Inverted Fat Quarter Stars

I tell you what, my attention can be turned to a new project in the blink of an eye. A simple, innocent scroll through Instagram or Pinterest often results in my dropping whatever current project I'm focused on in order to 'Hurry! Let's see what this is like!' And whoosh, I'm off to try it out. You may want to read about the "squirrel" syndrome.

Case in point. This Inverted Fat Quarter Stars quilt came from my having seen a picture on Pinterest that struck my fancy. I clicked to the source and found a lovely new-to-me quilter and blogger Penelope Handmade. Immediately, I dragged out two matching FQs to give her technique a try. Her specific blog post for this block is very straightforward, and I just couldn't help myself. I ended up making more.

And over the past couple of months whenever a few moments availed themselves for a quick sit-down at the sewing machine, I have continued making these Inverted Fat Quarter Stars. 

(from Penelope Handmade)

The original quilt in the blog post shows a quilt that is decidedly brighter and more floral than the reproduction-style I have made. Actually, I can see myself making more of these and doing one in florals. It's such an easy block to make, and the style would look good in a variety of colorways, IMO.

Two things I encountered along the way. First, I don't like to do as much trimming as this block construction requires, so I altered the sizes on both parts of the 'no-waste flying geese." That was a big time saver for me. 

The second issue was that I discovered after all my blocks were constructed that I'd made 6 pairs incorrectly. Look at this earlier layout to see if you can detect my error.

The correctly-made star blocks are supposed to have the outer background and the center square of the same fabric, leaving the star points to be different. In the blocks shown above, six pairs are made in which the stars centers and star points are the same. I though I would just use them, and move on, but laying them out became problematic, so I just accepted that they needed to be corrected and did it.

I don't know how I let myself make this mistake on so many blocks (6 pairs! 12 blocks!), but I did and now that I've unsewn and then resewn correctly, I don't think I will ever make them wrong again! Arrgghh!

 This quilt is perfect for stash-busting. Years ago when I first began my fabric stash, I started by collecting fat quarters. Consequently, I've got an entire dresser full of them. Making this quilt was a good way of using them. Just pull one, find a complimentary mate and get to sewing. Easy to do and the blocks come out so big! Twelve inches! I made this quilt 6x7, so a decent-sized quilt with just 42 blocks.

Here are a few more shots of the flimsy. You are also getting some views of our remodeled bedroom. I still need wall art and additional decorative touches, but the biggest parts of the job are finished.

It feels good to share a finish. I haven't been nearly as productive as usual, because I am getting other things done. Are things getting done in your quilting room?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Scrap-Keeping - It Might Run In the Family

On many occasions I have chronicled here my determined efforts to use my scraps. I save a lot of bits that other quilters might throw away. Try as I might, I just cannot allow myself to trash perfectly good pieces of quilting fabric. The stuff has gotten so dang expensive, and the waste is unacceptable for me.

Yes, I save a lot, and have done so ever since I began quilting over 40 years ago. All this time, however, I did knot know that saving scraps might possibly be hereditary. In a recent dig through my grandmother's tubs of fabrics, I learned that she too saved her scraps. I'd like to think that perhaps my penchant for saving scraps was acquired from my grandmother. How nice. 

Grandma's tubs included one that was chock full of every color of solid imaginable. Like a 64-color box of Crayola Crayons, I've plumbed the depths of her stockpile a few times when I've needed a solid. I recently worked on two quilts requiring solid colors, and found this pale green that would be a perfect addition to my quilt. All folded together, it appeared to be a hefty chunk of uncut yardage. When I unfolded, however, I found all manner of strips and bits.

My project required long strips of fabric, so these pieces ended up working perfectly. How grateful I am that Grandma was a saver of fabric scraps!

The project was a two-at-a-time one. I needed two baby girls quilts, and I had a hankering to use some Kaffe Fassett fabrics in a 'round-robin'-style quilt. I'd made one a couple of years ago when my granddaughter was born. (See picture here.) These seem to appeal to young moms; DD Erin used hers as a floor quilt when Cate was a tiny babe. (See picture here.)

I pulled the solids from Grandma's collection, and had these blocks whipped up in short order. Plus another set identical to these, as well. I've sewn both quilts together and prepared both backings. They are next in the queue for quilting. 

So, thank you, Grandma for saving those scraps! I'm trying to make good use of both yours and mine. *smile*

If you're interested in seeing some examples of the quilts I've made using scraps, click here, here and here.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Retreat Projects

Last week I attended a 4-day quilt retreat in nearby Jamestown. Several of the Frankfort Girls plus a couple more attended. I thought it would be fun to share some of the projects we were working on. 

Terry: In a patriotic mood, Terry worked on three different projects. Alas, I have pictures of only two.  

The table runner and table topper will no doubt be ready to adorn Terry's lovely home soon. I don't think she used a pattern; rather she made these from pictures she'd seen online. 

Sheryll: In an effort to finish up a couple of UFOs, Sheryll worked on a couple of Kim Diehl projects begun a few years ago. I have only this one picture, but I'm pretty sure she worked on a second one after this. Plus she did some handwork.

Susan: Perhaps the aggravation  award goes to Susan for choosing to work on quite a complicated project. Not her style at all, this Tula Pink project (called Center Stage) was quite involved and at time gave Susan fits. It will ultimately be a gift for her niece.

The blocks were big, but were comprised of much tinier blocks and Susan was fit-to-be-tied at times with construction. It's gonna' have great impact when finished, though, and Susan has been known to create some real beauties; no doubt this will be yet another one.

Jan: As is the norm, Jan gets more out of a quilt retreat than anyone I've ever known. This one was no different. She finished the quilt tops for the two shown below and made a fair amount of progress on another which I did not photograph.

These quilts may look identical, but they are not. The same pattern used with two different fabric combinations. Jan really worked hard on these, then went on to begin at least one more and possibly two - I was rather inattentive at times, so I might have missed more.

Sharon: Yes, my good friend Sharon attended, and she happily finished off a quilt top that she'd been working on at my house for a few weeks. This is a Laundry Basket Quilts kit she'd gotten as a gift last Christmas. 

She finished her star quilt as far as the kit had fabric for, then decided she would make it bigger. She ordered more background fabric, made what remaining stars she could, the moved on to the 9-patch project, shown below.

Sharon had been given a collection of scraps from a dear old friend of her mother's. She sifted through the scraps to come up with a delightful collection of 2.5-inch squares that she proceeded to make into 9-patch blocks. What a wonderful array of vintage fabrics! This promises to be quite a beauty!

Mine: I had good success in my retreat experience. I finished the last of the 42 stars needed for a project I haven't even yet shared here on the blog. In a future post, I will provide some details, but for now I can show you a satisfying stack of stars.

After finishing the stars, I turned to a recently-found project in the depths of a clean-out in my sewing room. A tub of homespun remnants needed to be used up, and in a hurry. So I did the fasted quilt top I know how to make. Plain squares in a diagonal pattern across the quilt. It would be as big as the fabric allowed. The remaining fabric will be pieced for a backing, or turned into pillows.

When I finished this top, I turned to a very old kit I'd made for a retreat back when we were still going to Canter's Cave (2016, I think). I'd prepped about 12 blocks, made one block, discovered a cutting error, and immediately stowed it away for another day. I found it in that sewing room clean-out mentioned above, and decided the time had arrived to deal with it. Turns out the other blocks were all cut correctly. Yay!! I have renewed interest in seeing this little beauty completed, so I intend to stay with it. The pattern is called Best of All.

This pretty well sums up the sewing we did at retreat. This group just blended together so well; we have two more retreats on the calendar for next year.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Sweet Ruby And Her Quilt

In yesterday's post, I alluded to the two tiny baby girls not yet ready to be included in such pictures as that one of the 'big kids' sitting on the garden steps. I'd like to introduce you to the newer of the babies - tiny little Ruby Jean, who is now about 5 weeks old and trying her hardest to grow and become strong. My niece Abby and her husband Stephen have a sweet, agreeable, and content little darling to love on.

 

She looks tailor-made for the quilt from Great-Aunt Jayne, doesn't she? Ruby is the perfect little bundle for this easy layer-cake creation I made earlier this year.

 

In the few visits I've made in which Ruby was around, I've never actually seen her eyes as she's always been sleeping. This picture of her with eyes wide open gives me a good idea that she looks remarkably like her two-year-old big brother Boone.

The quilt pattern is an easy one to construct from a layer cake, and results in a baby quilt of ample size. I've made several and it does not require a border. I hope Ruby loves her quilt! I tell all the new moms who get a quilt from me that they should let their kiddos wear them out! I will gladly make another one if their first one falls apart. 

Baby season in our family continues! I still need to share grand-niece McKenzie Mae and her quilt. McKenzie was born in January, and coming in September our daughter Emma will be adding another little girl - our 2nd granddaughter! They and their quilts will be introduced here by and by.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Crazy Busy and Catching Up

It’s been a wildly enjoyable week or so around here, and while blog posting has suffered, my fun levels have soared through the roof!

Since my last post - over 10 days ago! - we've attended a luncheon of college friends, attended a family gathering at my sister's, and had our granddaughter for a long weekend. In the midst of that, I went on a 4-day quilt retreat, too. All so very fun - the stuff one imagines retirement is all about!

This week, as the pace slows a bit, I will attempt to catch up on the sewing I've been able to squeeze into spare moments here and there. I've got dozens of posts I could write up here, so we shall see how I manage.

As I attempt to catch up on my posting, I will lead this week off with a conglomeration of photos from some of our activities. Below are two pics of projects I worked on at the retreat. I am happy to report that I finished a couple of things and revisited a very old UFO.

The family fun at my sister's gave us an opportunity to swim with Cate, shown below with her best buddy, Pappaw Kevin.

The number of little people in our family continues to increase. Besides these three - Boone, Cate and Archie - we have two tiny baby girls who will be in the thick of things by next summer.

In addition to the retreat projects above, I have a quilt on the long arm machine and a renewed energy for working on Lake Effect. AND - in case I don' have enough challenges, I'm consolidating the two sewing rooms into just one sewing room, and I've agreed to teach one class at OU-C this coming semester. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Birthday Party

While we were in Michigan, someone special had a birthday. Since neither of us are too rigid about much of anything, we celebrated yesterday while she was here to sew.

If you guessed that we were celebrating Sharon, you would be correct. Oh, there was wine and cheese and fruit and nuts! Wait, we do that most sewing days…well, add gifts and it becomes a party. 

We have been known to feed one another's habits, so I just had to gift her with some absolutely scrumptious yardage of this neutral by 3Sisters. We are both fans of the many lines of 3Sisters fabrics, she much more so than I. Now you can see what I bought while shopping in Michigan. The perfect neutral to feed Sharon's love of all things 3Sisters.

Here are some more random pics; While it is most definitely a neutral, it’s quite a busy print! There are so many elements to look at, to read, to study. We petted and pointed all over Collages from the new line called Favorites.

Initially, I envisioned her using this in a 2-color quilt - say red/neutral or navy/neutral. But the more I thought about it, those soft pinks or blues that 3Sisters is known for would also look lovely. Then as we studied this piece more closely, it became evident that cutting this into small pieces might be hard to do. Why not piece a quilt with large blocks of this? Well, Sharon certainly has some decision making ahead of her.

In the mean time, she might just stare at this gorgeousness for awhile.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Shopping in Michigan

We have recently returned from a 4-day drive through northeast Ohio, northwest Indiana and both lower and upper Michigan. This was our gift to ourselves after working so hard all July to re-do the bedroom and get ready for the family reunion. When we take off like this, we seek out the roads less traveled so we can see farms and barns and villages and all manner of true America that one doesn’t see from interstate highways.

Our ultimate goal was seeing the scenic areas around the Upper Peninsula. We never have too much of an itinerary; no reservations for any particular attraction; we never know where we'll be sleeping at the end of the day. We've gotten pretty good at flying by the seat of our pants, you might say.

We find some mighty interesting places this way, too. For example, in the photo below, this appealingly moody room is a restaurant/bar/speakeasy we had dinner in one evening. Look at the ambiance here! So inviting with its tin ceiling and ornately carved bar wall. We had friendly service, and an icy cold beverage along with a delicious meal. All we have to do is ask the folks at the hotel desk what local spot they recommend and we regularly come away with a fabulous experience. This place is called Tap 21 located in downtown Manistique, Michigan, in case you're interested. It's a real gem!

Traveling this way is very much a team effort. DH loves to drive; in fact, I rarely ever take the wheel. While he drives, I look out the window. I like to study the countrysides; I research stuff on the phone when we are curious about any particular thing; and I book a hotel in some town up the road when we feel ourselves growing road-weary. We've successfully traveled this way for several years now, and it suits us just fine.

 

I just had to take this picture as we exited Tap21. Straight across the street was this blast from the past. First, I rarely see Ben Franklin stores anymore. Oh, how I loved the one we had inside our grocery here in town. Second, I can't help but admire the vintage graphics still adorning the storefront. What a nostalgic slice of days gone by.  Then I looked next door, and saw the equally vintage signage on the bank front. I had to remind myself that it was 2024 and not 1965!

I made one shopping stop in the next town up the road - Munising, MI. Situated on the banks of Lake Superior, it's very much a town capitalizing on its lake proximity - fishing, boating, hiking and biking. However, the one shop that I found most appealing was the quilt shop - Miss Good Stitch.

I needed just one thing - a special piece of fabric for a special person (who shall remain nameless for the time being). I was greeted by the shop owner, Ginger, who was all smiles and very curious to know if I were there for the shop hop. Well, no, actually, I told her, I'm just a quilter who is traveling and happened upon the shop. The store had quite a few customers who were shop hoppers, and all told, it was a wonderful shop to visit. I am happy to say that I did find the perfect fabric, and I snapped these pics for your enjoyment.

Of course, I felt right at home here and only wish I could have spent more time checking things out.

That's all for today, peeps. Sharon is coming in a bit, and I need to figure out what I will be working on today, as I have several options.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne