Sister's Choice Quilts

Well, That's Better

I had a much better sewing day yesterday.  I had my husband snap a photo to show that I really can do it.  Excuse the no makeup and funny expression.  This was about the eighth photo he took, as he kept chopping off my head and I was getting impatient with the poor man.

I went back to my Hallo Harvest kit by BasicGrey.  I had bought the kit, which features a quilt with four rows of five blocks each.  I knew I didn't want to make an entire quilt from it, but rather three table runners.  One for me, one for my daughter Sara and one for my (ex) son in-law Ryan (he's the biggest fan of my work).

One row makes a great table runner size.  I didn't measure but if I had to guess I'd say it is about 18 x 48".  I had made three blocks some time back, so it was pretty easy to make two more blocks and get something accomplished that I was happy with.  How about that white bat?  Don't you love it?

Oh my goodness, thank you all so much for all the encouraging words yesterday.  You guys are so great.  What encouragement you gave me!  It made me turn my thinking around about the Hocus Pocus table runner with no contrast.  My daughter Sara says she loves it as it is, so I will have it quilted (with green thread) and hope that once the batting and backing are on it, the look of it will be improved.  Sara works in marketing and says she thinks the photo on the pattern cover was filtered to make the colors look more saturated.  It is commonly done.  Since I used the exact same fabrics as shown on the pattern cover my result should have looked identical to it.  Lesson learned.

Time to get these all sent off to the quilter so I get them back by fall.

Not Everything Turns Out As You Hoped

This was my weekend project.  And I am so disappointed in the way it turned out.  I swear I used the same fabrics as the pattern designer, and my effort is so not what I was expecting.

There just is not enough contrast between the background and the focal units.  It is supposed to be white pumpkins against a green background, but they just don't stand out.  What a waste of time and fabric.  Really nice fabric.  And a lot of time I will never get back. Arrrgh. Those units above the middle pumpkin?  They are supposed to be pinwheels.  Really?  They look like a big blur.

What a mess.

I used Pattern Basket's pattern Hocus Pocus and purchased the extra add on instructions to make the table runner with white pumpkins.  This is the picture on the pattern cover:

This is what it was supposed to look like.  I swear, I used the exact same background fabric, and my results are so disappointing.  To say my runner is subtle is an understatement.  What a disaster.  I think the pattern is great, but if any of you attempt this project, I sure hope you chose a background fabric that has more contrast than the one I chose. 

I guess you don't get a winner every time you make something...

Waaaaa. So bummed.  You must admit I keep it real here.

Giveaway Winner of Lori Holt's Book "Farm Girl Vintage"

I am excited to share that Gail S. is the winner of the Lori Holt book "Farm Girl Vintage".  The random number generator thing was used, and her comment was the number that came up.  I hope she will enjoy the book, as I highly recommend it for the variety of patterns and remarkably clear instructions.

I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday afternoons making more blocks for the Piecing the Past project, and most of the ones shown above were from Lori's book.  All of them came together precisely and accurately with little fuss and bother.

As a matter of fact, her book was so good that I went ahead and ordered her "It's So Emma Vintage Christmas Quilt Book".  If you follow on Instagram or on Lori's blog, there has been a  Bee Patriotic sew along this summer that Lori has done featuring the patterns in that book that would be appropriate for a quilt with that theme.

I highly recommend that you check out her blog "A Bee in My Bonnet".  She has just featured instructions (you do need the Christmas book for the pattern) to make one of the nicest Patriotic table runners I have seen.  Go check it out.  I'll wait...

RIght?  Raid your stash of red, blue and cream fabrics.  There is still time before the 4th to make it!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  

Patriotic Tiered Tray

Thought I'd share my Patriotic Tiered Tray decor with you.  I've had that little Humpty Dumpty for decades.  I used to keep him above my desk when I worked at the University, but he now plays a role in my decor May through July.  He works perfectly perched on the edge of the tiered tray, about to topple down to his doom.  He is made of painted cloth, so he never really comes to any harm.

The wooden stars, firecrackers, and stack of "books" are new this year, from a shop on Etsy called The Wooden Owl.  The items are cute and not too expensive, but took a month to get to me.  Did not love that.

Here are some other angles:

The little beads and flag painted star are from Hobby Lobby.  They reopened recently and when I was on my way home from my dad's this past Monday  my car, all on it's own, veered off the highway and ended up in the Hobby Lobby parking lot.  I figured it was Fate, so I donned my mask and went in for 40% off 4th of July decor.  I was out in less than 10 minutes, having spent less than $15.

How cute is this?  They are salt and pepper shakers.  Less than $5.  They are so fun.

I had Eva all day yesterday.  We spent time at the pool, did some reading, and enjoyed her newly redecorated bedroom.  She is so pleased with it.  Here are a few pics of what we did.  New headboard, new desk and chair, new lingerie chest and new little dresser in her closet.

I'll announce the winner of my book giveaway tomorrow. If you haven't yet entered, feel free to comment on yesterday's post for a chance to win.

Book Giveaway and Piecing the Past Update

In my recent sort out of the sewing room, I discovered that I had purchased this book twice.  It is "Farm Girl Vintage" by Lori Holt.  The book is full of great quilt block patterns, in sizes 6" or 12".  I love it when books provide a size option.  There are some cute novelty block patterns such as a barn and a teapot, a bunch of cherries, and an adorable tractor, and much more.  However, there are quite a few interesting classic quilt blocks as well, some of which I had not seen anywhere before.  So many of these quilt blocks could be combined to make adorable table toppers for various seasons throughout the year.

The instructions for making each of the blocks in the book are laid out in a very clear and readable way, as you can see above.  Great visuals ensure you will get your blocks together with few issues.  And a quilting book with a spiral binding is worth its weight in gold!  I love how it easily lies so nice and flat.

If you think you would like a chance to win the book, please comment below.  Have you made any Lori Holt designs before?  Tell us about your experience.  

Here is my block made from the pattern above.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out because I am going to use it in my Piecing the Past quilt project.  I think Piecing the Past and I are going to have to go in different directions at this point.  I have really liked the block patterns Piecing the Past has been providing each week for this sew-along.  However, as you may recall, I decided to reduce the block size from 9" down to 6".  The first twenty-four or so blocks they came out with I could reference in other books I had, or could easily figure out the math on how to reduce it down. The last six blocks are so have had such unusual sized units that I couldn't wrap my head around how to reduce them down to a 6" size.

See what I mean?  I just can't.  Do any of you math wiz folks out there have any rule of thumb tips on how to reduce a 9" block down to 6"?  I can do it if the block has a grid of three or six, but when they get all creative on me, my lack of math skills rears its ugly head.  My cop-out solution has been to replace the tricky blocks with others sourced elsewhere.

Thanks for checking in, and be sure to leave a comment if you are interested in my little giveaway of the Lori Holt Book "Farm Girl Vintage".  I'll announce the winner on Friday.

Sunflower Seeds Table Runner

Over the weekend, I made three blocks from the Sunflower Seeds quilt pattern by The Pattern Basket, and turned them into a late summer table runner.  I ordered the PDF file for immediate download and got started right away on my project.  Margot Languedoc is the designer behind The Pattern Basket, and she is known for her pieced blocks that look like birds, strawberries, pumpkins etc.  This sunflower block was delightful to make, and not difficult at all.

The block finishes at 11 1/2".  There are some tiny pieces, but not many.  1" squares sewn on the corners of the "petal" units give them shape and dimension.  I just drew a diagonal line and sewed on it corner to corner, and my seam intersections came out pretty good.

It was a fun and fairly quick project.  If you have a favorite quilt block or a quilt pattern, put your thinking cap on and consider whether or not it could be adapted to make a table runner.  You know me, I love my seasonal decor, and making new table runners or table toppers is a great way to freshen things up.

We love sunflowers at our house.  It is my husband's favorite flower, so I know he will enjoy this little decorative touch as much as I will.  During the summer, he is known to buy a bunch of sunflowers whenever he sees them.  Today was no exception, and I now have a fresh bunch of them on my kitchen counter!

Little Stars Topper & Some Organizing

Just in time for the 4th of July!  This little stars table topper was such fun to make.  I don't do paper piecing very often, so a small project like this is what it takes to keep my skill set sharp.  When I first got started I could barely remember which end was supposed to be up, but by the seventh or eighth star, I was up to speed again.

The pattern is by Laurie Simpson and is in the Moda All Stars Mini Marvels book.  I printed the paper pattern right from the book and had no issues with it not being accurate.  The finished blocks came out 3 1/2", every single one of them.

My weekend was quite productive.  I recovered a new pressing board for my ironing station, as the previous one had warped very badly over the two or three years I have been using it. You should have seen my husband and I scrabbling around on the floor with the staple gun trying to cover the new board with batting and a fabric covering.  Neither one of us does so well on the floor anymore.  My husband found out that after his double knee surgeries, he can no longer kneel.

I just put the new board on top of the old one.  Hopefully the new one won't warp.  I will use my thick wool pressing mat as often as possible and maybe that will help.

Can you see how badly the bottom board warped?  It was like ironing in a valley.

I also reorganized my book shelves and pattern storage system.  My patterns are in the five white bins on the top shelf.  I need to go through them and toss the ones I know I will never use.  I also went through my books and discovered a duplicate of a good one, so I will do a give away at some point this week.  I eliminated a couple piles of books which made room for six project boxes on one of the shelves.  

What a good feeling to get a ton of crap stuff off the floor and stored away in the closet and on the shelves.  It is a pleasure to go in my sewing room and just sit in my chair and look around the room at my accomplishment.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Cabin Skein

This little mini quilt is called Cabin Skein.  Designed by Carrie Nelson, her explanation for the name is that a group of flying geese is called a "skein".  Since the quilt involves both Log Cabin Blocks and Flying Geese, she thought the name was appropriate.  The pattern is in a book called Moda All Stars Mini Marvels.  

Making the quilt is a cinch, particularly if you have certain sewing tools to make trimming your blocks to the correct size.  I used the BlocLoc Flying Geese trim tool in the 1" x 2" (1 1/2 x 2 1/2" unfinished) size, and the Creative Grids 4 inch Log Cabin Trim Tool.  My little block units came out just the right size with these sewing aids.  

As for the fabrics, they were honestly all from my stash.  There is a mix of Jo Morton, Renee Nanneman and Pam Buda for sure, others as well.  My taste in orange tends to run towards the rusty side of orange, so I was drawn to those shades.  Renee Nanneman comes out with a black and orange collection every couple of years and I always buy it.  This one was called Harvest Moon I think.  She designs for Andover Fabrics. If you Google "Harvest Moon fabric by Renee Nanneman", you might just find it.

This little quilt is about 20" square and was so much fun to make.  I got it done in no time, mainly because I couldn't stay away from making those blocks once my Log Cabin trim tool arrived in the mail.

I will send this off to my quilter, along with a full-size Halloween themed quilt I made a couple of years ago.  That was "Lucy" another Carrie Nelson pattern.  I decided to add a black containment border and an orange print border to make it big enough to hang over the sides of my queen-sized bed.  I am just waiting on getting the border fabric and I will be good to go.

I'll share a picture when I get the borders on!

Have a great weekend everyone.

I Couldn't Just Make One...

My new 4 inch Creative Grids Log Cabin Trim Tool arrived Tuesday afternoon and first thing Wednesday morning I was up and at it.  My first block was completed by 7:30 AM.  Do you think I could stop with one?  No, I could not.  Have you ever seen anything so cute?

Unfortunately, I had things to do, so I only could get 12 made.  I'll make four today, for the total needed of 16, and start assembling this little table topper.  I have plenty of fabric, I  may have to make another for a gift.  Or, I could maybe make a Christmas one?  Now I'm talking.

But, my little paper pieced stars are calling to me too.  I'm like a girl who is secretly dating two guys at the same time.  Excited, but feeling guilty whenever I am with one of them instead of the other.

It's a Meteor Shower

It is raining stars here.  I won't say I am getting a lot faster, but cutting my scraps bigger than recommended is helping me out.  Paper piecing is a lot less fiddly if you have more fabric to work with.  And less fiddling means more fun.  Four more to go, and perhaps I will get this little topper together in a day or so.

I have a light week in terms of other responsibilities.  Eva is on a mini-vacation with her daddy and his new wife and her stepsister. They are going to stay in a mountain lodge that recently reopened for business.  The new couple didn't get to take their honeymoon as their reservations at their timeshare were canceled, so it is nice that this worked out.  

As soon as I finish my little stars topper I want to get going on making 4 1/2 inch log cabin blocks with my new Creative Grids Log Cabin Trim Tool.  

This is what the ruler looks like.  There are a lot of squares and lines printed on it that you line up before trimming each round.  Creative Grids has a YouTube tutorial that shows you how to use this tool about five different ways.  The video is less than five minutes long and I highly recommend you watch it and see how easy this block can be with the right tool.

If four-inch blocks still feel intimidating, there are a six-inch and an eight-inch ruler available as well.  They also offer one that is a combo six-inch and twelve-inch tool!  There is even a trim tool to make Curvy Log Cabin blocks.

There are so many projects you can make with these.  I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head right now!