Moving At A Snail's Pace

The Extreme Ironing webportal describes extreme ironing as "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt."

I had lots of  fabric to prepare last week.  Unfortunately, I chose a humid day to get it done.

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The blocks for my Chimney Sweep/Album blocks were from a swap that  used pre-washed fabrics. Even though I no longer pre-wash my fabrics, I prepped yards of Kona natural and some Civil War fabrics to sew more blocks.  While I can't say I was as wet as the gentleman in the photo, I was pretty damp.

Here they are placed with the rest of the blocks.

I hit a snag with the baby quilt I am using as my June One Monthly Goal project   I was using a traveling combination cutting board/ironing surface and didn't realize my iron touched the handle that was dangling off the edge.  The polyester braided handle melted and left a residue on the iron's surface.  In my blissful ignorance, I proceeded to iron my blocks.  Ugh! What a mess.

These are a few of the pieces I had to remove.  I made some new block components and will sew them today.  This small project is wearing me away, one small disaster at a time.

If you are buried in scraps and looking for an innovative way to use them.  Take a cue from the art work I found at Home Goods this week.

I didn't measure the shadow box frame, but I would guess it was about 24 inches square.  The fabric appeared to be wool, but it could have been a blend.  I'm not sure how I would like this color combination hanging on my wall, but it might be an artistic way to store jelly rolls on a sewing room wall that doesn't get much sun.

I'm happy with my seven Chimney Sweep blocks so I am Whooping it up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  There are lots of fabulous projects posted this week.  Stop by and check them out.

One Monthly Goal For June

How can one person be so busy and still not get anything done.  That's the question I've been asking myself all month.  I did work on a few things, but nothing is finished.  More than a few years ago, I joined a swap making Chimney Sweep/Album blocks using Civil War fabrics and Kona natural fabric.  I loved the way the blocks looked, but there weren't many of them and I though t the construction was a little fiddly so I put them away to mellow.

I pulled out the 12 original blocks and realized they would make a great quilt.  I finished 7 and plan on making an additional 11 before adding sashing, corner stones, and borders to flesh out the top.

We spent the first two weeks of May visiting Washington, DC and Florida.  Since it was a driving vacation, I took along some handwork to keep myself busy on the way.

I'll keep making groups of hexagons as my summer car project.  These were made from a charm pack of Martinique.  I have another Martinique pack and 2 other charm packs that use similar colors so I should be able to keep busy for a few trips.

In January, I chose a baby quilt that I planned to finish as my One Monthly Goal project at Elm Street Quilts to be used a gift for a new baby's first Valentine's Day.

It didn't happen.  The baby is now 8 months old and ready to be Christened on the last Sunday of June.  Hopefully, I can finish it in time.  I will be posting my One Monthly Goal for June at Elm Street Quilts.  Patty Dudek is the hostess and she welcomes everyone to join in.  If you haven't set your own goal, stop by and see what everyone else is planning to work on.