Small Stuff

 I've been in a bit of down time, lately, as my lack of posting here would indicate. I did plan to have several quilts quilted, and loaded Floral Explosion onto the longarm many days ago.

I made one pass across the quilt and had three thread breakages. wahhh! I believe the tension needs adjusting, and I just have refused to go back to make things right. My mindset isn't right, at the moment. Soon, I will be ready to face it. I hope!

Sharon came on Tuesday of last week, and I did accomplish one project that had been on my radar - a new pillow panel for the center of our bed. I wanted one that would pair nicely with the fall-winter look of Dusty Trails.

 Just to see what you think, here's a quick reminder of the quilt.

I also have pulled fabric for regular pillow cases to use with this quilt and the pillow above. I think they will all work nicely, and as I complete things, I will be sure to share here.

I really haven't been very focused on sewing and quilting lately. Consequently, that also means that blogging has suffered. I do take these spells of inactivity (moreso lately, it seems), but hopefully I will be back in productivity mode before too long.

Over the weekend, we had a special little guest to fill our every waking moment. Yes, Cate had her first solo overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's. We were in heaven. It was work, though, and we appreciate that raising kids is for the younger set!

Have you been more productive than I have? I read several blogs and follow several IG accounts. There are some fantastic quilts being made - just not by me, at the moment!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Long Arming Activity

 Last week, much to my surprise, I quilted two quilts on the long arm machine. I had no advanced plan to do these quilts. Rather, a sudden impulse propelled me to these quilts, and once begun I didn't want to stop.

First, I put Dusty Trails on the rails. I have always wanted to use this quilt for the fall season on our bed, so I just got busy and quilted it! I shared my doing this quilt in this post from last week.

Just a few days later, I loaded Jelly Filled, the jelly roll quilt I made rather impulsively last month. 

I alluded to taking this giant step in my long arming game when I shared my September collage, but now let me take a moment to go into a bit more depth.

One aspect of making long arming easier is that for both quilts, I used backing fabric that I have on a bolt. Yes, I bought an entire bolt of backing in a very agreeable neutral. By having this on hand, I do not have to cut and measure and piece together backings for quilts. Also, I am not wasting time deciding what fabrics to use for backing. It simplifies things in a major way.

Both quilts are stacked above, and a bit of that neutral backing is peeking through the folds. I also cut the binding from the backing; yet another simplifying tactic. Yay!

Dusty Trails looks so very nice on our bed; it simply exudes all the autumn vibes. I don't have any decent pillow shams to complement this quilt, so that may soon be a quick project to whip up.

Jelly Filled is more of a couch quilt or throw. It will soon have a full reveal here on the blog, but not just yet.

One of my 2023 goals was to quilt every quilt I made new this year. So far I am in the vicinity of 3/11. That's only three quilts quilted and 8 quilts currently NOT quilted.  

Hmmm. I have been wondering if I could push myself to get those remaining 8 quilts quilted by years end. Agghh! I really ought to try.

Whatever I manage, I will certainly have plenty to keep myself busy.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilting Dusty Trails

Just like my desire (mentioned here) to have an Autumn Leaves quilt in time for autumn, I've also always thought my Dusty Trails quilt top evoked a feeling of fall. I tell a lot of details about the quilt in this post from 2017 when I was diligently working my way through a year-long UFO challenge.

As I reread those earlier posts about this quilt, I thought I'd probably make a small throw quilt, yet in actuality I have a very amply-sized full quilt. How nice. I love that it covers our bed, and  looks really good as a fall quilt!

I used a full-size batting and did not have much waste when I cut away the sides. That's satisfying, knowing I haven't wasted materials. (I do save batting pieces, and I've got an awful lot stashed away.)

Nowhere on any list I've made this week have I even considered quilting something. Yet here I have one done. Loaded it Monday night and removed it Tuesday afternoon. This is proof that I have indeed grown more comfortable with my Tin Lizzie. It ought not be such an ordeal to quilt a top! I am mastering the use of the machine; now I need to master my own inner doubts.

The binding strips are cut and ready for sewing. I may have to wait a week to actually get those done. Busy days ahead!! I've got some obligations today, girls coming to sew tomorrow, and on Friday we are taking off for a little fall foliage tour into Pennsylvania and New York.

Here are a few close up shots of Dusty Trails. I just love all those old-timey-looking fabrics. I am sure our ancestors used fabrics like these - they look like scraps taken from old dresses and shirt, don't you think?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilty, Crinkly Goodness

Laundry day here. Washed the bedding this morning, and I went a step further than I usually do - I washed the quilt, too. Quilts only get washed if they are used, and this has been on our bed all summer. It occurred to me when folding it fresh from the dryer that I don't believe I have ever documented the crinkly nature of a freshly laundered quilt. Oh my, it is so very appealing!!

The shadows in the room are producing a strange looking color on the folded quilt. I tried some filters, but I am so bad at that. Just trust me, this quilt looks mighty cozy in its freshly-laundered crinkliness!

This quilt has been our go-to choice this summer, and even though a lot of people are putting summer things away, I put this back on the bed for now. I just can't make myself think in terms of changing out summer stuff for fall decorating yet. 

These fresh linens will be super cozy to crawl into tonight! The smell will be heavenly. Nothing beats fresh linens on the bed.

I've talked about getting a few quilts loaded onto the long arm and doing a lot of quilting this month. One quilt I always think would look fantastic as a fall quilt on our bed is this one I finished in 2017, and have yet to quilt. I call it Dusty Trails, as I always think of pioneer women quilting fabrics like this when settling ever westward. The fabrics have a historic, old-fashioned, somewhat dusty look to them.

 

Just think how nice this will look all quilted up on the bed! Then think of that extra step of laundering it and getting it just the right crinkly texture. Mmm. I am motivating myself, can you tell?

But, today, DH and I are going to play. I have two loaves of zucchini bread to deliver, and then I believe we are going to go swimming. And for even more fun, we are taking the CanAm Spyder instead of the car. Whoo-hoo, we are wild, aren't we???

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Another UFO Bites the Dust

Never in my life have I made a resolution in January that I have remained faithful to for eleven months, but I can say proudly that the November UFO is now a finished quilt top! I am so glad, too, as it makes me very happy to gaze upon it. I will let you know right up front that you are going to see lots of pictures of this one!

I am calling this quilt Dusty Trails for the plan all along was to have a quilt that looked reminiscent of quilts from our pioneer ancestors. Over the years, I stored away several fat quarters and yardage of selected fabrics that seemed suitable for this quilt, and I think I hit a home run with it, don't you? I am glad to finally have this top finished.

The history on this quilt has been recounted here before, but I can briefly repeat for you. I saw a store sample displayed in a now-closed quilt shop in Portsmouth, OH, about 20 years ago. I just loved it, so I bought about 5 or 6 FQs of the fabrics in the sample. I made up a pattern to imitate the one in the shop and then made about 9 Broken Dishes blocks. Who knows why I stopped there, but I did. For the last two decades, the blocks and the remaining fabrics have lived in a tub here in the sewing room. I added fabrics occasionally - especially if they seemed in the same historic time period I had in mind - roughly the time of the Oregon Trail pioneers. (Thus the name - Dusty Trails.) Click here to see the first few blocks I made and the additional fabrics I added to the collection.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I constructed the quilt and added the borders. Ta-da! November UFO finished!

The border fabrics came from my stash, and I made 4 more Broken Dishes blocks to use in the corners. the whole quilt just came out so great - I am giddy with delight at how it looks. Sometimes quilts show their age, but this one seems just as fresh as the day I dreamed it up oh-so-many years ago.

Here we are, now, with just one week of November left, and then one more month of 2017 left. Wow. I  have big plans already taking shape for 2018, but first I still have the December UFO to knock out; I am definitely going to see this New Year's resolution through to the very end.

Finally, I have linked with Beth at Love, Laugh, Quilt and her weekly Monday Making.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

November's UFO

Just two UFOs remain in this year's UFO challenge. I have all the big ones - aka complex ones - checked off the list and just have two super easy ones left to do. Yay!

The Dusty Trails - my name - is a made-up-out-of-my-head project using some reproduction fabrics that I bought perhaps 20 years ago. I kid you not. I saw a pretty display quilt in a store in Portsmouth, OH, and bought fat quarters of the fabrics. Having no pattern, I came up with 3" HSTs and sewed them together in random fashion to make the traditional Broken Dishes block.

What I made so very many years ago is what you see above. It measures 18.5" square, and consists of 9 Broken Dishes blocks. I am not very satisfied with how well my intersections look, so while I watch the Buckeyes this afternoon, I am going to "unsew" this part. This will also allow me to distribute colors better after all the rest of the blocks are made.

 I have spent a good portion of the last day or so cutting out all the fabric I'd pulled for this. I found lots in my stash that will work with this projects, and since it's a creation of my own, it will be whatever size all of this ends up making - probably a nice throw, I imagine.

Some of you more seasoned quilters out there may recognize some of these old fabrics. I am sure the newest piece in this bunch is past 10 years by now. Old, or very, very old, I still like 'em, so I'm gonna' use 'em.

I look forward to getting this UFO checked off my list. And since the very last UFO for the year is also an easy one, I am very seriously considering attempting to do it this month, too. Then my December will be free for NEW projects! I am very much interested in new stuff, as this year's focus on UFOs has gotten really tiresome lately.

Happy Quilting, Friends!