There is a lot of contrast in two color quilts, especially red and white quilts. It is very important to wash the red fabric several times so that it doesn’t bleed onto the white fabric and spoil all the work. Using a dye catcher will pull the red dye from the water and let you know when all the bleeding is done.
I have a small wall hanging for each month of the year. These little wall hangings are about 12″ x 12″ and are changed on the first day of each month. The February wall hanging is red and white in honor of Valentine’s day. Naturally, it has to have a heart.
A log cabin in red and white. The back is blue and white. It was made in the flip and sew method. Two quilts in one. 
The red-work quilt had a long shelf life. I started it many years ago and put it aside. I had other quilts to make. But when I picked it up, I couldn’t stop until it was finished. It is hand quilted in a grid. Hand quilt is very relaxing. I feel that if the quilt body is handwork, the quilting must be by hand also.
The Hunter Star quilt was made for a red and white challenge in the Maine Guild. The red and white quilt display at the show was awesome. Every one was different and beautiful. I used Deb Tucker’s Hunter Star ruler to cut the pieces. The diamonds come together perfectly when using this ruler. I have a few of Deb’s rulers that I just had to have. The Hunter’s Star and the Tucker Trimmer are the only ones that I have out of the package. I am going to have to try the others. I know that there are many more quilts to make.
have a great day and happy quilting.
The quilt is made of 20 blocks, but only 10 block patterns. The design uses different fabrics and different shadings in each set of two blocks. Similar fabrics can be in adjoining sections if the block. It’s amazing how your eye can be tricked. 
To solve the puzzle, one must match the similar block patterns. Even though I made the quilts, I still have to stop and think about which blocks match.
In the winter I thread baste on a PVC pipe frame. I could pin baste, but I enjoy thread basting while watching TV.
The pipe frame goes together easily.
The backing is centered with the right side down and clamped on the rails. The under side is checked several times during the clamping to make sure the backing is taut.
The batting is and top are centered and the pipes are re-clamped. Again, the underside is checked. This is the time to make sure that there is enough backing and batting to cover the top. If the backing and batting are cut several inches bigger than the top, there should be no problem.
I use my “bad” thread for the basting. There are some threads that shouldn’t be used in the sewing machine. I have a lot of thread that I inherited from my Grandmother and Mother. It is old polyester and old clunky threads that say they are hand quilting threads. These threads have a wax coating and would damage your machine. I like to use thread with a contrasting color to the top as it is easier to see when removing it after quilting.
I baste, with a big needle, in a grid of three inches horizontally and vertically,
After the center if completely basted, the package is moved to baste the edges. Again, checking the bottom to see if the backing is taut and smooth.
After the quilt is completely basted, I fold the outer edges over to the top and baste around the completed quilt. This prevents the batting from fraying while you are quilting the quilt.
A few years ago the Guild gave us a paint chip challenge. I received brown, gold and green. The colors looked like sunflowers. I had to make a sunflower wall hanging.
I had several sunflower embroideries in my file so I used them.
My signature butterflies were recolored with the correct colors. I use these three butterflies often, usually on my quilt labels. They can be colored to go with the quilt.
After all the pieces were embroidered, I sewed them together where they fit.
Our project was a Carolina Lily made using Doreen’s Peaky and Spike templates. I immediately changed the name of the wall hanging to “Poinsettia”. It is one of my favorite Christmas wall hangings. It is 34 x 34″ and is machine pieced and hand quilted.
Our Guild was having a challenge that year that used different shades of black and one other color. I couldn’t figure out what to do. The design presented itself to me as I left Doreen’s class. I went to the dorm and cut out the squares and started sewing. This quilt was pieced before I went home. I was on a roll. It was hand quilted after I got home. It took a little longer to finish the class project. The name of the 30″ x 30″ wall hanging is “Peaky and Spike Meet the New Fish on the Block”. 
I wonder – Is the little red fish brave and bold enough to visit with the big gray fish? Do they accept him even though he is different? Did he go back where he came from, never brave enough to venture in the big world again? I’m glad that I saw him out and about at least one time.
Blocks can be set straight
Blocks can be set on a diagonal.
This wall hanging is 19″ x 19″ Several fabrics from different colors, red, yellow, tan and green were sewn together to make new fabrics. Then, the made fabric was cut up and pieced in a tulip pattern
The piece was then machine quilted with polyester thread.
Purple lupine and daffodils
Soup – I found a container in the freezer that had parts of a chicken in broth, At some time, I was going to make a soup and put the simmered chicken into the freezer. I stir fried 1/4 c each of celery, onion, and baby carrots. This mixture was added to the broth. Then the meat was taken from the bones and added to the pot. Then I added about 1/4 cup of brown rice, a small handful of spiralized zucchini,(more on that later.) salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning. I made a little soup, not a large on like I usually make.
Entre – I found two small pieces of chicken breast in the freezer. Tucked into the refrigerator drawers was some dried tomatoes, basil pesto, and pine nuts. I pan fried the chicken. The pine nuts were toasted in the oven. The dessert was cooking in there and the oven was on. Then I deglazed the pan and added the above to make a sauce. All went into a casserole dish and baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. This might be good with some pasta.
Vegetable – I bought a spiralizer on a whim and had never used it. My daughter had brought me a delicious dish that she made using her spiralizer, so I thought I needed one. I had zucchini and sweet potato in the refrigerator and used half of each. It made a very large pile of vegetables. They are stir fried in olive oil with sesame seeds. A very delicious and low calorie addition to the meal.
Dessert – Raspberry , white chocolate cheese cake. I have a raspberry bed Two years ago, it outdid itself and I froze a lot of berries. Last year there were no berries, so it is good that I have some in the freezer. I thawed and strained a package of berries, added some sugar and cornstarch. It cooked in a pot until it thickened just a bit. Melt about 1/2 c white chocolate chips in the microwave a few seconds at a time. For the crust, I used one whole wheat pita bread, It was made into crumbs in the food processor. I added 2 Tbsp. sugar, about 1 Tbsp. melted white chocolate, and one Tbsp. melted butter . It was pressed into a 7″ pie plate. Mix one square cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4″ milk, and melted white chocolate. Pour half into pie plate, drizzle 3 Tbsp. raspberry over and repeat. Swirl with knife to create marble top. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. This is not only very pretty, but very yummy.
The second UFO project is the prototype of the Circle of Friends quilts. I made it in pastel colors which is not at all like the colors in the other two quilts that I made. I did learn a lot by making a prototype. It helped me figure out how big to cut the strips and how to sew it together. It also helped me design the quilting. The other two quilts will be quilted differently. It makes a very nice table topper or wall hanging.
Miss Molly quilts 