Sister's Choice Quilts

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.

Holiday Quilt Countdown

Here is a little sideways view of my almost completed red and white Christmas quilt.  I have been getting up into the sewing room sporadically and making the rest of the flying geese.  Only three more strips of ten geese to go, then I will assemble the sections.  The final step will be to add the outer border which I think is just going to be the Eggshell white that I have used for the flying geese and lattice squares.

I like the simplicity of that sort of border treatment, since the blocks are so different from one another.

The end is finally in sight with these darn flying geese.

I'd really like to finish this quilt up and get it to the quilter.  She is so good at getting things back to me pretty quickly, that I have a chance at having it in use by Christmas.

I need a new project to get excited about.  I may get out my Swell Christmas kit, as that would be fun to work on in November.  I'd love to get this done for Eva's bed for the holidays.  Thelma (Cupcakes 'n' Daisies) made it not too long ago and had some great tips for constructing the top.  I highly recommend you check out the link to her blog if you are thinking of making this quilt.

Four Bindings, Done!

I'm proud to say I applied myself to the task and completed the bindings on four quilts over the weekend.  Three of them were table runners, but they are done and I am enjoying them as part of the Fall decor.  That's my dining table above.  The runner is my own creation.  Inspired by a quilt I saw on Pinterest, but ending up nothing what so ever like it. 

My hall table.  Inspired by a quilt I saw on Pinterest.  There are variations of this block to be found in lots of places including in the book Moda All Stars Mini Marvels.

My coffee table.  This quilt is an adaptation of a larger quilt from a book called Maple Leaf Quilts.

The upstairs railing overlooking the foyer.  Halloween Bounce, a Miss Rosie pattern.

This quilt has been finished for years, but I thought I'd share What's On My Bed with you all.  Birdseye, another Miss Rosie pattern.

It is amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it.  My fingers are sore from the hand sewing, but I am so happy to get these quilts into circulation for the season.  

If you have not done it, you might want to read the comments from my previous post on how folks organize their bindings.  I sure got some great ideas and tips from those comments and know I will benefit from them in the future. 

Hope you all had a great weekend.  Glorious fall weather here.

A Profusion of Bindings

Well, I have somehow nodded off and woken up to ten quilts needing bindings.  How did that even happen?

This one has been sitting on the back of the couch in the library for a month, waiting for me to hand sew it down.

Five more unbound quilts are lined up on the upstairs railing.  One is sitting on a quilt rack in the guest room, and my quilter tells me three more are scheduled to be delivered today.

I am in big trouble.  Lesson learned?  Don't wait so darn long to cut and apply the binding.  The hand sewing is a chore, but at least if the bindings are machine stitched on, you can't lose them, right?  I am really annoyed because for at least two of the quilts that need bindings, I can't find the fabric I am pretty sure I set aside somewhere.  A year or so ago.  Ahem, no wonder it's gone missing.

I read somewhere about a quilter who always, always cuts her binding when she finishes her quilt top.  She has a designated basket for bindings and as soon as she gets the quilted top back, she applies that pre-cut binding.  I want to be her.  I have been very lackadaisical about my binding fabric practices and now I am paying the price.  

My biggest problem is that I really do not enjoy sewing bindings.  It seems the least creative part of the quilting process and I find it so boring.  Right about now I am sure wishing I had taken a bit more care to plan out the bindings for these quilts.  For heaven's sake, the binding I put on the quilt that is sitting on the back of the couch doesn't even go with the quilt top.  Ugh.  I really need to get better light in the sewing room.

From now on, I vow to plan the binding fabric at the same time I am making the quilt, and cut it out and have it ready to sew on the minute I get a quilt back from the quilter.

Do you plan your bindings in advance?  What methods do you all employ to be sure your binding fabric doesn't get separated from its intended quilt?

End of the Week Progress Report

Time for a little progress update.  I have been doing things, I swear.  I got this last minute little table runner on the table on July 4.  Actually, I have had it a couple of weeks but only finished the binding on Wednesday.  I love the little stars and swirl quilting design.

You can see I am making progress on my Aurora stars quilt.  Not too much more to do.  Just a couple of short rows.  Here is a different angle where you can sort of see how I am putting it together:

Lastly, I have resurrected my Primitive Gatherings Christmas blocks from the sew along that I did a couple of years ago.  I saw an awesome setting for the Moda BlockHeads quilt, and decided it would work perfectly for the Christmas blocks.

This quilt is not mine (darn), and was made by Judy Losey.  I saw this photo on the Moda Facebook page.  It is pretty spectacular, right?  The setting idea was created by Carrie Nelson, and you all know how much I love her designs.  Isn't it an awesome setting for a lot of different sampler blocks?  It really ties them together.  Apparently I will be making a gazillion flying geese in my spare time...

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Time To Be Quilted

My little Patriotic quilts are stacking up.  I think it's time for them to go off and be quilted!  I was considering quilting the smaller ones myself, but I am so much happier with the results when I send them out to be done professionally.  

This one, "Faithful", may be my favorite.  It turned out nice and narrow (18"), and will fit perfectly on my front hall table.  I sure had to wait for that border fabric, but got it eventually.  I have to say that I sure do appreciate it when shops cut and send you your order within a couple of days.  I keep a mental list of those who drag their heels and take forever, and think twice about reordering from them unless I am desperate.

Another red, cream and blue table topper. "Recess".  I used lots of scraps for this one, so I feel like it was a "free" quilt.  That's what I am telling myself anyway.

Thanks for all the moral support yesterday.  The vast majority of comments I get are friendly and positive.  Every now and then though, I get one that makes me scratch my head and think "Some people...."  Truthfully, I think the issue is miscommunication.  A few individuals just do not read carefully or completely and jump to all sorts of wrong conclusions.  I enjoy my interactions with all of you way too much to stop blogging!

Liberty Road is a Finish

This pattern is an oldie but a goodie.  It is Liberty Road by Minick and Simpson.  I have wanted to make it for quite some time, and finally got around to it.  It doesn't have an outer border, although you could add one on if you wanted to.  I think the pattern is supposed to be all about the flags.  You could also make it smaller, using three or four blocks and make yourself a terrific looking table topper.  Don't you want one for Fourth of July?  I plan on draping mine over my stair rail where it will be a focal point I can enjoy it all summer long.

The quilt goes together very easily and is fun to make.  I love the addition of the machine appliqued stars, which were a cinch to do.  The pattern is on Minick and Simpson's Etsy site and is $9.00.  I actually purchased a kit of fabric from them along with the pattern.  The fabric was mostly a collection of theirs called Charlevoix, but I was able to add in some pieces from Ann's Arbor (another one of their designs) for lots of variety.

When I was a girl, I was born in Ann Arbor, MI (where Minick and Simpson are from).  I grew up in a little town nearby called Belleville, where I lived until I was 11.  Liberty Road is a main street in the Belleville/Ann Arbor area and my family used it frequently.  Minick and Simpson often name their fabric collections or patterns after Michigan sites and landmarks, and it always brings back memories for me of my childhood.

I am getting back into the swing of things after several weeks of not doing much sewing.  I have spent some time Monday afternoon starching some beautiful new fabric for my next project.  More about that tomorrow!

This Is Going to Take a While.

Hope this photo doesn't make anybody dizzy.  I have all the blocks made for the Jo Morton S'mores quilt--I believe there are 113 square in a square blocks and 28 pieced setting triangles, and 4 pieced corner triangles.

I think I am going to love this quilt when I get it put together, but the next step is attaching all the lattice pieces, which as I said, is going to take a while.  It is hard to see against the light background of the design wall, but I have begun the process of sewing on the 128 short lattice pieces.  I hate to say it, but lattices are so fussy.  Especially the long ones, where you have to pin like crazy to make everything line up.

That is what I will be doing today, so wish me luck.  And tomorrow I hope I can show you a photo that isn't all wavy like the one above!

Double Nine Patch is a Finish

Honestly, I was not sure how much I was loving this quilt until I took all the dark brown nine patches out.  Then it changed for me.  It suddenly coordinated better with the border fabric I had on hand, and was just more pleasing to my eye.  All the un-sewing I did on Sunday was worth it.

The finished quilt measures 76 inches square and is made up of 49 double nine patch blocks (which breaks down to 221 little nine patch blocks which measure 3 1/2").  The full size double nine patch block measured
9 1/2".  And I have an entire bag full of leftover dark brown nine patch squares that will be great in some future project. 

The inspiration for the project was a couple of things.  First, a quilt shop called The Quilted Moose in Gretna, NE was sponsoring a year long project to make the quilt.  Second, I had a tub of lovely blue and dark brown fabrics from a kit I purchased back in 2011 while on a trip with friends.  I never got around to making that kit, but the fabrics were so lovely I always felt guilty for not using them in something.  The majority of them were from a gorgeous collection by Judie Rothermel called Notingham Village.

I decided not to drag the project out for the entire year.  It was kind of a production to make all the nine patch blocks, and I did better if I spent several hours at a time working on them rather than to just make one or two at a time each week.

So now I have a quilt that I really like, and a reminder of the lovely time I spent on the trip with my friends.

Endearments

I can't tell you how much I love this little quilt!!  It is "Endearments" by Betsy Chutchian, made with her fabric collection Rachel Remembered.  The finished quilt measures 29 3/8" square, and has a Memorial Day/Fourth of July vibe to it.  I can see keeping this out on my dining table from May through September.

I have been sticking to my plan to finish up a few things before moving on to something new.  

I got the outer border on Windmills.  (Pattern by Bonnie Blue, fabric Rachel Remembered by Betsy Chutchian). I skipped the narrow red containment border and just went with the one wider border in a solid brown.  I am super happy with this one as well.  I will be sending both of these quilts to my quilter, maybe even today!

To be honest, a new project is calling to me.  Rather loudly.

This beautiful collection by Corey Yoder (Coriander Quilts) is called Pepper and Flax.  The pattern is "9th and Vine".  How springy is that?  I'll see if I can finish up one or two more projects this weekend, then we shall see...

Have a glorious weekend everyone!