Getting Projects Prepped and Ready to Go

 I've been trying to get some of the endless applique projects prepped. The list is a little overwhelming at the moment and I know from experience it helps a lot to have things ready to go. Plus, hand work is seriously calling my name of late. So soothing when the mood is right!

Ormes Inspired getting a word added on

First up was to finally settle on a word to add to Ormes Inspired. I've know for awhile that something needed to be done about that bottom left corner, but nothing ever seemed right. Last week I took a seam ripper and just removed it completely from the quilt top. The word 'Inspired' is what I ended up with, though honestly, I don't feel especially inspired right at the moment.

AHIQhourglass Tulip blocks

Then I decided to get the third? round of tulips blocks prepped and ready to go. These are the blocks that I've been positively itching to get started on and have been making myself do other things in that 'carrot and stick' sort of thing that I do to get through the tedious stuff! I'm not 100% sure about the raspberry pink backgrounds, but I do get tired of cream and bland backgrounds. Nice to shake it up occasionally!

Big Kiss needs a border

These borders should be a very quick wrap up for the Big Kiss quilt. Totally unnecessary as the quilt top is already plenty large enough to finish as a lap quilt. However.... the quilt top just hasn't felt like a 'me' quilt and quite frankly, it looks boring as is. While I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the applique work, it needed something fun looking. I especially love the little pointy top on the pomegranate-look flower. When I free cut that part out during auditioning time, I almost jumped for joy! Yes! It's totally the little things that make us fall in love with our quilts. Why do we ever forget that?

More progress on Melon Patch Rows

All the melon petals have been sewn onto the pink chain rows and are now ready to be further stitched down to the dark red background lengths. This project is taking FOREVER and I'm not at all sure it will even be worth the effort. Still trying to come up with a brilliant idea for the every-other rows of whatever block that seems appropriate. I've mostly settled on an x shaped block, but we'll see. This could end up being an incredibly boring looking quilt too!

Moody 9-Patch quilt blocks

Then there's these very simple 9-patch blocks taking shape on the wall. I had completely forgotten that the parts and pieces were cut out back in November. Too much water under the bridge since then and for some reason I failed to add this new quilt start to my list of ufo's. Which really wouldn't have mattered too much because that list has been ignored much more than looked at lately! Sometimes when there is an excess of hand work, it just feels good to grab something and chain piece. Funny how forward progress happens so much faster with a sewing machine! 

In other happenings, I've been washing up another batch of fabric given to me of late. One of my aunts is moving to another state and wanted to know if I'd like to have the bulk of her fabric? She didn't have a lot, but the trouble is, it all smells heavily of moth balls. Ughh... After trying for most on one day and about to give up on ever eradicating the smell, I finally stumbled upon the answer. Have any of you ever attempted to wash the smell of moth balls out of fabric? The smell is so pervasive, it's almost impossible.

What eventually worked was to soak the fabric in med. sized totes with approx. 1/3 to 1/5 parts white or apple vinegar {both worked fine though I've heard apple vinegar can stain fabric?} to water for 20-24 hours. Then I washed the fabric in the washer with a cup of cleaning strength vinegar. After that I washed the fabric with 1 cup of bleach. Uh huh, really. Then after that I washed it again with about 1/4 cup of bleach and a very small amount of some lightly scented detergent. At that point there is still a faint whiff of moth balls, but after running it through the dryer, out comes wonderfully fresh smelling laundry. Am I crazy?

Okay, so why bother? What a risk! It's not like I need the fabric and we all know what bleach does to color. Mostly I wanted to be able to honestly say to my older aunt that I am using and appreciating some of her fabric. Though I did dump the lower quality and decor style fabrics, it's good to be on the list of give-Audrey-all-the-fabric-you-don't-want-anymore. Right?  Also, it became quite a challenge. And... I got some free quilt backing fabrics out of the deal. Very interesting to see how bleach can massively change the colors in a piece of fabric OR barely change it at all. What made it easy to take the risk of possibly ruining any and all the fabric, was that it was already a lost cause due to the odor issue. My family was laughing at me. Apparently I will do almost anything for free fabric!