Round 2 and stash busting and preparing for Ecuador ...

Round 2 of the Medallion Sew-along allows me to stash bust all this patriotic type fabrics that I have accumulated. Will have to also dig around for other less focused to go with it.

Finished with the first step of Round 2:

The second step:

Then on to the final step: decided to add a bit of color, albeit muted, but is definitely a bit different from what is being used to date. 

On Sept. 24 we are leaving for Ecuador for 3-1/2 months. I will be volunteering in a women's clinic, I hope, but nothing is definite until I arrive and interview. There is a Women's & Children's home associated with the group as well and I might end up here. Hopefully it will be as an educator/clinician. So what does this have to do with my love for quilting and needlework? Well ...

Along with this is the decision as to what projects to take with me as I won't have a sewing machine. That means I will be doing hand sewing and appliqué: I have a quilt that is a lot of appliqué that I would like to get started with.

Merry Merry Snowmen

 With this in mind, I pulled out the first 2 blocks.

Block 1: 

The instructions are a bit weird, but I start off cutting a bunch of small squares and even smaller ones to make into squares:
Oh what fun -

Then on to appliqué the first of what appears to be many of the same. I am using the freezer paper method of pattern making. The first is a snowman that will eventually use doll clothes buttons for eyes and an embroidered carrot nose. Sew appliquéd square to the previously made square.

 oh oh, I can see that my tiny stitches aren't tiny or uniform enough for this project. Take care Shirley!

Now to put together the background for the rest of the appliqué: I will leave the actual appliqué for when we are in Ecuador. The only instructions for this part is a picture and then a diagram with the dimensions....

Man these blocks are so much bigger than I had anticipated ...My pink cutting board is 12"x18". As you can see, the single block (1/8) is much bigger. 

All the fabric pieces end up leaving me with at least an inch of leftover - am thinking they might end up being enough to make a child's strip quilt. Anyways, will sew them all together and then see how much yardage I end up with.

Block 2:

This one has an amazing amount of appliqué:

Simple strip and block piecing for the background:  Again, look at the size difference. The good thing about this is that the appliquéd pieces are also big.

Block 3;

Do I or don't I go on and piece the third background to take with me? If it is a straight strip and square piecing then I will but if there is an appliqué block to do before, then probably not. Am not sure if I have enough time.

Oops ... another corner snowman to appliqué before piecing. So I guess not ....

Virtual Retreat ...

A virtual retreat for quilters? And just what this might be? This weekend I joined the Stashbusters Virtual Retreat and found out. You set aside some time on a specified weekend and quilt. Because so many members are unable to get away to regular retreats, they started a virtual one. You do your own thing, blog about it, and then send a message to the group letting them know what was and is being done. Simple ...

I decided that I was going to try and accomplish two things:
1. get the middle block done for the Medallion Sew-Along,
2. try and at least finish the flimsy of a UFO that I found that dates way back to before 2005.

The Sew-Along is being blogged on it's own page  at:  http://2busyhands.blogspot.com/p/medallion-quilt-sew-a.html
It will be a donation quilt to the military group. Here I will use the cross-stitch square that I did some time ago in the center of the quilt and then, who knows - that is the mystery.

As with any stay-at-home project life tends to get in the way and so it has happened here as well. Danny was a quilting widower today as he went hiking by himself. I had some dehydrating to set up - check; housework - check; laundry - check; and class work - check; oh and sew in between all of these things. I decided to do a sew-work-sew-class-sew-work-sew-class and so on until all the chores were completed and then it would be just sew.

So here it is, now 7pm, and what have I accomplished? Got all the chores done and rice cooking for dinner; The middle part of the Medallion block done;

 On to Round 2 ...

All the flying geese done for the UFO, put into strips, and the sandwich being basted.

 "Roundtrip, Homeward Bound"

Why do I have 2 strips too many or 2 strips too few????? Just re-read the instructions and I did it right! I guess to make it work out evenly you end up with extra and that is why there is instructions for a pillow case as well with the exact number of left-over geese. Not for me - will put them into a baby quilt. I have a small piece of brilliant pink fleece that I can piece together with the left overs from "Roundtrip, Homeward Bound".

And now it is time to put things away as we are traveling again in the morning.