Easiest Baby Quilt

While we were away gawking at fall color in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, I posted a picture on a Facebook thread in which the quilter asked about easy and fast quilts for a baby gift. It occurred to me that I have made seven -7! - versions of this quilt. 

First, here is the picture I shared. It was the version most readily available on my phone. It got several inquiries from quilters on the thread, so I thought I'd share it here, along with all its 'cousins.'

Now, let me go in what I think is the correct order of making. The one shown above was made in April 2020.
 

The first was for my nephew and his wife as they expected their first son in November 2017. I wrote about gifting this quilt here.

Also in 2017, I made this version. While the blocks are smaller, the same general plan is used. This one is shown with the backing fabric hanging in front. The quilt was pinned to the design wall; for whatever reason, I don't think I have a finished picture of this quilt.

In 2018, I made this one for a friend who went to school with  my kiddos.

Another one made in 2020; this is for a little girl, and featured flannels.

The two most recent baby quilts have been for my sister's two grandchildren, Archie and Boone.

Archie's was made using some leftovers from previous baby quilts along with a collection of playful Fisher Price fabrics.

Boone's was made with bright green and yellow juvenile prints featuring tractors, airplanes and such. I need to get a better picture; it was secret sewing when this was taken; I neglected to have a full view photo to use for later.

Even though some of the photos are not full-on shots of the quilts, the general idea is still there. I make the quilts wide enough so that I can use a length of 45" fabric for the backing. The squares for the top are usually cut at 4" or 5" although some of them may have been smaller. Definitely that one with gray and orange was smaller. I generally make them as wide as possible to fit the yardage of the backing, or until I run out of one of the fabrics for the top. No great scientific plan for these; they are to be used and washed and loved and snuggled. When and if they wear out, the mamas simply need to let me know that they'd like another!

Hope you are having a great day! We got home from our trip late afternoon Tuesday; all the luggage has been cleared and put away. I have done a bit of hand quilting on Fall Foliage. Making progress!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Traveling Again

The husband and I are off again on a quickie trip to see fall color. For all of the 40+ years that I taught, I had the "someday" dream of traveling to New England in the fall. We tried to make that happen last year, but we went at the end of September and were too early for optimum leaf color.

We decided to try again this fall. I am very hopeful that we will be rewarded for our persistence. We've been on the road for 2 days already, and we have been agog at the sights we've seen.

Good color in Ohio as we left; the photo above was taken in Holmes County.

Better color in Pennsylvania entering the Allegheny Mountains. We endured quite a cloudy day which sure made my photos dull. In person, these colors were spectacular.

Today we have been in New York mostly in the Finger Lakes region. Lots more sunshine, and since we always take the slow roads, we see gorgeous farmland, quaint little towns, and all manner of local color.

A surprise along our road less traveled was this waterfall, the Taughannock Falls near Cayuga Lake. What a sight! I love just happening up on places like this; the element of surprise and wonder appeals to us.

The photos offered here seem to feature yellow leaf color. Let me assure you that we have seen some stunning reds and oranges, too. As we drive into and through the Adirondacks tomorrow, I sure hope we have opportunities to make stops for pictures featuring a wide variety of fall color.

And I hope the sun is shining!

This morning I was able to visit a quilt shop and this afternoon, we drove past a winery with some sort of celebration going on, including a quilt show! This is just another fun example of accidentally happening upon something fun and stopping to see what it's all about. I will write about both in a future post when I have the time and focus necessary to devote to it.

Hope you are finding something fun to do this fall! I highly recommend a trip to New England! And do take that road less traveled if you can; it really does make all the difference.

I hope that well-loved Frost poem is readable. I grabbed the image from a google search; if it looks too bad, I will try re-running it in the next day or two.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Fall Baking

Something about all the bountiful harvest this late summer and fall has put me in the mood for baking. Normally, I am not a real big fan spending time in the kitchen; I much prefer the sewing room.

My neighbor and I went to a local orchard last week, as she wanted apples for making applesauce. I really wasn't interested in that but I went along to help her gather "drops." These are the apples that have fallen on the ground, and will be sold more cheaply if you pick them up. Applesauce apples can have some bruises, so it seemed like a perfect solution. 

Karnes Orchard has been practically in my backyard my entire life, yet I'd never picked apples there, or even visited! Seems a shame that we don't do things available to us so close to home. Oh well, we had a good time, got a bit of exercise, and came home with a bushel of apples for Dorothy's applesauce, and half bushel for me to make pies.

In addition to the two pies I took to our daughters, we have had one for ourselves and I put one in the freezer. I have enough apples left to make one or two more.

I never make a two-crust pie if I can help it. Especially with apple, a crumble top is preferred and the more nuts the better. I used walnuts this time, but pecans are just as tasty.

And speaking of baking, before heading up to the long arm, I am going to put a loaf of zucchini bread in the oven. I have one last zuke to use. We have become big fans of chocolate chips and nuts added to the batter; it is mighty tasty fresh out of the oven or with a morning cup of coffee.

Sewing and quilting efforts this week have been limited to hand quilting Fall Foliage in the evenings - my fingers are getting sore from all the needle pricks! - and afternoons patiently trying to master the tension knob on my long arm. I put a navy thread in the bobbin and a white thread on top and have made so many adjustments trying to get a good looking stitch. The two colors of thread help to see what needs to be adjusted. I have a quilt loaded and ready for quilting, and hope I am successful this afternoon at getting the tension right so I can go-go-go. 

Perseverance has been the name of the game. If I get too frustrated, I just walk away, busy myself elsewhere, then go back to it. One of those "busy myself elsewhere" moments was used to file patterns and such in the sewing room. See yesterday's post about the tidying efforts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Wreck of A Quilting Room

On more than one occasion have I bemoaned the deplorable state of my sewing space. It just isn't in me to be a neat freak, apparently. 

In analyzing this I believe the problem lies with my never putting anything away when I finish a project. I just move on to beginning the next project, and pile the old stuff up at the end of the table or in a tub on the floor. 

On top of that, because I have so many ideas and a frenetic attention span, I grab patterns or fabrics to consider various future options and, of course, these are never put away; no! Just add to the mess!

The view above is pretty much the exact view Sharon has from her table. The last time she was here, I promised her that I would have those 3 tubs plus overflow of Kaffe fabrics cleaned up and put away. Instead, I got into the patterns (see this post), and made a bigger mess by leaving the doors open and even more stuff on the floor. 

A closer view of this bit of the chaos lets you see that it would not take a whole lot of time or effort to tidy this and put it away. The top tub, above, is missing a lid which is surely buried somewhere in this room.

Now, let's turn our attention to the desk - this (above) is to my right if I'm sitting at the machine. I swear, if I pile on one more thing, it will topple over and create an even more critical situation. 

My new idea: take 15-20 minutes daily to tidy just one small area. 

One. Small. Area. 

My first tidy session dealt with the Kaffe tubs. I found the missing lid  buried in that wobbly pile on the desk; yes, my second tidy session was attacking the pile on the desk. 

The Kaffe tubs are stacked in the closet, and the doors are shut. I also returned those many bags to the closet. The items in the foreground are 4 finished quilts packaged up and ready for delivery to friends and relatives. These will disappear as I make plans to see them.

The random papers stacked here comprise much of that chaos shown up above. I need to get out all my notebooks and plastic sleeves. The papers all have proper homes when I make myself file them. And that leads to this next part.

The downside to trying to get a handle on the mess is that while tidying one area, the need to access an entirely different area is frequently necessary - and you guessed it - that area is a disaster, too.

 My filing system: 3-ring binders with specifically labeled categories. (The 'Coms1010' notebook needs to be labeled - leftover from DD2s college days.)

I will - I promise! - continue to make an effort at chaos control. I just cannot allow this dishevelment to go on any longer. I will let you know how it goes. So far, two tiny areas are looking a whole lot better!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Baby Garments

Influencers are those people on social media who put ideas out to the masses which consequently 'influence' others to do, buy, decorate, shop, spend, cook - whatever - like they do. Since I mostly follow fabric- and quilting-related accounts on Instagram, I am influenced by quilts or products I see on my IG feed. I do follow other accounts - home decorating, especially, and they influence me, too.

So why am I talking about influencers when my title says baby garments? Well, on a Kaffe Fassett account I recently saw the most adorable little baby romper and elastic diaper coverup (is there a name for that?) and I was moved to make one for our soon-to-arrive granddaughter. 

Yes. I was influenced.

In the depths of my quilting room closet, I knew I had a box of patterns. I haven't used anything in this box for at least 20 years. However, I knew there were baby patterns here, and since baby styles change very little, I knew, too, that I would be able to use them.

The sampling shown above are some of the older patterns in the box. I have never made these to my recollection. Someone must have given them to me when my kids were small. I have a variety of sizes, so I selected the one below as it is the closest to newborn size available.

I have no idea how true to size these patterns are, but I made the sleeveless jumper and matching pants last week. It was fun to renew a long-lost art of garment-making. I had a remnant fabric of 3/4 yard. I finagled a way to get it to fit and proceeded. It was like riding a bike - once you know how to layout and follow pattern directions you can do it years - years! - later.

This first foray into making grand-baby clothes was fun and I am thinking of making something with sleeves for the cool days of winter. I could skip the bottoms and let Mama dress her in matching leggings or tights.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

September Collage & October Goals

As we begin a new month, I always like to review the one just past and establish a plan of action for the the one ahead.  So let's do that today.

The September collage contains a lot more running around than quilting, but that's okay. It was a fun month, even if it might not have been the most productive as far as quilt-making is concerned.

TOP ROW: My brother-in-law, husband and I took a madcap trip to Kansas City to see the Guardians play the Royals at Kaufmann Field. It was a nutty thing to do, driving 11 hours to see a baseball game and then turning around the next day to drive home, but we had a great time, our team won in extra innings and all went well. The following weekend we celebrated our daughter Erin and her hubby Jeff as they are in the last month of pregnancy - our granddaughter will arrive later this month! Pictured is my mother and preggo daughter Erin, and aunt-to-be, daughter Emma. The final picture in the top row is taken at a nearby orchard where my neighbor and I spent a morning picking apples. When I saw this multi-generational family of Mennonite ladies tugging an overflowing apple wagon up the hill, I just had to snap a photo.

MIDDLE ROW: Finally, I finished the William Morris flimsy on the very last day of September. It is still hanging on the design wall just so I can gaze at it! To mark the first day of fall, we joined our friends on their pontoon boat on nearby Rocky Fork Lake. I grew up with this lake just across the county, yet I'd never boated on it. The weather took a chilly turn that day, so we were bundled up, but it was a gloriously relaxing day with friends. The quilt pictured next is one I made up after seeing an internet picture. Made with solids and Kaffe Fassett florals, I plan to quilt it this week.

BOTTOM ROW: The hexies are a trial run at seeing how they look sewn together. I am considering options, but for now it appears to be destined to be the center of a tablecloth. The next two photos are taken from my front sidewalk. One night we had the most interesting mixture of clouds over the sunset that produced the look of golden-tipped trees above the shadows. To the east, it looks as though the leaves have turned golden, but it is the sun shining on them. The last picture is a sunset from a different evening. Looking west toward the sunset, we had a glorious display of colors to end the day. Later I learned this was likely the lingering clouds from that destructive Hurricane Ian.

Here's a wider view of golden tree tops. It truly looked magical.

Now what do I have in the works for October? I've had to give this some careful consideration, actually. We have that grandbaby coming at the end of the month, and for 4-5 days mid-month we are planning to drive toward New England to see fall colors. Yes, tree-peepers. We missed the good color last year by being there too early, so we are gonna' try again. My quilting will have to fit around those two events - no problem!

1. I am taking the hexies with me on our New England road trip. Easy stitching in hotel rooms and on boring interstates. When we get into the pretty country, though, I will be totally immersed in the views.

2. I will continue hand quilting the quilt from History Day, Fall Foliage. It's just straight stitching and it shouldn't take long if I just stay at it.

3. Do 3-4 quilts on the the long arm machine. I have two ready to go with their backings prepped, as well. By the time I get those first two done, I will have a plan for the what comes next.

4. Sew the blocks together for my green/cream snowball quilt. I have sorta' been ignoring it, and it needs to be finished.

5. Put borders on my red and white Irish Chain. I have been wavering about doing it, but Sharon did add them to hers. Oh My! They really add so much. I will share pics of Sharon's soon. Here is mine sans borders.

It is good to have a plan. Too often I fly by the seat of my pants and consequently don't get much done. It helps to be able to refer to a list like this. Oh that urge to make new projects is still one that might grab hold, so don't be surprised to see me deviate from the list every now and then. For example, I still want to make a pine tree quilt and a fall leaf quilt. Hmmm....

Hope you have a productive month - one that sees you tick a few items off your list and allows you to create some new magic along the way!

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!