MORE PLACEMATS

When I finished quilting my hourglass quilt, I decided to make another set of placemats.  They used 4 fat quarters that were gifted to me by my southern quilting group last spring.

I'll take the to my community quilts group on Tuesday, so they can also go with the collection of placemats for Meals on Wheels recipients.

SOME QUICK PROJECTS

I made a few quick projects recently, just to get my quilting muscles exercised!

The first project was a baby quilt, made from a printed panel.  This will belong to my new grandchild, who will be making an appearance near the end of September.
I know this will get lots of wear, and washing, so I'll be making another for birthday #1.
Every year, my guild makes placemats for "Meals on Wheels" recipients.  They are distributed by the Victorian Order of Nurses in our community.  I use this quick pattern, that takes 4 fat quarters, and backing, with no binding.  I was gifted a stack of fat quarters, so I organized them in sets of 4, ready to make placemats whenever required.

 The final project is a dinosaur quilt for my grandson's new room.  The panel and coordinating print was made by Northcott several years ago.  DH insisted that we buy it to make "in the future".  I guess the time is now!
I stitched simple outlines of all the dinosaurs, and a bit of the landscape, as this will hang on his wall.

If you look closely, you can see the stitched dinosaur tracks in the border.  DH  provided the design, and and stitched them roaming around the border.  I used Superior's NiteLite thread, and it has a lovely glow in a dark room!  I can't wait to see his reaction......

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I certainly wish the weather would make up its mind!  My sewing room is unheated and built under the carport roof.  Earlier this week, DH opened the blinds early and I could sew by 11am.  Then when we had extra cold weather, my room didn't warm up enough to sew at all.  Suddenly, it is 83F outside, and my room became uncomfortable hot by 2pm!  This is certainly cutting into my sewing time.
I did get 3 sets of place mat tops completed.  The backings will be added when I return north in April - stash lives there....  I used a pattern called Take Four, using 4 fat quarters to make each set.

I'm still trying to decide which backing fabric to use for my dragonfly garden quilt.  It will be a large wall hanging, so I'm thinking I might use some unbleached muslin for backing - it will be against a wall for most of its life.

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

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  42.375 yards

Fabric added this week  3.5 yards

Fabric add year to date  50 yards

Net used 2015  -7.625 yards

I tried to be good at the fat quarter sale, and I picked up 3 sets of 4 to make placemats to be donated.  Then I found a cute stripe, and DH said I couldn't buy 13, so he picked up one more to make an even number!  2 sets of placemat tops are completed, but I'll wait until I return north to find backings from my stash.  I completed my Dragonfly Garden quilt top, but not sure what I want to use for backing.  My mystery quilt with my southern group is getting there - we have 2 more weeks left, and I stitched the centre together - I couldn't wait!  So......once again, lots of sewing but nothing finished!

Check out the stash reports at Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

A QUICK FINISH

In April, as my guild's President's challenge, the members made spring themed place mats to be give to the Victorian Order of Nurses, for delivery to their "Meals on Wheels" program.  

It was so much fun that instead of making blocks for community quilts, as has been done for the past few years, our summer project will be to make autumn themed place mats.  Since I never know what tomorrow may bring, I just finished 2 sets.....

 I'm not sure where the pattern came from, as it has been passed along between friends, but it starts with 4 coordinating fat quarters for the tops.  I kept the quilting simple and minimal, so the fabric could speak for itself.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

 These are the easy place mats that my quilt group was making last winter.  They are  made with four fat quarters and 5/8 yard of fabric for the backing.  These are made using the "quick turn" method - no binding.  They are quick to complete when you need a gift in a hurry!

I used some built-in specialty stitches on my Pfaff for the quilting.  I stitched using Superior King Tut thread in a variegated pastel colour #937.

I've also been working on my redwork quilt.  I decided to take the easy road and make pieced sashing with nine-patch cornerstones.  I'll get back at it soon.

My BFF is on vacation this week, so we are heading across the border to visit Watertown NY for some shopping and a nice lunch out.  We're bringing both DHs along too!

I'll be adding some recipes that have been requested, later this week.
See what creativity is happening at Judy's blog!

PLACE MATS AND NAPKINS COMPLETED

I even found some silver and gold napkin rings to include in the gift package!  I machine quilted the mats, using Sulky gold mylar thread on the top and a variegated cotton thread in the bobbin.  I used the variegated thread exclusively on the napkin hems.

 One of six completed table settings!

Now back to my regularly scheduled quilting - two single bed quilts for little girls!

A COMMISSION

My BFF commissioned me to make a set of 6 placemats and napkins, to be used as a wedding gift.  She spent about an hour with me on Sunday, looking at patterns, and choosing fabric.  I had a partial bolt of batik that had some of the colours in the china that the happy couple had selected, and we spent some time finding two other coordinating fabrics.  Of course, the pattern that she chose for the placemats had tons of half-square triangle blocks.

Monday, I spent most of the day sewing, pressing and squaring up these.....

Tuesday, I spent the morning waiting for the cable guy - the digital transition isn't going as smoothly in Canada as it did in the US!  I did managed to get to my sewing room after lunch and pieced the centres of the place mats.  They still have a narrow border to be added.

 When we were choosing fabrics, she spotted the cream fabric - leftover from my Baltimore quilt.  I only had a narrow piece, including the fold, after cutting the blocks.  I measured it, and there was just enough to make the blocks for these mats.

A SMALL FINISH

Since I was machine quilting today, I thought I'd take some time from my big project to complete a small item or two. 

 The hot pad is layered with some "Insul-bright" batting, along with a layer of cotton batting, to protect the table from heat.

 With the fabric I had available, I was only able to make 3 place mats!  Two will go to DS2 & future DIL, and the third will be donated to my guild's boutique at next June's quilt show.
I outlined the daisy motifs with free motion stitching.