Words to Live By

I have another of my "Words to Live By" blocks completed. This is going to be a really large quilt. Again, this was a summer block of the week last year but for me it takes a full year (or more) to complete a quilt like this. If you go to the link you will see that there are 672, yes, 672, half square triangles for the center block and borders and I did buy the finishing kit for that. So, I just did a test on the triangle method - see below - to see if they were accurate for 2" finished squares . . .

and my test showed that they were!! Yeah! I've not been as happy with some other paper triangles that I have used but these seemed just right!

 This week I have prepared the corner border blocks which are 8" finished, a little smaller than the center blocks.

 I changed the wording on this block to more reflect what I felt about words.

 Then getting this one with your own name sized to be just right was a little challenge, since the font size was not available on my computer.

And the last block - Respect! You trace these words with a lightbox which might seem simple enough, but when you are 'looking' through medium-dark fabrics with dots, etc, on them, it is not always easy to see through. I did iron freezer paper on the back when I traced to keep the fabric stable and it helped, yet did not seem to block the light.

Okay, now more stitching to do, but I enjoy the preparation as well!

PHQ Donation Quilt Block

Every year our guild makes a donation quilt and gives a large portion of the proceeds to Camp Rainbow in Augusta, Ga. I was given this block to do at Hickory Knob in January. So, now it is in the mail with my part completed - hand appliqué with needle turn and freezer paper on the top was my technique. I do not remember the name of the quilt but I'm sure it will be lovely.

This is the quilt that will be won by someone this fall. It is a Piece O'Cake pattern and we did a silver background to celebrate 25 years of our guild!

Going in Circles - Finished!

 Another completed UFO!! This quilt is about 24" x 24" so even the binding was easily completed quickly. I tried to follow Carol Taylor's instructions for the machine quilting - on my domestic sewing machine. However, I ran into problems (operator error) as I had some excess fabric which kept getting moved ahead and did not quilt out. Needless to say, after sewing so much, I was not taking the quilting out so I continued on......with some little 'tucks' on the front. Maybe I'll try another quilt like this again and use my long arm template for circular quilting (that I do not own yet).

 Here is a close-up! I love the fabrics and colors and am delighted with the overall look!

 I must conquer piecing curves!!

I just really like fun backs on quilts and this one makes me smile! Just a leftover piece from another quilt.

And a close-up! I am being inspired by Rosemary Young with all her quilt finishes these last few months! Stitch when you can!!

Going in Circles

I got started on one of my UFO finishes yesterday. This was a class I took from Carol Taylor last year.

This is what my project looked like when I left my class. It's funny, when you open the box after a year and see all the fabrics and instructions from a class, your mind can go blank. I had to reread everything and here is what I ended up with at the close of the day. I still CANNOT sew curves without getting 'excess fabric' that needs to go somewhere. Hopefully it will 'quilt out'!! Maybe I'll look for a youtube video on that.

No quilting yet but I will do as Carol Taylor did - lots of circles continuing around the block. I am happy with the fabrics and colors.

More Farmer's Wife Blocks

Here are just a few more of my Farmer's Wife Blocks. They are like eating potato chips - you just can't quit with one! I am using several different techniques, just depending on the difficulty of the block. For the top left block, I used paper piecing with freezer paper. I have the Electric Quilt cd for these blocks, so when they are simple, I just rotary cut them, according to their directions, or print for paper piecing. For many of these blocks, the Marti Michell templates work best as there are odd shapes or sizes, so now I have all the acrylic templates needed to make those and they fit together very well. Again, one of my favorite parts of these blocks is choosing the fabrics!!