Last Minute, As Usual

 Tomorrow is December 1st, and today I put together an Advent Calendar, just in time to begin counting.  This is a panel from Stof fabrics.  I love the simple images. 

I think I'm going to hang it with some satin ribbon, but it's my first Christmas decoration up so far.  It's a start.

We've been making pierogi ( a kind of Polish filled dumpling) at my parish which will be sold for Christmas.  I had a nice autumn harvest apron but not one for Christmas.  So, I made a reversible apron.  I used  another chef apron for the outline and sewed a pocket on each side, with some lace on the edge.   If I don't wear an apron I am covered with flour by the time we are finished.

I enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving at my sister's.  Hope everyone enjoyed theirs, as well.

God Bless.

Maggie's October Dance

I noticed that I had not posted for the whole month of October and wanted to get one in before the end of the month.  This is the Maggie's First Dance quilt with the filler blocks.  It wasn't intentional to use Christmas colors, and especially with the floral theme, but I do like the impact they give. 

Autumn is here and the heat has been turned on, but I am loving the cooler temps and beautiful feeling of this season.  Today I am making apple butter in the slow cooker and it smells heavenly. 

God Bless.

A Finish and Closer to a Finish

Last year this quilt top was finished but not quilted.  Now it is and hangs in my living room.  I really love it.  This is a Lynette Jensen design from her book, Quilting for Harvest.

I'm working on quilting the Homespun Hearth mystery quilt I made earlier this year and hope it will be finished this week.  I went with just a narrow border of the two darker fabrics.  The binding will probably be the plaid.  The backing is the lighter floral.  This was all pulled from my stash, and I like the darker tones.  In fact, the light floral is fabric from my late mother's stash. 

This is the fourth and last block for the Maggie's First Dance BOM by Jacquelynne Steves. 

In October we will receive the setting.  Some of the participants have used their blocks to make tote bags and such.  I'm not sure what I will do.  I used batiks from my stash for these blocks, and at first, I wasn't loving the result.  But now I know I made the right choice.  I used Crayolas to tint all of the flowers in my embroidery.  I like the way that looks, too.

We are having lovely, cooler autumn weather this week, my favorite.  Very refreshing and energizing.

Hope all is well.

God Bless You!

A Finish

This is Brenna's quilt all done except for the label.  I hand quilted it with long stitches and it's been washed making it very crinkled.
I'm happy with it.

Swirls and Whirls by Sherri McConnell, American Patchwork and Quilting, June '14

I used leftover blocks in the backing.

Brenna told me she likes polka dots and stripes, pink and turquoise. 

On to a new project.  I have an autumn wall hanging to quilt, and if I complete that this week I'll be amazed with myself.  Two finishes in one week?  I'm going to try.

Don't know about you, but I am ready for autumn weather.  

Have a wonderful week.

God Bless.

Third Block Maggie's First Dance

This is the third block in the Maggie's First Dance BOM by Jacquelynn Steves. 

I like the way the crayons added color to this block.

I also fixed the mistake I made on the second block.   

I was leery about my choice of using the batiks I had on hand, but I am pleased with how the blocks look together.  There is only one more block to go.

I'm working on Brenna's quilt and have two rows of twirls to go, then the squares.  I think I'll be doing some machine quilting as well.

Hope you are all well.

God Bless.

Pretty Postcards

 Isn't this pretty?  This is the postcard I received from my exchange partner, Jo, from the latest postcard swap organized by Sheila of Sheila's Quilt World. 

 I'm not sure which orientation is right, but I like this pansy either way.  Thank you, Jo.

I'm always impressed by the artistic abilities used to make the cards I receive.  

This is the card I made and sent to Jo.  I guess we were both in the flower mindset.

I haven't been idle, just quiet.

I have been hand quilting Brenna's quilt with long stitch quilting.

 It's slow going but progress is being made.  I hope she still likes turquoise and pink by the time she gets this quilt:)

I'm going to share a picture of a block that I made for the Maggie's First Dance BOM.  I made this block last month, and just yesterday put up the 1st and 2nd blocks as I prepare to make the 3rd.  Well, don't ask me why I didn't see the obvious mistake I made in putting the pieces together, but see if you can spot it.  I'm not talking about the geese points.  

If you spotted the bottom row and the geese on the wrong sides, that's it.  How could I not see that?  And it went up on facebook.  Geesh!  Anyway, that's something else to fix.  

I hope you all are enjoying life.  

Happy quilting.

God Bless.

An Almost Finish

This is the Homespun Mystery Quilt sewn together but missing the border.  I might have to fudge that because I am running very low on the navy fabric.  Nevertheless, I really like this project.

I was making great progress on the quilt for Brenna, but I am not happy with the batting I have so I'll be making a trip to Joann's for something else.  I like The Warm Company Warm and Natural cotton batting.  It has a nice weight and doesn't feel too light.  That's my own opinion, not a paid statement.

I attended  a local quilt show last week.  It was very small but interesting. 

This picture is made of tiny bits of fabric glued to a background fabric.  I've got to try this some day. 

This is another work by the same quilter. 

This same quilter made this quilt that used Brazilian embroidery; her stitches were gorgeous.  Apparently, the difference in the Brazilian embroidery is the twist in the thread, which is made here in the United States.

 

I'm showing this quilt because it has all of the lighthouses in the Cape area, and my Dad worked in one of them when he was a teen.  It is a beautiful quilt.

Hope you have a nice week ahead.  Stay safe and God Bless!

Happy Mid-June

This is my version of Maggie's First Dance Block #1, a BOM designed by Jacquelynne Steves.  I think joining in is still possible.  What I'm finding fun about it is that there is a facebook group participants can join and upload a photo of their blocks.  This creates alot of positive feedback as well as a bIock show of so many different versions of the same block.  It's pretty nice.  I went with batiks for this project because they've been in my stash for way too long.  They aren't the cheeriest colors but I'll make them work.

These are the blocks I made for the Homespun Hearth mystery qal.  I missed one but I know I can duplicate it so I will be doing that soon.  The fabric the blocks are on is what I am considering for the sashing.  I really don't want to go with white.  

I love this block. It's called Swing in the Center.  By coincidence I was reading a quilting book from the library that was published in 1949 and this block was in its collection.  I was very surprised because I assumed it was a newer block.  

I have my grandniece's quilt top sewn together and have been pulling fabrics for the backing, so that's next for that project.

Have you noticed how many neat qal's are happening right now?  I would like to make the AMB blocks and Wendy Shepherd has a beautiful project on the Aurifil site.  

Hope your weather is as nice as ours has been this spring.

God Bless You.

Still Making Blocks and Things

 One of the best things about late spring and summer is that all the meetings wrap up and obligations slow down.  I feel as if my time has finally an opening for me to do what I like.  I began a new project because I needed some variation.  Homespun Hearth, a quilt shop that also has an online presence, has a mystery QAL going and I'm downloading the blocks as they come out.  Unfortunately, they are only free for 2 days; I missed the 8th block but since it's a sampler I can insert something else.  

 I'm enjoying making these. 

Aunt Dinah, Chinese Coin and Five Spot blocks.

 I think I have all of the blocks I need for the Swirls and Whirls quilt. I'll begin putting it together this week hopefully. 

 

I have a column of blocks not shown here because I ran out of space. There is no sashing so I'll be playing with placement.  It has a nice border of scrap squares.  

Have a wonderful week.

God Bless You!

A Bit of Progress on Shooting Stars

The quilt design I'm following is by Sherri McConnell and was named Swirls and Whirls when it was published in June, 2014 in American Patchwork & Quilting. 

I hope my version comes out as nicely as this cover quilt.

I have nothing else to show.  I planted some marigolds because I just had to:)

Have a wonderful week.

God Bless You.

Hands 2 Help Tumbler Quilt

Stitched, washed, dried and ready to go.  It just needs a label.

I'm donating this quilt to one of the Hands 2 Help charities, an annual event begun and hosted by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

I put together this tumbler quilt top a few years ago, put it away with other unfinished projects, but never forgot about it.  I didn't know who to give it to, until  now.  I got to work putting it together with it's backing and batting, quilted it and sewed on the binding this morning. 

There's nothing like a finished quilt.

I also found another quilt block that I like for Brenna's quilt and have finally decided that this is the one.

Does this block have a name?  The center is a simple pinwheel, but I think the extensions make it some kind of star.  Edit:  This is a variation of the Shooting Star block.

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.

God Bless.

Another Block Idea

You may have seen the Missouri Star Quilt Co.'s tutorial of using a friendship star as a cornerstone.  Jenny Doan shows how to use this great idea.  I made a few blocks so I could try it out and like the effect.  That's all I have to show this week.  I've made my quilt sandwich of the table runner, but the rest of the time I've been working. 

We may or may not have a snow storm tonight.  How's that for planning your next day.

I guess I'll look out the window and see what's out there tomorrow morning.

Have a nice week.

God Bless!

Windblown Square

I found another quilt that I like and made the block for it.  It's the Windblown Square.  The quilt is in one of Lynette Jensen's books.  Her method of making it is with all hst's.  I used my Sizzix die and it was fun to make.  I'm really leaning to this one for Brenna's quilt.  

 I think this would look good in turquoise and bright pink. 

I made progress on the Sew Simplicity table cover and think it's ready for the batting and backing.

It even looks good on the floor:) 

 I love this charming fabric.

I may add one more border.  

Have a wonderful week.

God Bless.