Baby Washcloths, Hand Piecing, and Publishing Patterns - WIP Wednesday

It's been a busy week for me!  I've been digging out old crochet (and a few knit) patterns that I had previously published elsewhere, and working on getting them posted here on the blog again. I've made good progress, but still have more to go, and I've hit a snag in that there are a few that I can't find the written patterns for anywhere.  There's a chance I still have some of them in a folder somewhere, but who knows where that is as I have belongings scattered in several locations (I'm still displaced from Hurricane Florence almost 5 months ago).  Would have been nice if I'd had more notice from Craftsy and could have saved them before they shut it all down, but I'll work it out.

I also picked up knitting needles again and tried to work up a dishcloth pattern that I had written years ago, and that didn't work out too well.  I had written it from a charted pattern and no longer have the chart, and what I'd written definitely had some issues as it didn't look at all like what I expected.  Oops.

Baby washcloths

An online friend who is expecting another little one asked if I'd make some baby washcloths, so that's one of the things I'm working on this week.  I'm using my dishcloth patterns and just making them a little smaller.  I should be able to finish those up in the next couple of days, in between everything else I've got my hands into.

Block #4

 I'm still trying to keep up with the hand-pieced QAL (quilt along) with Elm Street Quilts and Simple. Handmade. Everyday. , and this week is block #4.  I suck at cutting accurately, and these small pieces has made it especially difficult.  My block #3 last week was so bad that I didn't even finish it, but I might revisit it later if I have enough fabric.  I just can't devote the time to it now when aggravation is the last thing I need more of.  This is supposed to be a relaxing, enjoyable craft!  I do enjoy hand piecing and I've still got two other projects of my own that I'm working on, but this QAL is proving to be more of a challenge due to my less-than-accurate cutting skills.

Blocks 1, 2, and 4 (block 3 didn't make the 'cut')

So ... I've got enough projects to keep me busy for a good while.  What have you been working on?  Link up below!  It'll be open until next Wednesday.

~ Marie Anne

To link up with WIP Wednesday, make a blog post about something that you're working on - any type of craft, DIY, renovation project, landscaping - even that novel you're writing.  Link your blog post by clicking on 'click here to enter' below.  Make sure to link back to me in your blog post too!  (Not blogging?  You can also link up with a Pinterest or Instagram post).

One Monthly Goal for February - My First Linkup With OMG!

Since I'm determined to keep this blog fresh and moving along, I've been finding other blogs to follow and even link up with.  Patty at Elm Street Quilts hosts a monthly linkup where we share a goal that we want to complete by end of month, then link up again at the end of that month if we've met the goal.  The One Monthly Goal (OMG) looks like fun, and should help keep me moving forward.

I've been working on my first hand-pieced quilt top - this one that features an owl print with coordinating mish-mash of four patch blocks - and my goal for February 2019 is to finish it by end of month.

The last row in this pic is just pinned, so I need to sew that, piece together and add another row of yellow/blue polka dot sashing, one more row of blocks, and the final sashing below that.

I'm not sure if I'm going to put another border around it or not and even if I do, I might not be able to handle that here in the hotel (yes, I'm still displaced from Hurricane Florence over four months ago), so my goal is to finish cutting, marking, and hand piecing the main blocks and sashing by February 28.

Now that I look at it again, I think I will have to put another border on it, or re-do the yellow sashing on the outside, as putting the binding around that with the blue polka dot blocks mixed in might look a little strange without a row of something more solid around it first. Hmm, what to do,what to do.  I really didn't want this quilt to be much bigger, so I might have to rip out the outer yellow sashing (or at least the polka dots) after all.  Oh well, I have the full month (albeit a shorter one) to decide and get it done, so it should still be fine

Don't forget to come back to see if I met my goal for February!

~ Marie Anne

Block #2 Hand Pieced Quilt Along Link Up

The Hand Pieced QAL is in fully swing, and I finished this week's project, albeit with just a bit of a fuss.  Block #2 was a tad more difficult as it introduced half square triangles (HST) instead of basic squares.  Triangles test me because if you're off in your cutting even just a smidge, it's really difficult to line things up (and I suck at accurate cutting).  Hand piecing also (IMO)  requires another level of patience because you're not sewing through seams like you do with a sewing machine, and spinning the seams to help prevent too much bulk at intersections can be more challenging too.

But I persevered and got'r done!  Not perfect, but I'm ok with how it turned out.

I had originally given up on spinning the seams on this block, but went back to it later and tried again and was able to get it all to cooperate a little better.  I will not be sharing how the first try turned out.

Here's block #1 and #2 together.  I still have a couple of other fabrics from this layer cake to use in future blocks, and I'm anxious to see how it all pulls together.

Thanks again to Patty and Kristin for hosting this quilt along!  I'm waiting (not so) patiently for next week's block.

~ Marie Anne

Ugly Fabric Quilt Top Update for WIP Wednesday

When we started the hand piecing QAL last week, I couldn't wait a full week for the release of the second block, so turning into a hand-piecing maniac, I started working on another project from these ugly fabrics.

I started off making a couple of 16 patch blocks like block #1 in the quilt along, but because the pieces are so small (2" squares unfinished), I didn't want to make the whole quilt top from that one block.  I made a couple of 4 patch blocks and they were much easier to work with (again, I'm hand piecing here since I don't have my sewing machine here in the hotel).  I think I might continue with that, and maybe a mix of HST and QSTs too (half square and quarter square triangles), but no real tiny ones.

I don't have a real layout in mind yet, just going to make a few of each type of block in the various colors and see where it takes me.  I'm still pretty new to all this (both quilting in general and hand piecing), so I figure whatever I end up will be good enough for me and the dogs to snuggle up under, if nothing else.  I don't worry about aesthetics when it's cold, and I know they sure won't care!

So ... what're you working on?  Link up below!

~ Marie Anne

To link up with WIP Wednesday, make a blog post about something that you're working on - any type of craft, DIY, renovation project, landscaping - even that novel you're writing.  Link your blog post by clicking on 'click here to enter' below.  Make sure to link back to me in your blog post too!  (You can link up from Pinterest and Instagram too!).

Hand Piecing Maniac

Ok, so I might be just a bit obsessed with this hand-piecing stuff.  I knew several weeks beforehand that the quilt along would be starting on January 21, but I started my own quilt top with the owl print first because I had watched all the videos on how to hand-piece and couldn't wait to put my new-found skills to the test.  I haven't finished the owl quilt yet, but since we'll only be doing one block each week for the QAL, I figured I'd have plenty of time to work on that in between the smaller blocks for the quilt along.

Well I got the first block done for the QAL just a few hours after it was introduced on Monday, and now I'm itching to do more.  I decided to go through my stash and see what else might match up to make another set of blocks like we're doing for the quilt along, and found these sorta ugly fabrics that I have no idea what else to do with.  Since the blocks are made up of fairly small pieces, maybe it won't look quite so ugly as they might in larger blocks, so I'm going to give it a go.

Here's the first block I made from two of the not-so-pretty fabrics.

The 9-week project for the QAL will result in a sampler size of about 23" x 23" or thereabouts. Since that's not very useful as a real quilt, I think I'll add some extra blocks to this set, and maybe it will be good enough for someone's man cave or something ... if the whole thing ends up being too horrid, I'm sure my dogs would love it.  Still beats sitting in my tubs of fabric stash for the last two years, right?

Do you ever find yourself becoming obsessed when you learn a new craft?  I can't be the only one, right?  RIGHT?

~ Marie Anne

Block #1 for Hand Pieced Quilt Along - WIP Wednesday

The Hand Pieced Quilt Along has begun!  Monday, January 21 revealed the pattern for the first of nine blocks - 2" squares sewn into (4) 4 patches, ultimately resulting in a 16 patch block.

I had trouble choosing which fabrics to use because I didn't want to 'waste' any good fabric on something that would finish as just a small sampler piece.  I finally decided to use fabric from a layer cake that I purchased at Tuesday Morning some time back.  I didn't have any other project in mind for that fabric, so it seemed a logical choice to use for this QAL.

Notice the oddball gray colors on the left ... I suspect that's why these pre-cuts were on sale at Tuesday Morning.  (smiling).  They've been put aside for another project down the road.

Of the greens, blues, purples, and yellows in the remaining fabrics, there are more of some than others, so I'm not sure how this will play out in the end, but I'm going to embrace it and make it work.

Here's block #1 that I finished within a few hours of the pattern release.  I think it turned out ok, and am excited to see what next week's block will be, and how I can incorporate the other colors into the mix.

A big thank you to Patty at Elm Street Quilts and Kristin at Simple. Handmade. Everyday. for what I expect will be a fun journey!

Also linking up with Let's Bee Social on SewFreshQuilts.

~ Marie Anne

P.S.  I've also decided to resurrect my WIP Wednesday blog hop linkup, and you're invited to join me!  To play along, make your blog post for Wednesday be about something that you're working on - any type of craft, DIY, renovation project, landscaping - even that novel you're writing.  Copy the code from the box below and paste it into your blog post (or add it to the sidebar on your blog) so that others can follow too, and see the rest of the projects that are posted here.  After publishing your blog post, add the link to that post by clicking on 'click here ' below.

<br /> <a href="http://crookedyarn.blogspot.com/" target="_top"> <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/Ldyjarhead/WIP%20Wednesday%20Photo/WIP%20Wed_zpsq9otguyj.jpg" /> </a>

Kickoff for Hand Pieced Quilt Along

Since I'm still stuck in a hotel from Hurricane Florence over four months ago, I've been keeping my fingers busy hand piecing as I don't have my sewing machine here.  I found a Facebook group that's set up to do a Quilt Along that starts today, and even though I've already been piecing another top, I'm going to go along with this group too and practice making blocks from other shapes instead of just squares.  It's time to stitch out of my comfort zone!

We'll be making a small quilt sampler made up of nine blocks, making one new block each of the next nine weeks.  I  haven't even decided what fabric I'm going to use, but I think I might just go scrappy with it and see what happens.  We'll see.  Keep an eye on this blog to see what I come up with.

Participants who link photos of their finished block on their blog, Instagram, FLICKR, or Pinterest have a chance to win a weekly prize donated by one of many generous sponsors.

The leaders of the group and QAL have posted some great tips in both written and video form about how to hand piece, and they're very informative. You can find Patty and Kristin's blogs at Elm Street Quilts and Simple Handmade Everyday.

 I think I enjoy hand piecing more than using a sewing machine now.  If you'd like to take part in this quilt along, check out the Hand Pieced Quilt Along Facebook page for more info.  Even if you're a little behind, you can still catch up and submit your finished blocks for a chance to win prizes as long as the QAL hasn't finished yet.  And if you've never hand pieced before, this is a great way to learn.  This is going to be lots of fun ... who wants to join me?

~ Marie Anne