July 2020 Furtle

July Review / Furtle

As defined by Mini Archie, ‘Furtling’ means ‘having a rummage, a delve, a look at the contents of something’. So I have furtled around to see what I have been doing this month and now I’m going to furtle around the blogs of anyone else who links up over at Archie the Wonder Dog!

-Janine at Rainbow Hare on 2/28/2019

What happened to July? In June I was diligent and started the post early in the month to add the items as they were finished, but by the end of July.... there wasn't even a post started when August had begun. WHAT?!

Oh yeah, now I remember, my staycation started on July 1st and went for almost 2 weeks. Yeah, I would not have started a blog post then. My life has changed a lot in some ways since then... some sewing, some not.

Sewing objectives:

1. Cut all the rest of the months for the 10" Squares Batik exchange for the guild and drop all the months off before the beginning of the meeting. Each color has 20 squares for the exchange

I listened to quite a few hours of audio books to finish all that pressing and cutting in 7-hours and 37-minutes.

2. Finally got to join in on a project with Bonnie Hunter. She started the Easy Breezy 2020 Leader/Ender Challenge on the first day of my Staycation and it was like the stars aligned! In 4-hours and 11-minutes, there were 19 block sets cut and ready for assembly, leaving my loose scraps smaller for the effort. 

Block sets stacked and ready to sew

And by the end of the month 2 of the 6" block size were done

3. Big finish for the month was the UFO started on January 8, 2020, a sampler wall quilt (24" x 24") cut using the Cricut Maker, pattern by Carolina Moore as her Cricut Maker Block of the Week the Sequel, Riley Blake fabrics by Keera Job called In the Meadow. Lots of echo quilting in the backgrounds looks so good with the variety of the blocks and colors.

4. Finally worked out all the details and got my pressing station all up and running with anti-fatigue mats. TNT Quilt Boards' Great Board Pressing Station with Blue Hibiscus covering. After researching what Bonnie Hunter uses at Quiltville Inn to protect her pressing station tops from guests, I ordered a large roll of Freezer Paper (wider than Bonnie uses) which arrived in a box that I couldn't even lift. I pushed and dragged it to my Sewing HQ! (luckily on the main floor of the house). Then what to do with the piece of paper? Took some research in one of the Quiltville Facebook Groups, but I found the notation that you put the coated side down and heat the paper to melt it a little into the pressing surface fabric. When the paper gets dirty simply pull it off and replace. Used the Cricut EasyPress to do that and boom all done very quickly with that 10"x12" heating surface. You can see the big anti-fatigue mat in the picture in front of the Pressing Station.

Kipper likes the 2nd smaller anti-fatigue beside the Cutting Table.

5. Received the Wool.I.Am Mouselet that I won by donating to my friend Donnamarie's entry in the Virtual Doggie Walk for the Page Education Fund. My small friends gang increased in size with the package. And they had a great Welcome Home Pawrty!!!

6. DrEAMI squirrel! Two Flute Cozy Snug Hugs for hubby. Had enough of the music fabric to make two for him.

7. Just in time (30-minutes before the deadline) finish and submitted my first July block for Patterns By Jen's 2020 Color Challenge

Sir Tom and Trixie work together to quickly QA my block and I just barely get a passing grade this time. They were nice enough to ignore the bow ties being a little different from the pattern.

The non-sewing included joining a Group Coaching for a program "Love your Body, Love your Life" by Rhonda Ryder based on her book Delicious Alignment. My alignment buddy told me about Byron Katie's The Work and I listened to her 2nd book and it was amazing! Changed my life. I'm enjoying having less suffering by doing The Work on my own beliefs and painful thoughts.

What did you get done in July?

Project Plans to continue in August:

1. More friends/family fabric face filters dual design
2. Donation 12.5" squares (2 each):
1. Holding Hands
2. Modern Quilt Guild Community
3. Soaking test, wash, dry, and hang in my office the Cricut Maker Block of the Week the Sequel quilt
4. Make an additional over shoulder strap iPouch for me (FAL #121)
5. Doggie Bandanna and Jeans quilt (FAL #73)
6. QuiltSmart Midi Bag - Sandscapes (FAL #93)
7. Finish UFO: Simply Sparkle Bliss (FAL #9)
8. Make 3 Cafe Press 3-yard quilts for friends during the COVID-19 home-bound (FAL #56, 121, & 122)
9. Continue patching jeans including decorative stitching planned for the one where the puppy tore above the knee

Link-Ups:
* Mini Archie's July Furtle Around The Blogosphere as #4