Where did the month go? I posted for Scrap Happy and suddenly here it is Scrap Happy time again! Honestly, I have been busy, but I did take a moment upon receipt of Kate’s email reminder early this week to make my next extreme mini block.
And here it is:
Oops!
That’s not right! Take it apart and fix it…
OK, the blocks are in order but it is now a bit too small. 😯
To be honest it is just microns short of the 2 inches it was supposed to be and one of the stitched in rows is a bit too narrow (probably causing the sizing error). It is taking all my resolve not to tear it apart to fix or better to remake the whole block.
Silly?
Probably.
Working with very tiny blocks produces very tiny quilts which are suitable for doll quilts, card making, wall hangings, mug rugs, and the list could go on. However, it is the challenge of producing such minutia that is the draw, well, for me at any rate. I also think of it as a skill building challenge, and it is this challenge that has me entered into a new quilt along based on Mini quilts! (*More on that later. Yes. Really.)
Want to see some really lovely Scrap Happy work? Then please visit these fine ladies:
Kate ), Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Norma,
Birthe, Turid, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Karen,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, and Nancy!
And as always, thank you Kate for pulling us all together to share our creativity and thriftiness in the use of the scraps we generate with each quilt!
~*~*~*~
*PLEASE NOTE: I have also been hot on the job to build furnishings for my new quilting studio and to repurpose our well house for all the bantams I’ve been raising .
And trust me when I tell you I have outgrown this one I built and finished in December of 2011!
SO, reprising and revising the old saw, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I query:
Q: How do you tell about eating an elephant?
A: One post at a time.
I will tell you all about everything. I just have to stop building furniture and refurbishing chicken digs long enough to find the time…
and the space to blog and quilt again!
Life on the Farmlet 
Soooo sweet. You have more patience by far than I do. That sort of tininess only happens in this house if I want to stitch together some really weeny pieces of precious scraps to start one of my bigger blocks. But to make a whole block on that petite scale? No ma’am!
Good luck with the room rearranging and chook-palace construction 🙂
Kate, I think the hardest part for me on this scale is the deconstruction. When I work on it so intensely only to find I have assembled it wrong, well, going after it with the seam ripper is daunting! One false move and the whole thing could be shredded. I make the same mistakes on big blocks but there is more room to maneuver with that ripper! 😯
Chooks are housed and have a new roost I finished this week! Now I have to find someone to take the 5 extra roosters off my hands. Maybe some of the kids at the local 4-H club will take them on? We’ll see!
Piecing is not my ‘thing’ as much as the final quilting/fmq so this post would test my stubbornness to just let it be vs it’s not correct!!! sigh…….life is like that! lol!
Doreen, I love the whole process of quilt making but confess I am the opposite of you. I love the piecing but I’m intimidated by the quilting. I have been practicing on 8 X 9 sandwiched squares. I look at them and think they are hopeless. Then from time to time I find an old one from my beginning attempts and do see improvement. I am a slow old dog, but I am making some progress. 😀
It really does take time…..actually, a little (15 min.?) time spent each day is much better than a larger ‘chunk’ of time once a week. After you get comfortable with a few fave motifs, it only takes a bit of refresher to bring back the muscle memory. Without piecers there would be no need for quilters!!!! LOL!!!! Hugs……
“…A little each day.”
I have been thinking that very thing, Doreen. I will have to go find a very inexpensive source of fabric and batting for further practice. I think that is what holds me back from doing more. 🙂
Lynda, Often I just use two pieces of plain muslin w/ batting to work out a motif (or test the tension) but, to break “quilter’s block”, check out these 2 posts from a while back. I’m SURE these will get you headed in the right direction……https://treadlemusic.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/the-mantra-heard-in-so-many-places-of-late/ and https://treadlemusic.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/throwback-thursdaywith-a-twist/. Happy stitching!!!!! with hugs…………..
The Throwback Thursday with a twist was amazing! I’m not there yet, but I know this is a good, fun method for the future. Thank you!
You’re so welcome! I know it is a skill that doesn’t come quickly (do any?) despite our greatest wish that it would be so! Blessings & hugs……..
I do love “little things” and your tiny squares certainly fit the definition. A doll quilt would be wonderful — and now that you mention it, I remember having some cards that included wonderful quilt squares in them, many years ago. I gave them to my aunt as a gift — now I wish I’d kept a couple for myself. Of course, I’d have the same problem she has. They’re so cool, she can’t stand to send them to anyone.
It does sound like you’ve had nice, full days. I just need to get the Christmas cards out this weekend, and do some baking. I can’t believe Christmas is only a week or so away. Well, so much for all those good holiday resolutions!
Linda, I have that very same problem with note cards. I buy them because I love them and then can’t give them away. I have been trying to break the habit, but some of them have been around for so long they have become yellowed.
Then I wonder: If I sent it would the recipient understand and love it too, or would they think I found them at the thrift and be insulted?
I know, it is shocking how quickly it has snuck up on us again. And each year I tell myself, I’ll do better next year. 😉
Oh, your blocks are so tiny — and so very adorable! I especially love the light one on the left and can’t imagine working with such tiny pieces of fabric and making such a perfect block. Wonderful! My December has been crazy — and will be until January — so I didn’t post for Scrap Happy this month but plan to in January.
Thank you, Nancy! They were fun to do. I understand about being busy and having priorities. I look forward to seeing what you create next year.
This post has been on the screen since you wrote it, and finally, this morning-after Christmas, I’m writing offline and will most likely be able to send it later today from a nearby town.
You’ve been busy- are busy – and I understand about outgrowing spaces! About building furniture? Ha! Last night I took an old twin bed headboard and footboard, a long and slender old door from an outbuilding, and I propped them ‘up’ to see if they’d work to build a long slender ‘sofa bench’ – yes, but it’s going to take some altering and adjusting. I decided to wait til today – or tomorrow to proceed. I’ll need to be sure there’s a slim mattress or foam material available for cushions and back support…
Back to your quilting – looking at that meticulous work reminded me of the mola textiles out of Panama and Colombia. Sometime this week I’ll photograph the back side of some of the molas to show you the needlework….
May 2018 smile on you!
Lisa, I’ve seen the furniture you can build and it is wonderful! My all time favorite is your bathtub from a small canoe. Not really furniture per se, but it is an amazing and creative reuse that turned out stunning. I look forward to seeing the results of your sofa bench!
Bob is home this week and is helping me to get a bit further along in my work on the new studio. Some of the plywood work space is very heavy for me to maneuver.
As for Molas I love them! I think of making them myself, but my eyes won’t let me do all the close work much anymore. I look forward to those too!
And may the new year smile on you as well, my friend!
I was just thinking that maybe I could do something similar with a machine stitched and bound edge? I should try it sometime. 🙂
Where did the month go? Where did the year go?
The older I get, the faster time seems to slip away.
I don’t know why that is.
All of your quilts are so beautiful. A wonderful talent to have, especially in this cold time of year.
Mary, yes, Bob and I are both noticing this trend in our time. Kinda scary, and though we to try to ignore it doesn’t let us forget for long.
Thank you for your comments on my quilting. I enjoy your support of my work. Momentarily things are at a standstill until I get that room done. Hopefully it won’t take too much longer! 🙂
Did you notice the rhythm of “and the space to blog and quilt again”?
Wishing you a happily rhythmic 2018.
Thank you, Steve! I may have missed the rhythm, but will take this opportunity to wish a friend happy 2018.