Little bits of progress.

I had hoped to have my Barrister's SAL flimsy finished by now, but it isn't quite there. After sewing on the two originally planned borders, it didn't appear finished to me. So after a couple of trips to the thrift store I found the two burgundy shirts that make the final border. I haven't had a chance to attach that outer border yet, but I am liking what I see.

I did get the outer border sewn on the Pam Buda Orphans and Scraps mini. Purple may not have been everyone's choice, but I liked it best of the 8-10 fabrics I auditioned, and I was tired of trying to find the perfect fabric. So this will do. It will be bound in black. Finished size will be 16" square.

Recently my mailbox yielded this fun surprise from Denise. I was so excited and spent much time perusing them when I should have been doing something else. I have already copied out dozens of pages for the mini foundation patterns. Can you believe all of the paper piecing this girl has been doing lately? Prior to making Julie's Poor Li'l Punky pincushion last fall I was sure I would never paper piece again. But once I had made that cute little thing I was hooked. I still don't love doing it, but I love the results! I can't wait to try some of the teeny patterns I found. Thanks, Denise!

I am way behind on this little SAL, but I finally got my first row of blocks cut for the Temecula SAL currently in the works. They should sew up quickly--if someone else was doing them. : )

And I am trying to keep my promise to myself to practice feathers this year. Just a little time spent yesterday doodling feathers. I am getting more comfortable with the form of the feather. I am determined to get comfortable enough to be able to include them on a quilt wherever I would like.



This lovely pile of wooly fabric is the product of my first attempt at felting wool. With a little encouragement and help from my friend, Gayle, I cut up my thrift store finds and went to work. I am excited to get some of my current projects finished (who am I kidding?) and choose one of Lisa Bongean's patterns to work on.
Thanks for all of your suggestions, Gayle. It worked! Imagine that! : )

Just wanted to show you something that caught my eye the other morning. Those frosty trees in my header have been looking like that every morning for weeks, but a few mornings ago I noticed some black specks in the trees near the end of the row. Could it be? I zoomed in as close as my little "point & shoot" would allow.

Sure enough, there were birds perched among the frosted branches. I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't have a second home in a warmer climate. : )

Stay warm,
Janet O.

Random Objects

When Pam posted the finish for her little Orphans and Scraps SAL I loved the tiny table runner she had made. But the more I thought about it the more I realized I didn't have the perfect place for one of those, like she does. So I ruminated on it a while and came up with this.

Remember that these blocks are only 4" finished. The little sashing 9-patches finish at 1 1/2". I'm still trying to decide if I want to put a colored border all around it. I am leaning that way, but I can't decide on a color.

My Mom's birthday is Groundhog Day, so I was working frantically this past week to finish up the little pineapple ornaments for her. I hung the dozen ornaments on the little tree I had left out in my sewing room, draped it with a cloth and took it to my parents' home. I had Mom close her eyes while I uncovered the tree. She loved them.
As she got closer and looked at each ornament she realized they were made of fabric scraps from her quilts. Then she was thrilled. It was a fun surprise.


As I had been gathering the leftover parts of Mom's quilts that she has given me over the years so that I could make the pineapples, I came across a little baggie of small 9-patch blocks she'd had leftover from a quilt. I cut some setting squares and used them as my leader/enders while I made up a couple more Easy Street blocks. This is what I came up with using those little 9-patch blocks. I haven't sewn the borders on yet, but I am happy with it. Most of the blocks, except the three in the middle, were dark blue or brown and I wanted to brighten it up a little. The only three blocks with color went down the center and a narrow red print border helped balance it out. Brown Moda Essential Dots finish it off. Would you bind it in red?

I had been using Easy Street as my leader/ enders while I sewed this week and my goal was to finish two more blocks, but I don't use leader/enders with paper piecing, so while working on the pineapples, I didn't get very far on those two blocks. That is why I had to just focus on finishing the two blocks, using something else as my leader/enders in the process. Here are all 4 of my E.S. blocks. I still have a long way to go on this one!

The green is much more dominant than I anticipated. I may go heavy on the blue in the borders--if I ever get that far. I should make up some setting triangles and see how it all plays out with the colors. That will have to wait. I've got some catching up to do on my BOM, and I'd really like to get to the Temecula SAL. Not to mention my REAL projects. : )
Until next time,
Janet O.

Such cute little things...

... I just couldn't resist them! I was introduced to Pam Buda's Pocket Patchwork Orphans and Scraps Sew-Along on Gayle's blog. These little 4 1/2" blocks just grabbed me. I had to  sew every spare minute on Monday to make them. Pam hasn't posted the setting yet.  Aren't they sweet? The method for creating the on point 4-patch blocks is genius!

Then there is this baker's dozen of tiny pineapples (about 2"). My Mom's birthday is Saturday and you may recall that I am surprising her with these pineapples made into little tree ornaments (which I have yet to finish, obviously). Each one is made from some of the scraps she has given me as she has finished one of her quilts the past 10 years or so. I can't wait to see her face when she opens them.

Finally, in the cute and little department, is my version of Lori's Abundance doll quilt.

As all of this is coming together, I am also still plugging along on sewing the Barristers SAL blocks together and using Easy Street as leader/enders. There are so many projects on blogs that are calling to me. I need to focus and stop listening to those voices. : )

What voices are distracting you?
Janet O.

Just wanted to share this shot of the sun burning through 

the hazy sky near the corkscrew willow in our yard recently.

Doing A Little Sewing Along

First off, Cheri's Simply Sweet little SAL. I have such a hard time resisting her little SALs. The colors shown here are pretty accurate. I purposely wanted mine to have a dark look. I used up the last piece of a favorite red (yes, Julie, THAT red), and I included some of the scraps from the Homestead Hearth scrap bag I ordered after Kathie shared this marvelous source with us. (I had to laugh when I looked up Homestead Hearth to make this link. Since Kathie blogged about them they are now saying there will be a 3 to 4 week delay in getting a scrap bag. They must have been swamped with orders.)

Next up, we have the center of Lori's little Abundance SAL. I'm trying to choose fabrics that make this look aged. Today Lori is going to post the next part. I really like it so far.

I am also trying to get the rows of my Barrister's SAL blocks put together. I've shown it on the design wall before. I will wait until it is all sewn up before posting it again.                                                                                                       And through it all, Easy Street parts are providing my leader/enders. I have all of the pieces cut out. Here they are on design boards, stacked in my sewing room, waiting to be sewn together. When I have more blocks actually assembled I will share the effect.

Finally, I am working on my snowman blocks from the Lisa Bongean's class. I made up a second snowman block today. We received the two blocks on the right in our kit, along with the entire pattern. Since I ordered the smaller size quilt kit after the class, I am just going to make a wall hanging or something, out of these three blocks. I still have some stitching to do on the third block--lots of snowflakes.

And speaking of warm winter blessings, we have actually stayed above zero degrees for a full 24 hours. We haven't done that in a long time!Until next time,

Janet O.

"Primitive" Trunk Show

All I can say is, if you ever get a chance to attend a class or trunk show by Lisa Bongean, GO!
This isn't everything she displayed, but I think you can get a feel for the quality of show she puts on.








The "Old Glory" mini charm pack and pattern for making this sweet little 12" square piece was at each place setting.

See the fingers in the upper left hand corner? They give you an idea of how small this one is. This is the size of the kit that I ordered. So cute!

The shop that sponsored the event (Village Dry Goods in Brigham City, UT) provided a little quilt from one of Lisa's patterns as a giveaway. I didn't win. : ( 

Okay, this little gem is the other kit I ordered. Am I crazy or what? Look at the tiny HSTs around the edge. What am I thinking? This same pattern is available in a larger size with a black background (see below), and I love it, too. But this one stole my heart.

She had so many cool table mats. I can't believe I didn't get photos of any others.

I really think I need to make these ornaments!

I wish I had been able to get pictures of more of the large quilts, but you get the idea. Very fun evening!

BTW, I have contacted "dstitcher" (no blog), whose name I drew to receive the Jamestown pattern. Sorry I didn't mention that sooner. Things just get pretty crazy sometimes and stuff slips through the cracks.

And finally, I joined the group at a LQS for a Scrappy Trips sew day using Bonnie Hunter's pattern. I had a bunch of 2 1/2" mostly KT strips left from a few quilts I have made from those fabrics. So I cut a few more and spent 6 hours in My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe "Attic" classroom (just before going to the trunk show), and this is what I have so far. And yes, the control freak in me required that I put the light squares through the center of each block.  That's how I roll. : )

Until next time,
Janet O.

A Primitive Gathering

I spent a very fun day in a neighboring valley being instructed in all things wool by none other than Lisa Bongean, of Primitive Gatherings. Some of you are smirking now, I'm sure, because I've often  said I would never do wool. What can I say--Lisa designs the most gorgeous and whimsical wool applique patterns, like the one below. I'm hooked (okay, Julie, you can say, "I told you so!", and Karen, I know you are probably smiling to yourself).

This is the fun snowman we stitched today.

It isn't really this dark. I took the photo without a flash because it washed out the details. And we started on this block of stitched words. My goodness, I haven't done embroidery stitches in decades!











The snowman quilt hanging here behind Lisa is the pattern we were using. It also comes in a smaller version, which is one of the kits I have on order. I don't have a wall big enough to hang the larger version.

 The class was a beehive of activity all day.

I didn't get a photo of the mini flower quilt that I also ordered. How did I miss that? Well, Friday night is a dinner and trunk show, so hopefully I will get a photo of it then. It is incredible and I don't know what makes me think I can do it. : )
I did bring home these, because I don't have enough projects and I have all the time in the world.

I attended with a sweet new friend and you can see the two of us here with Lisa at the end of the day.

Lisa is so real and down to earth. What a delight! I enjoyed her no-nonsense approach, her sense of humor, and her teaching methods. The speed with which this woman can do the blanket stitch boggles my mind.
We had the pleasure of her company at our lunch table and enjoyed getting to know her a little bit more.

You can see Lisa's post about the day here. You may recognize a face or two. : )

More to come after the trunk show!
Janet O.

Stumbling Down Easy Street (and other adventures)

Yup, that's right. My Easy Street is made from thrift store shirts, and that shouldn't come as any big surprise. I know I said I was planning on using repro fabrics, but since I don't start the mystery until after the reveal, when I saw Bonnie's finish I felt it was more suited to my shirt selection than my repro stash. Other than my gold (I call it mustard) for her gray, and my more neutral background, I just subbed different shades of her same colors.

When I started in on the quilt last week I was going to cut everything for the entire quilt and then sew one full step at a time. However, after getting the first two steps cut and starting on the third, I got curious how my fabrics were going to work together. So I stopped cutting step three and cut just a few each of the rest of the steps. Then I assembled one block "A" and one block "B". I'm so glad I did. Although I really liked my shirt colors together, there just wasn't enough contrast with my purples and some of the darker blues and greens. So I dug through the shirt stash again and came up with more light blues and greens, sorted out the darker parts from the piles of things already cut, and unpicked the darker parts from the sewn blocks. I'm still not sure what the overall effect will be, since these are the only two blocks I have made, but at least the colors aren't one big dark blur.

And speaking of quilts made from shirts, I have come up with the final setting for my Barrister's Sow-Along blocks that I showed in my last post. I haven't changed the layout--I have just added the setting triangles and borders. None of it is sewn together. It is all just stuck on the design wall.

I get questions about how many shirts it takes. For the individual blocks I would just cut off a sleeve from each of the shirts I wanted to use, so there were parts of lots of shirts involved there. A "Large" size, short-sleeved shirt provided the setting triangles. The back of a shirt provided the strips for the narrow border. And the outer border is the same fabric as the setting squares. Remember I had 3 shirts of that same fabric, and I have used most of the big pieces of those shirts now, but still have plenty left that I could use in pieced blocks. I actually fussy-cut the border strips so that I could match the plaids and make the border look continuous. Some of you may groan or roll your eyes, but that is part of my obsessive nature and I have learned to live with it--even embrace it. : ) I hope to have this top to flimsy stage by the end of the month. I'm only doing a row or two at a time because I need to focus on making my Mom's birthday present that I mentioned in my previous post.

You can imagine that with all of the shirt work going on around here that my sewing room looks like an explosion in a shirt factory. Gotta do something about that.

Finally, I did get my BOM, Random Roses in Jamestown (because I used random rose fabrics I had collected for a few years), blocks all made last year (thanks to Teresa's loan of her acrylic templates). Though the pattern uses log cabin blocks for setting squares, I think I am going to use some sort of chain block. I just really like chains for setting squares.

If you are familiar with this pattern, you are aware that it is a Marti Michell BOM only offered through quilt shops.  You cannot just go out and buy the pattern. This is what the pattern actually looks like. I  pulled this photo from the web.

The same "Jamestown" pattern has most recently been reincarnated as the "Stonehenge meets Jamestown" BOM--same pattern, different fabrics. I received the pattern from Marj when she offered it on her blog after finishing with it. I am going to do the same. If you are interested in receiving this pattern, let me know in your comment. If more than one would like it, I will draw the name.
BTW, the pattern does include paper templates, but it does make up easier if you have Marti Michell templates, sets A & C.

That's it for now. Until next time,
Janet O.