Keeping Busy

This week has been full of new things! First off, I started a new job with the school newspaper as a layout designer! Flash has been a photographer for the Collegiate Times for a while now, and since I had to leave my last job due to my ridiculously busy school schedule, I had to find a new one- and the Collegiate Times was looking! Through Flash, I already knew some of the people there, so when I started last Monday I wasn't all alone.

Second, my architecture studio started doing work for our bridge project! We all drew some designs on Wednesday (and technically should still be working on them... oops...) and we've been working down at the shop Monday and Friday. We've been taking inventory of our tools and materials, and seeing what all we have to work with. Our project budget is very very small, only around $7500, so we're trying to stretch our dollar as much as we can. It's hard enough to build a bridge out of steel, but doing it cheaply will require some crafty use of materials.

Just me, removing nails and helping to trim up some timbers!

Flash will be leaving in a week (SAD FACE) for his grand European/West Coast adventure, so I decided I need a new project. I'm still looking for something to use my Salt Water fat quarters for (I'm thinking a swoon quilt!) and my Architextures fat quarters, but after going through my stash this weekend, I realized just how many strips of fabric are left over from the quilt I made this summer:

I have a literal boatload of strips of fabric left. So, I decided to start a Scrappy Trip Along quilt! I already have 4 blocks made.

There is one huge mega downside to this quilt. All of the strips I have are between 1.5" and 2" wide- while the scrappy trip along method calls for strips that are 2.5" wide. I thought, I'll use 1.5" strips! That way I can use ALL my scraps! What could go wrong?!

Oh, dear Couch. How naive. How silly. How painfully unaware you were that working with strips of fabric that skinny is a pain in the butt. Literally, these blocks are terrible to piece. I don't know if it's the size of the strips or the fact that I'm still unfamiliar with my machine, but the are a BUTT to work with! They are so tiny and skinny and the tension on my machine was off all weekend so everything was bunching together (hopefully fixed it!), and my blocks didn't come out square, or really perfectly straight, for that matter. They're 6.25" by 6.5"- weird, I know. I thought, well, I can just trim them to that size and they'll be rectangles, but then I realized I wouldn't be able to flip them around to find a good pattern. So, I'm trimming everything to 6.25" square.

Despite being a royal pain, I think it'll work out. It'll at least give me something to do while Flash is off adventuring and being cool and stuff.

Linking up to Let's Get Acquainted Monday with Weekend Doings and Anything Goes with Stitch by Stitch!