I have had the privilege of sewing many days after work this week. Mindless sewing mainly from leaders & enders I was putting into place from a while ago.
After my “turn-it-around” sewing room organization from a week ago, I have been motivated by the fact that I can actually watch my computer screen for entertainment instead of constantly being turned around to see what’s been on the screen.
I have been motivated by taking an old reality series that I have watched most seasons of, rewatching them years later. I forget easily, so this time it’s like watching ‘new-old’ television.
So I have some distraction that is not too distracting and that, in turn, is motivating me to keep working and working. Almost as if it was March-A-Long again.
Anyway, my leaders & enders are resulting in 16 patches of the cool color family.
So far, I have mindlessly sewn 30 of them.
I had made a “pattern” for this quilt a while ago and have had this idea for a scrap quilt for a while. I don’t need 30 of the 16 patches for the finished quilt. Here’s the quilt.
I have a light grey and want to use some of the extra neutrals from the quilt I made for Laura for the alternate blocks.
I don’t have the pattern centered or bordered or anything, but yes, I have printed out the paper pieced X blocks, aka album blocks.
I have heard several names for this quilt:
- X’s and O’s
- 16 patch and album blocks
- Arkansas Crossroads
I do have a small history with quilting in Arkansas now. I travel there every fall (so far) for a quilting retreat. Northeast Arkansas, not incredibly far away from the KC area.
A tiny town called Winslow, there is a couple who run a B & B cabins (Sky-Vue) that host 16 quilters who come & sew for an extended weekend. If you have followed me any time in the fall, you have heard me talking about it.
Anyway, I want to make a quilt with a name something like Winslow Corners or possibly Sky-Vue crossing.
Using these no-thinking blocks out of my ever growing scrap pile.
That’s been a vague direction I have been quilting in this week.
I haven’t started on the paper piecing portion, but now have 30 of the 16 patch blocks. It’s so easy to make these 16 patch blocks.
Surely more of these blocks will go somewhere else if I run out of paper piecing blocks (x blocks).
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I have also made some random half square triangles in sets of 4 that I want to match with my pinwheel blocks someday.
I also have a small sewing mat for my sewing foot pedal.
I have a wandering foot, but I like to elevate the back of my foot and sew more evenly. I frequently have a phone book by and/or under my sewing machine foot pedal.
I just made this late this afternoon, so I haven’t yet tried it out. I have the non stick gripper on the front and back, and to give the pad some “oomph” to simulate raising the foot pedal some, I have a piece of folded over fabric that is folded over two small batting scraps inside.
It’s really batting, fabric, then a binding stitched around that whole block. Then I have a ‘stopper’ of rolled up batting sewn down in a pocket on the top.
I was inspired by this tutorial, but did not follow it directly. I read it a few weeks ago and then when I gotten the “gist of it” I created from vague memory today.
Anyway, it’s been a week of happy sewing, I hope this post finds you well. No matter if you meet in the crossroads of arkansas or elsewhere.
Still marinating about my “next biggest bestest quilt” for the quilt show in 2 years. Glad to not really think about it too hard yet.
