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!

MY HOURGLASS QUILT PROJECT

This quilt has been on the back burner for quite a while.  I only worked on it as a "leader and ender" project, only at my northern home, and only when I had leftover 2 1/2 inch strips in the right colours!

As you can see, by the picture of the finished quilt "with feet", DH held the quilt so I could get a picture of the completed project.

I made a narrow binding for this quilt, that matches the backing fabric, and I managed to use all but a few inches.  It feels good when I use fabric from my stash!  
Sometimes I have to change my mind on colours, and the amount of scrappiness in a project, but my goal is to use my stash before I go, so my family doesn't have to deal with it!

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 .

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

I brought some cute printed blocks south, and finally decided to use them. I added sashing a multi-colour cornerstones.

I have limited stash in my southern home, but found these prints.

I plan on making 8 economy blocks, using the blue animal print in the center, and alternating between the yellow and green for the surrounding triangle pieces.  Then the blue print will be the final border.  Hope to get it completed by the end of today, although DH has been asking for some home made cookies, so......

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

FABRIC REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  0 yards

Fabric added this week  0 yards

Fabric added year to date  37 yards

Net used 2015   -37 yards

I don't count fabric as "used" until the project is totally completed....

I did complete my Grand Illusion quilt top.  I still need the piece the backing fabric (part of the 37 yards), but I'm waiting for batting to arrive - mine were all too small, and I didn't want to piece the batting.   

My next project uses a panel and matching striped border fabric that has been in my stash for a long time.  I decided to make one of the borders with 4 different coloured flying geese blocks circling the centre.  My next task will be cutting apart the striped border fabric.

My quilt group was busy last Wednesday, with many choosing to make the mystery quilt.  The variety of fabric being used is wonderful.  We have some new members, so there were lessons in cutting, pressing and stitching with a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance.  They are all anxious for the next installment, and several wanted it early, but I plan to email it just the day before we get together.

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

FINALLY ....... A FINISH!

 

I finished "Ten Rubber Duckies" on Thursday.  I followed the pattern from the manufacturer of the fabric panels, using 2 of them, along with the border print.

I added the red, gold, green, blue ocean waves, yellow sun, light blue anchor print, and the dark blue fabric from my stash.

 

I had to use three different flannel prints for the backing, as the two outside pieces were added to the stash quite a few years ago, and weren't long enough. 

Most of the quilting was "stitch in the ditch", and the final border and the "anchor" border were stippled with monofilament (invisible) thread.  I also outlined all the main characters in each of the blocks.

I stitched some ocean waves in the dark blue border that goes around the whole quilt.  I used a variegated polyester thread with several different shades of blue.

The green border was stitched with a green "twist" thread.

 

  I had to add my favourite feather hooks in the smaller dark blue frame around the first of the blocks that tells the tale of the ducks who go overboard.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week   3 yds

Fabric used year to date  181.75  yds

Fabric added this week   0 yds

Fabric added this year  36  yds

Net used 2014   145.75 yds

I finished my picnic placemat in time to donate it at my guild's Wednesday meeting.  I also completed 2 vests, one donated and the other will be delivered at the executive meeting later this month.

I haven't done much sewing since, as Thursday morning DH and I had our final dental visit of the year, then headed to the train station to pick up our 2 sons and 1 daughter-in-law for a visit.  They all took Thursday and Friday off.  I love having them visit.  They all enjoy playing board games, and sit around the table, laughing and joking with each other - it is wonderful to hear!  Occasionally DH and I are convinced to join in, but their idea of a game with simple rules is usually not accurate!  Our thanksgiving weekend is next weekend, so I took the opportunity to cook my turkey dinner a week early.  Neither couple cook a turkey very often, so they look forward to all the favourite turkey dinner side dishes.  A good friend that they only see on their visits home, joined them for some games on Friday and Saturday, so he enjoyed the turkey dinner and the leftovers too.  The house seems so quiet since we returned them to the train station for a 1pm departure.  Now time to catch up on email, laundry etc.

Check out Judy's blog, Patchwork Times, to see all the weekly stash reports.

A BUSY WEEK

I've spent lots of time sewing log cabin blocks, hunting for strips the right colours, then finding fabric for borders - all from my stash!  While I was rummaging through my brown/rust pile, I decided to re-fold the fabrics, and I also took the time to organize them by value, from darkest at the bottom to the lightest at the top.  Since I had them all out to find pieces large enough for the borders, it seemed to make sense to reorganize it.

Tuesday was spent at the community quilts workshop.  One of the members is lucky enough to dedicate the entire basement of her bungalow to quilting, so there was lots of room for 12 quilters to work.  She also stores all our donated supplies, and her DH makes a pot of soup for each monthly work day, to add to all the pot luck goodies that everyone brings.  Three of us pin-basted 9 quilts, trying to make a dent in the many tops that are completed by our guild members.  We had a visit from the organizer of the "Hugs" program at our local hospital, and she left with a huge bag of baby quilts for the program, and some to be sold in the gift shop, with the money going to the program for other items.  I brought home 3 basted quilts to finish in time for next month's meeting. 

Wednesday there was a food bank drive, so I dropped DH off at our friend's home, and they went door-to-door, collecting donations.  Then I headed off to the monthly meeting for our next quilt show.
Quilts Kingston 2015 is next June - Friday to Sunday, 12th-14.  Our show is hosted by both guilds in Kingston, so we have a fairly large committee!  We had some lively discussions, but things are moving along nicely.  The above link will take you to our official website, and our publicity convener will also be providing updates on the Quilts Kingston 2015 blog.

 Weekends mean laundry and baking - since we are charged different rates for electricity at different times of day, most of my dryer and oven use is saved for weekend, which are charged at the lower rate.  DH started the laundry, and I'm getting some "oven" style meals planned, and I have to bake so I have some goodies for friends dropping by for tea, and to take to they guild executive meeting this week (we take turns bringing refreshments).  I've also started machine quilting the first quilt from Tuesday's outing. This one has some large, plain blocks - perfect for some quilting opportunities!

FUN WITH MY QUILTING GROUP

My southern quilting group shrinks this time of year - people get busy with holidays, visitors, travel etc.  Yesterday, one member of the group brought a gift to share.  She sorted through her stash, and filled a bin with fabrics that she decided she wouldn't use.  There were many pieces of a couple of yards or more, down to some strips and squares leftover from previous projects.
The ladies had fun, sorting through all the treasures.  We saved some to make baby quilts for a local charity - a group is having a luncheon for them on January 19th, so we plan to spend the next few weeks working on baby quilts!
The old saying "One person's trash is another's treasure", is certainly true when in reference to fabric!  I'll be posting pictures of some of the finished projects over the next month!

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

My daily sewing habit took a hit during packing, traveling south, opening our house, company for 2 weeks, followed by a cold.  I've managed to do bits and pieces of sewing, and made all the units to make these blocks.

All the fabric came from my stash, as I pulled many pinks, browns and white on white fabrics.  I'm using the Smith Mountain Morning pattern from Quiltville, but I'm making a larger quilt, so I have to complete 20 pink star blocks and 16 brown star blocks.  All the pieces are made, so now I have to finished stitching the other 34 blocks!

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

FINALLY.....A FINISH!

I put the final quilting stitches in one of the quilts that travelled north, pin-basted.

The pattern was from a Quiltmaker magazine at least 2 or 3 years old.  Two years ago, I made a kit from my stash but ran out of time to make it.  It finally arrived at the finished mark this winter. 

I found the technique for some of the units to be easy, but very wasteful, so if I made this pattern again, I'd find alternate methods.

I inherited some stencils a couple of years ago.  This one was too large for the block, but I just omitted the last feather on four of the swirl arms, and it fit just fine.  I stitched it in a variegated rose thread on the yellow blocks, and a variegated gold thread on the dark green ones.

 The border quilting is difficult to see, but there is a rose in each corner, and zig-zag leaves in the centre of each long border.

I made a pieced back for this quilt, using leftover fabrics, and managed to add 14.75 yards of fabric to my "used from stash" report for next Sunday! 
 

FABRIC SURPRISE

During the winter, DH and I live in a "senior's community".  As with all aging groups of people, every year we find a few neighbours who are unable to head south for various reasons.

Yesterday I received a phone call from a person who was cleaning out her sister's home.  Her sister was an avid quilter, and she had found 5 huge bags of "scraps".  She called the office to see if anyone was running a quilting or craft groups, and my name and number was provided.

Yesterday afternoon she arrived at my home, and I helped her to unload all the bags.  I spent the rest of the afternoon beginning to sort through all the stuff.

There was everything from large pieces of fabrics, tons of cut strips, some partially piece blocks, etc.  There were also pieces that are not usable for quilting, so I sorted those into another bag.

Today I'll continue to sort, making bundles of "like" fabrics.  She obviously liked to stack many fabrics and cut them at the same time, so I've found various piles of chunks with the same selection throughout the piles.

Since I don't want to keep all this fabric, I'll take it to my quilting group next Wednesday and encourage some of the others to help themselves.  We have a few beginners this year, and this would be a good way to get some stash started, and provide some fabric to try new techniques!

I'm so thankful that she took the time to find a group who would love to use her sister's leftover fabric treasures.  (Other family members were ready to put it all the the trash).

I have left instructions in my will for the disposal of my fabric, books, machines, etc.  I have even left contact numbers, which I update each year.  I suggest that all quilters let their families know that their stash is valuable, and that it needs to move on to someone or some group that can make it into something useful and not end up in the landfill!      

FINALLY......

I can't figure out where the time has gone - we've been in the sunny south over a month already!  My posts have been few and far between, but I hope to do better.....

Although I finished this quilt last week, I finally got around to taking its picture today.

I chose all the fabrics from my stash before leaving home.  The final border  is an unusual paisley and flower stripe that I always liked, but couldn't find a use for - its been languishing for almost 15 years.

 I stitched my favourite "hooked on feathers" in the light border, using brown variegated trilobal polyester thread.  The same thread was used in the centre of the quilt as well.
The dark green border (it has tiny metallic gold leaves ) was stitched with simple gold leaves, using deep gold cotton thread.

 I stitched small feathers in each of the light parts of the pinwheel blocks in the centre of the quilt.

Although the 16-patch blocks are totally scrappy, I chose fabrics with a flower, leaf or garden theme for the rest, and used the same "light" fabric - a cute print with bees and flowers - throughout the quilt.

Here's the completed "Patches and Pinwheels"

 

FINALLY BACK TO QUILTING!

Our visitors returned home on Thursday, so I spent part of the day doing laundry and sewing.

On Friday, DH and I, along with 2 quilting friends headed to the Hudson FL quilt show.  Lovely quilts and vendors, and I was tempted to pick up a cute cat fabric, destined for a lap quilt for future daughter-in-law.  Bumped into a "white glove lady", who overheard my conversation, and turned out to be a blog reader who requested a recipe!  Small world.

Following the show, one of my friends said that she had news that one of the local quilt shops was closing, so we headed to Lakeland FL to check it out.

Sadly, the Patchwork Pig on Pine Street in Lakeland will be closing soon - no official date yet, but all fabric was $5 per yard and everything else 50% off.  Needless to say there were 3 large bags of fabric in our van for the return trip home.   

 I returned this morning to find fabrics to make the quilt I have proposed to my group for the main next winter project.  Once again, I went with certain colours in mind, but the fabric had other ideas.  I saw a bolt that I just loved, and then found the perfect friends to play with!

I'll be heading into the red zone on tomorrow's stash report!!!!

I emailed my local group last night, and bumped into at least 6 members of the group at the shop today!

I've been working on my kaleidoscope project today.  I laid the blocks out on the living room rug, then DH and I spent a half hour rearranging until we liked the balance.  Then I had to add the mini kaleidoscope triangles to all the block corners to turn them from octogons to squares.  These had to be pinned, and DH assisted by numbering each block, so I can get it back together after sewing on all the corners!  My knees are sore, so that will be tomorrows' job, while I finish the laundry. 

TWO MORE PROJECTS STARTED

I spent the afternoon choosing fabrics for quilts for my BFF's two granddaughters.  I began with a panel for one, and yardage for the other, then played with EQ7 to make the quilts big enough for their single beds.
The hardest part was finding pieces of fabric from my stash with enough yardage to complete the borders!  Many of my pieces are a yard or less, and although I have some fabric wrapped on bolts, nothing seemed to be the right colour for these quilts!  I kept hunting, making design/colour changes as I went, and managed to find enough to make the two quilt tops!
EQ makes my job easier, as I make notes of all the measurements for the borders, and cut them all before beginning the quilt.  I mark the centre point of each border on each edge to help lining them up.  Once the borders were cut, I placed them on a hanger in the order I'd use them.  This certainly sped up the whole assembly process.

Quilt one, uses a Raggedy Ann panel that I found last fall, and then I found 2 coordinating prints at a shop in Houston, while visiting the quilt festival.

Quilt two uses a 1 1/2 yard panel of cute quilt blocks that has been waiting in my stash for the perfect requirement.


Off to the cutting table!  More later.......

More Tossed Fruit Salad

In my plan to use up fabric, I used the last 4 repeats of fruit fabric, that I had already used in a wall hanging, placemats and a runner, shown here, to make some simple kaleidoscope blocks.

 I used the remaining background fabrics to set the blocks on point, and sashed with the lovely purple fabric.

   Half used the light green, and half the darker green.

 The twelve blocks were large enough to make a nice lap-size quilt, and the only fabric remaining is some of the darker green, which I wanted for my applique stash.

Another Small Quilt Finish

I finished my third "panel" quilt project.  I found the panel online a couple of years ago, then later discovered 2 more fabrics of the same line, in a clearance sale.  I used one for some additional borders, and the other made great binding.

 I had fun quilting sun rays in the sky and bubbles in the water.

 I just happened to have this wonderful  fishy flannel in my stash, so it made a wonderful combination.  One more quilt in the finished list!

Design Wall Monday

I love redwork, and I love the designs of Bobby Socks Quilt Company.  Her designs are so whimsical and so much fun.  Check out the website here.   Fairy Tales was the BOM for 2010, and is still currently available, but I'm not sure for how much longer.  I've been working on my blocks in between the applique blocks, and the Raggedy and Friends redwork BOM.  
I was hoping to show my progress on the scrappy pineapple blossom quilt, but I didn't get the final borders stitched yet.  I added a plain, then a pieced, then another plain border.  I'm not sure what I am going to use for the final border - time will tell.  I think I have enough of the fabric used in the setting triangles for the pieced borders, but I'm not sure if I like it or not.  Maybe stash usage will win - who knows. 
Check out everyone's design walls at Judy's blog.

Another finish

I think I'm on a roll!  Three lap quilts in about a week!

I decided to split the border, as it was too wide.  It allowed me to add some more of the hot pink fabric, and the light blue/green gave me a great place to quilt.  I stitched music notes, as it is a recurring theme in the original blocks.

"Those Swingin' Cats" finished at 50x56.5.  I used the darker green fabric for sashing and binding.  More SITD along all the straight lines, then I outlined all the cats and the block borders with monofilament (invisible) thread.  More variegated thread to stitch the musical notes.  Machine quilted using my Juki, without a frame.  This one was entirely made from stash - Hooray!
I also stitched a cloth book - Bazooples.  I brought a panel to make the book, one to make a baby quilt and some flannel for backing as one of my "must do" projects this winter.  Just found out that my best friend's niece is expecting a baby in July, so this will make a nice gift.

Another yard of fabric from my stash!

Purple and Teal Finished!

The small half-square triangle blocks were quilted with a leaf design, using variegated Rainbows polyester thread by Superior Thread.

 I continued with the same type of leaf in a continuous zig-zag line in the the white border.  The friendship stars were done by SITD with monofilament thread, as were the sashing strips between the blocks. 

 I used the same white-on-white fabric for the binding, to finish this lap quilt.  The half-square triangles were leftover from a quilt I made in 2005!  The best thing is that the whole project was made from my stash!
Here is the quilt I made in 2005.....