Finishes and more!

I have both a quilting finish and a knitting finish.

This quilt is called Daises - the center of each block and the cornerstones are all daisies.

The yellow is a Moda Bella Cotton. The other colors (except for the daisies) are hand dyed. I bought two fat quarter packs a number of years ago in the Outer Banks. The pattern is called the Economy Quilt Block. I added sashing between the blocks.

This donation quilt is 58" square. I quilted it with a walking foot in diagonal straight lines using Aurifil #1135 50-weight yellow thread. The stitching is on the same diagonal as the colors.

The backing is a yellow fabric that was printed a few years ago for the Iowa Shop Hop. It has boys and girls riding bicycles.

My knitting finish is an afghan that I made following Michelle Hunter's Building in Color book. I learned  more about knitting in color and was glad I decided to make the quilt. I did change the border - I crocheted it rather than knit it. The only reason was variety. The afghan is about 40" by 54".

At the recent retreat, I worked on this quilt and got the blocks put together.

I also made some logcabin blocks.

And I put together lots of 4-patches for another quilt.

I hope to have another finish soon.

Keeping Busy

The Jamestown Landing quilt top (Bonnie Hunter pattern) is finished.  It is in the to-be-sandwiched-and-quilted pile. I think this quilt will stay with us. We both loves the colors and it will look great on the new couch when it arrives for our front room.

Joy at The Joyful Quilter had a guest blogger, Connie, who made a table topper inspired by a pattern for a quarter log cabin quilt. I really liked the pattern and went hunting at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and found a picture of her beautiful quilt in blues in a March 28, 2021 post. (For some reason, I can't give you the direct link??!) She gives credit for the idea to Christina Cameli. I eventually found the pattern on Christina Cameli's blog. Here is my first block.

While on the hunt at Confessions of a Quilt Addict, I came across a pattern for Supernova and I loved it - of course it was in orange and white. I wanted to do something in reds. And here is my finished Supernova quilt top. It is 100 half square triangles (each finished at 6") - very quick and super easy. 

I've spent some time with a project using some hand dyed fabrics I've had for a few years. I think I want to add some yellow sashing and I don't seem to have enough of the right color in my stash. So this will wait until I've had a chance to do some shopping.

And I've finished knitting the pieces for an afghan, Building in Color by Michelle Hunter. The ten strips are now blocked and ready to be put together; then I can knit the borders.

I did stipple a quilt and am sewing down the binding. I'll show you when it is done. I don't have any other quilts pinned and I'm not sure when I'll be able to pin any - I'm working on that. 

Keeping busy helps me deal with the pain. Less than 4 months until the back surgery gets scheduled, not that I'm counting...

February - a month for Finishes!

I didn't plan on February being a month of finishing things but it sure turned out that way. In addition to the two earlier finishes, I have 4 more quilts and a hat! That makes six quilts finished in February!

#1 was shared here and #2 here.

#3

Rhombus Gemstones is a 51" by 64" donation quilt. The pattern is from Missouri Star Quilt Company and I used their large rhombus template to make this quilt. I used a Moda Grunge Jellyroll for the strips. 

The quilting is free motion lazy eights in the colored strips, free-hand free motion feathers in the negative (white) areas,

and ruler work candy ribbons on the border. I had pretty good success with my ruler foot on the ribbons. It gives me headaches when it has to cross seams. 

I used Aurifil #2600 Dove gray Forty3 thread. I ordered the thread from an Etsy shop. It took a while to get here and then was a yellow spool instead of orange. I wanted a big spool of 50 weight and got Forty3 which is 40-weight 3-ply cotton.  I decided to keep the thread; it sews like a 40-weight but is stronger. Of course, I still need some 50 weight.

The backing is orange from my stash.

#4
Easy Breezy is a 59" square donation quilt. The block is Bonnie Hunter's 2020 Leader/Ender project. I added sashing with corner squares and a border. The blue in the four small squares of each block, the sashing corner squares, the border, and the binding match.

I quilted this with a walking foot and curved lines. I drew an arc with a 42"radius from one corner of the quilt. Then I  stitched the arc and every 1-1/2" from the arc.  I used Aurifil #2600 Dove gray thread - Forty3 for the top and 50-wt for the back. 

I think you can see some of the stitching above and below.

I had just enough blue fabric that matched the border for the binding but some of the pieces were only 4" or  6" long. So I decided to add a little color to the border because I didn't want a bunch of seams in a plain blue border. Each side has a pop of color 2" from the corner, 4" away, and 6" away. 

The back is another orange fabric from my stash.

#5

Pathways to Friendship has serpentine strips that I learned in Christina Cameli's Pillow class quite a while back. The other blocks in this quilt are from my orphan/leftover bin. It's always fun to find a use for the extras.

This 56" by 58" quilt is ready to donate.

This entire quilt was free-motion quilted using Aurifil #2600 Dove gray thread - Forty3 for the top and 50-wt for the back. I used the lazy eights motif in all pathways, both serpentine and straight. 

The rest of the quilt has a horizontal stipple.

The back of the quilt is fabric from my stash.

#6

I found the pattern for Magic Squares at The Joyful Quilter. I had a burnt orange layer cake and a yellow one to use with white. After making a few squares, I decided to just go with just the orange and white.

I wanted to quilt this 60" X 60" donation quilt with a large SQUARE spiral but it looked off-kilter so I settled for a large spiral. I used the walking foot and spaced the stitching at 1-1/2". I used # 2315, a light beige/cream, 50-wt Aurifil thread. Note to self: I sewed the spiral counter clockwise and think it would have been easier if I had gone clockwise.

The binding and backing are both from my stash. I think the back is a neat surprise when one turns the quilt over.

And I made this hat. I used Jagger Spun Mousam Falls yarn from my stash and a fake fur pom. The pattern is Trail 4 Hat by Claire Borchardt. 

I think it's time to take a break from finishing quilts. Six finishes are enough for one month! The remaining 3 finished tops will wait while I pursue a couple of new ideas. I think this may take a while - I'll let you know how it goes.

On the health scene: This week I'll see a specialist and hopefully find out exactly how we are going to make my bones stronger. Later that day we're supposed to get our 2nd Covid vaccination. It feels like progress.

Some finishes and more...

The flannel quilt, Pink Puppies, is now completed. It is 42" by 53" and a donation quilt. 

This was a cute kit 

with striped binding.

I added the pink flannel backing. I free-motion quilted this with large swirl flowers. I think they show better from the back. I used 40-weight Aurifil thread, #2423 pink.

Colored Strings is finished. This donation quilt is 58" square.

The back is red with colored circles and the binding is a black and white stripe.

I free-motion quilted this with rulers, doing four different motifs. I used the same motif for all 4 squares of the same color. I used a beige/brown Aurifil 40-weight thread, #2326. 

The first motif is a four pointed star.

This a a diamond pattern repeated a couple of times.

Next is a wedge pattern.

The 4th pattern is three four-sided figures with one common corner.

I finished piecing Diamonds With Squares. I'm adding a scrappy white border and it will be ready to pin and quilt.

I also began another quilt that I'll call Black/White with Red. All of the blocks are made. I'm still using some black/white strings that I made years ago. After adding red to the corners, I sewed some of the blocks together and decided to make a change.

The new layout has white sashing with red corner stones. I already like it much better. 

I finished this sweater. It is not gathered but appears like it in this photo.

I also finished my afghan, from Building Blocks by Michelle Hunter. Each of the 12 squares is different and is written for a person to learn more about knitting. Although I have knitted since I was a child, I am, for the most part, self taught. It's a great book/pattern and I did learn a few things.

To look really nice, one would have to get on the floor and spread this out nicely. But today, I'm not getting on the floor. 😉

You might be able to see it better on the back of the couch.

I am making another afghan from Michelle Hunter's book Building in Color. This one is knit in ten strips each using 2 - 3 colors of yarn. I am working on the second strip and have already learned things! It's nice to be filling in the gaps in my education.

I'm still going to physical therapy. We were rear-ended in a car accident in September of 2018 that moved vertebrae L3 about 1/4". My L4-L5-S1 vertebrae were fused together with cement made from my hip bone and screws in 2011. Well the spinal canal in L3 is much smaller than before the accident and is now full of arthritis and more so all of the nerves are again being pinched. This includes both sciatic nerves (right and left). It gets rather painful at times and it is difficult to move. The PT will continue a few more weeks and I'll start injections in early December. If need be, L3 will be moved back and fused to the vertebrae below. For now, I don't get a lot of exercise but I am able to sew some, I can knit, and I'm very good at taking naps!

Life could be worse but I'm hoping is gets better soon.