Sister's Choice Quilts

American Pie: New Quilting Project

This is American Pie, a pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company from 2003.  I made the quilt in the photo about 12 or 13 years ago, and gave it to my daughter Sara.  I used a collection of 1930s lavender prints, which give the quilt such a lovely old fashioned "bleached by the sun on the clothes line" look.

I rarely re-make quilts, but after all this time, the pattern still appeals to me and will have a very different look with the fabrics I am using for the 2018 version.  Jo Morton is one of my all time favorite fabric designers, and I have a very nice collection of her fabrics from over a period of years.  I need a lot of prints for the scrappy look I want, and so far I have gathered 77 fabrics that I think will look wonderful in this quilt.

 After the super intricate piecing my recently finished red and white quilt entailed, I am ready for an easy one block quilt that will pack a punch.  Each block is made with four colored squares and four smaller background squares that are trimmed with a folded corner type ruler.  I will demo the method in an upcoming post.  Unfortunately, I do not think you can purchase the pattern any more, but the instructions can be found in a Miss Rosie quilting book called "Miss Rosie's Quilt Collection", which you can buy from used book sellers on Amazon.

If you are interested in seeing some other amazing versions of American Pie, check out this red and white version  I found on Pinterest, and Thelma's version (cupcakesndaisies.com), called "A La Mode".  She reduced it to a fancy border for her basket quilt, but how gorgeous is that?

Hope you all are having a good week.  I have a couple of book recommendations and some recent tv shows I want to share with you tomorrow.  What are you reading now?  I always love to hear about it. 

What's Pulling Me This Week

I don't have a lot to show for my time this week, but I have read a really spooky, good book.  The Corset by Laura Purcell.  I bought this in London, and don't think it is available yet in the US.  If you haven't read her previous book, The Silent Companions, that is another really spooky creepy read, which is perfect for October.  This book is about Ruth, who can put all her anger and hate into her sewing.  So watch out if you happen to treat her mean and she ends up making your corset.  Just saying...

I've also been practicing hand lettering.  Not proper calligraphy, I don't think, but kind of a faux calligraphy that gives such a fun result.  Perfect for journaling or making greeting cards etc.  I will share more about this once I get more of a hang of it.

My ombre triangle scarf is just past the half way mark.  I have really been enjoying making this.  The knitting process and counting rows is almost meditative, it is so relaxing.  I am going to make another one of these when I finish this and give one of them as a gift.  The yarn is so soft and amazing.  

And then this happened.  It turns out that The Clockmaker's Daughter was the Book of the Month Selection for October, so good thing I didn't buy it in London and haul it home with me, right?  It arrived this week and I just read the first couple of pages and I am hooked!

Hope you all will have a great weekend, and wish me luck that I get back into the sewing room and finish up all those red and white flying geese for my Christmas quilt!

Aurora is Underway

I made a little test block for the Laundry Basket "Aurora" project I am embarking upon.  It is an adorable little four inch finished block.  There are 127 of them called for in the quilt top.  I will probably be working on this project for the next three years.  Those are tiny little star blocks.

I spent most of yesterday cutting, and still am not finished.  I took a break and made the test block, using my Bloc Loc trim tool.

That little trim tool is worth it's weight in gold, I tell you.  The flying geese units are coming out perfectly, which they always do when I use this ruler.  One gets such precise results with it.  The stars will go together like a dream.  All 126 more of them.

Hope your week is going well!

9th and Vine

This is my other new project:  131 9th and Vine.  It makes up into a very large quilt, without a lot of effort.  No fussy blocks, no small pieces.  All the 9 patch blocks can be strip pieced, and I am clipping along rapidly using my Bloc Loc strip ruler.

This will be such a summery quilt for my bedroom.  I cannot wait to get this one finished and quilted and on the bed.  I am going to try for this summer---we will see!

I know. Can you believe I am undertaking another nine patch project after that behemoth Double Nine Patch quilt top I just finished?  These are going very quickly however.  I have over half of the large blocks made already.  This will be done in no time.  

This is what the quilt will look like when I finish it.  This is Corey Yoder's quilt, made for the pattern distribution.  Can't wait to start enjoying my own.

Have to admit I am having trouble getting into the sewing room this week.  The weather has been so great that I just want to sit outside and read.  I am also trying to get ready for a visit from my son Ahren, who lives in Ireland and is coming for a 9 day visit this weekend.  Today my housecleaners were supposed to come at 10.  At 11:30 there was still no sign of them.  We have a slight communication issue, due to us speaking different languages, and there have been several mix ups in dates in the past.  After texting him, and much ensuing confusion, they arrived at 1:00 and didn't leave until after 3:00.  So there went today.  Can't foresee what the next week or two will bring as far as sewing, but I will keep you posted!

 

Liberty Road

I started a couple of new projects over the weekend.  This is a block from a Minick and Simpson pattern called Liberty Road.  In the pattern version, they made the quilt from their Charlevoix fabric collection, but I missed out on that one.  I am using Ann's Arbor for my version, which is a very similar collection color-wise:  reds, dark blues, light blues, yellows and creams.

The Liberty Road pattern:

I love the flag block, but don't really want a 43 x 49" quilt.  Better for me would be to make a table runner consisting of three flags, and a border.  I have a table in my foyer that takes a long narrow table runner, and I am thinking something sort of patriotic themed would take me from May through September. I have enough fabric to make several of these table runners, and would keep one and will gift the others.  I love the addition of yellow in this collection.

My second project is very springy and involves the Pepper and Flax collection by the talented Corey Yoder.  More on that later.

Hope you all had a great weekend.  Our weather has turned beautifully warm (80s) and it is hard to stay indoors!

 

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!

Pinwheels and Hourglass Blocks

Just revel in these gorgeous fabrics for a moment.  Ahhhh.  Aren't they just the best?  The darker fabrics are mostly Rachel Remembered by Betsy Chutchian, and the lighter ones are from my stash.  I absolutely love those blues and golds. And of course the reds and browns.  But those golds....

It's an old Bonnie Blue pattern I have had around for years.  Windmills.  The blocks are alternating pinwheels and hourglass blocks, with flying geese for the borders.  The blocks are only 4" finished, so the quilt made as the pattern directs is only 56 inches square.  Sorry, that is just not a terribly useful size imho.

So I need to make more blocks.  Heaven knows I have plenty of fabric.  I have pulled at least 75 prints so far. I just love the colorful, festive look of this quilt.  There is something very joyful about it.

Hope you all have had a good week. I appreciate the comments I received regarding my favorite notions.  It's funny isn't it? We think we have seen it all, but every year there are new things that make our quilting journey easier or at least more fun.

Have a terrific weekend everyone!

Pie Birds

This is the first completed block in a Kim Diehl table runner that is made up of seven of these little guys.  It took quite some time to put it together, as each of those block triangles is actually two folded corner triangle units sewn together.  You do the sew and flip method with the black fabric on all the colored strips and then sew the smaller strip units together to make longer ones.  Lots of points and seams to line up, but the super scrappy effect is worth the bother.

34 different fabrics in each block, if you don't repeat any (I'm trying not to, but it's hard).  65 total pieces in each block.

In honor of my year to "Use It Up", I pulled fabrics from my Kim Diehl storage box.  I have so many scraps leftover from her Simple Whatnots projects that I could construct about twenty more Kim Diehl projects out of the leftovers alone.

Pattern is in the book "The Big Book of Table Toppers" by Karen M. Burns.

If you are wondering about the title of this post, "Pie Birds", that is the name she gave this little quilt.  It made no sense to me either until I really looked at the block from a distance.  The little black triangles are blackbirds baked in a pie!  See it?  How cute is that.

Super cute, but just wait.  This quilt was one of the wackiest I have ever made.  Here is how you sew the thing together:

So, where are we going with this?  Well, this quilt needs to be trimmed up.  Keep in mind, each block has 65 pieces.  Seven blocks x 65 = 455.  Four hundred and fifty five little pieces that took FOREVER to line up perfectly with no points cut off, every seam intersection perfect.  And here is what I am supposed to do:

Cut the sides off.  (Sound of Nicole sobbing...)

To be continued.

 

Whatever Can Be Happening Here?

I got up yesterday morning with the intention of getting back to Courthouse Steps and finishing my last few blocks.  My mistake was checking my blog feed and seeing so many posts from quilters who are making pink quilts this month.  Hmmm.  Did I have any pink fabric?  Why yes, I did.  Maybe I should make a pink project too.   Heaven forbid I would miss an opportunity to use my stash and make something cute.

After a bit of rummaging, I found not only a package of pink and brown fabrics, but a little pattern to go with those fabrics.  I spent yesterday making loads of half square triangles.  What am I doing?  Well, you just have to wait and see!  There are no hints in the photo above, I just scrounged around and found some pink things to look pretty in the picture.  lol

New Year's Resolutions?

New Year's Resolutions?  At first I was going to say "No, I don't believe in it", but I do have one.  That is to get these two projects off my design walls!!!!!!!  They have both been up there for the better part of 2017, and they must go.  The one on the right is Triangle Gatherings, a project hosted by Lisa Bongean, which is finished except for sewing the rows together.  I have made a start on that, and will keep at it.   I love how this quilt turned out, and if I stick to my goal to sew at least one or two rows together a day, this could be down from the wall and off to be quilted in no time.

The project on the left is the 2017 Moda BlockHeads project, featuring six Moda designers who came out with a new block each week of the year.  We have a few more weeks and this will be a finish, except for figuring out a setting arrangement and sewing it together.  This project was a real skill builder and I really enjoyed making the blocks.  Even if I never make them all into a quilt, the project was so worth it.

I have some works in progress that are going to be next up on my Get It Done List:

Barn Stars.  Just need to sew blocks together.

Red and Brown Square in a Square quilt.  Lots of blocks to make.

Loose Change. A scrap buster nine patch project.  This is going to take a lot more fabric than I first figured!  No problem, I've got it covered.

Civil War Courthouse Steps.  Another scrap buster.  Now, this is an example of a quilt that needs to be on a design wall.  If I hadn't had my design walls occupied with on going year long projects, this could have been up there and finished.  Lesson learned.  Do not monopolize Design Walls with year long projects.

In addition to my leftover WIPs for 2017, I have a couple of new projects that need to be started:

A recent purchase.  Have you ever?  This will be for Eva, for her 7th birthday in July.  Just look at what is inside this adorable box-

I mean, really.

This oldie, but goodie pattern came to my attention again, and I really think I need to make it for Valentine's Day, don't you?  Mine would be a table topper, not a pillow.

2017 seemed to be the Year of Ongoing Sew Along Projects.  Maybe 2018 will be the Year of House Projects?

I am also considering doing Camille Roskelley's Summerville and Winterville.  Ultimately, I would like four house quilts to reflect each  season.  That is an ambitious goal, so I will see where I end up with that one!