WIP Wednesday, 4/13/22

 It is spring break here in Fresno, which doesn't really make much of a difference in our daily schedule for Mark or me--although he has umpired six softball games in the last two days. But yesterday, since Christa and Aaron were both working, and the kids were out of school, they came over for a bit.

Charlotte and Gabe (and ultimately Aaron as well, I think) want to learn to crochet. So I set out to accomplish that. Gabe got as far as learning the foundation chain and then he moved on to something else.

Charlotte kept practicing the foundation chain, while Gabe sewed a Tubby Wubby, cute little felt creatures (and Levi was either playing a game or texting a friend).

Gabe finished Coney, the Sausage Dog (they all have really cute names).

Charlotte came back over last night and we learned the single crochet (confusingly called double crochet in the UK). At the same time, she introduced us to the movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, which Mark and I both really liked.

I didn't realize that Mark snapped a picture of us during the crochet lesson. Definitely not the most flattering picture of me, but I kinda like it anyway.

Charlotte also took home the other Tubby Wubby kit, the little Yeti, and sewed it together as well. Her hand stitching is looking good!

And what have I been working on this week? 

Well, I began yet another block of the week, this time called Moda Blockheads 4. This is totally out of character for me, to actually participate in a block of the week at the same time it's going on, and to be caught up!

This is my basic fabric pull, although I will probably add more as I go along. I have pulled from several fat quarter bundles, and I'm pretty sure one was named Peanut Butter and Jelly, so that is the name of the quilt going forward.

Four blocks and a bonus so far.

Block 1, Square Wheel, designed by Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters

Block 2, Cooee, designed by Jenelle Kent of Pieces to Treasure.

Block 3, Kouign Amann, designed by Laurie Simpson of Minick & Simpson.

Block Bonus 1, Roundabout, by Moda Fabrics.

Block 4, Spinner, designed by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs.

In addition, I'm caught up with the Riley Blake Challenge 2022 blocks.

This is Argyle Square, designed by Melanie Collette of @hellomellydesigns

As I mentioned, this is totally out of character for me, but I actually attribute it to the fact that I'm really working on sewing down my stash this year, so I'm very motivated, coupled with the fact that after a very long time where I didn't feel like sewing anything, or even being in my sewing room, it feels good to be at the sewing machine again.

Charlotte showed me how to do a poll in Instagram Stories. Let me rephrase that: I told her what I wanted, and she did it for me. (Note: she said it was easy, but I don't believe her. I watched her and she did it so quickly that I doubt if I'll be able to do it again myself the next time...)

I have finished as many of the Mischief blocks using Oakshott cottons as I intended to make. So yesterday I trimmed  it (always kind of scary when you are working with EPP), and auditioned the first border, as I have always intended this to be a medallion-style quilt. My question was whether to use these Kaffe Fassett stripes all the way away, or to add some of the dotted batik that is in the center of each Mischief block.

More pollsters thought stripes all around was the way to go, but I'm still unsure of which direction it is headed. At this point, I'm pretty certain that the striped border needs to be about half as wide as it is currently. Having never done an Instagram poll before, it was kind of fun to be able to pull up the results and see who actually voted for each option. 

Finally, I'm back to sewing Jettstream blocks for the version with the black centers. I really think I'm going to like this version so much better than the first one. 

Whew. It was a productive week!