Well, that went by fast.
It seems only yesterday when discussions were centered on the 4th of July festivities, the warmth of summer sunshine, and aroma of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Let’s have Some Fun!
Today marks the first day of August and, in my opinion, a perfect opportunity to ask my granddaughters Lanna and Maria, one simple question, “What would you like for me put in a “Fun Box” to send you – a Christmas in August sort of thing to help you get through these last days of summer”.
The most popular answers: “Make me something” and “Artsy stuff” – not much to go on but they are little women of few words. Nonetheless, it was all I needed to get the wheels of inspiration spinning and after a few clicks on Amazon, Etsy and Pinterest, those wheels were almost spinning out of control! What began as a simple summer idea quickly morphed to ideas for Christmas!
A quick purchase from Amazon led to “window shopping” on Etsy where I located the perfect canvas bags to hold those ‘artsy’ items. But what is a canvas bag but a blank canvas?
Enter Applipops! I’ve had this site bookmarked for over a week, and now, I finally feel properly moved to make the purchase! I cannot wait for these little jewels to arrive and transform those blank canvas bags into “Applipops” of color and fun!
Catching the Christmas Bug
Thank you Heidi at Fabric Mutt and Riley Blake Designs for giving me the “Christmas Bug” – the cuteness is almost too much to take!
The minute I spied this little cutie and made a quick trip to Heidi’s FabricMutt blog I began to see visions…visions of wool in festive colors and a Christmas wardrobe. Next, my mind reminisced to the Christmas fabric I just purchased and I immediately began to envision a mini quilt. Once I start this project these little guys may have their own P.O. box and smartphone!
Summer Sampler 2020
As I patiently wait for my ordered items to arrive I continue with the Summer Sampler 2020 quilt along. Block 9 only took a couple of hours to finish and the first time, I’ve actually had fun making flying geese units.
Here is the individual portrait:
And the group picture:
Gadgets I Don’t Have But Wish I Did:
The June Taylor Shape Cut Slotted Ruler:
This product has probably been out a while but for some reason I’m only now discovering it. Sure, my skills at cutting have improved over the years but I’m always in the market for a new product or technique that gives me the most accurate cut possible and in the shortest amount of time and may be decent alternative to the AccuQuilt System.
When I first discovered AccuQuilt I thought this would be THE solution for accurate fabric cuts and true it may well be one of the best products on the market however, it does have many drawbacks – the first one being the price. Second, for the price you are given very limited cutting options. Having a greater variety of cutting options means you must purchase additional dies or die sets. For those who intend to make SEVERAL quilts with fabric cuts of a limited shape and size, this would be a great time saver and likely well worth the investment. As for me personally, I’m not there…not yet but who knows what the future holds!
On my “To-Do” list is to purchase this Shape Cut Slotted Ruler, use it and return with an honest review…stay tuned!
Sweet Presser Feet
The Adjustable Bias Binder Foot appears to be a potential answer to accurately attaching quilt binding in one step vs. two:
I’ve seen this one a few times but never really considered it until I started to bind the most recent quilt I made. Attaching the binding right sides together on the front of the quilt then turning and hand sewing to the back is not a difficult or time-consuming task on a smaller quilt but a larger quilt (queen or king-size) is a different story!
Acquiring this and seeing for myself if this “all that and a shake on the side” is also on my “To-Do” list!
Rounding out the Sweet Presser Feet is this little gem aka Elastic Cord Foot Attachment.
This attachment is another one of those items I’ve observed here and there but never gave a second thought UNTIL ‘Rona came to town. Face masks have been, and will continue to be, a hot item for a majority of the public but those of us who also work in healthcare settings (for example, like me, in a hospital) and are in contact with Covid-19 patients every day, these easy-to-make scrub hats are a hot and very useful item.
I’ve held off making these because I didn’t feel like I could properly attach the elastic across the back. I may not need the elastic cord foot attachment for this particular scrub hat but there is no doubt there will come a time in the future that I’ll be so glad I made this purchase!
Welcome to August!
I hope I’ve inspired you to go out and make something today!
