A New Baby! And Baby Quilts

 A few weeks or maybe a month ago, I dabbled in the Kaffe Fassett fabrics and made some blocks for a baby quilt. Actually, two. We seem to be having so many babies coming lately - our own daughter, and friends and family are adding babies one after another it seems.

Anyway, I used some KF fabrics paired with some solids from my stash to come up with 2 baby quilts. One is definitely for our daughter's new baby, and one is an extra for any of the little girls already here or are coming soon.

My thought was that I would imitate the quilt I made in 2022 for Cate. Click here to see it. Since I didn't use a pattern and made it up as I went, I did the same thing on these 2 new ones. The sizing for these two new ones is smaller, but still they'll be okay for newborns, I think.

The two quilts are identical except for the binding. One is bound with a remnant binding made from lots of scrap strips. The other is bound with a single fabric cut from some yardage. The backing is a blue solid - and yes, these are intended for baby girls, but I didn't have pink yardage - and all has been from the stash. Use it up!

And, YES!! Our little one arrived early this morning! Reagan Jayne Storey stormed into the world at 6:53am, and weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. She's a long girl at 21 inches. We are a tall family, and so is Glen's, so length was to be expected. Emma is doing great and this sweet new family has a whole lot of love surrounding them.

Happy Birthday, Reagan! We got up to the hospital before she was 6 hours old, and to say we are in love is a major understatement. Emma pulled off quite a surprise with her name! Neither Kevin nor I had any idea they were planning that middle name for her, and consequently I have been a borderline emotional mess all day! A happy mess, though, to be sure.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Binding A Special Quilt

A very special bride in my Frienzies group will at last be getting her wedding quilt as soon as I finish this binding and return it to the group at our next gathering.

Susan's daughter Kenly requested a neutral quilt with grays and beiges. A few of the girls shopped for just the right combination of fabrics to make this gorgeous, subtle quilt with a modern vibe that so many of the younger girls prefer. One year ago to the date (!) we had a fun sewing day making this quilt (detailed in this post). Even our dear Frienzie Kay, who has been in memory care for a few years, contributed to this quilt b/c one of the girls had saved the great dotted grunge fabric from Kay's stash. Doesn't it work perfectly as a backing?

We finally did find a quilter who worked closely with us to come up with the perfect quilting, and now it's back here at my house to be bound. I am nearly finished - just one side to finish. I'll share full, complete pics once we've gifted it to our bride.

Joining up today with Kathy and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. It's always fun - and inspiring - to see what other quilters and stitchers are working on. 

Have a great day! We are still waiting on the arrival of a grandbaby - maybe soon! If you read Kathy's post, you've learned that she's just become a first-time grandma! She seems just as excited as you would expect. *smiles*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

The Current Sewing Room Status

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity in the sewing room consolidation effort. Let me show you things as they stand at present.

This picture shows most of my new and improved sewing room - aka Jayne's Quilting Room. It's a big room, yet I didn't have room in the previous set-up for this long arm machine. This is what precipitated my needing to do a major clear-out. 

The big clunky desk is gone, and now Sharon and I are sewing on these matching former typing tables. These tables were discarded from the high school where we both taught. I took one, and didn't even know that she took one, too. When we were looking at options for where to sew and how to configure this corner, she told me she had a table in storage. So, she brought it over and look at how perfectly this works! I am very pleased with the layout; the TV trays can be scooted under the tables when not in use, which saves space. We have had 2 sewing days with this set-up and it seems to be working out pretty well. 

The giant cutting table is gone, and now the long arm machine sits in its place. It was necessary to figure out a new cutting area. The painted blue dresser has become my cutting table. To make the height work I put it on risers, and so far so good for this set-up. I've not cut any big stuff yet, so we may have to tweak it, but this is working for smaller cutting jobs.

Movement around the long arm machine has a couple of tight spots, but is totally doable. I've stored all the battings under the frame, and already have the 4th quilt on for quilting. (I've done 2 baby quilts; Sharon's done one.) 

So, the part I still need to address is the previous long arm room. I moved all the excess into that room, and now the big job is dealing with this remaining detritus. I save too much stuff; I am a lousy organizer; I would rather sew or quilt. 

In other words, making myself deal with all of this is going to take a huge effort on my part. I'm trying to make myself do one box or tub per day. Usually doing one gets me going, and then I can do more - sometimes. Things will look a whole lot better after we've had our garage sale. My neighbor and I are doing one together next month. Getting to clear out all of that excess will make a huge impact on organizing efforts!

In other news, we are still waiting on #2 granddaughter to be born. She was due on Monday, so any moment now we could get the call that brings us happy news!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

When The Move Is Completed...

I am going to be so focused on finishing both WIPs (works in progress) and a few brand new projects. 

Here are a few WIPs I am itching to get back to. Some are more urgent than others, but I'm looking forward to finishing them all.

This is one of my urgent WIPs. The Frienzies made this quilt over a year ago, then there was a big saga about getting it quilted (lady doing it suddenly retired; returned to us unquilted; searched for a new quilter, and so on). Finally, it is now quilted - and look at how awesome!! I volunteered to bind it. Then as if this quilt needed more saga material, my machine that has the walking foot went in for repairs. I have the machine back, and now my sewing space is a wreck. I hope to be working on this binding by the week's end.

And while I'm binding, I might as well go ahead and do this big cutie. I have no particular fabric picked out for her, so I probably will find something in the stash and make 20 miles of binding. It'll be nice to finally have it completed.

You saw these blocks that I made last month at retreat; I have made several more but I've lost count of how many are needed; I must take stock and finish the remaining blocks so I can begin putting them all together.

Then there are things to be quilted. Many things, actually, but the ones high on my to-do/must-do list are baby quilts.

I have this quilt top sewn together and another one that is identical. It will take no time at all to quilt them, and you can bet that this will be happening very, very soon. I also need to quilt Pinwheels, shown below.

Now, you know I have more quilt tops to be quilted, and pretty high on the list is Fall Leaves that I rushed to make last year; I really would like to have it quilted this fall, so I will prioritize it.

Then there are all the new projects calling to me from the depths of the tubs and bins I have moved all over creation in the process of consolidating these 2 sewing rooms. I will share those soon, as well as an update on the progress I am making toward finishing this major move.

 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Moving and Consolidating

Just so you know, this post is wordy and does not contain any quilt pictures. 

There is a reason I have been so absent on the blog lately. I am not sewing that much because I am attempting to consolidate 2 sewing rooms into one. For an admitted fabric hoarder, this has been quite a challenging task.

HISTORY: 

We have lived in this house since September 1992. Emma was 5 weeks old when we moved in. We have a 4-bedroom house, with the 3 kids' bedrooms having had many changes over the last 32 years. The biggest of the kids' bedrooms is roughly 27' x 14', and it is the room I currently use as my sewing room.

That big bedroom was originally Emma's, then Erin's, then Emma's again, before it became mine. Only Adam's room never changed through all those years until he graduated in 2001. 

All through those first 9 years, I did not have a sewing room. I sewed out of a large downstairs closet which was originally going to be a laundry room. 

In 2001 when Adam went to college, I moved out of the sewing closet and into his room for my first proper sewing room. It worked very nicely and I was quite content here. Over the next 10 years, however, I had more "stuff" than the room could contain, and I either needed to downsize my sewing stash, or move to a bigger room. 

In 2012, after Emma had been a year and a half away in college, she initiated the move between her room and the sewing room - switching the two. The biggest of the 3 kids' bedrooms ultimately became the sewing room. In early 2013, I fixed the room to suit my then-current sewing needs, and I am sure I never imagined that I would one day fill it to the brim. Refer to this post for a look at things in those early days (scroll down to the 6th paragraph).

In the fall of 2019, we removed one guest room and moved the long arm machine in. At that point, I had a sewing room AND a long arm room! Without a doubt, quilting had taken over as a major activity. 

This summer - 2024 - I find myself once again making changes to our bedrooms.

CURRENT:

I want to once again have 2 guest rooms. With both daughters having families, and grandbabies bound to be coming for overnight stays, it just seemed senseless to have only one guest room in a 4-bedroom house. I am consolidating the long arm room into the big sewing room. And gosh, this is a huge challenge for me!

A cleaned off cutting table resulted in removing the table, which is going into a garage sale. I have no further need of it and no room, either.

All the stuff lining the walls are the tubs that were previously under the table. It's not exactly visible in the photo above, but under the window is a dresser that has been moved to the wall there by the design wall.

Here is said dresser moved to said side wall, lifted onto risers and set up to be the cutting table. I hope it works okay.

 

And this view shows the space where the dresser was before. I shake my head at the layers of stacked tubs surrounding this room. I have so much that needs to be sorted and purged and down-sized. It overwhelms me.

This picture pretty much shows things as they currently stand. DH and I installed a ceiling fan OURSELVES!! The long arm machine is mostly in place. Once the remaining bars are on the long arm frame, I will get a feel for how much space I'll have to move about. It's hard to judge with all those tubs in the way, so perhaps I will have to stack them out in the hallway before bringing the machine to the frame. Once that machine is on the frame it will be too heavy to move, so getting placement right is super important.

This is the room in which the long arm has resided since 2019. It has served me well, but now this room really needs to be a guest room again, so onward I proceed. Once I've cleared this, DH will paint and steam vac before we set up a queen-size bed and night stand. (I am reserving the option of using closet storage and dresser storage in this room for quilting room overflow.)

A master organizer would have no difficulty with a move this gargantuan, but since I am not of the organizing ilk, the task has been a definite challenge. 

FUTURE:

I still have a lot to do - First, set up the sewing tables for Sharon and me. Second, deal with all those tubs and their contents. Some will be put in the garage sale; some will be trashed; some will be given away. 

Stay tuned for further developments. I simply have to see this through to completion in order to get back to sewing and quilting. The longer this move takes, the more time lost for those more satisfying endeavors.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

A Long-Awaited Reveal

The year has been filled with far more things than quilting, so 2024 is definitely seeing a markedly reduced number of quilt finishes. We are celebrating today the near-finish of Tiny Nine Patches! A whopper of a quilt, she needs only to have her binding attached and a label secured, then she will truly be finished. 

Many previous posts have chronicled the long journey this quilt has made from start to finish. Here's my Reader's Digest condensed version.

She was actually started before I knew what she was going to be. I was making 9-patch blocks out of a huge tub of 1.5-inch squares and strips - all scraps. The amount of scraps in this small size had gotten completely out of hand, so I decided that it would be easiest to just make 9-patches and then figure out what to do with them later.

During the process of completing the 'niners' I found a fun sew-along or a challenge hosted on Instagram by Taryn @reproquiltlover. It looked like a very doable effort, so I joined in. This post describes my initial sewing as well as discovering Taryn.

By February, I was well into the 300s for completed 9-patches. I'd also purchased my background fabric. I loved it in the store, I loved it laid out with my blocks, and I still love it in my quilted finish. It has the look of a faded old quilt and it so nicely sets off all the little 9-patch gems.

I didn't begin sewing the blocks together until we came home, and when I did, I couldn't believe how quickly the entire top went together. I even changed my mind midway into creating a straight-set quilt, opting instead an on-point quilt. Read about that in this post.

Making this has taken me on so many reminiscences! I come across a bit of fabric here and there and there and am reminded of the quilts I made with them. Most have a story, and don't get me started if you are here and we begin pointing out different blocks. I have fabrics from my old projects plus bits from my grandma, and also from a handful of friends. Some represent quilts I have gifted, while others are quilt tops hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted. 

The quilt measures 100x80 inches. In previous posts, I talked about making it a square quilt, but I cut one side down a bit so that I could get it on my long arm machine! 100 inches is just way too big! I calculate that there are over 5400 pieces of fabric used in this 22x20-block quilt. I also have 1.5-inch pieces in the 4-patch border. 

I've linked up with Cynthia and her weekly Oh, Scrap! link party. Go have a look at other scrappy endeavors!

Happily, my small scrap bin is nearly empty!

Yay for a finish!

Hope you have a great week! Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

September Has Arrived

Never one to be mindful of timely posting, I am just now getting around to posting my first-of-the-month missive in which I recap last month and look ahead to all that September promises to offer.

My August collage is short on quilts, isn't it? But gosh we did have a ton of fun with family and friends. Here's the rundown of highlights.

TOP ROW: Even though her birthday is at the end of July, we celebrated Sharon early in August. You see her here admiring a gift of some 3Sisters fabric. Pappaw Kevin gets in a little swimming with granddaughter Cate, who takes to the water like a fish. We had a family gathering one Sunday afternoon, and the final picture in the top row shows 3 little cousins - Boone, Cate, and Archie. Absolutely adorable kiddos!

MIDDLE ROW: At that same family gathering, our older generation posed for a picture. Seated in front is my Great Uncle John, my mother's uncle. He's in his mid 90s. Behind him is his daughter Marilyn, Mom's first cousin, then two of my aunts - Carol and Ann - who are my mom's sisters-in-law. Finally, there's Mom. The center picture shows her again, this time with Cate. What a treat for Mom to spend time with her great-granddaughter! The last picture in the middle row is of the quilt top made with Inverted Fat Quarter Stars. I wrote about it in my last post.

BOTTOM ROW: I attended a quilt retreat with some dear quilty friends and made a super-simple quilt with some remnant yardage I uncovered in the sewing room. On the final day of the retreat, I worked on the stars in the middle, and as the month closed out, I was heavy into taking out the big sewing desk I've used for the last 10 or so years in an effort to make room for the long arm machine to come into this room.

And that consolidation effort continues. I have the aforementioned desk moved out and headed to a yard sale. I have taken everything off the cutting table (shown below, but loaded up with stuff!) and it is ready to be moved out. Once it is out, I will dismantle the long arm machine and move it to this room. That will all be accomplished in - perhaps - another week. I hope!!

This picture shows you the other end of the room. Gosh, I have things piled high! The good news is, though, that this table is now empty and much of what you see here has been sorted and reorganized. And, of course, the work is ongoing. My goal is to put a lot in the yard sale, or make significant donations to Goodwill.

The long arm machine cannot be moved until this quilt is finished and removed from the frame. Tiny Nine-Patch Challenge has been loaded for over a month, sadly. I was having issues (seems like that happens a lot!), but I finally have corrected the problem. Yay! I stitched quite a lot on it yesterday. It will be my goal to finish the quilting today.

The Frankfort girls will be here for sewing tomorrow morning, so I will need to stop the upstairs sewing stuff long enough to tidy a bit downstairs and make some refreshments.

Time waits for no one! I might just now be getting around to welcoming September here on the blog, but I am keenly aware that the month is marching on! My main goal will be to finish quilting this quilt, bind it plus another one waiting in the wings, and - most of all - complete the major portions of the consolidation of 2 sewing rooms into one. That will be quite enough!

Oh, yes. One more thing. We are due to gain a granddaughter in about 3 weeks, too! Yippee!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne