Tuesday To-Do #6: Crazy Mad Smokin' Sewing

Happy Tuesday once again!

Join me, and the others over at Texas Quilt Gal's

Tuesday To-Do Link-Up, as we go over our progress

and share our plans for the week to come. 

Gettin' right down to biz:

What did I get done over the last week?

1) Finish Grace/churn-dash top and back.

DONE

63x63

The backing is pretty creative with an orphan block

in the center and every last bit of that border fabric

 but I'll have to show that once it's quilted because

it is folded and sitting in my Finished Tops pile.

2) Choose and start new quilt

DONE

The love-hate relationship with precuts continues!

The short of my latest issue is, I have once again fallen

for some layer cakes and jelly rolls and I'm determined

to use them.  On the "hate" side of that relationship,

I spent hours trying to find a pattern that would work

and finally just went with the same one that I recently

made my grandson for Christmas.  I'm calling it

"Winter Woodland".

  Flying Geese, Bear Creek Quilts website

In keeping with my crazy mad smokin' sewing, I have

the top half already completed and by this afternoon

I'll have 30 blocks logged for February already.

This isn't specifically a layer cake pattern but I think it

works amazingly well with them--you've got those

large pieces to showcase the big prints and then the

geese give it that touch of quilty-complication, if you will.

I also think that with its lack of delicate piecing, it works

well for a man's quilt.  I generally prefer more complicated

designs but these days but I also prefer not to have such

a stash of precuts!  Plus, I want to offer variety in my shop.

"Rustic Journey" by Barnatex Fabrics

Notes for using a layer cake on this pattern:

You can get one big piece and five "geese" from 30

10x10's (with very little waste); the remaining geese can

be cut from the others but you'll still have some strays.

3) Start working on getting an inventory

of fabric and other supplies--SOME.

I haven't done a full-on "take stock" but as I pull out

any bolt, I measure and note the amount, and date,

on the end.  Whenever I do set a day aside and do

my official inventory, this should help it go faster.

4) Make sure old LA is ready to go--ALMOST.

I loaded up a scrap "sandwich" and, after some

dialing in of the tension, it seems good to go.  Still

would like to give it a little more action to make sure.

So, what's the plan for next week?  More of the same!

1) Finish Winter Woodland top & piece backing

Once I get the rest of the rows together, a border in this

black will hopefully settle down the busyness a little. 

Guessing this will all happen today because I'm

getting excited to start quilt top #7 already! 

2)  Choose next quilt and cut out

I have a working list of possibilities and it is long!

For fun, I'm sharing a couple front-runners but

really, up until that last minute when I begin

consulting the stash, I just never know!

"Icicles" 

Season to Taste by Jessica Dayon

"Aspen" 

A Season In Blue by Edyta Sitar

I've been eyeing this one for awhile but the book isn't

available through my Scribd app.  I try not to collect too

many quilt books but...well...it's sitting in my Amazon

cart at the moment so we'll see.

I made 4 of the last 6 quilts from County Seat Quilts

(a shop hop splurge) and it was fun to work my way

through one book.  Purchases that go unused nag

at me; purchases that get used a lot show me I made

a wise investment.  Well, who doesn't like to feel wise?

I think it would be fun to choose a book to work

through maybe every year and because there are others

in Edyta's book that I'm up for, I'm mulling this one over.

3)  Continue taking steps with inventory

Can I keep up this crazy mad smokin' sewing?

I'm not sure but if I need a break, I'll start counting

things:  thread, pantographs, fabric amounts...

Eh.  Sewing sounds more fun.

Happy quilting!