Coffee and Friendship

 

Sewing with friends is wonderful. You hear regularly about my sewing with long-time friend Sharon P. We have logged so many hours of sewing time together; I value those days so much. We had one such day just this week - Thursday afternoon. So good to spend time together.

Plus, I have The Frankfort Girls, a sewing circle-type group, consisting of seven women of varying backgrounds brought together by the common love of stitching and making quilts. Every other Friday we meet from 9-noon, each of us taking turns hosting, and sit around the dining table for just about the best three hours of the week. It surely is the fastest three hours, without doubt. We enjoy deliciously prepared delicacies and, even better, we enjoy each other's company.

Yesterday, we met at Sharon O's lovely home and while it was a wonderful visit, we missed one of our  group due to a health concern; we are so hopeful that she will recover quickly and rejoin us full of vim and vigor.

Jan had two cute finishes to share, one of which was perfectly timed for Easter. Let's look!

Nothing is simpler or more appealing to the eye than a straight-set 9-patch quilt, am I right? Make those blocks out of scraps and use scrappy backgrounds, then you really have a beaut, in my opinion. Just love those diagonal chains.

And this season-appropriate darling bunny quilt is just too cute! And Jan says she has another one with a light background on her long arm. 

I sense a change coming over me. I have never been one to be overly interested in making novelty quilts, but I definitely see some appeal in this one. I have always considered the fussier cutting and piecing to be a negative. I'd just as soon make classic block patterns, truth be told. Perhaps becoming a grandmother has had an influence?? 

Let's just say I'm evolving. heheh

Speaking of being a grandmother, I think you really ought to see this Easter-inspired picture of our sweet Cate. She will be here tomorrow with her parents for an Easter feast. About 20 other members of the family will be joining us, too.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Fun With the Frankfort Girls

It has been simply ages since we last checked in with the Frankfort Girls to see the pretty makes they produce. Let's remedy that today! These ladies are some of the dearest and most encouraging friends; seeing all their gorgeous creations helps me maintain my energy to create.

I missed a couple of gatherings in late January through mid-February while we were in Florida for the extended stay. We left for the second trip south after a meeting at Terry's and I will present those pretties first. Let the quilt parade begin!

Don't you agree that these quilts would without doubt keep a quilter motivated? These gals are most prolific!

I will gladly share any pattern names with readers if you are interested. I didn't write down any details, but I can easily get them if anyone wants to make these quilts. That gingerbread man quilt at the end was  completed with backing of the gingerbread man fabric in the final picture. Dontcha' love it when happy combinations like that sometimes occur!

Last Friday we met at Sheryll's house and these next two quilts are her creations - finishes of UFOs, if I recall correctly.

Brown and red quilts are so appealing; you all probably recognize that last one as a Primitive Gatherings pattern. It's one I've lusted over many a time!

Since I have nothing to show in the way of finishes, the next best thing is to share the finishes of friends. Hope you enjoyed the little quilt parade.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Friends!

 

Earlier this week, a really special reunion occurred when Dee and Sharon and I sewed together in the quilting room. A trip to Ross County is a 3-hour drive for Dee, so planning is essential. We'd hoped we could have this reunion earlier in the month with the idea of celebrating the end of our Spring Dream Sew Along; however life got in the way, as it often does. We finally managed to make things work for Tuesday. Yay!

Sharon, Dee, Jayne

We had such a fun day catching up with each other. It was nearly day's end before it occurred to me to take pictures, for heaven's sake, and even then, Sharon suggested it. If I'd had my wits about me, I could share so many more pictures here today, but alas, you will have to just trust that the company was so very grand that it was impossible to even think about grabbing the camera.

This leaves you looking at a small handful of pictures which are representations of a full day's work. Well, 'full day' and 'work' might be a stretch. There was much talking and various breaks for refreshments. We didn't overtax ourselves, for sure. 

Dee brought along a lovely variety of bright blue and aqua fabrics and a wonderful neutral to begin a new quilt. Above is one block. Dee's pattern is called Swimming the Backstroke from the book Take 5 Fat Quarters by Kathy Brown.

Sharon and I both are going to start a scrappy Irish Chain, and above is a glimpse of her first block. That very light pink solid will be the unifying chain around the scrappy blocks. It will be gorgeous! At this stage of the process Sharon says she is feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of this quilt, but we both know the way to quell that feeling is to just keep stitching. She is following the same pattern as I will follow, which you can at the bottom of this post from yesterday.

Sharon's other sewing for the day included making these burgundy and light blue 9-patch blocks.  The blue and white dot on the right was auditioned out of the mix (save for a future quilt!); Sharon will be using off white for sashing and red/burgundy cornerstones. Sharon really has a spot-on eye for this. No doubt it will be wonderful.

While Dee and Sharon both sewed, I spent the day at the cutting table. I had a list of three things needing cut. I did the one that I'd been procrastinating over - the remaining 9 stars for my red and white stars quilt. I shared this photo yesterday, but I will rerun it here.

My other cutting options included cutting squares for a baby quilt and cutting Ohio Stars for the exchange I'm doing with the Frankfort Girls. In the intervening days, the baby quilt has been finished - cut and stitched; the Ohio Stars are still waiting.

I mentioned refreshments earlier, and in background of that picture of Sharon's block for scrappy Irish Chain you can see some evidence. Because it was an extra-special day of sewing, I made a brunch-type cinnamon bread, and later we had cheese, nuts and berries with a refreshing sangria.  

Sewing with Sharon most weeks is always special, and having Dee join us was a real treat. We have such a long history of friendship that we never fail to pick up right from the get-go and we don't miss a beat with our conversations - family, books, teaching, sewing, travels - all the topics fall right into place. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Larkspur Stars

Sewing with Sharon yesterday was productive!

We agreed several weeks ago to assign June as our month to work with our Larkspur stashes. It's just such a shame to keep gorgeous fabric locked up in bins.

From the looks of things, we will have to make a new assignment for June, because both of us have a good head start and are on a course for finishing our quilt tops very soon.

For my Larkspur Stars quilt, I have made 15 setting blocks and 8 stars. My current plan is to make 7 more stars, then see what fabrics I have remaining. Should there be enough to do one more row, I will do that for sure. Actually, my concern is the variety of the remaining fabric, not the amount. I am pretty sure that plenty will be available, but I doubt there will be nothing but yellow and coral left. So, we shall see.

Sharon is making 9-patch blocks which she intends to set in strippy columns. I love strippy quilts, and the colors along with the various florals of Larkspur will be beautiful set this way. I have no pictures of Sharon's blocks, but I have made some strippy quilts, which I can show you to get an idea. I will do a better job of taking some pictures of her work next week.

9-Patch Strippy from 2017

Antique 9-Patch from 2012

Using our Larkspur collections has been lots of fun. We are sharing as needed to help each other out when we are lacking in a particular color-range. Sharon suggested that I look at other 3Sisters fabrics for possible substitutes. Good idea! I am using some of the red from Roman Holiday. What a fun addition to my quilt!

It's Friday! Are you all finding that you are returning to "normal" as we approach June? My group of card-playing friends met last night and did an adequate job of socially distancing. We didn't have enough to play cards, so we sat on the screened porch and talked until almost midnight. We had a lot of catching up to do.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quarantine Over!

With the amount of socializing I've done this week, I do believe my personal quarantine is over.

On Tuesday I went to Terry's as she hosted a sewing day. On Thursday, Sharon came here for our regular sewing day, and yesterday, the Frankfort Girls met for the first time since early March.

And for what it's worth, with these girls I have not been especially cognizant of social distancing.

Now, what have we made in our long, long quarantine? There were several items to share, so let's take a look.

I will begin with yesterday's reunion of the Frankfort girls. I continue to play around with Canva and have created this logo for our little group.

We met at Jan's and had an absolutely fantastic spread of goodies - we have come to expect her over-the-top hospitality. They are lucky to get a muffin at my house!

Sheryll shared several UFOs that she finished up during her quarantine. She has a penchant for wool applique and does spectacular work.

Plus, she had one pieced item to share. I just love this, and might feel compelled to duplicate it for myself!

Terry also had a share yesterday - she was stitching the binding on this cute barn quilt. Look at the sheep! The quilt is so happy in Corey Yoder fabrics.

On Thursday, Sharon brought her Edyta Sitar quilt for its photoshoot. All the fabrics are by Sitar, and Sharon made up the pattern by attaching rows of varying widths around the center floral.

And back on Tuesday, we had some additional shares. First, Helen shared a newly quilted finish and a quilt top.

Terry quilted the sampler quilt, so now Helen is ready for binding. The patterns for each block came in a supscription box from Fat Quarter Shop. Helen has been very diligent about making the blocks each month and the resulting quilt is just as happy as can be.

And for the final share, Sharon O. is binding this UFO she made several years ago. It is a huge quilt, and was actually quite heavy as we held it up for the picture. Won't this be pretty for fall decorating?

That concludes my little quilt show for today. The friends have made good use of their Covid time. And while I failed to take a picture (should have, darn it!), Jan has made close to 700 masks! 700!! I cannot even imagine. I was pained to make 90. She is selling them for $5 at her golf club. Many are made with sports-themed fabric.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Sharon

Sewing sessions with Sharon have resumed! Yeah! Thursday of last week and Wednesday of this week, we spent long days in the sewing room catching up with each other, and catching up on our stitching. Let's take a look at what Sharon has been making.

A week ago, she came in with the small start of a gorgeous floral quilt - not full size, but more in the wall-hanging or lap quilt range. She wanted to feature the wonderful center panel and then build other coordinating fabrics around it. These are all Laundry Basket fabrics by Edyta Sitar.

It soon became apparent that this would end up being quite a bit bigger than a lap quilt. She continued adding row upon row of varying widths until she had this. And since this picture was taken, she has added more. I will take a picture next week with it pressed and pretty on the bed. For now, these hastily-taken snapshots will have to do.

This week, Sharon said she was just playing in the Kaffe's - those bold, bright and happy fabrics of Kaffe Fassett.

These are 2-inch strips left over from previous projects, and she is turning them into 9-patch blocks.

The eventual quilt these will make is from the KF book called Quilts in America (2018); this one is called Kites. All the fabrics in this quilt have circles or dots, even the setting squares. Sharon says this is a very long-term project, but I can see this coming together faster than she might think. It will be gorgeous!

Typical for us: we make a plan to do something together. Our idea is to use our vast collections of Larkspur fabric, a pretty 3Sisters line from several years ago. She has a lot and I have a lot. We have dedicated June for making Larkspur quilts; we will use whatever patterns we want. I am thinking some sort of star for me. I put making a quilt with my Larkspur fabric on the goals list for 2020, so I will be happy to get a big item ticked off my list. I will post more on this plan in coming weeks.

Happy Quilting, Friends!