A Tardy Mini of the Month--and more

Others have said they barely squeaked under the wire with their entries in Wendy's Mini-of-the-Month challenge. I don't even qualify for that. I tried to get this posted before November came to an end, but it just didn't happen. My mini Dresden Plate flimsy became a finish in November (well, almost finished--binding needs stitching down). This was made using mostly the Wild Orchid line of fabrics by Blackbird Design. Being the proud owner of over a dozen orchids, how could I not love that fabric for it's name alone?

All of the stitch-in-the-ditch was done by walking foot on my domestic machine, and the outer border was done via free motion quilting on Gidget (my HQ Sweet Sixteen).

But the echo quilting around the plates was done by hand. When I can, I like combining hand and machine quilting in my minis, placing the hand quilting where it will shine, and letting the machine do what won't be as visible.

I marked the echo line with a ruler and a water soluble pen.

Here are front and back shots of the quilting. They can be enlarged for a better look.
 













You can clearly see on the back view that the binding is being held down with pins. Why is it that most of my Minis-of-the-Month have been posted in that condition? Can I never fully meet a deadline? Apparently not.
I opted not to stitch between the blades of the plates. The seams were pressed open, so ditch stitching wasn't an option, and there were too many layers and overlapping seams there for any hand quilting.

It feels good to have this finished (almost). Though I am always cutting it close--or entirely missing the mark--I have appreciated that Wendy's challenge has helped me get a few small finishes in a year that has seen a minimal amount of quilting time.

I know many of you have seen or even participated in the fun Temecula Christmas mystery SAL. Isn't that a great little Burgoyne Surrounded in holiday colors? Made me think of the red/white Burgoyne Surrounded that I began years ago. I had to hunt a bit to find it, and when I finally did, the contents practically exploded out when I opened the bin.
This will be a 9 block mini. The blocks finish at less that 4", and with 97 pieces in each block, they are some mighty small pieces, and it takes concentration to put a block together.


After opening up this project box I took the time to trim up the 4, 6, and 9 patch units needed to make one block. Then I laid it out next to a finished block.

It never ceases to amuse me to see how much mini blocks shrink when assembled. The rotary cutter is there to give perspective on the size.

And while we are on the red/white theme, I got one more X block ready to stitch down. If you missed my last post about the 70273 project, you can click here to see what this is all about.


A parting shot from my recent birthday. My youngest son celebrated his birthday just a month prior to mine. This balloon his boss gave him was still inflated enough that he brought it to add to my celebration. I think it is a hoot!

Prayers go out for all those who have suffered loss recently, through natural disaster, or senseless violence. Sometimes it is hard to know where your resources can best be used. But doing good anywhere is better than doing nothing. I hope if you are able, you have chosen a way to help. And if you are not able to give, I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, and that is anyone's to offer.

Until next time, 
Janet O.
 

Happy Independence Day!

And happy Monday to all of my friends outside the U.S. of A.!

After donating the first little "Patriotic Star" I made from Diane Hansen's pattern, to our family reunion auction, I decided I wanted one--this time I made it from plaid shirts. I knew that would invite a lot of wonkiness, because it would be impossible to keep all of those plaids lined up perfectly on such a little quilt. I decided I could live with that.

I am pretty pleased with the end results. Maybe I will call it "Patriotism in Plaids". This had not been one of the little quilts in the running for #36 for 2016, but it is the winner.

 

Here we have little finish #37.
As I mentioned in my last post, this is my adaptation of a recent Temecula free pattern offering called Freedom Flag.

This is how they are currently displayed in my sewing room.

Back in 2014 I was gifted a little hand stitching project by my good friend Annie M. It was to keep my hands busy during  some air travel I was going to be doing. This is from the "Building Houses From Scraps" movement. I got the first six blocks finished and made the little quilt on the right I call "Annie's Neighborhood". I have used the other six blocks as my go-to handwork for car trips, but finally decided it was time to "getter done". There were only 1 1/2 houses left to go. (Don't look too closely--I am not the most precise hand stitcher.) I thought I knew just what I would do with these, but now I am debating breaking them up into 2 or 3 projects. I will play with them and see what happens. 

On a recent thrift store trip I scored on vintage men's pants hangers. I love these for hanging little quilts and I only had one. I had actually found myself tempted to abscond with one or two when I saw my Dad's pants were all hung from this type hanger--but I stepped back and took deep breaths and then walked away.
At half a dollar each. I was happy to walk away from the thrift store with the whole bundle.

Two of them now grace the stairwell that leads to our bedroom. To the left is the top view and to the right is what you see as you descend the stairs.

Last of all, are you doing any of the Row By Row shop hop? I just visit my local quilt shops, and these are their license plates this year. The "Fabric Cache" plate plays off of the fact that we live in  "Cache Valley", so named because it used to be a hunting and trapping ground for Native Americans and mountain men. They would bury their furs in caches to come back and collect later.

I have an extra "Mama Said Sew" plate, so if you are interested, say so in your comment. I will draw a name and ship it out. "No-reply" commenters need to include their email in their comment to be included. : )

Until next time,
Janet O.