Sewing In Florida

I've never taken my sewing machine on vacation before. Since we have rented this house for most of a month, I figured it'll be just like home, so I am treating it as such. We spent five days on the road, taking a slow route south, traveling scenic byways, visiting historic sites, and entering states I'd not previously visited.

We arrived here at our rental, moved in and the next morning while hubby slept in, I arranged a space for sewing.

This table is in the screened back porch. The table needed just a short shove across the room to access an electrical outlet; I was ship-shape in no time. I only have a hedge to look at straight ahead, but over to the right is the backyard, and beyond that is the Withlacoochee River. We have access to a canoe, two kayaks, and a paddle boat, but more interesting to me is the business across the road - air boat rides on the river, and nearby Tsala Apopka Lake and Henderson Lake. 

But I digress! The sewing station is set up and ready for action, and as the first day was largely a settle in and get organized sort of day and I am definitely ready to stitch.

This view is from the other end of the table. The size is great for laying out blocks, or in this case, long rows of diamonds. *smile*

My baby quilt parts are nearby, too, and I will work on them first. My plan is to attach all the short rectangles to the center squares. Then I will switch gears and stitch a few of those diamonds.

These diamonds will be placed in total random fashion, and I will lay as much out here on the table as possible. I will need to consult the book to see how many need to be in the longest row. I'm a long way from that point for now, though.

Our vacation is off to a great start. The weather has been cool so far, but I see that the extended forecast includes some 80-degree days!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Baby Quilt Kit

I did indeed get the baby quilt cut out from that sweet little layer cake I had on hand. See this post for particulars.

You just don't know how I was itching to make a couple of blocks. It was sooo tempting. This quilt will make up so fast. Had I not needed to stay focused on packing and prepping for vacation, I would have been at the machine stitching away on these baby blocks.

We are ready to go; had a quick trip to see Cate, our daughters and son-in-law. We are going to have to make that last us for about a month. Not seeing that sweet baby will be such a hardship! They promise to FaceTime with us.

Hope you are having a wonderful Saturday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Baby Quilt to Begin the New Year

In 2022, I made and gifted 7 baby quilts - Emery, Boone, Henry, Benjamin, and 3 for Cate. I made 2 more - pink ones - that are still in the flimsy stage. Now, here as we have barely begun 2023, I find that I missed a baby! A new wee lad was born on the 15th (my birthday!) and I hadn't remembered to make him a quilt. His older brother Ben got one, shown below, back in 2020. How I missed making a plan for this baby's quilt, I cannot explain.

New baby Henry (another Henry!) has indeed arrived, and it just so happens that I have a juvenile print layer cake by Emily Winfield Martin for Riley Blake Designs. The line is called The Littlest Family's Big Day and it will make a lovely alternate project for Florida, should my time allow for it.

I had an idea for using 10" blocks, and a couple nights ago I made two test blocks. The fabrics for these samples are from that giant pile I had for all the diamond cutting I did on Tuesday. I am sure this block has been featured in many a layer cake pattern book, but honestly, it doesn't need much explaining. 

Two fabrics for sample blocks.

The thing I love most about this block is that just about all the fabric is used. Only about an inch of waste results. It absolutely kills me to waste fabric from precuts, and this one comes about as close as any I've ever made to using every single bit of the square.

 

The block measures 9 inches (8.5" finished), so if I make 42 blocks, and create a quilt that is 6 blocks wide x 7 blocks long, then I should end up with a quilt approximately 51"x59". Nice size! We shall see as things develop.

If time permits, I will cut this layer cake and have it ready for sewing once we reach our rental in Florida. I am almost more eager to make this baby quilt than I am to make the diamond quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

The Diamonds Are Cut

My diamond-cutting session proved successful. This project is shaping up satisfactorily, I must say. Hopefully, the sewing will go as smoothly as the cutting went.

I was a little worried that my selections ran darker than I desired, so I dug out some yellow and light green to add to the mix. Definitely helps.

Here's my big 'ol stack of diamonds - all 4.5" of them! I do wonder how big this quilt will be! We shall see together!

To see how this quilt will be constructed, you can click back to this post. I was making Erin's Diamonds at the time (2013), and I followed the directions in a Kaffe Fassett book. It's funny re-reading that post. I remember being so intimidated to tackle that quilt, and I also remember being so surprised at the ease of construction. It was actually fun to make, and I trust this one will be just as enjoyable.

I hand quilted Erin's Diamonds, and you can see that 2016 finish by clicking here.

Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Feeling It

Let me begin by showing you why I've been away from my blog for several days. I now have another interest besides quilting. I had my GRANDMA hat on all weekend. *smile* 

We stayed at DD's while they went away for a couple of days. We had the pleasure of Miss Cate's company. What a delightful time. Also demanding and exhausting.

I needed Monday to recover.

Catherine Alice; 11 weeks.

Go ahead and say it - she is the most beautiful baby in the entire world. In the history of babies. Yes. That would be our Cate.

Monday, as I said was recovery day. Tuesday was cutting day. I have a project I want to work on while we are in Florida. The plan is to have it all cut out before leaving.

And that gets me to the title - feeling it. 

How many of you quilters have to be in the mood for a project? Or what do you do when the idea in your head doesn't really end up being as gorgeous as you'd expected? 

Back in the fall after I finished Lil' Orphan Scrappy, I determined that I would use the remaining William Morris prints in a diamond quilt. I further determined that I would cut the diamonds ahead of our month in Florida and work on them while we are away.

I was all set to begin cutting the diamonds yesterday, and piled all the larger pieces on the table.

Bleh. I am just not feeling this at all. There doesn't seem to be enough variety to suit me. I used all the neutral and red pieces from the collection in the quilt above; I am left with blue, brown, gold and black.  Bleh. Double bleh.

So I put it aside. I will think on this pile of leftovers for awhile and revisit later.

Why a diamond quilt? I made one for Cate's mother back in 2016, and it was so  much easier than I expected.

I've wanted to make another diamond quilt and have seen several recently while browsing the internet. One I recalled was on Pinterest made with floral prints. Maybe this would be the way to go instead.

From Pinterest

I have an entire dresser full of fat quarters that I have been collecting since the '80s. Plus yardage. Plus remnants. Plus scraps. Certainly there should be plenty of florals mixed into these fabrics for making a quilt like this. It seemed like a good time to dive into that vast stash and begin creating something beautiful. 

Go for it!

My fabric pull looks a bit on the dark side compared to the inspiration picture, but I am moving forward with it anyway. I did add more yellow after cutting this entire pile. I do not discount the possible need to add even more lighter fabrics as I move on through this project. (Or maybe just use less of the darker colors.)

The diamonds are big, and maybe I've cut far more than I need. I don't have a count. And it's anybody's guess how many I will need. I'm just gonna' wing it - in other words, follow my normal quilt-making method.

Packing for Florida has begun. All this along with the basic sewing needs will be making the trek south. It's hard to project just how much time I will have for stitching, but  I do want to try to make some headway on this quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Reviewing Old Goals - Part 2

I promised a quilt parade today of quilts that fulfilled my final goal of 2022 - Numerous TBA Quilts. Basically, I was giving myself a lot of leeway to make whatever quilts suited my fancy at any given point throughout the year. 

I made a lot! Some were quilted; most were not. But perhaps they will be quilted soon, as this year's goals are ambitious in the long-arm quilting area.

Let's start the parade; these are presented in no particular order. I'm numbering them just to see how many there are.

1. Cottage Green. This one was also quilted! We used it on our bed all summer.

2. 4-Patch Delight. A wall hanging; it is quilted and displayed in a basket in the dining room.

3.  First 3-Yard Quilt.  Made in April while at retreat.

4. Rosy Stepping Stones.  After we learned that we were having a granddaughter, all the pink quilts started!
                                                

5. Small Rosy Stepping Stones. And leftover bits were used, as well!

6. Everhart Baby Quilt. Quilted and gifted.

7.  McKenzie Baby Quilt. Quilted and gifted.

8. Spring Double 9-Patch. This look a lot more sparkly in the book; mine looks a bit washed out. Unsure how to proceed.

9. Second 3-Yard Quilt. Quilted and gifted to Erin for Catherine Alice.

10. Autumn Green. Sort of a 'cousin' to Cottage Green, above. Both green fabrics were bought at the same time, and the patterns show the importance of block construction.

11. Copy Cat Creation/Kaffe Fassett Baby Quilt for Cate. Quilted, gifted, and being used!

12. Pink Single Irish Chain. Gave to Cate at Christmas time, and it resides here for when she visits.

13. Scrappy Red Nines.  This quilt top was finished right at year's end and it has already been quilted, first thing in 2023.

Lucky 13!! That's some grand total. I cannot be disappointed with this number or this variety. And so many are quilted already! It was a banner year for babies and baby quilts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Reviewing Old Goals - Part 1

Every year since retiring I have made sewing and quilting goals, and by all accounts 2022 was one of my more successful years as far as completion goes. I fondly recall my big success of '17, when I finished all those UFOs - gosh, what an undertaking. I am so glad to have done that. The success of '22 may well rank a strong #2 behind '17.

Numbers 1-6 and 8-9 are all successfully completed, meaning they were all made. Some are quilted, finished and gifted (1 & 2), while others are quilt tops awaiting quilting (3-6 and 8-9). I also finished 11, 12, 14, and 15.

Click here (#1) and here (#2) to see the two baby quilts. Below join me in viewing a little quilt parade of the others finished throughout the year.

Goal # 3 was the red and white Double Irish Chain. Finished in July; I still might add borders.

Goal # 4 was Great Granny Squares. I worked on this mostly at April's retreat, finishing it soon after.

Goal # 5 was Mini Trip Around the World. This was started here at home and finished while at Retreat. It's not very big, but it sure is pretty, and was totally fun to make.

Goal #6 was Temecula Baskets. This was a carry-over quilt from 2021; I finally finished it in February.

Goal # 8 was Ohio Stars from our block exchange. I took my stack of stars to April's retreat, and made this quilt top while there. I am still thinking about adding a border.

 

Goal # 9 ended up being combined with #12, making Lil' Orphan Scrappy with the William Morris fabric.

 

Goal # 11 was Ocean Ripples, a Kaffe Fassett quilt top finished in March.

So what about those things I didn't do? Goal #7, continue working on Lake Effect, is carrying over to yet another year. I really ignored it last year, and vow to be more diligent in giving it my attention.

I don't think I spent a single minute thinking about getting out those Blockheads UFOs - goal #10. Consequently, at least two of these find themselves added to the new goals for 2023. I promise I will finish these Blockheads quilts - someday!

Goal # 13 basically got ditched early on. I thought it would be fun to do another sew-along with Sharon and Dee (like we did in '21) but, alas, we found our lives going in all different directions, so I scrapped it.

Down at the bottom of the list are two goals added almost as an afterthought to my list. I am glad I added them, as I was motivated to see how far I could get on both. Goal # 14 was to quilt at least 24 quilts on the long arm machine, and I exceeded my projected goal with 28. Have a look at the page dedicated to tracking my long arm quilting.

Enough for today. That last item on the list - Numerous TBA Quilts - lends itself to a great big quilt parade, so come back tomorrow for that bit of fun.

Happy Quilting, Friends!