Why do I do this?

Do you recall the problem I had when Temecula Quilt Co. posted their Blessings Baskets SAL? I couldn't stop and ended up making 4 of those (you can see them all HERE).
So I wasn't going to do that with their Summer Stars SAL, and I didn't. I only made three sets, (but there is a fourth one playing with my mind). This was the first. In my last post I was struggling with the dark sashing overpowering it and asked for input. I tried the options and advice and this is how it finished. The narrow band of blue at the top is the tryout for the binding.

Before they posted the setting I decided to make the "Fall"-ing Stars mini using their star block patterns and I put it in the setting of their Blessings Baskets (see it HERE, along with info on how you could win it by donating to Dravet Syndrome research). Both SALs use 4 1/2" blocks, so they are interchangeable. I thought that was handy.

I liked it well enough that I decided to make another one as a gift, but using only five of the stars. I tried narrower sashing on this one, and I liked it, so I used the narrower sashing on the first one (I assembled it last of the three).

Here we have all three.

Maybe I should just stop following the Temecula blog. Their little quilts are like Lay's Potato Chips--I can't do just one. You may recall a few posts ago I showed a mini rail fence quilt I made using a quilt on their blog as inspiration. Then I made a second one with the leftover rail blocks. And a third mini materialized from the trimmings. I had to take the border off of the third one to finish the sashing on the star quilt at the top of the post, so I finally bordered this little piece with something else and yesterday I quilted it and finished the binding today. This is a 7 1/2" square. The little squares are 1/2" finished. Would you say this is a Super-Sized mug rug or a very tiny quilt? I can't decide.

 You can see the quilting a little better on the back. Nothing fancy.

Recently my very kind blog friend, Teresa, loaned me her Marti Michell templates to finish cutting my "Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown" (aka Random Roses in Jamestown) BOM blocks. So they are now all cut (much more easily than without the templates) and I finally got last month's block stitched up. It is top, left. The blocks along the bottom are on design boards, waiting their turn to be stitched. The pattern calls for log cabins as setting blocks. I think I may use chain blocks instead.

Finally, in keeping with my lack of self-restraint, I'm showing what I did after Cheri shared some little quilts on Labor Day.  These finish at 8 1/2" by 10 1/2". I needed some quick leader/enders while I made the star quilts and the BOM. My CW scrap basket was handy, so this was a no-brainer. But why couldn't I just make one?

Lately I have really been going overboard on the minis. I need to get serious about finishing a big quilt for a change. But first I need to quilt some of these minis that are soon to be gifts. I'd better go warm up  Gidget. 

Until next time, 

Janet O.

99 and Counting (see the end of the post)

If these blocks look familiar it is because I made them last summer for a table runner and asked for opinions on a straight set or "on point". On point was favored and I proceeded to assemble it. Didn't get it past the flimsy stage and it has been kicking around my sewing room for a year now. I was planning to have it quilted for this summer, but every time I thought about tackling it, I couldn't do it. As much as I prefer these blocks "on point", I just didn't care for all the red in the setting triangles (you can see it here). I thought about piecing new setting triangles, but finally I just unpicked it and did a straight set. Maybe I will have it quilted for next summer. If it ever does get quilted I will be binding it in red.

During a recent family camping trip I took some hand quilting. The little sampler finishes at 7" and you may recall that it used up the bits and pieces leftover from the mini quilt I made from Kathie Holland's triangle trimmings of her 9-patch blocks on point. Did you follow that?

I had one basket block leftover when I made my little basket quilt (bottom of the linked post) inspired by this free pattern from APQ, using leftover fabrics from a quilt my mother made last year. It has been about 4 years since I did any hand quilting and it was a refreshing change.

I finally got around to my version of the "Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown" BOM. I hadn't made a block since March. I got the next four cut and three of them are sewn up, but I am struggling with the fourth one. I will say that paper templates are not my favorite method for constructing blocks. I often measure the template and then cut it out using rotary cutter and rulers instead. If I can't get the seventh block to work I may have to design my own. The three blocks on top are the newest ones.

Since I am not using the true "Ramblin' Rose" fabrics (just some rose fabrics I have picked up over the years), I have chosen to call this "Random Roses in Jamestown".

As I did my usual pawing through the remnants at the LQS recently I found a 3/4 yard piece of "Just Train Crazy" fabric. It caught my eye because my youngest grandson is crazy about trains. I picked up a matching black (I think blacks are hardest to match) and at home I found the blue and green in my stash. This is the favorite donation quilt pattern of Mary at Maryquilts.com. I have made one before and I think it works up fast and cute. You can get the instructions here. The strips are just clinging to my design wall--I haven't started stitching them together yet. I'm thinking this will be a great quilt to use with Leah Day's train tracks quilting design. I got enough black for the binding, too.

Earlier this week I received an unexpected squishy in the mail from Ruth. I had just sent her some extra pins I had and she gifted me with these fun items. There is a cute little portable tissue pack cover and a cheery trivet made from yo-yo covered bottle caps. How clever is that? And look at the cute little quilty card. Thanks, Ruth. I didn't expect a trade, but it was fun!

Oh, here I am with another long post. It has been two weeks and there is so much to squeeze in. I've had questions from several people about how I finished my little tumbler flag,

 so I made a tutorial. You will find the tab for it at the top of the page under my header. There are many ways you could do it, I'm just sharing what worked for me.

Finally, this is my 99th post, and although that is small compared to many of you, I think a little celebration for my kind followers will be in order when I hit the 100 mark. Stay tuned.

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.

                

Orca Bay (and a few other things)

I decided to get in on Bonnie's last Orca Bay link-up, though my "Bay" is currently not much more than a puddle.

This is less than half of the blocks I will make, but it still won't be as big as the original. You may recall that "Sunset Over the Men's Department" is made from thrift store shirts and there just isn't enough coral plaid and purple stripes to do the full size quilt. It can be tricky to get all of the stripes (and strings for most of you) pointing in the right direction. I've read in blog after blog of quilters realizing that one piece or another was sewn in wrong. I've had to do a little unpicking myself. But I do love the bold graphic design in this pattern. Bonnie hit another home run!

I got my Raspberry Lemonade version of Lori's doll QAL quilted and bound. I used Leah Day's paisley heart design that LuAnn at Loose Threads blog linked me to. It was my first attempt with variegated thread and I'm not sure it was the best choice. When the lighter thread color would come through I couldn't always see my quilting and I would sometimes think the thread had broken. 

The stitching is anything but perfect, but it will have to do. You can't really see it in the photo and that is probably a good thing. 

Now it sits on my hutch beneath my soup tureen. 

I got block number two of "Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown" finished. I am definitely messing with the value placement on these blocks. Since I don't have the fabrics specified, I am using a bunch of fabrics from my stash and I don't always have the same number of lights and darks for a block as the pattern indicates.

The one on the right, that looks crooked, is the newest addition.

And finally, my Rocky Mountain Christmas (aka Bonnie's Smoky Mountain Stars) Is coming along. Last time I mentioned that mentally I had divided it into twelve sections. Now I only have 4 sections to finish, but I'm toying with a border idea in my head that may take some time to complete, if I decide to add it. Good thing I have plenty of time before next Christmas. I definitely want it done by then!

It is late and I am typing some pretty silly things as my eyelids droop. I hope I have caught and corrected them all. If not, have a good laugh on me. I'd better call it quits. Tomorrow morning my new HQ Sweet Sixteen is being delivered and I want to be awake enough to understand the training. : )
Until next time,
Janet O.

On the Wall

Rocky Mountain Christmas (aka Smokey Mountain Stars by Bonnie Hunter) is back on the design wall. I intend to at least get it to flimsy stage in the next 2 or 3 weeks, amid all of the other projects. I won't be quilting it until much later this year, but I want to have the top ready. Right now I do have all those corners sewn to the squares, but the squares and borders are just stuck to the wall. I wanted to make sure I could get enough border cut from the shirt I wanted to use. It was only an XL shirt. I have made the quilt a tad larger than the pattern and I wasn't sure if I could get enough 5" strips from the shirt. I made the border 4" instead and I could have still cut 1 or 2 more strips. I had to fussy cut them in order to match up the plaids when I piece them. Maybe I am the only person who would have done that (no, I think I know at least one other blogger who would do the same. Do you know who you are?) but I had to do it. : )

I'm not sure which was the leader/ender and which was the real project, but today Pink Lemonade by Lori D. got assembled along with Block #1 of Marti Mitchell's Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown. The name "Pink Lemonade" doesn't seem to fit mine  because my yellow isn't anything like lemonade. I've been trying to come up with a name for it. Cider Squeezin's comes to mind. Have you ever had cider from an apple press? I don't know--I'll have to give it more thought.

I'll leave you with this shot of the cloud cap over the mountains out my back door. The alpacas came to the fence after I took this shot and I took a couple of photos of them looking me right in the eye, but those turned out blurry, of course. 

Janet O.

This and That

I looked at the date of my last entry and realized it has been over a week since that post. I guess I have been busy, but I can't really say with what. On the quilting front, I finally got the corners of Pink Lemonade made on Saturday night. Up to this point I had been really careful with the directional prints. That all went out the window with these little guys!

Hopefully tonight I can get the rows all sewn together and get this to a flimsy. I'm really glad I joined in on this little QAL. Thanks for doing this, Lori! I made some extra of the red shoofly blocks and am hoping to work them into a Valentine's table runner.
Have you seen the haul Bonnie received for her 50th birthday? I have to share a little coincidence about the block I sent her. Remember the Storytime Stars quilt she made for the baby her brother and his wife are expecting any day? Though I usually only quilt with bright fabrics for my grandchildren, I was very taken by this quilt. The bold graphics and primary colors just grabbed me. I was so happy when she posted the pattern and I printed it off immediately. So when I got word through my blogging friend, Mary C., about sending Bonnie birthday blocks, I knew immediately I was going to adapt Storytime Stars somehow. I made the blocks smaller and instead of piecing a tiny checkered border, I used a checked print. EVERY single bit of fabric in this block came from the scrap basket I used to raid with great regularity at a now closed LQS. I knew all of those bright pieces and those b'day prints would come in handy someday, even if they were out of my normal color-comfort zone.

Some have wanted to know the size of this block. It is a 12" finished.
Each star is four inches from point to point.

So I sent this block off last week to wing its way to Bonnie in North Carolina. Upon opening it she sent me an email saying that she just sent the Storytime Stars quilt off to her brother and SIL, who happen to live where I do--not just the same state, but the same valley! Who knew? I told her to warn her brother that if I ever see a couple with a baby wrapped in that quilt I will be wanting a closer look--at the quilt and the baby!

If you follow Marj over at Eclectic Quilter blog, you may recall that she had a giveaway a few months ago when she was cleaning some things out. I spoke up for the Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown pattern, and was lucky enough to receive it. I'm not usually a flowery fabric person (but I do love Floribunda), but over the past two or three years I have been drawn to some rose prints in tan, green and red shades. I have picked them up in scrap baskets, remnants and yardage. That large piece on the right was four yards of a Moda fabric at a thrift store for $4. I have one small table topper I have made from them and figured it was time to do something more. I thought this pattern might be the thing. If I work on one of these blocks each month, hopefully this quilt can grow while staying in the background. I think I might use some other block besides log cabin as the setting squares. I love log cabin blocks, just not sure I want them in these fabrics.

And finally, SOTMD (aka Orca Bay) is progressing slowly. I still love it, though I'm still not sure why. So not my usual style. My mother saw it on my design wall last night and said she wouldn't be able to sleep under such a quilt. I know she said it with love. : )
If I can get more of the cream and white triangles cut (everything else is cut) I will hopefully have more to show when Bonnie does her final Orca Bay Linkup in February.
That does it for now. Until next time, keep stitchin'!
Janet O.