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.

Blueberry Delight and Apple Sauce

It seems as if there are an awful lot of food references in quilting, don't you agree? The whole layer cake, honey bun, jelly roll thing, and so many patterns and fabric collections have food names. I wonder why we are so food-obsessed? At any rate, I finished my 8 Courthouse Steps paper pieced blocks for the Petit Four (there we go again) project. The fabric collection I am using is called Blueberry Delight by Bunny Hill.

The paper piecing was super simple and went extremely fast. The whole confusing backwards issue that you find in some paper piecing is not a factor in these blocks at all. The paper pads Fatquartershop makes for foundation piecing make the whole process very simple. They are even shaded so you don't get mixed up where the background or print fabric is supposed to go.

I am also making good progress with my Apple Sauce blocks. This is a pattern by BasicGrey, and I am using three of their collections: Persimmon, Nutmeg, and Cider. Good grief, with the food names. I am stalled with these at the moment because I need more of the teal solid fabric, which is on its way to me in the mail.

I got so many comments from you yesterday! Gosh, who knew I just need to whine about not hearing from people, and look what happens. Seriously though, getting some sort of reaction to a blog post that takes time and effort to produce is very gratifying. I enjoy writing this blog as a journal of my quilting and life, but interacting with readers is what makes it fun and worthwhile. I love hearing from you and do my best to answer your comments. Anyway, it was very nice to hear from so many readers.

Look for a book review post Friday. I must be sewing more than I am reading because I didn't read all that much in September, but I will tell you about what I did enjoy. 

Can't believe it is nearly the weekend again. Where is this month going?

Foundation Paper Piecing

Since my Blueberry Delight fabric arrived, I wasted no time in starching it and assembling my paper piecing supplies. I am very gung ho to get started on this Petit Four project. Supplies: What you need is a glue stick of some kind (I am using a Sewline glue stick, but a kid's school glue stick works fine too), a rotary cutter, an Add a Quarter seam ruler, a seam roller, and a small cutting mat. I also set up my iPad to help me with my fabric selection for the blocks. 

For the first eight blocks, I am using the Courthouse Steps foundation paper.

The instructions are great, telling you just how many strips to cut for the block. I cut several fabrics at once, so the cutting went pretty fast.

The sewing is easy too, you just position the fabric carefully and sew on the appropriate line in numerical order. The paper is even shaded so you are sure to place your lights and darks in the right place. Be sure to use a very short stitch when you sew on foundation paper. My machine is set at 1.5 stitch length.

As you go, you flip the fabric strips, trim to a quarter-inch seam allowance, and press flat.

The first block took longer while I was getting up to speed, but the next ones went quickly. I love how perfect paper-pieced blocks turn out! 

If you are interested in watching a foundation piecing video tutorial, Kimberly from Fatquarter Shop has several on YouTube. Here is the Courthouse Steps tutorial. She had a rather elaborate routine of creasing her foundation paper on every stitching line, which I did not do as I could not see why it was necessary. Otherwise, I followed her instructions.

Hope you are all having a great week. It's been a very slow week for comments, so I'd love to hear your experience with paper piecing! I'm beginning to wonder if anyone besides Jan, Anita, Sally, Mary, and Ina are reading my blog. Have you tried foundation paper piecing? Do you think it is intimidating? 

Archie wants to know....Is anyone out there?

Mini Donuts Table Runner

I am really having a ball this week with plenty of free time on my hands. I put away the St. Patrick's decorations and realized that many of my older table toppers are looking shabby and not up to "snuff" anymore. That made me think I should eliminate them and make room for newer seasonal table runners and toppers. I must have two tall stacks of fall/Halloween table runners, which makes my less bountiful spring collection look paltry.

Being pleased with the little apple and apple core mat I made last week, I thought I'd tackle something in spring colors. I used a Pattern Basket pattern called "Mini Donuts" and adapted it to make a table runner about 11" x 40", which is just right for the narrow table in my foyer. It has 16 4 1/2" blocks surrounded by a narrow lattice and a 2 1/2" border. The fabrics were in my Lori Holt fabric stash.

How perfect is this backing fabric? I am not sure how I got it, but I have over a yard of it. I think it may have been included as a panel in one of the Lori Holt bundles I purchased a year or so ago. It's almost cuter than my top. 

I have to run out and buy some more batting first thing tomorrow if the rain stops for a minute. Then, I do believe I will quilt it myself since the apple mat project went so well. Hope I didn't speak too soon. I am just too impatient to wait a year to use it if I send it out to be quilted.

 

Fun Weekend Sewing

I have needed a new mat for my laptop computer for the longest time. I've made do with doilies or old table mats, but I got the notion to make myself something cute this weekend. 

I've been watching some of Lori Holt's YouTube videos on scrap busting and that led to me browsing through a few of her excellent quilting books, which are chock full of cute quilt block patterns. I literally pulled scraps from my stash bins and picked out three of her adorable block patterns and started sewing. I love how the apple and apple core mat turned out. It is a shame to cover it up with my computer!

Here's a closer look. You can tell I did the quilting myself. It is so strange how the results seem better when the quilting is a lot closer together. Maybe the lines are easier to follow or something. I don't know, but it turned out pretty well.

The little dahlia mug rug is cute too, but I was really rushing to finish this one. My piecing is ok, but I should have slowed down when I was sewing down the binding. Oh well, it makes a cute set on my desk and I will enjoy using them over the next while.

My progress on the Red Sampler Blocks has slowed down because I realized that I need a heck of a lot more background fabric and have to wait for it to come in the mail. It turns out all those red sampler blocks have to be framed in background fabric. Yikes. Luckily I found what I needed online. While I'm at it I should buy the border fabric before it is all sold out! Thank goodness you can order just about anything online. Remember in the old days if your local quilt shop didn't have it anymore you were out of luck? Now you can hardly even find a local quilt shop.

Hope you had a good weekend. I finished a couple of books and should do a review of what I have read lately for you this week. 

Spirals Quilting Design Pattern

Sometimes being a blogger has some real advantages. I posted a photo last week of my most recently finished table topper, a pattern by Carried Away called Summer Breeze. The pattern is wonderful, but the design my quilter chose for the quilting really set off the design and was so in keeping with the breezy summery feeling of the quilt itself. Sadly, I didn't have any idea what the name of the quilting design was. My quilter usually sends me some suggestions for quilting options but doesn't always attach a name to them.

Imagine my surprise when I received a comment from the actual designer of the quilting pattern! Denise Schillinger is the creator of this quilting design "Denise's Spirals". It is a pantograph available for sale through Urban Elemenz.

How cool is that?

In other news, it has done nothing but rain here for the past two and half months. My husband is out in the garage building an ark as I write this. Well, maybe not, but this situation is getting dire. If I don't see the sun pretty soon I just don't know how much longer I can cope. 

One fun thing the husband and I have been doing is watching some of the movies that were nominated for the 2023 Oscars. As you read this, the winners will have been announced, but I know we have some favorites. We used to be such movie buffs, going to the cinema a couple of times a month. Since the pandemic, we watch things at home on the TV now, which is ok, but there is something so dynamic about seeing a movie on the big screen. Here is what we've seen (I've linked to the trailers if you are interested):

We watched Elvis, which was incredible. Austin Butler will get the award for Best Actor unless he is robbed.

We saw Banshees of Innishiren, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The movie was very weird, but quite good. Of course, the story is set on an island off the coast of Ireland, so that's all we needed to be on board. I doubt it will win for Best Picture, but I am very glad to have seen it. The acting was top-notch and made me go from laughing out loud to tearing up in sympathy. It was certainly thought-provoking. You have to know going in that the movie is a metaphor for the Irish Civil War, then things make more sense. 

My husband took himself to the local theater a month or so ago to see Top Gun: Maverick and really enjoyed it. I skipped it due to it not quite being my thing. Very loud and action-packed.

Finally, we saw Women Talking, which is based on the novel by Marian Toews. The plot concerns a sect of Amish women who have been consistently drugged and sexually abused by male members of their community. Now, before you say "Ick" and vow never to see it, hear me out. The cast is amazing: Claire Foy (Queen Elizabeth in The Crown), Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand, and Jessie Buckley (one of Ireland's best actresses). As the movie begins, the attackers have been arrested and taken away to a nearby city. The women are left alone on their compound and hold a meeting to decide 1) If they should stay and do nothing, 2) If they should stay and fight, or 3) If they should all pack up and leave. The philosophical dialog was fascinating as the women talk through the various scenarios open to them. Do they forgive, as their religion teaches them? Do they band together and demand equality and power in their sect? Should they leave the miserable so and so's and start up their own colony elsewhere? This was so so good. I'll be thinking about this movie experience for a very long time. Award-winning performances by the whole cast. If you like a movie that makes you think, this is the one. 

Have you seen any of these movies? Or any others you enjoyed? Do share in the comments. 

Well, I have started the week off in a very chatty way, have I not? With any luck, I will have some sewing to share this week and less to blab about!

Summer Breeze-Let's Get The Binding Done

Can we just take a minute and admire the quilting on this little 26" square piece? The quilt is Summer Breeze by Carried Away. I do not know the name of the swirly quilting design, but it could not be a more perfect choice. My plan is to use this in my kitchen during spring and early summer. The colors are so uplifting and cheerful. Now all I need to do is get that binding on and all will be as it should be.

What a week this has been. I thought I should get some sort of post up so you all don't forget about me. I can usually handle about a half dozen professional writing assignments a week, and this week I have 9. And next week I have 13. I have already contacted my supervisor and begged her to cut that number way down. I am drowning in assignments. All I do is sit at my computer and write all day long. I am dreaming about writing articles for pool and spa companies (my typical clients). And that is not my number one favorite thing to dream about.

Eva and I did make a batch of chocolate cupcakes on Tuesday afternoon. Life would have to be at a complete standstill before we could miss our regular baking day. I'll tell you though, these cupcakes were amazing. Here is the recipe if you want to try them.  No eggs or dairy and they were so moist and wonderful. Super chocolatey from real Dutch process cocoa powder. 

Wish you could taste them. Try this recipe, seriously, it's a good one.

Hope your week is going well and you have time for something besides work.

Grain: a Small Table Topper for St. Patrick's Day

I am quite tickled with how this little table topper turned out. I used every smidgen of the Lucky Charms leftovers from the Don't Fence Me In rail fence quilt top. Which I still don't have sewn together. Quilting this project myself is not in the cards, so I will be sending this out to my quilter to finish. That means I won't be using it this St. Patrick's Day, but rather in 2024.  

The top finished at around 18 or 19 inches square. I know a lot of you were frustrated not to be able to still purchase the Don't Fence Me In pattern, but this one, "Grain", is available for PDF download on Fat Quarter Shop. Unfortunately, the Lucky Charms fat quarter bundle I bought at Shabby Fabrics has sold out, but the Grain pattern would be great in any fabric or combination of random scraps.

My writing workload has suddenly exploded. (That's what I get for complaining about losing a client to another writer). I have eight writing assignments due next week and the week following, which will impact my sewing time. My goal is to sneak upstairs for an hour early every morning and try to sew at least one row of Don't Fence Me In together. 

Hope you all had a terrific weekend. I was in hope that our weather would warm up, but no such luck. It's March for goodness sake. We should be having some outside time by now. I am craving the sun in the worst way. Remind me of this next August and September when it is 108°.

Mahalo Mini Quilt

I do love seasonal sewing projects, and I also love a mini quilt/table topper. When the two worlds collide, as they did this weekend, you get some great results. The quilt pattern is Mahalo Mini by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life
You can download the PDF pattern for under $7. And how cute is that?

I used a variety of Valentine-themed fabrics for my project, but the pattern says a charm pack will work. The pattern gives directions for two piecing options: curved piecing or applique. 

I opted to do machine applique. I made a triple layer of freezer paper template (surprisingly sturdy) and applied spray starch with a little brush to the edges before turning them over the curved edge of the template. I was pretty happy with how nice each one turned out. Each template is good for about three applications of starch, then the edges start to get soft and soggy.

It's been a couple of years since I have done any machine applique, so it took me a while to get up to speed. Jeesh, what a trial that was. Once I remembered the technique and machine settings I was good to go. I used a blind stitch and invisible thread on the top.

This is not a beginner project by any means, and I sure wouldn't want to do a full-sized quilt with this block! I enjoyed the challenge though and would make this mini quilt again in a variety of colorways appropriate for other holidays or seasons. Sherri's instructions are excellent. A 30°triangle ruler helps with the cutting, but if you don't have one, she includes a template in the pattern

The 14" size is just perfect for the end of my kitchen peninsula, where I like to keep a vase of flowers and a candle. I know I will enjoy this little piece for years to come. 

Hope you all had an excellent weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed myself up in the sewing room.

I Am Sew TIred

I was in a scramble yesterday to mail off a box to my quilter. I got the borders on two quilts, and backings pieced. I decided last minute to add in two table runners, which needed finishing. The acorn one is pretty darn cute I think and will look super on my dining table in September or November. Here is a link to the pattern.

 

This little log cabin runner features a darling Squirrelly Girl print made by Bunny Hill. I used it on the back and in the background. The border is a print by Kate and Birdie that I had in my stash that I thought worked really well with the other fabrics.

This is my backing fabric. Cute, right?

This project is what took most of my time. I spent hours getting the lattices on the Christmas Amongst the Stars Again quilt. Good grief that took a long time. Anyway, the lattices and inner borders are on. Now I have to construct a fairly fussy outer border that is going to "make" the quilt.

I spent well over an hour piecing together the units for the twenty border blocks for this quilt. I think it is going to look amazing, but I just had to stop for the day. My eyes were beginning to cross with all the sewing. I was at the point where I was just tossing things onto the floor like the "Quilt In A Day" woman, what's her name? Eleanor Burns! She would always toss her scraps over her shoulder onto the floor for someone else to deal with later. I had to deal with them myself, but I was sick of having them in my way on the cutting table, so onto the floor they went.

So, I'm done for now. More tomorrow.

Oh, and guess what? I've been exposed to COVID. I had lunch with Eva's Other Grandma on Saturday, and it turns out Other Grandpa came down with COVID on Monday. We all sat together at a small table and had lunch together, so I definitely had a chance to be exposed. I am now in quarantine until June 7. What next, right?