Sister's Choice Quilts

Just Get It Done

I have two gorgeous quilts that I got back from my quilter, two, maybe three years ago. And I haven't used them. Why? Because I am too d%*n lazy to hand sew the binding down. 

I have been making mug rugs for friends and family this year, and have gotten lots of practice machine sewing bindings on those little things. Yesterday I decided to apply the technique to two much larger pieces. I got out two unbound quilts and pinned the binding in place, then machine sewed it. It took about an hour to do two quilts.

And you know something? They turned out just great. I stitched in the ditch and only had to go over two or three spots where the binding didn't get caught on the underside. If I were entering the quilts in a quilt show, maybe I'd sew the binding by hand. But seriously, the machine stitching looks unobtrusive and is probably stronger than hand stitching. Darn, I think it looks pretty good.

The only downside is that you do have to wrestle with a big old quilt, and your fingers get pricked a lot with the pins. But done is a good thing, right?  I am so happy to be able to use these pretty quilts. 

Hope you had a nice 4th of July, if you are in the States. We ended up staying home after all. I had a big allergy attack and after a couple of benedryls, I was good for nothing but jammies and my slippers. 

I think a lot of sewing is going to happen at my house this week.  WooHoo!

Christmas Among the Stars Again Quilt Finished!

Woohoo!  I am doing a happy dance over here because I finished a full-sized quilt! It is Christmas Among the Stars Again, which was a Block of the Month project from a Just Sew Emma book published by Fat Quarter Shop. As a matter of fact, if you think you want to make this fun and easy quilt, FQS has an entire kit available, which is on sale right now for $144, a heck of a price. 

I am so excited to get this quilted and use it on my bed this Christmas. It's been a while since I made a new Christmas quilt, so I can't wait. 

Here is another angle that shows off the border better. 

I will say that being quarantined and waiting for Covid symptoms that never showed up had some advantages.  I stayed home all last week and sewed like I was possessed. There are a lot of projects to share with you this coming week, so stay tuned!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Among the Stars Again Border

I finished the border units for the Among the Stars Again quilt. The piecing was kind of repetitive, but once it is on the quilt, I can tell it is going to be striking. The colors in the quilt are kind of subtle for a Christmas quilt, and this red and white border will really make a statement.

I have been also meaning to share the book holder I purchased from Fat Quarter Shop. It is designed by Lori Holt and is perfect for holding a quilting book or pattern instructions. I've been using it non-stop and can't imagine how I got along without it all these years. The bright yellow color is so cheerful and fun too. 

In a burst of energy, I also got the quilting done on my 5 mug rugs for June. If my health holds up (and I don't get COVID) I will attempt to sew the bindings on today.

Every time I make a new Mug Rug of the Month, I think it is my favorite so far. But this one is so cute and summery, it may be in first place. Pattern is Strawberry Social by the Pattern Basket.

Have a great weekend everyone!

It Took Me Eleven Years, But It's Done

Finally. It's been on the shelf for a long time, but it is finally ready to be quilted. This is the Fat Quarter Shop's Designer Mystery Quilt from 2011. The patterns for the blocks and for the finishing kit are still available on their website. You should know that I did not follow the directions for finishing the kit, but instead swapped out the finishing instructions for Designer Mystery 2020 instead.

My quilt finished at 90 inches square. It is as big as a circus tent, I swear. I added a 6-inch floral border in the aqua print, which gives the quilt a great drop on my queen-sized bed.

I really struggled with pressing the whole gigantic thing perfectly, but I know it will look great once it is quilted.

And I did piece the backing!

That turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. I haven't worked with such large pieces of fabric as this quilt top and the backing in a l.o.n.g. time. I won't lie, it was a struggle. And my next large quilt is going to have 108 inch backing for sure. I did not enjoy wrestling with all that yardage. 

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement! Glad to check this UFO off as a "finish"!

Can You See Where I Am Going With This?

Like I said, baby steps. I only snagged an hour or so to sew yesterday, but I got two of the big corner pieces made. They are just pinned on the design wall, but I think you get the idea of where I am headed with this.

I really like how the star points pick up the aqua in the quilt blocks. I am liking this quilt top so much better now that I ditched the flower motif.

Eva and I made applesauce muffins yesterday, which were delicious. It was another Taste of Home recipe. They are so reliable. Here is a link, if you want to try them. That recipe is a keeper!

Just a quickie post today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a quilt top to show you!

One More Border

This week's sewing is going to be in baby steps I think. I did manage to get another border on the center medallion of my Designer Mystery 2011 quilt. The next step will be to frame the four outside blocks that are not on the diagonal. After that, there is kind of a giant Cat's Cradle unit that will form a star around the center medallion. I won't be using my Creative Grids tool for that, so wish me luck.

I am enjoying the direction away from the pattern that has evolved with this quilt. I will be emphasizing the aqua colors in the remaining construction of the quilt, which I think will play well with the quilt blocks. In the finishing kit, the border fabric is a tan background floral print. The tan fabric coloration features only a couple of times in the blocks and only in the smallest ways. I am perplexed why they chose it for the border fabric. You can spy a touch of the tan in the top-most center flower in the center medallion. Seems kind of random, right?

I happened to have a good amount of the coordinating large aqua floral print in my stash (!), and I am making use of it in the star and in the border.  The large piece of tan floral in the finishing kit will go on the back of the quilt. I am not wasting anything! I have no recollection of where or why I bought a few yards of the aqua print, but yay me. I barely remember why I did something last week, much less back in 2011.

Hope you all enjoyed yesterday's book reviews. I was asked if "A Place to Hang the Moon" was a juvenile book, and I would categorize it as "middle grade". Suitable for young teens, but would be very much enjoyed by adults.

Hope your week got off to a great start! Our weather here is warming up and I am thinking of getting a pedicure....

Going In a New Direction

I am taking my Designer Mystery Quilt 2011 in a different direction. I decided I didn't really care for the flower stems. Too "cutesy" for my taste. I spent a lot of time looking over the past Designer Mystery settings and liked the look of the one from 2020. 

As you can see it has nine blocks set on the diagonal as a center medallion. There are a couple of narrow borders that will frame it, as you can see in the diagram below. 

It finishes with a star design and the four remaining blocks on each corner. I have enough fabric for a floral outer border, so that will increase the size of the top for me.

This quilt has the look of a girl's quilt I think. And I know a special girl who is turning 11 in July that might like it. And look what I can use on the back:

Thanks so much to those of you who made setting suggestions yesterday. It really made me rethink the pattern directions that came with the quilt blocks!

One Quilt Finally Off the Design Wall

Sewcialites is finally off the design wall! Woo hoo!  All the rows are sewn together and the borders attached. I have to say, those blocks all came together pretty perfectly. No fudging was required when sewing them together, which is unusual. I credit careful cutting, a strict 1/4" seam allowance, pressing seams open, and starching the fabrics before cutting. I love the way it came out. Once it is quilted, it will go nicely in my library/reading room.

And here is a new look for my sewing room design wall!

This is the Designer Mystery 2011 Sew Along. I am toying with layout ideas, which will be a bit different from what the directions say I should do. The official version of the quilt is 79" wide and 94" inches long. Now, if I put that on a queen-sized bed, I want the sides to drape over. The upshot is, I want a wider quilt than what the designers made.

I was thinking of doing four columns of three flowers instead of three columns with four flowers. Do you think that would be weird? Any ideas for a layout that is wider than 79" would be welcome!

I went to the Fat Quarter Shop website and searched for "Designer Mystery Quilt Finishing patterns" and came up with a good number of past layout patterns for the DM quilt alongs. Take a look and see if you think one of them might be a good choice. I am flexible for sure, and have a lot of fabric.

I've made 12 12" blocks, but could make more. I've got yards of finishing fabric, so there are lots of options. I could even scrap the stems and do a diagonal layout with alternate blocks....

 

I made one of the "stem" blocks to see how it looks, and I think it's pretty cute, but I'm not committed.

I invite you all to weigh in with suggestions!

 

Quilting Friends Are the Best

I am actually completely thrilled with this photo. I have finished all 12 blocks for the Fat Quarter Shop 2011 Designer Mystery Quilt! Can you imagine? These blocks were just scraps of fabric that languished in a tub for 11 years. Well, no more languishing. They are going to become a quilt.

But there was just one problem. Back in 2011 when I wasn't working on these blocks, the finishing kit was offered for sale by Fat Quarter Shop. And I did not buy it. The finishing kit had all the fabrics for a fabulous setting, alternate stem blocks, borders, and binding. 9 extra yards of fabric to make a quilt that finishes at
76 x 94.

I reasoned to myself that I didn't have to complete the quilt as intended. I would have 12 great blocks and quite a bit of background fabric, which would be enough for a lattice and inner border. For the outer border, I would need a print that coordinated with the blocks. The fabric is by Fig Tree & Co., and their reds are very consistent. So, no problem. I wouldn't end up with such a large quilt, but it would be pretty and it would be finished.

Then the quilting gods smiled upon me. My quilting friend Lisa D. reads my blog. She emailed me to say she had the kit also and had never made it. Sadly, she had lost the love for this quilt and doubted that she would ever make it and therefore planned to sell or donate it. And she had the finishing kit. I offered to buy it from her and she agreed. Can you hear the sound of angels singing? She has mailed the finishing kit to me and as soon as I receive it, you can bet I'll start work on it.

Oh, and here is something else that makes me happy:

Yesterday I used up a big spool of Aurifil thread! I started using it in April 2020. I was thinking it would last me a year, but I did not sew much in 2021, so it has lasted me 20 months!!! Now, that seems like a good deal for $48. $2.40 per month. I wrote 1/22 on the inside of the cone and will be interested to see how long this new spool lasts.

Hope your weekend was great. If you have today off, make the most of it!

My Garden is in Blossom

Another productive sewing day for me yesterday. This has been quite the week for getting my mojo back. I finished the fourth and fifth blocks in my 2011 Designer Mystery BOM. The setting is going to be so cute. I will be making little stem units so it appears that each block is a flower. Hope I have enough green....

That fifth block (the middle right one) was a bear to sew, I can tell you that. It was a bit fussy. But it used all the colors, woo hoo. Of course, I got one tiny unit switched around (not just once but four times) and had to do some unsewing. Ah, those thread-picking interludes are restful for the mind, right?

I am really enjoying these bright fresh colors.

I also can report that I got my Serendipity quilt top all put together, except for the borders.  Maybe I can wrap that up on Sunday afternoon.

Have a great weekend everyone!