Final week of December 2019

Have you watched the first episode of Craft in America?  I already said this on Facebook, but the episode was an absolute feast for the eyes!  I encourage anyone who has an interest in quilting, to check it out.  I loved the design creation interviews by the artists especially.  I am not sure what the next episodes will uncover, but I plan to tune in!  The first episode is on youtube as well as the site.

After watching, I decided to go into my quilt room to see if I could catch up on my Cheddarback Quilt BOM.  I thought I was four months behind, it turns out that I hadn't printed off one month, so I was actually five months behind!  But I finished up blocks 26-30, so now I am back to being four months behind... however, the first of January is creeping close so I better get busy :)



I started off with block 27 (the pinwheel-type design) and all I have to say for that one is sashing is a savior!  I chose to do inset seams instead of appliqueing a square over the top of a pinwheel.  I really wonder about blocks of old and how quilters created them.  I have heard that hand piecing can be key for accuracy, perhaps that was how the maker of this quilt did that one well (or maybe sashing was also her savior!).

For the 12" Block 26, can you believe all the background baskets are going in the same direction? 



The quilt has reached the final length.  I would love to have a floor to ceiling design wall, though I wouldn't be able to reach the top without a step stool :)



An update on Dear Daughter:  I am currently handsewing Chapter Six, but here is a quick snap of Chapters 1-5, finished.  I am changing some of the words used so that the quilt feels more likely from me.  In one of the chapters that I have on my table (I have two months worth waiting for me, so not as far behind as I am with Cheddarback), is the section that goes under the "Wander" section.  This project has also outgrown my design wall.

My plan is to continue sewing out of 2019 into 2020.  I have some undecorating to do, but I am hoping that 2020 brings more sewing than previous years.  I would really like to see my stash decrease into new quilts to gift away (mostly as "just because" gifts, though there is one wedding happening in March to think about).  And if you are having a dry spell, go watch the quilting episode of Craft in America, it might just spark an interest again.  Mary, how far away from Lincoln, Nebraska will you be?  I think a trip to the International Quilt Museum should be put on your calendar!

Teal Mini Swap

**I started this post in September, but wanted to wait until my partner received her quilt before publishing.  I received my little quilt in October, and then forgot I started this post!  I found it after writing about my Christmas sewing**

I joined the Teal Mini Swap (https://evapaigequilts.com/pages/teal-mini-swap) again for this year.  It is an ovarian cancer fundraiser that runs in September (Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month).  The fabric is Art Gallery Fabrics Woodblock Splendid-1109.


I decided to buy a little extra of the focus fabric since participants receive so little... I needed room for error.  I still have a little left, but I was able to create three different quilts out of a half yard.



I liked the design and wondered what it would be like in a larger quilt, but honestly I was tired of the fabric.  I think I was needing more "scrappy" teals vs a single teal.  My partner noted that she liked brights, so I thought about sending her the Kaffe magenta, but then I noticed I had a block turned in the final as I was quilting!  My second quilt that matched the original also has a turned block AND a drop of sewing machine oil on it.  I had to take apart my Juki when the knee lift lever wasn't working.  Thankfully these machines are so easy to work on, a screw just needed to be tightened with an allen wrench so the levers would meet.



And then my original blocks had a too-busy background.  So now I have a few orphan blocks and no thoughts on what to do with.  Into the orphan block box they went.  Someday they'll find a quilt needing them!  I made three individual quilts, the two I kept will find a person in the future for a "just because" gift.  Anyone?



Here is the quilt that I mailed off.  I also made a pouch out of one of the blocks:





And here is the beautiful quilt that I received:



It has been a couple of months since receiving, and I am still enjoying it on my design wall. It is a cheerful little quilt.

Christmas Sewing

I wanted to share a few projects that I recently finished up just in time for Christmas.  I have shared these on my Instagram, but I am not super active over there.  HOWEVER.... I do scan a couple of times a week and I came across Larissa Holland, a designer who makes absolutely adorable wool projects.  The one that grabbed me was the Santa and Mrs Claus that are a part of her T'was the Night series that she will be adding to each year.  Santa was this year, Mrs Claus will be written up for next year.  I had to check out her etsy and I found some of the cutest wool ornament patterns.



But then... I happened onto Wee Mouse Tin House.  So cute!  I decided to purchase the pattern and sew up a little mouse for my granddaughter.  I hope she thinks it's as cute as I do.

 I first attempted to make the teddy bear with flannel that I had on hand, but it raveled way too much due to the bear being so small.  There is really not a lot of room for error.  The next day I found some wool and sewed it up.  Oh! And that quilt for the mouse's bed?  A few years ago I made a sheet of 1/2" half square triangles by mistake and set them aside in my spare HST box.  I decided to use them for the quilt and I love how it turned out.



The other projects I finished up after about three years of starting and stopping are Primitive Gatherings Yuletide Ornies.


The red truck with a tree in the back is so classic, and I can understand why so many people love to use this design.  A few years ago I made a wreath using a red truck in the center that I hang on our front door.  Though snowmen will always be my most favorite, I think this could be a close second for me to decorate with.



Santa was the last ornament to finish because I needed a flat head pin to fuse wool to for the top of the tree.  I finally ended up with a pack in one of my Quilty Boxes one month, so I set them aside--and then they were misplaced for a few months!  I know, it would have been easier to simply just buy some at the time, but I was trying to figure out another method first (so Santa was set aside for a long time!).  I love how he turned out, but I do wish I could have found a cute stick for the tree instead of a dowel, but it worked.  It would be easy to change it out if I ever feel more strongly about it down the road.



And the snowman.  He's pretty cute too.

This will likely be it for my big sewing for 2019.  I have started and finished a few other projects, one of which was Bonnie Hunter's Punkin' Patch table runner.  I started it during a weekend away in Spokane during the WSQ quilt show this year.  I love getting together with friends to sew, it stirs the creative juices so much more for me.  I wish I could do a sewing retreat once a month for this reason alone.  I am still working on my Dear Daughter BOM, and perhaps I will blog again with my updated "chapters".  I am collecting clues for Bonnie Hunter's mystery, Frolic, but right now I am not jumping in.  I have so many projects going on at once, that my focus is faltering!  Plus I think I may want to change the colors, so I am waiting to see the finale :)  I have changed colors in past mysteries and really disliked the outcome, so in the meantime I am enjoying see the progress of others.

Happy holidays!

Completed Project, memory quilts

Both measure around 51x77.



It will be three years come November 26th that one of my husband's brothers passed away.  He was only 42 at the time of his passing and completely unexpected.  He left behind a daughter and son--his daughter started her first year of college this month and his son started high school this school year.  They always hold their memories of their dad nearby.  I offered to make memory quilts a couple of months following his passing, but with personal items it is so hard to let go even when they know what it is for and would return.  Grief has no limits.  I did receive boxes with sorted shirts this summer, and this week  I finished the project.



I wish they were perfect, I always have issues with some stretching even though the shirts were interfaced.  There are a few puckers on the back.  These are the times that I wish I had a longarm, but I will just continue to do my best.



I held back to shirts to make into pillows so that they could have that hug or shoulder to rest on.  I hope they like their quilts and pillows, I will be getting them in the mail in the next week.

Acorn Quilt Update

I now have 72 acorns made!  Whew!  Everything is sewn together except the ends and bottom.  I haven't decided if I want to move any around yet or not, right now I need fresh eyes to look.  I will finish it up tomorrow and then start working on making more hst's to finish up the quarter square secondary pattern into the border.


So with all the bonus triangles, I am thinking about doing Bonnie Hunter's current Leader Ender Challenge.  I really didn't think I wanted to, but because I have enough to match corners on 60 blocks, I may do it. My bonus hst are 2" unfinished, so I guess I have a good start for the 6" shoofly block.


I will have to check in my box full of hst to see if I should add some of those as well.  Though I don't think I will want to go as scrappy as what Bonnie shows.

Bonus Half Square Triangles

I just wanted to share a sort of leader/ender bonus hst method.  I really don't like to have to mark/sew/cut as I prefer shortcuts.  Of course your mileage may vary, but once you find what works for you, I think it is a good method.  The corner squares of my acorn quilt are 2 7/8" (was suppose to be 2.5", but I failed to follow directions with my first 21 blocks) so I am able to get a 2" bonus hst out of the other side after trimming and squaring up.

For this block, I am to sew from corner to corner on the 2 7/8" square, trim, repeat.


On my Omnigrid ruler I have a black dash marking between the 1/4" and 1/8" yellow lines.  It is a bit more than a scant imo, but for these bonus blocks, it is a good margin (though I know 1/4" seam allowance is preferred, which is why I say YMMV).

I think on this block, I actually trimmed it 1/4" away from the corners, but I changed the size after this one to a slightly smaller seam allowance.

I trim directly at this point, sew the block and then sew the bonus hst.  I am able to work though a whole block without chain stitching many other larger blocks.  I think that it all works out to about the same amount of time to make them in all, but I am removing a step of having to go back over and sewing on a second line then trimming off the bonus hst.



I have a spot on my machine (both at the foot and in front where I marked) where I know to keep the edges as I sew in order to keep the correct seam allowance.  You may need to play around a bit to find that spot on your machine.  There are also other guide methods that you can use to keep that seam allowance.



Anyway, I just wanted to share this in case anyone else gets tired of marking like I do.  Whatever works for you.  I have no idea what I am going to do with the bonus hst yet, but I will have 196 to play with... maybe around a border.  They really aren't the best hst because the light fabric has a seam running through it from the frame strips around the acorn.  However the extra seam doesn't jump out glaringly at you, so unless you know it's there, you won't really see the seams.

July Update

I finished my Cheddarback July blocks about a week+ ago, but didn't feel like updating just yet.  Before I show those, I wanted to show my newly spruced up ironing table!


Isn't it sad?  The cotton fabric has been very well used, to the point that it is brittle and unsalvageable.   I pulled out a polka dot yardage in my stash that I found on sale, and decided to give that one a go (after choice #1, 2, 3 did not have enough to cover the table).  Now that I have ironed it and got it positioned just right, it is a great fit.


I decided between elastic or a tied loop and went with elastic again.  It isn't super tight, but it works well.

Now for my Cheddarback blocks.  I like how my 12" block turned out this month.  I did change the pattern a bit to make it more piecing friendly


I also decided to paper piece my schoolhouse block... I forgot to reverse the piecing though, so now my schoolhouse is facing the opposite direction as the original :)  Oh well!



I love how the quilt is coming together.  There are four 5" blocks that go under that final section, but I'm not sure if we'll see those next month or at the very end.  We shall see!

What have I been working on this week (aside from painting the living room--which I am done for now until next week when I can get help on moving a few things), can you see those acorns in that panel pic?  That's what I am currently working on!  Finally.  Hopefully by Monday I will have a progress pic that I will post.  The number I am working towards is 70 acorns!  I am nearly done with the 48 that I have left to make, but it will take a bit of time to sew up the corner triangles.  I also figured out where I went wrong with my original blocks, I read the instructions wrong and I am not sure why I didn't catch my error at the time.


Ok, I just snuck in a picture to show where I'm at with the blocks.  I need to finish this up to move those squares that will end up in the corners off my table!

Anyway... I'll show the complete progress next week.  Happy Friday everyone :)

Cheddarback Month 4

I finished up June's blocks fairly quickly.


Also, I embroidered in some lines to the basket block from last month.  It's still not optimal, but at least the basket fabric doesn't totally get lost in the background fabric.

I don't think I chose correctly for the 12" block this month.  I should have put in a different fabric for the center since the plaids don't line up right.  It bothers me, but not enough to take out that square.  I will live with it!

I changed the pattern for the bow tie block to make it easier.  I really didn't want to handpiece that center portion.  For the starburst block, I paper pieced instead of using the templates.  I think a lot of people had issues with that block in trying to get the points in the center to line up.  I don't think they matched perfectly in the original quilt either.  I did rip and resew a couple of times to get it close.

For the last 5" block, I decided that I DID want to work on my set in seams :)  I was mostly successful :)




There is one more 12" and 4 5" blocks left to go for this row, and then under that is a row of 5" blocks.  The length will outgrow my wall after July!

New Quilt Start: Dear Daughter

and... with four boys and no daughter, I am not sure who this quilt is for yet, but it will find a person that it's destined for.  I was subject to an ad on facebook by Stitchin' Heaven for this block of the month and it drew me in immediately.  I guess they know how to target an audience :)  I am hoping the fabrics sent are more on the clear/white/bright side, the quilt that was shared in the ad is what grabbed me.  I have seen other BOM's that they have done with this quilt, and they have more of a shade to the background especially.


Episode 1, finished.  Some of the text is very narrow so I stitched like I do with stems, across the letter.  The more bulky letters will most likely be blanket stitched with my Valdani pearl cotton thread (love that thread!).





Just a couple of links... here it is from the designer (she also has some other great patterns, I purchased two last night!) https://iquiltmodern.bigcartel.com/product/dear-daughter-quilt-subscription-2016

Kits and block of the months are dangerous for me.  They are expensive typically, so I do look for deep sale savings.  This one is not on sale, and for the cost, I will stay current as the "episodes" (since we do more than 1 block each month) come out.

I think I need to finish up another UFO for my new starts I had this year :)  What to pull off the pile...

Y2K/Millennial Quilt Finish

Another UFO bites the dust!



How many of you traded charm squares in 1998-2000 to come up with 2000 charms to make a Y2K quilt?  I traded with a couple of different groups to add to my stash clippings for this quilt.  Originally it was going to be a graph of dieting success (each square equaled a fraction of a pound loss, but I lost interest and it became a UFO.  I decided a year or so ago to sew it up and yesterday I finally took my last stitch in the binding.  Hooray! One less UFO after 20yrs!



I love the back... I don't know why exactly, but my grid is just inviting.  I was so happy that I ended up with no puckering with it.  However, I did end up with a little issue in a corner which is where the label went to cover it up.  The problem?  That's the top of the quilt.  Oh well.



I tried to find a few fun squares to search for to put on the label:

I had to cut my label a bit larger than I normally do because I already had an idea of what I wanted to put on it--giving it an eye spy style.

And this guy does not make it easy to finish bindings!  Every single time I am finishing up a quilt, he will lay down in my lap.  He NEVER comes to lay down in my lap unless there is a quilt in it that I am actively working on.  I think he has an agenda or something :)


A couple of pictures of the 1.5" squares:


I love the fact there's a miracle in the quilt, and I also used some of my mom's stash that I had saved.  The blue stripe fabric in the second photo is one.  Mom made me a blouse from that fabric when I believe I was in 3rd grade.  I'd have to go find my photos to see if that was the shirt I wore.

Did you also make a millennial quilt?

Cheddarback Quilt, Month 3

I have been slowly working on this month's set of blocks and last night I finished up the last basket block.  The smaller blocks are only 5", so it was just easier to paper piece that one instead of typical machine piecing.  I didn't quite follow the directions and ended up needing to fudge in more fabric to make it work.  Also, I need to either paint, draw or embroider more to that basket because I have been sick and apparently it affects my ability to see value in the the fabrics! LOL!  I am not taking it apart and redoing because of the teeny tiny stitches to rip and the likelihood that I would rip the fabric instead of the teeny tiny stitches!



And the first three months altogether:



Here's a funny regarding May's blocks... I thought yesterday was May 31 and I was proud I finished two hours prior to June hitting.  Imagine my surprise when I went to turn the calendar this morning and found that today is still May :)  I will use today to darken up that basket I think!

That uneasy feeling

I went down a rabbit hole and now I am left feeling a bit at odds.  I hate feeling left out, especially because I then go down that road of asking what did I do, does that person really think I'm unkind?  Over the years I have been in a constant struggle with depression, and in turn I overthink so much.  But over my life I have always felt the odd peg out, and from there I go to my corner.  I know everyone is dealing with things, this is just a part of my dealing.  I know there are times when I have hurt people, and I believe I have done my best to make amends.  But sometimes I will come across a letter and it takes me right back there again where I feel that sadness or shame of unintentional actions.  Add in that menopause is definitely here, and I am getting closer to my parents' ages when they passed... some days feel surreal.  I want to be that carefree old lady who throws everything to the wind and just lives in joy, but getting there is a rough road.  I'm sorry to my wonderful friends who I haven't kept the best of contact with.

...and a photo from our camping trip for distraction.