New Year's Eve

It's New Year's Eve and I spent some time sewing yesterday.  I finished one more sampler block.  I am out of leader and ender 9 patch squares.  So I decided to bag up the rest of the squares I need to finish the 9 patches I need for Rick Rack Nines from Bonnie Hunter's book "Adventures with Leaders & Enders". 

I don't have as much variety in squares that I want, so I'm going to spend some time today cutting some squares from my 2 inch strips.  I follow Bonnie's scrap system, which you can read about here.  Sometimes I worry about cutting too many squares, but so far I seem to use them up.  I can even see the bottom of the basket!  So I definitely need to cut some more squares.  I used most of them for this quilt.

Hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve!  I'm sure I will be like my grandkitty, asleep before midnight! Or maybe not, it depends on my sewing.....

2018 Resolutions

This time of year I try and plan out some quilts or clean or organize.  But this year, my 2018 Resolution is simple, blog more.

I work on projects all the time.  I tend to jump from one thing to another, but I don't write about it.  So my "diary", this blog, isn't up to date on what I have worked on or what I have finished.

I plan on writing something, with or without pictures.  I just need a log for me.  I get to the end of the year and I can't remember what I did this past year.  So - no matter how little of a Post, I will write something.

For now, I am catching up on my sampler blocks.  I have 3 more of the bottom one to do.  The picture was taken inside as the weather here is cold.  According to the app on my phone the temp is 3 degrees but because of the wind, it feels like -22 degrees.  I plan on sewing this New Year's Eve.  Maybe even doing a little cleaning in the sewing room.  It could use it.

Check out Moda's blog, asking if you are sewing over New Year's.  You could even win some fabric.  Good Luck!

Frugal

I felt like the frugal quilter a couple of weeks ago.  I had a shopping bag of batting scraps in my sewing room. 

I started sewing these bit and pieces together to make 10.5 inch squares to use in a new rag quilt I want to make.  I have a bunch of flannel that goes together and I want a new king-size quilt for our bed.  

I used a zigzag stitch with the pieces butted together.  I caught the two pieces of batting with the stitch.  You can also overlap the pieces slightly and stitch them together.  I had enough scraps in the shopping bag to make all the batting squares I needed, 144!  I'm pretty excited I didn't just throw those pieces away.  Some of the pieces were big enough I didn't need to sew them, just cut the size I needed, but most were pieced.  

Wings Of Hope

For about the last 10 years I have helped my friend Patti make items for Wings Of Hope.  This group provides support for women who are having treatment or have had treatment for breast cancer.  We make these items to give to the guests at the Survivors Dinner in October.

This year we made fabric boxes.  I made 15 total using this YouTube video by Laura Ann Coia of "Sew Very Easy."  Laura's instructions are very easy to follow and the boxes come together fast!  Here are the ones I made.

Have a great day!

Hello!

Hello!   I've been sewing and taking pictures, you just wouldn't know it by what's on my blog.  First up, my 100-Patch quilt.

I finished my 100 patch quilt!  The tutorial is here, at Wedding Dress Blue.  A big thank you to Wedding Dress Blue for this great tutorial.  I love this quilt.  It did use up a ton of my 2 inch squares, but the basket is starting to get full again.  

I started this quilt in 2015 by sorting my squares for the 100-patch blocks into bags.  I tried to get only one fabric of a kind, but a couple of blocks received some duplicates.  I used any holiday fabrics, old fabrics that have been in my stash since the beginning of my quilting journey and new fabrics. I pieced this as a leader/ender until the blocks were finished.  Then I started to seriously put it together.

This quilt is going to be my Retreat quilt, the one I take in case I need an extra covering.  

Sunday Strings and More

So 2 more Sunday String blocks were completed.

Plus more progress on Lozenge blocks.

I've been spending time taking care of produce.  We canned 4 quarts of tomatoes, the first of the season.  Last year I discovered that you can freeze potatoes.  It seemed like our potatoes were early this year, which works out for me.  Potatoes are all in the freezer ready for use this winter.

Retreating

The end of July found me Retreating.  Some friends and I stayed at Log Cabin quilt Shop in Exira, Iowa.  So much fun!

I worked hard at this....

I ended up having wonky problems, so spent some time bonding with my seam ripper.  Ugh!

But I did get something accomplished,  I made 2 pillowcases out of Rudolph fabric.

So nice to have a Christmas project done!

Some Finishes

I had some finishes on Sunday.  I did do my Sunday Strings block.

Then I made a pillowcase from some fabric a friend gave me.  It's going to be my Retreat pillowcase.  I used a pattern like this one from Missouri Star Quilt Company, but I finished it with french seams on the sides.  That way all the seams are enclosed.

And last, but not least, I made a sleep mask.  I have been using one for a while and I really sleep better with one.  This was fun to make.  I'm going to be making more of these!

The pattern I used was a freebie I found on Marcus Brothers fabrics website in 2009.  I did try to locate it, but I think it's gone.  I did Google "free sleep mask pattern" and there were a number that showed up. Craftsy has a pattern that was just like the one I used.  Craftsy has some great tips too, especially for getting it to come out even.  Mine is a little wonky, but it's for me and it's the first one I made, so I'm sure the next one will come out better!

Still Working

I'm still working on Lozenges.  The white ones are all done and I am working on a batch of black corners.

I'm ready to chain piece.

Sunday Strings

I decided last Sunday to make string blocks on Sunday, Sunday Strings.  I made 3 last Sunday and forgot to take a picture.  This morning, I made 4 string blocks.  Ta Da!

These are always fun to make and I love how I don't have to worry about matching seams.  I also love how they use up those bits that don't go anywhere else.  What I don't love, it the mess they make when searching for a string long enough for the 12.5 inch foundation.  😉

Fabric From The Basement

You may remember me telling you about the fabric that was found in the basement at school.  We used some of the fabric for the making of the Third Grade Quilt.  Well here is how I used some more of that fabric.

  There were 2 of the dog panels and lots of the green pine trees, so I was able to make two of these.  I used some cute dog fleece fabric I had in my stash for the backing.  Now I need to see what else I have in my stash to use for the backing for the other top or see if there is enough of some of the basement fabric to use for backing.

I'm taking these back to school so they can be used by the students when they visit the nurse's office.  The secretary said she would take them home and wash them after they are used so that we aren't spreading germs.

Quilt Along

I decided I am going to do the Irish Stars Quilt Along that is happening over at Wedding Dress Blue.  I'm adding to it, I am only going to use stash.  Which, considering how many 2.5 inch strips I have cut along with that size squares and the bigger chunks of fabric I have, I think I can do it.  I do happen to have some white fabric I bought recently that I can use for the background on the stars.  This is a leader/ender project, so no time frame, which is nice.

Picture is from Wedding Dress Blue blog, used with permission.

Check it out, join in the fun, use up some stash!  You know you want to!

Progress!

I'm making progress on the Lozenges quilt.  I have a few more of the white corners to finish and on to the black corners.

Even with all the scrap quilts I've made, I still have lots of scraps left.  It's amazing how they seem to grow as I use them.

Third Grade Quilt

I want to show you the quilt that the third grade class made this year.  I work with this grade, so it was fun helping the Art Teacher, Mrs. B. with this project.

Our school mascot is the road runner and the Art teacher made the center block.  All the blocks that surround the center are made by the students.  They first drew a design on paper and using recycled fabric, they cut out the design and sewed the pieces to a foundation fabric.  I spent lots of time threading needles as the students used a running stitch to sew the pieces to the foundation.  I was impressed at how well some of them could sew!

Years ago, the library teacher had used fabric for bulletin boards.  We found that fabric in the basement in storage and use some for the center sashing.  That fabric was also used for the backing of the quilt.  It was fun talking to the students about how to reuse items and to recycle.

Two Inch Squares

I was busy marking and cutting out more two inch squares for the Lozenges quilt.  The prep work is taking some time, I kind of understand why I dropped the project from the list.  I just wasn't finding the time to do the prep work nor was it an easy project for me to do as a Leader/Ender.  But I will get it done!!

2 inch squares

Bonnie Hunter's New Leader/Ender Project

If you follow Bonnie Hunter, you are aware that she has the 2017 Leader/ Ender project announced.  I have been working on a rail fence quilt, see?

  

This pattern was in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine from August 2011.  I have about 2 or 3 more rows to go.  I was making this quilt more of a oversize twin quilt. But looking at this picture, I'm thinking I may be closer to done than I realize. I love quilts that I can wrap myself up in.   

So....  I have a Leader/Ender from 2014 that I haven't finished, Lozenges!  So I'm going to work on that as a UFO.  I just wasn't comfortable doing it as a Leader/Ender.

So are you working on this challenge or do you have a project you are currently doing as a Leader/Ender?

Hi!

Hi!  How have you been?  Long time no see, right?  I've been sewing, just not blogging about it.  I decided I needed to get back to blogging about it otherwise, I won't keep up with what I have accomplished.  I love having that information.

First up is a quilt I made for my cousin who was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer.  She's doing well!  Amazing what advances have been made.

Front

Back

The front fabrics are "Lexington" by Minick & Simpson.  I also had picked up some fat quarters of the fabric and added those in.  The pattern is call "Senior Prom" by Villa Rose Designs.  I finished this up in late December.  

Have a great day!