Catching Up

I   I know it has been a long time since you have heard from me.  It seems like every time I had something to write about, I didn't have pictures, or I had pictures, but nothing I've wanted to say.  No excuses, just haven't taken the time to write a post on the blog.  But, here goes.
     It has been a great summer so far in our little town in Missouri.  No intense heat, lots of rain, green grass and summer flowers.  I made a trip to Hot Springs Village AR to attend a rug hooking workshop with Aileen Anderson.  I learned so much and had a great time with my hooking friends.

From left, Ann, Marilyn, Aileen, Kathy and me.

     Aileen has a wonderful studio with lots of wool.  I was like a kid in a candy store.

Here is the piece that I finished while there.

This was drawn from a photo taken on my trip to Ireland.  

     It was back to sewing when I came home so I finished up some crib quilts for the Baby Grace program supported by my quilt guild.  

These have since been quilted and bound.  They are ready to be donated. 

      The guild held a two day retreat the Friday and Saturday of Father's Day weekend.  There were four of us who had bought the Metro Rings pattern and the Quick Curve Ruler to make a double wedding ring quilt.  None of us had so much as broken the seal on the ruler, so decided to make it together while at retreat.  It certainly was less intimidating that way. 

Sew Kind of Wonderful - Quick Curve Ruler 

My first block.

The fabrics are French General that I had been collecting for a long time, all different lines.  

Here is the finished top.  I am going to scallop the edges, so left the outside border large.  

     Today, I pieced two backings, trying to use stash.  One was the Double Wedding Ring and the other was another charity quilt, destined for the Great Circle Children's Home.  

Now, I have this stack of tops that I need to quilt, five of them.  Sadly, they are all new starts for the year.  No UFO's in this stack.  There is one UFO hanging in the closet.  Maybe I should do it first.    Hopefully, I will get started this weekend.  

 Judy

PS.  Linking today with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/

Nine Patch Swap

     One of my favorite Quilt Guild activities is swapping stuff, any kind of swapping; strips, charms, blocks.  Our Swap Queen, Gina plans our swaps and they vary by the month and year.  We do some type of fabric swap every month and then do a block swap over a period of time, six months or a year. Currently, we are doing tiny (3-1/2") Civil War nine patches and little red/white blocks.  Last year, we did 6-1/2" scrappy nine patches in Autumn colors and I brought 80 blocks home at the end of the year.  Wow!  What a bonanza!  They have inspired lots of Internet and magazine browsing, looking for different ideas for using them.  I finally settled on Sisters Choice, a free pattern on the Bonnie Hunter website. My plan was to make it for a donation quilt, but I love it so much that it may have to live with me awhile before moving on.

All of the setting fabrics came from stash, some of it well-aged.  The star point fabric was originally purchased at a quilter's estate sale, so I'm sure it was well-aged too.  The sawtooth border was constructed from the bonus triangles from the sew and flip star points.  I still have more of those to use in another project.

Editing this post:

      We are having some beautiful weather here in Missouri.  Last week, while picking up our mail, I decided to take the Sister Choice along.  There's not much color in the leaves yet, but I found this fence rail to stage it for a photo.

  It's all finished and ready for the quilt show next week.

     With that quilt finished, I decided to have some fun with experimenting with a new technique.  New to me anyway.  

     I've had this book for awhile, and have been interested in trying this technique. I thought it would be fun to experiment with Halloween fabrics.

 You sew strips together into a tube, then slice into blocks, using the 90degree line on a ruler.

They look like a string block, but are much faster with no paper to tear off. The downside?  They have bias edges. So, out came the Best Press.  The instructions made an 11" block, but called for  42" strips.  Most of my scraps were from fat quarters, so I adapted the pattern and made strip sets with 4 strips instead of 8, avoiding a lot of wasted fabric.

     Now, what do do with those cute little blocks?  I found a panel in that scrap bin that someone had given me.  I had always liked it because of the dancing witches.  The little string blocks made a great side border and I soon had another flimsy to add to the TBQ (to be quilted) stack.

Often, my experimental blocks end up in the orphanage, so it was nice to have something to show for an afternoon's playtime.

The scraps got cut into these little pieced strips to use in something else.  What is my takeaway from this little experiment?  Not a good scrap buster, because it creates more scraps.  A quick method to make big blocks from WOF strips, like a jelly roll, but not as efficient for shorter strips.  Then there are those bias edges, which I dislike.  Will I use it again?  Probably not, but never say never.

Meanwhile, I'll keep on stitchin'.

Judy

PS;  I'm linking up with Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com and Judy at http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/09/12/design-wall-september-12-2016/ today.  You'll find lots of fun there.

J. 

Nautical Knots

      I don't think I am the only quilter who has been obsessed with the latest internet buzz on the garlic knot block.  Bonnie Hunter featured them on her last quilt cam, apparently, and I keep seeing references to them on Facebook, chat groups, etc.  I looked for my issue of Quiltmaker that was supposed to have it in the Addicted to Scraps column, but couldn't find it.  Its in this house somewhere, but thats another subject.  I did see a post from someone else that said it is a traditional block called Arrowhead Puzzle, but my 501 Quilt Blocks book didn't have it.  After chasing this block all over my house and the internet, I finally decided to draft it myself and get it out of my head. How hard could it be?  Its just squares and rectangles.  My first adventure with it took place with my scraps from the Seven Sisters topper from our guild workshop.  There were some 2-1/4" scraps, which I cut down to 2' and made a Christmas Knot.  It finished at 6-1/2" and is cute as a button.

     I thought this would satisfy my obsession, but alas, it wasn't to be.  With the 4th of July rapidly approaching, I had a yen to sew with patriotic fabrics, so out came the red and blue scrap bins.  Suddenly, this little table topper appeared on my design wall.  I'm calling it "Nautical Knots".

     Just in case, anyone else is having garlic knots or arrowhead puzzles swarming in their heads, here is a short tutorial on the one I drafted.

Fabric requirements:

Nautical print - 1/2 yard

Red accent - FQ

Kona Snow background - 1/4 yd.

For each block, cut the following;

6) 2-1/2" squares of nautical print 

2) 2-1/2" squares of red accent

4) 2-1/2" squares of background

2) 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangles of background

Make 2 small blocks in this configuration with a background rectangle and square,

plus a square of the nautical print.

     Make 2 small blocks in this configuration with two nautical squares, an accent square, and a background square.

Make a larger 4-patch with your four components in this configuration.

     This completes the 8-1/2' knot block.  To make the topper, make four of the knot blocks and arrange with the four blocks as the center.  My inner border was cut 1-1/4" to finish at 3/4" and my outer border was cut at 3-1/2 to finish at 3".  The topper will finish at 23".  

     If you get the urge to make one of these, be sure to share it in the comments section.  

Have a great 4th of July!

Judy

                                                 

Bricks in the Barnyard

     You may remember back in September when my quilt guild hosted Bonnie Hunter for a trunk show and two days of workshops.  The first day was Bricks in the Barnyard and the second, Smith Mountain Morning.  I had a bin full of homespuns, so knew I wanted to use them in Bricks, but had decided to do a smaller version.  How many large quilts does a woman need?  It has only been a year or so since I did the Split Nine Patch in the barn raising setting, so wanted a different setting for this one.  Here is what I chose.  

I really like it, though not so crazy about the error I made.  I had made it to that corner with the quilting when I discovered it, although it took me awhile to decide what was wrong with it.  Can you see it?  What did I do wrong?  

Do you ever just want something finished?  I was working on that braid border and was so over it.  So I just quit!  Sometimes we just have to take charge.  There are no quilt police.  So I seamed my two partially built braids together (that was a trick which involved some partial seaming) and put them in the center of the backing.  The sides are unbleached muslin ( I bought a bolt of that in one of my moments of insanity).   

I will admit, though, that nothing highlights your quilting like muslin.  

Done is better than perfect.  Now I can 

keep on stitching'

Judy

A Start, and a Finish

          First, the finish.  We have a great niece graduating in May and her mother and I planned a quilt together.  I blogged about it a couple of weeks ago, while it was in progress, but now it is a finish.  The niece is active in music groups and theatre, so that was the theme.  The border is a very cool theatre print.

Here are some of the embroidered snowball blocks.

Next, my new start.  In fact, there should be no new start.  I have UFO's enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year.  But, I fell in love with this fabric at my LQS.  I talked myself out of it the first time, but when I went back to Second Saturday, I succumbed.  It is Regent Street by Sentimental Studios for Moda.  It is designed to look and feel like the lawns sold by Liberty of London.  I actually visited the store a few years ago and purchased some 1/4 meters.  I had used one of them, but still had the second one, so incorporated it with this Moda collection.  It will be a churn dash block.

The middle and upper right blocks are from the Regent Street line and the other blocks are from stash, but went with them well.  It will be all florals. I forgot to take a picture of the Liberty Lawn.  I'll try to remember to include it next time. 

I'm using my AccuQuilt Go to cut the churn dash blocks.  I have been buying a couple of dies at a time, just to see what works for me.  This is the 9" Churn Dash block die.  It worked well, especially the HST's, the corners are trimmed and they are accurate.  Most of the learning curve is figuring out how to fit your fabrics on the die.

     Arrow Rock Quilt Camp starts next week and I have friends coming to stay with me.  These are the same friends I sewed with in Florida in January.  I have a goodie bag for each of them and this is the mug rug they will receive.  The selvages are from fabrics we bought together on a shopping trip last year.  

We are having a beautiful spring day here in Missouri and the forecast for next week is good.  There will be a lot of stitchin' going on.  Hope you're getting some done too.

Judy

April RSC

     My April RSC Civil War blocks are done, as well as the Baby Grace charity quilt (top only).  Civil War prints don't contain much orange, so my April blocks are a bit of a stretch.  These are reds which lean a little to the orange side.  I like them, though, and they will actually work with the other blocks better than a real orange would.

     Looking for orange scraps turned up very little for my monthly charity quilt, so when I was at Sew Sweet Quilt Shop for Second Saturday, I found a nice orange novelty to pull something together.  Somewhere, sometime, I was given or purchased a few scraps from an American Jane line from several years ago, reminiscent of the Dick and Jane reading books from my childhood.  (now you know my age)  It must have originally been a panel.  It had quite a bit of orange in it as the colors followed the primary colors of a basic box of Crayolas.  Using the pieces I had, an FQ of a black and white print, and making some little four-patches to fill in some blank spots, I managed to make a crib size top.

This one is truly a scrap quilt except for the border, which is the piece that I purchased.  Now I need to find a backing.  Black and white?  

Linking up with http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/2016/04/scraphappy-saturday.html#links for Scrap Happy Saturday ( I know its Monday, I'm running a little behind).

     Here is what is under my needle today.  Another graduation quilt in red and black, this is the third in five years.  I think my next one will be blue and green.  At least this one isn't about sports.  Music and theatre was a welcome change.

I hope there is something under your needle today (and its not red and black).

Judy

RSC 2016

     My purple top for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is pieced, but not quilted yet.  I hope to do that today.  This is the "charity quilt of the month".  The background is Kona Silver, but looks tan in this picture.  You'll have to use your imagination.

     I didn't have many purple scraps, so used this pattern to maximize them.  It was quick and easy.  The reason for the yellow ducks is that we are given an optional accent color each month and March was yellow.  Our charity project this year is the local Baby Grace program, which provides disposable diapers to needy families, but asked our guild to help with quilts.  I am trying to make boy themed quilts as we were told that they are always short of them.  Lots of people like to make girly quilts.  

I am making a Father's Choice block each month, which will live with me in a final quilt.  I am now waiting for the April color.

I'm doing all of the Father's Choice blocks from my Civil War Stash, but the crib size charity quilts are coming from scrap stash.   I will attempt to link this post to the RSC blog which is SoScrappy. superscrappy.blogspot.com

Hope this works for you.  

Judy

Banging out the BOM's

     It seems every blog and shop I know was offering a great Block of the Month in January and I loved them all.  There is a limit, though, in what I can accomplish in any given month.  I joined a BOM in my LQS in September because it was French General fabrics and one of my favorite Missouri designers, Shelly Pagliai.  They are coming along great, partly because of the fabrics and mostly because Shelly's directions are terrific.  I tend to scan directions and am guilty of missing an important point because of it.  It is pretty hard to mess these up, although I managed to do it on this last block.

It is the last one on the right, 2nd row,  and I originally sewed the corner background triangles to the sides.  Something wasn't right and a second glance at the directions soon set me right.  A little un-sewing and all was well.  

     The next one I started was in January.  I have followed the so scrappy blog, www.superscrappyblogspot.com for quite a while, especially liking the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I have designated 2016 as the Year of the Scrap.  January's color was blue and that was fun.  February's color was brown ( I was thinking it would be red or pink and had a plan), so that was a challenge!

Here is January's blue.

This is a charity quilt, all quilted now, that will go to the guild charity project for the year.

I am also doing the month's color in Father's Choice blocks to go into a sampler quilt at the end of the year.  These are great blocks, and go together so easy.  

     

     Once I  got over the whole pink/red idea, I embraced the brown.  I had plenty of scraps, so decided on string blocks.  This will be a small charity quilt using Bonnie Hunter's String X pattern (free pattern on quiltville.com.)  

I'm going to look for some cowboy fabric to put them together.  Some little boy should be very pleased.  

The next BOM to which I succumbed was Westering Women on Barbara Brackman's blog, Civil War Quilts.  You may know that Barbara does great historical research as well as designs quilts and fabric, so this is always a great read.  It just started this month and here is the first block.  

On another subject, here are a couple of pictures from our guild meeting Tuesday night.  Cynthia and Kathy gave a great program on taking photos of our quilts. 

Here we are snapping pictures of each other during our program.

     What's under the needle at your house today?  I'm working on Stacked Squares (Moda Bake Shop free pattern).  I decided it needed straight line quilting, so am doing a diagonal line pattern.  Not sure if that will be all, I'm keeping my mind open to possibilities.

Regardless, I'll keep on stitching...

Judy