Ta-Daaaa!

Here they are, my Barrister's Sow-Along blocks! On the last day of December 2012, I was finally feeling well enough to tackle some blocks--I was behind by a dozen. A couple of them were cut out and I sewed them up promptly, then set to work choosing fabrics and cutting and sewing one or two at a time.

This shows a closer view of the 2 blocks I had made in November and the 10 I made New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

For some time I had been playing with the layout at the top of this post in my mind, so I had collected a few of the same shirt so that I could do all of the setting squares in the same fabric. When I reached the point of having these 12 blocks finished I had two blocks left to make, so I took a break from sewing to count up how many blocks I would need for the layout. Surprise--I already had enough. There were a few too many, in fact. A couple of times I made mistakes in my blocks and didn't notice until they were finished. I would keep the "mistake block" if it still looked good, and make a correct one, too. So I had   three more than I needed. I set aside the three that were my least favorite as far as fabric choices go and called it good. I was almost giddy to think I was all caught up without really catching up! : )

Today I cut the setting squares. I can't decide if I want to make the setting triangles from the same fabric (I have one more shirt in that red/blue plaid), or if I want to introduce another color there. Haven't decided on borders yet, either.

This has been a fun Sow-Along, thanks to Randy at Barrister's Block. A lot of work on her part--very appreciated by those of us who have been "Sowing" along!

But that is not all I have been up to. Remember the batik mini I made from scraps Sandi had sent my way? Well, now it has a little brother (sister?--who knows). Thanks to Vic for her comment that inspired the names for these quilts--Moody Blues I & II. I plan to bind this one in the black used in the squares. It will finish at 12 1/2" square.

I also got my feathered star all assembled, except for the center circle applique. Haven't found the right fabric. My next step is to tea dye a blue to see if it will tone down to the correct shade I want. I am naming this quilt "Aunt Jo's Star", in memory of Aunt JoAnn, who died the week before Christmas. I had been at her home the previous week seeking help on a question I had about the assembly of this quilt. We had taken the class together, along with her daughter, but Aunt Jo was the only one of us who had successfully assembled her whole top. There are two final borders on the pattern (this is about 40" square), but I am not putting them on yet. Our instructor had expanded her top to make a full bed quilt, and I can't decide if I want to do that or not, so I will shelve it for now.

Yesterday Kris (of Lavender Quilts) and I had lunch to celebrate her birthday the previous week (wish you could have come, Denise. We had such fun). Kris gifted me with a mini charm pack of a new French General collection. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it, but I tried to set it aside and make it wait its turn. However, it would not be silenced. It took over my sewing machine last night and this evening while the news was on I added the borders. This pattern is from quiltsbycherie. She posted this as a New Year's project--little hourglasses. I loved that idea and had to make one.

Remember my little pineapple ornaments that finish at just under 2 inches? Well, I gave them all away and now my little tree only has the one ornament Grace sent me. I had given one of these ornaments to my Mom and she jokingly asked if I would make her a dozen more. Without telling her, I planned to do just that for next Christmas. Mom gives me the scraps from her quilts, and has been doing so for over 10 years. She only makes one quilt a year, so that isn't an extreme amount of scraps. I have made some lap quilts and minis from the scraps, but still have pieces from all of the quilts. So I thought, why not make little pineapples to commemorate each of the quilts for which she has given me scraps? There will be about a dozen of them, but I am rushing to finish them. I don't think I could keep this secret until next Christmas, so I am planning to give them to her on her birthday, February 2nd. Five of the pineapples in this photo will be made into ornaments for Mom, with a few more to come. Good thing she doesn't read my blog!

Another long, rambling post. I'll save the other stuff (yes, there was more stuff) for another time. I'll leave you with some frosty photos. Our high for the day was about 6 degrees F. Tonight, when I was coming home from a women's dinner and program at church it was 6 degrees below zero! We are supposed to reach 13 below tonight. You know it is a cold day when the icicles have frost on them!

Keep warm!

Janet O.

Belated Birthday Giveaway

In my last post (over a week ago) I had promised a "little giveaway" on my birthday (which was yesterday). I had planned on just staying home and sewing that day. I do not usually venture out on Black Friday, but DD#2 invited me to meet her at a local craft fair and it sounded like fun--haven't been to one in years. Afterward DH and I went to dinner (though we had gone last Friday since I didn't plan to go out on BF). On top of that, my two sons came over in the evening unexpectedly and brought a friend so we could play some games. What I'm trying to say is that I didn't just sit around sewing all day, so I didn't have time to post my giveaway, but I had a wonderful birthday. When I did get a few minutes to sew I treated myself to a feeling of satisfaction by finally sewing together the center section of my feathered star quilt. The star has been partially assembled and occupying a corner of my design wall since I took the class back in February. It feels so good to get it sewn together. Now I need to play with the borders. Not sure if this is the final choice, but I like it best of what I have tried so far. Once I get the borders and "on point", fussy-cut 4-patches sewn on I will decide if I want to add a final border or two and call it good, or if I should attempt to expand the pattern to a full bed quilt. We'll see.

So here is my "little" birthday giveaway--I meant that "little" literally. There is a Moda Mini Charm Pack, containing 42 2.5" squares of Harvest Moon fabric by Kansas Troubles. Then there is the Primitive Gatherings Tiny Tumblers pattern, which includes the tiny tumbler acrylic template. That is the size I used on the Tumbling Glory flag (see tutorial tab at the top). And finally I have included one of my Tuffet pincushions. The one shown is made in CW repro fabrics, but I can make a brighter one if that is your fabric preference. There may also be a couple of bars of my herbal soap thrown in (not pictured). This is just a "little" thank you to  my readers and friends in blogland who make life more interesting. If you would like to be included please leave a comment.

And speaking of friends in blogland, my birthday has been made a little brighter by some fun surprises that arrived in the mail. Mary sent this fun little bundle. Mary was the first blogger I actually met when she came to Utah a year ago. We met up for dinner and then attended a Jennifer Chiaverini book signing. I recently "won" a couple of batik fat quarters on her blog (it was kind of a set-up job) and she sent along some other goodies as well. There was actually one more candy bar than is shown, but I had no resistance when I opened the package. : ) Thank you so much, Mary!

The other little squishy came from my newest old friend. We live less than 7 miles apart in northern Utah, but were introduced through another blogger in Alabama. (Thanks, Denise!) Kris and I met Monday at her home and got chatting about life and admiring fabrics and talking sewing machines. We probably wouldn't have quit after three hours if it hadn't been for a previous commitment Kris had.  I am so happy to know her. We will definitely be getting together again. This arrived in my mail Wednesday from Kris--a total surprise. She has an ebay store (The Quilting Garden) and a blog (Lavender Quilts), so maybe you already know her. Thanks for the lovely surprise, Kris!


This little quilt finally went in the mail today--off to Randy in California. I know it is going to a good home!

Another feeling of accomplishment (okay, so it takes less for me to feel like I have accomplished something than it probably does for most of you)--I have all of the "units" made for Orca Bay, one year after Bonnie started posting the clues. This is as big as I could make it with the shirts I had. You can see that it is not all sewn together (about 1/2 of it is). Now I need to decide how I want to border it. I probably won't be doing Bonnie's border. Don't think I have the patience for it at this point and I think mine looks even busier than the original, with my stripes and plaids. I want something a little calmer around the edges. I actually found a great shirt that is black with purple stripes and I'm wondering if I can use it somehow.

 And finally, when my two sons came over this evening they brought this bouquet. I love the bright mix of colors. I always gravitate to multi-colored flowers and multi-colored bouquets.

 Now, notice the crocheted doily on which the vase is sitting. I bought that at the craft fair I went to with my daughter. A sweet elderly woman had crocheted these and snowflake tree ornaments, butterfly fridge magnets and a bunch of other things. They are all well done--this doily is gorgeous. She had it priced at $25!! Her snowflake ornaments were $1.25 each. The butterfly fridge magnets were often just given away to children who came by. My daughter and I told her she should charge more. Her husband told us that their daughter told them the same thing. We bought a bunch of the snowflakes, and then I got the doily. It is good sized--about 15" across. I couldn't take it at that price with a clear conscience. I gave her $40 and told her if I could afford more I would pay it because it was worth more.

This is a very long, wordy post. Sorry. I have been trying to make them shorter, but I guess I will let this one slide. Remember to leave a comment if you are interested in the belated b'day giveaway. I will let the RNG choose a winner Tuesday night and post the winner Wednesday.
Until next time,
Janet O.

A Few Feathers, Some Baskets and A Little Giveaway

I'm up in the wee hours getting ready for my 3rd and final "Feathered Star" class and I'm realizing I don't understand what to do next, so I will have to go to class without everything prepared to put together.

I have all of these parts pinned to my design wall, but I can't see anywhere in the directions that there is a size listed for the setting triangles. My brain is too tired to figure it out, so I'd better quit before I mess it up. This class has used the perforated paper piecing technique to make the feathers and the mini-mariner's compass. The instructor is the same one that taught the perforated paper piecing for the large mariner's compass in the class I took last year. I did a tutorial for this method here.

We've also used the stack 'n whack method for the "arms" of the star and the tips, and the four patch blocks that will go in the border. I've never used this method before--very clever. I would like to know who thinks up these things?

As I've worked on this I have continued to use the Spring Baskets as my leader/enders. Just two more baskets to go and I will be assembling this little quilt. I am currently auditioning borders on the wall.

 (I still haven't corrected the error in the top of one basket.) These baskets were made with bonus triangles Mom gave me from a quilt she made last year. I'm trying to use only those and the leftover fabric pieces from her quilt to make this little one, so I am limited in my border options. I want it to really be a "make-do" quilt. It is in pretty rough form right now, but I think I like the black edge on the setting triangles. Let me hear your two-cents worth on the border.

                            

                                                                                                                                                                        

I finally got to my "Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown" March block. It is the one in the center. I chose some of the lighter valued prints in my "rose" fabric box for this one.

Last week I kept seeing bloggers talk about having preordered "Civil War Legacies" by Carol Hopkins, and how excited they were that it had arrived. I also preordered, but apparently my copy had a harder time getting up the Amazon. It arrived today. What a wonderful book--15 small quilts designed especially to be made using wonderful Civil War reproduction fabrics, for a great vintage look. Well-photographed quilts, clear directions (even arrows for seam pressing--I love that!) and great looking designs make this a book I highly recommend for lovers of small quilts, or vintage quilts.

Finally, how would you like to win the pattern for this quilt?
Just leave a comment on this post. I'll pick a winner on Saturday, around 6 p.m. MDT.
When Julie at Me and My Stitches posted the photo of this from her recent road trip I knew I "needed" the pattern. She took this picture in JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie, WI. I called the store and they said the pattern (which was from a discontinued book and they had permission to reprint the pattern and sell it) was available individually or in a kit. I ordered 1 copy of the pattern and the folks there told me that they preferred I send a check. They put my pattern in the mail even before they received my check. Once they received my check someone sent the pattern again. I called and informed them of the double delivery and they said, "Just keep it." I told them I would share it with my friends on my blog. If you like the colorway in the sample, you may want to print this photo because below you see the colorway on the pattern and at first I didn't recognize it as the same quilt.



Remember to comment if you'd like to be in the drawing for the pattern!
That is all for now. Until next time, Janet O.