Five Shadows

Look what came in the mail today!

My friends and I were just talking about this festival today at our Curvy Quilters Group! One of the gals left early, and called saying the Shipshewanna Quilt Festival Catalogue was in her mailbox when she got home! Our hostess for the day then ran out to her mailbox, and there was her catalogue! She happily read the list of teachers, classes, and workshops to us. We are looking forward to attending!

Do you have a favorite Quilt Show to attend in your summer plans?

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Piecing One Block Wonders January quilt –  Nope, didn’t happen, but I did pick out fabrics.
2. Mark and quilt first block of the Machine Quilting Block Party ✔️ FMQ almost complete!
3. Decide on fabric for the Facets Quilt ✔️ Fabrics selected and I even started cutting pieces.
4. Start prepping t-shirts for next customer quilt – Nope, but I did go shopping for sashing fabrics.
5. Tuesday, Jan 26, Curvy Quilters Group, pick a WIP to take to work on. ✔️Had a great time with my group today!

This week’s To-Do List:

1. GOT to get to the January One Block Wonders, deadline Friday!
2. Finish FMQ Machine Quilting Block Party January Block
3. Prep those t-shirts!

Linking to Linky Tuesday and To-Do Tuesday.

Perhaps I’m spending way too much time hopping around the internet! I’m finding some wonderful Quilt Alongs and Block of the Months (BOM) that are so tempting!

I’ve joined a few, and will be watching a few. Here’s what I hope to participate in:

1. One Block Wonders BOM Hosted by Sandy of UpStairsHobbyRoom.blogspot.com  This started in October of 2015, and has been a lot of fun. You can make just one block or any size quilt you like using the block pattern presented each month.
2. Facets Quit Along  Hosted by Christa of christaquilts.com  The Facets quilt is one of the quilts in Christa’s new book Machine Quilting With Style. This quilt along starts now with gathering supplies and then February 5th is the first week of sewing, but of course ladies are already busy piecing. You can see some lovely progress on the Facebook group page.
3. Tribal Block Club Hosted by Amy of 13spools.com Amy is presenting 6 blocks and 3 patterns over the next few months. Her tag line is “6 blocks | 3 quilts | endless possibilities”. I had the pleasure of testing a pattern for Amy, and do hope to play along some using several of her blocks!
4. And as if that is not enough, I also signed up for Machine Quilting Block Party Hosted by Leah Day of freemotionquilting.blogspot.com This is a BOM that is a quilt-as-you-go technique. The idea is to improve piecing and FMQ. There is always room for improvement!

I’m thinking I’m a sucker at this point! At least #1 and #4 are just one block a month. I’ll tweak the Facets quilt to my liking, and not sure what I’ll make during the Tribal Block Club.

Above is Block #1 of Leah Day’s BOM, pieced and ready to mark for quilting.

Here are a few Quilt Alongs I will be watching:

1. Quilt with Me Hosted by Katja of katjasquiltshoppe.com This quilt along is pieced hexies also constructed with a quilt-as-you-go technique. Plus it is English Paper Piecing (EPP) and Katja is using big stitching with perle cottons for the quilting. Lovely! You can follow along on her Facebook page. I think EPP and hand work is a lovely idea, I just don’t see getting to it this year.
2. Suzybee Growth Chart is also a FMQ Quilt Along Hosted by Karen of karensquiltscrowscardinals.blogspot.com Karen uses preprinted fabric growth charts to practice FMQ. She will be sharing tips for improving FMQ. I bought the growth chart, (hope it arrives in today’s mail! It did!) and will see if I actually fit this project in to my sewing time!
3. The Splendid Sample Hosted by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. There will be 100 – 6″ block patterns presented through out the year by many talented quilt designers.  There is a Facebook page too.  This one I’m watching! A friend sent me a link and asked if I would be joining. Mmmm, no! Not with everything else already planned!

Above, preprinted growth chart for FMQ along.

I finished the Dot-to-Dot top. Pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful. I have fabric for the binding, and some pieces left over from the top. I plan to piece those and put into the back.

I used a Layer Cake pack of Horizon by Kate Spain and several tone-on-tone creams for the background. The top is 57″ x 76 1/2″.

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Add border to my daughter’s quilt. ✔️Border attached and back made. Needs some longarm quilting.
2. Call customer to pick up her t-shirt quilt and pillow. ✔️She picked them up and loved them!
3. Work on Dot-to-Dot top. ✔️ Top completed!
4. Work on One Block Wonders January block.

This week’s To-Do List includes getting to those BOM and Quilt Alongs!

1. Piecing One Block Wonders January quilt.
2. Mark and quilt first block of the Machine Quilting Block Party
3. Decide on fabric for the Facets Quilt
4. Start prepping t-shirts for next customer quilt
5. Tuesday, Jan 26, Curvy Quilters Group, pick a WIP to take to work on.

This year is off to a good start! The t-shirt pillow is finished, along with the t-shirt quilt. I picked up the t-shirt quilt from the longarm quilter on Saturday. Monday, I attached the binding and got started on the pillow. While working on the t-shirt pillow, I decided to sandwich the top with batting and muslin to meander quilt it, instead of just piecing with no quilting. I used 505 Spray and Fix temporary fabric adhesive to ‘baste’ the pillow top.

I made piping for the outside edge of the pillow.

After meander quilting the pillow top, I attached the piping, made the pillow back, and layered the front to the back. But they didn’t line up! Somehow I had messed up on measuring and cutting the top! It was 20″ x 21″ instead of the needed 20″ square! I had to rip the piping off  and then trim the top and bottom edges of the pillow front to get the 20″ square. Then I reattached the piping!

Phew! All finished! I used Superior Mono Poly for the meandering top thread, and Aurifil in the bobbin.

Close-up of piping.

And the finished t-shirt quilt. The customer wanted a simple setting and guy type fabric.  I used the same print in gray (see above close-up of piping) for the pillow, quilt border, back, and binding. And the same print in a light gray for the sashing. It is a Red Rooster Studio print. The longarm quilter said it was a great guy print with out any prompting from me. I hope my customer things so too!

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. This week I plan on working on the quilt my daughter started and needs help squaring it up.  ✔️ Squared up! But found it needs a border added.
2. I have an order for a pillow to match the t-shirt quilt. ✔️ Finished it today! Also, I picked up the t-shirt quilt from the longarmer and have it squared up and binding completed!
3. And I will take one of my WIP  to my sewing day, either Dot-to-Dot or Curve it Up. ✔️I took along the Dot-to Dot and have the blocks completed, sashing cut, and piecing of sashing underway.

This week’s To-Do List:

1. Add border to my daughter’s quilt.
2. Call customer to pick up her t-shirt quilt and pillow.
3. Work on Dot-to-Dot top.
4. Work on One Block Wonders January block.

I’m playing long with Sandy and her One Block Wonder BOM. December’s block was a fun paper pieced design. Here is my little table topper quilt made from the block:

Back in October, I won a Fat Quarter bundle for particapating in the One Block Wonders, Soft Dreams by P&B Textiles. There are prizes each month, your name is put into the draw for participating by making at least one block. I used part of that FQ bundle for December’s block – making the table topper and back. I still need to sandwich, quilt and bind the little quilt.

I also finished piecing a t-shirt quilt and delivered it to the longarm quilter.

Family fun included a birthday party for my grand daughter. Oh boy! Did she ever love ripping the paper off of her packages!

And eating cake!

To-Do List:

1. This week I plan on working on the quilt my daughter started and needs help squaring it up.
2. I have an order for a pillow to match the t-shirt quilt.
3. And I will take one of my WIP  to my sewing day, either Dot-to-Dot or Curve it Up.

How is your New Year going? Hope you have started off with successes!

I enjoyed a blessed time with family over Christmas and New Year’s Eve and Day. Hope you did too!

As 2015 rolls to an end and 2016 begins, I’ve looking around my sewing room, planning new projects, and wondering why some of my past projects have stalled. Many call them WIP – Works in Progress, or UFOs Unfinished Objects. I’m just going to be real here and say I have projects that I love, but for one reason or another they have Stalled!  In 2016 I want to get back to them and finished them up! Do you think listing them will help? Let’s just go with the top 5 Stalled WIP that I would like to get back to and finish.

Top 5 Stalled WIP

• Tilt-A-Whirl, paper pieced pattern by Amy Gibson, I’m calling it Whirled Peas because I’m using vegetable prints.
• Dancing Stars, paper pieced from Amy’s Creative Side
• Dresden Star by Edyta Sitar, table runner (sorry no photo)
• Sew Kind of Wonderful Curve It Up Quilt, just needs outer border
• Sew Kind of Wonderful Dot-to-Dot

Whirled Peas

Dancing Stars

Curve it Up blocks, hmmm, I can’t find the picture of the top, I’ll share one once the border is complete.

Dot-to-Dot, this is the first of two quilts, I need to finish the second one which is a pile of blocks right now!

Another category I see when looking around my sewing room is gadgets.  Apparently I’m a gadget girl. I think it comes from several years of playing working at a quilt shop where I taught classes and did Saturday demos of rulers, templates, & various techniques. I could make a long list of the rulers and templates I have purchased over the past 6 months since retiring from the local quilt shop.

Gadgets!

• Jaybird Quilts – Sidekick and Super Sidekick
• Kites Plus by Kari Carr for Creative Grids
• 60º Triangle 12″, Creative Grids
• Sew Kind of Wonderful Quick Curve Mini Ruler
• 30º Triangle 19.5″, Creative Grids
• Squedge 18º, by Phillips Fiber Art
• Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool by Creative Grids
• Marti Michell Tumbler 2″ to 5.5″
• If I dig deeper, yes there are more …

Along with the rulers, I have also purchased patterns and fabric for new projects. So that would be a third list – projects I want to start!

Patterns!

• Sew Kind of Wonderful: Mini Pumpkins (my daughter wants a table runner), Mini Rings, Mini Scope
• Creative Grids 30ºRuler: Cut Loose Press: Table Treasure Table Runner, Selvage Star Pillow
• Creative Grids Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool: Carousel, Squiggles
• of course there are plans for all the lovely gadgets I have purchased, lets just save that for another post, perhaps at they happen!

Plans for the New Year

• Finish the Top 5 Stalled Projects
• Continue working on current projects, oops, that would be another list!
• Continue the One Block Wonder BOM
• Participate in the Tribal Block Club
• Keep the creativity flowing!

Are you planning any special quilting projects for the New Year?

Linking to To-Do Tuesdsay and Linky Tuesday

Ringing in the New Year! Happy 2016!

I made a few things this past week that I had not originally  planned. Sometimes things just pop up. That is how this week went!

A few more little Pincushions, directions found in Tangle Stitches by Jane Monk.

A Purdue fleece blanket. I made this to help out a friend. She bought the fleece and hoped to have the blanket made to give to her son for Christmas, but a family emergency has kept her from getting to it. Goodness! Fleece stretches. A lot! Once trimmed, the cutting and tying the fringe went quickly.

Pictured is fabric I pulled to test a pattern for a blogging friend. She asked for volunteers, and I offered to help. No problem starting a quilt December 10th to have completed by December 19th, right? It’s not Christmas Season or anything, right!?

Sunday, hubs, daughter and I bought, set up, and decorated our Christmas tree. We finished decorating the house yesterday. Tonight I made one batch of cookies. Sand Tarts. I used this recipe.

My To-Do list this week will be to complete the test pattern. And enjoy time with family and friends.

I’m linking up to Linky Tuesday and To-Do Tuesday.

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season. Merry Christmas!

This Little Pretty will be a gift to a quilting friend. My quilting group meets this Thursday. At my home. I’ll be making cookies. Last minute, I thought I should whip up a little gift for each of my 3 friends.

I found this pincushion pattern in Jane Monk‘s book, Tangle Stitches.

For the top of the pincushion I used a piece of batting, a piece of muslin, and a blue marble all cut a 4 1/2″ square.

For the bottom of the pincushion I used a piece of muslin and a piece of quilters cotton both cut at 4 1/2″ square. The ball of white wool roving will be used to stuff the pincushion.

Assembly: For the top, layer the two pieces of fabric right sides together, position over the batting.

Stitch around the four sides of the sandwich, leaving an opening on one side, trim the four corners (I have one corner trimmed in the photo.) Pull the right sides out through opening. Press, and whipstitch the opening closed.

Now for the fun part! Decorative stitch a design into the top of the pincushion, using a favorite stitch. I set up my sewing machine with the walking foot stitched for this part, and didn’t have any problems stitching the design. (see top photo)

For the bottom of the pincushion, layer the two pieces of fabric right side’s together, leaving an opening on one side, trim the four corners, and pull the right sides out through the opening.

Press and whipstitch the opening closed.

Attaching the top to the bottom:

Off set the top and bottom pieces, starting the stitching on the corner of the top but in the center of one side of the bottom.

Whip stitch the top and bottom together from the inside for a nice clean finish.

I found if I did a little anchor stitch to hold the corner of the top to the center of the bottom side, it helped to hold the edges (sides) in place as I whipstitched them together.

Jane’s book has a better picture of the shape of the pincushion -

Aren’t they lovely!? Jane has many Zentangle type quilting motifs and projects in her book.

Have you ever made Pincushions? These are my first! One down, 3 to go.

This week my To-Do list includes hosting my quilting group, finishing up the pincushions before Thursday, continue working on the t-shirt quilt.

I’m linking to Linky Tuesday and To-Do Tuesday.

Happy December Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready to move into the celebrations of Christmas Season!

All my girls home for Thanksgiving!

Have you decorated for Christmas? We have a long standing tradition. But, we are waiting for youngest daughter to return from college, then we will start our Christmas tradition of going out for Breakfast and then getting our tree. Once home, we set it up and decorate, while playing Christmas music, drinking eggnog, and eating snacks that includes fruitcake! Yep! That’s right! I said fruitcake! I guess we are one of the strange families that actually likes fruitcake! But, I’ve got to tell you, if you have never had a Claxton Fruitcake you are missing a real treat! No other fruitcake compares, except for my friend Janie’s homemade fruitcake! Her cake is wonderful too.

So fess up! Any fruitcake lovers out there? Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie recipe? My hubs loves sugar cookies, and I like Sand tarts. My mother, sister and I would go over to my grandmother’s to make them, so it is a fond memory.

As for quilting, I’m currently working on a t-shirt quilt. This one is for a guy who wants it to be very plain fabric wise. I am using a light gray from Red Rooster for the sashing, and black/gray from the same line for the border.

This week I hope to finish the t-shirt quilt top and back. My DIL wants me to help her start her first quilt that she designed using EQ7.

Linking to Linky Tuesday and To-Do Tuesday.

November is month number 2 in Sandy’s One Block Wonder BOM Sandy blogs at Upstairs Hobby Room. Here is November’s block:

Have you ever shopped online from Craftsy? I have. I like their merchandize, sales, and service. Last Thursday, instead of taking the Metro Hoops WIP along to my sewing group, I took some precuts purchased from a recent Craftsy order.

I was thinking I’d make some hexagon hot pot holders. But once I got the hexies sewn together, I decided they need to be a quilt top instead. I showed my friends how to do a partial seam for sewing the hexies. I was surprised none of them knew this technique! My friends all loved how the hexie blocks turned out, so we went to Craftsy and put together an order. I ordered 2 more sets of Moda’s Honeycombs.

(Ugh! Technical difficulties! No matter what I do, I can not get my pictures to download from camera to computer. I had written this post earlier today, took photos after supper, and now they will not download. I’m rewriting this post, as it only made sense with the photos!)

Continuing – I also took along some 2 1/2″ precut squares and stitched up the beginning of a table runner.

The Craft Bazaar I attend last Saturday with two longarm quilting friends was fun. They wanted to make their services known to the public, and this was a good start. One has gotten 2 orders for Christmas decorations she had displayed. I finished all the binding for one friend and she had those displayed as well, but none sold. I suggested they both open Etsy shops. As payment for the bindings I did, my friend tried handing off some money to me, but I told her if she thought it was fair, I’d be happy to barter for the Christmas table runner. She agreed, and this beauty is now in my possession.

The third new project is another t-shirt quilt.

This is just a quick shot to follow for the placement of the shirts. They will be sashed in gray, than a border in cream, 2nd border in the same gray. Binding and back will also be in gray. The fellow just wants a very simple quilt. It will be simple, but I think still pleasing, and the t-shirts will remain the stars in the quilt.

This week my To-Do List will be working on the t-shirt quilt. First up will be shopping to find the right gray for the sashing. Wish me luck, as  grays are hard to find at the local shops.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday and Linky Tuesday.