Isolation Charity Sewing - Part 1

During the Covid isolation I didn't just sit around doing nothing.  Well, actually I did for the first six or seven months.  Once I came out of my funk I did get into my sewing room.  I managed to make several charity quilts for Project Linus to be donated through my guild, the Rocket City Modern Quilt Guild.

First up are two super simple quilts I made from my stack of 5" brights.  I have so many children's prints, novelty prints, and brights that every once in a while I cut up a bunch of them into 5" and 2.5" squares.  It really comes in handy having a ready supply when I need to whip up something in a hurry.  

I inserted a small yellow border to give it a little interest and used yellow for the binding to end up with two really cute toddler quilts.  

I did a few virtual sew-alongs with some online friends during isolation, and this was one of our projects.  It's a simple "Economy Block" (or as someone who didn't know that once called it "a-square-in-a-square-in-a-square block").  

Look at some of these cute fabrics!

Next up is another virtual sew-along using the "Beads" pattern by Donna Jordan.  I wanted to use some of my Asian fabrics on this one.  (Gotta bust that stash whenever I can!)  

This basic block set on point results in a really nice pattern.

Leftovers made the backing special, too.  

 

The last charity quilt I made during isolation was this "Easy Does It" pattern by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio.  I used even more stash on this one.  I bet you're not surprised!

I had fun seeing how many scraps I could use in the backing.  I do love a challenge!  I started out with this .....

.....and ended up with this.

So that's it for the quilts.  I did a few more charity projects but I'll save those for next time.  See?  I told you I'd be back!

Linking up with Tish's Adventures in Wonderland and So Scrappy

Getting Back on Track

When I left you almost 2 years ago (can you believe it?) I never dreamed the Covid crisis would keep me away this long.  I certainly didn't think being in isolation would keep me out of my sewing room for over six months.  It should have been the opposite, right?  I should have been sewing up a storm (as my mother used to say).  Alas, motivation is an interesting thing.  Its appearance has been pretty random around here.  

Right before I took my blogging break I had been doing "A Little Housekeeping" in my sewing room.  I recovered my ironing board and design wall and sorted through and organized all my scraps.

The next part of my housekeeping was just the simple basics.  First, cleaning and oiling my machine, and wow, did it ever need it! 

Next, cleaning up threads.  I have a great thread catcher right at my elbow .....

..... but it seems that when you throw threads at it instead of putting them into it, they end up on the floor instead. Huh.  Imagine!

Do you know what happens if the floor is covered in threads and you don't sweep often enough?  The wheels on your chair stop rolling because they're bound up in thread and snippets of fabric!

I'm not even going to tell you how hard it was to clean up that mess.  Let's just say it involved scissors, tweezers, and a lot of time.         

It wreaks havoc with your socks, too!

Once my sewing room was cleaned and organized I felt more like sewing.  Next time I'll show you everything I accomplished afterwards.

Oh!  One more thing!  When you clean your sewing room I would advise you to sort through your trashcan before emptying it.  You never know what might have ended up in there after it fell off the cutting table.  Yikes!

Now that I'm back (AND motivated) I'll see you soon.  I promise!