Mission (almost) accomplished!

This will make fifteen little finishes just this year, once it is bound. That pile of little flimsies is getting tamed, slowly, but surely! This was Temecula's Summer Stars SAL, in a different setting than they used.

The number 15 doesn't include the wool mat and 2 pincushions I have squeezed in, too. Oh, it feels so good to see the pile of little flimsies down to almost nothing! (We won't talk about all of the bed-size ones hanging in the closet, okay?) Most of these were pieced between one and three years ago and have been languishing ever since!

This is only the second time I have tried curved cross-hatching on anything other than a practice sandwich. 

I love the look, but it is a bit fiddly to do.

You have to measure and mark the guidelines in each triangle.

Then you sew each individual arc going one direction, using a curved ruler as guide. Next you reverse and make the arcs coming from the other direction to create the cross-hatching.

All the while I have my straight edge ruler handy for all of the backtrack in the ditch you have to do when creating this design.

The curved rulers I use are from Jamie Wallen. He has videos on this same page that show how to do the curved cross-hatch in squares and triangles. Very helpful.

After finishing the cross-hatching, I couldn't find a design for the outer border that fit the dimensions and also matched the density on the cross-hatching.

I finally took a stencil, masked off one side of it, and tried staggering the pattern on a practice sandwich to see if it would fill in the way I hoped.
(I like to make my stencils work for me. I try to see them as more than just the obvious design.)

Then I marked the design in that overlapped way all around the quilt and stitched it in.

From this close-up you can also see that the sashing around the stars is a navy blue with a print in it. The outer dark border is solid navy. I ran out of the print and it was old enough I couldn't find more. I even had to piece it in a couple of places to sash the stars.
                                                                                                                



Now that same fabric has been reprinted as part of "Jo's Favorites", so I will be able to use it for the binding. The color is very true.

Here are the before and after shots of the latest batch, minus the batik mini. It is already gifted, but I have replaced it with the log cabin mini, which was a new start and finish this year.

The next batch of little quilts got basted Friday. Five of these are from past SALs (see why I am avoiding them?). I won't be getting these quilted as quickly--at least I don't think so.  I know how I will be quilting a couple of them. On the ones that currently elude me, I just start with the ditch stitching and hope that inspiration strikes before I finish that step.

I only have 6 more little flimsies left in the pile, and another 5 or 6 minis in the works. I want to do better in the future at not making as many starts until I catch up on more finishes. I know not everyone needs that, but when I have a mountain of unfinished business hanging over me it becomes oppressive to me. This doesn't mean I will not have UFOs anymore--not by a long shot!! But I don't like it when it gets too far out of hand!

Well, I have done it again--another lengthy post. My apologies. 
Until next time, when I hope I don't have so much to say!
Janet O.

A Quick Update

I know I don't usually post more than once a week, and it hasn't been a week since my last post, so I am getting ahead of myself. But I wanted to share the progress on the little flimsy pile.

A complete finish on this little quilt from Pam Buda's Orphans and Scraps SAL  back in 2013.

The quilting on these three is completed and the binding just needs to be stitched down by hand.

I did feather the basket quilt after all. Before I started the quilting I marked the outer boundary so the feathers didn't end up under the binding. Then I marked the curved spines for the feathers in the setting triangles. You can faintly see the white lines to the right.

I was pretty happy with the way the feathers turned out. I haven't stitched feathers for a while, so I was a bit hesitant to get started.

 For those who like to view things from the back, here is a view for you. : )

The log cabin quilt was fun, after I got the ditch stitching completed. I ditch stitched along every edge where the two contrasting color bands meet. Then I stitched a rope design in the light color and  a cable pattern in the dark colored logs.

Below is a view from the back.

I have seven more little quilts hanging in my sewing room, waiting next in line to be quilted.
That's all for now. Can you believe it? : )
Until next time, Janet O.

Down in the Ditch

I believe I have stated before that I take ditch stitching very seriously on my mini quilts. Well, that is what has pretty well consumed my sewing time since my last post. Here is the evidence.

Only just beginning the ditch stitching on the little log cabins. Then I have some cable designs I am thinking will go well down the furrows.

I was going to try to do this entire basket quilt with straight line quilting, but after doing all of the ditch stitching, and the basket weave and handles, I was sick of straight line quilting on this piece. I will set it aside for now.

The cross-hatching I had planned in the setting triangles may just be too much straight line for one little quilt. I may put feathers in them to juxtapose some curves onto all of the angles here.

This was a little Pam Buda SAL (Orphans and Scraps) a year or two ago. She made hers as a mini runner, but I wanted a little square. The blocks finish at 4". The 9-patch cornerstones are 1 1/2".

This was all ditch stitched, except the border. Often on minis I feel like too much fancy quilting can detract from the piecing, so I usually keep it pretty simple.

Here we have one of those Temecula SAL quilts that I tended to do in excess. I think I made three of these. The other two were gifted long ago and this one has yet to be finished. This SAL was called Summer Stars.  I wasn't enamored with the layout Temecula used, so I exchanged it for a layout they had used on similar sized blocks in another SAL called Blessing Baskets (I made 4 of that one).

Ditch stitching all finished here. This will probably get curved cross-hatching in the setting triangles, and I haven't decided yet on the outer border.

This is not a small quilt--it is a holiday table topper for the breakfast nook table. I pieced it from scraps I got in a scrap bin at a LQS years ago. I wanted to try a freehand holly design, and never could get up the courage. I finally went for it (after ditch stitching the borders).

This is the result. Better than I had hoped. As I stitched, I felt like the design was going down very unevenly, but it doesn't look as unbalanced as I feared.

 Had a sweet surprise in the mail yesterday from Pat (Amity Quilter blog). I had commented on a fabric she had used in a quilt and I was interested in it. She sent me some and I already know where it will go. See all of those HSTs a friend gifted me? This will be a perfect border fabric for a quilt from these pieces. I will throw in a little more darker blue with the triangles to tie it all together, but the orange-y coral and browns work great! Can't wait to get a chance to work on this. The quilt has been dancing in my brain for a while now.
Thanks, Pat!

Until next time, I am doing my best to stay away from SALs!! They really suck me in, as you can tell above.  : )
Janet O.

P.S. The Beast is in hibernation right now, but I really need to wake him up and finish him. It is so peaceful in the sewing room when he is asleep.

What a hodge-podge!

What started out as a simple leader/ender project quickly became my main focus.

Wanted to get these little log cabin blocks made and sewn together. I've only ever made small log cabin blocks using foundation paper piecing, and that's not how I did these.
So I was a bit nervous when I began squaring up the blocks, afraid I would have very wonky ones that wouldn't look good once they were trimmed. I was pleasantly surprised. To the right is all that came off as I trimmed thirty  3 1/2" finished log cabin blocks. Just a fuzz pile! Whew! That means all of my piecing of minis has paid off in more accurate sewing.

I am certainly my own worst enemy when it comes to finishing up the pile of little flimsies. I keep adding to it! The leftover 1" log cabin strips were sliced into 1" squares and now these little blocks are taking shape.




I did complete the smallest two little quilts from my last basting binge. The one on the left was a block gifted to me by Vic. Quilting on it was pretty basic--SITD and a scallop in the border.

The batik quiltlet was one of my test pieces when I reviewed Lisa Bongean's Itty Bitty Eighth rulers. I used her Pinwheel Garden pattern.

I ditch-stitched this as well, and then added some swags in the white and the border.

All of the HSTs in this were from a swap I did quite a while back with Sandi. I have made a baby quilt, ornaments, a pincushion and now this little quilt, all from those HSTs. There are still a handful left. I think I definitely got the better end of the swap!







Have finally chosen a spot for my Lori Smith Fit to Frame piece, which is still nameless. It now radiates its charm in the dining room--at least for a while, until I change my mind and move it somewhere else.

And through it all, I continue to plod along on the mammoth T-shirt quilt, which has now spilled onto the floor. My design wall accommodates a queen size quilt, but this beast exceeds the limits.

All of the blocks have been bordered to bring them to a uniform size and the fussy-cutting of the plaid sashing has begun. The shirts are not in their final layout yet. My OCD-ness will not allow the colors to have such random placement. I've just been too lazy to bring in the step stool I need in order to reach the top blocks and rearrange everything.

It is this time of year again on the farm. Twins and triplets will soon be frisking about the pasture and I will have full view from my sewing room window. I can't wait!


Until next time,
Janet O.

Two more down,

...about 18 more to go. I'm talking about little quilts that have been waiting to be quilted.

The patriotic one is the little quilt I made by slicing up a large LeMoyne Star block made by Michelle C.
The leaf quilt was made with the trimmings I begged for received from fellow class members after a demo of Carmen Geddes' fusible piecing method.

Kept the quilting simple on these two. 

The leaves got a hooked swirl and ditch stitching in the light border.

The stars were ditch stitched and then a paisley filled in the background. A simple looped border finished it off.

So now this pile of little basted quilts has become this pile of finished quilts--well, kind of. I had already gifted the snowman quilt, so I subbed the tumbler topper that I had made in the midst of the quilting frenzy. BTW, I have a bunch of those cut tumblers leftover. Anyone interested?

Now I have another pile basted and ready for quilting.

The pile includes a Temecula Summer Stars quilt, Pam Buda's Patchwork Pocket SAL, and the little r/w/b one at the bottom was a block gifted by Vic. It has taken me too long to get these quilted!

This is the state of my current little projects. Pinwheel Garden (blue and brown one) is receiving most of my attention, when I am not working on the ubiquitous T-shirt quilt. The other two projects are all cut, but haven't seen much action.

I'm not paper-piecing, as the pattern recommends, so it isn't perfect, but I am happy with it. The blocks are 4", as opposed to the 6" in the pattern. Everything seems to shrink in my hands. : )
Five out of twelve blocks made. I have all of the fabrics chosen and two more blocks are cut. The only rush on this project is my own anxiousness to see it completed.

 Took this shot from the front deck as the setting sun was sending a golden glow to the mountaintops across the valley. This is NOT the view from my sewing room window--opposite sides of the house.

Until next time,
Janet O.
 

Chalk up a couple more finishes!

 I am on a roll! Five of the seven little quilts I basted last month are now quilted and bound (plus the tumbler topper I made for my hutch). These are the latest two.

 

You may recognize that one of these quilts is my version of Pam Buda's "Tucker" SAL. 

 The other quilt is from a Lori Smith Fit To Frame pattern. About 4 years ago when a new LQS opened, they had this little star quilt on display. I remember loving it and wanting to make it. I bought the pattern, which was a rare event for me, at that time. Usually I made up my quilts as I went along. Though I loved the shop sample from a distance, I wasn't thrilled with the machine quilting--mostly SITD. I determined that I would hand quilt mine.

Well, according to my blog post from back in Oct. 2011, when I got this project to flimsy stage, it was the first "mini" quilt I ever made. Can you believe it? This was the first!! (And today I don't know that I would even consider it a mini.)
This little top has been sitting ever since then, waiting for me to hand quilt it. I finally faced reality and machine quilted it this week.
To the left is the back view.

I took one final photo of Snowball before gifting it. I added some quilting to the "snow base" and took it out for a photo in its natural habitat. I didn't use a flash so the quilting would show up.

If you follow the Temecula Quilt Co. blog you may have recently seen this rustic looking clipboard from Pottery Barn being used as a mini quilt holder. It was on sale and there was free shipping. How could I resist? This is hanging on the side of my kitchen cabinet now. I love it.


 Look at this cute little heart quilt that was my Valentine from a sweet blog friend (thank you, thank you). Perfect for the little quilt hanger I got for my birthday last year.

 And speaking of Valentines, hubby and I took the day last Friday for a Valentine getaway. We drove south a couple of hours to a couple of events...

The new LDS Temple in Provo, UT is currently open to the public for tours prior to dedication, and the BYU Museum of Art was hosting a Norman Rockwell exhibit. Thoroughly enjoyed both experiences. We also took a test drive in a car we are considering, got a little lunch, and stopped at Trader Joe's before heading back home. Not a single quilt shop was visited in this excursion. I'm slipping!

Until next time,
Janet O.