ROUND ROBIN

I'm still pondering what pattern to use for the next border, but I think I have the fabrics.  The owner requests that we stick with batiks and batik-like fabrics.

 

 

The pattern chosen will determine how many I need; but I'm leaning toward dogtooth border with the top two.

 

Decisions, decisions!

 

 

What to add?  What to add?

 

HOOTY TOOT

Hooooo doesn't love owls?

Sindy, of The Scratching Post yahoo group, and FatCat Patterns, has okayed a swap using her own pattern.  You must be a member of the group to participate.  We are swapping all 10 pieces needed to make one owl here.  They need to have fusible attached to the back, but then the pieces are placed in a baggie - not fused together.  That's why my owls might look a bit wonky -- the pieces are just laying there together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have 8 blocks total ready to send, in 3 different versions.  We have until the end of Sept. to send your block pieces, but I hate to procrastinate on swaps, and I think these will make cute Christmas gifts or guild boutique items, like placemats, totes, etc.

 

By the way, when you hear "Hooty Toot" swap, does anyone else get the "Tooty Ta" children's song in their head?  I have grandchildren who sing that song with motions.  If you are going "What is she talking about now?"  here's a U-tube link to the Tooty Ta song.

 

DUTCH TREAT

 

Remember these?  They're my little Dutch Treat blocks

 

I've decided these will be my hand work travel project this summer.  I haven't worked on them since my eyes improved with my Prose devices.  Hmmm.............  Bet I'm better at them now that I see better -- think?

 

Here's the book these little pretties are from.  It's out of print, but many stitchers around the world are still working on them.  The book is called Dutch Treat, and the quilt is referred to as Deft Delft, but most of us just call it Dutch Treat.

 

 

Here's some of my blocks before I decided on my final fabric choice.  I'll have to make something small with them I guess.

So, last night, I prepped blocks to be ready to grab and go.

Are you thinking she has so many different things going on at once?  Really?  Yes, that me.  Queen of quilter's A.D.D.

AIMING FOR ACCURACY QUILT ALONG, Lesson 2

Last night I finished the second lesson in this quilt along.  Here's my Lesson 2 block.

This is another ginormous 15" block!  I love how we're sashing as we go.  That will make it much easier to put it all together.

Here's a picture of my first two blocks -- we are getting one lesson per week on Thursdays.  They are not next to each other in the finished quilt.

If you are interested in this free on-line project, look for the link in my left sidebar. 

FOUR FOR THE 4TH

 

Here are my four 2" cakestand baskets, keeping up with the challenge (link in my sidebar), so far one each day of July.  I'm not sure if I'll continue with this red/blue colorway or go scrappier.  We'll see.................

Meanwhile, I have a setup going now, which is making this much faster. 

 

I'm using little metal sundae dishes to hold the various sized pieces for background.  That way I just need to select the basket fabric and cut that for the day.

 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

 

The next round of the medallion swap has arrived, but I'm not quite sure what to do with it next.  Usually I know right away, but this time, not so much.

The previous stitcher left that last blue border large, so I can trim it to fit what I decide to do.  Wasn't that thoughtful?

So please help me out here.  What do you think the next border round should be?  Stars?  Piano keys?  Applique?  What?

Thanks in advance for leaving your suggestions in comments.

A JULY CHALLENGE

Have you noticed all the challenges in the on-line quilt world lately?  Seems every blog or page I go to has one.  Don't they know it's summer?

Pat Sloan is challenging us to sew every day in July.  That's not really a problem, as I do sew almost every day.  But in July?  Maybe not.  I have travel plans.  Places to go.  People to see.  Grandkids to play with.  You get the idea.

While blog hopping tonight I saw Thelma's (of  Cupcakes and Daisies blog) post about Sheryl's (of the Temecula Quilt Co.) July challenge.  You make one cakestand basket block a day, every day in July.  The pattern is by Marsha McCloskey.  That's not so hard, but wait..............the finished size is 2".  That's a 16 piece block that finishes 2"!

Well really, these little cake stand blocks are cute! 

The finished size is 2"???  Now that's a challenge.

 

I can't make a block a day, but maybe I can make 31 blocks in July. 

Same-same?  I do love a challenge!

 

Then I noticed Thelma was using a Judy Martin Point Trimmer.  Don't I own that?  Quick search.  Yes.  Still in its package.  Goodness.  Must be I'm meant get it out and use it and do this challenge.  The universe is making me do it.

 

Here's my first cut, a one inch square for the top.

 

 

After cutting out all the pieces, I used that Judy Martin trimmer to trim the ends of the triangle units.  Wow!  Easy!  Nice!  Why haven't I used this before???

 

. 

 

 

The HSTs are made from 1.5" squares, and finish at .5".  Here I'm trimming the edges to a perfect 1".

 

 

Looking good.

 

 

 

Here's the back.  You trim the seam to 1/8" and press open, because it's so tiny.

 

 

 

All the pieces, ready to put together.

Oops!  That's the wrong triangle on the bottom.  It should be background color.  Switch!

 

 

 

Those trimmed off points sure make lining up to piece easier!

 

 

 

One block finished!

 

Looks pretty accurate!  Whew!

The second one went together much quicker.  Of course, I wasn't stopping to take pictures, but the second of any block is always faster.

 

So, today is July 2, and I have two blocks done.  With two hours left in the day:)

Who will join us in this one?

The links above take you to all you need.

I know some of my quilting buddies love tiny blocks.

 

 

At the end of the month we get two setting options.  Hmm................

You know you want to!

 

 

AIMING FOR ACCURACY QUILT-ALONG and a tutorial to make 8 HSTs at once

Here's my first block for the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along.  This is a ginormous 15" fs block, so I used some of my larger prints.  You can find the entire tutorial for the block here, on the quilt-along web site.  There is also a link to this activity on my side-bar.

This block contains eight half-square-triangles, all made from the same two fabrics, so I used a quick-piecing method (which I did not invent) and decided to make a tutorial as I went along, to share my method to quickly and accurately construct the block.

Step 1:  Figure out the size you need to cut your fabric to start with.  I am making 5" finished size (the size they will be when sewn into a quilt, fs) half-square-triangles (HSTs).  Take that number and add 1" to it.  You may have been taught to add 7/8" instead.  That is the number to add if you are extremely accurate and your HSTs turn out perfect every time (not me!).   That extra eighth gives you wiggle room and wastes only a tiny bit of fabric.  So now I'm at 6".  Now double that and I'm at 12".  Cut a 12" square of each of your two fabrics.

Position your fabric squares right-sides-together (rst). 

Using your ruler, draw a line diagonally from each corner making an X, and again horizontally and vertically across the center making a cross.  This is a square-on photo, but the lines are light for a tutorial.  I darkened them and took the next picture, but it isn't straight-on.

Next, stitch 1/4" away from each side of the diagonal lines (the X).

 

I used gray thread, so it might look like more drawn lines, but that is stitching.   Now cut your block apart on the drawn lines..............

 

 

horizontally, vertically, and on both diagonals.

Press each of the eight blocks open and square up to 5.5".  There are many methods of squaring up; use your favorite.  I have a 5.5" square ruler, so I just laid it over each block with the diagonal line on the seam line, and trimmed.

 

You get very little waste with this method (this is all the scraps from 8 blocks),

 

and very accurate HSTs.

 

Here's my eight, made in very little time.

 

There are many other tutorials out there about the importance of pressing, using sizing, etc.  This tutorial was created with the intent of sharing how to make 8 HSTs quickly and accurately.  And, drum roll........................ 8 HSTs were just what I needed for this block.

 

 

There are many ways to make HSTs.  This is what I used for this:)

 

The next installment of the QAL comes out July 4, so I need to get going with my sashing cutting.

QUILTING WITH A FRIEND



My friend, Carol, came to visit for a few days.  While she was here we decided to work on our Piecemakers' quilts.  Every year Piecemakers comes out with a calendar and quilt pattern for it.  They are rather daunting art quilts, way out of my norm. 

 

When the ocean quilt "Exploring Other Worlds" came out last year as the 2013 quilt, I knew I wanted to make it.  I started collecting fabrics, trims, etc.  So when Carol was here, it was time to get started on this ginormous project.

 

Here you can see my start, and Carol tracing patterns for the applique in the background.

And here's Carol, holding up her progress so far.  We are working in my very messy creative studio.  It's small but works well for me.

Stitching with a friend is always more fun!

ALL DOLLED UP!

 



Just home from the groomer, looking good, smelling good, ready for company!  Way to go Murphy and Maxwell!
Spa day is exhausting!!!
 

TWO MORE

Two more lotto blocks have arrived today, all the way from London, England, and hand-pieced to boot.  Here's the current eleven.

 

Love, love, love these blocks.  They so remind me of the quilts I slept under in the 50's.  I'm a happy camper today.

LOTTO WINNINGS

One of my on-line groups has started a block lotto, where the winner is drawn and then she selects the blocks (size, fabric type, pattern) she'd like to receive.  Everyone gets one chance for the next month's drawing for every block they make (up to 4)  for the current winner.

Well, lucky me!  I was our first winner, and I selected the 12" Merry Go-Round block in 30's prints with white or white-on-white.  While this block looks a little tricky at first glance, it is actually easy.  The pattern is written by Eleanor Burns of Quilt In A Day, so you know she makes it easy!  You can find a link to it here, scroll down.  While you are there look at all the many free block patterns, and other things offered on the Quilt In A Day web page.  No affiliation.

SYLVIA'S BRIDAL SAMPLER

This morning I made the new BOW, N-6, Kaleidoscope.  It might be one for the galloping horse rule!  These blocks finish 6".  There are 140 total in the quilt.  So far I have 47 finished, by quick count:)

There is a BOW - block a week - for this quilt on the yahoo group, here.

SYLVIA'S BRIDAL SAMPLER

I finished 2 more SBS blocks tonight.  Gradually making my way through them.  I should do a count.  I think I'm near 50 done.  Lots more to go.

I-9, Yankee Puzzle

K-1, Road to Oklahoma

AIMING FOR ACCURACY

Have you noticed the new button on my blog, for the Aiming for Accuracy quilt-along?  I can always use help with accuracy -- always learning and looking for tips -- so it caught my eye.  Then I saw Mishka's layout, and loved the quilt!  So..................here are the fabrics I pulled.

Most are from the Annie's Farm Stand line.  I love how they fit Edyta Sitar's Rule of 5 -- a large print, a medium print, a small print, a stripe, a dot (you can read more about that in her book, Hop To It).

Now I need to select a coordinate for sashing, border, etc.  Obvious choices are white or black.  But then I thought what about yellow or green?  And then I thought, what about a black/white print?  Choices, Choices. 

Please leave any suggestions in comments.  I love to hear from you.

ANOTHER ROUND ROBIN

This week I worked on another round robin quilt.  Above is how it looked when I sent it off to AZ. 

 

Below is how the quilt looked when it arrived to me.  The first border quilter turned the center on point and added some applique too.  I added the CW print beige strip to set off that part, and to bring it up to a size that would fit my design.  I needed space for an odd number of flying geese to fit each side.

 

Generally the selecting fabric part is one of my favorites.  But this time I selected, cut, and started the stitching several times, before finally being happy with my third choice.

I'm ahead of the game on this swap now.  The next one is due to me late in July.  I hope it comes early, but it's all good.

I also worked on a row for a row swap this week, but that one is top secret until the owner gets it back.    The theme was Harry Potter, so you'll just have to guess what I did -- jelly beans, wizard hats, brooms for quiditch, round eye glasses, ...............?

Now to get back to 'my' stuff.

ROUND ROBIN

I had the opportunity to add the first border, courthouse steps, to Lynda's quilt center.

 

This is how her center looked when I received it.  It's so fun to select fabrics to use, and to come up with a plan!

There are 5 gals in our group, so she'll be getting 3 more borders.  All of the quilts look wonderful so far.  Mine is now safely in Australia, getting it's second border.  Up next here is Lenny's.  More about that one later.