Gypsy Wife meets Jelly Roll, part 2

Here is my progress so far. It measures 67" x 98" so I will add wide borders on both sides to make it king-sized. I will have to search for the right fabric. This and another quilt will be headed to the longarmer. I will post images of the finished quilt in part 3.

This (started here) needed more width and length.  Pink and blue feedsack and blue floral print were added to frame it up. I also added piano key borders from the recent spat of precuts I scored at thrift. Auditioning yardage for the backing (shown below). 

I am making another attempt at paper piecing. I found a YouTube  tutorial that is helpful. I purchased the Atomic Starburst pattern and really want to make this quilt. It is always hard to work outside of your comfort zone. At least there is no curved piecing, another hurdle I hope to cross one day. 


The latest project to grab my attention and make me want to put off paper piecing is a rag quilt, link to a delightful post by a fellow blogger moms-flannel-quilt. Went through my stash and I have enough to make one. 

Mystery quilter at thrift dropped a gift of quilt blocks ($2) for a total of 22 which appear to include some retro fabric. Off it goes with the other project bags. Such a cute assortment, I will keep them altogether for a quilt. 

Linking up with quiltingismorefunthanhousework for:

I know I am in a niche group of people who collect vinyl. On my look-for list I have jazz. I found two best of albums, one Verve's choice of best of Louis Armstrong and the best of Herbie Mann.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Made fruitcake and it is awaiting holiday consumption. I also bought the ingredients for fudge. Who knows? I may even bake Spritz cookies and make rum pudding!

Reframing a Find and Restocking Product

Stops on my thrift shop route revealed restocking was in full swing for Monday, Columbus Day 1/2 off sales. This unsigned acrylic on canvas was priced at $2.99 with all pictures and frames half off. I also picked up a framed print for $4.99 (also half off). It already had its hanging wire so I took off the glass and thrifted it back. It fit the painting perfectly so I just pushed a few thumbtacks to the back of the frame to hold the painting in place. Really love this painting. It is my first original painting scored from the Cameron Park hospice thrift. A couple of years ago, I purchased a small Maxfield Parrish print for $20. 

Other finds at the first hospice thrift stop included a small print and some hexi flowers. 

Second stop was another hospice thrift, a literal bonanza for vinyl collectors, scoring 9 records ($1.29 each). I know I can resell this Rocky Horror masterpiece (but it might just stay in my collection). 

Third stop was a Goodwill where I have had good luck in the crafts section. Not sure if all the pieces are in this quilt kit, no worry, I am saving it for myself. 

I gambled on a mystery bag of craft kits ($8.49). Looks like my gamble will pay off, there are quite a few counted cross stitch ornament kits. Perfect timing for my November resell listings. 

At the very least, I predict these two Dimensions kits will move quickly.

A tiny creation from mystery cross-stitcher. I hope to be successful reselling the bounty she has unintentionally left to me. 

Before I had passed by the mug section at thrift, until I read on one reseller's blog that the right mugs can fetch good prices. I'm thinking this Jurassic Park one will be a good test of that theory. Bought for $2.24, I will list it around $20. 

Sierra Quilt Guild Show

The Sierra Quilt Guild held their show this past weekend sgqg.org in Plymouth, California. While I am not in a guild, I hope to join one someday. 

There were lots of wonderful submissions.

This one was being raffled off. I would be ecstatic to own this one!

When I see other's creations, I know I am getting closer to competition level quilting. 

I was able to purchase this UFO from a mystery quilter at the show. It is partially completed with 7 blocks and part of the quilt.  At $15, it was well worth the material and I liked the colorway. I could always resell it if I am feeling creatively overwhelmed. 

For $2.50 at thrift, I picked up this calendar from 2002 and some very pretty fabric bits and remnants. 

Thought this was the best explanation for UFOs and WIPs:

When you purchase material, it is a FUFO (future UFO). When you cut the material and start work on it, it is a WIP (work in progress). After a few weeks when you have stopped working on your project, it is a UFO (unfinished object). 

Another quilter posted on the American Patchwork and & Quilting's UFO Challenge, that her precuts were "a sad box full of good intentions." 

I was able to pop into Eco Thrift in Sacramento. I hadn't been there in years, it is quite a drive from my workplace and way too far from home. It is almost TOO much stuff. It is the same reaction I get from the Goodwill bin stores - it makes me anxious. That is not the reaction I hope to have when I thrift. The pricing there varies wildly. They pull all of the collectibles and put them behind a counter and then jack up the price. 

I did buy this undeniably pretty needlepoint (unopened NIP) for $3.98 just as a clerk hung it on the rack. I am gathering up these types of projects, esp. needlepoints, because I want to work on them after I retire. 

Lots of fall activities going on in the area, I love this time of year!

Greenhouse update

We have kept the plants in the greenhouse watered but have pretty much ignored them throughout the summer. Only the strong survive our California heat. 

The tomato pear going great guns is in the far planter with tomatoes, bell peppers and brussell sprouts in the other planter.

A cucumber is vining up the plastic trellis. There are stir fry greens and garlic chives in that planter also. 

My greenhouse experimenting continues. I just planted these seeds: golden beets, radishes, carrots and French gold pole beans. The seeds are a few years old but still seem to be germinating. 

For Christmas, I am going to ask for a solar heater for the greenhouse. 

No stunning trail cam pictures, but here is one of a doe.

One delightful side effect of my recent weight loss, having dropped a few pounds, I get to buy all new pants and skirts. Well, new to me, all through thrift. Here is one outfit I have found secondhand in the past couple of weeks. 

I will be posting for a couple of prompts for the month of October from #mrsbrimblesboodaily on Instagram. 

Winnowing down the precuts and 4 questions in quilt composition

While I was organizing my stash, this project emerged. I also have another project bag of black and white fabrics to supplement it. A quick quilt top or a good start on the beginning of one since there are 12 completed blocks to work with. 

I had accumulated 12 small ziploc bags of precut fabric. At first, I was just going to thrift them all back since there seemed to be a lot of uglies in the bunch. I ended up keeping 4 of the 12 bags that contained hst cornerstones, feedsack and animal novelty prints. 

I really do appreciate mystery quilter's work. If I can't use the fabric, which was around 80% of these last precuts, I send them back to thrift. Most times I am buying from hospice thrift so I feel it is a good cause too. 

Wish there was more of this intriguing print. It is a small remnant with some sun damage. 

Looking forward to a quilt show in my area next weekend. 

I am auditioning fabric for the borders on Gypsy Wife meets Jelly Roll quilt. It is a crucial stage in the composition of a quilt. So many decisions such as:

1. Do I make it darker or lighter? The border fabric will pull out the colors you want.
2. If you choose a novelty print, then the border will likely be larger to show off that fabric. 
3. If you choose solid color borders, what size should they be? Are you setting off the novelty print with accent borders? 
4. Do you want to miter the corners? If you are working with plaids, it could be a nice detail. 

Once borders are completed, the binding is the icing on the cake. It too can take a quilt in either a darker or lighter direction. Striped fabric used in binding can look stunning. 

It takes time to decide on the right combination of fabric, especially when you are using remnants. 

Gypsy Wife meets Jelly Roll

While I missed National Jelly Roll Day on September 21st of having a finished quilt, I had the germ of an idea for a quilt top. I had a couple of partial jelly rolls and completed quilt blocks in 12", 11", and 10".

This was the quilt that was beckoning me. I happened to have one extra day and I put my foot down and devoted the afternoon to sewing. This came together really fast. It is going to be a very pretty quilt. Mystery quilter should be proud of how I used her orphan blocks. 

In the Gypsy Wife quilt pattern, there are vertical strips of fabric, with the blocks offset from each other. 

My process on this was to sew together 6 strips from the jelly and then fit it to the 12" block. I made the 11" and 10" blocks 12". I really am rogue quilter and "wing it" when it comes to perfect measurements. I just take the strips and square them up after I sew them all together. As long as the blocks are squared up and the fabric squares up at the finish, I'm happy. 

I haven't checked my stash, but I may have to spring for some retail border fabric to complete this quilt top. 

Linking up with Kelly at www.myquiltinfatuation.com for:



Wendy at wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com for the~

Jennifer at www.inquiringquilter.com

More blocks and precuts

I went to my usual go-to places for weekend thrifting to 1) hopefully replenish resell stock and 2) buy thrift things from my bucket list. 

One of the things on my list was a wardrobe organizer, scored (new in box) for $5 at a half off shop. Surprisingly, I have more clothes than fit in my closet at home. Shocking, I know. This organizer will house all of my summer shifts. 

Best find of the weekend, this donut print shirt and black and white blocks ($2 for 12). I also found another bag of precuts. If I could git to gitting on sewing time, I could chain piece a bunch together. The problem is I have been cutting into my sewing time by sleeping! 

I continue to post on Instagram as tamaschen for #secondhandseptember and in October there will be the prompts from #mrsbrimblesboodaily. 

I know I am supposed to working on my daughter's quilt, but I am chomping at the bit to put together a quilt top from these premade blocks. It is interesting how projects beckon you, like you are at their command. 

Promising myself to study that Atomic Starbust pattern. I also picked up a book at Goodwill, Contemporary Quilting, Exciting Techniques and Quilts from Award-Winning Quilters by Cindy Walter & Stevii Graves, pub. 2005.

Lots of fun events coming up in October, my fav month of the year. A quilt show combined with a wine tasting walking tour at the first of the month. The last of the month will find me up in the Pacific Northwest. I can hardy wait!