In the home stretch...

...with the little quilts. Won't we all be glad when this is over!?!
I decided to post the "finishes" on this batch, even though the one in the middle won't be finished for a while. It is being hand quilted, but the others are done!

This was the "before" shot. 
I can't put into words the euphoria I feel over getting these little quilts finished.




I haven't shared the finishes on the most recent two, so here you go.

This was Lori's (humblequiltsblog) Midwinter Blues SAL. It is finish #22 this year.





You can click any of these photos for a closer view of the quilting 

 

Here we have finish #23. This sweet 9-patch was made using 9-patches made by my Mom. They  were leftover from one of her quilts made many years ago.

I hadn't planned on quilting feathers in this. I thought it might be a little over the top for a humble 9-patch. But I tried out my original plan in one block and I did NOT like it.The quilt sat for a couple of days while I pondered and debated. Then I thought, "Who am I kidding--I WANT to do feathers on it!" So I did.                                                   These two styles of feathers are different from what I usually do. I tried them out on one of the Mystic Basket blocks (in my last post), and I liked them, so I put them all over this quilt.  

                                                     

This is my LAST BATCH of little quilts that need quilting. Three are really mini (the Mariner's Compass is 3"--not the whole quilt, just the compass), one is small and the other three are more wall hanging size.  Haven't basted these yet--maybe I will get to it this weekend. I am so much more likely to get quilting if the pile of quilts are basted and ready. If I finish all of these it will make 31 little quilts quilted this year!

Only one from this group was a SAL--Lisa Bongean's 10th anniversary SAL. I didn't add the last couple of rounds because I knew it would be too big to hang in the place I had for it.

This last photo is all because of Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations blog). I blame credit her. She has had a few posts lately of the little pillows she has been making as bowl fillers. Her most recent is here.

She pointed out to me that I could use little leftover blocks to make some and that was all it took. I put all of these together yesterday using little bits of quilts that hadn't made the cut--and I also copied her idea of using Cheri's (quiltsbycheri blog) recent Facebook little basket quilt pattern to make a couple. There are definitely some seasonal themes here. I used what I had on hand. Thanks for the inspiration, Paulette!

Until next time,

Janet O.

                  

On a Roll

When I completed the quilting on "Burgoyne Strikes Gold", I felt rather invincible. I had faced my fear and had walked away victor, so to speak. I decided I needed to ride that wave and pull out something else I have been afraid to quilt, before the feeling passed.

This was what I made when Lori (Humble Quilts Blog--this link takes you to the beginning of her latest little SAL) had her "Faithful" SAL. We were to use any  6" block we might have on hand, or make a new one, and she walked us through the steps of adding those HST borders.

The 6" Mariner's Compass that I used for the middle was made a couple of years ago on a dare (sort of) from Karen (Log Cabin Quilter blog). I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I had to see if I could really make it. The pattern is named Sunburst (find it at the bottom of this blog post). It seems to fit, so that is what I think I will name the quilt.

I had decided that I would ditch stitch around the compass points and all of the HSTs, and put feathers in all of the black borders and around the compass.

Using the bendable ruler (this is a method I learned from a Patsy Thompson tutorial), I marked my feather spines.

Then I pin basted, and as I always do on minis, I did the ditch stitching on my DSM. I take ditch stitching  seriously. Stitching slowly, I really try to stay in the ditch.

The final touch was the feathering, on Gidget. When I feather on an outer border, I always draw a containment line 1/4" from the edge, so that my feather plumes don't end up under the binding.










Then finish with the 1" cut, single fold binding. Very happy with the results of this one.

My two "brave" finishes together.

I had a rather low-key Labor Day weekend, but I did get in some stitching. With the leftovers from "Burgoyne Strikes Gold", I made this little quilt, which finishes at about 7" square.

I think I'll name this little quilt "Pumpkin in the 9-patch".

And the little pincushion (yet to be stuffed) was from the leftovers of the little quilt.




I have been eager to try out this little pattern from issue #21 of Miniature Quilts Magazine. I have simplified it by not lining it. It is too tiny to see inside of, anyway.



















They are paper pieced, but it isn't as involved as the little ornaments. I'm pretty sure I am going to be making a few more of these.












Speaking of ornaments, I also made a few of those over the Labor Day weekend.

Have yet to stuff them and add the hangers. That is the easy part.

I didn't feel like I had accomplished much over the weekend, but when I put it all together I guess it adds up.

One last thing. I have made slow, but steady progress on my little Thimble quilt in honor of my visit to Cyndi's Busy Thimble shop last month, in Maine. I've been using it as a leader/ender, but you don't do much of that when you are machine quilting, or paper piecing.

I love seeing how these little quilts shrink as the pieces get sewn together. This is at the halfway mark. It will probably finish somewhere in the neighborhood of 10"x16".

One of these days I am going to make progress on my current big quilt project. Won't that be shocking?

Until next time,
Janet O.