Do you enjoy swap activities? I do, usually. I've been trying to take it easy on swaps this year - only doing what I am sure I can fulfill with timeliness. I did decide to sign up for the Modern Guild's online international swap again this year (didn't do it last year but did the year before:). I don't know if this will be a mini-quilt swap (last time there was a 20" square requirement) or something else. I always learn a lot and manage to do things I might not get to otherwise with swaps. :)
Friday was my sewing together time with Barbara and Patty (via Zoom) and I spent most of it mounting my fat quarters on book boards. I finished mounting the contents of my 'working stash' drawer that afternoon:
Not sure how many fabric pieces this is (didn't count) ... and some of them are half yards and others are smaller than a fat quarter. I arbitrarily decided that any piece that would not wrap around the board at least once was a scrap (my scrap basket is on the floor right below this drawer so that was an easy toss:). I anticipate mounting more of my prints on boards ... and then we'll see how that works with taking the fabrics out to use and putting them away. Hmmm. So far, so good. :)
Saturday afternoon was my Columbia Friends bee Zoom session. I sewed the borders onto my crazy shadows bingo quilt project ... and pieced/attached the last border to my aboriginal fabrics medallion top. Here are the photos my son helped me take on the back deck later in the afternoon (yes, both tops need to be pressed:)
I asked my son, Hugh, if he could see the shadowing effect of my patchwork ... but he could not. He said he thought the blocks looked like little square-ish fish. :)
I am pleased with how this worked out ... even though I had to carefully piece the last half of the last border side ... sadly the vendor did not have any more of that print or I'd of bought more. :)
Now I have added 'make backs' and 'schedule long arming' to both quilt projects. :)
I made a heart (comfort) block to send to a sick guild buddy and learned something unpleasant but useful in the process. Here's the block, pre-nasty lesson:
I machine appliqued (turned edge) my heart down and then washed the block. Then I signed it with the usual Pigma Micron pen and trimmed it down to 7" square. I decided that I needed to press it before packing it into an envelope and mailing it off. Because it was pretty wrinkled, I gave it a spritz with my favorite 'starch' - Mary Ellen's Best Press - before ironing. Here is the result:
Gasp, cough! Apparently Pigma pen ink is soluble in whatever MEBP has in it. Gag! Now I have to make another heart. Sigh. I've signed blocks with a Pigma pen for years and never seen this before.
Yet another quilt guild friend had hip surgery recently and I wanted to send her a card...so I got out one of my fabric postcards. I had to finish it (add a papercard backing and bind the thing). Here's the result:
Can you see the ribbon around the edge? That is an almost transparent organdy ribbon my friend Barbara gave me (she gives me all her 'too good to trash' little things:). Came in handy for this use!
Tomorrow I have several things to send off in the mail ... and our votes to deliver to the drop box. Also maybe grocery shopping with Hugh. More adventures of the ordinary (and precious) kind.
:) Linda
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