For a Good Time…and OMG

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For a good time, see if you can visit your local quilt shop! I was able to visit Studio Stitch last week because they are observing strict social distancing and mask guidelines, including limiting the number of people in the shop at a time. It was SO MUCH FUN to get to shop for fabric after being quarantined for 6 months!  I appreciate the care the staff are taking to try to keep everyone safe.

I should mention that I also checked the public health report and noted that COVID was trending down in Greensboro before going there.

Here’s the haul from one visit to the shop:Yes, the gray and white fabrics are metallic! And the fat quarter at the far right just jumped into my basket while my other fabric was being cut.  (Not my fault!!)

Which leads me to the OMG part.  For the first time, I am joining the One Monthly Goal challenge.  I’ve seen several blogging friends doing this for quite some time but haven’t joined up.  So, here is my OMG for September:

In September my goal is to make a quilt from these fabrics and write a pattern for that quilt.

These lovelies are from Studio Stitch, too

The pattern will be available through Studio Stitch when I finish it.  If you subscribe to their free newsletter (subscription form is about half way down their home page) you will see a picture and information on getting the pattern when the time comes. And of course I’ll show the quilt here when it’s finished!

That’s all the excitement for now.  Has anybody else been able to visit a shop in person with precautions in place?  Thanks for reading, and stay safe!

An Oldie

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I made this quilt years ago at my husband’s request, and when he retired last year it came home with him. It was inspired by a quilt on a calendar I had in 2004 or 2005, but unfortunately I did not save the inspiration. If anyone recognizes where I got this design, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

The fabrics are all Kona cotton because for many, many years that was the only choice in solids.  

Quilt Stats

Design source: unknown, but it came from a calendar

Finished size: 42.5″ x 43″

Pieced and quilted by me, 2005

Class With Maria Shell!!!

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COVID rolled over my plans to attend the Vermont Quilt Festival (VQF) this past summer and take classes there with Maria Shell.  So imagine my excitement when I got an email from VQF offering one of Maria’s classes online!  (Here’s the link if you want to learn more.)

This is the Announcement from VQF

I signed up immediately and started gathering the materials–there really isn’t much needed in that department since I’ll be in my own studio for the class!  The class will be interactive, and the student information included lots of funny reminders like “Remember, we can see you.  Wear pants if you plan to stand up!”  I have no idea how to mute my microphone or much of anything else, so there’s no telling what they’ll see/hear from me, but I’ll be sure to be fully clothed 😀

As you may know, I love Maria’s book (here’s the link if you want to know more about the book.).

I’ve made some “mat-cut stripes” inspired by her, though I haven’t figured out yet what to do with them next,

as well as a little art quilt for which I used her method for making free-cut flying geese.

This quilt is titled “Blue Ridge–Cardinal”

One thing that is different about Maria’s technique for improvising is that she does NOT just combine fabrics randomly.  She looks to see if they go together visually before she sews.  Her quilts are graphic and striking, and I look forward to learning more from her.  I’ll let you know how it goes!  And here’s the link to Maria’s site if you want to explore her work more.

Just a reminder:  The links in this post are for your convenience; they are not affiliate links that generate money for me!

Happy As a Clam?

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This is a little art quilt I started years ago just for fun.  It took quite a while to figure out how to make the clam and finish the quilt.

The “clamshells” were made by cutting out circles from fusible fabric and arranging them ever-so-carefully in rows.  I then fused the whole thing, and there it sat for a couple of years.  I considered adding a layer of netting, but ultimately just quilted it in waves.

I drew the clam early on but couldn’t decide how to put it on the quilt.  I considered thread sketching, drawing and coloring with pigma pens, etc.  I wanted a method that wouldn’t risk ruining the quilt if I didn’t get the clam right the first time!

Finally I read Karen Fricke’s article about thread sketching on stabilizer in my copy of The Best of Quilting Arts. (This book is an excellent resource, but it’s “old” so you probably can get it used.)  That method worked perfectly for me.  I was able to create the clam and then attach him to the quilt.  I printed the question mark on fabric and then cut it out and attached it.  For the dots going to his dialogue bubble I did, finally, have to draw directly on the quilt.

The edge is finished with satin rat-tail, a technique I learned in another class.

Quilt stats:

Name: Really? Clamshells?

Original design

Techniques: Fusible applique, machine quilting, thread sketching, drawing and coloring with permanent markers

Finished size:16″ x 16″

Quilted by me

Elizabeth’s Village

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My blogging friend Elizabeth (OP Quilt) has designed a number of nice patterns and I recently found myself “forced” to make one because it is so cute.  Here is one of her samples.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Eastman

She has given instructions for multiple variations in the pattern.  (I love all of them.)

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Eastman

Naturally, I didn’t quite follow the pattern.  I had some cute fabric left from another project so used it for the town square in the center.

When I was finished, I wanted to make the quilt large enough to be used as a donation quilt (crib size), so I ordered some wilderness fabric to surround the town.

And here’s the finished quilt:

Quilt Stats

Name:  Elizabeth’s Village

Pattern:  Merrion Square, by Elizabeth Eastmond

Finished size: 39″ x 39″

Quilted by:  Julia Madison

And yes, I used the same fabric for binding as for the border.  You may want to check out Elizabeth’s beautiful projects on her blog and website: OPQuilt.com.

If you’re interested in her patterns, they are available through Payhip.

Serendipity Quilt

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Due to a series of fortunate events, I made this quilt:

Here’s how it happened.  You may recall that C&T sends me quilt books and products to review, and if I really like them I write about them here.  So a while back I received this book:

Photo Courtesy of C&T

Then a couple of weeks later, I entered a contest sponsored by Pineapple Fabrics and my project was a runner up.  They sent a wonderful box of pre-cuts, including a jelly roll.  So the only question was which quilt to make!  The book had many attractive options, including these:

Photo courtesy of C&%

Photo courtesy of C&T

I eventually chose the lattice quilt because it looked so do-able.  And it was!  The instructions even suggested designing your own spacing for the border, and you know how I like doing my own thing, so that was great.

Here’s a picture of the pretty flowers quilted on it by Julia Madison:

If you are thinking of making this quilt, know that it was fast, easy, and fun.  I did flip some of the seams when joining the pieces so the seams would match up well at the intersections.

Quilt Stats

Name:  Serendipity

Pattern source:  Love Jelly Roll Quilts, pictured above

Finished size:  51″ x 61″

Quilted by:  Julia Madison

The Latest Baby Quilt

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Here’s a quilt made from some blocks for a class I taught,  plus a few 5″ squares that were in the stash.

Look at the very fancy design quilted by Julia Madison!

And here’s a picture of the back.

I liked this quilt so well that I sent it to the newest member of our extended family, since we attended his parents’ wedding and even saw his Mother fairly recently.

Quilt stats:

Name: None; recipient is welcome to name it

Size: 40″ x 40″

Pattern: This is a variation of a block I learned from Barbara Lenox years ago

Fabric: Scraps from many years, as you probably can see!

Quilted by: Julia Madison

Candy Cubes

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Remember this? I started on the quilt on page 34 soon after I got the book

Photo Courtesy of C&T

I didn’t like the first background fabric I chose:

So I took the quilt all apart and put it together again, this time with the background fabric matching the centers so that the blocks look like square lifesavers.  I’m calling it “Candy Cubes”.

To be honest, I’m not sure I like the new background fabric any better–the value is too close to the value of the cubes, even though the color is different. But a done quilt is a good quilt, so I’m on to the next project. 

I still like the pattern and enjoyed making the quilt.  And I still think it would be a great “make your second quilt” class.

Quilt Stats:

Name: Candy Cubes

Pattern Source: New Patchwork & Quilting Basics by Jo Avery

Finished size: 53″ x 77″

Fabric:  Cubes are Moda Grunge.  I don’t know what the background fabric is.

Quilted by: Julia Madison

What I might do different next time: Change the cube fabric rather than the background fabric.

I love the fabric on the quilt back, too!

Those Pesky Orphan Blocks

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What do you do with orphan blocks (individual or just a few blocks left over once a quilt is finished)?

Here is a recent view of my stash of orphan blocks:

Yes, that bin is full of smaller orphan blocks, with the big orphans stacked on top!

Obviously something needs to be done!

I got the orphan blocks out recently and selected all those that finished 12″ square.  I combined them into two donation quilts, which finished 42″ square.

You may (or may NOT) notice that there are both white and cream backgrounds in the quilt.  I say, “so what?”  It would be even less noticeable if there were more of each.  Even with just a few blocks it looks OK to me.  Sure, if I were planning from scratch I might make the backgrounds all the same.  But for a scrap quilt I think the white-vs-cream distinction is much ado about nothing. (Are you with me, Laura?)

Let me know what you think.  Does it look “off” to you?  Or do you not even notice?  Would you do this on purpose, perhaps using white and cream randomly in different blocks?

More posts on orphan blocks to come, for obvious reasons 😀

A 60 Year UFO!

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My granny made quilts entirely by hand.  I watched her piecing, sitting by the window where the light was best.  I played under the quilt frame in the “front room” when a top was finished.  I never knew her to have friends over to help with the quilting; she did it all herself.  She tried to teach me to piece; the main thing I recall is the idea of loading multiple tiny stitches on the needle before drawing the thread through.  I remember a lot of her fabrics and was surprised to find these identical-appearing reproduction fabrics some years ago:

The darkest blue is an Aunt Grace print; I don’t know about the others

Based on the way her life went, I suspect Granny started quilting in the 1930s.  She would have stopped around 1960.  When Mother closed her house in the 1990s, I inherited Granny’s unfinished final quilt, which would mean Mother had it in storage for about 30 years, and I’ve had it about 30 years now.  In a closet.  In 5 different houses in which we’ve lived during that time.  Yikes.

vintage quilt

Some of the pieces I inherited

I’ve caught up with a LOT of UFOs during quarantine, and decided it was finally time to do something with Granny’s project. By my calculation this is about a 60 year UFO.

My guess from the sections already assembled is that Granny was working on Boston Commons.  I have a Boston Commons quilt she made, and didn’t want to mix reproduction fabrics with her fabrics to complete this one.  Therefore, I checked the size of her pieces and started picking them apart.  Then came the fun.

Granny used a seam allowance of LESS THAN a quarter inch, and finger pressed her seams open

Her stitches were so tiny that they are quite difficult to see and pick out, AND she backstitched at the beginning and end of each seam!  I pressed one seam closed, and when I blew the picture up to show the stitches I discovered holes from a different needle in the yellow fabric–the fabric was from a feed sack!  (Grandpa was a farmer.)

Her stitches were so tiny that they are very difficult to pick out! And she backstitched at the beginning and end of each seam!!!

Granny’s squares measure about 2-3/4 inches unfinished, and, as you may be able to see below, she trimmed off a little corner from each piece after she stitched the seam.  I guess she was determined to decrease bulk when she quilted it by hand!

Once I got a few pieces taken apart, I treated them with Terial Magic in the hope of avoiding further fraying.  I cut the squares down to 2-1/2″ to square them up and get rid of ragged edges, and I’m ready to put some of them together.  The plan is to make them into Arkansas Crossroads:

I tried out two yellows for background and decided on the lighter one, which is on order.

The first block of my Arkansas Crossroads

This may take a while to complete, but that will give me time to look for a “longest UFO” contest in which to enter it 😀