Saturday, November 30, 2019

Quilt Shot Block #113 ~ Othello Game Block

Two years ago I made a Game Quilt for 
a Sports Club to auction.
I shared some of the blocks from that quilt, (see links below)
but didn't get around to sharing the Othello Game Block.
Right after I made that quilt, 
I start another game quilt,
but my physical health brought that progress to a stand still.
Now, I'm back at it.
So here is how, I made this very simple,
not really pieced block.

The one thing that had been done before progress came to a stand still
was cut out the green square and use an iron off marker 
to mark off the spaces.
After 2 years the lines were still there.
The stitches also covered the line,
so no worries about ironing them off.
So all that was left to be done was stitch the lines and add a border.
On my machine, I used the Triple Stretch Stitch, which is two stitches forward, one stitch back. 
(Reminds me of the song that says 2 steps forward, one step back.)
This stitch makes a nice solid line with regular weight thread.


 Scraps either someone gave me or found at a Florida second hand store, or yard sale.
Just enough.



 That's it.
Game pieces are ready to be made.

Below are links to the 
Game quilt and some of it's blocks.

Quilt Shot Block ~ Game Quilt

 Quilt Shot Block #99~ Checkers

Quilt Shot Block #100~ Tic Tac Toe Game

Quilt Shot Block #102~ Joy's Parcheesi Game Block

 Game Pieces

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Tuesday Tip: Keeping Track of Snipers

      You might have noticed from last week's tip as to where I keep my snips.
    
       I had tried to keep up with my snipers by putting them on a lanyard with a self rewinding connection to reach my work yet not dangle down to my knees. When wearing the snips around my neck, I kept poking myself.






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Tuesday Tip
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After researching online,
I found many attached scissors/snipers to their machine
via sticky hooks or velcro strips.
I didn't have a place on my machine to stick something,
and frankly didn't want to put the sticky glue on my machine,
because I might not be satisfied.
(The most sticky I use is painters tape to mark seam lines.)
Even the end of the machine didn't have a space due to all the switches and plug ins.

So one day,
I was frustrated with the snipers around my neck being in my way while
I was rewinding a bobbin.
Then I had the idea to use the 3rd spindle I never use.
I looped the lanyard over that spindle,

and found out the lanyard was just long enough 
for the snipers to lay on the machine and even
reach to the needle to snip the threads when
I didn't want to use the machine's cutter.
 (The snipers actually now lay on the throat of the machine most of the time.)
When I need to rewind a bobbin,
I simply move the lanyard out of the way.
Problem solved.
It is so second nature to reach for the snipers,
and they are not in my way.













Friday, November 22, 2019

Fun or Funny Fri ~ Noah's Ark in the Sky?

Some pictures taken early one morning at Cocoa Beach last winter.
What do you see?





The clouds kept changing just like they were marching on.


Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Thread Periscope Stand Tip

Since I do sew and quilt a lot, I buy large spools of thread. My machine comes with a periscope type thread stand.  Sometimes, but not always, I have a hard time with the thread wanting to get tangled between going up to the thread stand and down to the machine.  The thread sometimes gets crossed and tangled with itself.
All these years, I was not using my head. It was a rather simple solution.



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Tuesday Tip
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 One would think you pull the periscope as high as it would go,
because that's the way it's made. Right? 
Well, one day, for some reason, mine was not stretched up as high as it would go. I sat down and started sewing.
I later noticed I was not having the usual tangle problems.
Rather, I noticed the thread was not swaying but instead
 there seemed to be a bit of tension to it 
possibly because of the shorter distance? 
So now I don't raise the bar as high.
I guess everyone else already knew this?

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Elkhorn Creek QOV Fall 2019 Quilts Presented ~ Part 2

 There were 19 quilts wrapped around
special Veterans and Activity 
Military by The Elkhorn Creek QOV
on November 2, 2019
as a way to try to say Thank-you for your service.









The other 9 quilts presented that day
can be found HERE.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Elkhorn Creek QOV Fall 2019 Quilts Presented

 On November 2, 2019
The Elkhorn Creek QOV group
wrapped 19 Veteran and Active Military.
Just a small way to say
"Thank-you SO much for your service to our country."






The remaining 10 quilts will be posted next Saturday.