Beauty for a small person

 Good day everyone! How are you today? I'm hanging in there. It's getting to be that time of year when it's dark when I get up and getting dark when I get home. This is no fun, especially because, somehow, the darkness makes people forget how to drive. Get it together, people! We can still see you trying to go 100 miles an hour through the traffic, even if it's dark outside.

Ah, well. Today I have something much brighter and happier to show off-- a finished baby quilt! Here she is:

Look at all that happy brightness. I almost took this little quilt apart because I wanted a print for the alternate blocks, then I remembered that I had looked for a print and didn't have an acceptable one. Good thing I remembered before I started in with the seam ripper. 

I made this little quilt top back in May, mostly to get those very cute churn dash blocks into a quilt top, and then hung it and the backing in the closet to age a bit. You know how that goes, right? Quilt tops have to age before they ripen enough to be quilted up. A friend needs a baby quilt for a girl, so I pulled this out and quilted it up to give to her. A win all around, I think. And Lord knows we need some wins around here right now.

I quilted this in a simple cross hatch, but used the serpentine stitch to make a wavy cross hatch. It looks great! Sometimes the simplest things are the best. The wavy cross hatch is also in Jacquie Gering's Walk book, along with some other cross hatch ideas.

 

The backing here is a fun dot that looks pink overall but is really a bunch of different colors. I originally had pink for a binding, but the aqua with the dots looks much better and goes with the fun owls on the front and the dots on the back. Overall, I am so happy with the way this turned out, and happy to pass it on to my friend to give to a 7 month old baby girl. 

 

With that, it's off to the weekend! Even though we're in this cycle where it's kind of nice all week and rains all weekend, I'm still happy to have a couple of days to rest a little. Hope you all get some rest, too, and maybe find something nice and bright to lighten up the darkness. Happy weekend!

 

 

 Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About Your Beauties, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique

Arabella has a garden

 Hello everyone! I hope you have been having a really good week. I'm still very down, but trying to work my way out of it. Our friend Preeti has released a new pattern, and she asked me to test it for her. I was going to say no, but some things happened, and I ended up saying yes. There is a story, but first, here is my version of Preeti's Arabella's Garden pattern:

Well, that's different, isn't it? But wait, there's more! Take a look:

Yes, I ended up making two. Preeti does not know about the second one, so she's probably said a few choice words by now, but they both have a story and both turned out well. I didn't get a chance to quilt the toddler size, but I think it turned out very cute and colorful and deserves some photos just the same.

 

Okay, I said there was a story, right? I was going to tell Preeti no, because I have a lot of work I'm doing and the family crisis is ongoing, as is the heartache. Well, then my brother called and wanted me to make a quilt for my sister in law, and could I please have it by their anniversary? Yikes! Does anyone say no to family? You are stronger than me. So it turned out that I could help two people in one go, testing Preeti's pattern and making a quilt for my brother at the same time. Win, win.

Okay, the quilt looks quite Christmassy, which was unintentional! My brother requested "cardinals" because my sister in law lost both her parents and has been very into cardinals lately. And then I had to add in the green because that was really the only color that would work for the corners. I guess I could have used more gray, but that might have been too depressing. You just have to listen to the fabric, you know?

 

 

I went looking for cardinals, but all of the cardinal fabric I found was Christmas fabric. I chose the least Christmassy one I could find (and there were not a lot), then combined it with a striped piece I already had which featured cardinals on a black background. I fussy cut that piece and only used the black stripes. I think they worked, and I'm glad they are out of here.

I quilted this in a crosshatch with pale gray thread in most of the quilt and black thread in the borders. The backing is the remaining cardinal fabric filled out with some gray to make the right width and length. And did you notice the mitered corners on those borders? The quilt is soft and cozy and ready to send off, and I really hope she likes it.

My quilt looks more traditional than Preeti's pattern, but that's me, you know? The pattern was very, very easy, and Preeti has this way of figuring out the least work-intensive way of making things. It's her genius, really, and many of those techniques are in the pattern, which is lavishly illustrated so you always know what to do. Some day I will figure out how to make illustrations that are that helpful!

So now we should talk about the toddler-sized, really colorful quilt. There is no real big story here, but I wanted to use fabrics that were much happier than the cardinals, and is there anything happier than a toddler quilt with yellow stars? I didn't notice until I was halfway through that the fabrics were mostly dots, but there we are!

This was a joy to work on and went together very easily. Most of this fabric, except for the background, came from the scrap bins, and even the yellow star fabric was a leftover from other projects. I think it worked out really well and I'm looking forward to quilting it. Since it's so dotty, I'm thinking bubbles for a quilting pattern.

And there we are! Run right over to Preeti's shop and grab yourself a pattern. This is a very easy pattern with great illustrations, directions for yardage and fat quarters, plus a fun coloring page. Plus it's on sale right now. You will not be sorry!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. The photo below has nothing to do with the quilts, but this friend was waiting for me right off our patio when I came home one day. Just hanging out, you know, like you do after a hard day in the trees.

 Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique.

Damp but full of joy

 Hi all! Has it cooled off where you are at all? We had several very hot days, including one where it reached 99 degrees, then we had a really big thunderstorm yesterday and it really cooled off. My husband and I call those "red storms" because of how they look on the radar, but this time red was our lucky color since it really is much nicer outside now. My brother, however, lives in Portland, Oregon, and he is baking, so I really do empathize with everyone in the heat. 

A good place to be in the heat is a nice cool sewing room, right? It was so hot that I went downstairs just to clean up that room. I sorted a whole bunch of scraps and felt very virtuous. And then I put a binding on another finished quilt. Yay me! Here is a new finished beauty:

 

 I love this quilt! I called it Joyful, because just look at it! Doesn't it scream "joy?" I'm sorry to say that I made this fun and happy quilt in 2017, and it has hung in the closet ever since. This is a shame, because it's just the kind of quilt you want to have around to look at and pick you up when you're a little down. I could have used this a few months ago.

 

I took the photos of this quilt this morning because I just finished the binding yesterday, and it rained and rained. This morning it was still really drippy in the trees where I usually take pictures, so I moved to the other side of our property, where there are fewer trees and we have the swingset. Why haven't I done this before? It was perfect for hanging the quilt and getting some really interesting pictures, plus I got to see some baby bunnies before they became hawk food. 

 

In my ongoing quest to clear out the unquilted tops in the closet, I finally sent this off to my friend Diane, who worked her magic using a stitching design called Cloud Nine. I love the design and think it really works on this square quilt. It gives it such great texture:

 

 

Every bit of this quilt is scraps, including, to my great surprise, the binding. I auditioned several bindings, including turquoise, pink, orange, and yellow, but none of them worked. 

 

 

What can I say? The quilt wants what the quilt wants, and this one wanted a scrappy binding. Thankfully, I have a jar where I keep all the binding ends from my quilts, and I used quite a few of those pieces in the binding here. I actually really like how it turned out, and now I have six yards of a really nice turquoise binding ready to go for some other lucky quilt. 

 

 

While we're looking, check out that backing! I bought this specifically for this quilt, which is something I seldom do, but who could resist? It's perfect for the quilt and makes the front of the quilt really shine. And it's also quite joyful!

 

When I made this quilt top, I started with the orphan block in the center and just kept adding rounds until I felt like it was done. The only goal was to use up scraps. Some of the rounds are things I hadn't done before, like the triangles and the arrangement of the geese. I learned something from each of the rounds, but I still like the geese the best. I think they turned out really cool-looking, and they were fun to make (not the case with most geese!)

So there is some reason for joy in my morning! I hope you all have lots of reasons to be joyful this weekend, and that everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day celebration. It feels so normal to say that! Happy Fourth of July, and I hope everyone overseas has a great weekend, too!

 

 

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, and Oh Scrap!

Cold, clear, and colorful

 Hello everyone! How is life in your neck of the woods? We have had a run of just incredible weather for January and it has been a joy to be outside for the last several days. Natives of the East coast here think it's cold, but it's been clear and sunny and in the 40s. Who could ask for more from January?

I have another finish to show off today! I told you I was busy over the break. When you don't have to ride off to visit the family, you can get a lot done. A silver lining of sorts, I guess. I'll warn you that there are a lot of photos here, because I am in love with this finish. Here she is:

 This is the Kaleidoscope quilt, and didn't it turn out magnificent? Not bad for a quilt kit that I picked up really cheap at a rummage sale!

 

 

For those who don't recall, I bought this kit a long time ago, waaayy back when we lived in Wisconsin and some time before I started this blog. I thought I was buying a wallhanging, but it had all the directions and fabric for a queen size quilt. The kit itself was a mess, but I straightened it out as I went. Somehow it worked out, even though the directions were super weird in some spots.

 

 

I worked on this off and on for a long time and finally finished the quilt top last year. Hurray! Then I sent it off to Alycia with a scrawled possibility for some quilting, a note that I like feathers, and another note that said she could do whatever she liked. And so she did!

 

 

The quilting here is unbelieveable and I am so, so in love with it! Just look at the quilt center! I was trying to get the texture and couldn't decide if it looked better in sunlight or shade, so you decide. It looks great either way.

 

 

Alycia must have had a great time because the whole thing is just really, really pretty. I pretty much followed a pattern and made a ton of mistakes, and she turned it into magic.

 

Can you tell I'm really happy? This quilt is staying with me and is on the bed in my guest room, which I cleaned off just to bring you this picture:

 

 

That bed hasn't been used in almost a whole year now, since we've been dealing with Covid, but I have high hopes that someone will be using the guest room this summer. According to our state's vaccination plan, my husband can sign up for a vaccine starting January 25, so we'll see how fast he can get in. I probably won't qualify until May (since I am so much younger and healthier! Okay, healthier at least.)

 

 

For anyone who is curious about the backing and can tear themselves away from the front, it's actually a print with stars from a snowman line of fabric. The binding is just the biggest piece that I had left from piecing the top. I wanted something lighter but there wasn't enough. Like the rest of the quilt, it worked out!

 

The "official" name of this pattern was Kaleidoscope of Kolor, and when I posted about it last summer when I finished the top Sue S (who is no-reply, so I didn't get to thank her) posted THIS LINK to the pattern, which is available digitally. (This would be a good time to thank all the no-reply commenters. I appreciate you, and respect that you want privacy!) I don't have another name for it, so if you have a suggestion, be sure to let me know! It looks vaguely Native American to me, but it needs a better name.

Okay, that's enough for now. I'm pleased as punch about this quilt, and I hope you've enjoyed seeing it as much as I've enjoyed sharing it. Many thanks to Alycia for the fabulous quilty goodness that really made this quilt come alive. (I'll bet she could work some magic for you, too, if you ask!) Hope you all have a lovely, happy weekend full of color!

 

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About your Beauties, and Finished or Not Friday.

Triangle party

Hi everyone!  First, I have very good news-- we have found a house, and they have accepted our offer.  Yahoo! We will have a place to live in Baltimore.  Our house hasn't sold yet, so right now I'm going back and forth between being really happy about the new house and being really panicky about owning two houses.  Finding a house is a huge relief for us, though, even though we may have to eat pretzels for supper for a few months. 

How should I celebrate finding a house? Well, by sewing something, of course, and to heck with the mess. The problem with pulling things out to stitch isn't having to pull things out and put it all away, but having to be super careful about the threads and the little snippets and the dust caused by the fabrics.  And it *is* annoying to have to put it all away now that I've had an actual sewing room.  But anyway. . .

I decided to finally, finally get started on the Beothuk Star quilt from Sandra at mmmquilts.  Yes, the quilt along ended in June, but I've been a little busy.  Here's as far as I got:

Piles of untrimmed hsts in the mulch!  Hey, I didn't say I got far! I just started with the cutting yesterday.  Thankfully, this is a really easy quilt and I have high hopes that mine will turn out as pretty as some of those I've seen online.

I think these colors are really pretty and they were doing a pretty good job of making me happy.  I bought the kit from Bernie's shop, and it looks like she has just one kit left, so you could hop right over there and get it.  She does have yardage, though, so you could make your own kit.  I was a little nervous about using a patterned background, but it turns out that the fabrics look great together and the print fabric looks good.  I did switch out the lighter pink in the kit for a pink fat quarter from my stash, mostly because I liked my pink a lot and I really want to use it.

That's it for the stitching time I've had so far this week, but I do plan to work on this over the 4th since I can probably leave the mess out there on the table.  I doubt that anyone is going to want a house tour on Independence Day-- but I'm willing to be wrong!

On a completely unrelated topic, I noticed this week that I have peppers and tomatoes!  Have I mentioned that it's been remarkably hot and wet here?  It was something like 92 degrees when I took these pictures.  It's certainly been great for the plants.  This year I got some pre-planted pots from the garden center and I didn't have high hopes, but it looks like I could be making salsa pretty soon!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th. I'll be taking it easy and sewing, then we'll probably do some food outside and maybe go to the fireworks.  Depends on whether it's raining or not!  Happy Independence Day, and enjoy your celebration of our great country!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social.

Down memory lane

Hello, friends!  Long time no see! What can I say?  Life happens.  It has been a jam-packed couple of weeks. I went to my usual conference and participated in a panel presentation, which was fun and interesting, but exhausting.  The conference was in Pittsburgh this year, and let me tell you-- Pittsburgh is a beautiful city! We didn't get a lot of time to explore, but I would definitely go back. After the conference we went to visit the grandchildren, and that was pure bliss.  My oldest grandson kept calling me "honey," and they were all just a joy.

On the home front, I've been trying to sew, but literally every time I pull out the machine, someone wants to look at the house.  This is great, but frustrating! We think we may have found a house in Baltimore, too, if someone else hasn't bought it before this publishes.  The housing market is crazy!  We've scheduled times to look at houses, only to get canceled because someone bought it before we could get there.  I guess we'll know pretty soon, though!

Since I haven't been sewing, how about a trip down memory lane instead? I have a few pre-blogging quilts that I've never talked about and they're feeling neglected, so how about a good look at this one:

Wow, that's a lot of color! It's really a lot, because this quilt is huge-- 74 by 96. I'm pretty sure that was the biggest quilt I had made at that point.

I made this quilt in 2006 for my daughter to take to college.  She was very involved and helped choose the fabrics and the backing.  You can tell she's my kid, because I think there are 52 different fabrics in the blocks, plus the background, backing, and sashing, and all of them are colorful.  Most I wouldn't have chosen, but they work great here.

This quilt taught me so much.  It's from a pattern in Quiltmaker magazine (sorry that I didn't keep the pattern so I can't even tell you when it was published, but I think it was 2005) and is the first quilt that I fully paper pieced.  I think I had made a wall hanging size quilt to learn paper piecing, but the blocks here were all paper pieced.  I remember tracing the pattern onto a lightweight paper instead of using a copier, and there are 48 blocks, so you know that took forever.  It certainly did teach me paper piecing, though!

This quilt also taught me to measure twice.  It happens that I cut every single piece of the sashing half an inch too short.  10-inch blocks, 10-inch sashing, right?  I cried when I realized my mistake, but then I just cut more, which means that I had pieces of that pink hanging around here for years.  There's probably still some somewhere.

This might be the first quilt I had long armed, too.  It was such a behemoth that there was no way that I could even think of quilting it.  It's also quite heavy, but she went to college in Wisconsin and lived in the dorm, so it worked out! I certainly got no complaints that it was too warm.

I've been storing this for awhile, so now it's going back to live at my daughter's house.  We've talked a bit about cutting into two smaller quilts (horrors!) and that may happen someday if she has more kids.  I'd love to see grandchildren playing with the quilt.  It would make two perfect kid quilts, don't you think?

All this time later, I still love this quilt. It was way outside my comfort zone at the time, and I would do so much differently now (use a copier, for one), but it's still great. And my daughter still loves it, so that's a win all around.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.  I'm going to try to pull out the machine this week and get some things done.  If someone buys the house, that would be better because I could make a mess again, so send all your good vibes! I'll be back sooner rather than later!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Finished or Not Friday.