While organizing the sewing room, I came across a small bin of bits and pieces.

My challenge is to use up all the bits and pieces and empty the bin.

In the bin was a few placemat tops., several blocks, cut squares and lots of other things.

Using the 2 1/2″ squares in a 6 by 9 setting made the placemat the perfect size. I added 3″ strips to the sides of 12″ blocks to make them the right size. In all, I ended up with nineteen placemat tops. I have a bin of leftover pieces of batting. I sewed the batting together with a zig zag stitch to make them the right size. A stack of fat quarters was there so I matched them up to the colors on the top. All is ready to be quilted. I’ll use leftover binding to bind the placemats. There are three additional placemat tops to finish.

At some time in the past, I had started to make half square triangles from three charm packs that were alike. I finished making the half square triangles and trimmed them to 4 1/2″. I have found a pattern for an oversized block. Four blocks and a border will make a good size quilt. These pieces are in a craft bin.

These little pieces were found. They made this.

All the new blocks are going into a waste not/want not craft bin to be made into a community quilt.

In the meantime, I have been wanting to try a new method of making four patches that was found on the Internet. Line up two fabrics right sides together. Sew on two sides. Cut in half.

Reversing colors, line up again and sew on both sides.

Then, I wanted to try another new method of making quarter square triangles. Line up two four patches, reversing colors, and sew all the way around the block. Cut on the diagonal, both ways. Trim.

Several 2 1/2′ blocks were made into four patches.

All of the little blocks and other squares that were found are in a waste not/want not craft bin. There are enough pieces to make a small quilt.

My goal ,now, is to finish the placemats and piece and quilt the two quilts. The bin of bits and pieces is empty. The pieces have been downsized and are in small craft bins, ready to finish.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

One of my grandsons asked me to make a wall hanging for his new apartment. Of course, the answer was yes, and that project went to the top of the queue.

His favorite colors are orange, burgundy and robin’s egg blue. I never would have thought to put those three colors together, but after I pulled out fabric in those colors, I thought that it would work. The size would be 40″ wide by 30″ tall. On my sewing room wall is a wall hanging that is 30″ wide by 49″ tall. The size would be perfect.

The pattern is Hunters Star. It would be perfect. I could replicate this wall hanging with other colors.

When I make a Hunters Star quilt, I use Deb Tuckers Hunter Star ruler. It makes the blocks oversize. They can be trimmed to the exact size.

The strips are cut 1 3/4″. The ruler can be used for several sizes of blocks. My original quilt used 5″ blocks, so I used the 5″ markings on the ruler.

Trapezoids are cut and sewn to the side of a strip. You have to allow for extra fabric at the top when the trapezoid is flipped and pressed. Also, a 1/4″ space is necessary between trapezoids.

The trapezoids are flipped and pressed. Trimming is easy when following the lines on the ruler.

Triangles that are the same color as the trapezoid are added to the edges.

Two sides are sewn together.

The block is trimmed to the correct size.

I made extra blocks, so I had a variety of colors to choose from.

The three colors do play nicely together.

I may make another Hunters Star quilt in the future. This was fun to make.

I’ve been cutting scraps into 2 1/2″ by 4 1/2″ rectangles for potato chip blocks. Maybe I could cut strips and triangles from the scraps for Hunter Stars. Who says the triangle has to be the same color as the trapezoid or the two sides of the block have to be the same fabric? The sides would have to be reverse values. That would be a very scrapy star.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I came across a baggie of blocks that I received from friend’s sewing room. There were enough to make five blocks for a community quilt. They needed a little trimming, so I trimmed them to the smallest block. The blocks were dark, so I chose a gold sashing. Four plain blocks finished the quilt.

It is quilted and the binding is on ready to be tacked down. It’s definitely a man’s quilt.

A few years ago, I bought some blocks at a yard sale. They have adorable baby theme hearts appliqued on a square with sashing. I don’t know why the quilter didn’t finish it. There were just two blocks left to applique. That is finished. I was one setting block short so found a fabric that read like the other blocks. The first border is the same red. When this little quilt is finished, it won’t be obvious. When one of my daughters saw the blocks, she claimed it, so it has a home.

I’ve been watching Kate from the Last Homely House on YouTube. She has decided that 2025 will be the year of using what you have and not buying anything. I think that is a great idea and will try to do the same. I may have to buy some batting, but that is all. I enjoy having a cup of tea with her as she tells me what she is doing with her quilts.

We have had our quilt show and it was wonderful. These are the quilts that I had hanging in the show.

Kaitlin’s Quilt

Illusion

Hexagon Star

Trip Around The World

Irish Chain Star

Red Star

Postage Stamp

Dear Jane is out of her time out. Making and quilting the outside triangles is overwhelming. There are so many. I remind myself that it’s one triangle at a time and eventually it will be finished. She’s my go-to quilt when watching TV in the evening.

Meadow Mist Designs has started another mystery quilt. It’s called Magnificent Mystery. This looks interesting. I may make it when the instructions come out.

I’ve gathered fabric to make a wall hanging for my grandson’s new apartment. His favorite colors are orange, robin’s egg blue and burgundy. I would never have put those colors together, but they actually do play nicely together. The pattern will be Hunter Star. I’ll use Deb Tucker’s Studio 180 ruler to make it. Its quick, easy and accurate.

It will be nice to make new quilts instead of finishing ufos.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

Every once in a while, you find a block that is easy and beautiful. Where did it come from? Is it an old block that just came to light? My new favorite block was found on Laura Kate’s blog Daily Fiber. Tracing it back, it was on Quilting Gail’s blog. Quilting Gail said that Barbara G. Harper was the designer. All three sites are worth a look. There is no name for the block that I could see so I named it the Baby Potato Chip block. That block came from Lea Louise. The Baby Potato Chip is one round of the Potato Chip Block with modifications. Inspiration comes from others that are far away and yet are a sisterhood of quilters.

I wanted to make a purple quilt. The Baby Potato Chip would be perfect. It could be made in eight units. I gathered eight different fabrics. six are purple and the other two are blue. There are 64 blocks, so each fabric was used for the center eight times. The second color was different than the center.

This is the Baby Potato Chip block. The center is 4 1/2″ by 4 1/2″. The surrounding rows are 2 1/2″ wide.

The purples, blues and black are dark so it needed a very light fabric for the sashing. I chose a white on white. Each block had a different orientation. They were sewn together in units of four with the colored pieces of the block toward the center.

The units of four were sewn together in units of four which made 1/4 of the quilt.

A 4 1/2″ black border was added to finish the quilt. It is 90″ by 90″ A very big quilt but could be made smaller by eliminating a row of four horizontally and vertically.

There is another version of a quilt made with this block in the above blogs. It is on the diagonal. At some time, I will make it. This block is so easy and fun to make. I’m sure that I’ll have another new favorite block in the future.

There are decisions to be made. Should I make another Baby Potato Chip block quilt. Should I quilt one of the community quilts. Should I finish a ufo top. I did organize the mile a minute basket the other night. There’s lots of ideas in there. This is where I need to make a list and see which one comes to the top.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I need some placemats. The mini guild that meets at my house has grown to seven and I don’t have that many placemats that are the same. I need to make at least eight.

I had been cutting my leftover scraps into 2 1/2 inch by 4 1/2-inch pieces. They were for a future Potato Chip quilt. I had enough to make the placemats with the potato chip block.

Years ago, Woman’s Day magazine had a log cabin quilt pattern that sewed a seam and flipped the fabric over. The sewing was done on a batting and backing. It quilted the block as you sewed the logs. The potato chip block is sewn like a log cabin, and I thought that it could be made the same way.

I pressed the three pieces in half horizontally and vertically to make sure it was centered. The backing is at least 2 1/2 inches larger on all sides than the batting.

Rectangles were added to the top and bottom. they were pressed away from the center.

Two rectangles were sewn end to end and then sewn to both sides of the piece. Then they were flipped and pressed.

The first row was light fabrics. The next row was darker fabrics. Two rectangles were sewn end to end and then sewn to the top and bottom of the piece. They were sewn, flipped and pressed.

The next row was another dark row. Three rectangles were sewn end to end. The strip was sewn to both sides of the piece, flipped and pressed.

Another Three strips were sewn together end to end and sewn on the top and bottom, flipped and pressed.

The backing was trimmed to 2 inches all around. It was pressed to the front. One inch was pressed under. The corners were mitered. Then it was topstitched to make a binding. The yellow line is the light hitting the binding, not a flange. That might be a possibility if I make more.

Now I have eight coordinating placemats.

The Trip Around The World is finished.

It took one hour to cut the batting and backing. Thirty minutes to place it on the basting frame. Six hours to baste. I was watching TV while basting so it probably would have been less time if I didn’t look up from time to time. Seven hours to quilt. I quilted with an even foot. Forty-five minutes to trim the edges. One hour to cut and sew the binding. Then another four hours to tack down the binding. Again, while watching TV. Adding in the ten- and one-half hours before, it makes a total of thirty hours and forty-five minutes. It was a simple quilt.

I like an easy quilt that looks complicated.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

One of the questions that is asked when a quilt is finished is How long did it take you to finish it. When you are working on multiple quilts at a time, there is no answer to that. You just enjoy the process and don’t think of the time. I thought that I would make a quilt and time myself while making it.

I wanted an old-time pattern that was easy but looked complicated. A Trip Around The World was chosen.

The colors were chosen from the border fabric. It took me one hour to choose the fabrics and set them in order.

Strips were cut from the fabric. That also took one hour. Some colors were deleted ane replaced at this time.

The sewing took eight hours. The strips were sewn into a tube.

All seams were pressed to the odd number strips. Then the strips were cut.

When the cut strips were sewn back together, they moved up one block. Therefore, it was easy to finger press rather than pin each seam. The seams went in opposite directions.

The two borders were added. It took 1/2 hour to measure and cut the backing. and batting. So far, the time for making the quilt is 10 1/2 hours. I’ll keep track of how long it takes to package and quilt and let you know the total time in another blog.

There is a lot of fabric left over along with a set of strips. I have a plan for making another quilt with it. But it will have to be after I finish quilting this one. There is a time frame as it has been entered in the Guild quilt show. I have to change I think I can to I know I can.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

Granddaughters are wonderful and we will do anything for them. One of my friends made a quilt for her granddaughter in 2000. Her granddaughter brought it back recently and asked her to mend it. The quilt top was shredded. It was beyond repair. The grandmother offered to make a new quilt, but the granddaughter wanted her old quilt. It meant a lot to her. A new quilt would just not do.

I was asked to help repair it. My first thought was that it was so far beyond help and there was nothing that could be done with it.

All of it was worn and tattered, including the binding. The back and the borders weren’t too bad. They were just worn and faded.

The quilt had fifteen log cabin blocks. I decided to make a new center and sew it on top of the old quilt. This is the old block

This is the new block.

It was fun finding fabrics that looked like the old ones. They are similar and look as bright as the old ones would have been when the quilt was new.

The batting had to be patched in places. I cut off the old binding and added new to match the center of the quilt. Many hours later, the quilt is finished.

This quilt was worth saving. The granddaughter will cherish the quilt that her grandmother made.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It is so good to finish a project. Even part of a project. Eight of the community quits are finished. The labels are on. They are ready to go out into the community.

There are two remaining in this batch of ufos to finish. They need quilting and binding. All these quits were made from leftover blocks and other partially made projects. The bin of leftovers is still just as full as when I began. More quilts from that are for another day.

There was a stack of craft boxes under the sewing table. They have been under there for a longtime.

This is my next project. I will take each box and finish what is inside. As I finish the project, I’ll put another ufo into the box and put it on the bottom of the pile. That way, all the ufos will eventually be finished in an organized manner.

Box #1 was empty. This year’s SAHRR is in the box now. I had finished three rounds when I had to stop sewing for a while. All the remaining rows are planned, and it will be finished when that box comes to the top again.

Box #2 is full of rolled stabilizers. I do have a drawer of stabilizers that is full. Some day when I have a little time, I’ll organize the drawer, add what is in the box and then put another ufo into the box to finish.

Box #3 was full of scraps of leftover Kaffee Facett fabric. I cut all the pieces into 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ pieces and made a potato chip quilt. Lea Louise has the pattern for the potato chip quilt. It is the easiest and fastest quilt to make. All the pieces are the same size and there is no seam matching.

Every last scrap was used. I’m going to quilt it with variegated thread. Most of the colors in the quilt are in this thread. The thread is in the bobbin.

The quilt is so busy, the quilting won’t show. I’m going to free motion quilt it upside down with a piece of fabric that I purchased from Connecting Threads

I’ll just follow the lines. I don’t have to wonder where I’ll go next. I’ll have to find another ufo to go into box #3.

Box #4 is a Cynthia English paper pieced project. Some of the pieces are very small. It takes a lot of concentration when working on this one. I’ll work on fifteen-minute increments to finish it. This ufo is over twenty years old.

Box #5 was a surprise. I had forgotten that I won a drawing of bird house blocks at the Maine Guild. The box is full of bird house blocks and thread painted birds. That will be fun when that box comes to the top.

It was good to step back for a while and not be able to sew. I found so many unfinished projects. I was able to organize drawers, bins and boxes. Of course, looking at the fabric, I have many new quilts planned in my head. I found rulers that I had to have and have never used.

The Illusion quilt has come back from the longarm quilter. This is a Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern. Jennie has a great YouTube video to show how to make it. It may look difficult to make but is actually very easy.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It’s been a long time since I posted. Actually, it’s been a long time since I went into the sewing room to sew, so there was nothing to post. In January and early February, I had cataract surgery for both eyes. It should have been simple, in and out and back to sewing, but I will still need glasses due to a problem. I’ve had to wait until the swelling went down and the eyes were completely healed to be fitted for the glasses. In the meantime, my vision is blurry. I have not been able to drive so have had to rely on my good friends and my family to take me where I wanted to go. The computer is difficult to see. Lots of other little annoyances. My magnifying glass was the best thing for reading and checking email on the phone. I am going this week to order the glasses and things will be back to normal by next week. I am so fortunate that this is just temporary

Dear Jane, the Hexagon Star and the SAHRR are all in a time out.

In the meantime, I found things to do that didn’t require good vision. My scraps are organized. Most all the boxes in the sewing room have been checked. I’ve found fabric that I forgot I had, patterns that I had to have and never made, even a Studio 180 ruler still in the plastic cover. I have more ideas in my head,

I fuse basted several quilt tops, Then I decided to quilt one, I chose to quilt in a wavy line. The stitch length was lengthened, and the width was narrowed. I could see the little red mark in the middle of the presser Foor and the corners of the blocks. I sewed and aimed the red mark towards the corners. Sometimes the stitching line hit the corner and sometimes it went to one side or the other. It was close enough to look like I planned it that way. I’ll sew the binding on when I can see to make it properly.

Last week I got a little bolder. I found a pattern that was an Irish Chain and Stars. Mr. Seam ripper and I became good friends, but I finished the top. I could line up the first and last stitches, but sometimes the sides didn’t line up.

Finished is better than perfect.

I was able to sew three rounds of the SAHRR before I had to put it away, The clues are all published so I know what want to do when I can go back to sewing it. Several of the quilt tops that I basted were SAHRRs from previous years.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

The Illusion quilt top is finished. The sewing was very easy. It took longer than expected as there were 36 blocks.

Half square triangles were sewn into pinwheels.

After pressing, the blocks were cut two inches from the center seam on all four sides.

The pieces were rearranged as in the bottom block and sewn to make the top right block.

The finished block looks nothing like the pinwheel.

The blocks are twisted and turned to complete the quilt top. The outside border was supposed to be a solid piece of fabric, but I used scraps for this quilt, and didn’t have the yardage. I had enough scraps to make a rail fence border.

The pattern is from a YouTube video from Missouri Star Quilt Company. On the YouTube video, Jennie used a layer cake with many colors. Her quilt was beautiful. If I was to make it again, I would not use the pastel colors and would only use the darker shades.

The 2025 SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) has started. I have chosen the center block. There are a lot or orphan block in the bin. It came down to two basket blocks and I chose the pastel block. For some reason, it is already hand quilted. I’ll have to work around that. The first row is a block that starts with the first letter of your first name. Fortunately, there are a lot of blocks that start with B. I have a plan in mind and will start it today.

While looking in the orphan bin I found several unfinished projects that I didn’t sew and really don’t like. I don’t know where they came from. I’ve given myself permission to put then into the mile a minute basket or disposed of them in another way. The original sewed probably didn’t like them either,

Have a great day and happy quilting.