One more finish for March!

Another chunky quilt is done - the Chunky Brown Quilt. This is really a variation as it has two wide rows followed by a narrower row which continually repeats before ending with two wide rows.  

I was going to make a quilt with various colored batik scraps but when I saw that I had so many brown pieces, I decided to go with all brown batiks and to use the narrower widths too. We may keep this quilt; it goes nicely with our furniture. The size, 60" by 80", is good for reading and/or napping on the couch.

I quilted it with a double loop using 40-wt Glide thread #20464 Medium Brown thread. 

The back is a medium brown with darker brown flecks.

Now it's time I get real serious about a graduation quilt that I need for later this spring...

Another Retreat Finish

I finished one other quilt at the retreat. This 48" by 54" quilt is for a special little guy. 

The center has roads with firetrucks and I think little cars could drive those same roads.

The sides have cars, trucks, school buses, campers, emergency vehicles,...

The backing is airplanes. I free-motion quilted this with a large meander using 40-wt Glide #10877 Sterling thread on the front and #70187 Ruby on the back.

I worked on a couple other projects at the retreat also. 

I am making quarter square triangles in bright colors. This is an ongoing, fun project.

I enjoy the improv when making these - anything goes. Fifteen blocks are done; I think I need around fifty. This will end up as an I-spy donation quilt.

I finished piecing the Pink Chunky Quilt. Yes, I'm still trying to use up my many scraps.

Today is Thursday - I think that means it's time for a storm since we have a storm almost every Thursday lately. Looks like the rain will begin soon and change to snow overnight. Sounds like a good day for quilting!

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!

First Finish of the Decade!

What a wonderful thought it is 

that some of the best days of our lives 

haven't even happened yet. 

-Anne Frank

Crosswalks is done! It is my first finish of 2020 and my first finish of the new decade.

I haven't had much time to sew but now that the holidays are past, we are settling into a routine of sorts and I have spent a number of hours over the last few days quilting. Fun!!! Maybe this will continue.

I used solid fabrics for Crosswalks; all were scraps. Yes, I'm still trying to get my scraps under control and I might be making a little progress. 

Crosswalks is a donation quilt and is about 55" square. The pattern is from Missouri Star Quilt Company. 

I free-motion quilted this using rulers and Aurifil #2600 Dove (gray) thread. I quilted a straight line through the middle of the colored stripes and a star in each white square.

In the outside triangles, the star only has 3 points and extends into the white border. I added a line of echoing around the outside. Do you like the binding? I thought it looked great with the stripes in the crosswalks.

The back is from my stash.

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Ray is making progress. He still has trouble sleeping. The shooting pain has lessened but is still there at times. He faithfully does his exercises and is getting stronger and more independent daily. 

I put some gnomes on a sweatshirt because I like gnomes.

I finished the bowtie quilt top. So now there is one quilt waiting to be sandwiched.

I have a string quilt top together and I need to add borders.

I have a courthouse steps top that needs borders.

This is now sewn together

And then I decided to clean out my orphan and extra block basket as if I could. 

Orphan blocks all in ONE basket

I'm sewing pieces together to make blocks.

Improv blocks made from orphan blocks

I have a plan in my head - we'll see what develops.

Happy 2020! 

A finish and more

America's Game is a donation quilt that is about about 57" square. I found some baseball fabric when I was cleaning out fabric drawers a while back and thought someone might enjoy a quilt made with baseball fabric. 

I free-motion quilted this with a meandering stitch using Aurifil #1103 red thread.

The back is the same small blue/white dot as the sashing cornerstones. The red is more of a dark wine red rather than the cherry red in the following picture.

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Recently I came across a reference to a blogpost, How to Scrappy Improv any Patchwork Block.I saw her photo using scraps to make a reverse churn dash block and I decided this might be a good, fun, stress free way to use some of the small scraps I have. 

gnomeangel.com photo from Internet

I enjoy improv quilting and have PLENTY of small scraps to use. So I worked out measurements and got busy. I began sewing small scrap pieces together then began using parts of orphan blocks and partial blocks that I keep in baskets. 

First overflowing basket

Ray decided to join in the fun. I think he enjoyed going through the baskets and picking out pieces because he kept returning to play more!

2nd overflowing basket

My first block looks a lot like the original photo.

I couldn't wait to get 4 blocks done so I could really see the secondary design. I have started adding some neat pieces for an eye spy quilt.

The 21 individual parts of each block are close to being done. Then I'll just need to assemble the blocks. Sadly none of my 3 overflowing small scrap baskets looks any different!

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On Tuesday, we'll leave on a journey that will take us north and west. We plan to spend some time in Jasper, Alberta, Canada but first we will enjoy our time getting there. And later we'll enjoy the days getting home - they'll be filled with more adventures.

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. ~Greg Anderson

We are close to being ready. There is laundry to do of course and the packing but we have good lists so that should go smoothly and quickly. I just need to figure out Lightroom, a photography software that Ray uses. He wants things changed so it can travel with us. I need to move many thousands of photos and a catalog. I think I finally have it somewhat figured out. Hopefully I'll have it conquered within the next 24 hours. Then maybe I can find an extra hour or two in the sewing studio.

I'll try to let you know what's happening along the way. We aren't expecting warm weather but keep your fingers crossed that we do not find winter!

Blue Water

Blue Water is one of my very favorite quilts! It wasn't a planned quilt - it just happened.

You may remember Just Sailing Along. I had 4 leftover sailboat blocks and also 2 'failed' prototype blocks.

Recently, I finished Bright Log Cabin and I had 8 extra blocks.

I was trying to figure out something to do with the extra Bright Log Cabin blocks. As I was playing with different layouts, I went looking for ideas and happened to find the leftover sailboats. The colors/fabrics meshed perfectly and this 54" by 56" quilt evolved.

The quilt has Dream Cotton Batting. I used a walking foot and 50-weight light blue #2715 Aurifil thread to quilt this with free-form waves. 

The back is red with small flecks of color and the binding is a stripe with all of the right colors.

I bought the  blue water fabric from a shop in Rock Island, Illinois, on our January visit.

The four leftover sailboats are on the right and the left. The sailboats at the top and bottom are the 'failed' prototypes - the sails are shorter and the boats are taller than the sailboats used for Just Sailing Along. The leftover log cabin blocks worked well as the corner and center blocks.

I think I can now donate Just Sailing Along and Bright Log Cabin and I'll hold on to Blue Water for awhile.

Brights with White Squares and one more Chemo Hat are finished

Happy National Quilting Day! I spend all morning rolling pie dough - our team is again making pies to benefit our churches'  mission teams. Later I will spend some time stitching. Yay!

Brights with White Squares is finished. It is 57" by 69" - a really nice size to snuggle under. This is another donation quilt from my  clean-out-this-stash project.

The pattern is Piece Out, from Missouri Star Quilt Company's Block magazine. I think the only change I made to the pattern is that I used one border instead of two. A friend made this in black and white with the little squares in bright colors - it was gorgeous!

This is free motion quilted with a stipple loop pattern. The loops are the sizes of nickels and quarters. Of course, I used Aurifil thread and Dream Cotton batting.

I love the back on this quilt - it's orange!

It is rather busy but neat.

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I  finished another Chemo Hat. This is made from Bamboo Pop. I think it's a very happy color.

Now it is time to sit down and stitch...

Blue Jelly Roll Race with Brights

The first blue jelly roll race quilt is done. There are two - I'm not as fond of the other one (no photos yet) but it will get finished. It needs to be sandwiched and quilted. These are both made from the blue stash that I've been clearing out. 

For this finished quilt, I decided to use only strips that read solid so I had to use some of the shorter strips too. I found some 2 1/2" bright colored squares It's amazing what I find in my studio! and decided to put one in between each strip. 

For the back, I used a bright print that I bought in Sault Set Marie, Ontario, Canada last spring.  The binding is left over pieces from other projects. Am I the only one that saves all of my leftovers so I can use them later?

I used Dream Cotton batting and quilted this in straight lines with my walking foot.

This is a donation quilt and I hope someone finds it bright and cherry.

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I've now attacked my red fabric! I have about 12 yards, mostly fat quarters, that I plan to gift to friends. The rest is cut in 2 1/2" strips, 3 1/2" pieces/strips, strings, and 5" squares. I think I've removed about 25 - 27 yards of red fabric. The good news is that I can now close the red fabric drawer! 

Sorting reds while many blue strips remain on design wall.

I've already kitted one quilt using 5" red squares and 2" red squares with white surrounding them. The next idea is for a Lasagna quilt using the 3 1/2" pieces and strips.

Here are the 3 1/2" strips. I was sorting by fabric - there are MANY!

I have started the Lasagna Quilt. This is similar to a Jelly Roll Race but each row is pieced and then the rows are sewn together. I'm thinking that I have plenty of fabric to do more than one.

I have a large drawer where I have decided to keep my 2 1/2 " strips. At last count there were over 300 strips -  someday I plan to use them! I also have all of the strings in a VERY large basket. The next time my grandsons are here and want to sew, I think we'll work on string blocks. 

I do like organization and I feel that I am slowly regaining control of my stash...