Fall 2017 Projects

I'm still working on several long-term projects and do not have any finishes yet. . . . .however, I have a couple of new quilts that I've enjoyed making to share.

Here is Scrappy Trip Around the World, a pattern given free by Bonnie Hunter on her website. I saw a quilt on someone else's blog and it made me want to make this. I had been cutting 2 1/2" strips when I had a little fabric leftover from a project and not much yardage left so I had a plastic shoebox full of strips. Many different fabrics are included.

I think Bonnie's was much larger but this is about 58" x 84". Even the border was leftover from a backing for my Lollypop Trees a few years ago. Just a simple pantograph with variegated thread and it was done!

 This quilt was SO fun to make. Now it made me think, contemplate, audition tons of fabrics and put them up on the design wall and a lot of playing but so enjoyable. I am quite pleased with it as I've done some improvisational quilting before and that is how this went. I was inspired by a quilt by Kaffe Fassett in his book Bold Blooms, called Gray Random Strips. I had the center piece like his but from there on, it was just trying to get the same look yet using my own fabrics and having fun.

 Here are some tulips that go back into the early nineties or late eighties by Jeffrey Gutcheon - I still have that in several color ways but it worked well in this quilt. I finally had to make a trip to the quilt shop to get enough larger pieces for the borders.

This backing by Laura Heine had been in my closet for years waiting to be used. It was just the right amount and I liked how it went with the very center floral in the quilt.

I finished one more block in my Flower Garden quilt - pattern by Kim McLean. I think I've been working on that for five years.............oh well! Still pretty to me.

My daughter's family had to evacuate when Hurricane Irma came up the coast so they spent several days with us. The children had previously enjoyed having me cut squares and triangles with my Go Cutter and they chose their fabrics and their design - all by themselves. Nana sews them together later on and makes the quilts for them. Lacey, who is 5 made the design on the left and older brother Jake who is 6, the design on the right. He wanted a pattern to develop with his and he did it all by himself. If he ran out of fabric he'd just use another that was a similar color he said. We did have fun!!

 I mentioned earlier that I was doing the 2017 BOM with Sarah Fielke, Down the Rabbit Hole, and this is my center. I'm a little behind - think I'm up to May now. 

I just finished making 40 little tiny houses to go around the center. Very tiny - makes me think of the tv show, Tiny Houses. Right now I am ready for some appliqué after sewing those tiny 1" strips but they are cute and colorful!!

Happy Quilting and maybe it won't be nine months before I do another post!!

A Different Month

This is my Dad - he was 94 1/2 when he passed away this month on October 6, 2016. He lived a long full life, loved the Lord, loved his family and enjoyed being the oldest in his family thus far. He still has two siblings in their eighties coming behind him. In fact, all the children in his family made it well into their eighties or nineties.

He loved to sing as did all his family and began a choir at our church when I was growing up. Many people shared with us their love of music because of what he did to encourage others. He continued to play the piano - by ear - even into his nineties. 

He was proud of me for my abilities to sew. He'd tell people of how I made a suit when I was 14 years old and it looked like it was store-bought. Two days before he died I sat with him most of the day, stitching on a quilt, just being there with him.

My quilting has surely been my therapy these last few months as we had to take him to a memory care center for his dementia and severe aortic stenosis. 

However, as long as I could still stitch some, it soothed my soul and mind and continues to help me through difficult days. 

He is well now, with Jesus, my mother and so many others who have gone before him. I feel blest to have had such a wonderful father and be by his side as he drew his last breath here on earth. I've lived 1 1/2 miles from him for 16 years and shared many days with him. 

Here is some other family that was here during this time.

Fortunately almost all our family was here with us for several days - here my son and his wife and daughter and grands!! 

My husband, Papa, and Jake and Lacey!

After my Dad's funeral, we all stopped at Fresh Air Barbecue in Jackson, GA, where we've been going for 50 years or so. So good!! There's still a lot to process and work to be done but I wanted to share this part of my life not really quilt related, but yet it is. 

When I was 14, my parents bought me a top of the line sewing machine for Christmas - A Singer Touch and Sew - with all the bells and whistles of that day. I had learned to sew at age 12 and truly have been stitching ever since!! How blest I was for this gift from them and the encouragement it gave me! 

And here is where it has taken me!

 I have been working on my Di Ford Mountmellick from 2014.

 Two borders have been completed and there are two more to do.

 My Mountmellick.

Just a close up - I like the little hexagons in the corner.

Another block from my Happy Days Sarah Fielke BOM. Only two more blocks and then the border to do.

 This project is a pineapple Christmas quilt. The papers here are from at least 20 years ago and somehow I continued to save them. I drew up the design I wanted to do in Electric Quilt 7.

I'm using many strips that were already cut from a previous project that went by the wayside - it was a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for Christmas. Somehow, I never got more than step 2 done yet all my fabrics were ready for a project so here it is.. . . . . . eventually. . . . not this Christmas!!

Happy Stitching!!

Spring 2016

It's been a while since I blogged so I'm going to pick up where I left off in March. Life has been busy and it's easy not to blog or think no one is reading anyway with so much other social media. But, this also helps me keep up with my quilting to see when I made things so here goes!!

 This is my stack of circles I worked on early in the year. I finally realized I was getting little else done even though I liked the project so stopped at around 100, which will make a nice wall hanging. This was from Quilty Folk.

 Our quilt group had a retreat at Mexico Beach, Florida, since one of our members moved there to retire. We had a great area for sewing - the clubhouse of the neighborhood. Only four of us were able to be there so we missed the others but were able to share with texting, etc. Above is one of the blocks from my Sarah Fielke BOM 2016 - Happy Days. 

 Here is Jane on the left showing her Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt from last year - Allietare. She did the smaller version and even did the scalloped border - it looks beautiful! Gerry is on the right holding it with her.

 We went to a quilt shop in Panama City, Quilting by the Bay! That was fun!

Here was a display when you walked in the door!!

 

 We made it to the beach one day.

 Gerry was stylish in her hat as she sewed her red and white quilt. 

 Jane with her pretty pineapples!!

One of Wonda's projects had these pretty stars around the border.

 More of my Sarah Fielke BOM. 

And one more block - this is going to be a bright and busy quilt!

Lots of Appliqué Going On!

Here is Allietare, the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt 2015. It was supposed to be my February finish and it came close. All is done but the binding and I must find a red that works and just haven't gotten that purchased. I went scrappy on my narrow gold border but I want the binding to be one fabric.

 Here is the appliqué! More circles - these are just a few I've sewn. Think I'm up to about 45 now and I began on February 28. My goal is to make 366 this year so I am playing catch up. Just can't help needing to have it all in one year.............crazy, isn't it?? They are fun and easy though. 

I am now moving into my Kaffe Fassett box as can be seen on the top right and bottom left. The bottom left is one of my favorites. It was used in Lollypop Trees and I think even reprinted years later. The tulips on the bottom right - of which I have about seven color ways, were a Jeffrey Gutcheon fabric from the early nineties I think. I just loved all those pretty tulips.

 Here is some finished appliqué from my Sarah Fielke BOM, Happy Days. I used the starch method for appliqué so it's a good bit of prep time but it sure makes it easy to stitch once you get that done.

 Here are more waiting to be stitched. It was fun choosing all the colorful leaves and arranging them.

I used a very unusual background - low volume - which I still wonder about but in the grand scheme of things, I think it will be fine. It's going to be a large quilt and these are just a few wreaths along the borders. 

 This is the pieced block for the second month. A challenge to put together but I am happy with the results.

One day I had the idea of making two BOM quilts so I pulled fabrics together and came up with this block. Once I received all the appliqué on the second month, I came back to reality and said no. I have way too many other things to finish but I like the block. I'll figure out somewhere to use it one day!

Botanical Garden

 This quilt is from the book below by Sarah Fielke. It was quite fun choosing all the fabrics, even though it took many days to pull it all together.

 Below is her version in the book.

I laid out tons of fabrics on the table and begin sorting . . . again and again . . .

 I finally cut some and put the blocks together.

 And then changed those again and again. . .lots of decisions!

 Below it is coming together!

 Above and below are auditions for that triangle. Honestly, either would work but which is the best?

 Here it is on the design wall . . .

and still hanging on the longarm.