Stash Enhancement

This is bargain-style stash enhancement, too -- the very best kind.

I mentioned in a recent post that one of my friends was selling her stash (not all of it, but a very significant portion of it). I was quite interested in making some purchases, yet at the time I was shopping, no specific needs came to mind, so I bought dark neutrals. I always seem to need background and/or neutral fabrics to complete a color combination, so this gave me a perfect opportunity to do just that.

These are all good-sized cuts of fabric and will serve me well on several quilts. I have a couple of plans already forming for some of this. These fabrics were either 2-yard or 3-yard cuts for the most part. That is just right, in most cases, for a decent quilt. Since I don't have anything specific in mind, anything I make with these will be as big as the neutral will allow. That will be just fine with me.

Now that a few days have passed, of course I am thinking of specific quilts and thinking of things I should have looked for. Hindsight, you know. I expect Terry will have round 2 at some point, so I will try to keep these specifics in mind.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With the Frankfort Girls

Friday morning all 6 of us were together at JoAnn's house. After the crazy schedules all of us have had this summer, having 100% attendance has been rare. It was fun hearing about Jan's recent trip to Italy and Greece. We caught up with Terry's recent health concerns as well as her DH's (improving cautiously), and the rest of us just filled in with general goings on - you know how it is with friends - we just pick up as if we'd never had any amount of interruptions.

So, let's see what pretty stuff we worked on. JoAnn, our hostess, was finishing a wall hanging that she'd begun some time ago.

Below is a new table runner by Sharon O.

Sheryll has yet another wool applique project.

Jan brought another stack of Crown Royal bags to deconstruct. She said she made friends with the bartenders on her cruise ship - all 6 of them! - and collected these for her next Crown Royal quilt.

Terry was binding this gorgeous Kim Diehl quilt that she made at her guild's retreat back in the spring. This quilt is so beautiful; the picture does not do justice to just how wonderful it is in real life.

And I worked on 4-patches. It is easy to carry this box along and stitch without really having to think too much. The picture below is an old one; I didn't bother to take another picture since it's more of the same, basically.

We meet in two weeks at Jan's. No doubt we will have new, fun projects and captivating conversation. And I will certainly keep you in the loop!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sell Your Stash!?!

If anyone ever told me that I would one day sell my stash, I would think he or she had lost all sensibility. Don't worry, I am NOT selling my stash, but a dear friend is.

I know. It makes one shudder to think of it.

For whatever reason - and I am sure she has a few - Terry has measured out her stash and is offering it for sale to those of us in the Frankfort group and close friends in other circles. I will leave you to drool over the goodies.

After sewing together on Friday, Jan, Sharon O. and I went over to Terry's to have a sneak peek. We helped Terry out a bit by carrying all the fabric you see in these pictures from her upstairs sewing room to her downstairs dining room. Whew! It was a job, and I don't see how she would have done it by herself.

Yes, I did make some purchases. I don't believe I have taken a picture yet of what I bought, but it was mostly neutrals in darker tan and beige colors.

I have been absent from blogland for a few days; too busy running around and teaching, I reckon. I hope this coming week slows down a bit.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Adding More 4-Patches

The stack of 4-patch blocks has grown a bit more since I last reported in. The Labor Day weekend kept me pretty busy, so extended time in the sewing room did not happen; instead, the time to pick up needle and thread and sew a quick 4-patch suited my attention span much, much better.

With the ones I have recently stitched and the ones made awhile back (so far back I can't even remember), I have 91 made. That's a good start on a quilt! Happy, happy!

I mentioned in this post that I would be thinking about how to set these blocks into a quilt, and this has been on my mind ever since. Here a couple of Pinterest pictures that might make the short list of possibilities.

Setting blocks in blue.

Setting blocks in neutral.

Set as the center of a star.

Set into a design to create a Jacob's Ladder-like block.

Set on-point with like colors creating a vertical design.

Set into a block on point and then used with setting blocks.

And one of my own creations provides a potential use of my 4-patch blocks. This little doll quilt would look fantastic turned into a full-size quilt.

While I continue to stitch up more of these adorable little blocks, I will also continue to ponder the endless possibilities for using them.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Erin Has a Finish

Got a text message late last night from Erin which included two pictures. The first highlights a brand new finished quilt top, one that you first read about here.

 The text message which accompanied the picture was brief, "Don't look at my points too closely!!"

Honestly, I wouldn't have thought to do that, and from this view, they look pretty darn good.

She added, "It was a lotta seams."

I suggested that those large spaces could be one piece of fabric rather than small pieces sewn together. At the time she said she wanted to do it this way. I wonder if she has a different idea about it now.

The second picture??? Well, of course it is a picture of her cat Rocky!

Adorable!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Busy Hands...

That old adage about busy hands and happy hearts holds true for me. Few things are more relaxing as far as I'm concerned than to have a little box of stitching in my lap while I watch sports. With the onset of football season and a very talented OSU Buckeyes team to follow every Saturday, I need to have my stitching ready for use.

The stack above represents the sum total of my stitching for yesterday - 16 4-patch blocks.

These are fast and easy to do. I have a box where I keep all leftover 2.5" squares. Every project, it seems, leaves you with leftovers, and while I cannot claim to be an organization queen (ha!), I can claim to have a successfully working system for keeping 2.5" squares under control.

So I have this nifty little box of 2.5" squares which had been stirred and blended and folded and tossed - it was quite a mess, and I should have taken a picture. Since I didn't, I will point out that every block is quite fuzzy and raggedy - because of how smooshed they'd all become in that box. First I felt obligated to sort things out. Below you can see what I found.

I separated like items: I'd thrown some large hexies in, so they are stacked at the top; I had a good-sized stack of 2" squares (need a different box for those) which are there beside the spool; below the 2" squares are fabric bits that need to be cut down to size (shoulda' done that before putting them in the box); under the scissors handle is a small stack of KF squares; cut off on the left side of the picture is a gift of leftover scraps from one of the Frankfort girls; at the bottom of the picture is a partial 9-patch block and a few remaining squares from my Snowbird fabric - my intent is to get back to the larger stash and see if I can come up with one more light dot fabric to finish the 9-patch; and finally, on the right of the picture is the tall stack of miscellaneous 2.5" squares which I have pictured below.

What a ravelly mess.  I cleaned them up as I selected them to use. During the course of the ballgame - which the Buckeyes won 77-10 - I made 16 blocks, tidying and neatening along the way.

Above are all 16 4-patch blocks laid out side by side. I really have no plan for how I will use these; I like how this little section looks, so maybe I will just attach them like this and have a big, old-fashioned scrap quilt. Maybe? Something to consider, for sure. Other possibilities exist, too, so I won't rush to decide. For now I will just make 4-patch blocks all through the fall and winter. For an entire quilt, I will need a couple hundred more, right?

I must add neutrals to my little box of squares to be ready for next week's game.

I will be linking to Slow Stitching Sunday today, and I invite you to pop on over there to have a look around.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Quilt Back

A couple of weeks ago when DD Erin was here for a visit, I had her come upstairs to the sewing room to select backing for her quilt, Erin's Diamonds. Imagine sifting through large tubs of Kaffe Fassett fabrics trying to make such a decision...what a chore! *grin*

Below are the winners. They are actually Phillip Jacobs designs for KF/Westminster Fibers.

The two fabrics are Tulip and Lilac Rose, both on pink backgrounds. The will work well in a pieced back. One is a 3-yard cut; the other is a 3.25-yard cut.

I have since measured the quilt and have found that I will need about a yard more fabric. My plan is to go to the fabrics Erin eliminated from consideration and pick one of those to make up that last bit. I think I will play around with an unusual arrangement, and not just sew straight lengths of fabric together. A sketch is in order.

I mentioned in this post, item #8 on the list, that I plan on putting Erin's Diamonds in Grandma's old quilting frame. I intend to set it up in the front room (which we rarely use), set my Ott Light near, and watch Netflix programs or listen to books on tape while I quilt.

Today we are off for a drive down to the Ohio River, and then head back for the opening game for the 2016-17 Buckeyes, a noon game against Bowling Green, which we will have on DVR. Go Bucks!

Happy Quilting, Friends!