Tag Archives: group swap

Wonky

Posted on by
6

I’m currently on a program of finishing 2 UFOs (unfinished objects) before starting each new project. I caught up quite a bit last year, but there are a few things still to be done.

Most recently I pulled out these swap blocks from a long time ago. They should finish 24″ square. Of course, since they are medallion style blocks, there’s plenty of opportunity for the size and shape to get “off” with each additional border.

There was one in the group that surely was not perfectly square. I put 4 of them together anyway, figuring this could be a picnic quilt and “fixing” the wonky block was way too fiddly.

This worried me a little, even in a picnic quilt. (OK, like most quilters, I’m more than a little O.C.)

Then my daughter came along and said, “It’s not wonky, it’s organic in design!” Ha! So there! Art-speak is frequently useful!

Some Finishes

Posted on by
8

The random number generator picked comment #3, by Mary Lindberg, as the winner of the book on quilt finishing. I have been unable to contact her. If you read this, Mary, please contact me by 6:00 this evening so I can send your book. If I don’t hear from Mary I’ll ask the random number generator to select someone else.

It seems like I’ve done a lot of quilt-making in 2021, but had little to show for it. Here, at last, are a couple of finishes. These are made using blocks from a batik swap with one of my groups, done during COVID time when we couldn’t get together.

This first one is lap size, made just for fun. It doesn’t have a home yet, but I’m sure it will find one.

Name: Batik Swap One

Size: 66″ x 54″

Blocks by: Jeri, Mary B, Rena, and me

Quilted by: Julia Madison

Here’s the second quilt from swap blocks. This one is twin size, intended for use on one of the bunk beds in the “brothers’ room” at our new house.

Name: Brothers’ Bunk Quilt

Size: Twin

Blocks by: Jeri, Mary B, Rena, and me

Quilted by: Julia Madison

And speaking of the quilter, look at these pretty sunflowers she did on one of the quilts:

Last but not least, here is the latest stack of quilts made by the same group. I’ve been slow to deliver them, but they finally went to Ronald McDonald house this past week.

 

More Exercise and a Swap Top

Posted on by
15

After laying out the blocks for my second swap quilt on the living room floor, I had to move them to the spare bedroom upstairs to make room for people to walk.  (Some people just don’t understand that it’s a design floor, not a walkway!)

That led to more trips up and down stairs as I sewed the blocks into rows and returned each row to the layout so as to keep them in order.  That’s where the exercise came in 😀

Finally I added borders, so here’s the finished top (twin size), ready to go to the quilter.  (Are you reading this, Julia?)

This is the second quilt made from blocks I’ve swapped with friends when we couldn’t get together to quilt due to you-know-what.

What have you been up to lately?

A COVID Swap

Posted on by
8

As for so many people, I have missed scheduled retreats with my usual group due to COVID. The situation appears set to drag on for a while more, so we decided on a monthly block swap to give us something to look forward to.

We take turns deciding what the block will be. All blocks are made from batiks and all finish 9″ square, but there are no other “rules”. Here are the blocks I’ve made or received so far.Obviously this is going to be more than one quilt. The original rule was make one block for each person each month, but mostly we’ve done 2 for each. And, as you might suspect, the most over-scheduled person in the group made 3 for each last month!

What are you doing to make up for missing your quilt group?

Have fun and stay safe.

Pincushion Project

Posted on by
6

Who can resist alliteration–just sayin’

traditional pincushion

Does everybody in American have one of these?

One of my quilt groups has a pincushion exchange scheduled for next month, and the last program was a display of many creative pincushions. I wish I had taken pictures! Since this is quite a creative group, I’ll be sure to take some at the exchange.

Meanwhile, I needed to make a pincushion. Note that I don’t say I need a pincushion. That certainly is not the case. I have a number of pincushions, and yes, I use all of them. However, to say I need another would be pushing it!

There are lots of great pincushion ideas on Pinterest, so I just made my own Pincushion board to collect a few. Then I chose one I thought I could make, and here it is:

pincushion

Dresden Pincushion, made from a free pattern at AllPeopleQuilt.com

I also noted that one of the bloggers I follow had gone crazy making pincushions, many of which were just little quilt blocks sewn together and filled. So I made a mini from some 2″ finished blocks I found in the orphan bin.

Then I went a little crazy myself, and took pictures of all my pincushions.  Most of them were gifts from friends or family, which gives them special meaning.

And finally, a fun factoid: I learned in my research that it is best to stuff pincushions with crushed walnut shells to give them a little heft!  And those crushed shells are sold as lizard litter in the pet store!  Who knew?

One last pincushion, a miniature: miniature pincushion

Save