Trip Around The World

Finally, I have begun a project that is not based on scraps. It is one I have long wanted to make, yet beginning it has been intimidating. Trip Around the World. TATW - that is how I am gonna' be abbreviating it.

Back in February, I bought a big stack of calico fabrics when shopping at The Quilted Twins in Dade City, FL. I was inspired by the whopping variety of pretty little prints, so I got all these in 1-yard cuts.

For the last month or so, I've had a potential arrangement of fabrics spread out in the quilting room. This is sort of like auditioning fabrics for placement in the rows around the quilt.

 It's as if I've been paralyzed about taking the plunge on this quilt. I finally cut into the fabrics last week, and have happily been sewing away every chance I get.

The pattern I am using is one shared with me by the very lady in the quilt shop who cut my fabrics. What a sweetheart she was! I know the feeling of longing to make a quilt, and talking to someone else who is actually going to do it. That's what she was experiencing. I promised to share pictures with her when I had mine finished. How nice of her to share and care!

 

To keep all the rows in order, the instructions say to create a strata - there will be four altogether. This is my first one. This is what a strata looks like when sewn together. There are very specific pressing instructions, too, and I am following them to the letter.

Then the strata is cut into strips. I made two Strata A sections, and cut them down into strips shown below.

Since taking these pictures of the work on Strata A, I have completed Strata B and C; I'm currently working on Strata D. I needed 2 Strata A; I will need 7 Strata D units. More needed in each strata because it's further out on the quilt, if you follow me.

Hopefully, some construction pics will soon be appearing here! Cross your fingers that I'm actually gonna get this done!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Slow Stitching Sunday

In all that tidying I was doing these last couple of months, I came across a table runner that needed quilting. I created this out of some orphan blocks and though it would look nice to incorporate into fall decor. The stars were made when I was just playing around with fabrics on a random day when I was probably procrastinating about something. Check out this post.

You can see from the date on that post that these stars have taken up space in my quilting room since 2018 - good grief! It needs finishing! At some point since then, I made and added the setting block, and I put the quilt sandwich together. Finally, it is nearly done.The hand quilting is nothing fancy or precise. I was not too concerned about marking lines; I eyeballed it. Just getting the job done. It's the most basic quilting ever. It will soon be time to trim it down and apply the binding. Perfect project for when I'm watching baseball on television.

 

For awhile this spring - in the past two months since we've been back from Florida - I have had an overwhelming feeling of too many unfinished little projects that, if finished, would be stored somewhere else besides stacked in my quilting room. I needed to deal with these little projects. And several have been dealt with, I can happily report. I share a few of them in this post. Since then, I've done another one, which I will share in an upcoming post. Now this table topper. What a satisfying feeling to be finishing off more little projects.

 Don't inspect the stitching too closely! Remember, done is better than perfect, right? I am going to have this one out of my view and another finish to check off my list. Hooray.

I will add my table topper to the slow stitching project party over at Kathy's Quilts.  She has a fun, yet incredibly telling graphic to begin today's post. The flow chart of project completions (!) is spot on. I love starting projects; finishing is another matter.

Oh well. Today, I am one step closer to finishing this table topper.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

 

 

Reporting From Frankfort Girls

Our little quilting group needs a new, more current name. Nearly 20 years ago when I first joined the four original ladies, all were Frankfort-area folks. We have expanded over the years, and now we hail from several towns in close proximity to Frankfort - Williamsport, Kingston, Chillicothe. So perhaps a new name is wise. When we refer to ourselves, we don't actually call ourselves anything. Mostly, I have used the name here on the blog for ease of identification.

But I digress! Meetings still occur every other Friday morning for handwork around someone's kitchen table. Yesterday, I hosted the entire group! All 8 of us in attendance! With the schedules we all have, this does not happen often, let me tell you.

We had a nice show and tell, so let's take a look.

Patriotism is alive and well in our little group. Several quilt tops, table toppers an minis were shared wearing their red, white and blue.

Sharon P. made a quick 3-yard quilt and enlarged it a bit by adding more onto the border. What a great way to reduce a stash! And so fast and easy! That's a win-win.

 

Terry unfurled this fantastic flag-inspired quilt top which she made at a recent retreat. Once the stars are made, putting this together would be a snap. Below, she has more stars and more stripes, but vertically placed to imitate fireworks - which is the name of the pattern, or something like that.

 

Sheryll had wool table toppers to share in keeping with the patriotic theme.

 

Those two pics with the sheep are actually just one project, but it is long and narrow, making for a difficult picture to crop. If I were better at photo editing, I probably could have joined them, but you get the idea. Sheryll's wool skills are nothing short of perfection.

Here's another she had to share.

 Sheryll also finished quilting a patriotic quilt top. It will look fabulous in her home's decor.

Jan had two quilt tops to share, both finished at the same retreat Terry attended. This first one is for her grandson, and also features the red, white and blue! She reported that making those baseballs was rather fussy business, but once completed it all went together fast. 

Jan's granddaughter will get this next quilt, a calm butterfly quilt. The picture doesn't adequately show the fabric well, but from a layer cake she has made that standard pattern several of us have been using lately.

Becky had two projects to share, one a mini quilt made from remnants in her stash. 

Becky's big accomplishment was unveiling this gorgeous quilt which she was finishing with binding. 

I should have asked someone to move the chair, but it does provide perspective for how small those blocks are. She has spent several years making the pieced blocks, and then more time constructing it. What a payoff for all that hard work. Becky is a sweet, spunky friend, with an ornery streak. See for yourself - here's Becky when I took a close-up of the blocks.

We had a lovely morning catching up with one another. We often muse that 3 hours every-other-week is never enough to allow for all the chit-chat we want.

Hope you are having a lovely Saturday! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Hello June!

The new month snuck up on me! We had two special little people staying over at Grandpa and Grandma's over the weekend, so I definitely wasn't looking at the calendar!

The collage for May's highlights will show some of the fun we had with Cate and Reagan. All three granddaughters are such delights in our lives, we welcome every opportunity to both spend time with them and have them here for overnight visits.

TOP ROW: We babysat for Reagan and we plumb wore her out! Having a sweet girl fall asleep on your lap is one of life's special treats. Our twin nieces graduated from high school, and are shown alongside their Grandma Jeannie. Mom had a fun weekend of celebrating with them. The pillows here and in the next row are for sone-in-law Jeff. This one is made from clothing of his beloved Grandfather Glen.

MIDDLE ROW: The second pillow is made from monogrammed shirts that Jeff no longer wears. Together, the pillows will adorn his 'man cave' for a classy addition to the sofa. The central picture of May's collage is our our new family room floor. We took out the carpet, replaced it with laminate flooring and put down a large area rug for a pleasing new look. After 33+ years, we have no more carpet in our downstairs. The last picture in the middle row is our newest family member - Annie. She is filling out nicely at 6-7 weeks old. Her sweet demeanor melts my heart, and I cannot get enough of cuddling her.

BOTTOM ROW: When Cate came for her overnight, she helped Grandpa fill the baby pool in preparation for a cool swim. Cate also was very taken with her Mini Mouse costume. We took Cate home, and went straight to Reagan's to bring her for an overnight. She has such a different demeanor than Cate, and makes her preferences known in no uncertain terms. She also played in the baby pool, and had big fun with Grandma's basket of toys.

Since I didn't highlight much quilting or sewing in that May collage, I need to establish some priorities for this month. I did continue playing and piddling with some scraps, but I should start a "real quilt." Let me interpret that for you: tackle a quilt on my goals list. We shall see what transpires...

Let's go have an awesome June, whaddya' say!? Sounds good to me!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne