Red and Blue Stars

Another donation quilt from my clean-out-this-stash project is finished! The Red and Blue Stars is based on a flannel quilt kit that I bought a number of years ago and made recently. You can see it here.

This larger version is 64" by 64". I used Aurifil thread and Dream Cotton batting. Have you picked up on a theme? I love Aurifil thread and Dream Cotton batting.

I free motion quilted this with a wavy line crossing the quilt. I got the idea from Cheryl at Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting - she used a smaller tighter wavy line on her bear paw quilts. Cheryl said she got the idea from Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts. It's a quick quilting motif that is easy to do and adds texture.

The back is more navy than the picture looks. It's a piece of fabric that just happened to be in my stash.

Our weather is cold and very damp. We've had lots of ice recently so no outside photos.

I have 3 or 4 quilts that just need the binding sewn down so I may have more January finishes.

Bernina Ruler Foot and Rulers

I'm learning to use the adjustable Bernina ruler foot and rulers. Actually the ruler foot is simple to use - it's almost like using any quilting foot except you adjust the height. Adjusting the height is easy although I may never have to adjust it again since most of my quilts are the same thickness. Even though the toe isn't open, you can see what you are doing. The only weird thing is that you have to lower the foot to thread the needle.

A variety of rulers came with the Bernina Ruler Package. Ignore the blue painters tape holding the pieces together.

circles

ovals

I haven't removed all of the white paper from the backs yet.

I practiced for a while on a practice sandwich and then decided to just concentrate on one thing at a time. I chose the straight edge and a child-size quilt. 

I cross hatched the center, 

did some interesting stitching on the navy border, 

did some in-the-ditch-stitching, and did some straight stitching on the outer borders. Everything was done with the same ruler and free motion quilting.  That interesting stitching on the navy border required a little math to figure it out which was good for my mind!

I had to hold the ruler in different directions with each of my hands. Using either hand to holding the ruler and keeping the ruler from slipping are the hardest parts. Some of the rulers in my set are pretty small and my invisigrip won't stay on them. You don't have to look close to find my bobbles! I did not turn the quilt like you would with a walking foot - I just sewed in whatever direction was needed.

Before I began my second quilt, I was able to get some grips - little sandpaper disks - that work great. I did a second quilt using the straight edge with the grips on it and the ruler held much better.

It was much easier and I think I'm beginning to adjust to using the ruler in different directions.

Can you see the grips on the ruler?

When I finished the center of the quilt and got to the border, I decided to try a different ruler. I had no problems holding it or matching up the ruler to the design.

I'm looking forward to trying all of the rulers and eventually getting more. They are easy and fun to use. 

Do you like my cool purple gloves? I've always worn white Machingers but decided to try the Grabaroos. They work about the same and add more color to my life!

Some Knitting Finishes

I have some knitting finishes - it seems that I'm always working on a variety of projects and all of a sudden, a few were done!

First is a Gansey Cowl. The pattern is Chunky Gansey Cowl. I did modify the pattern - I added 12 stitches to make it a little larger.

I used JaggerSpun yarn and I think this will look good with my new Gansey Hat.

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Next is The Manning Park Hat, an easy knit with a double brim. You can see the inside is white in the second picture. The detailed edge has a picot trim which I'll probably skip next time. I used Rauma Mitu yarn - it is wonderful to work with and warm to wear.

My friend, Nancy, helped with the pompom. I hadn't made one in MANY years. Nancy has a great pom pom maker - I think I need to invest in one.

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Last is another pair of socks.  I don't think I can ever have enough hand knit socks. I used Fiber Seed Sprout yarn in the color Electric Slide. I love this yarn!

I again used Ann Budd's pattern for 7 stitches per inch from her book. However, this time I tried a Fish Lips Kiss Heel. It is so easy to do and feels great. I think it is my new go-to-heel.

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I'll be casting on another pair of socks soon. I'm also working on a sweater - I just need to have the pattern changes worked out before I begin.

A quilt and dpn cases

I have a couple of quilting finishes. . .

First is the Jungle Quilt. This is the first quilt that I quilted with my new Bernina ruler foot and rulers. I'll talk more about the ruler foot and rulers in another post. This donation quilt is 46" by 46". It is part of my clean-out-this-stash project. I used Aurifil thread for the piecing and the quilting and Dream Cotton batting. 

This fabric is left from a couple of baby quilts. The borders are also pieces that were leftover from the same fabric line -  there are giraffes,

elephants,

and the top and bottom are both monkeys.

The back is large white polka dots on yellow with a strip of the jungle fabric.

  
I decided to add a striped binding that had the same colors as the rainbow in the fabric.

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A while back, I made myself a dpn (double pointed needle) case to hold some of my knitting needles. Recently I made a couple more for a friend.

The cases rolled up. Mine is the orange/red case - I didn't put a button and loop on it. My original patten gets better every time I make it.

When the case is open, you can see how the needles fit in. The cases close with velcro. The needles are held so they cannot fall out.

Each case is quilted but I'm not sure you can see that in the pictures.

I'm not planning to make anymore but you never know...

Grandsons' quilt finished

A 2017 finish! This donation quilt was mostly made by my Illinois grandsons. I did a bit of straightening, then I quilted and bound it. 

All sewing was done with Aurifil thread and the batting is Dream Cotton. The quilt is 42" by 60"

The back is black with a small dot.

I quilted it with giant pebbles/rocks - guess I'll call them boulders - with a spiral thrown in every so often.

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Currently there are 17 quilts left to finish for my clean-out-this-stash project. Two need the binding hand stitched; three are pinned and ready to quilt; twelve tops are stitched and in a pile waiting. 

My Bernina is being serviced. I'll get it back next week; then I can use my new rulers. 

In the meantime, there is plenty to do! 

Finishes and more...

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We hosted a large celebration yesterday and have been doing a lot of relaxing today.

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My first finish is a basket liner. Our youngest grandson, age 2,  needed a basket/bin for his music stuff. We couldn't find a bin that looked childish so I made a liner to help this one look like his. 

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Have I mentioned that a friend gifted me her stash? Well, she did! I was able to sort through and only keep what I thought I'd use which was quite a bit! So I'll continue working on my  clean-out-this-stash project...  

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The  grandsons that live nearby came to make cookies right before Christmas. For the first time, we also made a gingerbread house. I 'glued' the house together the day before and they did the rest.

I thought I'd have to help but the 9-year-old did most of the frosting with the 7-year-old helping some. Everyone including the 2-year-old decorated and sampled the candy.

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I have a few knitting finishes. The first is a Cabled Winter Headband. I used Cascade Yarns Cash Vero that I found in my stash. Yes, I have a yarn stash too!

The button is cherry wood.

Next is a hat. When I bought the yarn at Knit Circus in Madison, Wisconsin, the girl said it was enough to make an adult hat with the pattern Barley by Tin Can Knits. I tried making a hat but I didn’t have enough yarn. So I found the recommended pattern and began knitting the adult hat but ran out of yarn. Then I made the child's hat and had just enough. I wonder if my skein was the actual length that it was labelled. In any event, our youngest grandson likes his new hat!

And last is a hat that does fit me. The pattern Chunky Gansey Cap by Bonnie Marie Burns is a fast, easy knit. I used Jagger Spun Mousam Falls yarn and love my Gansey Hat.

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One of my Christmas gifts was the Bernina ruler foot and ruler set. I was able to play for a while today.  One of these days, I'll have another finish to share.

Pepto Pink

Pepto Pink is done! This is another donation quilt from my  clean-out-this-stash project. The original quilt made from these prints was for our oldest granddaughter. Then there were a couple more quilts that used some of the fabrics. Of course I kept all of the scraps. By adding some pink and green, I have finally used all of these fabrics.

When I started this quilt and grabbed one piece of pink from my stash, I commented something about Pepto Bismo and the quilt was named. I know many girls that would love this quilt with the pink, the hearts and the flowers.

The back is light pink with white dots. I used Aurifil thread to piece and quilt this quilt. The FMQ motif is 3 large loops like flower petals with echoing.

The binding is from my stash - it had all of the right colors.  The batting is Dream Cotton which is my favorite. The quilt is 49.5" by 49.5"

The quilt has been laundered and I love the texture. I just added it to my donation pile which is small but growing...