Design Wall Monday--9/26/2022

Design Wall Monday is here again.  See more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog. 

Our trip to Palm Springs Sewtopia weekend will be here before we know it.  I looked around the sewing room for a project already in the works and found a box with table runner I adapted from one of Kim Brackett's quilt designs.  This one is called Beachside Bungalow, from the Scrap Basket Beauties book.  

The idea was to use up most of the leftover jelly roll pieces I had bought while shopping for placemat fabrics with daughter Erica a few years ago.  The jelly roll was at JoAnn's fabrics and Erica liked ONE of the fabrics a lot, a pretty mauve.  I used mostly neutrals from stash for those placemat fronts, and some of the brights from the jelly roll for the back.  

Lots of pieces in this project.  I chose one of my favorite Kona neutrals, Shale, a gray-green, to go with all the brighter colors.

Naturally there was an OOPS while cutting.  I had made one A block and was cutting more squares of the Kona for my plan....

..And sliced off a corner at the wrong angle.  Fortunately a rummage through the leftover solid scrap drawer yielded a large enough piece of Kone Shale to recut the square.  Since these photos I have completed sewing up a lot of the A and B Block Parts and filled a project box.  I've got the remaining two-patches paired and at the sewing machine to stitch up.  I will be all ready to layout and sew sew sew. Pondering what second project I will work on....

Design Wall Monday--Another Scrap Basket quilt and a Squirrel

Design Wall Monday is here again.  The month is flying by! See more Design Walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog. 

In my last post I mentioned another Scrap Basket quilt from designer Kim Brackett. I set aside a long-hoarded jelly roll and background fabric for this quilt at least a year ago, but have wanted to make the cover quilt, Hourglass, for much longer than that--I love it!

The jelly roll is Recess by American Jane (so very old it is out of print!).  I separated out the mini dot fabrics and light strips and will use the prints posed closest to the book for the blocks, with a white solid for background  The binding will be the measuring tape fabric; I'll supplement with mini dot fabrics if there is not enough  of that yardage.  There is a lot of cutting in my future.  

While rooting around in my Hoosier cabinet that houses all the project boxes, etc, I also found an unlabeled box which turned out to have pieces I cut months ago for a Plaidish 2 quilt.  That triggered a landslide of cutting from the overflowing scrap drawers.  I loved the  original Plaidish quilt I made and recently gifted to my niece in Arizona (free pattern and tutorial on Kitchen Table Quilting)

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours thinning the precut scrap and loose scrap drawers.  The pattern is a large throw but since the designer assembles it by blocks, you can make fewer blocks if you like.  The binding job on the Summer Breeze quilt got pushed to another day for this scrap box detour!  I've put away the Plaidish2 parts but will get them out to play again soon.  

Three for March Update and Pick #3

As predicted, given the events of the week including a visitor, family birthday dinner out, and an after work hair appointment, I did not get much done on the Greenpiece project's three days. However, the project box has been returned to the sewing room and blocks needing embroidery are close at hand.  I will work on them when I am not at the sewing machine.  This morning I pulled another slip of paper out of the jar and it is #6, the Sanctuary panel.  I purchased this panel in 2007 at Jackman Fabrics in St. Louis, Missouri while visiting my sister when she lived there.

This is the from the Sanctuary line by 3 Sisters for Moda that I fell in love with in 2007.  Years ago I had cut out some appliques based on a quilt from APQ magazine February 2006 by the Piece O'Cake gals, Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

 Linda Jenkins likes to hand applique.

This not the final layout, but I was sure I had made an equal number of the three flower designs and was missing one.  It took some digging through the old brain files to recall that I used one on another quilt.  I bought my very first jelly roll of this line, which I made into a quilt for Cousin Florence for her retirement from nursing in 2007, but didn't end up using the appliques on the front of the quilt. This was pre-blog, so I shared it later when we went to Cincinnati in 2011 to see the International Quilt Festival being held there for the first time. 

A very simple strippie quilt that I quilted myself with wavy lines.  Turns out that Florence favors blue more than yellow, purple, pink, and green, but she appreciated it all the same :) 

I simply used a tiny zig zag for the applique and think I will repeat the same stitch for the panel appliques.  I have leftover binding and jelly roll strips to use to finish it once quilted.  This quilt is destined for a sweet little girl.  First decision will be placement on the panel, then I'll get to stitching the appliques.

Happy Tiers Quilts Finish

I've been absent for so long, but am pleased to show two finished quilts that will be on their way to two little girls tomorrow.  I've lots of photos to share.  Recap: my cousin asked me to make quilts for his two granddaughters as Christmas gifts and I chose the Happy Tiers pattern by Me and My Sister Designs (APQ magazine April 2016).

The Meadowbloom fabric (designer April Rosenthal) quilt had a small oops on the bottom row--the yellow chandelier needed to be a birthday cake.  Good thing I discovered this before the borders went on!

Lucky Black Friday shopping on Etsy resulted in ordering matching backing fabrics.  I decided against Minky backing to make the quilts more classic.  Plus it was going to be the first time using my sister's longarm machine and I didn't want extra chances to mess up.  

My sister Kathy has a Pfaff Grand Quilter and hooked up the computer for the first time specifically for my quilts.  I chose a pattern called Charms and we got the layers loaded quickly with her Red Snappers and started up the computer. 

All was going smoothly until the very.last.row.   The edge of the quilt top flipped and the computer shut off.   By this time it was 11 pm and Kathy tried to free motion the remainder of the row, which was not too successful.  I took it home and let it rest.  A few days later Kathy had figured out a way to fix it, after much research.  Good thing she is like a dog with a bone when she wants information!  Her tenet is now "Kathy is Not Allowed to Make Design Decisions at 11 pm", haha.  

Before attempting the repair, we first did the easy part of quilting the other Happy Tiers quilt.  I asked for a  swirl type design and Kathy resized and played with it before saving the custom design.  With a slip of her fingers, it was named "Annie's BS Swirl", which tickled her no end.  

The Badda Bing fabrics looked great with the swirl, and as a bonus, the much simpler design quilted up fast.  We only had one thread break/bobbin problem.  Then we reloaded the Meadowbloom quilt and reset the computer to finish the row.  It took way longer to rip out the errant stitching than to resew the fix.  Meanwhile I had already made the bindings, which I attached all by machine.  

Today after a few hand stitches to catch missed edges, Grant held them up for photos. 

 This one is for Hayden...

...and this one is for Zoey.  They have had their first bath and after I attach labels I will get them packaged up and mailed tomorrow.  Hope to have photos to show of happy little girls with their quilts in a couple of weeks.  Their dad is being deployed to Afghanistan with the Army Reserve before Christmas, so I hope the quilts add a bit of joy to the holiday.  

Next up is turning these fabrics into a tree skirt:

I'll quilt the layers and  cut bias binding from the red and gold stripe to make it double sided.  We got a smaller tree this year--just yesterday!--and I have barely any decorating done.  Lots to do this weekend.  DD Erica has also requested a new stocking, as her childhood Tigger one is being retired.  I have some other secret sewing to do, as well as most of the Christmas shopping.  It seems my intentions to start early never make it to reality!  Looking forward to celebrating in 12 days with all the family. Happy Holidays to all.

Three for September Wrap Up

The September challenge I set for myself, working on a different WIP for three days at a time all month, has been a great motivator and I have gotten some finishes that were long desired. I chose 10 projects and either moved along or finished 8 of the projects.  

#1 was the placemats for my nephew and his bride.  Goal was met of finishing the four placemats and mailing them to the happy couple.  

This photo shows the colors truer than the final shot with the aqua floral binding.  Nice to check off that fast finish for the first project, as I was already working on it, lol!

#2 was Garden Pinwheel, a quilt made from bonus triangles from the Rick Rack Road quilt here.  

I was stuck on the applique border.  Using the GO cutter after applying Steam a Seam2 fusible to the leaf fabrics was a big help in moving this quilt top along. 

Since I already had completed the back and binding, it will be next in the quilting queue. 

#3 was Jewels in the Curio.  I started this last year on National Sew a Jelly Roll Day, from a  Civil War Homefront Jelly Roll my mom and dad bought me years ago.  It is a Moda Bakeshop pattern. Goal was to assemble the finished Jewel Box Blocks into a top and work on the three borders. 

I finished the top and reassessed the border pieces that I needed were cut.  I also chose a neutral from stash to use for two of the borders instead of trying to cobble together scrappy ones, a decision that had stalled the quilt. 

#4 was Sunbonnet Sue Goes to the Orient.  Sue had stalled a number of times, having been started about 4 years ago with bonus triangles from this quilt I made in 2006.

After a cutting error when trimming Sue's linen background meant I had to add coping strips that looked like a doorway to me, I added the oriental lantern embroidery.  She is all finished now, with a facing on the back made from Japanese fabric my sister in law brought me from a trip to Japan. 

Simple quilting was all that was needed.

This sideways pic shows how the top facing covers the shorter side facing, eliminating bulk in the corners.  I made skinny channel to hold a bamboo skewer or knitting needle for a hanging sleeve.  So happy to have Sue finished at last, so many years after the original idea struck.

#5 was Zig Zag 9 patch, a quilt started from a block swap with an online Yahoo Group.  I assembled the top a couple of years ago...2012! (cough) a la Bonnie Hunter's quilt Rick Rack Nines, and it went to the quilter in 2017; the binding was machine sewn on in June this year and it has been waiting since then to have some missed stitching repairs and get a bath. I took it to the laundromat today and it is a finished quilt at last. 

Our CalKing bed is too wide for the zig zags to run vertically, but I still think it looks good.  The Baptist Fan quilting was my choice, and I love the texture.  So pleased to have made a bed sized quilt for US at last. 

#6 was Go Four It, a Leader-Ender I've been working on for a few years, based on Edyta Sitar's quilt in APQ magazine, with a twist.  Quilt MATH finally being worked out meant I needed to find a setting fabric for my layout.  Luckily I have found one.

The Jan Patek fabric I found at the Santa Barbara Quilt Guild show a few weeks ago is now washed and ready to cut.  I can finally turn this Leader Ender into a real quilt.  

#7 was two unplanned "squirrel" project tablerunners from a Kim Brackett book.  Inspiration struck to use charm squares instead of yardage and I assembled two tops before running out of steam.  Both are now finished. 

I chopped off the corner in this pic, but you get the idea.  This is from her Cross My Heart quilt in Scrap-Basket Surprises.  I had fun with the specialty stitches on my machine to add detail to walking foot quilting.

Above is the larger tablerunner, and below is the mini, from the same Prayer Flag charm pack that had languished in a drawer for years. 

#8  was the Medallion Star rescue quilt.  I inherited this early 90's top from my former boss, whose now ex-wife was clearing out her old craft projects.   I had chopped off some of the dated background fabric and made a new pieced border of my own 3 years ago.  

It became a sandwich and stalled during the quilting stage in 2017.  It has been stuffed under my cutting table waiting for more quilting for over a year.  I had spray basted the quilt and needed to iron it flat again before adding more quilting today.  While still not finished, it is very close to becoming a real quilt at last. 

 Walking foot quilting in the border chains...

...and surrounding the star points.  I have the four corner squares left to do in the burgundy, and a plan for the remainder of the borders.  Now September is over and I feel great about all the time I've spent in my sewing room this month. 

The two projects that didn't get touched were Barefoot in the Park, a Christmas quilt which is a layout, switcheroo and assemble the top job, and the other is framing the Mason Jar embroidery I recently finished.  I'll get to them :)  

I plan to revisit this "Three For a Month" idea in the future whenever I get overwhelmed again.  It was fun to touch each of these quilts and finish a few. 

Design Wall Monday--National Sew a Jelly Roll Day Update

For Design Wall Monday, I have the results of my work on National Sew a Jelly Roll Day.  I had a great time on Saturday making blocks from a jelly roll of Badda Bing, a fabric line from Me and My Sister designs.  There was a lot of cutting of background yardage, but after that was finished I cut the jelly roll strips in batches so I could have the constant reward of sewing them up as I went :)

Happy Tiers is the Me and My Sister pattern I am using, from the April 2016 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting (pattern for sale on their website).  I just love the cherry prints. 

The pink, blue and red prints will each make 5 block rows, but since I only got two orange and three green from the jelly roll, they have a joint row.  I paid more attention to the cherry print on the diagonal so the cake looks striped--the dark blue one in the upper right.  There will be a red one just like it.  There are only a few more blocks to sew before I can start assembling with sashing.  The magazine pattern called for 2 1/4 yard of background, but I was able to cut all the pieces, with extras, from a two yard piece of  Kona White. A fun, fast quilt in the making.  I will repeat this with the other jelly roll, Meadowbloom.  

Also on Saturday, to keep things going on my Three for September WIP play, I got the quilting done on Sunbonnet Sue Goes to the Orient.   

Very simple stitch in the ditch and outlining Sue.  I decided not to quilt around the lantern embroidery.  I'll use the same gold print for the facing; I found a tutorial I like that eliminates the bulk in the corners and keeps them from getting too rounded.  

See more Design Walls on Small Quilts and Doll Quilts. 

National Sew a Jelly Roll Day--Happy Tiers

It's National Sew a Jelly Roll Day, and I am ready to cut and sew!

As I mentioned previously, my cousin asked me to make quilts for his two young granddaughters for Christmas, and I was happy to oblige.  I sent him a bunch of photos of quilts from my magazines and we decided on Happy Tiers, a Me and My Sister design, in the April 2016 issue of APQ magazine.  Recently I ordered two Jelly Rolls on Etsy and bought Kona background fabric locally. 

I didn't want the quilts to be too "young" and chose brights that are not babyish for this graphic, fun pattern.  

 Pretty and sweet smaller scale prints with cherries.

Love the name of this line!  These gals are fun to talk to at quilt shows, lots of energy.

  More saturated colors with lots of white, and inspirational phrases.

Meadowbloom by April Rosenthal.  I will leave it up to my cousin as to which quilt goes to which granddaughter, after they are made.  I'm headed to the cutting table right after breakfast :)

#nationalsewajellyrollday