Sister's Choice Quilts

Celebrate Spring Challenge Revealed

The Celebrate Spring Fatquarter Challenge between Darlene of Quilting Daze, Dawn of Quilts and Pieces, and myself is officially over.  The challenge was issued by Darlene and the task was to use the same fatquarter fabric group (Celebrate Spring by Sandy Gervais for Moda), and create independent quilting projects within a one month time frame.  My project is pictured above.  I used a pattern by the Perkins Dry Goods Company called Sherbet Delight, which I thought would lend itself nicely to the fabric collection and color palette.  I changed the size of my quilt slightly, by making it not as long as the version pictured on the pattern.  As you can see in the photo, it turned out big enough to use as a coverlet on my queen sized bed.

My quilt measures 74" x 80", and is made of 18 pieced blocks & 14 solid blocks, set on the diagonal, "floating" on setting triangles.  I added a one inch containment border and a 6 1/2 inch outer border.  I struggled to get the top to lie perfectly straight for the photo and hope that the rumples will "quilt out" when the quilting is done.   Aren't those big white squares just calling out for some kind of incredible quilting?  When I get around to having it quilted, I may also opt for the scalloped border as shown on the pattern.

The Challenge was a heck of a lot of fun girls, and I hope we can do another one some time!

Charm Square Project

Sara asked me to help her come up with some prototypes of fast easy projects that would put charm squares to a good use.  She is planning to set up an online shop this summer and wants to create some quilt kits that will appeal to beginning quilters as well as experienced quilters who want a quickly turned out quilt top.  I picked up two charm packs of Apron Strings, designed by Chloe's Closet for Moda.  I spent an enjoyable couple of hours playing around with these 5" fabric squares, trying to see what some construction possibilities might be.

I was able to construct 42 blocks from the two packs, also using two 44" long, 2 1/2" strips of white that I cut into 2 1/2" squares.  The resulting top is crib sized, 39" by 45".  The size could easily be increased somewhat by adding a containment border and an outer border.

This is the first time I have used charm squares, and I must say, now I am excited about exploring some additional uses for them.  I'd love to hear what some of my blogging friends have done with them in their projects.

Kate's Bargello Quilt

I thought it might be time to show you all another quilt made by my sister Kate.  This bargello quilt is a real beauty. It is the second bargello quilt that she has made. Instead of me telling you all about it, here you have it straight from Kate:

"Well, the book I used is by Marge Edie, "Bargello Quilts." It covers the basics and has patterns ranging in difficulty from small place mats to large fracture bargello quilts.  I didn't quite follow her method.  She makes her strip sets, slices them into strips and then makes a tube out of them, which is later opened up back into a strip.  I thought that the tube part was an extra step so I skipped it.  Anything to speed things along.

If I had to guess, I'd say the top took me about 3 to 4 months.  There are over 2000 pieces, plus the two borders.  And I pinned each and every seam to make sure my seams lined up.  I used over 35 fabrics.  With so many fabrics, organization is a must so I made a fabric "key" so I could remember in which order I had the fabrics placed.  And yes, I did use the same pattern for my first bargello (the rust, gold, green and blue one.)  I found the pattern pleasing so I just made it a little wider for the second quilt.  Oh, and a design board is a must.  I don't see how you can make one without being able to stand back and see what the pattern is doing and if you've managed to make a mistake.

I have found that the best way to make your fabric choices is to start with the main border fabric.  Yes, I know the usual method is to pick the borders after most of the top has been constructed.  But if you start the with border fabric, you can then choose which colors to use in the pattern.  It seems work best if the border fabric is a large print and the pattern fabrics are on a smaller scale.  Since you cut the pattern fabrics up into such little pieces, if the print is too large you might loose the color.  For example, I had a lovely rust and blue floral, but when it was cut up some of the pieces had so much of the leaves on it that the piece came across as a green rather than a rust or a blue.  (Make sense?)

Gee, now I'm thinking it must be time to make another Asian bargello quilt..."

Spring Challenge-Final clue before reveal on May 31

As you know, Darlene of Quilting Daze and Dawn of Quilts and Pieces and I have been working on a Spring Fatquarter Challenge, each of us using the same fabric line "Celebrate Spring" designed by Sandy Gervais for Moda.  We began the challenge on May 1, posting a little clue about our work in progress each Monday during the month.  Dawn and Darlene have been a bit more generous about giving clues than I have, so I thought I had better reveal something substantive about my project in this clue.  You see my finished block above, and another little glimpse of a section of the top below.  Now  you can see how my half square triangles and square in a square blocks relate to the entire quilt block.

There's more to it than this though, and if I am going to reveal the entire quilt top on Thursday, May 31, I had better get back to the Bernina!  Check back on Thursday for the Big Reveal.

Banana Bread

Are you like me, and constantly buy bananas with the best intention of slicing them on cereal or eating them out of hand?  I buy them all the time and love to see them sitting perched on top of the other fruit in the fruit bowl on the counter.  They look lovely at first, all yellow and sunny; then after a few days, they still look appealing with their newly developed freckles; then by the end of the week....Well you can see where I am going with this.  To avoid waste and deal with my excess, very ripe bananas, I recently made banana bread.   I have had this recipe for decades and cannot remember where I got it, but it never fails to please.

Banana Bread

3 1/2 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soda

Stir together these dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2 cups mashed bananas, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Combine bananas and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Mix well.

3/4 cup shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 beaten eggs

Cream together shortening, sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add dry ingredients into shortening/sugar mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, fold in banana mixture and add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.  Pour into two greased 8 x 4 inch bread pans.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove and cool on racks.  Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and let stand in a cool place overnight before slicing.  Freezes well.  Makes 2 loaves.

Eye Candy

The quilt you see in the background of this photograph is soon going to be part of my life.  My son recently travelled to Wisconsin to visit his Aunt Mary, who happens to live in the vicinity of my all-time favorite quilt shop, JJStitches in Sun Prairie.  This shop was featured a year of so ago in the Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine as one of the 10 Best Quilt Shops.  They were not kidding.  This shop is sensational in every way. 

You will agree that I have a wonderful son, when I tell you that he spent more than one day visiting JJStitches, taking photos of the quilts and projects they had for sale, then emailing me the pictures so I could pick out what I wanted, then returning to the shop to make the purchases for me.  The shop owner, Julie, and her staff could not have been more helpful and encouraging to him.  It probably isn't every day they have a young man come into the shop to collect photos and information for his quilting mom, thousands of miles away in California.    Having tried it though, I have to say,  this was a fun way to shop!   Do I have my kids well trained or what?

The quilt pictured above was the shop's window display.  Have you ever seen anything cuter, with that adorable pink sewing machine and appealing stack of fatquarters?   The quilt is made from Old Fashioned Charm, a fabric group designed by Blackbird for Moda.  How did I ever miss this collection when it came out?  It doesn't matter, it is MINE now!  I will be using a book by Buggy Barn called Around the Bend.  The pattern is "Posie Patches", a block which is much simpler to construct than it appears.  The pieces  making up the flower petals are not diamond shaped, as they first seem to be, but two connected half square triangles.  The fabric bundle contains large and small scale florals and lots of coordinating geometric plaids and checks. 

I was tempted to buy the materials for this quilt as well, but was afraid I would get a call from my credit card company for abusing my privleges.

And the Winner Is......

My goodness.  What a surprise to me that so many blogging friends were interested in adopting my orphan Christmas quilt blocks!  I printed out all the entries and placed them in my favorite green hat.  I tossed them around for a while, then, closing my eyes and holding my breath.....

I pulled out this slip of paper!

Congratulations to Mary Wood, from Scotland!!!  Mary and I have been emailing a bit recently, and beginning to get acquainted.   I know she has 33 grandchildren (I SWEAR that had nothing to do with my picking her name) and a daughter Beth.  I wonder what Mary will do with these blocks?

Yuletide Blessings--New Project!

I feel positively exhilarated!  Since finishing up a couple of UFOs, I have permitted myself to begin a new project for each completed one.  The newest project I have come up with is inspired by the brand new Yuletide Blessings fabric group (Fig Tree for Moda).  Yummy faded cherry reds and sagey greens combined with a lovely yellowish cream.  It is supposed to be a Christmas fabric group, but "Nonsense!", I say.  This color combination works year round, and there isn't a holly berry or even an ivy to be seen in this group.  Lovely fabric, gorgeous colors, wonderful silky feel--this is my next quilt.  Above, you see the pattern I will use (a nice easy one at last!), Fall Frolic from Evelyn Sloppy's book 40 Fabulous Quick Cut Quilts.

Check it out.  These four simple units are all it takes to make a block.  You have got to make this quilt, friends.  It would be so cute in a novelty print for a child, or in plaids and geometrics, in 30's prints, in some of the wonderful new lines that Amy Butler and Urban Chicks are coming out with---anything.  Try it, I do not think you will regret it.

It takes no time at all to get all the pieces for the quilt cut out, and in about ten minutes you will have completed a number of blocks.  This design lends itself perfectly to chain piecing methods.  As far as quilting is concerned, I see a dense all-over design, but you home quilters could whip this up in no time, simply doing "stitch in the ditch".

 

If you are a beginning quilter, look no further, this is an ideal project. If you are an experienced quilter and want a fast, yet interesting project, this could be it.  Need an idea for a holiday gift quilt?  Give this one some thought.

Six Degrees Finished!

It's pink and green and burgundy and it's DONE.  I have been working on this thing for over a year off and on, and was determined to finally complete it as part of my recent Banish the UFO's pledge.  The pattern is Six Degrees by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, and the fabric is Anna's Starry Night by Moda.  I have no idea why I got so stalled on this one.  Maybe it was the unusual color scheme I was having second thoughts about, maybe I was sick to death of making all those squares, maybe it was the dreaded diagonal set.  I don't know what my problem with it was, but I can tell you I kinda like it now that it is pieced.  (But then I am always fond of my latest baby).

After consulting with my quilting guru, Darlene of Quilting Daze, I decided upon a dense all over quilting design of a feather pattern.  I like this quilt, but I wasn't ready to part with the big bucks a custom quilt job would cost me.  I make so many quilts that I have to pick and choose which ones are worth that kind of expense.

Best of all, according to my deal with myself, now I can start a new project!  More on that tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow:  I will do a drawing for my Christmas Orphan Block give away, so if you haven't entered your name yet, you might want to do that before it is too late.  I will announce the winner on Thursday's post.

Square in a Square Block

My Spring Fatquarter Challenge with Darlene of Quilting Daze and Dawn of Quilts and Pieces is more than half way over!  And you might inquire, "So Nicole, is your challenge quilt half way done?"  Umm. well, no, actually it isn't.  But.  I have finished the Square In a Square blocks that make up each of the blocks!  Ta Da.  So now you know I have half square triangles and Square In a Square blocks.  Any guesses as to what I am up to?  Never fear, I will give you a huge clue next Monday.  No more teasers.

Have you ever made the Square In a Square block?  In this block, triangles are sewn onto each edge of a square, enlarging and framing the center square.  It is possible to do a number of "rounds" of triangles around each resulting square.  It looks deceptively simple.

I would like to share with you a tip regarding this block.  You may think you do not have to trim it to a specific size at each stage of the construction process.  You would be wrong about that.  I once started a quilt made up entirely of this block and thought at the outset that this silly trimming thing was time consuming and unnecessary.  I made a dozen or so blocks consisting of two rounds of triangles around a center square before I realized that each and every one of the finished blocks was a DIFFERENT size.  That is not good.  In fact, the blocks are useless.  Now, I pride myself on the accuracy of my cutting and the accuracy of my 1/4" seams.  Why were these blocks so inconsistent in size?  Maybe one of you dear bloggy friends can explain it to me.  I have a hunch that the pattern designers make the triangles larger than necessary to be sure one ends up with nice sharp points or something.  Bias edges and all that rot.  At any rate, trimming is recommended at the end of each round.  Most instructions will tell you the desired measurement at the end of each completed round.  Pay attention.  Just do it.  Trim to size.

Okey doke.  End of lecture.  My Square In a Square blocks for the Spring Challenge quilt were all trimmed, the first round to 5 1/2" and the second round to 7 1/2".  You can see clearly in the photo above that if I had skipped this trimming step, the blocks would have ended up all wonky.  Look at all the extra fabric poking out all around the ruler!

Round One:

Round Two:

But wait... there's more!  Not about Square In a Square blocks, but about my Spring Challenge Quilt.  All I can say for now, is that it is a darn good thing we have a three day holiday weekend coming up, because I have work to do!  I love this project!  Thanks for hanging in there with me along the way friends.