Some progress made

I finished Basket Weave Strings a few days ago using  Bonnie Hunter's Basket-weave-strings pattern. 

This donation quilt is 58" by 66". The strings are all from my string scrap bin which is still overflowing.

I free-motion quilted this with a back and forth curve across the strings in each block using Aurifil 50-weight #2600 Dove Gray thread.

I quilted the edges with a loop in each setting triangle and straight lines in the border.

The backing is from my stash.

I also finished a table runner using Missouri Star's Circle Magic. I bought the templates early in the pandemic and they arrived broken. MSQC was very quick to replace them. I was not as quick to make something. I ordered the templates because I had a bunch of blue circles cut with the Baby Go cutter. I thought this might be a good way to use them. The circles were the perfect size for the small template. 

I used red or white for the opposite side of each blue circle. The table runner is 9" by 29". Each circle has a square of batting (Dream Cotton) inside which is a perfect use for scrap batting.

Each circle is quilted before sewing the pieces together. The process is easy in this quilt as you go project. 

On the back, you can see the centers of the blue circles I began with.

I might try the larger circle template - I'd like to see how that looks. This little runner will be used in our home next summer.

I also finished two quilt tops, Batik Knots and

Black/White with Red. Both have been added to the growing pile of tops waiting to be sandwiched and quilted

Easy Breezy is half done! I sewed fifty 4 1/2" blocks together. When the other 50 blocks are finished, I'll add them.

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving by ourselves. We are hopeful that we'll be able to be around some family at Christmas time.

Update on my back: Physical Therapy has ended for the time being - the tests showed that I wasn't making progress; in fact, my mobility was regressing. The first spinal injection was painful and didn't help. I'm hoping to skip the second spinal injection and just progress to the next doctor. We'll see... 

Scrappy Blue is finished

At last I have a finish! I have many projects in various stages (post coming soon) but just this one finish. Scrappy Blue is a 58" square donation quilt.

I fussy cut the middle of every other blue square. The alternate blue squares are surrounded by a 3/4" wide piece of various scraps stitched together. The two youngest grandsons that live somewhat near us sewed most of those borders when they visited one day in July.

I used more scraps for the piano key border. It will make a good I-spy quilt for some young person.

I quilted this with Double Loop which is different from Double Bubble. I used 40-weight Isacord #3444 thread.

The back is a red fabric from my stash.

I still don't have the tension on my Juki perfect so I can't use a different color bobbin thread. One of these days, I'll work on tension...

Tiny Log Cabins quilt is finished!

I began working on some tiny log cabin blocks about a year ago. I think I had 64 blocks done when the pandemic began and finished the other 80 in the last few months. I found sewing them to be very therapeutic.

The 1" square center of each block is a white fabric with tiny red squares. The block finished at 4" square. For the light side of the blocks, my criteria was white, beige, or soft colors. For the dark side, I wanted bright colors. Once in a while, a piece of fabric was used on both a light side and a dark side - that's character, right? Tiny Log Cabins did make a dent in my tiny scraps. Yay!

I decided the quilt needed borders and auditioned different colors. Everything I tried looked good but I liked this red the best.

This donation quilt is 58" square. 

The finished top sat for quite a while because I couldn't decide how to quilt it. I've always wanted to do a giant spiral on a quilt so when I saw a photo online showing an off-kilter quilted spiral, it hit me that this would be a good time to try one. 

My spiral is centered - I thought it needed to be with the design of the quilt. I used my new echo quilting foot and free-motion quilting for the entire spiral. Using the foot was a bit of a learning curve and I had lots of problem on the center of the spiral. When I finally got the foot adjusted correctly, things went much better. I think I mentioned that I'd probably never do another one but then I looked at the finished quilt and decided I might! I used Aurifil #2600 Dove Gray 40-wt thread to quilt this and Aurifil #2600 Dove Gray 50-wt thread in the bobbin. 

The back is a blue with small, blended white spots. The binding is a striped fabric from my stash.

Not much else is new around here. I'm still dehydrating and freezing produce although it's winding down. I still plan to find and preserve potatoes, apples, and pears. These pictures show the last of the tomatoes, corn, and beans.

I'm still making masks but not in huge numbers.

We did order a new fireplace for our patio. Last Monday, Ray and I put it together. 

I think S'mores are on the agenda for later this evening.

A Quilting Finish

Things got busy around here this week but I have a finish! The teal, green, orange and yellow quilt is done. 

I saw a picture of a quilt that I liked a couple of years or more ago and printed it. I couldn't find any information about who designed the quilt or if there was a pattern and I still haven't. Here's the picture.

I used a little math, redesigned a little bit and made my quilt using scraps. The center of the original quilt looks like it was pieced. I found a piece of fabric in my stash that had the four colors I wanted in the quilt so I used that. The quilt is flat but I didn't smooth it out on the 'bumpy' grass. 

I machine quilted this with a large meandering stitch and Aurifil #2600 Dove 40-weight thread. It's seems like a long time since I did any machine quilting and I really enjoyed it. 

The back is similar to an orange grunge I was going to use the same backing fabric for the binding but I liked the black and white in the original picture so I used a black and white stripe. 

This quilt has been added to the donation pile.

I'm still keeping busy taking care of produce - dehydrating, freezing, and eating! 

Our Illinois grandsons visited for three enjoyable days this last week. The older one was here for two days and used the Cricut to cut a piece for the guitar he is making/building. He also made waffles for us! We played Farkel and he helped me perfect and sew his mask pattern. 

The other two boys made S-mores cookies with the 6-year-old doing all of the measuring and breaking the egg while the 10-year-old did all of the mixing. They both worked on making and rolling the dough balls in graham cracker crumbs and preparing maybe eating the marshmallows and Hershey kisses. They also sewed scraps together while I was perfecting their mask patterns. One had a chain of scraps 53 1/3 feet long. He measured it and wrote down the length - important stuff! Later he pulled out the slip of paper to accurately tell his parents about his accomplishment. The 6-year old with a little guidance from Grandpa sewed most of his strips side by side and ended up with a nice, large rectangle of strips. We played Double Ditto a new game that we all enjoyed and Frisbee. That evening we had a picnic and were able to play miniature golf on our way back to their home. In a perfect world our other grandchildren  would live close enough to come visit for a day or more every so often. 

The mask making is picking up again because all of the grandchildren will need them for school. I am making custom fitted masks for each of the kids and they are choosing fabrics. Here are some of the latest.

Each of the masks will end up with elastic or lycra for the ears or with elastic or lycra around the back of the head. No one wants ties which I understand because I don't like ties either. The kids will each decide which mask has what.

And... today I emptied the sewing machine room. New shelves are being installed tomorrow and that room will be in order and clean by tomorrow night. 

A Fast Finish!

I began the Teal and White quilt in early May. It was simple and just what I was looking to do. 

This donation quilt used many 2.5" by 6.5" teal scraps and finished at 54" by 68". 

I free-motion quilted the double bubble motif with 40-wt #2600 Dove Aurifil thread. The 40-wt is a little heavier than the 50-wt and shows the quilting a little more.

The backing, teal with various colors, is from my stash.

Hopefully this quilt will bring some joy and comfort to a young person.

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I haven't been making masks for a while. It's been a nice break. I don't have a lot of interfacing so I'm not sure what I'll do in the future.

Illinois will move into a new phase for COVID-19 in the next few days. It appears that larger gatherings will be allowed and restaurants will be able to host customers inside at reduced capacities. We are seeing many people not wearing masks so we'll mostly stay home . . .  and I'll work on understanding this new Blogger and I'll keep quilting!

An update and a finished table runner

A couple of weeks ago, a 'local' quilt shop had an online demo for making slab quilt blocks. I have done this before and decided it was a good activity for me right now. I decided that all of my pieces would be squares or rectangles, something I have never done. 

After making four large slabs, I decided that I would not have enough scraps of this color to make a quilt and I really didn't want to cut into yardage. Then it occurred to me that I needed to make a table runner for a new piece of furniture. 

The color was perfect and I had plenty of scraps to make the 23" by 63" runner. I free-motion quilted this with the open paisley motif. The paisley motif is a favorite of mine and I was anxious to try open paisley. I used 40-weight, Aurifil #2600 Dove gray thread.

The front of the quilt uses batiks with a gray grunge for the sashing and border. The backing and the binding are a cotton from my stash. I'm not a purist and have no problem mixing batiks and regular cottons.

Now the quilt resides in its intended place. The batiks pick up the colors in the wall hanging, an old church window.

Another view.

And one last close up showing the quilting.

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Other than quilting...

I've made just 5 masks since I last posted! I think we have 12 masks in our inventory at the moment. I leave the elastic loosely knotted on the masks until the new owner adjusts it. They can then move the knot into the casing. I don't know if we are done making masks but it is nice not to be making masks or waiting for supplies on a daily basis.

Ray and I made 2 fleece blankets. We have a young friend, Brynn. Every year she has a day for her friends to meet and make blankets. Then Brynn takes them to UW Children's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. Brynn has spent a lot of time as a patient in this hospital and enjoys donating the blankets. This year we aren't gathering together; we need to make them on our own and get them to Brynn.

And we've been cleaning. Yuck! Well, it needed to be done. Every closet, cupboard, bookcase, file cabinet, piece of furniture, every nook and cranny on the main floor of our house is getting cleaned. I think about 2 more hours and this will be done! The upstairs of our home is my studio - all 3 rooms. They get cleaned often and the four huge dormer closets get done every few years so we'll pass on the upstairs. The basement is on my list but we'll take at least a week off before beginning. 

I hope you have a good weekend.

#staysafe #washyourhands #wearyourmask #bekind

A quilt called Paint

Gratitude 

turns what we have into enough.

Last summer while we were in Fairfield Ohio, I bought some fabric that looks like it was painted. I thought I'd use it for backing but it wasn't continuous color; it was panels. With the 4 panels that I bought, I made 2 quilts. The first was Color, that I finished in February. The other is Paint that I've been working on for a few months. After the top was finished, it sat for a long time because I wasn't sure how to quilt it.

During the last break from making masks, I decided to free-motion a horizontal stipple with Aurifil Dove gray thread.

The paint brushes were fun to make. You can read how I did it here.

This donation quilt is 52" by 58" and the backing is orange and yellow.

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We just finished a large number of masks for our clinic and some for family. 

We are running very low on interfacing, again. I began looking for more and I can't believe the price gouging. The normal outlets are out and people on eBay are charging two or three or more times the price for something that was $2.75 or less per yard a couple of weeks ago. I'm hopeful that fabric stores will have more in stock soon. I do have leads on other interfacings so decisions will be made.

In the meantime, here in Illinois, we are still under a Stay-at-Home order so maybe it's time to quilt!

#StaySafe 
#WashYourHands 
#SocialDistance