SHEEP ARE JUMPING

Before I stopped working last night, I played with the layout of the sheep quilt.

Please excuse the lighting...... My design wall is in a narrow hallway, next to the stairs, and it has an overhead light that causes glare!  Once I get it stitched together, I'll have to hunt in my stash for border fabric.  I have a cute pink flannel for the back with more sheep!

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  0 yards

Fabric added this week  12 yards

Fabric added year to date 12 yards

Net used 2017  -12 yards

 Most of my purchases this week were backing fabrics.

Now I just have to find time to get them pin-basted.  They are all pressed and starched ready to go, and the binding is prepared as well.

My group wanted to work on a "row quilt" this winter.  I hunted through my files to find one that I liked and that could be made from scraps!  Back in 2012, Lori Holt offered a "row along" on her blog, a Bee in my Bonnet.  I had saved all the instructions for future use.  I've been busy sewing a row or two each day, enjoying the challenge of using my scraps before cutting into new fabric.  The pattern has 13 rows, consisting of 7 wider rows and 6 narrower rows.  

Since I wanted to use more scraps, I decided to change the final borders.  I hunted through my favourite resource - 60 Pieced Quilt Borders - Mix & Match by Judy Laquidara, and decided on border option #35.

I was able to dig into my 1 1/2 inch strips to make these cute 3 inch blocks.  All the neutrals in the quilt are cut from leftover strips, or from small pieces of fabric that have been in my stash for a long time.



Check out everyone's progress at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I finally dusted off my camera and took some pictures of the baby quilt that I finished last week.
It began as a panel, called "A Beautiful Day", designed by Jacqueline Steves.  I decided to make it a bit larger, so I added two borders.  The small lime green border was made from a fat quarter - the only matching green that I could find in my stash.  The final border and binding was made from fabric that I bought from Connecting Threads - the colour was perfect, and the swirls in the fabric echoed the swirls in the panel design triangle border.

 I outlined the centre panel, using monofilament (invisible) thread.  I decided to outline all the designs, and not add any extra quilting, as the design is cute and busy.  I stitched flowers and leaves with curlicues in the plain pink area, wiggles in the lime green and curls in the final orange/gold border.
This quilt will be donated to our local hospital by my community quilts group at my guild.
Now back to my machine quilting.  I have to take advantage of the time I have today, as we have company arriving again tomorrow!

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

OUT OF THE BOX QUILTS

During the past year, the volunteers who meet once a month to work on my guild's community quilt projects, spent time to sort all the donated orphan blocks and pre-made parts.  Each group of similar size and or shape were placed in a raspberry box.  (These boxes were salvaged from a local supermarket, and are cardboard, built to stack while holding quarts or pints of raspberries).

At our last get-together, our fearless leader asked if everyone would take a box home and figure out how to use the contents for a quilt.

My first box held 60 9-patch blocks that were 3 1/2 inches, and I made this quilt top.

I wrote about it on Design Wall Monday.  I had difficulty getting the true colours to show in the pictures.  The light borders are really a darker beige, the blue-ish border is much darker, and the final border is a deeper rust colour.

 Box number 2 held 29 pinwheel blocks that had been squared up to 8.25 inches.  I made one more block, then set them with sashing and cornerstones.
I decided to make a strippy border, so I sorted through my 1.5 and 2 inch strip bins and pulled all the strips that had colours found in the blocks.

I made binding for each quilt top, but don't have fabric for backing.  I'll take them to our next community quilts workshop, and hopefully I'll find backing fabric for each of them, then after pin-basting both, I'll bring them home to machine quilt.  This is a win-win - I get to use some of my fabric scraps, and there are 2 less boxes full of parts waiting to be used, and soon 2 more quilts ready to donate.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  122.5 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

Fabric added year to date  33.75 yards

Net used 2016  88.75

 

I'm still struggling with my cold and cough!  I don't think I was totally better and have been a bit sick since February.  I'm on the uphill side of it this time, and my cough is almost gone.

 

I've been working on my guild's BOM project.  I finally stitched tht top together, and then planned the borders (my choice).  I used a border from Judy's book "60 Pieced Quilt Borders Mix & Match", adjusting the size to fit my quilt.  I only have one more border to stitch, and then the top will be complete.  Now I just have to find the energy..... 

I'm catching up on the laundry today and making a pot of soup.  We hope to visit our grandson and family next weekend, but I don't want to take my germs along.  They've had a tough time with illnesses, since my DIL returned to work and grandson to daycare.

Check out all the progress shared at Judy's blog, http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/05/15/stash-report-may-15-2016/

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

 I started machine quilting the king size quilt this morning.  Working in the centre of the quilt is difficult, but the extra space under the arm of my machine certainly helps.  This is my largest project to date!
Here is a picture of the quilt top.  I placed it on our queen bed, just so I could see it more spread out.  DH took the picture while perched on a ladder - the room is small and it is difficult to get a good picture.

I used more of the small focal squares in the 3rd border, spacing them by using some great "footprints in the sand" fabric, and the final border has a sand dollar motif.

I think this fills the request for an "oceany quilt" from my son and daughter-in-law......

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

Here is my "Kiss in the Corner" quilt top.  The seams are pieced in one direction, and it is waiting to be pressed. 

I've always pieced tops using an "assembly line" method, similar to Bonnie Hunter's "Webbing the Top"

 Next step is to pin all the seam intersections, before sewing the final seams.

I have the first border strips cut and ready to sew on - found enough pieces of the same fabric in my 2 inch strip bin - cut at various times for various projects!

I'm still trying to decide which fabric I'll use for the final border.  I have it narrowed down to 3, but I'll wait to audition them when the top and first border are attached.

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I've been sewing in "fits and starts", as my grandmother would say.  Preparing for the quilt show has been taking most of my time.
I did manage to get the top this far, adding sashing and cornerstones, and then 2 borders.  
I discovered that I had cut all the sashing strips the wrong size, so I used them in the second border, adding a cornerstone in between each.

It is still a fairly small quilt top, measuring 36 x 46 inches, and I'm not sure what I want to do with it.....I guess I'll just have to look at it and see what it wants next.  My supply of bright pinks is pretty low after making Grand Illusion.

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

More fabric from deep in the stash - lovely dragonfly fabric.  The border print finishes 9 inches wide.

The coordinating print only had 8 blocks so I looked through the blocks in EQ7 and chose one called "sixteen points" to make the centre block.

I don't have enough border print to make a mitered border, so I've decided to make corner blocks, using a quarter block of the sixteen points design, in colours to match the 2 combinations used in the quilt center.

I plan on giving this to DS2 and DDIL for their entrance hall.  She loves dragonflies, and they have a large open staircase in their new home.

Check out all the shared creativity at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times, and at Love Laugh Quilt .

ANOTHER FINISH

I spent all day yesterday, machine quilting, and managed to stitch the binding on and trim the excess fabric too.  I sat and hand-stitched the binding while chatting with friends, and watching TV, and was able to complete the binding after breakfast this morning!

I took this picture on an angle, to show some of the quilting.  I stitched a "double stitched" grid in the centre of the panel, then echo-stitched around the flowers.  There is lots of stitch-in-the-ditch elsewhere, as well as accent stitching around the flowers in the borders.

Here is my completed project.  I named it Victory Garden, after the line of fabric.  I had fun stitching the mitered corners on the two floral borders.  I had to add some compensating strips to make my flying geese border fit.  Now I have to decide what I want to do with this project! 

SECOND BORDER ADDED

I'm pleased with the flying geese border - it really adds to the quilt top.  I've added the third border - using the wider flowered stripe, but haven't taken a picture yet.

My king batting arrived from Connecting Threads today, so I "booked" DH to help me pin baste quilts tomorrow.  I have my Grand Illusion, the victory garden, shown above, and I've added a baby quilt panel lined up to baste!  I love having an assistant - helps the work go more quickly, so I can get to machine quilting!

DH took me to the quilt show at The Villages today.  They have a huge guild, with 18 chapters and around 1000 members.  They were selling a photo CD at the show, so we only took a couple of pictures.  I looked at all the vendors' wares, but came home empty-handed, although there were several fabrics that were crying to come home in my tote!

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I decided to add a narrow yellow border to the panel, then use the narrow stripe of the matching border print for the second border.





I spent my sewing time yesterday making flying geese in 4 different colours.These are sewn together, and will be the third border, followed by the wide stripe of the border print.


I'll be happy when this is together, as it waited much too long in my stash!
I spent the morning making split pea soup from my Mother's recipe.  I had a ham bone waiting in the freezer, along with some diced leftover ham to add.  It smells wonderful, and will be dinner tonight along with toasted English muffin bread.  I read on another blog about making this in the oven, but I make mine in the microwave.  It cooks in 6 minutes, and is wonderful toasted!

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I spent the day yesterday, glued to the computer.  I had banking to do, bills to pay, then I spent lots of time looking at potential patterns to use with the alpaca yarn from our cousins.  I also got caught up on laundry, and recuperated from 2 family reunions with too much good food!

Today I found fabric for the borders for my hydrangea project.  The narrow border has gold metallic, white and gray squares on black, and the outer border is black with a dark gray swirl.  I mitered the corners, and hope it will look like a picture frame when it is completed.  I decided to add a layer of thin batting behind the flowers and vase, to add a trapunto area to the wall hanging.  Now I have to dig through my thread bins to find as many shades of pink and green for the machine quilting/embellishment.

Check out all the creativity shared at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

HEXAGON PROGRESS

I've been slowly adding the hexagon units to the final border for my quilt.  I am doing applique by machine, using monofilament thread in the needle, and a very narrow zig-zag stitch.  So far I have 3 borders completed, and the 4th is past the half-way point.  I can't wait to add them to the quilt!
Next, I have to find a suitable backing fabric for this project.  I attended the Sewing and Quilting Expo in Lakeland yesterday, but none of the fabric was just right!  I guess I'll have to check out a couple of quilt shops soon!

JUDY'S QUILTATHON WEEKEND DAY 2

The day isn't over yet, but I'm stopping for dinner.  I did managed to get the quilt top stitched and pressed and the first border sewn on.

I don't have a design wall, so it is difficult to show the whole top!  (This is one of the challenges of owning 2 small homes rather than one a bit larger - neither has a space for a good design wall!)
This is one quarter, and the narrow 1 inch finished first border changes colour as it travels around the edge.

The next border will be more black and white prints, and I'm planning on making it 6 inches finished width.

I still have some strip sets leftover after cutting the block quarters, so I think I'll use a block in the corners, then sew various widths of strips together to fill in between.

I baked 4 loaves of whole wheat bread today, and DH had the tree guys by to remove a large limb on the live oak tree beside our home.  It was hanging very close to the roof, and it was time to do some trimming.  I must admit that it was difficult to sew with the noise of the chain saws, and the sawdust flying everywhere....  They did a great job of cleaning up, and the house is much brighter on that side now!  

JUDY'S QUILTATHON WEEKEND DAY 1

I had planned to start sewing right after breakfast, but DH had other plans!  We started by checking on the availibility of an item that DS2 wants us to bring north in the spring.  Then a stop at the local fruit and vegetable stand, then off to the grocery store to pick up the other items on our list.  By the time we returned home and put everything away, it was lunch time!

I had fun this afternoon, sewing the block units together for my Godson's quilt.   Then I laid them on the living-room rug to play with the arrangement.  DH helped hunt for blocks that needed to be turned so I wouldn't have two of the same coloured accent strip touching.  

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the block layout, but here is one of the stack of blocks ready to sew together!

I  plan to get an earlier start tomorrow, before my quilting room gets too hot to concentrate.  I have to cut the coloured strips for the first border, then see how I want the final border to look!  DH thought the quilt will be too large, but I want this quilt to grow with him, and since all his family is extremely tall, I figured that the quilt should be large enough to last until he moves away from home!

Check out what others have accomplished today at Judy's blog.
 

QUILTING AWAY

I'm beginning to feel at home again.  DH helped me pin baste my version of "Sing a Happy Song" - pattern from Judy at Patchwork Times.  I did all the "stitch in the ditch" quilting, to stabilize the layers, and found some threads that will work with the fabric.

Yesterday I quilted the narrow peach border, and hunted through some books for ideas on the rest of the quilting.  Today, in between interruptions, I managed to quilt the first border, and came up with a design to quilt at the intersections of the blocks and sashing.

 Today we're having company - our BIL and his friend are coming over from New Port Richey to play golf with DH.  They are staying for dinner, so I have to make some preparations.  I'm also baking bread today - first batch since we arrived.  I made some pumpkin raisin squares last night, and they need some frosting to finish them - one to eat and one for the freezer.  I may even make some chocolate chip cookies - but my quilt is calling.......

FUN WITH MY STASH

Although I'll be the first to agree that I have too much fabric, it certainly helps when you are in the mood to sew!

Today was community quilts day - a sewing day at the convener's home with a pot luck lunch.  Unfortunately, I had a dental appointment right in the middle of the day, and it wasn't going to be productive to attend for such a short time.  I decided to work at home instead.

One of the panels I found at the local quilt shop recently had a cartoonish spaceman theme.  Unfortunately, like more and more panels, this one wasn't a full yard.  I rummaged through my stash to find this....

I also checked my stash of flannel bought for backings and found this..

Then with the addition of some blue fabric for more borders and a red for the binding, along with a few minutes with EQ7, I designed this...

 
I managed to get all the border pieces cut to size before my dental appointment, and then finished the top when I returned home.

During my hunt I found two more "space" themed flannel pieces, along with another small panel - this one has two large square designs, and the coordinate has 6 squares @ 9 1/2 inches.  Now I have to come up with a good design and some coordinating fabric.

Time for tea......

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I finally got to blocks of the last colour - green!  I spent some time yesterday printing out the setting triangles for the sides and corners, and have them cut and ready to go!   Thank heavens for Electric Quilt - I was able to have accurate templates with ease!

I am still thinking of different ways to use the gradations in the borders - I'm sure I'll choose one by the time I get the blocks sewn together and all the paper removed!  

Head over to Judy's blog to see all the other wonderful creations!

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I have two items on the go this Monday.  I finished the appliqued border on the Southwest tree of life quilt.

 I love the look of the wavy border, and had planned to use the same fabric for binding.  Thought it needed something else, so I decided to add some piping between the border and binding.  After auditioning many fabrics, with DH sharing his opinion, I've decided to use this gold-orange-reddish swirl fabric to add a visual break.

 I spent yesterday afternoon, between baking desserts and doing laundry, piecing the backing for my "half log cabin blues" quilt.  The backing is clamped to the table, layered with batting, then the top, ready to be pin basted today.  I miss the large tables that are available when I'm in Florida.  At home, I have my smallish cutting table, and with a larger quilt (this one is 71x83"), I have to get DH to help when I need to reposition it to baste the next section.  I am very careful to check for ripples etc., on the back when I have to move to the next area.  I'm thinking that feathers travelling along the wavy lines might look good - I'll have time to decide while I'm pin-basting!

Check out what other creative quilters are working on at Judy's blog.