I just received a new pattern from Corey Yoder’s Coriander Quilts. It is called Droplets and can be made with a fat eighth bundle! You know you have one sitting on your shelf. This would be so cute in a gazillion different fabric collections.
I can just imagine it in a bright and cheery color palette, such as in Corey’s photo above.
I’ve been slogging along starting to sew the rows together on my 4th of July at Granny’s quilt. I also managed to get one more Designer Mystery 25 quilt block done.
My biggest issue lately has been my failure to consistently schedule my sewing time. Eva needs transportation to the pool some mornings, and I also have a friend with whom I walk most mornings. For some reason, these activities throw me off, and I get distracted and never make it upstairs to sew. Afternoons when it is warm upstairs, I typically spend time reading downstairs where it is nice and cool. It’s all on me; I just can’t seem to motivate myself to sew lately.
I must get myself back on track. I have a couple of Halloween quilt tops I want to prepare to send out for quilting, and most importantly, I have a quilt I MUST get started on for Ahren as a Christmas gift. He has been collecting William Morris fabrics and has a star pattern in mind for a quilt. I hope to start that in July and finish and get it quilted for him for Christmas. More on that later. We have enough fabric for six quilts, and I need to pull the pieces I will actually use and get them starched and ironed.
Hope your week is off to a great start!
22 Responses
I find summertime is also a difficult time to sew. I got so much done in the first three months of this year because of tremendous snow in our area. But now? Once I get to my sewing room, I can accomplish a lot, but getting there is the problem.
I can relate to that. My summer schedule is a lot less predictable, so I put off going to the sewing room because I know I am going to be interrupted. The other nine months of the year it seems a lot easier to lose myself up there for hours at a time.
I also have found it more difficult to quilt this summer. I had total knee replacement 3 weeks ago so it’s difficult to get to my quilt room. I have 10 quilts that I have to sew the binding down on by hand. I quilted them this winter, knowing I could sit on the porch and hand sew, our weather has been excellent for porch sitting. The weather says it’s going to get hot and humid by the weekend, so that might end it. I didn’t have any mojo until a few days ago, it was like I didn’t care😭😭😭😭. The nurse told me that is normal but I was scared! Anyhow, I have finished two of the bindings now!! I love the pattern by Corey, so many options for colors and fabrics! I so enjoy you sharing what your projects are!!
Oh goodness, 10 quilts needing binding would overwhelm me! I have discovered machine binding and have gotten pretty good at it, so that is what I do now. I have two quilts waiting for their bindings at the moment, Of course I have been procrastinating…
I’ve pretty much given up on hand binding; although I enjoyed it in the past while watching/listening to ball games. Hubby doesn’t care one way or the other so I’m even machine sewing ones I make for us. And, same as you, I’ve gotten much better at it!
I started with small things like table runners and it wasn’t long before I was confident enough to try a full size quilt. I really enjoy how nice the bindings look and how fast it is to complete them!
Droplets looks cute but all those triangles!! I have avoided those until recently. What tips/tricks/tools do you use to make sure your triangle/half square triangle quilt blocks come out the right size? Also, what type of starch do you use now that Sta-Flo is not available?
I checked the pattern instruction for Droplets and each block requires four half square triangles and eight flying geese. For my HSTs, I either use triangle papers or make them a bit larger than required and trim them down with a BlocLoc ruler. They come out perfect with either of those methods.FOr my flying geese, I use the 4 at a time method and trim them down to size with a Bloc Loc ruler.
I never used Sta-Flo. I found that method to be a big mess, and my fabric always came out super wrinkled. I have always used cans of Faultless Spray Starch for my starching.
Droplets looks a fun one and Corey Yoder is a nice lady. Would be great for a child’s quilt in bright colours too. Mystery block is one I’ve seen Lori Holt working on – it’s another must do one day block. Loving the colours too!
We had a bad thunderstorm yesterday (not quite USA standards!) – luckily it bypassed us, so we heard the distant (and constant) rumbling – like an army of tanks! We had the rain – warm rain. But so hot and humid, so I fed the menagerie early just as the first droplets fell (in no hurry – raced the storm as it was such pleasant rain) and got back before the heavens opened. My sewing room is very cool and the perfect place to hide in this weather! Got the treadle out and worked on the Home Sweet Home sewalong. I thought I was doing really well then counted the completed stars – only 12 and I need 30! Deary me!!!!
That is how the Droplets pattern is going to go for me I think. There are a lot of blocks! You make a stack of them and then realize you have barely made a dent in the number you need.
In California where I live, summer rain storms are very rare as it is our “dry” season. We have had some doozies in the spring though. The thunder scares poor Archie half to death.
Same complaint here – just no motivation!
It must be a summer thing. A combination of nice weather calling me outside and a more unpredictable schedule. I feel like I am getting in the car to transport my granddaughter somewhere a few times a day! It is hard to carve out an uninterrupted period of time to get any sewing done.
I give myself permission to enjoy summer and do the quilting in the fall and winter.
I am trying to do that, but feel guilty not providing more interesting blog content. I’ve been doing a lot of posting on how I am not getting anything done. Boring!
I’ve pretty much given up on hand binding; although I enjoyed it in the past while watching/listening to ball games. Hubby doesn’t care one way or the other so I’m even machine sewing ones I make for us. And, same as you, I’ve gotten much better at it!
Oops- this printed twice.
I recognize that as Cups and Saucers (Brackman #1663). A close companion is Illinois (Brackman #1664) which uses a square-in-square for the center patch. The colorway Corey uses is really pretty. My setup is the opposite of yours — I sew in the basement (I know, a rarity in California) where it’s cool and sometimes cold; upstairs is more temperate.
I have to go with summertime is not-much-sewing-happening season. It sounds as if most of your readers find themselves in the same situation. So, just go with that & don’t worry about providing quilting content until you have the time to make it happen. It’s not like you’re sitting around doing nothing all summer! And, you also don’t want to make blogging a ‘job’ rather than an enjoyable way of sharing, right?
That Droplets pattern is very pretty. It looks intimidating to me, though. I still consider myself a “confident beginner” at quilting even though I have been doing it since 2009! Ha! The pattern looks like a modified pineapple pattern, as in fewer rounds for the block.
As for scheduled sewing time, I’d say do what works for you. If you need to slow down the pace for summer so that you can spend time with Eva and with your friend for walks, that sounds like the right thing to do. Be kind to yourself with your schedule!
I love that pattern! I’ve been ‘collecting’ patterns more than I’ve been sewing. I love being inspired by a pattern/fabric line.
Don’t feel obligated to post….we’ll all be here when you get back. also, wonderful that there is more sunlight for driving. makes getting Eva around easier. ;p enjoy your walks, books, and porch. we are very very lucky.
I know that feeling of – I’m going to be interrupted so why start – hard when you know the project requires focus. I say go with the flow. You are not responsible to a blog for quilt content. I would venture a guess there’s lots of people who follow you for not just sewing advice, but book recommendations, inspiration to persevere over adversities, doggie cuteness a good recipe. No audience obligations should divert you from living days the way you want. Yet another thing that gives us permission to just be who were desire on any given day. We all face challenges and demands to our time, particularly when there is a family member with health issues – in my case my adult daughter has some pretty significant and sometimes debilitating conditions. AND I have reached that stage where I can only make so many quilts before my stash becomes unwieldy. Now if I could convinced myself of that regarding my needlepoint…
Thanks so much for this comment Nancy. I have read it over a number of times and really appreciate your words.