Week ending August 22, 2021

My blogs have been few and far between,  but I've actually been quite busy with a few projects.  I'm going to try to make a weekly posts with a few photos of what's going on in my sewing room.

I got a free curio cabinet and gave it a makeover. It was unfinished and missing the front glass.  I sanded it and stained it using the same stain I used on my ironing table.  I thought it would make the perfect storage for my quilts.

I was knee deep in a quilt pattern that is free from Art Gallery Fabrics. The instructions had so many errors and I had to stop a few times to cut more fabric or double check numbers of cuts needed. 

I got the top done and had so many extra pieces left over! I posted a reel on Instagram of my completed top. Good photos coming soon, but will be posted on Minerva as it was made for their blog.

I was a pattern "mentor" for Jess Poemape for her Chantli Quilt.  As a mentor, I was tasked with reviewing the quilt math and instructions. It was the perfect project for me to work on in the days following my gallbladder surgery. The pattern just released and I'm planning on making on very soon. 

I'm working on another project for Minerva and think I'll be following the Squats and Running Stitches Entropy Quilt Scrap Along. I began by just making a bunch of half square triangles. I counted today and needed 48 more! 

I love this rule for squaring up my HSTs. 

Today was the last day of the Deltille Quilt Along with Running Stitch Quilts. I didn't get done, but I did make some headway today. I hope to finish this in the next few months.

In non-sewing news- I made a watermelon cake with watermelon icing and it's so good! Last year we grew so many watermelons and I made watermelon jam. I took a plain white cake mix and added a half pint jar of watermelon jam to it. For the icing, I used 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons chobabi coffee creamer, and 4 ounces of watermelon jam. I'd compare the finished product to a lemon pound cake, but watermelon flavored. 

I'm also happy to report that I got my third dose of the Covid vaccine this week.  I'll get my booster in 8 months. Hoping I develop the appropriate antibodies now.  

The Crafty Capuchin Crystallized Quilt Pattern

With a cute name like "The Crafty Capuchin" I couldn't resist applying to test their Crystallized Quilt Pattern. If you never met a Capuchin monkey, then you don't know how clever they can be. You can't get mad at them, because they are so cute. I spent two summers in the rainforests of Ecuador in college and have found memories of the Capuchin monkeys that would steal food from my backpack. 

I was also drawn to the faceted crystal like design of the Crystallized quilt pattern. I saw so many possibilities. The thing about crystals is that they reflect light and their surroundings on their faceted surfaces. When I think of crystals and how they shine, I think  of how you see the various shades of the crystal itself, and also lots of white and the sky over head.  

When selecting my fabrics and colors, I decided to go with some more muted tones. I looked on my shelves of some of my favorite specimens and was drawn to a  fluorite crystal on a substrate. The fluorite is bicolor and is a tealish blue with some lavender jutting out of an otherwise ordinary greyish brown rock. 

I looked through my fabric stash to see what fabrics I had that gave me that same "feeling". I used a solid white, a white with lavender floral print, An Opal print from Spoonflower, a teal rose design that I made from Spoonflower, and a large scale floral print with all the colors I needed. I absolutely love how my quilt turned out. I  didn't quite get it completely finished when I took photos. I forgot to add the border to the quilt. It has been added and I used the white print with lavender flowers. I ordered more of my teal rose design to use for the backing and plan to use the large scale floral for the binding.  

This pattern is beginner friendly and goes together quickly. I was very grateful for the ease in which I was able to complete this project. Right after I started, I learned I would need to have my gall bladder removed. I really couldn't put it off and scheduled surgery as soon as I could. That said, I did my best to get my top completed before I had surgery. And I did - minus the border that I somehow forgot. 

This pattern requires the use of half square triangles (HSTs). The instructions were very clear. Once you make all the HSTs needed, it is just a matter of following the diagrams to make the blocks, then joining those blocks together. The finished design looks more complicated than it is to complete. 

The pattern includes a lap size that is 52" by 52" and a twin size that is 72" by 82". I made the lap size and really love this size for a beginner. It takes less fabric, finished quickly, and can be backed with a 58" wide fabric so that it can be done without piecing or buying more expensive extra-wide backing fabric. 

Just like a capuchin monkey, the Crystallized Quilt pattern is very clever and looks so cute. 

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