Sister's Choice Quilts

Squishy Packages

So, I have made a few fabric purchases lately.  This may come as a surprise from Nicole, Who Has Not Been Sewing So Much Lately.  However, one purchase was an impulse, one was a need, and the last was a subscription.

My impulse purchase from Fat Quarter Shop is shown in the photo above.  A marvelous Halloween inspired color way from the always dependable Julie Hendricksen, designing for Windham fabrics. Julie also owns my favorite quilt shop in the entire world, JJStiches in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.  Can you not imagine how amazing these fabrics will be in a Halloween quilt?  I need to start planning that one.  You always need another Halloween quilt, right?

This bundle is the light prints from the Larkspur collection by 3 Sisters for Moda.  I am making blocks out of this fabric line for a quilt called Into the Wind, and due to making my flying geese units a bit larger so I could trim them down, I ran short of the lights.  I ordered these from Shabby Fabrics, another favorite online shop.  The nice thing that Shabby Fabrics does is to offer fat quarter selections of one color way within in a specific fabric line. Say you love the aquas in Bonnie and Camille's Daysail collection, but don't care for the reds.  You can just buy the aqua bundle of fat quarters from that line from Shabby Fabrics.  Very convenient.

Now we need to talk about this subscription purchase.  I signed up for the Frivols monthly tin/finishing kit of the month from Fatquartershop.com.  Every month I get a cute tin with pattern and accompanying finishing kit for a small quilt.  The fabrics are always the latest release and the pattern is created by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie fame.  When you join the club, you get a very reduced price on the cost of the frivol tin and contents.  For the decorative tin and fabric within, the cost is $36.  The  finishing kit is "extra" and the cost varies each month depending on the pattern yardage requirements. 

This constantly varying amount for the finishing kit is a complete killer for my budget.  I started out being charged around $50 for Frivol and the Finishing kit.  This latest kit, shown above was $98.

I think for me, it will work better if I just order a specific kit that I truly love, rather than go the kit of the month route.  That way I get just what I want and won't have any surprises as to the cost. So, I cancelled my subscription.  It also works much better if you actually make the kit when you receive it....

 

 

 

Flimsy Purge: Spools

I wanted to share this little quilt with you.  I had made it during a Spools sew along a few years ago, and never got the borders on it.   I made all my spools with strips of different fabrics in the same color way.  In other words, the green spool is made up of a black "spool" fabric for the top and bottom, and the "thread" is made up of variegated strips of various green fabrics I had in my stash.  It was really enjoyable to pick out all the different scraps for each "spool".  I remember very well how pleased I was while I was working on this project.  

The quilt ended up kind of a weird size, around 40" X 50".  Too small for a bed quilt, kind of small for a lap quilt and rather large for a wall hanging.  I never got around to binding it, as I had no idea how I would use it, so it stayed for quite awhile in my tub of unquilted tops.  Rediscovered on my recent Flimsy Purge, I thought it might make a nice donation to Quilted Comforts, an organization that backs, quilts and binds quilt tops and gives them to individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease.  

My little spools quilt did not meet the organization's minimum size requirements for a lap quilt however, so I needed to make it a bit bigger.  Luckily, with a bit of searching, I found a black print with tiny golden seeds on it in my stash that really worked well with the colors in this scrappy quilt.  Heaven's I am so glad I bought a good amount of that black fabric way back when, because it has worked as a lattice, a border, and a scrappy addition to about four other quilts I have made!

Long story short, I was able to increase the size of the quilt a bit and now I think it will be a nice little lap quilt, particularly for someone who is confined to a wheel chair.  I am happy to say I sent the quilt top off to Quilted Comforts on Monday, and am very satisfied that it will be put to good use.  Wouldn't it be neat if perhaps it will go to a woman who was a quilter when she was well?

If you are interested in donating any quilt tops to Quilted Comforts, here is the contact information:  

Brenda Riddle Designs | Acorn Quilt & Gift Company

www.brendariddledesigns.com

Spring Weekend

Did you all have a nice weekend?  Hope so!  The weather was spring like here, and we all gathered at my Dad's house for Easter Brunch.  Gosh what a fun event that is.  Everybody shares their signature brunch dish and we eat like kings.  My nephew (whose wife is expecting the baby) made the salad in the photo above.  He added blood oranges and made honey lime mint dressing to go over it.  It was the star of the buffet, I tell you.  Oh, and as if that wasn't enough, he also brought a huge Easter ham!  It was a wonderful get-together.

Eva and I had an adventure this week at a local winery known for its fabulous displays of spring bulb blooms.  She thought the flowers were pretty, but was more interested in the kitty cats that live at the winery!

Then we came home and dyed Easter eggs.  She was so proud of her basket of eggs!  Can you tell?  I am such a lucky grand mother  to be able to spend my days with this sweet child.  She has so much love in her heart.

Good Reads and Some Not So Much

The following books are ones I enjoyed, but maybe are not the literary quality of the ones from yesterday's post.

Lisa Gardner is a prolific author, whose books I am currently obsessing over.  I started with her Detective D.D. Warren series and have read the following, one after the other:  Alone, Hide, The Neighbor, Live To Tell, Love You More, and Catch Me.  She has written at least 17 bestselling novels, mostly police procedural mysteries.  Her books are pretty quick reads and have all kept me up late turning pages.  She does one thing that I think is pretty funny.  She has a fan club called "Lucky Stiffs" and she lets one of the club members  name one of the characters that will be bumped off in her next book.  These are definitely not in the category of "cozy" mysteries, but aren't grossly violent either.  I am going to be busy working through her books for the next few months. These would be great summer/beach reads.

Book publishers keep trying to tell us that the current book they are pushing is "the next Gone Girl", which of course never turns out to be true.  Never the less, The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson, is a similar style psychological thriller.  A man meets a woman on a plane, and they get to talking.  He tells her he is unhappy in his marriage and that he thinks his wife is cheating on him.  The woman on the plane offers to help him kill his wife.  A tangled web of double crosses ensues, and the result was a pretty entertaining read.

Another purported "next Gone Girl", that wasn't.  The Good Girl by Mary Kubica is still a worthwhile book to read.  The subject is a kidnapping with a twist--a Stockholm Syndrome situation and more.  The book was suspenseful, gripping, and full of surprises you didn't see coming.  This book has it all.  Kept me on my toes until the end trying to figure out what was going on with the characters. 

Ok.  Enough already J.K. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith.  You need to work a little harder to make me care about your main characters.  All the Cormoran Strike novels are interchangeable in my mind, and I can't remember the plot differences between them to save my life.  And long.  Oh dear me, these books are way longer than they need to be.

So. Twenty Eight and a Half Wishes. The main character in this book works at the DMV, is clairvoyant and "sees" that someone is going to try to kill her.  She makes a list of twenty eight and a half things to do before she dies.  Light and fluffy.  One of those books you can read while you are doing something else, never remember any of the details after you finish it, and then wonder why you wasted your time with it when it's done.  And the bad news?  The main character doesn't die and the author has written a bunch more books in the series.  Thumbs down.

Why this book is titled The Downstairs Maid I could not tell you.  I think it was a ploy to appeal to fans of Downton Abbey, to tell you the truth.  Set in the 1920's, the main character grows up impoverished in a home where she is loved by her father and not so much by her mother.  For about ten minutes the main character works as a maid for a rich family.  The rest of the book is about her bad luck and poor decisions.  Meh.  Thumbs down.

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard.  I have enjoyed Susan Meissner books in the past, notably A Fall of Marigolds.  This book was fun for about the first 75 pages.  It is set in Hollywood in the 1930s and the two main characters work for the production company that filmed Gone With The Wind.  There was tons of GWTW trivia and name dropping of stars, directors and costume designers.  Then, the main characters started behaving incredibly stupidly and the book got mind bendingly boring.  This was mainly due to the fact that the two main characters were shallow, selfish and totally unlikable.  To tell you the truth, I was so fed up with the characters I stopped reading the book about 90% of the way through.  I know, why did I stick with it for so long?  I do not know.  Major thumbs down for this one.

Hope you enjoyed my book reviews!  Feel free to share in the comments your thoughts on any of these books as well as what you have read lately.

 

 

Book Reviews Winter

I've read some really good books since the beginning of the year, and thought I would share my favorites with you.  The books listed below were my absolute favorites. 

I joined the Book of the Month Club in February, and have been enjoying it so much.  These days, you pre-pay for your year's membership (they were having a special and I joined for $119--pretty good deal for 12 hardback books I thought).  You can add additional books to your monthly order for only $9.99 per book, which I thought was terrific.

This was my first BOM selection.  The Verdict by Nick Stone.  It was a courtroom drama, but from a British point of view.  They do things a bit different in England when it comes to legal procedures, which I found very interesting.  The book is about a super rich man who is accused of murder, and ends up being defended by his childhood friend, whom he made an enemy of in the past.  Did the accused commit the murder?  Can/will his defender put the past behind him and get his client off the hook?  Great read.

Oooh, this was a good one.  All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage.  A young college professor and family move into an abandoned farm house that may be haunted.  The wife is violently murdered and we don't know who done it.  Great characterization and writing in kind of a Gothic style.  Is it a ghost story?  Is it a murder mystery?  You figure out who the murderer is pretty early on in the book, but it is fascinating reading to see into the mind of a sociopath.  I highly recommend this book.  This was my second BOM selection for March.

This was a gritty, film noir style of book.  The Night Charter by Sam Hawken.  The main character, Camaro Espinoza, a former combat medic, is one of the toughest female protagonists I have ever encountered.  Leaving New York after a "bit of trouble", she moves to Florida to start a new life as the captain of a boat that takes folks out for deep sea fishing.  Of course she manages to find some new trouble in her new location.  About thirty years ago I became obsessed with John D. MacDonald crime fiction, and read about 40 of his books in one summer.  This book put me in mind of his style of book. 

 Who doesn't love a Southern Coming of Age novel?  Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington fits the bill perfectly.  Set in the late 70's, it is a book about murder, about love, about growing up.  You will find yourself rooting for Rocky, the teenage protagonist.   A very satisfying story that keep me turning the pages as fast as I could. 

 If you have loved Kate Morton's previous books (Forgotten Garden, Distant Hours, The House at Riverton), this latest offering will not disappoint you.  A suspenseful, atmospheric, page turner of a mystery.  Set in Cornwall, the story goes back and forth from 70 years ago to the present.  Missing baby, secrets, secrets, secrets.   If you think you have it figured out, guess what?  You're wrong!

These books may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I LOVED them.  A series of twleve books by Winston Graham, written from the 1950 through the 1980s.  All feature a main character named Ross Poldark, a former army captain who lives in Cornwall in the late 1700s/early 1800s.  The books feature his family, his  neighbors, and his enemies.  I was so engrossed in the twelve books that make up this series, that I read them all one after the other.  It took a couple months!  The PBS series called Poldark is based on the books and features the hunky actor pictured on the book jacket, Aiden Turner.  He may have something to do with my infatuation.

Tomorrow I will share with you the books I enjoyed, but not quite as much as those mentioned here.  I will also tell you the names of the books I am giving a thumbs down.

 

Alzheimers Quilt

I am on such a donation kick.  I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to give away these quilts that otherwise wouldn't be enjoyed by anyone.  Giving a quilt to a child who is ill or a senior who has Alzheimer's can bring a breath of joy into a life that is otherwise not so bright and joyous.

Do any of you remember these pretty blue and yellow blocks?  I started them probably three years ago and packed them away because I really have no use for anything in these colors.  But I'll bet it will brighten the day of someone, somewhere.  I am thinking this might be a good quilt to donate to the Alzheimers organization, Quilted Comforts.  They have very specific size requirements though, so I am trying to figure out how to make it just a bit larger.  I had some leftover 21 inch strips from the fat quarters I used to make the blocks, which I think I can link together and use as a narrow outside border.  I am aiming for a quilt that is 52 inches wide (their minimum size).  I've got the rows sewn together, just need to connect the rows and add the narrow border and send it off.

The Alzheimer's group wants good sized lap quilts that can also be used as a topper for a twin sized bed.

If you have any quilt tops you might want to give to Quilted Comforts, this is the contact information:  brendariddledesigns@comcast.net

 

More Quilts Out For Quilting

Sara is doing a happy dance, now that I have the borders on her Log Cabin quilt.  This quilt is going out for quilting this week, and will be a nice addition to her bedroom decor in her new house.  Gosh, I had so much fun with all of you, voting on which log cabin layouts we liked for this quilt.  I loved hearing all your opinions and preferences.   I am quite satisfied with the design Sara chose in the end.  She wanted the outer border to be a light fabric, and I think it is just right for the quilt.  The finished size of the quilt is 77 x 77.

This tiny quilt is going to be a baby quilt for my grand niece.  It is one of two I plan to give her.  This one is only 28 x 38, and will be good for using in the car or stroller, or as a "lovey" quilt.  Perfect for this greatly anticipated baby girl.

Love these pastel, vintage feeling fabrics.  This baby quilt is bigger, 56 x 56, and will be a good play mat quilt or crib quilt.  This one is going to the same baby as the smaller one above.  You can never have too many quilts, right?  Good thing, because I think her grandma-to-be is also making one, as well as possibly other family members who sew!  I originally made this quilt top with Eva in mind, but her mom (Sara)  preferred stronger colors, so I never got around to having it quilted.  Now it will finally go to a baby girl.  If it doesn't work with the color scheme the baby's parents have in mind, they can always keep this quilt at Grandma's house, which is decorated in colors similar to this.  It will find a home.

This past weekend, I went through all my 47 quilt tops and picked out which ones to donate, then which ones seemed right for various family members.  I have a list of 25 family members I would like to give quilts to, as well as a half dozen or so I like enough to keep for myself.  I measured them all, and will be purchasing appropriate backing fabric over the next months and sending at least two out per month for quilting.  I am excited to share with you how they all turn out when quilted.

This may end up being my year for making backings and sewing on bindings, and not so much making new quilts!

 

Out The Door

I am feeling so good about donating some of my unquilted tops to various charitable organizations!  Here is one I called "Inner Cowgirl" that I sent off last week.  I still think it is kind of cute, just not for me.

Here is another cheery one that hopefully, someone will like.  I believe this was the first log cabin quilt I ever made!  The strips forming the logs are different widths for a kind of curvy effect.  Whew, those colors are intense.

These two quilts will go to children who are ill and staying at Ronald McDonald House.  Anything that helps a child who is fighting an illness has got to be a good cause.

 

Quilt Donations

Thanks for all the encouraging comments regarding my gigantic stack of unquilted tops.  You are so right, I definitely enjoyed picking out the fabrics and piecing those quilts.  Most of them anyway.  I am going to start sending the ones that deserve it out to be quilted and give them to my loved ones.  As for the ten or more quilts that I know I will never spend the money to quilt, I think I would like to donate them to a guild or other group who would.

Do any of you know of such an organization?  I would be donating just the completed quilt top, not the backing or batting.  If there is a group who would accept a quilt top and finish it so someone somewhere could use and enjoy it, I will send it to them.  Let me know if you have any information.  I bet there are lots of us with ten year old quilt tops in a bin who would love to let them go into the universe to be appreciated by someone in need.

 

Shocking Revelation

My fun little exercise of going back four years on my blog to see what I was working on then, and where it is now provided a huge eyeopening shock to me.  In the photo above, you see hanging various unquilted tops (called flimsies by some).  These hanging tops were mostly made in 2015 and just not sent out to be quilted as of yet.  Bad, but not too terrible.

But wait.

This is an overflowing bin of unquilted tops I had my husband get down off the top shelf of the closet.  There must be over a dozen quilt tops in there.  

But wait, there's more-

A second, even larger bin of unquilted tops.  Easily more than two dozen quilts in there.

I didn't count them because it made me sick to my stomach.  Ok, I did go back and count them.  47 quilt tops.  Forty seven.  

There are some older projects in there that are kind of meh.  But the majority of them, certainly more than half, are beautiful quilt tops.  A huge investment of time and money.  Sitting in plastic bins.  Providing no warmth, no comfort, no joy.

This truly made me ill.  How did this get so out of control?  I am telling you here and now, everyone I know is receiving a quilt at the next gift giving occasion.  I am sending these tops out, one or two a month until they are a satisfying stack of beautiful, ready to be enjoyed (by someone) proper quilts.