Sister's Choice Quilts

Binding

Every week on my To Do/Planner I write "Bindings" in an effort to complete the massive pile of bindings that I need to sew onto my finished quilts.  I just do not enjoy sewing bindings.  I know, lots of people love doing it.  Well, I wish they would come sit on my porch with me and sew mine while I watch.

This week, I decided I really mean it this time.  Really. Mean. It.  So dragged out a quilt that needs to be displayed from May through August (it has flags on it) and started in.  And would you believe that on the second corner I came to one of those dreaded situations that sometimes happens to us all?  Yes, the seam on the binding was perfectly lined up with the corner of the quilt so there was no way to turn the corner neatly and perfectly.  Arggghhh.

Luckily I still had some of the binding fabric leftover and could actually find it.  It meant taking off a big section of the binding and cutting it and reattaching a new strip with the seam falling anywhere but on the exact corner.  My mission was definitely sidetracked, but I persevered.

It still isn't all sewn down, and Ozzie certainly does not give a flying fig, but it's all ready for me to complete today while I sit out on the porch.  There are worse things to have to do.

Speaking of Ozzie, can you all believe he is going to be 13 on June 21?  Some of you may remember puppy Ozzie.  Gosh, he was a mischievous dog.  Still is, as a matter of fact, but at least he isn't destroying shoes and irons anymore.

Here he is back in 2008 after tearing some knitting project or other off my knitting needles.  He killed that for sure.  Thanks Ozzie.  If you want a smile, click on my right hand side bar where it lists "Categories" of my posts.  Click on "Ozzie" and it will take you on an entertaining journey you won't soon forget.

Have a great weekend everyone!  It is the weekend, right?

 

Laundry Basket Mystery Quilt A Finish, with Borders

I am surprised that I have a finish to show for the past month, but here we are.  My focus has been all over the place, so the fact that this top was started and finished in such a short period of time is gratifying to me.  Well done, me.  

The fabric in the top is primarily from two different 3 Sisters collections, Chocolat and Aster Manor.  Both of them are quite old, from years back.  The nice thing about Moda designers such as 3 Sisters, is that their color lines are quite consistent over time, so if you wait eight years to use your fabric and now need a coordinating border you might get lucky.  Neither fabric line that I used is available any longer, but 3 Sisters did come out with a collection called Rosewood not too long ago that works brilliantly for my border, featuring the same colors as their previous collections I used for the top.

This was a mystery quilt project hosted by Laundry Basket Quilts.  I typically avoid mystery quilts because I like to plan my fabric placement quite specifically, and mystery quilts do not allow for that so well.  If I had this to do over, in place of the tan fabric in the outer corners, I would have used a pink or large scale red instead.  I think I would have liked that effect better overall.

Lucky you though.  The patterns are all still available for free on the Laundry Basket blog, so go for it and copy them off while you still can.  You can see how the final quilt is laid out and come up with your own color story and customize the quilt to your own liking.

I am looking forward to getting back to homeschooling Eva this week.  I missed her this weekend and realized that she is pretty much the main thing that is giving my life meaning and purpose right now.  If I didn't have the structure of her lessons and the pleasure of interacting with her, I think I would be rattling around pretty aimlessly.

I hope your weekend was enjoyable and as productive as possible.  Kimberly Jolly from Fatquartershop had a hilarious post on FaceBook that I just have to share.  It pretty much sums up how I have been feeling week by week during this lockdown.  Maybe it will give you a laugh as it did me.

First Flake Quilt Top Finished for January

First Flake is finished!  I am happy to have had the experience of making this fun and easy strip-pieced quilt.  The pattern was purchased by me as a pdf download from an Etsy seller.  I was inspired by Thelma's red and white version and will be excited to add this to my January/Winter decor.  It is a pretty small quilt (58 x 58"), so I will probably hang it from my upstairs balcony where it can be seen from downstairs.

In other news, I have brought out all my Moda Blockheads 1 blocks and laid them out on my design wall.  And guess what?  I have an idea for a layout that I am super excited about.  But...I need more blocks.  So I had another brilliant idea (the second this month) to make the six inch size of the current Blockheads weekly blocks and add them to the BH1 blocks until I have enough.  How about that?

Goodness I am loving this sew along.

A Quilt For Her Sister

Several years ago I mentored a young friend for a year.  She was working on her senior project for high school and wanted to learn how to quilt.  She was an apt and eager student, and during the course of year, she completed several baby quilts which were donated to women in need who had infants.  

Once the senior project was finished, my young friend wanted to make a quilt for her older sister.  I gave her a bundle of fabric by Zen Chic called "Juggling Summer" and she chose a pattern she liked.  My friend finished the quilt top and it was greatly admired by everyone, and then tucked away.  Her family moved house, she started college and a job, but the quilt wasn't forgotten.  Five years passed.  The older sister has since married and moved to Georgia and had a baby of her own.  The girls talk often and more often than not, the older sister reminds my friend of the quilt she was supposed to complete and give to her.  It has become a source of sisterly teasing and frequent conversation.  "So, where's my quilt?"

At long last, with some assistance, my young friend was connected with a long arm quilter who was able to machine quilt the quilt top both speedily and brilliantly.  You see, the older sister is coming to California to visit and show off the baby in just a couple of weeks.  Just under the wire, the quilt has been quilted, but still needs to have the binding hand sewn down.   I gave my friend a lesson in hand sewing bindings and all the supplies she needs to complete the task.  She says she is up to it, but if for any reason it looks like she needs help, I am at the ready.  Big sister is going to get her quilt at last!

Sweet Escape Finished!

I am so happy to share this Sweet Escape quilt with you all.  It has been on my design wall for ages,  just waiting for me to sew the rows together.  It wasn't such a hard task after all, and it feels great to have it done.

The Sweet Escape Sew Along was hosted by Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms.  The pattern is hers as well.  Do check out the Instagram site for loads of photos of what other folks have accomplished.  You will be so inspired.  It was a very fun sew along in which to have participated.  I did purchase the pdf version of Camille's pattern, but ended up changing it a bit.  In her version, her blocks are 10.5", and I made mine smaller at 8.5".  The reason for going with a smaller block is because I wanted to use my Creative Grids Log Cabin ruler.  I used the 6 inch ruler, but added one more round of strips and trimmed it with my Precision Trim ruler. My center unit is different as well.  I made a half square triangle rather than use a solid square.

I used mostly Sweet Tea fabric by Sweetwater for Moda.  It seemed fitting to use it for a quilt called Sweet Escape!  I selected the reds, navys and tans from that line.  My taupe fabric in the alternate blocks is something I had in my stash that just happened to go brilliantly with the chosen collection.

I am super pleased with how this project turned out (especially that it is done), and plan to send it off to be quilted as soon as possible.

Hope you are all having a great week!

 

Two Runners Put to Use

The binding is going well.  I've been sitting on the porch with an audio book and stitching for awhile every day.  This Fig Tree runner looks so pretty on my dining table.  I love the toned down colors for summer.

The colors in this one definitely are not toned down, but it is so darn cute.  That quilting design is called Mini Marmalade, and may be one of my favorites ever.  I have this little topper on my kitchen counter at the end of the island, and am really enjoying it.

I took my husband's pocket change and a business card off of it for the picture, but even with the junk it seems to attract, it's cute.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.  We apparently have gone from a rainy Spring directly into Summer, but I am not complaining.  We got our herbs planted this weekend, and I am looking forward to making pasta with them sprinkled throughout.

We bought these raised boxes last year and they definitely solved the issue we were having with gophers!

The flowers are going crazy, including these petunias I thought were goners after the deer ate the tops off all of them.  We just put them in the back yard out of the deers' reach and they grew back better than ever.  I guess that proves the rule that once your flowers have bloomed, cut them back and they will bloom again.

I Am a Slacker

I think one of the reasons I have been avoiding my sewing room is due to all the nearly finished projects that have been piling up over the past year.  I don't know what finally got me up there, but I bit the bullet this weekend and attached the binding to 9 quilts.  Yes 9.  How did that happen?

Above you see my Flag quilt and my Square in a Square quilt.  I love both of them and it is high time they went into rotation around  here.

Next up is my Pinwheel Quilt in Betsy Chutchian fabrics and my Courthouse Steps Quilt in so many of my treasured Jo Morton scraps.

Then we come to the table runners and table toppers.  The Fig Tree "Clover" runner, the  "Fat Quarter Flourish" quilt with Sherri and Chelsi fabrics, and the tiny little candle mat that looks kind of like a game board.

Lastly my green pineapple runner and my scrappy Christmas tree runner.

I can't believe I have been sitting on these for so long, but it's a great feeling to get those bindings attached at last.  Now to do the hand sewing and stitch them down.

I have some other UFOs that are making me feel guilty and those are going to be what I tackle next.  Those are a couple of large projects that I have got to complete.  It is hard to justify buying anything new when I have such a long list of things to finish.

Hope you all had a great weekend.  It was Memorial Day weekend here in the US, and we celebrated by having my sister and her husband overnight, and by visiting my daughter and son in law's restaurant.  My other son in law cooked ribs Monday night, and I was so happy to join in for those.  I never cook them for just us, so it was a real treat.  Now if it would just stop raining and the sun would come out...

Stringalong Quilt Finished!

I am so happy with this finish!  Putting the blocks together was a project and a half, and I admit to getting bogged down when it came to sewing them together.  The blocks have been on my design wall for weeks and weeks.  The pattern is Signs of String by Clark Street Quilts and the fabric is from two lines by Moda Designer Linzee McCray, Red Rover and True Blue. The blocks took a ton of fabric, and seemed like an eternity to complete, but the result is pretty spectacular.  I wonder what this project would have looked like in Jo Morton or Kansas Troubles fabrics?  Just a thought.

In other news, I have been having a great time working on my Sweet Escapes Variation project, and look forward to showing you my progress on that front.  I can tell you this:  my project will look nothing like the pattern!  That is to say, when you look at the pattern, you will think, "Oh right, that's cool", but in actual fact, the way I am plotting out the placement of the colors is going to give it a completely different look.  I am excited about that.

Hope you all had a great weekend.  Ours involved a corned beef dinner courtesy of my son in law.  I have plans for a major shopping excursion today with a friend who has lost a ton of weight, who needs new jeans and new bras.  I have planned the trip with myself as sort of a shopping guide, so we will see how that goes!  I'll keep you posted.  Chicos and Soma are on our hit list.

 

It's a Red and White Christmas

It's a red and white Christmas at my house.  My quilter sent home my red and white quilt just in time for the holidays.  It still needs its bindings, but that can happen during the next few days.  I photographed it outside my sewing room, next to my upstairs tree, where it looks very Christmassy indeed.  It will be terrific to have this heirloom to pull out during the holidays.

This quilt was made over a couple of years time.  The inspiration was Primitive Gatherings "The Magic of Christmas" sew along.  I made most of the sew along blocks, but added in other blocks that I liked as well as lots of basket blocks.  Basket blocks have always been a favorite of mine, and I thought they fit right in with the holiday theme.

This poor quilt has developed quite a lot from its original concept, which was to have the blocks set on the diagonal, and use both red and green blocks.  I changed my mind about using the green blocks and will use them in another project some day.  

I also tossed many of the original blocks because I thought my piecing could be improved upon.  The final blocks sat in a drawer for a long time, because I could not come up with a setting I loved.  Carrie Nelson came through with an imaginative setting that I shamelessly copied.  In her setting, the blocks were set in quadrants of four blocks each, which were then surrounded by flying geese.  Lots of geese.

All in all, it was worth the wait, and I am pretty satisfied.  It's a wrap!

Red and White Quilt Finally a Finish

 

It is with a rather large feeling of relief that I tell you that my red and white quilt is finally a finish.  The blocks started out as a Christmas sew along sponsored by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.  The sew along was just a jumping off point for me, as I made a lot of additions that made the quilt my own.  I would say that about half the blocks in my quilt are from the sew along, and the rest are from various quilting books I had on hand.  I had the idea that I wanted to add in some basket blocks as well.

The blocks sat in a drawer for about a year, as I could not decide upon a setting.  Ultimately, I saw a photo of a quilt setting designed by Carrie Nelson for a completely different sew along.  Her setting involved surrounding groups of four blocks with lattices of flying geese. Hundreds of flying geese.

When I finally pulled the quilt blocks out of hiding from in the dresser, I was dismayed to see that quite a few of them just were not up to my present standards of excellence.  You see, at the time I had made them, I had not yet discovered the joys of starching.  Now that I starch my fabrics before cutting and sewing, my piecing is so much better.  With so many blocks not measuring up to the correct block size, or unsatisfactory due to other inaccuracies, I ended up remaking over a dozen of them.

Once the process of getting all 48 blocks up to snuff was completed, I started in on the over 300 flying geese.  I have to say, I definitely stalled out on this project.  I found myself avoiding even going into my sewing room, as the sight of that unfinished red and white quilt on the design wall just sucked the joy out of my mood.  I am glad I persevered however, as I know this quilt represents a ton of work and will be a great addition to my collection.  During the holidays we will all enjoy it hanging from our upstairs balcony where it can be seen so well from below.

I am quite ready to move on to some new project, and have a couple of things in mind.  There is some fabric starching to do, and I am waiting for some background fabric to arrive.

Thanks to everyone who participated in my pattern giveaway earlier in the week.  I hope the three winners will enjoy the patterns and perhaps pass some on to others.