Sister's Choice Quilts

Seasonal Projects and Eva Gets a Surprise

I just love working on a seasonal project in keeping with whatever season I am in. I started this Fatquartershop free sew-along a week or so ago and am nearly finished with it. It is called Bats and Boos. All the free patterns are on the FQS website. I just need to make the center block and add the border and I'll have a fun little table topper or wall hanging for next year.

Adhering to my love of seasonal projects, I think I need to work on something to get me in the Christmas spirit. I am all set with a couple of great collections of Christmas fabrics. Some are from Fig Tree Christmas Figs I and II, and the little fat eighth bundle is from Sheri and Chelsi's "Favorite Things". Once I finish up Bats and Boos I will starch this next batch of fabrics and start piecing a Christmas table runner.

In other news, over the weekend, Eva got a new member of her family! Meet Winston, a 12-week-old West Highland terrier. When my daughter Sara and Ryan were married, they had a Westie named Remy, who was much beloved by the whole family and was Ozzie's best (and only) friend. Sadly, Remy passed away a year or so ago, leaving a big hole in our hearts. 

On Sunday, Ryan told Eva that he and stepmom Stephanie wanted her company on an errand to Fresno (three hours or more from us), to "pick something up". Not a huge fan of long car trips, they had to bribe her with a promise of lunch at In-N-Out Burger. Well, surprise, the errand was to collect Winston from the breeder and take him to his new forever home. I haven't met Winston yet, but am hoping he and Archie will become friends. I'd say the little guy looks pretty agreeable, don't you think? You can sure tell by the expression on Eva's face how she feels about him.

Winston's breeder has a great Instagram site featuring the dogs he raises. Go check out @fivewesties for more photos, including one of Eva. Get ready for cuteness overload.

Fun Non-Quilting Project

When it is a known fact that one can sew, one often gets requests to make alterations or DIY home projects involving fabric. About 35 years ago, my husband and I bought a wrought iron patio set consisting of a loveseat, chair, and coffee table. We enjoyed it for years and I must have recovered the cushions at least twice, if not three times. 

Eventually, we gave the patio set to my daughter and son-in-law. I recovered the cushions for Ryan about six or seven years ago in the starfish and anchor fabric you see above. There are six cushions in all (and a couple of pillows) and the fabric was literally ripping apart at the seams. My son-in-law bought enough upholstery fabric to recover the patio furniture for everyone in the housing development and asked me if I would once again recover these cushions. 

The fabric he chose is this colorful awning stripe. I love his selection and think it will look great on the patio furniture, which is painted blue. 

But. It is striped. And any of you who sew, know that stripes bring their own unique challenges to a project! Obviously, the stripes have to match. And ideally, each cushion will be identical to the others. It took me all day Tuesday to figure out the measurements and make the first cushion. After I got my system down, on Wednesday, it was taking me about a half hour to construct each cushion cover, including zippers. 

This was a fun project and a nice change to quilting. I made some improvements to the method I had used in the past, which I think will add to the look and convenience of the cushions.

Can you believe in the history of making cushion covers repeatedly for this patio set, I never put in zippers, but always sewed the openings closed by hand? What on earth was I thinking? Well, no more. I went to Joann Fabric and bought six polyester zippers and every single cushion and pillow has a zipper for easy removal and laundering. 

Here is the happy pile of them all ready to go home. You can see all the leftover fabric in the background.


All settled in on Ryan's patio!

I guess it's a good thing there is so much extra fabric. He has just asked me to use it to make 16 seat cushions for the chairs in his tasting room....

 

 

Designer Mystery 22/23 Log Cabin Blocks

Good progress is being made with the Log Cabin alternate blocks for the Designer Mystery 2022/23 project. These are actually fun to make and are going together quickly and accurately.

It helps me pass the time while sewing to listen to a good audiobook, and I've listened to a couple of them lately, which will soon be a topic of a blog post. 

I was so fortunate to have a long-time reader reach out to me yesterday and offer to let me buy that fabric I was searching for! Thank you, Kathy! Quilters are the best, aren't they?

I'll be wrapping up this designer mystery project and sending it off to be quilted as soon as possible. I can't wait to see it on my bed!

And guess what came in the mail just as I am finishing up Designer Mystery BOM 2022/23? Why Designer Mystery 2023/24, that's what.

The finishing kit arrived in this great storage box.

Three patterns have also arrived, but obviously, I have done nothing with them yet. One Designer Mystery project at a time, right?

And there is the fabric all packed neatly in the pretty box.

You may notice something that is a bit odd. Last year's 2022/23 Designer Mystery BOM featured Nantucket Summer, a fabric collection by Camille Roskelley (a favorite designer of mine). And this year's Designer Mystery BOM features Sunnyside, another fabric collection by Camille Roskelley! Has FQS ever done that before? Featured the same designer two years running? The colors are even somewhat alike, in that navy is predominant, only with rusty red or pink accents rather than green. I just thought it was peculiar, but it didn't stop me from signing up since I love Camille's fabric.

 

Fabric Search & S'Mores Cake

Just throwing this out here:

Does anyone have 2.5 -3 yards of this fabric they might want to sell me? It is Nantucket Summer by Camille Roskelley 55260 11.

I've searched everywhere online,  but there is none to be found.

It would make a great border for the Designer Mystery 2023 project I am wrapping up. The quilt top as designed finishes at 80 x 80, and I'd like to make it a bit bigger. 

*Added later:  A dear reader came through for me and allowed me to purchase the piece of fabric she had bought for her project!  Thanks everyone!

Yesterday was the last day of summer vacation, so, Eva and I made a S'Mores Cake! We used a boxed mix:


Nothing to it, just a Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix. You could probably use any chocolate cake mix you have on hand. It is the special topping that turns it into a S'More.


To make the topping, mix a container of whipped cream cheese frosting with about half a jar of marshmallow cream. Crumble up some graham crackers and chop up a milk chocolate Hershey bar and sprinkle over the frosted cake. 

Eva and Grandpa Denny say it is so good!

 

 

 

Archie at Almost Five Months and New Fabric

Time for an Archie update, and other updates as well. Archie will be five months old on August 13, and he has definitely become more civilized in the month he has been with us. But. He has a way to go. He is a cheerful, upbeat, clumsy, and super-friendly little guy. His main bad habit I'd like to change is the puppy biting. OMG, it is something else. Our arms look like we have been through a war. He's getting better. His biting is more gentle and he does stop when shouted at and threatened with "KENNEL!!". 

We've bought him every puppy toy on the market and what does he prefer? A stick. Any stick. He is overjoyed to find one on a walk or in the yard. It doesn't even need to be a natural stick. A random piece of lumber is just fine.

He's friendly and curious and wants to please. We adore him. So far, he is nowhere near as destructive as Ozzie was, but that is mainly because we have gotten a clue and are not allowing him free access to the whole house. He has a crate and a large pen, and lots of outings during the day. Gradually we will allow him more free time with us around the house.

An interesting thing about Archie is that he doesn't bark much. If he utters a peep, it is a "whisper bark" Just a quiet "Ruff" in a breathy undertone. That I think I can live with. Ozzie wasn't much of a barker, but when he did bark, it got our attention. Mostly his barking was directed at deer and the UPS guy.

He doesn't cry when he's in his pen, and we don't have any potty issues at all. So, all in all, the Archie saga is going pretty well.

Now for some recent fabric acquisitions and an upcoming Moda sew-along. 

Just look at this gorgeous collection. I bought "Rustic Gatherings" by Primitive Gatherings, thinking I would join a sew-along hosted by Lisa Bongean featuring the collection. Only I realized the sew-along "Triangle Gatherings" is a repeat of a sew-along she hosted a few years ago, which I did. Of course, I haven't had it quilted yet, and my flimsy is in a different fabric collection, but I decided I had no interest in doing it again. So I will save this gorgeous fat quarter bundle for some future project. It is pretty fabulous, don't you think?

Just look at this. Another Primitive Gatherings fat quarter bundle in a collection they call "Joyful Gatherings". Those reds are too beautiful. And I love the low-volume lights. What will I do with this group? Well, it turns out Moda is doing another BlockHeads sew along, starting in September. BlockHeads 5, if you can believe it. 

Here is a link to Anna Dineen, a pattern tester for Moda Blockheads 5. She has an Instagram account where she talks a bit about the upcoming MBH sew-along. There is also a FaceBook group. The sew-along starts Sept 6. The sew-along will be done in two "rounds". The first round, Sept. 6 through Nov. 15 is a smaller number of blocks that can be made into a small quilt. They are suggesting a Christmas theme. Going forward, in the second round, you can keep making blocks in those Christmas fabrics, or switch gears and do a larger quilt in the fabrics of your choice. The sew-along concludes in June 2024. And, if you aren't up for a year-long sew-along, just do the first round, make a small quilt, and have fun.

I think I will do all the blocks in the Christmas theme fabrics, Joyful Gatherings. I believe I read that the blocks will be in two sizes, 6" and 12" if I remember correctly. I have really enjoyed doing these long Moda BlockHeads projects and have learned a lot and improved my skills in the process. 

Well, that's a fabric investment right there! Whew. It's only money, right?

 

 

 

 

Back on Track

After a rough start on Monday, I had a better sewing experience on Tuesday. I discovered that the one block I had finished for week 2 I had made too large. Of course I did. I cut my lattice strips a quarter inch too wide, so I had to take the block apart and put new lattices on it. Honestly, Monday just wasn't my day.

The project is still very slow-going. It's week 2 and I have only finished two of the four blocks. Maybe I can get caught up the rest of this week and make a start on Week 3 on Saturday. I have to admit the blocks are super cute. I just need to develop a better system of making them.

Eva and I had a smash success for our Tuesday baking project. (By the way, she told me that Tuesday is her absolute favorite day of the week. Aw.) We made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from the Best Bake Sale Cookbook. I firmly believe that my constant failures with chocolate chip cookies stem from leaving the nuts out (Eva's preference). The dough is just too buttery and the cookies spread out into one big mess because nothing is holding the dough together. With the addition of oatmeal, these cookies come out chewy and cakey and exactly right.

We were so proud of these we shared a dozen of them with a neighbor who recently helped Eva fix a flat tire on her bike.

Lastly, here is a recent purchase. How. Cute. Is. That? Owl-o-ween by Urban Chiks. This is the third Halloween collection they have come out with and it may be my favorite. I see a new table runner in my future.

Hope you are all having a splendid week.

Pink and Aqua

Not much sewing happening. I did get myself out in the fresh air and starched some pretty pink and aqua fabrics. I may use them for the Vintage Kite block project. My gosh, those blocks take a ton of fabric. It says if you use one fabric for the background, you need 8 yards for a quilt that finishes at 72 inches square. That just seems wild.

The weather has suddenly turned into Spring here. I have been trying to walk several times a week, and have been enjoying seeing the lilac bushes and wisteria vines that have burst into bloom. The daffodils are done, but the dogwoods and redbud trees are putting on a show.

I've told you all that I have a job writing articles for pool and spa companies. Normally I write about pool chemicals or fiberglass vs vinyl liner pools, but lately, I have been getting more lifestyle posts, which are fun to write. My latest assignment was to write an article on throwing a great 4th of July barbecue party. I had to research grilling recipes and found one I just have to share. It's called Charred Corn Slaw, by the Memphis Wood Fire Grill Company. Oh my gosh, you grill a few ears of corn along with jalapeno peppers and mix them together with onion and some seasonings. Let the mixture cool until serving. Or serve it warm. Doesn't that sound heavenly? I'm definitely going to try that.

Hope you are all having a great week.

 

Lucky Charms

Just look at this gorgeous fabric! It is called Lucky Charms and is by Andover Fabrics. It isn't easy to find a collection of such great greens, so I am super happy to have bought it. I have no idea what I'll make with it, but there are 24 fat quarters, so I think I'll make a full-sized quilt. The fact that it features shamrocks doesn't faze me in the least. I have the Irish connection, so I think I could use it year-round. 

The prints are all very small, so it isn't "in your face" St. Patrick's. I ordered the bundle from Shabby Fabrics.  

In other news, I did get my rows of the Take It Easy quilt top sewn together. Now just to assemble the border!

I took out most of the offending crooked print strips. If you look closely you might find one or two crooked ones left, but they don't bother me too much. Well, there might be one I still need to fix...

Relaxing Weekend

Eva and I got the Halloween decorations put away and brought out a few Thanksgiving things. Daylight Savings Time started, so it feels like it is dinner time, but it's only a quarter past 3.  My photos are all kind of dark, and that is what it was like in my house at the time.

Eva's dad and his wife have gone away for the week, so she will be staying with us all week long. Yay! It's a treat for us to have her for so many days. Sunday we made cornbread and attended a basketball team pizza party. I did get some sewing done on Saturday and somehow managed to spend a heck of a lot of money on new fabric.

Aren't these just beautiful? They are selected pieces from the Isabella collection by Minick and Simpson. This summer there is going to be a basket quilt sew-along in faded patriotic colors and I had to jump on this fabric to be sure I got some before it sold out. That's what I told myself anyway. I will put it away soon, but right now I am leaving it out where I can fondle it.

How gorgeous is this large-scale print? It will be my border I think.

In other news, I re-made my Sewcialites 2, Block 2 for the third time. I just could not get the colors right. Here they are in order of my making them:

One, on the left. Two, on the right.

Final version. I sure can't keep doing three versions of each block. I need to get my act together.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Sewcialites 2 Quilt Along

This is my latest fabric acquisition, Buttercup and Slate by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts. It was hard to justify the purchase when I have a closet bulging with fabric, but I did it anyway. My bedroom has green walls and a quilt with green in it looks ever so nice there. I've purchased a couple other of Corey's collections and have some leftover fabric that I can add into the mix of this new group.

I am not going to admit which is the chicken and which is the egg, but Fat Quarter Shop just announced that they are going to do a second Sewcialites sew along, starting this month. This is the setting they are proposing, and I thought the Buttercup and Slate fabric would work well for this sampler project. I plan to make my quilt bed-sized with the addition of a coordinating floral border. The larger stars will be green grey, apricot, and yellow tone on tone prints from the line. It will be so pretty in my bedroom next summer.

Not much going on here. Eva had a home basketball game yesterday and I was amazed at how exciting it was and how much fun I had. My fanny is sore from scooching around on the hard bench, and my throat a bit scratchy from cheering, but woo hoo, was it ever a thrill. Her team, the Mark Twain Badgers, won by one point against the Copperopolis Cougars! Now I can't wait to support her at the next game. There are a couple of girls on her team who are on the short side, but man are they fast and coordinated. It was thrilling to watch them dribble up and down the court and shoot baskets. When they do amazing things, good athletes have such a cool "oh, right, it's nothing" attitude don't they? So not like me.  lol  When I played basketball at that age, I stood like an unmoving lump on the court and was anything but cool. Seriously I was a hazard the other girls had to run around.

We made banana muffins today in the hour and a half between when she got out of school and had to return for practice.  She got her mid-term grades and got all A+s except for a B in Math. I guess we did something right in the homeschooling effort over the past two years.