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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Did I Say I Was Taking July Off ?



Here's a couple of treasures I received from Hannah, one of my Grandkids. I am so happy that she is doing things like this. She's one of those kids that enjoys learning about everything. Reminds me of her Granny,,,

In the mail this month, I also received these little gems. 


Now what do you think I'll be up to next?

I was taking July as a month to refresh.  I chose to skip any formal meetings. I actually got some areas of my house not just clean, but uncluttered and organized. And I invested time in my creative pursuits. 

 I finished making some previously quilted fabric into a tote. I've been going to get this done for about 3 years. Sometimes a girl just can't decide which buttons to use. I used the pears on the fabric as the design for quilting. The front pocket has Peltex in it for helping the tote to stand up, and a notebook will fit into it nicely. My usual would have been a pocket all around the bottom, but I decided to do something a little more artistic this time. I am pleased with the outcome. It may get a stiffened bottom, but is very useable right now. 




Batik Improv Triangle quilt is completed. It definitely takes me longer to do improv pieces than a predetermined block. I do like how the colors all played well together. 

Mystery BOM is completed. I am crushing on the thread play of this one!
Ice dyeing of 8 Tshirts was fun and I got the colors I was aiming for. I'll put up a separate post with specifics as to colors and my methods, probably mid August. 

Pieced 2 Impatiens placemats. They need centers, quilting, etc. I'm not sure if I'm going to appliqué them onto a pieced background and make them into table toppers, use stiff stabilizer and make some wallies, or do the placemat thing. Time will tell. 

We spent some time visiting Fort Moultrie, on Sullivans Island. I was impressed with how big it was, and how many cannons they had at one time or another. I almost got lost in the underground maze of ammunition storage areas. 

I started an improvisational knitting project. This time improv means 'flying by the seat of my pants'! No idea of where I'm heading, just using some luscious yarn I got in January from our 'Studio Destash' with the Palmetto Fiber Arts Guild. 


We were invited to a pot luck at Summer Salt. George cooked three pork loins; a spicey BBQ, an orange marmalade with soy sauce, and a blackberry with jalapeño peppers.   All of them were delicious. But by far my favorite item on the menu was his Blackberry Cobbler made in a cast iron skillet. Yummy!

received 4 quilt tops from clients. I told them I wouldn't be starting them until August. But, when something is sitting there, well, I can hear it calling me and I do enjoy running my longarm machine. 

Patriotic Colors got Starburst Flower Meander, a design by Mary Beth Krapil. 
Orange Sorbet was done with a Nancy Haacke design called Circle Meander. 
You can see the texture this design creates. 

Daisey Days was quilted with an HQ Design called Daisey Marie. I'm really liking these new designs I'm working with this time. I especially like the use of white background fabrics in this quilt.

And the last one was a delightful string quilt, done with a gentle meander. 


Enough Pie, Charleston SC, asked if I could help out again by cutting some squares for dyeing at The Indigo Vat Shack this summer. I've done squares and 'strings' for the rag quilt project back in May. This time we changed the size and I got a total of 225 pieces for them. And a tiny bit of cut offs. This will be picked up on Monday, in time for their Wednesday workshop. 

Visited Edisto Beach.

Fort Sumter was awesome. If you ever get the chance to take the tour, GO! We're seniors so we paid $17 each for the boat ride and tour. Well worth it. Here's the hubs as we arrived for the tour. That sign makes one think we were out west somewhere. However, we don't have buffalo at Fort Sumter, SC. It's just the Park Systems signs, I would think they would be more area or site specific, but that's a quilter for you,,,

McKade's and Eliza's quilts are ready for the UPS Store. 


Top 5 colors from my ice dyeing adventure where I did 36 fat-quarters, each with its own color. Hard to believe, but each of these 5 pieces are dyed with only ONE color. The ice makes very interesting 'splits' of the colors. 

My two pieces for the 'Call and Response Challenge' for PFAG, due in August. 


I twined a 24x36 inch rug for in front of my fireplace. This took the better part of three days! I have since given the frame, and a placemat sized one, away. I enjoyed doing it, but I have other things I like better. And they get done quicker! 



Two quilts that I did the quilting on for my quilt guild. They had a competition much like Iron Chef. I wasn't there, but I could be a help by making the backs and doing the quilting. 


Two more pillow cases were made. I really like the colors of these and I may just keep them for my bed. I say that, but someone will tell me they match their decor perfectly, and away they'll fly! 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the projects that got my attention this month. It's been a more relaxing month than I expected it to be. 

May God bless you with enjoyable projects and sufficient progress to encourage you along. Luann 





9 comments:

Nancy said...

So many great projects! I especially like the Impatiens placemats. Beautiful!

Lynda said...

Luann, Again you amaze me at what you get done and do during a month! Love the pieced impatiens and of course, the ice dyeing. I feel like such a slacker!! :-)

Thanks for the update. I look forward to seeing what August brings for you!

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

Wow!! Took July off, eh? Hah!!!!! I especially liked the placemats and tell us more about the challenge. Have you woven strings on paper? As for me, my plan is to finish quilting a project. How fun your granddaughter is in to "crafts." I hope my two grands will become addicted too!!!

Luann Fischer said...

Thanks for leaving comments. That's always so encouraging.

As for the challenge I'll try for a more informative post after August 20. That's the day everyone is to bring in their piece. I'll try to get pictures of as many as I can.

I've got a post scheduled for August 8th that shows each of the tshirts with the dye container(s) that were used on them.

I looked over my list of August intentions and had actually finished one during July! Yeah for me, I quickly filled in the open times with 'leftovers' from July. If I keep up this finishing and not starting too many new projects,,, well,, in about 5-10 years I may need to ask for some UFOS from other people. Like that would ever happen,,,GIANT SIZED LOL ! ! !

Once again, thanks for hanging in there with me thru all the stitchin-craziness I'm into.

Wishing for you all to enjoy your day. Luann

Gill said...

Wow you've been busy Luann!
I love the impatiens placemats and I'm excited to see you're going to do some bookbinding!!! I've just started!

Luann Fischer said...

Gill,
I'm hoping to get someone to do a presentation or workshop for Palmetto Fiber Arts Guild during 2017. I actually made a few fabric covered ones back in the early 80's but I haven't a clue where they are. Too many moves since then. And this one was 3 years ago, and I'm still not fully unpacked and decorated! But, I am keeping busy,,,
Have you posted any pictures of your creations?
Thanks for any info or tips you'd like to share. Luann

LisaMinSoCal said...

Visiting from Ice Dyeing. If this was a slower month, I hate to think about when you are busy! I too love the flowers. I am in awe of the range of your talents! TFS.
Lisa

Luann Fischer said...

Just to be perfectly clear, no, I don't usually get this much done. And definitely not when I think I'm taking some time off. July of this year compared to last year makes it look like I've gotten a "clone" or 2 or 3 of me. But, if you have a whole lot of almost finished projects, anyone can have a month of many finishes. THAT'S the secret to it, just don't let too many people in on it. LOL
Let's go create something today, Luann

Monica said...

Hi Luann, I'm finally catching up with a backlog of blogs after a very hectic time - too busy even to check in on my favourite blogs. Fortunately, I now have some time to sit down and relax without worrying about "the next most urgent thing" - for a while, at least.
Once again, I am impressed by how much you manage to get done each month. You are truly inspirational