Sister's Choice Quilts

Simple Folded Corner Ruler

My big news is that I have only two more vertical rows to sew for my Moda BlockHeads 3 quilt! That quilt is just humongous. King-sized for sure. As I was sewing a row together over the weekend, I noticed one of my twelve-inch blocks was just a mess. I do not know what happened, but when I looked at it close up and personal I was not happy. I decided to replace it with something else and so made my final block for this sew-along. There you have it above. It is called Autumn Star and is from one of Lori Holt's books.

I have been finding that more often than not lately, I have been reaching for Doug Leko's Simple Folded Corner Tool when I have to make those "draw a line diagonally, stitch a quarter inch away, and trim" kind of instructions. There are so many lines to line up the tool on your fabric that you basically cannot go wrong and end up with a wonky block unit. 

I had to make eight of the rectangular units and sew them together into four block segments. Only, I managed to sew them together incorrectly. I did an outstanding job of matching up my points, but unfortunately, this is not how the unit is supposed to look.

This is what the units were supposed to look like. Luckily, thanks to the tool, even after unsewing all the pieces, the final results turned out great.

Do press your seams open for the best results.

In other news, my son-in-law and his new wife celebrated their first year of marriage with a spectacular sushi party in their backyard. Now that most of us have been vaccinated, small gatherings are starting up again. It was so lovely to get together with friends to celebrate something together! The sushi chef is above explaining all the fabulous dishes he will be coming out with over the course of the evening. It was loads of fun, and the food was both unusual and delicious.

Hope you had something to celebrate this weekend!

Red Sampler Sew Along

Uh oh, you know what that means. I have been going through cans of starch like nobody's business lately. These yummy fabrics are mostly from Riley Blake, getting prepped for a sew-along Lori Holt is hosting, called the Red Sampler Sew Along. As I said, the fabrics are Lori's from various collections she has done for Riley Blake, and the block patterns all come from Lori's books. The sew-along has been going on for eight weeks, so I have some catching up to do!

Here are the reds all pressed and folded. The reds have a coral cast to them, which is very fresh and pretty. The reds that Bonnie and Camille use are similar in tone I think. I pulled a couple B&C reds from my stash and they go perfectly. There are a few darker tone reds on the bottom of the stack on the left. They will add a nice change from the lighter ones I think.

And the backgrounds.

I have fat quarter cuts of most of the reds and one-yard cuts of the backgrounds and the red gingham, which appears often in the blocks.

I have not used Riley Blake fabrics much before this. The quality feels just as nice as Moda. I was a bit worried about the reds bleeding but saw no sign of it while starching heavily. What is your experience? Have you used much Riley Blake fabric?

What is it about red and white quilts? They are so hard to resist.

The patterns Lori uses for the sew-along come primarily from her two Farm Girl Vintage books, her Christmas Vintage book, and her Granny Square book. She has been doing three blocks each week in 12" and 6" sizes. I will link to Week Eight of her sew-along, where she has all the blocks done so far pictured. Obviously, you need her books for the patterns.

As soon as I get my Moda BlockHeads behemoth off the design board I will make a few of these pretty red blocks as a reward. 

Hope you all have a terrific weekend!

Making Progress

I'm about halfway finished with sewing the blocks together in my Moda BlockHeads 3 quilt. Woo Hoo! I love this little quartet above. Did you know that when a bee returns to the hive she can tell the other bees where the good flowers are by doing a little dance? She explains it all by her movements and the other gals can fly out and find the spot she is describing. No map required.

I tell you, sewing the lattices around each of these blocks is a time-consuming process. Whoever figured out what size the lattices need to be for the different-sized blocks was a genius. So far, all my blocks are lining up and the rows are exactly the same length. I refer to my notes all the time to be sure I don't get something wrong. It is really best to keep on working on this and not stop. When I took a break a few months ago, I totally forgot all the details and had to start all over to wrap my head around the complicated directions. The directions aren't easy to find either. A lovely lady whose name I forget showed her quilt setting on Instagram and I loved it. I reached out to her for her measurements for the lattices and she kindly told me what she had done. So I just have scribbled notes to follow. I'm not sure I could tell you where to go to see what she did.

Yesterday Eva and I celebrated our last day of school by having lunch out. There is a new place in town where one can eat outside on a covered porch. They just serve sandwiches and salads and have a kid's menu. We both had BLTs. The second half of mine is going to be my dinner. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were happy to be out in public. The best thing was seeing other people out and about having a great time.

Do you find as you get older your appetite decreases? I remember my mother-in-law saying that all the time. When she and my father-in-law would go out to eat, both of them would bring half their meal home in a box to eat later. I know I haven't had much of an appetite lately. It may be more stress-related than age-related though! Whatever the reason, I have lost 15 pounds and will take it. I have to wear a belt to keep my pants up! Would you believe my shoes are even loose? A couple of pairs of sandals I like keep flying off my feet when I try to wear them!

Well, look at me, rambling away. I hope you all are having a terrific week!

Sewcialites Block #33, Not.

Last week was the release of the Sewcialites Sew Along Block #33, which was a sewing machine. It was cute I suppose, but to me, it didn't fit in very well with the other blocks. So I decided to substitute in something else that I felt was more in keeping with the style of the other blocks. It was super easy. Nothing but 1 1/2" finished half square triangles (2" unfinished). My block is 6" finished.

I did not make this block in the photo above. This block #33 was on the Fat Quarter Shop blog Jolly Jabber and was made by "Sue". Not by me. It is adorable, just not for me in this quilt.

The block I did substitute in is called "Whirlpool" and is from the Comfort and Blessings Sew Along sponsored by Pieces from the Past last year. Here it is in my finished quilt block from that fun project.

I have made it a habit to always save the block patterns from sew-alongs I have participated in. You would be surprised how often the occasion arises when you want to switch out a block or need an idea for a block for a project. Those previously made blocks really do come in handy!

Thanks so much for all your kind words yesterday. I really appreciate it. I know I am not the only person who has had a lot on their plate over the past year and a half. There is nothing unique about my situation, and in fact, I realize I am far more fortunate than many others. Still, it has been hard! And so nice of you all to extend your kind thoughts and prayers.

Light At the End of the Tunnel (in more ways than one!)

I have been sewing! I wasn't completely sure what I was going to share with you today, because there are choices! My number one priority right now is to get the rows of Moda BlockHeads 3 together and get this monster off my design wall. 

Naturally, I had forgotten all the details of what size lattice strips I needed for the various sized blocks in this quilt. It took me a moment to get back on track. There was some ripping and some trimming, but all is lining up nicely now and I have completed almost four vertical rows! It is coming together and I could not be more thrilled. I hope to wrap this up this week. 

My summer schedule is also falling into place, and it seems I will have some large blocks of time for sewing, which is what I have been craving. Grabbing an hour or two is great for sewing blocks for a sew along, but I need hours of uninterrupted time to actually complete something.

I sure hope you all had a great weekend. It was a long one for us in America, and I understand that many of you in Europe had a "bank holiday weekend" as well. 

I haven't shared this until now, but my husband has been in the Bay Area five days a week for the past month undergoing radiation treatments for cancer. He has two more weeks to go, and he will be finished with his treatments. It has been worrisome for sure, but his spirits are great and we are both looking forward to him being home and regaining his health. My plate has been very full with his illness, caring for my dad, and homeschooling my granddaughter. I am so looking forward to a more carefree summer. I will still be spending weekends with my father, but the schedule for the rest of the week should be easier.

Happy June everyone!

Sewcialites #32 Bright Block

I am all caught up with my Sewcialites blocks. This one is #32 "Bright Block" by Chelsi Stratton. It features four usually very tricky units called "cat's cradle" units. 

They involve small triangles and often come out wonky and with points cut off. That wasn't going to happen to me, because I have the Creative Grids Cat's Cradle Tool. With it, you can make the cat's cradle units in six different sizes with squares and rectangles instead of triangles. You also cut your pieces a bit larger than you need and trim them down to the perfect size. 

I set the ruler on a piece of white fabric so the markings can be seen more easily. The sizes to cut your pieces for the block are printed on the ruler. How brilliant is that? I was making the 2 inch finished size.

I cut out two white squares and 2 gold rectangles and sewed them together.

Next, you use the tool to line up your stitching lines and mark them with a pen. Layer your rectangle/square unit on top of a larger rectangle, right sides together, and sew on the line. Cut down the middle between the sewing lines. Then you will trim the seam allowance to 1/4" for each of your two pieces.

Flip open your unit and press toward the large triangle. Position the trim tool with the lines along the seams of the small square, and the diagonal line exactly on the seam of the finished size you are making. In my case that is 2" for both alignments. Trim the top and left-hand sides of the unit.

Keeping the unit in place, flip the tool around so the diagonal line is on the finished size you are making and the square on the tool is "kissing" the point of the small square of the unit. Trim the right side and the bottom.

And here are my four perfect Cat's Cradle units. Each one measures 2 1/2" unfinished or 2" finished. This tool turned what would have been a frustrating, fussy block into a perfect and fun one. I highly recommend this trim tool by Creative Grids.

 

 

 

Bindings and Favorite Quilt of 2020

If you have followed this blog for a while, you may have gathered that I am absolutely terrible at binding my quilts. Oh, I know how to do it, and can do it well, but I put it off. I hate sewing bindings. I'd do just about anything to avoid it. 

That being said, my favorite quilt of 2020 has been needing its binding sewn on for a very long time. Piecing the Past Quilts did a sew along called Comforts and Blessings in which I participated. The blocks were 10 inches as I recall, and I thought that was too big. I wanted to reduce the size to 6 inches, which was possible for the majority of the blocks. For the remaining blocks, the math was way over my grade level, so I substituted other blocks in a six inch size. 

I used Civil War Reproduction fabrics for my quilt, but chose colors that were bright and jewel toned. The result is a cheerful, colorful quilt with an outstanding variety of super cool blocks. Gosh, I love this quilt.

The blocks are so interesting. No simple filler blocks in the mix. Every one of them is complex, fun to look at, and of a pleasing color combination.  You can still buy the pattern for about $20 and I think it is worth it. 

You can see why I just have to get this quilt on my bed. I worked for a few hours on it while sitting on my front porch where the light is really bright and good. Have I mentioned that I am having some issues with cataracts? That situation will be taken care of in June and July, but for now hand sewing is a challenge. 

I hope to wrap up the sewing of the binding today and get this beautiful quilt on my bed!

I do hope your week got off to a good start. Our weather has been so perfect, it is hard to imagine another scenario. I am savoring every precious moment.

Spring Brook Charity Mini Quilt

I worked on the Spring Broom Mini Charity Quilt yesterday. I only got four yellow flowers done, but that's ok. The picture above is from Coriander Quilts website. It is a free pattern you can print out here. My fabric choices will be similar, but I have a grey solid and a green solid that I am using for the leaves, stems, and flower centers. 

I was exhausted by the time I finished the four yellow flowers. I had spent hours starching fabrics for two other projects, plus ironing them. Then my husband and I actually planted real flowers in containers on our front and back porches. Then I cut out all the pieces for the Spring Brook Charity Mini Quilt. It is amazing I got any sewing done.

I think this is a super cute little table topper or wall hanging. You should definitely take advantage of the "free" pattern. Fatquartershop is requesting some sort of a donation for the Make A Wish Foundation in return. It's a great cause. 

Hope you all had a great weekend. I had a lovely time with my father. He has lost his four bottom teeth! I suppose that is common in people who are approaching 100 years of age. He refuses to see a dentist of course. 

The stuffed peppers I made were a success. Neither of us could finish our portions, so even "Cooking for Two" is making more food than we can eat! I bought another Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen, which appears to be excellent. For my husband and me, I prepared Chicken with Penne Pasta, Mushrooms and Gorgonzola which was just amazing. You can make it all in one pan, and it was truly easy and fast. I will be making a lot more recipes from that book. And I still ended up with leftovers! 

Cooking for Two

I had to share this new cookbook I ordered from Amazon. All the recipes are for two. I have had good luck with Taste of Home cookbooks and recipes over the years and thought I would give it a try. The recipes all have large colorful photos, and the book is in large print, so it is so easy to read. No confusing 1/4 cup with 1/2 cup because you can't read the print.

Tonight I am going to make stuffed peppers. Fingers crossed my father will enjoy them.

Taste of Home recipes are always sort of basic, classic versions of dishes you have heard of. No exotic ingredients, and great for everyday cooking. I once attended a quilting retreat where the meals were all prepared by lovely local ladies and served up to the quilters. I am telling you, every single thing we ate was delicious. As I recall, they even made a dessert with every meal! Everyone knows quilting burns a lot of calories, so they didn't want us to run out of energy.

I wasn't able to get any sewing done the past couple of days. I got a bee in my bonnet to reorganize my closet and got rid of a ton of stuff I wasn't wearing. Why do we hang on to things that we aren't using? I have lost some weight and was happy to remove some too-large clothing items from the closet. But did I get rid of them? Of course not. I packed them up in large plastic tubs and put them out in the garage. 

Hope you all have an excellent weekend!

Found Treasure

Oh my gosh, look what I found yesterday. Way up high on a closet shelf there was a project box labeled "Granny Blocks".  When I pulled it down I was blown away to discover these quilt blocks made from a
Pam Kitty Morning collection for LakeHouse Fabrics. I must have made these seven years ago. I vaguely recall making them and I may have even sewn some together for a baby quilt for a niece some years ago. 

Presently though, I have no idea what to do with them! I could make more blocks, but at this point, I have no idea what the white outer fabric was, so it might not match exactly. Not that big a deal I don't think. I can get pretty close with a current Bella Solid. But what should I do with the blocks?  I do not know of anyone who is expecting a baby girl right now. I suppose I could make a baby quilt and keep it on hand for that happy occurrence. Eventually, someone I know will have a baby girl, right?

I wonder why on earth Lakehouse stopped making Pam Kitty Morning fabrics? I recall they were hugely popular, and seriously are way cuter than a lot of other fabrics of this type. Pam has a terrific blog. She has tutorials for fabulous projects and is fun to read. She starts out some of her posts with a photo of a cup of coffee in her garden and saying "It's a PamKittyMorning". She is upbeat and friendly and seems super nice too.

I have a question for you all. Do you think I should separate the blocks with a white lattice? Or do you like the idea of the blocks all looking "connected"?

So, this was a lucky day for me, finding a treasure trove of pretty blocks in gorgeous fabrics. Hope your day was as fortunate!