canned stuff.

Your Allietare is going to be so pretty. Mine is still just a dream. Right now I have eight quilt tops here that need to be quilted. That quilting design in the picture you shared looks like one I'd like to do. I like my quilts to be soft and cuddly. Quilting that's too dense makes them too stiff.

Right now it's snowing. Is that a sign of Spring? Anyway you can keep your red striped garter snakes, I'll stick with the bunch of robins that were in the yard this morning.

Tired Teacher said...

The sheet is a great idea for a deign "wall" I need to remember that!

Joy V said...

Lori, I love your Allietare quilt. I see, like me, you stayed with the colours Bonnie suggested. Love the quilt of your bed also - great way to keep the blocks in order.