Same old, same old....

routine here in the Valley. Not much of anything new to talk about or show. Altho the calendar says summer, the weather is displaying autumn. The day time highs are ranging in the 70's(vs. our normal 90's) and overnight temps call for at least ONE quilt! The AC thinks I don't love it anymore in view of the fact that I needed the furnace to run last week!! Ebony and I march onward with the scrap and stash reduction. I've been plugging away at my 10 MAM pieces a day(altho I have missed a few days!) and also trying to complete the needed blocks for older UFO projects. I have a pile that need ironing and sizing. Hopefully I'll have something new to show tomorrow *VBS*
 Evening finds me watching a DVD and quilting free form on this little piece. Salmon perle cotton seemed a good color and salmon it is! My family has birthdays galore in July, not the least of who is Hailey Marie. She has reached the one year mark! Several of the DGS's have birthday in July, and also my 2nd DD. Both my DM and my DMIL had July 25th birthdays, having been born the same year, and having married in the same year. Small world, isn't it?

Things to think about over the 4th of July, in America...

* If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this world.

* If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

* If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

* If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

* If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ... you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

* If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful ... you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

* If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder ... you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.

* If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
*****This is one of the many things that "float" from email box to email box, encouraging you to send it along to your friends and acquaintances. I'm not sure who I could give credit to for writing it, as they seldom include that information. It feels "right" as something to think about as we celebrate our independence here in America next week. May all your trouble be small, and all your blessing be large *VBS* Hug a friend!

Waiting for the evening train....

and perhaps if you were a radio buff, back in the 60's, you'll remember that song *VBS* It's an old favorite of mine. Blue Velvet eased it out of first place, followed shortly after by the non-stop coverage of President Kennedys assination. I got to thinking today, while sewing yet more flannel, about the ways we "pass the hours". And about having missed the longest day of the year on June 21st. My brain was out to lunch I guess. So I am sharing some of what "the hours" are filled with on these long summer days *VBS* This little charmer just hit the pile by my chair, for binding.
 And this happy little fellow wandered out from the closet to preside over the center of the table, and protect the milkglass dish that resides there. And then.... back to the pieces....it's always about the pieces, isn't it? *VBS*
 Everyone finds their own "best" way to contain the "pieces". Back when my stash was only the size of breadbox..well, maybe a bit bigger, I began using these hospital wash basins to hold scraps. Free,or cheap at yard sales, they were an early recycling effort on my part. At first I sorted scraps by color. It wasn't long before I needed something bigger(on the shelf) to hold all the blue or green or yellow scraps. So the wash pans sat idle. At least they stack! I retrieved them to begin holding the "stages" of MAM(mile a minute)blocks and assorted parts in progress.
 That's whats in this picture. One packed down, heaped up, not quite overflowing pan of "beguns" for MAM quilt blocks. It's difficult to tell from the picture, but if I were to guess, I'd say there are 100 to 200 "small beginnings" squashed in this pan. I can pull them out, finger press them and add another scrap, or I can pull them out and press each one before adding another scrap. What I do depends on my mood. I only resort to having to press each one "every time" when I know I am at(or nearly at) the desired size.
I pressed about half a wash pan of those "nearly"s today. And believe it or not, there is another wash pan just as full as this one, waiting in the wings. I do believe I could sew all summer(or at least until the Autumn Equinox)and never have to reach into my stash!! How do you handle your scraps? Do you "cut to size and stack or fill a drawer"? Or are you always in the process of whipping those scraps into shape? Do you ever see the bottom of the scrap bag or basket? I wonder *VBS*

Summertime, summertime....

has definitely hit WI! After many weeks of assorted varieties of "spring", Miss Summer hit when we weren't looking *VBS* Our 70 degree temps, and rain have vanished and we are sweltering in 90+ degree days and warm, warm nights. And storms that result from the heat. Fun, fun, fun! Oh ya! I'm still hunkered down in 'scrap' heaven, playing with flannel. This first collage is just that...flannel scraps(again!) I wanted mention, as you assemble any MAM block, if you have a fairly narrow strip at the outside edge(as you piece), remember to add the next strip to THAT side. The 1/4th inch will disappear then. If you added it to the opposite side, you will lose too much off that narrow one when you size the block. The completed block(1st pic) is an example of "getting wonky" without 'on point' cutting. Just sew the scrap the way it is, it'll do the wonky for you *VBS* The picture with the scraps..that's all that left of several gallon bags(and one box) of flannel trimmings! I have a few partly pieced blocks there in a bag. If I need more blocks, I'll finish them up. If not, they will wait for some new scraps, that way it all blends together. The fourth pic is of my old Pumpkin Soup quilt. The pattern is Thimbleberries "Sticks and Stones". It's one of the only quilts I've made using a "selected" group of fabrics. I think this one could be quick and easy in assorted scrap also *VBS* Everything is a 2.5" cut. Easy Peasy!
 In my determination to get my flannel scraps under control this summer(read USED UP)I'm working with flannel that looks like this. I've been cutting the bigger scraps into 3.5" squares and HSTs and making Tonya's wonky blocks. They are fast and easy and very forgiving.
 Smaller scraps from that same group are made in to 4 or 9 patches or fence rails. This quilt will be a row quilt, using all of those. And, *VBS*, a new picture of my DGSs. Summer softball program. GS D is turning 10 in August, his little brother, GS N will be 6 on July 12th. DD#1 went to the baseball game on Saturday, despite the high heat and humidity. I would love to have been there, but breathing is fairly important to me, and I can't venture out when we have heat and humidity. Strangely, cool(or cold)dampness doesn't affect my breating..weird!

Frugal Friday's Experience Speaking....

and the reasons behind why I do MAM the way I do *VBS* There was an interesting suggestion in the comments about the MAM blocks I posted on Wednesday. One of my readers made the following suggestion: "When you get ready to cut your block try turning your ruler on point...I think it makes a more interesting block. I too am a fan of the MAM block. I love mindless sewing" It's an excellent suggestion and I am in agreement with the reader, it does make a more interesting block. But.... 

as you can see in the picture of a MAM block with my 8.5" ruler, quite abit is cut away. #1- I could/would have to make the blocks bigger in order to cut on point. Which isn't frugal even if you are working with scraps.#2-many of my scraps aren't as large as the pink(in this picture) I'm trying to get used up. #3-it seems like it would create more "waste", altho it could be directed into new MAM blocks. #4-and this is my MAIN objection and experience, all 4 sides would then be BIAS. I'm not fond of working with bias. Anytime a cut is made on the diagonal, bias becomes the outer edge. Most flannel has a fair amount of stretch already. I could do the MAM on foundation, that would take care of the bias, but defeat the purpose of these MAM quilts which is "utility".
I think the reason many string quilts are pieced on foundation is to take advantage of the stability and piece the strings diagonally. The same with string triangles and diamonds. Even traditional quilt block patterns, when set on point, create the "bias factor" for the longarm quilters pinning them in. Given even a small chance, bias will do it's "thing" and stretch.
Thank you for the great suggestion, reader, I love your idea and the look that gets created, but I gotta cut these guys straight so I can keep them under control. *VBS*

This and that on a Wednesday....

and, as sometimes happens, I haven't been doing anything very interesting. Some major cleaning and sorting is going on in the sewing room. Major Mess right now!! I have, however, been doing some sewing each day,part of the "clean up" process. Last week I showed you a few of the all flannel Mile A Minute blocks I've been making in an 8.5" size. I thought I'd share a few more ideas or details about how I make them. I think it's sometimes hard for younger sewers to toss all the "rules" out the window. With MAM blocks, the "toss" is fairly essential to a happy outcome. Forget straight lines, forget rulers until the very end, forget straight lines. Just pick up any two scraps that appeal to you, and sew them together. *VBS*
 In the first picture of this collage, what I wanted to show you is the 3 small pieces above the blue and pink flowers, and below the blue 3 little pigs scrap. That little strip is 3 pieces of flannel,about 1"+ high and about the same width. I didn't sew the 3 of them together to be FRUGAL. I did it because it adds interest and movement to the block. Many quilters wouldn't bother with pieces that small, I find them valuable in the look of the quilt. It's harder to work in the smaller pieces, more time consuming, but part of my process. In the second picture, I began with the frog square...a scrap that came in with Dionne's last donation. Using it like a log cabin center, I built the block around it. What goes with what doesn't matter much to me *VBS* Sometimes, as in the 3rd pictures, it's just narrow string pieces left from backings. And in the last picture in this collage, an assortment of my scraps, Betsy's scraps and donated scraps. There are baby clothes left from making burp cloths and Sponge Bob Square Pants, they seem to play together very well.
 In this last collage we've got pictures with grown up type flannels next to "totally" baby flannel. My MAM blocks often have various pig fabrics. Betsy collects fabric with pigs and she shares scraps with me. I don't aim for the really narrow pieces you will sometimes see in my blocks. If it's an 1"+ I use it. Sometimes the starting point will be a leftover 4 patch, or a couple of 2.5" square Some of these pieces are trim away from making flannel pillowcases. And you probably have noticed there aren't really any red, blue, yellow, green, etc pieces used. The darker, color intense scraps are in a different bag for another MAM quilt. I also toss the plaids, checks and other "country" type colors and patterns into a seperate pile. I seem to have the most scraps left from baby quilt backings. If you make more comfort quilts, or snuggle quilts for adults, you'd probably have more of that type scrap. Making the MAM blocks is also a great way to use up odd colors of thread, where appropiate. I wouldn't sew any of this batch with black or other dark colors.

Quilt Top Auction....

Our friend San, of Gypsy Quilter Designs is holding an auction to raise money for the batting used in Quilts of Valor. She has created this lovely small quilt top, based on a Little Quilts design. For full information regarding the quilt top and bidding, pop on over to her blog, Gypsy Quilter Designs. It's for such a good cause. The gals who longarm quilt those quilts donate their time and often the batting as well. It would be a great help if the cost of batting could be offset. Make note that this is a quilt TOP, not a finished quilt. You get to add your own personal touch in how it is quilted and bound. The top will go to the highest bidder.