Sister's Choice Quilts

Is There a Doc in the House?

I worked on my Doc Schnibbles this weekend as well, and can't wait to finish it up and get it on my table.  You may notice that I have made a smaller version than the pattern, using only four squares.

What I found out after getting the four blocks and lattices together is that the plan to use four inch half square triangles for the outer border, as shown in the nine block pattern version, won't work.  The measurements are off when I try to use the larger half square triangles with my four block topper. 

No matter.  The four blocks plus lattice measured 24 1/2", so I made 2 1/2 inch half square triangles.  When I sewed 12 of them together, the strip measured 24 1/2", which was "just right" as Goldilocks said.  I kinda like the look of the smaller hsts anyway.

Sidetracked

I have been seriously sidetracked this week.  Well, maybe scattered is a better word.  Being "sidetracked" implies that one has a primary project one is working on, to be sidetracked from.  Since I have four or five dozen projects in various stages of incompletion, I can't technically be sidetracked, can I?  It's just one big happy hopeless disaster in my sewing studio.

First I started working on my zippy bags.  Then the Doc Schnibble for May caught my attention.  Then Dresden Plates started calling my name.  Finally, I decided I really needed to practice my machine quilting.

Back to the Doc project, which involves a block called Card Trick.  I was way cocky in a previous post about this not being the challenge I thought it was going to be.  Sure, I got through the first two blocks and was all proud of myself, and that jinxed everything.  Serves me right.  I sewed the pieces to the block pictured above every possible which way except the right way.  And that meant un-sewing and re-sewing pieces that had already been trimmed (to fit other units) and working with bias edges.

I persevered and got the block together at last, and it isn't too much of a mess.  I just couldn't toss these fabrics because I LOVED them.  When you are working with charm packs, you don't have room to waste your pieces, and these were so cute I wasn't about to say "oh well" and start over.  I was like Tim Gunn.  I could hear his voice in my head saying "Make it work".

Glorious Weekend

What a glorious weekend we had here in my little neck of the woods.  Perfect weather in all ways.  A little work, a little play, some family time, some sewing, and some good food.  I got the binding on my T is for Thelma Schnibble and you can see it all pretty on my kitchen table.  Just so you know, those roses are fresh picked from my garden!  The kids came for a barbeque on Sunday night and my table is so festive.  Their last name begins with T, so I am expecting they will possibly want to take it home with them! 

You may notice the table is only set for three.  My husband works in a town 200 miles away, so he usually leaves on Sunday afternoon and isn't with me for Sunday dinner.  Or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday dinner.  I miss him, but I know this won't last forever.  And at least he has a job!

Speaking of Schnibbles, I got started on the Doc Schnibble for May over the weekend.  At first I was all in a dither, super confused about the cutting instructions, sewing, and lay out.  I have some real spatial issues, it seems.  I figured I would be challenged by this project, since in the past I have really had a struggle with this sort of thing.  My Tessellations quilt comes to mind.

The Card Trick block is similar in that you have to pay attention to the adjoining blocks and get your colors arranged just so in order to make the pattern.  This Tessellations quilt nearly drove me Ca-Razy.

No problem though.  I guess Tessellations was my trial by fire.  I didn't have the same level of frustration with my Doc blocks.  After a bit of a dither, I sorted it all out.  What fun these blocks are!

These are possibly the cutest blocks EVER.  I cannot wait to finish this Schnibble and get it on my table!  The fabric is a Sandy Gervais group called Zippity Do Dah.  It is several years old I think, but you can still get it if you search online.

I don't have my BOM Rehab block done yet, but it is still Monday.  I may get it done yet!

T is for Terrific

I finished my little Schnibbles project for this month.   It still remains to be quilted, and I hope to accomplish that in the next week or so. 

This was a super easy and fun project to do.  Around 10:00 AM I started cutting out the pieces, and by 4:30 was gazing fondly at the top you see above.  The fabrics I started out using were two charm packs of Half Moon Modern in black and white prints.  My favorite print, not surprisingly, is the one with the little scissors.  I tossed in a few other prints, including a few bright yellows, just to be mischievous.  I did make my version a bit smaller than the pattern, so that it fits my round kitchen table a bit better.

I have a set of black and yellow dishes with which I thought this little table topper would be super cute.  I will try to do a fun tablescape once I get it quilted.

If you haven't started your Bibelot (aka Thelma) Schnibbles for this month, it is by no means too late!

Around the 'Hood, All Finished!

Sherri at A Quilting Life, and Sinta at Pink Pincushion are hosting Another Year of Schnibbles, and I have jumped on the bandwagon.  Lord have mercy, I actually finished the January project, which is "Full House", a marvelous Schnibbles pattern by Carrie Nelson.  Signed, sealed, delivered and actually quilted!

I think this is my favorite ever Schnibbles pattern!  The  pattern is called "Full House", but I did a smaller version, called "Around the 'Hood", or "Tiny Town".  Not sure, technically, which of those two patterns my little quilt is, but is does involve smaller blocks and a different setting than the original pattern.  Check out Carrie's blog post on Nov. 9th  for links to the instructions to make this variation of "Full House".

It fits my round kitchen table perfectly, and was so darn fun to make.  The fabrics I used were two charm packs of Blueberry Crumbcake by Blackbird Designs for Moda.   Love, Love, Love that fabric collection.  The best thing is, it goes perfectly with my blue and white theme for January.

What I am really loving about doing Another Year of Schnibbles, is that A) I get a new table topper every month, and B) I can practice my machine quilting skills.

For the center section, I used my tried and true blue painters tape quilting method, which lends itself wonderfully to a grid of tiny squares, such as the 49 block center section of this project. 

Quilting around the houses was trickier, mainly because I am total bone head about planning the best method of quilting around shapes without having to stop and tie off my threads.  Of course when I got to practically the very last tie off, I remembered that I was supposed to sink my knots and thread tails.  So, on the back of my quilt I have a gazillion little knots.  Oh well, practice makes perfect.

I think I may add some additional quilting around the outer border, but for now, all my stencils are still packed, so I decided to leave it undone.  It is just two inches of unquilted border, so that should not be the end of the world even if I never get to it.

This little quilt will be enjoyed for years, and I am so happy to have finished it.

Be sure to check out Sherri and Sinta's blogs on February 1st for many other versions of the January "Another Year of Schibbles".  It isn't too late to join in and make February's project!

 

Tiny Town

Some construction progress here, on my little housing development. This Blueberry Crumbcake collection is so darn pretty. I love making my little color combinations for these blocks.

These houses are being built for the Another Year of Schnibbles January project. The Schnibbles pattern for the month is called Full House (Carrie Nelson, designer). While reading Carrie's blog La Vie en Rose awhile back, I saw a pillow she had made using a version of the Full House pattern. She called her pillow Around the Pink Hood, since she made it using reds and pinks from Bonnie and Camille's recent group "Ruby".

Carrie made some changes to the Full House pattern for her pillow, mainly reducing the size of her houses to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". For the pillow, you make fewer blocks, and of course the layout is different, producing a square result rather than the rectangle of Full House. I liked this idea so much, because I like to put a square table topper in the center of my round kitchen table and the 22" square pillow size is just perfect for that. Scroll down to my post from last Friday to see a picture of the version I am doing.

Carrie provides links to pdf files for both the Tiny Town and Around the Pink Hood patterns on her blog post for November 9.

It didn't take me long at all to get these eight little houses made, and that means I just have four more to go. The version I am doing also calls for a center checkerboard design of 49 1 1/2" squares and four star blocks for the outer corners. With luck, I will get my neighborhood constructed by the end of the month in time for the Schibbles deadline.

 

More Fabric Dreaminess

In my post yesterday, I neglected to link to Another Year of Schnibbles! 

Sherri at A Quilting Life:  http://www.aquiltinglife.com/
and Sinta at Pink Pincushion:  http://www.pinkpincushion.blogspot.com/
are the hosting this terrific sew along.

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Since I haven't been doing much sewing over the past few months, I haven't been doing much fabric purchasing either.  I got a little surprise check recently and decided that acquiring some of the newly released fabric collections would be just the boost I needed to get myself re-inspired to do some sewing.  Green Fairy  (awesome prices) was having a sale on fat eighths bundles and I bought myself a couple with my wind fall.  I find the fat eighths bundles are quite useful.  So often when I make a project and use an entire fat quarter bundle, I end up with half of it left over.  Not always, but quite often.  Since I couldn't decide between two of these yummy collections, I got the smaller amount so I didn't have to leave one out!

I usually love anything by Urban Chiks, and this collection called Urban Cowgirl is no exception.  It is full of blowsy prints and plaids and is a colorway I find really unique.  How about that yellow with the green and aqua?  With a dose of brown to even things out.  So pretty. 

Another favorite design team of mine is Brannock and Patek.  Last year they came out with Lilac Hill, one of my favorite fabric lines ever.  Their latest offering makes my heart sing too.  This is Farmer's Market.

I really like the pink and the green and the yellow and the red.  I always like it when there is a black color way tossed in a group, as it adds a sparkle that I enjoy in my quilts.  Not sure how the purple will play with the others, but other than that I think this group is refreshing and fun.  And look how many lights are included!

Last, I had to have this red and white group called Redwork Renaissance (Chloe's Closet for Moda), because February is almost upon us, and after all, who doesn't love red and white?  (Thelma, you need this...)

This is just so usable.  It was a smaller collection, so I sprang for the full fat quarter bundle.

So, have any of you done any fabric with your Christmas money?  Or if you plan to buy anything, what would you choose?  Share, share, so we can all dream along with you!

My Full House Schnibble

I think I have nearly every Schnibbles pattern that there is.  But could I find any of them?  Noooo, I could not.  That is, not until a couple of weeks ago!  Since my studio is not complete, all my materials are still packed up from the move last summer.  In desperation, I tackled the garage and shifted around some boxes and low and behold, I found my Schnibbles.  The reason I was so anxious to find them is because I need to get going on the January project for Another Year of Schnibbles, which is called Full House.  Now I know I have that pattern, because Carrie Nelson herself sent it to me.  Do you think it was in that big stash of patterns?  Noooo, it was not.  So I ordered a new one, which came in the mail this week.  I know it will turn up, and when it does I will do a little give away.

I was also inspired to order two charm packs of Blueberry Crumbcake (Blackbird Designs for Moda), one the dreamiest collections of blues in ages.  My thinking was, since I am doing this blue and white thing for the month of January, how cute would a blue and white table topper be?

My plan is to make a smaller version of the full size Schnibble.  Carrie has a version for a pillow that will be the perfect size for the center of my kitchen table.  Do check out her blog La Vie en Rose for several other versions of this pattern with links to instructions for the variations.

image borrowed from lavienrose.typepad.com

How cute is this going to be with my blue and white fabrics?  Depending on the finished size, I may add a little piano key border to mine.  I'd better get cracking if I want this finished before the end of the month.

Added later:  Darn, I should have linked to Another Year of Schnibbles!  Sherri at A Quilting Life:  http://www.aquiltinglife.com/
and Sinta at Pink Pincushion:  http://www.pinkpincushion.blogspot.com/
are the hosts.  So sorry about that!