Helping a Reader

I personally know a number of people who are regular readers of this blog, but by and large my readers are unknown to me. However, we do occasionally “connect.”

Charlene is one such reader, and she’s in a bit of a quandary - undoubtedly one that many of us have shared in at least once in our quilting lives. 

Approximately a week ago - perhaps two - she reached out to ask if by chance I had any of the fabrics pictured here.  

Am I right? I'm sure many of you relate. Haven’t all of at least once run out of fabric long out of circulation? It’s one of the drawbacks of “saving” fabric or building a stash. One just has to hope that she bought enough!

The quilt Charlene is making is called Safe Haven, and she bought it years ago to work on when she retired. Now retired, she has discovered that she doesn't have enough to finish it - mostly fabric for borders and binding.

I did a search online for Safe Haven quilts and found two. One is newer by Sherri and Chelsi and one is older by Thimbleberries. Bingo! I believe we have a Thimbleberries quilt in the works here! And, yes, as I study the fabrics in the picture, these definitely have that familiar Thimbleberries "look."

If any of you readers might have these Thimbleberries fabrics in your stashes and would be willing to sell/trade/give some to Charlene, I can play the middleman and set you up with an email. Just comment below to let me know!

Hey Charlene! Hope we get some results! Thanks so much for your readership!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Spruced-Up Guest Room

Son Adam was here for about 3 weeks and left a few days ago. He lives in Oregon, so his visits home are very infrequent. We had a lovely time with him here, and are tossing around the possibility of going out to see him this next summer. Very early planning stages on that idea, though.

Anyhoo, with him here and now gone again, I needed to do some straightening up in the guest bedroom. It is now ready for the next round of guests who will be coming in on Christmas Eve.

This iron bed is very old. I slept in it as a child and I remember my parents getting it out of a grandparent's house. I don't recall the precise circumstances, but probably there had been a death or someone was moving. One of those situations that involve belongings are parceled out to family.

Anyway, I have been lucky enough to get to hang onto it over the years, and I always love how great it looks dressed with quilts. These blue ones are especially nice, don't you think? The one spread out on the bed is a Thimbleberries pattern called 9-Patch Criss Cross; it was hand quilted by my grandmother. My best guess as to when I made it is mid-2000s, give or take a year or two. Folded at the foot of the bed is another Thimbleberries pattern called Snowflake, or my personal name for it Snowflakes at Dusk. It was the first quilt I made after I retired in 2009, and I only just quilted it earlier this year.

The quilt rack on the side was handed down from Sheryll, one of the Frankfort Girls. While downsizing her bedrooms and sewing spaces, she offered this for the taking. I really did need one, so YES! Folded on top is yet another Thimbleberries quilt - Christmas Lily - also quilted by Grandma. It will soon be going on our bed. 

Hanging in front is English Elegance, taken from a quilt-along in Better Homes And Gardens American Patchwork and Quilting. All the issues in 1999 contained steps for making it, but I didn't actually make it until a few years later. And I see in the link that Grandma quilted it for me!

The wall hanging is a cheater panel that I hand quilted ages ago. I gave it to my mother-in-law probably 25-30 years ago. She hung it in a guest room that she decorated as a "Mesa Room." It had a decidedly southwest feel in its color scheme and furnishings. Both of my in-laws have been gone now for many years, and we got this back when their belongings were parceled out.

I love my old quilts, and I love my new quilts! Mixing and matching them works every time.

Happy quilting, friends!

Welcome October!

October is here! What a pretty month it is, too, with fall color and crystal blue skies. I bemoan saying goodbye to summer, but October in Ohio is wonderful.

I'm a day late in welcoming the new month, but I have a good excuse. Yesterday was History Day in Greenfield, and after a 2-year hiatus (pandemic, ugh), I was back to demonstrate hand quilting.

I am embarrassed to admit this next part. The quilt I worked on is the same one I was working on in 2018! Yikes! I worked on it again in 2019 - here's that post - and it has collected dust in my sewing room ever since. I've not taken a single stitch on it since that first Saturday in October 2019. *shaking my head in shame*

The pattern is called Fall Foliage by Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries; it is featured on the cover of her 2001 book September Morning. After extensive searching, I found that I made the quilt top in 2010. It is aging well, isn't it? *hah!*

Since I hand quilt so infrequently, I am often simply stitching in straight lines, and this quilt lends itself quite nicely to a gridded look. I used the outer surround of blocks with the gold centers as my guide to stitch straight lines diagonally across the quilt. I use the seams, tape or a lightly drawn line to keep lines as straight as possible. 

I am keeping this out in the family room for a week or two. I hope to make myself work on it in the evenings while we watch Guardians baseball - they are extending the 2022 campaign into post-season action be claiming the AL Central Division crown. We are sure hoping for a lot more baseball out of these young men!

I'm joining Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching link-up today. It's not all hexagons! ha-ha! This is more than a one-pony show over here!

Coming up this week: the September collage; a foray into making a baby outfit; apple-picking; long arm quilting. Come on back and see what I get into!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Tree Block: An Experiment

The recent vacation out west has given me an idea for a quilt I'd never previously had any interest in making. One lasting mental image (and there are lots!) of the trip is the seemingly never ending mountainsides full of cedars and pines. Wouldn't it be a really cool way to remember those impressive vistas if I were to make a quilt equally full of cedars and pines? Yeah, it sure would.

My first (and only, so far) tree block is the one you see above; I used a Lynette Jensen pattern, frequently my go-to source for easy block patterns. This particular block came from her book, At Home With Thimbleberries; the trees are used in the four corners of a Log Cabin quilt. 

 

The block measures 10.5 inches and was super simple to make, even with a fussier than preferred tree trunk component. 

After making that one block, I photographed it and then took it through an editing app to help me envision what I might end up with should I make more of these blocks.

Four blocks; same direction.

Four blocks; pointing to center.

That simple directional change results in an entirely different look, one that totally loses the trees.

Just for fun, I ran these two 4-block versions through once more to see what would happen. It's always surprising to see these versions.

16 blocks; same direction

16 blocks; pointed inward

Both versions have their merits, wouldn't you agree? If I were to decide to go with this block version, I would lean toward keeping them going in one direction and maybe consider adding a small sashing strip between blocks. Another possibility would be to place the blocks on point. Hmmm, I will keep this in mind.

That second 16-block option has a very striking look, but it is not one I am going for with this quilt. It created quite a fine design, though.

 Ahhh, the quilt design process! I love it!

I went to Pinterest to see what a search of pine tree quilts would elicit. Generic search terms work for stuff like this. I knew there was a name for the pine tree I had envisioned, but I was coming up blank. Yesterday at our quilting group, one of the girls said it - Tree of Life. Yes! (Thanks, Sheryll!) I now could do a more specific search.

The generic search offered  up this possibility which I like a lot. It is far from the look of the block I have made, but this is more of what I had in mind when I began thinking of making a tree quilt. Click the picture to go to the Pinterest link.

If I were to stay with the more traditional Tree of Life block, or my current Thimbleberries block, I might end up with something like this one. Again, click the picture to be taken to the Pinterest link.

This is a pattern by Edyta Sitar. I would use all versions of green in my trees to more accurately imitate the mountain views.  I like this on-point version, but gosh, look at all those half-square triangles. Oof. I would definitely bring out the triangle papers.

 

I have pulled lots of green fat quarters from my stash; next I need to dig for a suitable background. I am rearing to go on this quilt!

Either of these two Pinterest versions above would suit me to imitate tree-covered mountains, such as this one from my camera roll.

This picture could have been taken in any number of states - Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California - so many mountains, so many trees! According to the date on my picture, we were in Washington in the Cascade Mountains.

Back to the Pinterest search  - go there for any look you want! From modern to traditional, designed for any occasion or use, the variety is endless. Christmas quilts, table toppers, playfully wonky, and grizzly-bear-masculine.

Still in that design-choosing process! *smile*

Our oppressive heat wave has given way to a very pleasant day here in southern Ohio. I was actually chilly sipping coffee on the porch a bit ago. We needed this respite from the heat!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sharon Is Learning Long Arm Quilting

Last week was Sharon and Jayne week, I do believe. We sewed together as we generally do every week - that was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we met for lunch and a little downtown window shopping in Chillicothe. She treated! Then on Thursday, she was back over here to put a quilt on the long arm machine and get one of her many quilts finished off.

And, let me tell you, that was a day filled with trials and tribulations. That machine had been sewing fine just 3 or 4 days earlier, it had been cleaned, oiled, and given a new needle. But doggone, we could not figure out why that upper thread broke time after time after time. It was totally frustrating. We did eventually get it finished, and to our best guess, the guide post located just above the cone of upper thread was positioned incorrectly. I do not recall this being moved, but perhaps inadvertently it had, and the machine was not a bit happy about it.

Sharon's quilt is made with Thimbleberries' fabrics, and is from one of Lynette Jensen's Thimbleberries' books, North Bay Quilts; the quilt is called Cross Patch, and Sharon's looks pretty much identical to the one in the book.

Because we were having so much difficulty with the machine early on, Sharon adjusted her quilting plan to a very gently wavy line across the quilt. Making lemonade out of lemons, in other words. I love how it looks like drifting snow, and is perfect on this wintry quilt.

The backing is checkered burgundy and cream which also fits perfectly for the quilt. She really did hit a home run with how it all came together. Come December when she pulls this quilt out for the holidays, she will be so thrilled to have finished it. 

We plan to sew together tomorrow for regular machine piecing; this is our norm - once a week, usually on Tuesdays. It's a good way to stay caught up with each other, and we definitely make sewing and quilting a priority this way, too!

I'll sign off with a couple more random shots of Sharon's Cross Patch quilt.

I hope you are having a most wonderful Monday! We have a gorgeous, warm day here in southern Ohio. I've got a few windows open, and it is good for one's soul to hear the birds chirping and some distant pounding of nearby woodpeckers. Ahhh, spring!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 
 

A Different Quilt for Our Bed

The long and the short of it is this: I have a different quilt on our bed this week. The story is potentially a long and convoluted one, so keep reading if you are interested.

How it ended up on our bed begins with my bringing out my stack of Christmas quilts for use in decorating. It's a classic case of one thing leading to another.

First, you should know that for years I have had a wrought iron ladder over which are layered three quilts. I made all of them years ago and Grandma hand quilted them. She's been gone since 2015; she had mostly stopped quilting by 2010, so these quilts have been hanging out on this fixture for awhile.

Back to my story. So, I'd brought down a huge stack of red and white flimsies (they are multiplying; not sad about that!). It occurred to me that maybe instead of just refolding and stacking them on the bucket bench, might I try draping some over the wrought iron ladder? Yes, I liked that idea, so the 3 quilts currently living there needed to be relocated.

The top quilt always becomes my Christmas tree skirt. Every year I gather it around the base of the tree and Gracie immediately claims it as a new spot for napping.

The next two quilts were moved upstairs. The middle one hasn't been given a new home yet, and the bottom is now on our bed.

The bucket bench with a stack of Christmas quilts.

The quilt is HUGE! Our bed is queen-sized, and this thing dwarfs it totally, measuring a whopping 84" x 108".  I will use it for a week or so, then bring out the Christmas quilt that usually appears this time of year.

The pattern is from The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts by Lynette Jensen (1998). The publication date narrows down when it was made. I know I wanted to make it as soon as I got the book, but I took forever in deciding on fabrics. It was possibly early 2000s when I at last made it, and had Grandma quilt it.

And can we just take a moment to appreciate that fine, fine hand quilting? Grandma opted to stitch-in-the-ditch for the pieced flower blocks. In the setting blocks, she used a design which was a standard for her on hourglasses.

The borders afforded her the opportunity for a couple of her favorite chain designs. Just like those hourglass setting blocks, we could locate many quilts of hers with these same designs.

I like the look of this quilt in our bedroom. It is exceedingly warm, so we must've used a good wool batting, and even though the pattern is called Cottage Flower, it has a Christmas-y look with the burgundy and green making it festive in an understated way.

The revamped ladder with the flimsies draped over looks pretty good, too. I clothes-pinned a wall hanging to the top; my late Aunt Margaret made that little Christmas tree, and it has become another special piece of my annual decorating.

 Hope you are having a glorious Friday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

The Bridal Quilt

 I will stop in today for a quickie post just to share the fully completed quilt I gave to our neighbor's daughter for her very recent wedding. You all are probably tired of seeing pictures of this quilt, as I've bemoaned several issues with it over the years. All that is behind me now as it's in the hands of John and Dorothy, our neighbors and parents of the bride.

The quilt is already old, if we go by when it was started - that would be 2006. I was excited to work on it and eager for the finish, until I made the decision to increase the size. If you note, the quilt is quite narrow on that queen bed, and I figured that adding a row to the width would make it more suited to most beds nowadays.

Well, I did not have enough fabric to do that, so I went completely cold turkey on this quilt. Boom. Into the storage tub it went, and stayed for at least 10 years. At that point, I couldn't even remember why I stopped working on it, and just assumed that I'd sewn some parts wrong, and had a lot of 'unsewing' ahead of me.

In 2019, I finally tackled fixing things. It was at this point after being unable to find errors, that I recalled my plan to increase the size. Well, pfht! Make it according to the pattern, and be done with it!!

And so I did, and now it's quilted, and now it belongs to Sarah and Jason.

The pattern is Meadow Lily by Thimbleberries, from the book At Home With Thimbleberries Quilts. The blocks finish at 10 inches, and the quilt dimensions are 72 x 92 inches. I just love that special border feature on the corners. Those partial lily blocks really give the quilt presence.

And, that's a wrap! A quilt done and delivered. Feels mighty good.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Quilted Quilt, At Last

 I do hope I can count on you fine readers to celebrate my completion of this quilt. It was to be done by a week ago for a wedding. I missed that deadline. One week late on a wedding gift isn't too bad - the couple will just be returning from their honeymoon. I hope to deliver to the bride's parents this weekend.

Let's look. Pictures galore, but you know I am excited to have a quilt fresh off the long arm, right?!!

The quilt went onto the long arm frame on February 28 (or thereabouts). So for nearly a month I have procrastinated over this quilt. I had a bad experience about 2 weeks ago when I had to pick out a whole pass of quilting. That increased my reluctance to try again. 

I am short on time today; I will provide more details on the pattern, the making, the setbacks, etc. soon.

Have a great Friday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!