Orphan Blocks

I'm not quite sure what happened to my post on orphan blocks. I thought I posted it yesterday, yet I find what was supposed to be a draft on another topic. Hmmm. I must have inadvertently deleted it.

Rather than try to recreate what I previously wrote and lost, I will just show you my little table topper built with two of the many orphan blocks hanging out in my quilting room.

 The star blocks were orphans. I made the connecting block with some scraps. I am considering using the big-stitch method of hand quilting. 

Those stars had been hiding out on this design wall. I'd had a quilt hanging there in front of all this for a very long time. When I took it down, a few months ago I found all these interesting orphans and UFOs.  Some of these items are really old; others, not so much. I really ought to consider finishing some - ALL - of this stuff.

We won't even talk about all the orphans that are stored in a too-full box over on the shelf as well as many inherited orphans of my aunt's and my grandmother's. 

Here is an old post about that box of orphans I dealt with a few years ago. Now I could gather up enough to fill yet another box.

How have you use your orphan blocks? I am not so sure I want to make a sampler quilt, but that makes the most sense, especially if I want to use a lot of them.

I'm gonna hit the publish button and see if I get it right this time.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

A Change of Direction

While I was finishing and binding the blue and white Double Irish Chain (DIC), my mind wandered to finishing the red and white DIC. I truly needed to research through this blog to see when I made each one, and for the red one, did I use a color-fast red? I had a sneaking suspicion that I'd used the old, cheap red from my grandmother's stash and I knew it to be a runny mess of pink when wet.

First, let's look once again at the blue and white finish. I believe it will be perfect for Abby's little boy, 3-year-old Boone.

 Now, back to the concern over color-fastness with the red and white quilt. Sure enough, exactly what I'd feared was, indeed, the reality. Dang. I remember doing this color test.I just didn't remember that I used this fabric in this quilt. 

Refresh your memory to this inevitable disaster of a runny red. Oh, I am so glad I double checked before quilting. This post describes my experiment of testing the red. I should have known that ignoring the color issue was a bad idea. I should have known. 

I have instructions on how to deal with this color issue, and once I actually do it, I will report my success or failure. For now, that is on hold while I quilt a different quilt. 

Her mom, my sister Sandy, was here one afternoon last week. She shopped my closets and stacks searching for a suitable alternative to the red and white DIC. We ultimately settled on a red and white Ohio Star quilt. It definitely was made with better quality fabric and the dye is surely colorfast. 

Weird coincidence: I finished this quilt top almost exactly 10 years ago. This post is dated Sept. 23, 2015. Happy anniversary to this red and white Ohio Star. It's about to have a permanent home.

I agree with Sandy that Abby will love this quilt. It suits her traditional design preferences and it will definitely become cuddly soft over time. Washing it should present zero problems, so a change has been made.

I'm ready to quilt. I've oiled the machine, cleaned out the lint, and changed the bobbin thread to white. I will begin quilting later today. I could conceivably have it ready for delivery by Saturday, but more likely it will be Monday.

This weekend, I am celebrating with my high school classmates our 50th reunion! The Hillsboro High School class of 1975 will gather at tomorrow's football game and again on Saturday night for a big bash. I am really looking forward to it.

 Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Quilting for Abby

Don't you just love a happily ever after story? I think I've got one in the works here at Jayne's Quilting Room. 

A month ot two ago, my niece Abby and I worked out a little bartering situation. She had two old benches that she wanted rid of. They look like park benches from back in the day. The wrought iron sides hold slats for the seats and backs.

I sorta' wanted them, but just couldn't pull the trigger. She had a yard sale, and they didn't sell, so she was at the point that she just needed them gone. Knowing I'd expressed interest, she asked if we could trade benches for quilts.

Bingo! My eyes lit right up with that possibility. If anyone really wants a quilt, then they should get a quilt, right? I have so many made and ready to finish, I surely could come up with something that'd suit her taste.

We took delivery of the benches about 3 weeks ago. They are wonderful to have around out by the fire pit, and we have used them for several bonfires throughout these recent cool evenings.

In determining what suits Abby's taste in quilts, I learned that she likes  simple, traditional designs made with muted reds, whites, and blues that become soft and cushy and snuggly over time. She sent several pictures of quilts she like as well as a picture of one her family is currently enjoying.

I searched my closets and found some strong candidates for her. I sent her pics of these two quilts.

She went for them straight away. Now all I needed to do was select backing fabrics for them and quilt them up.

Easier said than done, with the way my brain works. I dithered for many days on what to use as a backing. I ended up using a large piece of batik I had on hand for the blue one, even though in my mind I don't generally think of batik as becoming soft and cushy over time. Hopefully, it will. The blue one is quilted and ready for binding. 

I loaded it Friday and quilted it Saturday. Whew! It was fun, and I really got along great. I know that using a dark backing with dark bobbin thread and a light top with white top thread is not recommended, but I think that with a laundering, the 'pokies' that show through on each side will diminish. 

I have the binding prepared for this quilt, and I will be putting it on straight away. 

The red one will go on next. I have the backing already loaded on the machine. I will stay-stitch around the quilt then load it on. I plan to use the exact same curly-que and loop-d-loop free motion design that I used on the blue one. 

Maybe by week's end I will have them both ready for delivery! 

Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

Slow Sunday Stitching

I've not been doing all that much handwork lately - finishing off corners and edges on my Grandmother's Flower Garden, mostly, and also putzing around with random bits and no plan. However, a couple of my friends in the Frankfort Girls quilting group have been creating some gorgeous pieces and I've got a little project parade from them to share here. 

Inspiration at your fingertips.

My group of quilting friends has so much talent in all areas of needle arts. Sharon O. has stitched so many fantastic embroidery and cross-stitch creations. Here is a sampling of her recent work.

Another prolific seamstress in the group is Sheryll who specializes in wool crafts. I am happy to have been the recipient of a few of her wool gifts over the years. Here are some of her recent finishes.

 

As for my own work, the finishing and fussing over the edges and corners of my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt might at last be set. I've dithered over this stuff for long enough. I'm gonna go with the idea that finished is better than perfect.

 

 

This last picture shows the curvy sides and a straight side. I will applique a straight yellow border onto all four sides. I may or may not do a small inner border along with a wider border. 

From the very first hexie in the very first flower, this quilt has been a "let's see how this looks" project, so why would I do anything different with the borders?

For additional inspiration, click on over to Kathy's Quilts and check out her weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party. It never fails to inspire and delight.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Shopping

 I really do try hard to keep fabric shopping to a minimum, but occasionally, it must be done.*grin*

We took a little overnight trip, DH and I, to Ohio's Amish Country - basically, that means Holmes County. We are very familiar with the area as Holmes Co. is a neighboring county to where DH grew up. We have visited there often, but since very little family remains in that neck of the woods, it'd been several years since we'd last driven through.

It is a lovely agricultural area, dotted with small towns and expansive farms. Labor Day didn't allow us many options for shopping, but we did lots of sight-seeing. Horse-drawn buggies, e-bikes, clotheslines loaded with fresh laundry, lush gardens, dairy farms and massive barns all contribute to the slow, simple lifestyle exemplified by the Amish.

The next day, we were in Coshocton, DH's hometown, and home of Mercantile on Main, a wonderful local quilt shop that probably needed a few of my dollars to be dropped off there. 

I did my part.

 

I finished the bolt on some wonderful Tilda fabrics - the largest cut just over 1 yard. So I now have Tilda yardage to enhance the Tilda leftovers from the Wensleydale blocks. Denise was as excited to cut these pieces and talk to me about them as she was to cut them!

It should come as no surprise whatsoever that I haven't a single actual plan for using these fabrics, yet they are so very tempting - maybe I will stay as simple as a 9-patch quilt. Maybe I will make some stars, or some churn dashes, or some pinwheels. I plan to add this to the leftovers and come up with something soon.

Now, this shop had a fantastic supply of Tilda fabrics. For a small-town shop, their offerings seemed extensive.

 

In addition to a good variety of yardage on bolts, she carries precuts and packs. At least one sample was made up and on display, perhaps more. It was a true feast for the fabric-lover, for sure. The shop owner even had the new Christmas line of Tilda in the back, ready to be put out just as soon as she prepared some precuts. 

Corey Yoder is from Holmes County, so this shop had a wide variety of her fabrics and patterns available, as well. I noticed an entire wall of 30s prints, and another of reproduction fabrics. All the very current lines are represented in the shop.

 

I reminisced with shop owner Denise about her early days, recalling when the store had more vacuums than fabric. They still do carry the other stuff, but truly, it's definitely a quilt shop now!

Looking from the back to the front.

Looking from the front to the back.

I highly recommend Mercantile on Main, if you happen to be in the central Ohio area. The aforementioned Amish Country is quite a tourist mecca, so there's lots to do and see. Just a county to the south you'll find Coshocton. A visit to this LQS won't disappoint!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Welcome September!

Good golly, here we are in September already! DH and I have been away for a couple of days and I'm just now getting around to welcoming the new month. In a few weeks, we will say farewell to summer and hello to autumn. The weather we've had here lately really has been feeling like fall.

I did take time to make an August collage, so let's review the highlights.

TOP ROW: Granddaughters and quilts seem to rule my world, a fact that suits me in every way. Cate enjoyed a day at the pool with several of her cousins. Reagan gets a warm snuggle from her great-grandmother Jeannie. Cate's family have moved into a new home and that means a new school/daycare for her. This is her with her new (big!) backpack on the first day.

MIDDLE ROW: Reagan gives us a big smile after getting a bite of chocolate pudding. All the Wensleydale blocks are finished and I've laid them out for sample of the quilt that will be forthcoming. I finished all 60 blocks much more quickly than I expected after doing about half of them at the retreat.

BOTTOM ROW: The last Wensleydale block was especially eye-catching, however each one has its own simple beauty. The low humidity and pleasant temps here this final month of August made for some spectacularly blue skies. I've always loved that shade of blue against a stand of leafy-green trees. The final fussy finishing bits are now complete on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I know I have said that before, but this time I really mean it! It is ready for border stitching.

August's quilt retreat (11th-14th) will always be remembered, by me anyway, as the Wensleydale retreat. Now, I think this whole last month will be known as the Wensleydale August. Making those blocks was so very satisfying. They are such different blocks - being rectangular rather than square - and they are foundation paper pieced, a technique I'd not done in a very long time. Using those fabulous Tilda fabrics added to the increased level of satisfaction. I am very eager to stitch the blocks together.

My to-do list for September is quite ambitious. I will bring you all along for the fun, so stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends! 

Jayne