I haven't had as much time to quilt lately as I'd like to with everything going on around here--mostly basketball, basketball, basketball. Dinner gets to be quite the odd event around here too as the first high school game starts at 3:30 (our youngest daughters JV team) and we don't usually get home before 9:30 as my husband runs the clock for all of the games and I help out with the booster club.
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| String Play starting to come together |
It's been a lot of fun watching the girls varsity team this year as once again we get to watch our oldest daughter play on the same team as one of our nieces. They are delightfully scrappy players to watch. Lots of action going on around them all of the time! Last year they got 5th in state in the 1B's and we have high hopes for them this time around too!
So... I am sewing one row of these string blocks together at a time, measuring to a uniform length and then making sure the ends aren't cut off too wonky. Sometimes I seam rip two strips apart and insert a new string if I think it will help make the ends look less 'chopped'. I try not to get too picky because after all, it's just a scrap bin quilt, but I really hate 1/8" strips and such at the end of a row.
It's crazy how much time it's taking to actually sew the rows together. I always seem to forget that part!
Lots and lots of pinning too, which I think is well worth the time spent as it will lay flatter in the end. Also, I was trying to make sure that I didn't have a string of yellow flush against a yellow string etc. in the next row, but now I've decided that's just nuts. They will land where they will and that's part of the charm--end of story.*wink
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| String Play rows |
When my girls came home for lunch today, I had them draw a name out of a bowl for the winner of the Traveling Stash.
Cathy from Big Lake Quilter--you are the winner! A big thanks to everyone who threw their name in the hat! I've had my fun and now it's time to move this Traveling Stash along to the next person.....
our daughter's family is constantly running to basketball and karate - our granddaughter is in 5th grade and is consumed with ball practice and games and our grandson 8th grade is a black belt karate kid - practice several times a week and our daughter works one night a week at the karate place to pay for some of his training - it never ends - I don't know how they have time for anything else.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about not over thinking and over planning a quilt like this one. Let the strips fall where they may. That's the charm of it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems just like yesterday that we traveled here and there, watching our kids play tennis or volleyball or basketball (their sports of choice). It was quite a shock to my system, the first school year when the kids were all gone from home and I had no sports events to attend. Enjoy them all and soak in the fun. It'll be over in a flash.
Our kids grow up so fast. Enjoy the moments. Love what you're creating from your scrap bin!
ReplyDeletecongrats to Cathy on the win of the traveling stash~!
ReplyDeleteit sounds like life is very busy and i do remember when my daughter was involved in all of her high school activities and how busy it kept us. hard to imagine doing it with any more than one child~!
love your string piecing and totally agree that one must relax a little to have fun with this type of piecing. enjoy~!
:-)
libbyQ
What's not to love about a scrappy string quilt?!
ReplyDeleteLove this!! Loved your earlier strippy string quilt too! They are just so much fun, you never tire of watching them.
ReplyDeleteSuch fun strings!! I agree that you should just let the strings be where ever they end up, it's that kind've quilt. Have fun being a basketball mum!
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing my last quilt with those rectangular pieces, I realized how much I love them. I love a good Chinese Coin quilt ! Sounds like you are very busy. I find it reassuring to know that there's a quiet little project waiting for me when the day is done. Take care, Byrd
ReplyDeleteWhen I am doing scrappy I just let things go. I think it would make me crazy trying to rearrange things because one fabric is too near another. I figure in the whole scheme of the quilt it would not be noticeable but if someone is bored and wants to spend their time searching a la 'Where's Waldo" all the power to them!
ReplyDeleteLove the scrappy look...this is going to be a real beauty when shes done !
ReplyDeleteMissed the post on the traveling stash. Sounds like fun. Congrats to Cathy!
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your string play. Love those plaids! Look forward to seeing how you set them. Good luck to your both your daughters teams.