Project Shifting

Currently, two quilts are under construction in the quilting room. Both have been mentioned here in recent previous posts, and the fun of it is, I can pick one up depending on what seems most interesting or most doable in the time I have to stitch.

Yesterday is a prime example of working on both. First, I made a few more Temecula Basket blocks and more setting blocks. I need to do some figuring to determine how big I want this to be; surely I am getting close to having a good-sized quilt.

When I was at a good stopping point on Temecula Baskets, I turned to Lunch Box Social. It was supposed to be further along than this after a full day of sewing on Friday with the Frienzies. 

Ahem. 

I did not do nearly as much sewing as I did visiting. 

Truly, those Thangles triangles are the only bits I finished on Friday. I hadn't even unpacked my bags as of yesterday. I was dreading the cutting of all those HSTs. So I faced the music yesterday and got 'em all done.

Perfect 2" HSTs all cut and pressed and ready for the next step in Lunch Box Social. Before I need those, however, I finished a step involving the 9-patches. They needed to be surrounded by this muted stripe. Easy-peasy.

Since this is a smallish quilt - throw or table cloth - I only need to make 9 blocks that are very involved. Then the top construction can begin. This should be coming together quite fast. Makes me wonder why I kept putting off making it - I think I can go back to a goals list for 2017 and see this listed there. *geesh*

Hope you are having the best Wednesday! DH and I are going on an afternoon day date - thrift store shopping and maybe more!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Progressing on Goal #12

Making these 8.5 inch (unfinished) baskets has been lots of fun. I have been pulling out 2 or 3 colors at a time along with a neutral and I am taking my time. No chain piecing. No mass production. Just enjoying the journey. Seeing the little baskets piling up on the cutting table is rather a pleasing sight.

 

I currently have 12 baskets finished, two of six different colors. One Instagram follower commented that it looked like basic crayon colors, and I have to admit I agree. That was not at all planned, but so far that's how it appears.

The Temecula fabrics have been in my stash for a couple of years, and you know how we quilters do. We save special fabric for just the right quilt. I've done that for years and what it really amounts to is hiding gorgeous fabrics in tubs for years on end. No more! I determined that my pretty fabrics WILL be used!

As recently as May, I had a different notion for use of this fabric. I was deep into my Churn Dash phase, and I still think that would have been a viable option. For whatever reason, though, I did not follow through, and since then I've continued considering possibilities. When I saw this simple basket block in a quilt book (click here for title), the decision was a done deal. I love little baskets, and this one is just so easy! And, as I mentioned earlier, the cutting instructions yield 2 blocks, thus the reason for going slowly on construction. I want a lot of color variety in my little baskets. 

In addition to switching up the colors of the baskets, I am also using many different backgrounds, and a close look at the blue stack will show that I am mixing them occasionally. Rather than have bits of leftovers, I chose to follow our grandmothers' tendencies - no wasting! So mix and match, it is.

Today I have played around a bit with potential setting blocks. The stash of Temecula fabrics contains three gray FQs and I think those would make nice chain-style blocks across the quilt. I will continue with my blocks and share further progress as I work this week.

Is your Monday going great? It's been a slow start around here with nothing overly pressing going on. No immediate needs to fill. So I'm finishing the last of the coffee and doing a couple of loads of laundry. Soon, I will be heading off to the quilting room for more work on Temecula Baskets.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Lunch Box Social

 If you are a quilter, then you know about designer Kim Diehl. She has dozens of books, patterns and fabric lines. Her "look" is quite popular, and has been for over 20 years. I own many of her books, and have lots of pages 'tabbed' for someday quilts.

One I have long wanted to make is Lunch Box Social, ever since seeing my friend Terry's way back in 2015. Yeah, that's a long time for wanting to make a quilt, and I don't have any good reason for delaying so long. I am sure I've had it on my yearly goals list since then, too.

And now I am finally going to do it!

I mentioned earlier this week that we will be having a Frienzies Sewing Day - well, it's today. And I have Lunch Box Social all ready to stitch. I even did some advance sewing by making all the 9-patch blocks ahead of time. Easy to accomplish as there are only 17 needed, and it gives me a good start on making progress today amidst the chatting, eating and fellowship. All the fabrics have come from my existing stash, and - get this! - I used some of those 1.5-inch scraps I've been cutting! 

I trimmed all the 'niners'  and now I am ready for the next step. Looking forward to getting a lot done today!

And before I go to Frienzies, I am going to spend a bit of the morning with the Frankfort Girls. Two sewing events in one day - gosh, crazy busy, right? I love both groups and can't stand missing either, so I will split my time between the two.

Have a great Friday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Tackling #12 on the 2021 Goals List

In yesterday's post, I shared my goals list for the year and explained that I had cut out all the necessary parts for Lunch Box Social (item #14 on the list) in preparation for a day of sewing with Frienzies. Since that was set aside, I needed something to work on last night, so I figured why not go ahead and start on one of the other green arrows (see yesterday's post). 

And that is exactly what I have done.

My item #12 is rather vaguely listed - use my Temecula fabric in a to-be-determined quilt. Well, sometime over the summer I determined what quilt it would be. Or rather what block I wanted to use.

This block is called Baby Bunting, according to the giant out-of-print tome 501 Rotary-Cut Blocks by Judy Hopkins. I love looking at that book! With all those blocks and size options, why a quilter can dream and plan and wish for hours! My Baby Bunting will finish at 8" square. I haven't gotten so far into the process yet to determine how many I will need to make.

 I'd been wanting to make a little basket quilt, and this is such a sweet little block. I thought that the great mix of all the backgrounds and colorful prints from my 3 collections of Temecula fabric would afford me a really sweet quilt. So here we go. Another start!

The cutting instructions yield 2 blocks which I like. I will have a variety of backgrounds as well as a variety of colors. Prints galore!

As I stitch, I am planning the layout. I believe I will place the blocks on point, and for setting blocks, I am considering a stepping stone layout so that there will be chains across the quilt. That's my initial thought, at least. Maybe by the time I finish making baskets I will have changed my mind. We'll see. Plenty of time before I get to that point, certainly.

Don't you just love the planning stages of a quilt? I sure enjoy dreaming of how it will look and evolve as I work. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Another Long Arm Finish and a Correction

My friend Kay made this lap quilt out of beautiful French General reds and creams. I had the pleasure of quilting it! Proof that I am growing more and more comfortable with using the long arm machine! Yay! 

Who ever thought I'd need a 5-year learning curve?!

So here is the 54-inch square quilt, all dolled up with my special brand of meander quilting. Ha. Who am I kidding? For me, this is always a wish and a prayer, at best. I know I need practice, and that is exactly what this quilt and most of the others have been, for sure.

Love those stars! French General fabrics are generally the prettiest of reds and off-whites, and this does not disappoint. I do not know any details, like what line or lines the fabric is, nor do I know the name of the pattern. If anyone can provide such details, I'd sure love to know. 

And, how nice that the fabric goes nicely with the beige dot backing that has been my go-to. Looks like it was planned, doesn't it?

Now, for the correction part of this post. The last post contained my 2021 goals list, with all the finishes marked off. Well, I missed one! Here is a corrected list, with # 7 crossed off; it was done back in April or early May as a graduation gift. 

 

There, I feel better having that record set straight. And, I guess I will go ahead and say that I've made some progress on # 14 today - I have it all cut out and ready to sew at a Frienzies sewing day on Friday.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Another Finish! And Working Through My List

The past week proved about as productive as any week could in my sewing room. BOOM! I nailed a couple of biggies on the 2021 Goals List. 

The two red check marks are the newest completions on this list. I shared #5 previously - it is now called Cobalt Stars, as you will see by clicking here.

Getting to add that check to #8 is a real satisfying finish, let me tell you. Long arming what is basically a plain piece of fabric was not a task I particularly relished. But gosh, I did it, and with relative ease, I might add. 

Before I add all the details on Emma's Quilt, I will explain the other markings on my list. The purple x's are previously finished projects. The green arrows are the next areas of focus for me. I will be sharing  progress on them  in upcoming posts.

Now, for Emma's Quilt. My original thought was that I would quilt it on Friday-Saturday, and bind it on Sunday. However, I found some latent energy somewhere, and finished the whole quilt, binding and all, on Saturday night. Whoa! I have to say I am exceedingly pleased with the finish, too.

 

See what I mean about quilting a whole-cloth-type quilt? A discerning eye will see the one faint block up there near that pillow. The fabric is not dirty; rather I've used Basic Grey's Grunge fabric for the look Emma wanted. Both the background and the star are in Grunge.

The star deserves a close up. One simply cannot go wrong with an Ohio Star in a quilt, and this big guy looks quite classy in grunge.

Just about all the quilts I've had on the long arm lately have this beige dot backing; I bought a whole bolt of it, and at 108" wide it is an obvious go-to. I like how it also works just perfectly as binding.

This quilt will go to Emma next weekend, if all goes as planned. We are working out details for a girls' day, so this will be included during that time together.

Now what will this new week bring? I can't possibly hope to have two finishes on the goals list, but I can begin work on some of those green arrows.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Locked And Loaded

I think that phrase locked and loaded has referenced a lot of things other than quilting, but by gosh, I have finally loaded this quilt top onto the long-arm, and I am locked in for a finish.

The quilt in question is the special request quilt from DD Emma last Christmas. She wanted a quilt to serve as her bedspread, and preferred that it be entirely neutral. After a few months of back-and-forth on designs and fabric options, we came up with the quilt I made back in August. Here's a post explaining the fabric and the single block.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally loaded the top onto the longarm. Yeah, you all know what a pro I am at procrastinating, so the fact that the top has been waiting since the end of August should surprise no one.

Because there are no quilt blocks to use for gauging my stitching and meandering, quilting this offers me a bit of a challenge. Yes, I have some imperfections, but the earlier quilts I've done have given me ample practice, so I feel as though this will turn out fine. I am taking my time ensuring that I am meandering evenly.

This last picture shows that I am approaching the single Ohio Star in the upper left corner of the quilt. Or the bottom right corner, depending on how she puts it on her bed. I am about half done, at this point, I'm guessing. 

Back to it! I want to have this off the long arm today, and ready to bind tomorrow! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!