Friday, March 9, 2018

Snow day finish

It seems like my life has been full of a lot of unexpected things recently, including the snow storm that happened on the East coast this week.  It was wild! Heavy, wet spring snow that made the roads an absolute mess.  For a while there it was really hard to see outside.  We got hit on Wednesday, and the people to the north had to suffer through Thursday as well.  And of course everything was closed.  And we all know what that means, right?  Bonus sewing time!

I didn't think I'd have a finish this week, but I settled in and finished this little lovely:


If you recall, this is a little string top that I made a couple of months ago.  I made the blocks at the end of last year from the smallest of my strings.  The 16 little blocks were just destined for a box but they became this little top instead. While it was snowing, we were lucky enough to still have power (some people didn't) so I sat down and quilted this up.


The quilting for this little top went pretty quickly.  I used a walking foot to make a simple crosshatch through the string blocks, and then to outline the small inner border.  Then I used some chalk to draw in some scallops on edges of the inner border and echoed those twice to make a nice frame.  You can see it a lot better on the backing:


Well, I hope you can see that. After I finished it up, I had to add in that glass button in the center, you know, just to give it some color. All together, the quilting for this piece only took about an hour and a half, including drawing in the scallops.  I used the walking foot for the whole thing, which was awesome.  I think I could do a lot with this, and it makes me want to at least look at the book by Jacquie Gering on machine quilting with a walking foot.  It's so much easier for me than free-motion.  And it turned out great!


At about 24 inches square, this quilt is obviously wall-hanging size, and it happens that we just bought ourselves a lovely sideboard for some extra storage.  It's on a wall that spans the kitchen and dining room, which is all open.  I hung the quilt right above the sideboard, where it certainly shines:


The picture here doesn't do it justice because of the indoor lighting, but it looks really good against the blue-green wall.  I especially like how snappy that green binding looks.  It adds a nice happy spot to the kitchen, kind of like a stained glass window. I used Command strips to hang this directly on the wall.

So there's what I did on my snow day!  It was actually quite relaxing since I had no where else I could be and nothing else I should have been doing.  Oh, sure, I could have looked harder, but why?


Hope everyone has a good weekend.  Believe it or not, I'm going to be. . .cooking.  I know! But I really have no choice but to learn some new things in the kitchen.  I've been having some health problems for a little while now, and a couple of weeks ago I was (finally!) diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which is going to require me to eat gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free.  If you know any recipes which are not also taste-free, I'd love to hear them!


Sharing at Finished or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and crazymomquilts.

24 comments:

Bonita B said...

Love love the little stained glass mini quilt. Looks pretty above the sideboard. I grew up in northeast PA and we always had those heavy, wet, March snow falls that looked so pretty, and never lasted long enough to get too dingy and dirty. I also was diagnosed 3 yrs ago with an auto-immune disease that took a while to figure out what was going on. I researched and researched healthy options to treating it. I tried the Paleo diet and there's tons of good recipes on line for it, but it wasn't for me. I found a fb group for my disease and it has been a tremendous help with everyone sharing what's working for them and what's not working. I'm finding healing your gut is a good place to start...and high doses of Vitamin D. Best wishes to you in finding what works for you.

Terry said...

So pretty! I love the way you sashed between the squares.

piecefulwendy said...

What a lovely little quilt, and so bright and happy to work on during the snow deluge! I love to quilt with my walking foot, but I'm trying some free motion too. I don't have the Walk book but I'm very tempted. My Amazon order is growing. Haha! Hope you can find some good, tasty recipes for your new diet. The adjustment might be a challenge, but hopefully you'll feel better!

Sarah Aldrich said...

Penzeys.com has a number of great spice blends that add lots of flavor. My favorite is Fox Point Seasoning, but they have a lot of options. I would check with them to be sure that they ar free of all the things you need to be free of, but they do add lots of flavor to plain dishes. I will send other great recipes whEn I have time to get them together.

Lissa said...

The quilt is lovely! I know that Whole 30 recipes are all gluten/sugar/dairy free and most of them are really tasty :) good luck!

Preeti said...

A kitchen is a terrific place to hang a bright cheerful quilt. It is spring-like in winter. Love the backing. If you have scraps, I say dibs :-)
All Craftsy classes are $20 or less and I highly recommend Jacquie Gering's class. You know I do not FMQ. All I do is walking foot quilting - thanks to Jacquie.
Oh no, the diagnosis sounds terrible. But on the other hand, there are hundreds of recipes - yes sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and bursting with flavor. I will send you my super favorite recipe - Sweet potato Black Bean chili. Remember chicken in coconut milk with rice? There are so many possibilities. Seriously. Let's talk. Big Hugs.

chrisknits said...

What a sweet project. The border just ties it all together!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Cute quilt. Good luck with the recipes. I'm no help, since, as soon as someone tells me that they are '?' free, all I can think of are recipes WITH the banned food. Pinterest might be of some help. Mennonite Girls can cook (blog is my preference) have lots of gluten free options, not sure about the other options. I know they have a gluten free substitute that can be used in many recipes.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Great use of a snow day!!

Tammy said...

Your little quilt is beautiful! What a perfect spot to hang it. For good recipes I would start with Forks Over Knives. They have tons of recipes and tips/articles online. Their Spring magazine is also full of good recipes. Here's to healthy eating without being hungry! Be warned, it is a learning curve. I've also found Penzeys spices to be full of flavour without any added junk. Good luck. You'll start feeling better so quickly it will amaze you.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Really cute quilt.

MissPat said...

That's a great string wallhanging. I wouldn't have thought to use a floral border, but it does make it very spring looking. Good luck with the recipes. Such dietary restrictions do make it necessary to do more home cooking to control the ingredients, but much better for you. I agree with the Penzies recommendation. There are stores scattered throughout the country as well as the online catalog.
Pat

JanineMarie said...

I absolutely love this! (I knew I would--your blocks were the inspiration for my RSC2018 blocks.) The combination of the strings and those delicate flowers in the border is just precious, and now you get to enjoy it everyday in your kitchen (which looks lovely BTW--what I can see of it). I hope finding and cooking recipes for your new dietary requirements will be a fun adventure and not daunting.

Super Mom - No Cape! said...

I love this quilt so much! It's so bright and colorful and when you look at it, you just can't help but smile.

Linda Swanekamp said...

What beautiful colors and finish. It is an antidote to all the frozen snow.

Louise said...

Darling little quilt! I love both the border fabric and how you stitched scallops in the border :)

grammajudyb said...

What a sweet string quilt finish. Sorry about your diagnosis, but our granddaughter (32) is gluten-free, dairy-free and allergic to coconut, but we find lots of help online and have experimented (some good, some not-so good) with GF ready to eat breads etc. There are lots of options. Takes a little practice. But you can do it!

Lynn said...

That's a very cute quilt and the strips are inspiring. Great job with the quilting too and fits in a perfect spot.

scraphappy said...

Adorable little quilt! What a great way to spend snow day. It sounds like Paleo and Whole30 recipes would fit your new dietary restrictions. There are lots of good recipes out there for both.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Your quilt is a beauty, and it definitivelly shines on the wall!

Quilter Kathy said...

So pretty! I love the border fabric!

KaHolly said...

Really sings to me! Love the photo shoot among the trees in the snow! Good luck with your new diet. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to make so many changes. I don’t exactly like to cook.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

What a pretty piece and I love how you quilted with your walking foot. Perfect!

dq said...

Yay for snow days and a wonderful finish because of it! I love your quilt and just noticed that the backing is a piece I have for a quilt back.

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