Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Prep Time


Doesn't it seems like there are times
when getting anything prepped in order
to sew takes forever.

 This woman has such a cheerful attitude prepping a meal.


Oh, to be just like her this year!

School is back in session so I 'm back
on duty watching these two sweetie.

I spent all last week (happily) prepping
three different projects so when I
do have some free time, I can get to the fun part quickly.

****
For years I've been tossing 1.5" and 1.25"
strips into this wire basket.


The basket overflowth!

My new leader and ender project for 2019
is going to be log cabin blocks.
In order to feel like I'm using my sewing time efficiently,
I precut a bunch of 
logs and laid them out
on two flannel boards.


One for the lights.


And one for the darks.

These precut logs will make it easy when I'm
 starting and stopping on other things.


Slowly the pile of blocks will grow.

****

String piecing is the 2019 thing.

I found a piece of fabric that had been intended 
for something else, that is never going to happen,
so it became the palette for my string along.


Lots of colors means lots of fabrics
and lots of string.

I really haven't kept many strips,
other than that basket for log cabin block,
so it required looking through my bins to
find tons of fabrics for tons of strings
and start cutting.

Oh, what fun it is.

****

If you caught up with my last blog,
you know I plan to try and do another
year of monthly mini quilts.

This is a  no pressure challenge,
but I did some prepping
 to get a head start on my January quilt.

I received a Quilters Select 6" square ruler from 
The Quilt Show for renewing my membership.


Had to give it a try.
It's a great ruler with a wonderful nonslip coating 
on the back.  I was impressed.

Pulled some fabrics that
seemed appropriate for January here in Colorado.


"The winter time blues."

The first week of January has come and gone,


but I hope we're all off and running.
Ready, Set, Go!
Until Next Time-
Kyle

25 comments:

  1. Fun new project! The hard work of preparation pays off!

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  2. The scrappy log cabin blocks are going to make a fun quilt. Yes, strings are all the rage right now. I need to tame my scraps and see if I can organize some strings to start sewing together. I NEED to do a lot of things though :)

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  3. Wonderful prep work - A+! Perhaps it is because my stash overfloweth, but it does seem like prep works takes longer than it used to. I've been cutting strings for Lori's "sting-a-long" and I will be particularly interested in watching your log cabins grow! Have fun with the grands. We are so lucky!

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  4. Fun projects for this new year !
    I love log cabins too and yours will be beautiful (as usual !).

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  5. I look forward to seeing your projects progress. Hugs

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  6. Your blues for January’s mini are charming - will be fun to see what turns out! Like your wire basket filled with strips too and who doesn’t love log cabin quilts (“timeless”!!) My own bin of 1” strips leftover from another project wants to go into a log cabin quilt someday...where do we find all the time to do it?? I miss being outdoors in the gardens these wintery months but then the sewing room can be a cozy place too.

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  7. Kyle que buenos proyectos.
    Seguiré atente el avance
    Saludos

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  8. Some fun projects in the works. I'm curious to see what setting you will do for your string quilt :0) I always love log cabin quilts too. Enjoy the time you have with your 2 little sweeties.

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  9. Fun times ahead making log cabins, such a great size! I have not made a mini in ages, so hearing your ambitions for one a month it is very tempting to hop on board. Looking forward to seeing what you make.

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  10. Love your little log cabin blocks! They are so cute. I agree, 2019 is going to be quite the year for 'strips'.

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  11. Lovely lovelies to watch - just look at those cheeks! Your basket of strips looks inviting. I am sure it will result in a wonderful log cabin. I haven't made a log cabin yet, but maybe this year.

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  12. I think sometimes prepping is 75 percent of the work! You have some lovely projects in mind, and we can all look forward to seeing your next mini and those log cabin blocks become a gorgeous quilt. Hoping to get started on some string quilting as soon as the design wall is cleared off, not to mention a January mini. Have fun with those beautiful grandbabies!

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  13. A great start to the year with several projects to keep you going. I like the idea of making log cabin blocks as leader/enders.

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  14. That was smart! Now you can get right to the fun part. Love your Log Cabin blocks and the blues for your mini. I look forward to seeing your string quilt, I hope to make a string quilt this year, it will be for one of my adult grandchildren. Your two sweeties are adorable!

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  15. I have to agree with you about the planning/prepping. A friend and I were saying the same thing about a wool project and how much time it took to get ready compared to the short time it took to actually stitch it.
    But we all know it is the only way to get it done.
    Great idea with the log cabin blocks and the blues you have also selected look lovely!

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  16. What a great idea, all the prep work for the log cabins. There's nothing quite like multiple interuptions to really throw us off rhythm and get mistakes happening. Prep work really does take the time, but it's always wonderful to find a project all ready to go when we only have limited amounts of time to do it in!

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  17. Another delightful post and so many projects planned for this year. I have a goal in the back of my head to make a log cabin quilt this year too. I think they are so pretty and maybe a design that I can handle :)

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  18. Prep work makes all the difference. Looks like you a ready for plenty of stitching fun when you can grab those precious moments!

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  19. Oh yes. String quilts for sure this year. I want to participate but like you, would have to cut some. And I have so many must finish quilt projects that it seems foolish to start a string quilt. Will I or won't I? Can't answer that. Do you have a string quilt design in mind?

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  20. Love to see the way you prep for your winter projects! I'm into scraps and strings, too. Your Log Cabin blocks are wonderful. So crisp! And your grandkids are adorable! Happy sewing!

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  21. Prepping is time consuming but is so worth it in the end! Love the vintage photos as usual.
    Love those log cabin blocks. Such a great traditional block.
    The grands are so so cute! They are really growing.
    I'm in with the monthly mini this year - fun!

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  22. I just love the color scheme of your log cabins. What a pretty way to save strips, in that basket. I too am working on prepping prepping prepping!

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  23. I just got back from a retreat and the whole time I was there sewing, I was kicking myself for not have some leaders and enders instead of wasting my thread on a spider! I'm thinking the new Temecula sew along that starts Wednesday will be a good one for L/E sewing. Your log cabins are wonderful--love how scrappy they are! With all the buzz around string piecing this year, I need to get back to my string stars--luckily I know exactly where they are--lol!

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  24. I swear the preparation takes longer than the actual sewing :D looks like you're off and running for 2019!

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  25. You can never go wrong in having everything prepped and ready to go. Such a lovely project - looking forward to see it develop.

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