Sister's Choice Quilts

Pressing Tool and Log Cabin Blocks

I recently bought a few more notions at Fatquartershop.com. One of them is this cool seam roller by Riley Blake. It is designed by Lori Holt and is actually a very nice little seam presser. It cost $15, and I am glad I bought it.

It works great for the times when you want to press a seam open but want to kind of squish it in place before you apply the iron.

I've been using it with my Log Cabin paper piecing and found it to be really good.  As a matter of fact, I don't even need to use the iron as I attach the strips!  This little wooden seam roller is all I need. I have been rolling it on the wrong side of the block, and then on the right side of the block, as shown in my top photo.

And here is my finished Squirrelly Girl table runner!  I made twelve paper pieced Log Cabin blocks. Still debating on whether or not to add a border.  This will probably be a Christmas gift for someone, who will use it on their dining table.  Maybe I need to get some more cute border fabric....I am imagining a border of about 2" all around in one of the white prints.

Gosh, this is such a cute fabric collection. It is going to sell out, so if you think you like it, I highly recommend getting a layer cake at least!

Hope you all had a nice weekend.  We have been warned that our power company will shut down our electricity Sunday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon.  It is very dry conditions and the wind is kicking up, which makes for a real fire danger. My husband has the generator all gassed up and everything ready to move into one refrigerator. It is so inconvenient but considering the alternative...I am going to try to get these posts scheduled so my content won't be interrupted.

 

Maple Leaves Runner and Our State is Burning Up

I put in a few hours of sewing over the weekend, and the Maple Leaves blocks are finished and being sewn together.  The batik fabrics are so pretty.  It is like I am working with little jewels. What I am really enjoying is the lighter background.  Many of my fall table toppers and runners are rather dark, and I like how the bright colors really show up in this piece.

The pattern is Maple by The Pattern Basket.  Batiks were in my stash. The background is just muslin.

As you see in this photo, once I reach the middle of the runner, the leaves will switch direction.  I think that looks so much more balanced than having them go all one way. 

The runner will have 14 maple leaf blocks all together. I kind of did my own thing here.  My setting triangles are 9 3/4" squares cut diagonally twice and my corner triangles are 5 1/8" squares cut diagonally once.

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This was an incredibly distracting weekend.  My mind is fixated on the fires and all the people who are affected.  Some of whom I am closely related to.  That thunder and lightning storm I told you about last week sure did a lot of damage. It created complete havoc as a matter of fact.

Several lightning strikes caused the CZU fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which have caused my nephew and his family to be evacuated from their home in Boulder Creek.  Last they heard, the blaze was a mile from their home. Their insurance agent has already been in touch. They are currently staying with my father in the Bay Area.  My cousin and his wife are under imminent evacuation orders due to the SCU fire south of San Jose. The house where we used to live in the Monterey area came very close to burning down.  We actually thought it had been consumed, but later news informed us that the River fire had come so near to our former neighborhood that it completely scorched the surrounding visible hillsides.

And my daughter Sara who lives in Groveland, near the entrance to Yosemite, woke Saturday morning to the sheriff pounding on her door, informing her she needed to evacuate due to the Mocassin fire. They have a horse, a goat, two large dogs, and chickens that had to be sorted out.  Neighbors rallied and loaned them a trailer, and the larger animals have been boarded safely in another county. It turns out the evacuation orders they received may have been pre-mature, but they are standing ready to flee.

This is a terrifying situation, and is happening rather early in our typical "fire season." So many people are affected by the over 600 wildfires raging through our state. I feel such fear for the firefighters who are doing battle with these infernos.  Their courage and heroism are unfathomable. Resources are stretched very, very thin, and available manpower and equipment are in short supply. Pray for us all.

Frivols 6 (Not) is Finished

Hello.  This is Frivols #6.  Not.  In my recent sewing room clean up, I reacquainted myself with my little Frivols collection.  I had started to do something with Frivols 6, which was nothing like the project suggestion that came with the fabric in the collectible tin. And then I abandoned the project.

I had been using the fabric to experiment with a pattern by The Pattern Basket, called "Feathers".  I made two bird blocks and recognized the fact that I did not possess the fortitude to make an entire quilt made up of these bird blocks.  So the project and fabric got relegated to a shelf in the garage.

Upon rediscovering the fabric, the tin and a little accompanying card for a "variation" block called "Twin Star", I was re-inspired to do something.  I found myself having a ball combining "Strawberry Fields Revisited" fabric into combinations for the star blocks, and then had a nighttime epiphany as to how I could use one of those bird blocks.  Put it in the center of course.

So here is my final result, a table runner (surprise).  It will be about 18" by 36" finished.

I have definitely rekindled my interest in those Frivols projects.  If you have a stack of them decorating the shelves in your sewing room, stand by for some more shake-ups from me as I work through mine.  If you have any ideas on how to change them up, do share below.  

Hope your week got off to a good start.

 

Frivols #6- Major Change Up

This is what one was supposed to do with the project kit for Frivols # 6. It is nice enough, but the Churn Dash block didn't excite me terribly. The little kit #6 featured a collection by Fig Tree & Co. called "Strawberry Fields Revisited".  It was a remake of a hugely popular earlier Fig Tree group called "Strawberry Fields".  I had quite a lot of the first collection on hand and thought I would use both groups together and make a pattern by The Pattern Basket that was bird blocks.

Cute, right?  Cute but super fussy.  I swear I put that little guy together with his wings upside down and his beak on backwards.  Twice. I made two of these blocks and decided I just didn't have it in me to make another one.  I put all the fabric in a project box out in the garage and didn't think about it anymore. Until I cleaned out my sewing room and uncovered all my cute Frivols boxes.

There was a little card that came with the regular pattern instructions for the Churn Dash quilt.  I thought it was more interesting than the Churn Dash for sure.

The card was an alternate project suggestion for a "Twin Star" block.  I liked it and started playing around with fabric combinations and made up a bunch of star blocks.

Believe it or not, on Wednesday night, I dreamed about that funny bird block and how to use it with these star blocks to make a table runner.

I knew the bird wouldn't be the right size and that I would have to frame it out with more of the background fabric so it would work with the size of the little stars.  I woke up so excited I had to run right up to my sewing room and make that happen.  Do you ever do that?  Dream of something creative that you just have to work into a project?

So, now I have half a notion to change up all the Frivols projects and make something more unique and fun.  I am still playing around, but like where this is heading.

Sorry for not posting yesterday.  I don't know what happened to me.  I had something in mind to share, but fell asleep early without posting.  When I got up this morning and found no comments in my email box I was so disappointed!  My fault entirely.

Have a grand weekend everyone!

 

Frivols Re-examined

Do you remember Frivols?  They were such a cute idea from four or so years ago.  It was a year-long subscription program. Each month you got a little see-through tin with enough fabric by a Moda designer, with project instructions and an extra free pattern block.  The Frivol in the photo above is one from 2016 and features #5, which was by Sandy Klop. These monthly Frivols were fairly pricey ($45) and if you wanted the finishing kit for backing and binding, that was extra.  By the end of the year, in an ideal world, you would end up with 12 small completed projects and 12 adorable decorative tins you could use all sorts of ways. I dropped out after the eighth month because I was spending a fortune on them.  I kind of regret that now, as it would be cool to have the complete set of 12.

I made a couple of the small quilts and really enjoyed having the decorative tins on the shelves of my sewing room.  Kind of an expensive decoration...  Anyway, when I did my major tidying of the sewing room, I examined the tins and their contents and told myself I really needed to make up some of these projects.  

I pulled out the contents of Frivols 6, which was a project by Joanna Figueroa using her Strawberry Fields Revisited collection.  For some reason, I had transferred the fabric into a project box and cannot for the life of me find tin #6 or the instructions for the main project.

Apparently I had had something else in mind, and the fabric from the tin was all starched and ready to be used.  I did have the little extra free block pattern card however and started playing around making 5-inch blocks.

Cute, aren't they?  I will make more blocks and put them into some kind of a table runner, either for me or to give as a gift.

Sure wish I could find tin #6 though...***

This one that I actually completed was by Minick and Simpson.  Frivols #2 featuring Polka Dots and Paisleys.

Did you subscribe to the monthly Frivols kits in 2016?  Did you ever make up any of the projects?

**Added later:    Found it!

 

Lots of Stitching Going On

Lots of stitching going on, and I actually have something to show for it.  I completed my little red stars table runner and love how it turned out.  I just made a whole bunch of 3 1/2" stars and sewed them together diagonally with a 2 inch border.  It will be nice for all sorts of different occasions:  Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Christmas.  Anytime a touch of red would be nice, I can bring this out.  It finished at around 16 1/2" x 31".

I also dragged out my Moda Blockheads I blocks and started thinking about how I want to put them together.  I had made a slew of flying geese units, and also have loads of 2" half square triangles, in a basket, so I have some options that could include those.  I went through all the blocks and measured them to be sure they were all 6 1/2" square.  And guess what?  About five of them weren't.  That bothers me.  So, I decided to remake the ones that were not measuring up.  It's funny, the one on the bottom in the photo above looks way smaller than the two on top, but I swear they are all exactly 6 1/2".  

No surprise, the blocks I had issues with involved tiny pieces.  Lisa Bongean (one of the Moda designers) is known for making blocks with teensy units, and those were the ones I was most unhappy with.  Operator error for sure, so it was good piecing practice for me to remake them and strive for better accuracy when using tiny units.  As I said in my previous post, one really positive benefit from participating in these sew alongs featuring different designers is that you will get a lot of experience making blocks you otherwise might not tackle on your own.  Applique for instance.  I avoided it pretty routinely until I did a few sew alongs and consequently discovered that not only did I enjoy it very much, but that it added a wonderful element to a pieced quilt.  So, I guess my message is, don't shy away from challenges!  

More Halloween

All it took was Eva going back to school and some new Halloween patterns and I am back in the sewing room again.  The little pattern above is by Margot Languedoc, whose company is The Pattern Basket.  She is known for her wonderful designs that involve blocks that depict something-strawberries, acorns, pumpkins.  If you want to make something really seasonal, check out her website or her Instagram @thepatternbasket.

This little quilt is only 25" square, which is perfect for my kitchen counter.  I love to have a cute table topper with a candle or floral arrangement on my big counter.  

I've been collecting some pretty oranges for the scrappy pumpkin.  I tried my best to get my hands on some of that black Halloween fabric used in the quilt on the pattern cover, but that ship has apparently sailed.  I did find a super cute black, grey and orange pumpkin print that I could use (upper right in photo).  Unless any of you has a half yard of that black print you'd like to sell me?  It is Gone Haunting by Clothworks from last year.  Let me know!

 

Late Summer Table Runners

I realized last week when I went to change out my red white and blue July decor for something more appropriate for late summer, that I am sorely lacking in table runners for this time of the year.  For August and September I envision lots of yellow and gold; anything with sunflowers. 

I had started a quilt called 9th and Vine with Corey Yoder's gorgeous fabric line Pepper and Flax.  As much as I love the fabric and the overall look of the quilt, I decided the blocks were a lot larger than is my current preference.  I switched gears and started using the fabric for other projects, such as this cute table runner made entirely out of nine patches.  I didn't have a pattern, I just strip pieced 3 1/2 inch nine patch blocks.  I plan to send it off to the quilter along with one or two more small projects and with luck, will have them back to use in September.

This sweet little quilt will also get sent out.  It is Corn and Beans, in just the colors I think are perfect for late summer.  This will work great as a candle mat on my kitchen island.  Can't you just see a gold candle flickering merrily on it?

I'm also working on a rectangular runner in gold and cream half square triangles that were totally left over from another project.  I did the folded corner trim thing and got over 100 nearly perfect 2 inch half square triangles!  They are free block units!  From leftovers!  I may be becoming a convert to using those trimmed off pieces for another project.

I was just starting to play around with them, but now that I have had a chance to leaf through some of my inspiration books, I have a notion to set the hsts diagonally...  This is a Jo Morton quilt from her book Jo's Little Favorites III.  Imagine it as a diagonal runner.

Thank you all so much for all the nice comments you have been leaving for me.  We had quite a weigh in regarding current dental practices, didn't we?  I really appreciate all the input I got from everyone.  I learned a few new things and actually got my courage up to call the practice and tell them I was unhappy with their high pressure up-selling.  It is as if they think their patients are so dumb they can't make an informed decision unless they are badgered half to death.

Check in tomorrow for a little give away I am doing.  Wouldn't you know I bought a book twice AGAIN.

Around the House

I am really enjoying this sweet little table topper I made last year.  It is "Endearments", a pattern by Betsy Chutchian.  The fabrics I used are hers as well.  I love piecing small block units and this pattern definitely fit the bill.  Those half square triangles finish at 1 inch!

It is placed on my kitchen counter with a pretty orchid my husband picked up at the grocery store.  Here is a closer look at the pot the plant came in.  How perfect for summer, right?

We are busy bees at my house lately.  Summer is in full swing, and as you see in one of the photos above, my Eva is spending a lot of time with me.  We work pretty steadily at our projects.  Look out little sea horse!

July Table Runner

I thought I would share a quick look at my July table runner.  This one was finished in 2018, but quilted fairly recently.  I used fabrics from my stash, and a Miss Rosie's Quilt Company pattern called "Recess", which I adapted to be rectangular in shape.  It measures 19" x 41".

Here is a closer look at the quilting.  I chose a stars and crescent design and really like how it came out.

Hope you are all having a great week.  We are really into swim team practice and spending hours at the pool!