Dear Jane has outgrown her bin.  I’ve gathered all her papers, books, patterns, and other needed supplies into a small suitcase.  Now that she is contained, I can work on her in spare moments.  Patterns for forty more blocks have been printed.  I’ve been searching my stash to find fabric that is similar in style to the Fabric that Jane Stickle used.

Last weekend, I finished most of row D.  I had intended to make the blocks from the center out, but changed my mind and worked on a row. Row D will go across the top of the center blocks.  All the finished blocks have been hand quilted and bound. The quilting is minimal.  Just enough to hold the block together.  After all, it is only 4 1/2″ square.  It doesn’t need much quilting.  There is only 20″ of binding to tack down.

I’m so glad that I bought the Dear Jane EQ CD.  The CD has tips on how to piece the blocks.  Most of the time, I follow the instructions, but there are times when it’s easier to paper piece the block or make half square triangles with a Tucker Trimer. The appliques are small with gentle curves.  It’s good practice for when I get back to the flower garden wall hanging.  The CD is easy to use.  It has similar files to other EQ programs.  The instruction book is very helpful.

I still remember saying that I would never make a Dear Jane quilt.  There were too many small blocks.  It was a copy of another person’s quilt.  How very boring.  Now I find that it is a lot of fun making each block and seeing the pile of little blocks add up.  I’m glad that I went to the Dear Jane club just to see what was going on.

There are 169 center blocks ( 13 X 13) and 112 border triangles in the Dear Jane quilt.  Jane Stickle had embroidered “5602 pieces” on a corner of the quilt.  I have finished 30 blocks.  There is a long way to go.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas wall hanging is finished and is on the wall.  There was a slight delay because I misplaced the fabric that I had intended to use for the binding.  It was the same fabric as the background.  I went to the quilt shop and bought a piece that I thought would match, but when I got home, it was nothing like the background fabric.  So much for thinking I knew what I wanted and didn’t bother to bring the wall hanging to the quilt shop to check.

My daughter was having breakfast with me one morning this week.  She brought a length of green binding out of the sewing room and Put it on the edge of the wall hanging.  She said that I should use green binding with a small red piping. I like to put piping on quilts, but I thought that a flange binding would fit. It has all machine sewing and no hand tacking on the back.  She knew that it was the wrong color green but it got ideas flowing.  That binding is waiting for me to quilt the next quilt on the list.

I found a baggie of green fabric that I was gathering for a green and white quilt.  In the baggie were pieces of the green vine fabric that I used in the center of the wall hanging.  It was cut offs from the backing of a quilt that I had sent to a long arm quilter.  One problem solved.  I couldn’t find any of the red print from the center, but I did find a solid red that matched the background of the print.

There was enough of both fabrics to make the flange binding.  The binding portion of flange binding is cut 1 1/2″, not the 2 1/4″ or 2 1/2″ as you would for regular binding.  The flange portion is cut 1 3/4″.  After the two pieces are sewn together, it is sewn to the back of the quilt and then rolled to the front and sewn down in the seam where the two pieces meet.  This is a great way to make a binding if the fabric is a little short for regular binding.

Now that the Christmas wall hanging is up, I can think about decorating the rest of the house.

I still haven’t found the lost fabric, but when I do, I’ll have the background fabric for another small quilt.  I’ll be sure to make binding and attach it to the quilt before it goes in the UFO pile.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

Another flower has grown on the wall quilt.  I applique in the evening and the flowers are growing very slowly.  The newest flower is a blue trumpet flower.  Just to the right is a partial small yellow rose.  I’ll finish that tonight. Most of the templates have been cut out for the rest of the flowers.  I just need to take a day and sit and tend to the garden. I have changed the flower colors several times. I could finish the quilt faster if I used my first choice of colors.

I don’t have very much fabric, but it is enough to last a long time.  Most of the fabric is scraps.  There are a few larger pieces.  When my stash started to grow, I needed a way to organize what I had. I did not want plastic containers.  They are not good for fabric.  I  wanted the fabric out of the sunlight. I also wanted easy access to the fabric.

Ikea had units with wire drawers.  I bought four units.  They were easy to put together with a screw driver.  The units are very solid when two are placed one on the other.  This was perfect for storing fabric.

Most of the fabric is stored by color.  Other drawers have panels, pre cuts, or theme fabric.  There is a drawer of solid fabric.  Also a drawer of plaids and stripes.

In the sewing room, there are two closets.

 

 

Behind door #1 is one of the Ikea units. Batting is kept on the floor on one side and stabilizer is on the other side.  Backings are hung on hangers.  On the shelf are quilt tops that are ready to quilt.  You can see that I am a little behind in quilting the tops.

 

Behind door #2 is the second Ikea unit.  Craft bins are on the left.  They contain UFO’s that I take out once in a while and work on them.  There is a Cynthia English piece that I can work on only for a short time.  Then it goes back into the closet.  It will be finished someday.  The right side contains a bar that I’m going to use some day to hang a design board.  Also other things that I might use some day.  On the shelf are bins that hold most the wall hangings that I’ve made.  Also wall hangings that my friends have made for me.  I enjoy looking through them every once in a while.

The drawers of the Ikea unit are removable.  I can take them out of the closet to find what I want.  If you check the bottom of the unit in door #2, you will notice that the drawer is missing.  All the fabric, patterns, and supplies that I need for the wall quilt are in that drawer.  It is on the kitchen island.  When I want to sit and sew, everything is right there for me.   When the wall hanging is finished, I’ll put the leftover fabric back in their proper drawers and use that drawer for the next project.

I’m staying home tomorrow, so I will be able to sew most of the day.  That is, when I’m not glancing out the window and watching the workmen across the street.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

It’s December.  This year has flown by.  My monthly wall hanging has been changed. It’s nice to have a different one on the wall each month.  I notice that some of my friends and neighbors have their Christmas decorations in place.  I haven’t even thought about it, except to work on the Christmas wall hanging from two years ago.  It is almost ready for the binding, so I think it will go on the wall this year.  The quilting has made it look much better than I thought it would.  I should finish it in the next two or three days and then it will go on the wall and I can bring the Christmas decorations down from the attic.

As I have been quilting the Christmas wall hanging, I am able to look out the window and watch the workmen build a garage at the new house across the street.  They put prefab rafters on the garage today and started to close in the roof.  A Bobcat smoothed out the front yard.  I can’t imagine that they will grass it in December, but it will be ready for the Spring.   I’m so glad that I moved the sewing room from the back to the front of the house. Now I can watch the world go by as I sew.

The Temperature Quilt has eleven months finished now.  I can see the colors on the right side changing to the colors on the left side.  It makes the quilt look even.  It’s not a spectacular quilt, but I like it.  It was fun to check the temperature every day.  I found that I didn’t use the fabric below 0 degrees or above 100 degrees.  Maybe we will have a day this month in the frigid zone.  I found a large piece of batique fabric for the second border.  The first border is black, the same as the sashing, only a little larger. There is a lot of batique fabric left over.  I’ll have to design another quilt to use it up.  It seems as if I only make scrap quilts.  I do have a challenge quilt to make that is not scraps.  I’m looking forward to making that one.

I’m taking a break from the Moda Blockbuster blocks of the week.  I still am saving the weekly patterns and will make them at a later date.  The Splendid Sampler free blocks have stopped, but I still have a few bonus blocks to make.  The blocks are only 6″ square so I will check Sharon Craigue’s Setting Solutions book for a way to make them all largerand make a bed quilt.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

 

I have finished using all of the 4 1/2″ squares that I cut from my scraps.  The big quilt is 60″ x 60″.  It is a nice size to quilt on my domestic machine, but it would be in a pile of UFOs for a while.  I should send it to a long arm quilter and have it quilted and then it would be done.

 

 

 

I made nine patches for the smaller piece.  I didn’t want to use sashing, so I cut each nine patch in half vertically and horizontally.  Then I rotated two of the pieces and sewed them back as a four patch.  It made all the colors blend.  I need a border for the piece to hold all the colors in.  Maybe blue, like the small squares or black.  Maybe even white.  I’ll audition several fabrics and see which color is best.  When I was done, I had two squares left over.  I cut them down to 3 1/2″ and put them in the drawer with the others.

 

I follow Leah Day on her blog.  One of the things that she talked about was how to quilt in a tiny space.  She ended the blog with What is your sewing space like? Spacious and well lit, or cozy and small.  I thought that I would share my sewing room with you, one area at a time.

When I changed my sewing room from the small office/ library/ sewing room to the guest room, the first thing that I did is have the carpet removed and Pergo installed.  I am so glad that I did that.  It is so easy to keep the floor clean.  No vacuuming up dropped pins.  As the room is still the guest room, I bought a day bed.  It has three drawers and a trundle bed under it.  It is taller than most beds, but is great for sorting and laying out fabric.

 

 

 

The cutting table has only one leaf up.  Plastic drawers on the back hold supplies.  A little ruler holder on top holds the small rulers that I use most and the rotary cutter.  The larger rulers and pressing supplies are in the large garden bin under the table.  Sewing machine instruction manuals ,a few patterns and blank paper are between the drawers.  I still have a lot of work to do to get my supplies in the proper drawers.  My back was to the overhead light and it was hard to see, so I put the Ott light on the table.  It is much easier to cut now. The Ott light also shows the real color of the fabric before I cut. The tool box holds all the gadgets that I just had to have.  The blue bin behind everything holds a few UFOs  Maybe I will get to them, maybe I won’t.  The bureau should be in the office as it used to hold office supplies.  Now, It has mile a minute fabric, other fabric that I am gathering for a quilt that I will make in the future. and a lot of junk that I should go through and sort out.  I use the wall hanging to pin patterns that I want to make next. Also the strips for the Temperature quilt before I sew it to the main body when the month is over.  It’s like a bulletin board.

I started to quilt a UFO. I made it two years ago to hang above the sofa at Christmas. If I spend enough time quilting, I may be able to hang it this year.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

I was able to sew for a while and worked on the quilt with the 4 1/2″ squares.  There is just a little more to sew and the top will be finished.  I have sewed several rows and also have the rows of squares sewed and ready to add to the piece.  The white sashing is cut and ready to go.  It’s just a matter of sitting, sewing and pressing.  I have the whole day at home tomorrow so will have time to finish  it.

Tonight, I worked on the wall quilt.  I love to applique, but for some unknown reason, I’m having a hard time appliqueing the pieces down.  I haven’t appliqued for some time but I should remember how to do it.  The big rose was easier to applique than the small rose, so maybe by the end of the week, I will be doing better.

I’m appliqueing with bottom line thread from Superior Threads.  It is a fine thread. Using the proper color, the thread disappears. When I saw the bobbin case full of the different colored threads, I knew that I should find every color that I needed. There is a lot of thread on the bobbins.  I do have to use short lengths of thread which is o.k. as each piece of fabric that is appliqued is small.

Maybe by the time I write another blog, I will have more flowers in the garden.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We had our family Thanksgiving on Saturday.  Not as many came as usual, but we had a great time.  Some were working, some were far away.  We missed the big crowd that we usually have, but those who were here enjoyed visiting with each other.  We have a pot luck meal.  I cooked the turkey and some vegetables.  Also the fudge pudding that always has to be on the table when the family gets together.  There was new  and old recipes.  Everything was delicious. There were four generations at the table.  We figured that six generations of the family have eaten at that table.  It might even have been seven, if Nan’s mother or father had been at her house some time.  They were gone before I came to the family so I don’t know if they did. What stories the table could tell.

I saw a picture of a quilt in Pinterest.  It looked like it would be easy to make and would be a great quilt to practice free motion quilting. The pieces should be 4 1/2″ and the sashing  2 1/2″.  I would need at least 60 squares.  When I checked the attic, I found several bags of color coordinated pressed fabric.  I decided to cut all the fabric into squares.  There were two drawers full of fabric.

It looked pressed, but it needed a little more help.  I started pressing and cutting.  It took most of three days.  There was a lot of fabric.  I am so glad that that part of the job is done.

 

As I laid each piece on the cutting mat, I cut the largest square that I could.  Then, I cut smaller and smaller until the whole piece was gone.  Some pieces could be laid on each other and several squares could be cut at once. My favorite ruler is the Tucker Trimmer.  It had a workout the past few days.

The larges square was 5 1/2″  I will put them in the drawer with other charm squares.  There should be enough squares that size for a quilt.

 

 

I think that I did cut enough 4 1/2″ squares for the quilt that I want to make.  Maybe even enough for two quilts.

 

 

 

The next size was 3 1/2″.  I can make nine patches for Linus quilts.  I have several flannel pillowcases that I will cut apart for the backing for baby quilts.  When I get to it, I’ll figure out how many nine patches I need to fit the pillow cases.  I should be able to make several quilts with this size squares.

 

The smallest square in 2 1/2″.  There are over 1,000 of these small squares.  I have seen pictures of quilts made with this size square.  One will surface when I get to use this batch of squares.

 

 

As I was cutting and throwing away the small scraps, I remembered the time when I kept every little scrap for the Gaa-Barge project.  I decided to save some of the little scraps to finish that project.  I had planned to make one Gaa-Barge a week for a year.  I made only 32 so I have 20 more to make.  The small pieces saved in this box will be enough to make all 20 quilts.

I was hoping that no one would drop in today, even though I love drop in company.  Scraps were on the floor throughout the whole house.  Both Miss Molly and I spread them through the house on our feet.  Dishes were soaking in the sink.  They are now in the dishwasher which I use only when I have a party.  Clean laundry was piled on the bed, waiting to be folded and put away.  I had to concentrate to finish cutting.    Everything is now cleaned up and put away.  The cutting is finished and I can now sew.

I did sew for 10 minutes on the quilt.  It won’t take long to finish sewing the top. It sews together beautifully.  The quilt will have one row of colored squares, then a row of white sashing.  The last row will be the colored squares.  That will be the border.  Because the sashing is cut 2 1/2″, the 4 1/2″ squares line up perfectly on each row.  I could make a smaller version of this quilt with the 3 1/2″ squares with 1 1/2″ sashing.  It’s a thought. I’ll  have to figure out how many rows it will take to be the same size as the flannel pillow case.  Maybe I could sew two pillow cases together and make a larger quilt.  Half the fun is in the planning.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

A happy Thanksgiving to all of you.  My Thanksgiving dinner will be on Saturday.  Our family has celebrated Thanksgiving on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for years.  It seems to be a more relaxing day.  We have so much to be thankful for.  We will have fourteen people around the table, including baby Aiden, who has just learned to eat oatmeal.

I thought that I could accomplish many things today.  I did get caught up with the Temperature quilt.  I have an app which shows me the high and low temperatures for past days so it is no problem to get a little bit behind.  I organized a bin and separated UFOs to be done and the quilt tops which are going to a long arm quilter.  I thought about making an Illusion quilt top, but I couldn’t find the gray fabric that I need for that project.  I have all the other fabric that I need.  I know that that piece of solid gray is somewhere in the sewing room.  It will show up when I’m looking for something else.  Then I can make that top.

I’m thinking that I need a break from the Moda project.  I can collect the patterns and continue when I feel like it.  The Splendid Sampler was supposed to be finished, but I found several bonus blocks on the site.  I’ve downloaded the patterns and will finish those later also.

All the mile a minute fabric has been put away.  Someday, when I feel like it, I’ll press the pieces that are together and cut some blocks. In the meantime, I’ll go on to something else.

The first flower has been appliqued on the wall quilt.  It is the rosebud on the top of the swag. The next flower is a large rose.  There are also day lilies, poppies, and trumpet flowers.  I am going to applique the flowers on the right side before I choose colors for the left side.  They will be the same colors, but I want to balance the colors in the piece.   I should probably do applique during the day instead of in the evening when I’m tired and watching TV.  I think that they would look a little better.  All the fabric and diagrams for the wall quilt are now contained in a wire drawer.  The drawer can be removed easily when I’m working on the wall hanging and put back, out of sight, when I’m not working on the project.  The line in the fabric is the cross line to match up the blue fabric to the master pattern.  There is also a horizontal pressed line.

Tomorrow is another day.  I’ll decide then what I want to sew or quilt between cooking for Saturday.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It is such a good feeling to finish a UFO.  This one has been hanging around for a long time.  It is a block of the month by Leah Day.  I liked it because each block was made separately and machine quilted before putting the twelve blocks together.  Leah Day, not only provided the pattern for the block, but also provided the quilting pattern.  Her quilt was made with orange and yellow fabric.  I did change the colors.

I was unhappy with the way that the blocks looked when I put them together.  Something didn’t look right.  I was using Georgia Bonsteel’s  method of lap quilting to join the blocks.

ne night, I took all the seams out and started over using Leah Day’s method.  When I un-sewed, I found out that I didn’t line the right seams up. No wonder it didn’t look right.  Leah Day’s method sewed three lines around the block before squaring up the block.  It seemed like an unnecessary waste of time, but it was well worth the extra effort in the end. The blocks were perfectly square and went together perfectly.  Things that I have learned while making this quilt.  Finished is better than perfect.  Don’t quilt on  cling wrap.  It is hard to get off and threads pull out when it is removed.  It turns black, probably from the ink used to draw the quilting lines.  If it doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.  Don’t be afraid to un-sew and start again. Not all quilts need a border.  Make the backing compatible in color with the thread that you are quilting with.   It’s o.k. to change the quilting thread color within a block.  It is impossible to follow a predetermined quilting pattern.  You have to concentrate in following a line, coordinating the pedal and your hands.  That’s just too much to think about at the same time.  If there are pebbles, quilt your own.  Quilt straight line from point to point.  Tie off and clip beginning and ends of quilting lines as they are quilted..  Don’t wait until all the quilting is finished. Make sure that the bobbin thread is brought to the top every time that you start a new quilting line.  If you don’t, the bobbin thread will be in a nest on the back.  Don’t be in a hurry to finish a piece and go on to something else. Maybe there is a reason why you have a UFO in the first place.

After all this,  it is a pretty quilt and it will keep someone warm.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

There was no sewing or quilting last weekend.  Miss Molly went to visit her cousins, Odie, a labradoodle, Ziggy, a Schnauzer, and Mr. Gibbs, a Schnauzer.  She had visited them before and had lunch in Tom’s Doggie Restaurant.

Unfortunately, Misty Lou and Cowboy are no longer with us.

 

 

 

 

The three cousins had visited Miss Molly in Maine last summer.  They had a good time, except that Odie took over Miss Molly’s spot of the sofa.

When they left, Miss Molly slept the rest of the day in her spot.

We made the trip because my beautiful great grandson, Aiden, was dedicated during the church service on Sunday.  While we were gone, Ziggy and Miss Molly were left in crates.  It was a place with lots of things to see and get into if not watched.  Odie and Mr. Gibbs were allowed to roam the house.  After all, it was their home and they “knew” how to behave.

When we arrived home, we found an empty baggie on the living room floor.  It was still sealed, but the bottom had been chewed out. I had left four days of Miss Molly’s food in a baggie that was in a canvas bag on top of her crate.  The canvas bag was still in it’s place.

The two dogs had stolen her food and she had to watch them eat it.  After Miss Molly came out of her crate, she tried to go under the sofa.  We found her measuring cup with a few pieces of food under there.

The best part was that Miss Molly had her cousin’s food for supper that night.  According to her, it was much better than what she usually ate.  The other two dogs still ate all their supper. Four days of food didn’t effect them at all.

I made a mock up of a flower with my hand dyed fabric for the wall quilt this morning.  I didn’t like it.  I’m glad that I made the mock up instead of appliqueing the flower on the background.  It saved a lot of un-sewing.  I decided to use regular fabric.  It will give me a bigger range of color from light to dark.   There are fifteen flowers in the center of the wall hanging.  This afternoon, I chose fabric for seven of the flowers and pressed the freezer paper to them. They are not cut out.  I will do that when I’m ready to applique.   I also found a large piece of sky fabric that I might use for the background.  I will make a decision when I finish choosing the colors for all the flowers. There is progress, but it is slow.

Have a great day and happy quilting.