Sister's Choice Quilts

It's All About the Green

Sometimes the simplest things are the best. I was rummaging through my older patterns yesterday for ideas on what to do with that yummy stack of green fabrics I bought from Shabby Fabrics. I had stars in my mind, mainly because I had dreamed about making a star-themed quilt with the fabrics. However, when I uncovered this blast from the past I had to reconsider. This simple design will be easy to sew and will show off this great fabric collection perfectly.

The pattern is called Gazebo and is by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company from years and years ago. (You might find a copy of the pattern on eBay). Basically, it is a rail fence block featured as the center of a square in a square block. The blocks are made oversize and are trimmed down to 8 inches. I made two test blocks and love how they turned out. I will have to pay attention to those directional fabrics in future blocks.

Miss Rosie's Quilt Company was founded by Carrie Nelson back in the early 2000s. That's when she came to my attention anyway. I loved her designs from the start and have made dozens of her patterns. I even did some stunt sewing for her a couple of times. I met her in person at a quilting retreat at The Buggy Barn in Washington State and was completely star-struck. I've met celebrities who didn't make my fan girl's heart flutter as much as meeting her did! When I became acquainted with her subsequently, I was very taken by her quick sense of humor and her generosity. In addition to her formidable talent, she was just plain nice. 

I haven't heard much about her or her work for a while, except to hear that she may be suffering from some health-related issues. If you ever read my blog, Carrie, know that you are in my thoughts and your designs will always be number one in my heart. Thank you for the outstanding and innovative body of work you have created. I hope to see more of your designs in the future. You are the best and will always be my favorite pattern designer. 

Lucky Charms

Just look at this gorgeous fabric! It is called Lucky Charms and is by Andover Fabrics. It isn't easy to find a collection of such great greens, so I am super happy to have bought it. I have no idea what I'll make with it, but there are 24 fat quarters, so I think I'll make a full-sized quilt. The fact that it features shamrocks doesn't faze me in the least. I have the Irish connection, so I think I could use it year-round. 

The prints are all very small, so it isn't "in your face" St. Patrick's. I ordered the bundle from Shabby Fabrics.  

In other news, I did get my rows of the Take It Easy quilt top sewn together. Now just to assemble the border!

I took out most of the offending crooked print strips. If you look closely you might find one or two crooked ones left, but they don't bother me too much. Well, there might be one I still need to fix...

Take It Easy

Well, friends, it seems that I may indeed finish a UFO for the month of January! I picked the Take It Easy quilt project I had started heaven knows how long ago, and tackled finishing up the blocks. All blocks are made, and all border blocks are made. This week, actually today and tomorrow I plan to get these all sewn together into a quilt top.

It feels very gratifying to actually check something off my "To Do" list!

However. I noticed that there is one print that when not cut out straight is crazy-making in its "Offness". I don't think I can stand having it in the quilt top. I have a date with my seam ripper tomorrow and plan to replace the more crooked strips. If you enlarge the photo, I bet you will see what I am talking about. Third row, second and fourth blocks for instance. It's the print with the diamond pattern. Some are cut straight and look fine, while others are on a slant that is quite noticeable. 

Did you all have a good weekend? Was it All Football, All the Time? That is pretty much the story of what was going on at my house. No matter, I didn't get much sewing done, but I sure did plow through some good books. Looks like I will finish 14 books for January, which I believe is a record for me.  I will be sure and do a review of the best of them in the upcoming week or so. 

I made a really good batch of chile con carne for dinner on Sunday night and spent some time writing some goals down in my journal. I do not know how it happened (yes I do), but I have gained 8 pounds since early December. I have been enjoying way too many baked goods and after-dinner snacks. I've worked out a plan to drink more water, walk 4 or 5 times a week, eat salad for lunch, and consume nothing after dinner. How did you do with weight gain over the holidays? Is it an issue for you, or do you manage to stay the same?

Designer Mystery 2022 Alternate Block #1

Yesterday I got started making one of the alternate setting blocks for the Designer Mystery 2022 Sew Along sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop. The setting for this quilt is gorgeous, featuring alternate blocks such as the Ohio Star above, and some darker Log Cabin blocks. This quilt will be a stunner when it's done.

This block was the eighth in the series. Four more to go. I thought I'd get a jump on those alternate blocks rather than saving them all up for the end. Each block has a frame around it as well, so that's another task I could tackle.

Thanks to Sandy KN for the suggestions of quilt shops to visit in the Tuscon area. If anyone else wants to weigh in, my friend hasn't left for her trip yet, so there's still time. It's been a while since I have been to a brick-and-mortar quilt shop, how about you?

Have a great weekend everyone.

Tackle Those UFOs

Have you made a list of your UFOs and started tackling them? My January UFO is Take It Easy, a jelly roll quilt pattern by Primitive Gatherings. I started it a couple of years ago and it has been sitting in a project box half finished for a while. 

I do love a red and white quilt, and think this one may be a gift for one of my brothers-in-law. A quilt I made for my sister that he always loved has been damaged by his dogs and he asked me if I could replace it. I think he would like this one. Actually, she would have liked it too. She was always so appreciative of the quilts I gave her.

At any rate, I digress. I finished all the blocks for this project and plan to see if I can sew them together this weekend. I have a major tip for any of you who plan to make this quilt:

TRIM YOUR BLOCK UNITS AS YOU SEW.

Because of the nature of jelly rolls, I was dealing with more variation in the width of the strips than I would have had I cut 2 1/2 inch strips out of yardage. Consequently, I don't think two of those block units came out quite the same size. They were real close, but not precise. 

I did trim the final 12 1/2 inch blocks to size, but I sure would be happier with these blocks had I trimmed each of the block units as I made them. Construction is super simple, although you can get mixed up as to the placement of the 2 1/2 inch square in each unit if you aren't careful. 

This is what the finished quilt top will look like. 

Say, I have a question for you all. I have a friend who is taking a trip to Tuscon, Arizona next week. She would love to visit any quilt shops in the general Tuscon area. Can any of you make a recommendation? She would sure appreciate it!

Sewcialites 2 Progress

These are the first 12 blocks I've made in the Sewcialites 2 sew-along. I think I swapped out one block I didn't like with a different 9-inch quilt block pattern. Middle row, last on the right I think. I am using the Flower Pot collection by Lella Boutique for Moda. The navy blue colorway in the line didn't make sense to me, so I left it out. I plan to use it in another project, so it won't go to waste.

Now that I have cleared off my large design wall I can lay them out and get a feel for how I am distributing my colors throughout the blocks. I also want to get started on making my setting blocks for the finished quilt top, and seeing them all in one fell swoop gives me a feel for placement. 

I am going with this layout. There are 24 blocks in the sew-along, but don't you think those four red corner stars are begging for a block to be inserted in the center? Me too. Guess I need to get busy and make four more blocks.

Are you doing this sew-along? What fabric are you using?

Storing Patterns in Binders

A couple of you asked me about how I store my patterns in binders. It all started with the first Sewcialites Sew Along. Fat Quarter Shop offered a Sewcialites binder for storing all the printed free patterns for the project. I loved the idea and bought it.

I've been storing recipes that I print off the internet in binders for years, so I don't know why I didn't think to store my sew-along printouts in them as well. Inside my Sewcialites binder, I have the printed patterns from a couple of other sew alongs. I quickly ran out of room in just one binder. Now I have four binders that I have purchased from Amazon and Staples. With all the free patterns I printed out for the Moda Blockheads sew-alongs, you can believe I filled up several binders quickly.


It is becoming a lot more common these days to purchase PDF files of quilt patterns online and print them out yourself. There is usually no monetary savings in doing that, but at least you have immediate access to the pattern and don't have to wait for it to come in the mail. I had a ton of Pattern Basket patterns that were just sitting in a stack. With a hole punch and a binder, you can organize them in a jiffy.


Which is exactly what I did last weekend when I wanted to make this cute heart table runner I saw somewhere. The pattern "Let's Play Hearts" is by Atkinson Designs. You can purchase it online, print it out, and make the runner in a few hours. Instant gratification.


Binders are a great way to organize your free printouts from sew alongs, as well as PDF files of patterns you purchase online. I can't tell you how many times I have bought a PDF pattern twice because I couldn't find the original one I bought in my computer files. 

How do you organize your printouts and purchased patterns?