Sister's Choice Quilts

Raise the Roof Borders

I am buried in strips here.  The border for Raise the Roof involves what is called a "Piano Key" border.  To achieve this, you make strip sets which you sub cut and piece together for a border.  It is a great effect and uses up a ton of fabric.  I am making six strip sets of eleven strips each.

Cannot wait to show you the finished quilt! The colors are so soft and muted, and will be perfect for my home decor.  I absolutely love this Jefferson County fabric line by Jeanne Horton for Windham.  I am also very happy to have finally achieved success with this pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  I have wanted to make it for years and actually started another version some time back, which I scrapped due to poor fabric contrast.

I am also keen to wrap up this project and move on to Fanfare!

Fanfare with Drunkard's Path Templates

Well, I don't know when I have had so much fun sewing.  It has been a bit of a dry spell.  Fanfare, a pattern by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life has shaken things up a bit around here.  Check my previous post for more details on how to order Sherri's pattern.

I delved into my stash of Denyse Schmidt scraps to make a sample block.  I had an idea I was going to use some Drunkard's Path templates I had on hand to make the blocks, rather than do appliqué.  I am more proficient at curved piecing than I am with appliqué.

I have a six and a half inch unfinished Drunkard's Path template set that I purchased from Bay Creek Quilting Products.  I bought what they refer to as the 6" set (6" finished).  It was $12. 

I cut my wedges with the Simply EZ 30 degree ruler I discussed in my last post. I made my wedges a bit larger than Sherri's instructions and cut them down for a smoother edge for my seam line.

It's hard to see the transparent wedge template, but it is on the fabric wedges which have been sewn together.  You can see where I am just starting to trim the top edge.

I pressed my seams open.  Things lie flatter, and it just is nicer.  It wasn't a big deal.

Voila, a perfect 6 1/2 inch (unfinished) pieced Drunkard's Path block.  

These little guys are SO much fun to make!  In fact, I had a hard time stopping.

I had to make sure the first block wasn't a fluke, in all it's perfectness.  The second one came out great as well.

But I am not ready to start this project yet....I must finish up Raise the Roof.  I am working on the borders and swear nothing will distract me until I finish that project entirely.  But Fanfare is on my mind.

Fire update:  The fire near us seems to be under control.  It was started by a young woman driving under the influence of drugs.  She had a flat tire and was driving on her rims, which caused sparks to fly, igniting at least five fires along the road.  The fires merged into one big fire, which could have destroyed many homes, out buildings and vegetation.  She was tracked down and arrested.  Thank goodness for our amazing firefighters who responded quickly and made sure we didn't have a repeat of last year's disastrous inferno.

 

Fanfare Update and Ruler

I wanted to give you all an update on the "Fanfare" pattern by Sherri McConnell of "A Quilting Life".  Sherri designed this fabulous pattern that I plan to make soon, and it is for sale on her Etsy site.  The pattern was published in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine last February under the name "Fanfare".  Sherri has a different name for the pattern however, which is "Mahalo".  She also has a mini version available which is the cutest thing ever.  There are pdf versions you can download immediately so you can get started making this beautiful quilt right away.

Sherri recommends a 30 degree triangle ruler for making the little wedges.  (You can also make your own templates).  I had purchased a 30 degree ruler by Creative Grids awhile back, but have not been too happy with it once it arrived and I saw it in person.  It is 19 1/2 inches long!!  A totally clumsy size for making just about anything in my opinion.  The ruler Sherri recommends is the Simply EZ 30 degree triangle tool.  I bought mine on Amazon for $11.91 with free shipping.  This ruler is a far more  manageable size.

Take a look at the difference!  The EZ ruler is only 9 1/2 inches long, which is much better for me.

I have a little twist I may make with this pattern.  The pattern as shown calls for appliquéing the wedges on a background fabric.  I have a 6 1/2 inch template set for Drunkard's Path blocks that may work better for me.  I am better at curved piecing than appliqué, so this may be a good option.

I had a lovely weekend sewing.  I am winding up Raise the Roof, and look forward to showing you that finish this week.  It was lovely weather, but I was not tempted to be outside.  There is another fire in a town near us and the air quality is terrible.  I sure hope we are not going to have a repeat of the dreadful fire we had just about one year ago.

Fanfare

I recently saw this beautiful quilt made up by Sinta at Pink Pincushion.  It is just so striking, you must go take a look at it.  I contacted Sinta to ask where she found the pattern, and it turns out I had it all along.  It is in the February 2016 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  The quilt in the magazine was made by Sherri at A Quilting Life.  Both ladies made their quilts out of some beautiful Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

Well, this is seeming to be very serendipitous, as I too, have a stash of Denyse Schmidt fabrics I have been saving for something special.  I am thinking this is probably a quilt I need to make.  I have everything I need all arranged in a a pretty basket set out to inspire me.

Don't you love it when things just come together?  

Busy week this week, so my blogging may be limited, but I will get back to you and share all about the special 30 degree angle ruler that makes cutting the wedges for the Fanfare block easier.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Tuffets

Now that Eva has started kindergarten, I had my first free morning to work on whatever I wanted.  My free days are Mondays and Thursdays and I plan to make the most of them.  Well, that is my intention anyway.

Thursday I got up at the crack of dawn, dealt with Ozzie, watered the plants, read my email, had my coffee, and trekked upstairs to begin sewing the rows together for Raise the Roof.  As I sewed, my mind was wandering.

A week or so ago, there was a blog post on the Moda website (Moda, Cutting Table by Carrie Nelson) on the subject of pincushions.  Remember the old fashioned tomato shaped pincushions our moms and grandmas had?  Carrie pointed out how far we have come from those days.  Click on the link and go read her post, it was super entertaining, and she showed lots of photos of great pincushions used by famous fabric designers.  

Anyway, I was sitting there sewing my rows, and pinning from my metal pin dish, and I kept stabbing myself when I reached for the pins.  I started thinking about other options I had in my pincushion collection. I do have some fun pincushions, but I don't really use them for sewing.  Just for eye candy.  

I pulled them out for the photo above.  Here is a close up of just some of my favorite pincushions I have collected or that friends have given me:

         

And these are the pincushions I am actually using:

Ho hum. Yawn.  The little wool ball I am using for U pins and numbered pins is all right for what it is, but that magnetic dish had gotten on my last nerve.  As I nursed the latest prick from the pin dish, I started thinking things had to change.  I recalled I had a couple of pincushion patterns by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, called "Tuffets".  I pulled them out and made one in no time flat.  It was so cute and so much fun to make I made another one.  The pattern does warn that making them is addicting.

No more boring pin cushions for me!  One for my ironing board and one for next to the Bernina.  They each measure 4 1/2 inches square and are stuffed with walnut shell litter from the pet supply store.  I made both of them in about two hours, including hand stitching them closed after stuffing.  

Cute gift idea, isn't it?  But you know you want one for yourself.

 

Sunday's Sewing

Raise the Roof is coming right along!  Here you see the main body of the quilt arranged on the design wall.  The Sawtooth Star blocks and the Log Cabin blocks are not yet sewn together, but you can see what the layout will be.  My design wall is 72 inches square, so you can also get an idea of the finished size of the quilt.  A narrow containment border and an outer piano key border will be added once the blocks are sewn together.  This quilt is going to look beautiful on my bed.

I have wanted to complete this pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company for years.  I made a previous unsuccessful attempt at it, which I abandoned due to my poor fabric choices.  These Jefferson County fabrics by Jeanne Horton are just perfect for the pattern, and give a great level of contrast with the scrappy light backgrounds.  I love the muted subtlety of the colors.

The blocks were fun to make.  32 Log Cabins, 32 Sawtooth Stars.  I haven't had a lot of time to sew but managed to get them done in about 4 major days of sewing (6 or more hours each day).  If you like Log Cabin quilts, but want to pizzaz up the look, try this pattern!  

Worthwhile New Book

I picked up a new book recently that I wanted to share with you.  If you enjoy Civil War Reproduction fabrics and quilt projects, I think you might really appreciate these books by Carol Hopkins.  The first book I ordered was the most recent one, Civil War Legacies III.  I enjoyed it so much I ordered volumes I and II as well!  

The books are full of patterns and ideas for quilt projects featuring Civil War Reproduction fabrics.  Nearly all the projects are super scrappy, and are for smaller sized quilts.  I think the small quilts could easily be expanded to make a larger size quilt, either by making more blocks or by making the blocks larger.  I love making small quilt tops and using them for table toppers, so this book was right up my alley.

If you have a stash of CW repros, any of these projects would be a great way to make a dent in your stash.  If nothing else, they make wonderful reading!

So, I Baked a Cake

My husband had a fairly significant birthday over the weekend, which he wanted seriously downplayed.  We tiptoed around the occasion pretty well, but I felt that some observation of the event was appropriate.  So, I baked a cake.  

I've been watching the PBS show Great British Baking, and even though I don't really bake much, I wanted to try out something more than the usual Pillsbury boxed cake effort.  The recipe I chose was called Chocolate Mocha Caramel Cake, with a Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting.  I am not going to share the recipe here because it was fairly complicated, but if you want it, it is in the current issue of Paula Deen's Fall Baking magazine, available on newsstands right now.

I had my little helper with me of course, and she was extremely useful licking beaters and bowls as we worked our way through the recipe.

I'd never made frosting in the way the recipe called for, which involved cooking 6 egg whites and a cup and half of sugar in a double boiler until it reached 140 degrees, then beating it for 10 minutes in a stand mixer before adding a pound (!!!) of butter and salted caramel ice cream topping.  It was the best frosting I have ever eaten!

Eva was suspicious of the pecans on the top, but felt pretty proud of the finished results.  The cake was quite delicious, but I believe I could have baked the chocolate cake layers a couple of minutes less than the recipe suggested.  My husband had two pieces and I deviated from my "clean eating" regime and had a sliver as well.

The whole process of making the cake was very relaxing, and I believe next time a dessert is called for I will try something elaborate again.  We eat dessert so rarely, why not go all out when we do?  No sense in wasting the calories on something mediocre.

Log Cabin Blocks for Raise the Roof

Here I am making log cabin blocks again!  I thought it would take me some time to make another project that involved log cabin blocks after finishing Sara's Log Cabin quilt earlier this year.  I swore I was done with that block after making 64 of them for her quilt.

No problem, I still have a few left in me I guess.  This current Raise the Roof project requires 32 of them, and you see a dozen of them finished in the photo at the top of the post.

I am happy to say that this project is going along pretty well.  Once I got into it, I really made the effort to spend some regular sewing time on it.  Eva starts school next week, so my sewing schedule can be even more regular in the upcoming months.  I swear, since that child gave up her nap, I never get anything done!

Have a great weekend everyone, and I hope you manage to fit some sewing into it.

 

Sunshine and Shadow Sawtooth Stars

So this is what I needed 32 quarter square triangle units for.  My Sunshine and Shadow Sawtooth Stars have one of those units as the center of each block.

My accomplishment this weekend was finishing all 32 Sawtooth Star blocks.  I had two relatively uninterrupted sewing days.  Eva spent the weekend with us, but my husband was great at helping to entertain her.

My project is Raise the Roof, a Miss Rosie pattern that requires 32 of these star blocks, plus 32 log cabin blocks.  This layout is so cool, I can't wait to share it with you!  The fabric line is Jefferson County, a collection by Jeanne Horton who owns the Wisconsin shop Country Sampler.  The photo looks a little blurry to me. I think I need to clean off my camera lens, but have no clue how to go about doing that.  Any suggestions?