Eat organic

If I haven't mentioned before, we signed up for a CSA this summer. Every week we get a box of organic produce delivered. Last week, I also ordered an additional amount of basil - 12 bunches - which amounted to a full second box!

It took me all weekend to pick the leaves off the stems and turn it into pesto. I did it in batches in my food processor between trips to the grocery store when I ran out of one ingredient or another. (Can't say I did very well planning ahead...)

Anyway, the freezer is now stocked. (Those are new containers too.)

Shopping therapy

Hopefully I'll be setting aside more time for sewing soon as I've purchased quite a lot of fabric in recently! I went on half a shop hop, well 7 of 12 shops.


Acquisitions

I tried not to buy anything without a plan:
- solid navy (on top) is to go with some scraps for a small sprocket pillow
- bright blue was free and thus did not need a purpose
- yellow, orange and blue dots will work with my rainbow charms
- pink checker board was also free
- black and white stripe will become binding
- second navy blue actually has cute moons and stars though it appears near solid in this stack
- ants would be perfect for a picnic quilt but were more of an impulse buy
- spider webs (hardly visible below ants) will probably be a pouch lining or something for halloween
- red presents might become stocking lining or be part of the outside
- grinch stealing trees (also hardly visible) and red stripes will be a pillow for my mom because we always watched that cartoon at Christmas
- notebook paper will probably become a book cover or pouch
- purple with flowers was free
- blue/ white/ off white (bottom 6 fabrics) will be used probably for farmer's wife blocks

My most expensive impulse buy adds another quilt to my queue.

Have you ever seen Simply Shabby Chic bedding at Target? The designer is Rachel Ashwell and I think her style is so pretty. (We currently use a white coverlet from one of her lines on our bed.)

Anyway, these colors seemed to me like a slightly edgier version of many fabrics she uses. I have to come up with a suitable pattern - something more traditional than modern I think, although Rachel's currently available quilts seem to be either simple patchwork or whole cloth. Obviously, I can't do the latter with what I bought.

I'll probably seek out some other neutrals before making my mind up on these - plenty of time for suggestions if you have them!

My first mini (in pictures)

Measures 9.5 x 16 inches. I plan to wash it this weekend since the markings I made to guide my quilting did not come off with water as the pencil's package suggested. Also, I should add a tag.

Quilting with Audrey

On Sunday evening I basted my stained quilt. First, I used up the 50 special quilters safety pins I bought a while back.

Not enough...

I got out my little box of variously sized regular safety pins. (Gift from my mom at some point during college; they used to be part of her sewing supply stash.)

Still not quite enough...

I pondered going over to Joann's. Not worth the drive - time or gas... I pondered going over to Target - closerd, but more effort to find exactly where safety pins are stocked. Then it dawned on me, I'd used several safety pins to jimmy up the black out lining for curtains at our old apartment. Since we've yet to put the curtains up again here, I stole the 24 safety pins from that "project."

Victory! It was just enough!

*Side note: I actually thought it was easier to work with the straight safety pins, so I'll be stocking up on those.

In the middle of basting

As you can see, I used a larger piece of batting than necessary. It was on hand. I really didn't want to spend more money just now. Besides, with smaller pieces of batting to use up, maybe I'll make some mini quilts or something. (Does anyone know whether it's advisable to use batting in coasters? This is Warm and White.)

There's about an inch and a half of batting beyond the quilt top on all sides.

I also cut it closer to the edge of the quilt top than is recommended I think. I'm cheap trying to be thrifty by keeping the left over bits as large as possible so the can be more readily used later.

On Tuesday evening, I began stitching in the ditch. I meant to post about my progress that night as well, but my computer was playing dead. It made an awful beeping noise when I turned it on, then had to go through a repair scan since Windows failed to start for some reason.

Long story short: it scared me, but seems to be back to normal now.

Simple

So, I've decided to go with simple.
(You're probably surprised, given that I've made this project so complicated up to this point.)

The back of my stained quilt will be all black. This will make my desired quilting pattern so much easier. I'm going to stitch in the ditch around each of the puzzle pieces, so to speak.

Previously, I mulled over making more blocks and piecing them into the back; however, for this option:
1. I would have wanted the back blocks to be mirror images of their counterparts on the front (as far as shapes, not exact fabrics).
2. I then would have tried to line them up exactly so as to have my quilting be stitch in the ditch around the puzzle pieces on both sides of the quilt (where applicable).


I am pretty pleased with this little detail though:

Mitered corners in the border!