Sister's Choice Quilts

Double Flying Geese

The Designer Mystery 2023 project finishing kit involves a lot of flying geese. Big ones, 3 1/2 x 6 1/2". I like to use the method of making four at a time, making them a bit oversized and then trimming them down.

One thing that has been throwing folks for a loop is that we need to turn 17 of our big flying geese units into double flying geese. Have you ever made these? It was pretty easy and I'm about to show you how I did mine. If you are at all confused, hopefully, the visual will help.

Start with one of your trimmed flying geese. Mine is 3 1/2 x 6 1/2. What you need now are two 3 1/2" squares of the lighter "sky" fabric.

Draw a diagonal line on it and place it as I have shown. Stitch on the line, flip the corner over and trim.

Do you see where we are going with this? My unit is flipped upside down, but you see I have slapped on the second square, drawn a line and am about to stitch on it.

And there you have it, a double flying geese unit. All we did was add two more corner squares.


Here is my first row all completed! You can see how the complicated finishing procedure really sets off the blocks. I am so glad I decided to attach the block surrounds as I go, rather than leave it all until the blocks are made. That chore could well cause me to procrastinate for who knows how long!

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of Sewing Going On

I joined the Designer Mystery 2023 block of the month sew-along, but up until this weekend, I had not made a single block. I spent Saturday and Sunday starching all my fabric and got two blocks made. I decided to make the block frames and latices as I go so I don't end up with a ton of work to do when the sew-along is finished. 

Are you making this project? I have a word of caution for you. If you are making your half-square triangles and flying geese any other way than in the pattern instructions, you probably will be short the blue background fabric. This is a first with a Fat Quarter Shop project, as they are typically so generous with their fabric cuts. 

I like to use Star Singles half square triangle papers and make my flying geese units slightly oversized and then trim them down. I can tell I am not going to have enough of that blue fabric for my lattices. Fat Quarter Shop is sold out of it, but I found some on Etsy. Heads up if you are going to wait until the sew-along is over to cut your finishing kit. By then it will be too late to get any of that blue fabric. 

As you can see I have a lot of projects in the air right now. That is typical for me since I can't seem to work on one thing at a time. My goal this week is to sew those Flea Market blocks on the large design wall together this week, then put that project away for now. There will be one more border of small blocks called "primrose" and I can work on those when I am in the mood. They are a simple 4-inch block and there are a lot of them.

There is another upcoming project in the works: Moda Blockheads 5! I've got my fabric all pulled and starched and the first block made. I am using all fabrics from my stash and did not have to buy a single thing. I'll share my fabrics tomorrow. I tell you, I have gone through 10 cans of starch in about three days!

Hope you had a great weekend.

More Sampler Spree Blocks and Trick Rulers

Sorry for the spotty posting this week. For once, it wasn't me being lazy, it was Typepad that was down. For two days I couldn't even log in to my account. Seems ok now, but fingers crossed.

I spent my time making more Sampler Spree blocks, and am working my way through the book of over 100 blocks. Two of the blocks required either templates or special rulers. Imagine my happiness when I "shopped at home" and found the exact rulers I needed tucked away in a drawer. 

The block on the left in the middle row (looks kind of like a spool) required a ruler by Darlene Zimmerman called the "Companion Ruler".  Shaped like a triangle, you use it to trim a strip set you have sewn in two contrasting fabrics. My strip sets measured 2.5 inches, so you line up the bottom of the strip set at the 2.5 mark and trim.

The second block that needed a specialty tool is the orange spikey star in the middle of the bottom row. That called for the "Tri Recs" rulers. And I had not just one set, but an extra one still in its package, yellowed with age. 

My plan is to sew through the weekend and spend some time out in the fresh air. We have been remarking on how cool and lovely our weather has been for this time of year. No heat waves, no fires...

Hope you have a great weekend doing exactly as you please!

Post Labor Day Catch Up

For about half a day yesterday, I was in the sewing room and completed four more Sampler Spree blocks. I am especially happy with the navy lightning bolt block. I was delighted with how the points all came out!

I spent the long weekend with my sisters at our dad's house. We organized all the remaining decorative items in one room on bookshelves so the family can have one more go at choosing anything they might want. The remainder will all be donated. We also went through about 1,895,000 photos that my parents had in a large cabinet. That was a project.

We kept any decent photos of people. Our plan is to scan them and give a digital copy to everyone in the family. Do any of you have experience doing that? The majority of the photos were of landscapes of various trips our folks had taken. And they traveled a LOT. There was the African safari, the trip to the Arctic to see polar bears, and trips to France, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Korea. Omg, it was a lot. In the end, we just couldn't justify keeping those photos of all their trips. The photos represented important memories to our parents, but they were their memories, not ours, so we decided to let them go. All three of us felt kind of sick about it though. But no one has the room or interest to hang on to boxes of photos of someone else's vacation trips. 

Here is a little Archie update. We started puppy training classes last week, and since no one but us signed up, we are having private lessons! This week's big success was the "leave it" command, which has been working brilliantly. Not just for getting him to leave something nasty alone on our walks, but to get him to stop the puppy nipping. When he starts chomping on my bony wrists, I say "leave it", and good heavens, he stops! It's a miracle. Now for those bruises to heal up and fade!

In the photo of him above, he is napping in his crate. When he naps, he arranges all his stuffed toys around him in the crate. He uses them to cuddle with and as pillows. He is such a sweetheart. We got a good one I think.

 

Sampler Spree Week Aug 28- Sept 3

These are the Sampler Spree blocks I made the week of Aug. 28- Sept. 3. I have just under half of the 100 blocks made!

Oh my gosh, were these ever fun to make.  Some are ridiculously easy, others call for more precision. Know which ones are my favorites? Well, the pear is adorable. But the spider web looking block in the top row, far right? That was so much fun to make. And the brown basket is adorable. I think the pattern is called "Cherry Basket". 

I liked it so much I made it twice.  lol. 

So, what do you think? I made the gold background block first and was disappointed in the lack of contrast. That little block was a bear to make and took a long time to get right. I wanted to show off my sharp points and all that. So I re-did it in brown against the cream background. I am better pleased with the second attempt. Do you agree? 

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend. It was Labor Day weekend in the US, so we all had three days to say goodbye to summer. Our weather was cool and drizzly, and I spent Friday and Saturday sewing blocks. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday my plans call for me to go to Palo Alto and work on packing up the remaining books at my dad's house. Who would have thought a Stanford professor could accumulate so many books? Guess it goes with the job. You can see where I get my love of reading!

Books Read in August 2023

August was a pretty good reading month for me, with almost 12 books read. I ended up quitting one of them about 75% of the way through. The best part of my reading this past month was that most of the books were really good! Eight of them were 4-5 stars! I'll give a brief recap and my rating. I'll do more complete reviews of my favorites in another post.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. may be the best book of the year for me so far. In the spring of 2020, Lara's three daughters return to the family cherry orchard to wait out the pandemic and beg their mother to tell them the story of her brief relationship with a famous actor. It is all about family and being grateful and happy with what you have. 5 stars

September by Rosamund Pilcher. I know I read this back in the 80s, but it definitely is worth revisiting. This author is a master of description, and you will love immersing yourself in the world she creates in the Scottish Highlands as we follow a diverse cast of characters who gather in September when the heather is in bloom and the hint of fall is in the air. This book is a long but lovely journey. 5 stars

Yellowface by R.F.Kuang. Juniper Song is a bestselling author who definitely did not write the book she says she wrote. And she also is not Asian American. This is a book about consequences and is thought-provoking and very well done. Features social media, cancel culture, plagiarism, and own voices.
4.5 stars

When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff. Billy, a pre-med student at Princeton is arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Unpleasant topic, unpleasant characters, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth. 2.5 stars

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. Strange is right. The main character of this book is "neuro-divergent" and takes everything quite literally. When her father tells her to "put him out with the trash" when he dies, she does just as he asks. This book was very dark, but funny at times.  Trigger warning for child abuse. 4 stars

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange. This is a family saga about the secrets you keep from your family and the secrets you keep FOR your family. We have four generations of an Irish-American family who are investing in a family pub, but something is threatening their livelihood and they must band together as a family in spite of their differences. 4 stars

The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent. This book is light-hearted, but the main character, Birdy is a liar. She impersonates her best friend and takes a summer job as a sommelier at a Scottish hotel, even though she knows nothing about wine. I found the main character annoying and the plot implausible. 3 stars

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior. A curmudgeon of an old woman, her estranged grandson, and a flock of Antarctic penguins come together and find that it's never too late to change and become the best version of yourself. Charming and heartwarming. 4 stars

The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe. This is a well-researched novel about John Jacob Astor and Madeleine Force and their scandalous romance and disastrous honeymoon aboard the Titanic. Very moving and rich in detail of the Gilded Age in New York. Free on Kindle Unlimited 5 stars

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain. There wasn't a likable character in the book, which was painful to read. It did have a satisfying ending, however. Trigger warnings for infidelity and child abuse. 3 stars

Red Queen by Juan Gomez-Jurado. This book was a very pleasant surprise. It is a fast-paced thriller that is destined to become a series.  I can see why it was a best-seller in Spain, as it features a remarkable female detective that may put you in mind of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Never a dull moment, and if you enjoy page-turning mystery you will enjoy it.  Free on Kindle Unlimited. 5 stars 

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. No, just no. I DNF'd this at about 75% and wish I'd done it sooner. It is about a man who is mutating into a great white shark, and his wife who sticks with him throughout the ordeal. No. People are raving about how great it is, but this book was for sure not for me. Do not be tricked by the beautiful cover.  0 stars 

Hope you will give some of these a try and let me know what you think.

Happy September and have a great weekend.