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.

December FMQ Challenge and a Recap

I can't believe I really did it. I almost dropped out more than once, but as the year comes to a close I can say I completed each of the monthly challenges of the SewCalGal FMQ Challenge. Each month I would read the new challenge and sometimes my immediate thought would be, "I can't do that." But I stayed with it--I tried it all, and I am so glad I did. I am anything but a pro, however this challenge has moved me out of the rank of beginner.
I need to start this out with my December project.
Our FMQ expert this month has been Patsy Thompson. I had already acquired some of her DVDs earlier this year, and had downloaded all of her free designs from her website, so I was familiar with her. The focus of her challenge was working with border designs. I need help with borders, so this was right up my alley. But when I saw that we would need to do feathers, I shuddered. I had told myself that in 2013 I was going to focus on improving my feathers, but here it was facing me down in December. Well, I had made it this far. I wasn't going to quit now!

I downloaded the worksheets and did lots of drawing.

Filled a few scraps with practice designs.

Gave a little extra practice to the feathers.

Then went to work on this.  It is not a work of art, but I have to say,
the feathers turned out better than I had dared hope. This was my
first attempt at the "bump-bump" feather. I didn't think I would like
doing it, but I believe I could get to the point that I could use this.

Okay, here is the obligatory recap of the year.

January

February

June

July

March

April

Blogger loaded these photos so randomly. I couldn't get them in order to save me, but at least they are all here.
I learned many new things from this challenge, including the making of your own stencils, different feather styles, and new filler designs.

May

I have learned the "stuff and fluff" technique of  quilting. I have become aware of many quilting tools that were not familiar to me before. I have quilted 2 crib quilts, 2 twin size quilts, and a queen size, along with several table runners and minis. Though I had dipped my toe into the FMQ pond a couple of months before the challenge began, I was so limited in my skills and had no confidence in my ability to become a machine quilter. This challenge has jerked me out of my comfort zone and kept me moving away from it the whole year. Interestingly enough, I find that many of those "uncomfortable" things have actually become fun. I no longer fear free motion quilting. There are many designs I actually enjoy. And you know what? Those feathers weren't so bad this time around!

August

October

November

December

September

There you have it, folks, my SewCalGal FMQ Challenge 2012 results. My sincere thanks go to SewCalGal and all of the experts who have given so freely of their knowledge and time this year.

Until next time,

Janet O.

p.s. I couldn't resist coming back and adding this picture from a post over a year ago. In October of 2011 (fourteen months ago) I took my first class in FMQ and this is my earliest effort from that day. Remember this--and how you were my new best friend if you could see a pumpkin anywhere on it? How well I remember feeling like the class klutz. I share this thinking it might give another beginner some hope. : )

I'll be home for Christmas...

...so I thought I'd invite you over (warning--long post with lots of pictures, but there is something quilt related at the end).

This is our dome sweet home. Yes, I live in a geodesic dome. From the front you can see the added solarium on the left and extension on the right, so it doesn't appear that round from this point of view. Trust me--it is.

Just inside the front door you are greeted by a bunch of fuzzy snowmen. They look forward to the grandchildren visiting each Sunday evening. It is always more fun when they come.

Aside from the small tree, you can see a trunk of Christmas books and a snow family on the quilt rack. And, of course, my German pyramid nativity on a little table topper quilt made from red and green plaid shirts. I love these photos of two of my grandchildren watching the pyramid spin.

In the corner is the tree and the piano is graced by a couple of my nativities.

My very small Santa collection sits atop the hutch that is to the right of the tree, but not visible in the photo.

The dining room hutch holds a few more nativities. (Sorry this is blurry.) Let's take a closer look. I'm sure you are familiar with the Willow Tree nativity. This was a b'day gift a few years ago from DH. I love it.

Inside the hutch are some other special nativities.

The little clay figures and the wooden all-in-one are from Argentina, where my oldest son was a missionary.

 This beautiful, hand-carved nativity was brought from Austria, when my oldest daughter returned from a semester abroad there.

This little hand-crafted nativity is made from banana leaves and my youngest son brought it to me from his mission in Brazil.

He also brought this nativity, which resides on the piano. The figures fit together like puzzle pieces. Sometimes I display it that way, but not this year.

This music box nativity was a gift from my mother.
DH gifted me another music box nativity. It is a snowglobe with glass figures inside. I couldn't get a good photo of it--without the flash it was too blurry. With the flash it just reflected the light.

Above the dining room is the loft. I have no mantel, so the stockings are hung by the railing with care.

Let's go upstairs. Looking down from the stair landing you get a good view of the tree and piano in the corner. If you glance to the right of the railing you can see the village. I painted this village years ago in my "ceramics" phase.

I used the technique known as "dry brush". You paint the entire piece black and then, using a dry, stiff bristled brush, you layer on color over the black surface. You can see it prevents much light from penetrating anywhere but the windows. It also makes it hard to see the colors.

Even in the light the colors seem very muted.

 I finished them off with a light touch of "snow". I think I still have a couple of unpainted buildings stored somewhere, but I haven't painted ceramics in decades.

In the sewing room I have hung the Christmas "Flurry" flimsy that I had hoped to get quilted this year, but it didn't happen.

 And I had to get a photo of my sewing room tree adorned with all of these quilty ornaments. Those pineapple blocks are about 2" square. The red and white "square in a square" was a very fun surprise from my blog friend, Grace, all the way in Maine. Along with the ornament, there was another sweet gift. Look below the tree. See the pink bow to the right? It keeps this great selvedge covered needle case closed.

 Isn't it cute? I thought it was so appropriate that the selvedge down the center is from Kansas Troubles fabric. I love that stuff and have made a few quilts from it. This little package of surprises came on a very hard day--first thing that morning I had learned that DH's aunt, who has been a good friend to me and a quilt mentor, had just died. I was feeling pretty blue and this brought the first smile of the day. Thanks to you, Grace!

And finally, I am making some headway, though much slower than planned, on the gift quilts for my grandsons. Star Wars #2 got its last stitches this morning. I have been using swirls and stars stencils for the pattern on these two quilts. But now they both need binding, and the railroad quilt is still waiting to be marked and basted. Can I finish it all before Christmas Eve? Where has the time gone?

Well, if you have had the stamina to stay with this, thanks for visiting my "home for the holidays". I'd better get off the computer and get busy! I have a funeral to attend tomorrow, and I am in charge of the family meal afterwards, for 200 people. It will be an emotional day.

Until next time, Janet O.

So much to sew!

Earlier this year I traded some of my Kansas Troubles scraps for some of Sandi's batik scraps. Today I was determined to finish sewing my Orca Bay together and get it off my design wall, but I needed some leader/enders to use during the process. So I pulled out these luscious colors--most of the HSTs were already sewn by Sandi and arrived at my home that way. I find it interesting that though my fabric tastes lean heavily in the direction of warm "dark and dirty" repros and scraps, I still can't resist the cool, glowing beauty of batiks.

I happened to have a FQ of the black that Sandi had used in the HSTs, so I used that to help make the 4-patch blocks and make the border. Haven't sewn the borders on yet, but it was fun to watch this little piece come together while sewing this big piece together...

I need to decide how I am going to border my Orca Bay (aka Sunset Over The Men's Dept.), but that will wait until next year. I just wanted it off the design wall in one piece before people start finishing Easy Street.

I was eight blocks behind on the Barrister's Sow-Along. I got two of them sewn and four others cut and ready on design boards, waiting to be sewn. Wednesday Randy should be posting more, so I will be falling farther behind, but at least this is the last month I can lose ground, so it won't get too much worse.

And the mail box has kept on giving. This little tree sits in my sewing room on top of the cabinet for my Mom's 60-year-old Bernina. Beneath the tree I have placed several of the pincushions I made recently. Most of them will be gifts anyway, and they look like little packages sitting there. Next to the little stitched piece my sister made years ago sits a beautiful pincushion that arrived this week from Mary of Quilt Hollow. You can also see the charm pack for Metropolitan Fair that I hadn't found locally. DD#1 had it sent to me. Finally, I forgot to get a photo, but you've all seen the latest edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. Denise was blessed to win multiple copies and she shared the wealth. So fun to be blessed by the thoughtfulness (and talents) of others. Thanks to all!!

The little scrappy pineapple pincushion pictured above is my latest attempt at that thing I don't like to do (foundation paper piecing). I just love the results it gives. I haven't sewn this one closed yet and you can see the colorful pins along the bottom edge doing temporary duty. The pineapple block (pre-border) finishes about 2 inches. The problem with this one is that I used too high a quality of paper as the foundation. It loosened the stitches when I tried to remove it. Maybe if you enlarge the photo you can see the stitches showing along the seams. Made me sad. : (  So I pulled out some dollar store paper and printed a few more foundations. I will be trying again soon.

Still plenty of holiday preparations going on. I have pieced the backs for my grandson's gift quilts. Now I need to get them basted and quilted! Life is never boring, that's for sure!
Hope you are finding time to relax and stitch.
Until next time,
Janet O.