Craft Fair Cancelled

I was wondering how long it would take the organizers of the March 28th craft fair to cancel the event. Well, yesterday was the day. Since the covid-19 virus reared its ugly head with an announcement of a positive patient here in Oak Creek, it took the fair organizers 24 hours to cancel the craft fair. I think that took too long; they should have canceled it a while ago. But that's ok. I was still working on projects as if it was actually going to happen even though it seemed ill-fated.

Today I completed these stay-put ruffled kitchen towels. I had a 10-pack of tea towels and I used all 10 of them. They are pretty cute. I think I'm going to take the beige one off the display rack and use it in my kitchen now that I won't be trying to sell it this month.

On another note regarding the craft fair, my friend and I were planning on making fabric masks to sell. I thought it would be a fun way to relieve some of the stress of the situation we are in. They might not be terribly effective for medical staff, but if I felt a cold coming on, I would feel better about being around other people at the grocery store by wearing one of these.

With no place to go, I wanted to do some yard work today. Unfortunately it's raining today so I got out my latest fabric purchase to start a new quilt project. The pattern for this quilt calls for fat quarters of 12 different fabrics for the blocks and I chose to use 4 fabrics which means I needed 3 fat quarters - or 3/4 yard of each of the 4 colors. The pattern is a little complicated because by changing how you put the colors together, you can change the look of each block. I wasn't sure exactly how I want the blocks to look so I will cut all the pieces first. It's going to be fun to make a quilt and stop making crafts again.

Foot Pain and Potholders

I've been struggling with this weird foot pain for about 4 months now so today I saw an orthopedic doctor who specializes with feet. And after some poking around and an x-ray, it turns out the bones that connect to three of my toes are too close together pinching off the nerves.

Apparently this is the kind of thing that happens after a lifetime of being a long-distance runner and years of wearing high heels. So I got a cortisone injection between my toes that is supposed to bring relief. So far all I can feel is pain and discomfort. The doctor says it should feel much better by Monday. I think it's going to make for a long weekend.

Over the past few days I've finished a few pot holders for a craft show. They are very pretty and basically in two different sizes. I say basically because I started with batting scraps then did scrappy quilt-as-you go sewing until I covered the entire piece of batting. I added Insul-Bright and a piece for backing along with twill loop before sewing.

The batting scraps I used were in at least 4 different widths when I cut them into squares. So I just sorted them into smaller and larger once I completed them. That will make it easy to just use two price points instead of worrying about pricing by exact size.

Bowl Cozies

It goes without saying that my favorite hobby is quilting. All year I make as many quilts as I can with a few small projects thrown in here and there. While making quilts, I keep in the back of my mind craft projects that I can do with my quilt scraps as well as new ideas of things that would sell at a craft fair. I'm spending the month of March making those things with the quilt leftovers for a craft show at the end of the month. Today I finished a bunch of bowl cozies. It's one of the ways I use up batting scraps.

While sewing I've been binge-watching The Crown and I love it. I started watching it last week and I am already on Season 2. I like to try out shows that are mentioned at the Golden Globes, Emmys, Oscars, etc. That's how I found Breaking Bad, Ozark, Marriage Story....I could go on an on. 

It helps get through the sometimes tedious work of mass producing craft items. It's fun sewing them up but sometimes when I get to the ninth and tenth bowl cozy (for example) I am ready to move on to the next project. I guess I shouldn't have lined up 3 new quilt projects for after the craft fair. Maybe then I could settle down and concentrate - ha!

Over the weekend we went on a Vintage Shop Hop. It was a two-day event where over 400 antique shops held special sales for the event. The shops are located all over northern Illinois and southern/western Wisconsin. We spent a day trekking across Wisconsin where I picked up a few cute things. The berry basket will become part of my craft fair display. I think burp cloths might look cute in there. It was great fun and a nice opportunity for my husband and me to have a little getaway.

Baby Blankets and Burp Cloths

I've been pretty lax when it comes to finishing sewing projects these days. I have plenty of projects started but none of them worth posting about.

I did complete some baby blankets though. I make these simple blankets just by sewing two squares of flannel together and after flipping them right-side out, I just stitch a little design around the edge and that's it. I also make matching burp cloths out of flannel with a nice soft minky on the back. These are pretty popular at craft fairs and I have one coming up at the end of the month so hopefully they will sell there. At least it will look like I have something sell - ha ha!

And speaking of the craft fair, I've been experimenting on some new ideas. Now that my baby items are complete I can't wait to get those new things going. Craft fairs used to stress me out but not any more. I get done what I get done and that's that. I have display racks that my husband built and totes just to haul my craft items. I also have one tote that I call the 'office' bin. It contains my business cards, bags for making sales, stickers with my business name for the bags, a cash box, spare price tags, my square reader for credit card sales and my signage. It sure makes for a stress-free day knowing those things are all packed up and ready. Now if only I could predict what people will buy.

Have a Heart Valentine Pillow

I fell in love with the Have a Heart pattern in the new issue of Quilts N More. I knew I could make one from my stash. It's always fun to be able to make that happen.

I spent the afternoon binge-watching The Ranch - season 6 on Netflix while I sewed. I love how funny the show is and how over the various seasons, they've pretty much had parts for most of the cast of That 70's Show. That was a fun series too.

The cute pillow is now resting on the sofa in the living room. Since I don't have much Valentine's decor, I'm happy to have this.

Longarm Projects

I had a few projects to quilt for others this week. The first one is for my friend Mary. She had a table runner where she says, "no hurry". When I opened the project bag I could see why - a pumpkin table runner.... I guess she wouldn't need it for a while - ha!

The second one is a quilt for church. They will use it at their spring raffle. The quilt top has patchwork hearts so I chose my 'Love' pantograph for the quilting. It should complement the top perfectly.

What's on the design board?

These days my design board reminds me of my thought process. My brain is jumping from one project to another - I can't seem to concentrate on one thing. From an organization point of view, it's a disaster. From a creative point of view, it's great fun. I can't decide what I want to work on and when I do I can't seem to stick with it for very long.

On the left side of my board I have a project called Flying Leap. It's a very modern quilt pattern with a few circles in it. I haven't worked with many projects with circles so I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I am loving the colors, they are muted and modern. In fact, I've ordered some modern prints to complete the inside of some of the circle blocks.

On the right side of the board are my economy blocks. I am using some leftover fabrics from another project to make these blocks. They are part of a placemat pattern I found in an old magazine. I don't like how some of the blocks turned out - they are much too busy so I am going to have to incorporate some new fat quarters in with the leftover fabrics in order to make them look decent.

In the center, I've made a bookcase block. I think it turned out a little too busy so I will take it apart and try again. The quilt will be a teacher gift and I have the backing fabric picked out so I'm trying to choose colors for the book blocks to match. I just got started and I have plenty of time to complete it. I won't need it until teacher appreciation week, which is in April.

My Daughter's Quilt Blocks

This week I finished up the quilts I started with my daughter Bailee's leftover quilt blocks. Even after making these, there were still a few blocks left.

I thought about using them on the back but I ended up using minky so that just wouldn't work. Bailee took the pieces I didn't use home with her. I think she was inspired to make a bag with them to use them all up.

My granddaughter will enjoy snuggling up with the little minky quilt.