This morning I cut the white 5″ squares for the blue and white quilt. I cut enough for twelve nine patches.  The center blue fabric was the same on all the nine patches, but the corners were all different blues.  I had a lot of blue fabric left over from the Canadian 150 quilt. There is still a tall stack of 5″ blue squares.  I’ll use them in the border.

The nine patches were cut in half vertically and horizontally.  That made 48 pieces.

 

 

More fabric was cut to add a white border and a blue corner square to one side of all 48 pieces. The borders are 2″ wide.  I used two different colored fabrics for the corner squares.

 

 

Four of the pieces were sewn into a larger piece.  When I did this, I used two of each of the fabrics for the corner squares. Two of the pieces were turned so that the center had two small squares and two large squares.  I will have the corner square colors in the same position in each block.

 

When all the blocks are sewn, they need to be squared up to the size of the smallest block and then sewn together.  Then a small white border and probably a 5″ outer border.

To be continued.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I accomplished a lot today, although I didn’t do what I had planned to do.  The recyclables are at the transfer station.  Unused clothes are at the Salvation Army.  My car is washed.  It looks like a new car.  Miss Molly’s nose prints are gone from the window.  Banking is done and groceries are in the house and put away.

I had intended to cut the white 5″ squares for the blue and white quilt and start sewing it, but noticed the 3 1/2″ strips for the Linus quilt sitting beside the machine.  The strips are sewn and waiting to be pressed.  The white fabric is still sitting on the cutting table.  Maybe tomorrow.

I usually don’t like black backgrounds on quilts.  Amish solid fabric quilts are fine.  The solid colors seem to sparkle.  I did make two quilts with black backgrounds.

The first was made in a class at the Vermont Quilt Festival.  I didn’t like it at all. It was a step out of my color range. It was dull and boring.  Shortly after I made the quilt, I won a $25 certificate for machine quilting.  I didn’t know the quilter and didn’t want to put a lot of money into a quilt if I didn’t know the results.  The certificate only covered part of the quilting.  The black quilt was small.  It would be the one that I sent.  When I received the quilt back, I was amazed at how beautiful it was.  The quilter did a beautiful job and brought the quilt to life.  Quilting does make the quilt. 

 

 

 

The second quilt was made with some bright fabric that I usually bypass when picking fabric for a quilt.  Every once in a while, I pull fabric that I don’t like and make a quilt.  I wonder, sometimes, why that fabric is in my drawers.  Was it a gift?  Was it on sale?  Did it show up on my doorstep in the morning?  In case you are wondering about the last question, that did happen.  I woke up and found four trash bags full of fabric on my doorstep.  A friend had cleaned out her sewing room and left the fabric that she didn’t want on my doorstep.  Maybe, she wondered why she bought them.  I’ve made many beautiful quilts with her fabric.  One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Tomorrow is another day.  It’s supposed to be a warm day with no wind, so I think I should spend some time in the yard.  Then a decision.  Do I finish the Linus quilt squares or work on the blue quilt?  Do I sew the new Moda or Simple Sampler or finish a UFO?  Decisions – decisions.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

A while back, one of my daughters came to visit.  She was going through the give away bin and had chosen a piece to take home with her.  I told her that I had another small wall hanging that I was working on and it would go into the give away bin.  When I showed it to her, she folded up the one that she had chosen and put it back into the bin.   She chose the one that I was working on.  It is now finished and ready for pickup.

This wall hanging is made with fabric that I hand dyed many years ago.  I used it to practice my machine quilting. It was quilted with thread that matched the color of the flowers and leaves.  I also practiced ruler work.  I still have a lot to learn with that method.  The machine that I had In Maine had a rounded front edge and did not have an extension table.  I think that I will have more success with the machine with the flat bed and the table.  I’ll keep trying.  Most people that I talk to about ruler work like it.  I’m not there yet.  I’ll have to do the three Ps method.  Practice, practice and practice.

I was watching a Nancy Zieman TV show the other day.  It was about quilting with pre cuts.  One of the quilts was beautiful and not hard to make.  I do have some pre cuts, but also have a drawer that was jammed full of blue scraps left over from the Canadian 150 quilt.  I spent today pressing and cutting up all the fabric in the drawer. The fabric is back in the drawer but it is in neat piles of layer cakes, 5″ charm packs, 4″ squares, 2″ strips, 3 1/2″ squares for Linus quilts, and 2 1/2″ squares.  I’m all set to make more blue quilts.  The drawer above the blue drawer has white fabric.  Tomorrow, I’ll cut white 5″ squares so that I can start the quilt.

In the meantime, I’ll decide on another UFO to finish.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

My hydrangeas are ready to pick for drying.  Their color was beautiful this year.  I’m sure that the color will fade as time goes by, but I will enjoy them until they do.  when I was plucking the bottom leaves, I noticed the beautiful color of the leaves.  As soon as the plants die because of the cold, I’ll cut the bushes back again.  That seems to be the way to get a very nice small bush with big flowers.

 

The weather is cold for the middle of October.  I don’t feel like going out and working in the garden. Soon, everything will be covered by snow and it won’t matter. I can always clean it up in the Spring.

I’ve finished block 25 and 26 in the Moda Block Head Round 2.  Block 25 is Oshkosh Star.  It is designed by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.  The red star in the middle is 2″.  The star points are 1/4″ wide.  The class in tiny piecing came in handy again.

 

Block 26 is Churndash Surprise.  It is designed by Corey Yoder.  Again, another small piece in the center of the block.

 

I have a stack of 3 1/2″ pieces ready to make nine patches for Linus quilts.  Now that the sewing room is partially organized, I can go in and just sew.  I’m not sure if I will  send them off to the Linus coordinator or make a quilt with them and send it to her.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

Last Friday night was Guild night.  Our speaker was Jo Diggs from Portland, Maine.  Jo is known for her awesome landscapes.  She showed us a collection of antique quilts and also some of her quilts and landscapes.  Her work is absolutely beautiful. It was a wonderful evening.

   

On Saturday, nine of the Guild members had a class with Jo.  She led us through the process of making landscape quilts.  Our fabrics were all different.  Because of that, all the pieces that were made were different.  The beginnings of the landscapes were much nicer than the photos.

Some were dark and beautiful. 

 

This one by Evelyn was awesome.  The sun lit up the scene.

 

I had a class with Jo several years ago at the Vermont Quilt Festival.  The piece that I made in that class is now ready to finish.  

 

 

This is how we start to make a piece.  Putting the black construction paper around the picture helps with the sizing and placement of the fabric.   

I used some of my hand dyed fabric for the new piece.  The fabric allowed me to have a reflection of the sun.  I thought that I could combine the two pieces and Jo suggested a triptych.  I made a second piece similar to the one that I made on Saturday so there would be three.  It also has reflection, but the sun is in a different direction.  There is a small mountain lake in both of the pictures.  When I put the three pieces together, they  didn’t look good.  The purchased fabric and the hand dyed just don’t play well together.  I’ll mat them separately and then hang the two similar ones as a pair. The first picture is the one that was started in class as shown above.  There were a lot of changes.   

They should be matted and framed within a week.  It is exciting to have something almost finished.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It has been a very rainy day.  Rainy days are great for sewing and quilting.  I added the bindings to two wall hangings that I quilted this summer.  The binding will be tacked down while I watch TV tonight.

Then I decided to pull out as many UFOs as I could and decide which ones I would not finish.  They are in a bin in the attic waiting to go away forever.  There were so many that I decided would make pretty Linus quilts.  They are set aside so I can make them later in the winter.  One two gallon baggie had six stacks of the same fabrics.  There was no pattern with the fabric, so I don’t know what I had planned. The fabric will make a pretty quilt.  I’ll find a pattern later and make something with it.

I did find several finished tops.  I’ll find backs to fit and send them off to the long arm quilter.

One of the wall hangings that I found was made many years ago from an Amish quilt book.  It’s called Railroad Tracks.

It was hand quilted in the ditch.  I don’t know why I hand quilted where it didn’t show.  It is close to be finished. 

 

 

 

There are some medallions quilted in the black squares. I’ll have to draw the pattern and quilt the remaining black squares.   It’s in the handwork basket now.  I should finish it soon.

 

There is still a lot more organization to do.  It will be finished a little bit at a time.  Moda Blockbuster, Simple Sampler, Dear Jane and the Temperature Quilt have been on vacation this week. I’ll start them again next week.  Hopefully, I’ll have some good weather so I can work in the gardens soon.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I realized today that I haven’t touched the sewing machine since last Thursday.  I don’t know why I went a whole week without sewing.  Unless it’s because I’ve been busy packing, unpacking, and organizing.  Also catching up with friends and fellow quilters.

I went to the Kranky Kwilters this afternoon.  It was so good to be back.  I mentioned all the UFOs that I have and that I would give them away just to get them out of the sewing room.  It was suggested that I pack them in baggies and sell them at the boutique at our quilt show in the Spring.  It sounds like a good idea.  When I got home, I pulled out the bin in the library and started sorting.  I was also looking for a class project that I thought was there.  Most of the UFO’s were projects that I would never finish.  There were table runners and table toppers.  I found fabric and patterns that I had put together as a kit to finish sometime.  Also lots of blocks that I put in the charity quilt pile.  Two thirds of that bin are going.  I really had to want to finish the small portion that I kept.

Our Guild speaker on Friday night is Jo Diggs.  She is having a landscape class on Saturday and I will be there to enjoy her lesson.  I did have a class with Jo in Vermont years ago and did find the piece that I started in that class in the UFO bin. 

It is pretty but I’m wondering why I used brown fabric for the sky.  The class will probably be the same as I took before but I’m sure that there are some new tips that I will learn.  I’m using hand dyed gradated fabric this time.  The piece will look different.

One of the small pieces that I am going to keep from the UFO bin is a landscape that I free motion embroidered.  It just needs a border and some quilting.  The mountains should be thread painted and there should be another flower or two near the bottom.  It looks as if it should be inside an oval border.  Then it will be done.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow so I can go to the sewing room and have fun.  Maybe even finish something.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

 

I’m back in New Hampshire.  The Maine house is closed up for the season.  Before I left Maine, the chapter of the Pine Tree Guild that I belong to had our biannual quilt show.  It was an awesome show.  We have a small group of ladies and they outdid themselves with their beautiful quilts.

Each of us made small items for a teacup raffle.  I did win a mini quilt made by my favorite Maine quilter but haven’t taken a picture of it yet. Last July at our Christmas In July Yankee Swap, I also received a mini quilt from the same quilter.  I treasure her quilts. It is the third piece in the top row.   I will take a picture in the future of the mini quilt along with several others that I have received over the past few years.

The show is held in a historic meeting house that dates back to 1843.  Church services are still held in the meeting house.  The quilts are placed on the  backs of the pews and along the wall. A few are hung over the balcony.

     

My Canadian 150 quilt was one of the quilts that were hung over the balcony this year.

 

 

One of our members is in charge of the Linus quilts.  We had a very nice display of Linus quilts that are ready to go to sick children.  They are so colorful.  I’m sure that they will enjoy them.

 

Each year, we have a challenge.  This was the challenge from last year.  This is my quilt from that challenge. 

 

 

 

 

 

This year’s challenge was different.  My new things to do were using the Leaf Galore ruler, fusible applique and using the quilter’s chalk line to place the melons accurately on the wall hanging. 

Now, we will all start new projects in preparation for our next show which will be two years from now.

 

Once I get settled and everything is back in it’s place in the sewing room, I’ll get back to Moda Blockbuster, Simple sampler and Dear Jane.  I still have a pile of UFOs to work on.  I know that I finished a lot of UFOs this summer, but the pile doesn’t seem any smaller.  I also have the International challenge quilt to work on.  I’m choosing fabric for that one this week.  That quilt is 52″ x 68″ so it shouldn’t take too long to piece. The 18 focus blocks are done.  Lots and lots of ideas in my head.  I need 48 hour days.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It’s a good thing that I had a class on tiny piecing.  The two blocks that are in the Moda Blockhead project this week have 1 1/2″ pieces.  Some are half square triangles.  I’m thankful for the Tucker Trimmer.  It trims the blocks to a perfect size.

Block #23 is Broken Windows by Jo Morton.  It consists of half square triangles and flying geese. I just realized that the flying geese are inserted backwards.  I’ll unsew this block and resew it the correct way.  Or maybe, I’ll just make another block correctly and have two blocks.  This isn’t a mistake.  It’s a design element.  I may like this one better.

 

Block #24 is Kaleidoscope by Sherri McConnell.  It consists of 1 1/2″ half square triangles and 1 1/2″ pieces made into a four patch.

I may get to enjoy tiny piecing some day.

 

Have a great day and happy quilting.

 

I’m finishing some projects so that I can pack them for the trip back to New Hampshire.

Dear Jane has two blocks ready to tack down the binding and four blocks ready to quilt.  I will do some of the hand work tonight.

The Moda Block, Circle and Star by Jan Patix is finished,  I made it using a technique that I learned from David Taylor.  The block was invisible machine appliqued using Gypsy paper on the back of the fabric for stabilizer.  The edge was turned under with spray starch which was sprayed into a dish and applied with a q-tip.  When pressed, it makes a sharp seam to stitch with a blanket stitch.

 

The Simple Sampler block, Cat Nap by Nicole Ves Van Auezathe was supposed to be hand embroidered.  It represents a cat taking a nap on a quilt.  I read Kat Tucker’s blog and she made hers with free motion quilting and embroidery.  It was much easier.  The cat was supposed to be black, but I only know yellow cats so free motion quilted my cat yellow.  I used leftover pieces of fused fabric.  I keep all leftover fused fabric is a separate baggie so that I won’t use it by mistake when I think that the color is just what I need.

I have the small quilt that I have named “Mistake” on the sewing machine now.  I am even feed foot quilting it using painter’s tape for a guide.  Six of the blocks are finished, six more to go.  Then the sashing, borders and binding.  I might not finish it before I go back to New Hampshire.  The Quilt Show is this weekend.  There won’t be time to quilt.

Have a great day and happy quilting.