For Dave

Blogiversary post 3 of 10

Here's another quilt you haven't seen here yet.

My husband's brother is in a nursing home, so I made him a quilt. Anita's Arrowhead block is always the right choice! You can find it in Anita Grossman Solomon's book Rotary Cutting Revolution, available through her Craftsy class.

Dave's Quilt

Made in November 2016

Woven Bag

 I finished another long-term WIP this morning. This finish is dedicated to my fiends Karen of Sew Many Ways and Sharon (no blog).  Karen and I are suckers for a good demo at a quilt show. We saw the owner of Red Barn Sewing Center demonstrating this bag at MQX in Providence in 2011, and I had to have it! Fast forward three years... Sharon and I were on a shop hop bus trip that stopped at Red Barn. Sharon was intrigued by the woven baskets made with the same interfacing strips as this bag. She challenged me to finish my bag. So, here you go, friends!

 The pattern is called Breezy Weave Bags by Aunties Two Patterns. Fabrics strips are sewn into tubes and then stuffed with stiff interfacing strips. Shortly after the show, I had the strips woven, but was struggling with basting the edges. It sat in my sewing room for 3 years, waiting for me to put on my big girl panties!

I needed a yard of fabric for the pockets, gussets and straps. When I brought my woven piece into the LQS yesterday, they were shocked that I don't have a single full yard of batik in my stash.  I have small pieces, but no yardage. Anyway, this morning, I got to work. The trickiest part was applying the binding around the bottom corners of the gussets. I have some hand-stitching to do to fix the gaps.

It could use a magnetic snap closure, if I can find one in my stash. I know I have one somewhere!

One last pic to show my dining room table in its natural state, littered with at least three different projects. I'm glad the bag is finished, but I probably won't make another. I do like the size and shape, but it was just too tricky for me.

 

 

If I ever feel tempted to buy the strips of interfacing again, I might consider making Biscuit Baskets (also from Aunties Two). This one was a gift for a friend in 2010.

Oh, maybe I bought both patterns at the same time in 2010?

Rainbow Finish

What better quilt to show you on another snowy day than a batik rainbow? This quilt was pieced in early January, so it hasn't languished in the WIP pile for very long.

I quilted it yesterday when I should have been cleaning out my bedroom closet. Let's call it procrastination productivity!

The rainbow cat print for the back and the solid orange binding came out of the charity fabric bin, so this quilt will be donated to a good cause.

When my husband looked at the quilting, he asked if the thread changes color, as if he has never seen variegated thread before. Where has he been for the last 20 years?

To create that wavy line with my machine, I use stitch #4 with the widest width and a length of about 4 (5 is the longest). It makes using a walking foot a little more fun.

One more view of the quilt because I can't get enough of these rich colors.

Batik Rainbow

Started 1/9/14

Completed 2/12/14

Fabric: Timeless Treasures Tonga Treats

Pattern inspiration here and here

48" X 60"

Two-day Top

This is what happens when I need to be distracted. A quilt top gets pieced in two days! Pete finally flew to San Diego on Friday to report to Camp Pendleton for Infantry Training. The polar vortex cancelled his flight which kept him home an extra four days. We have no idea when we'll get to see him again, hence the need for brightly colored fabric!

Maybe I should call this quilt San Diego Serenade. The top measures 48" x 60". That's not a bad size for a lap quilt, so I might leave it borderless. What would you do? Border or no border?

Hop back to my last post for pattern info.

New Batik Project

 I've been itching to start something new. While surfing Pinterest last night, I came across a Fons and Porter pattern that attracted me. I knew immediately that I could use this package of batik strips that I've been hoarding. Actually, I gave them to Julia for Christmas two or three years ago.

I paired up the strips and started chopping them up.

Ooh, that lime and raspberry combo is so yummy.

 

The best part about this pattern is that it uses virtually the entire strip with minimal waste. I think the scraps will be perfect for a Ticker Tape canvas.

 

This is what I have after about two hours of work! Fun, right?!

 

If you are interested, here's the link to Kristine Peterson's pattern, Color Study. Or you can jump to Kristine's inspiration, Gemini by Blue Underground Studios.

Stitching Stars Prep

 We're in the final stages of preparation for Ninigret Quilters' Stitching Stars quilt show. To take a break from paperwork, I spent the long weekend stitching stars.

 I pieced together some block parts and fabric leftover from the raffle quilt to make this little top. I'm planning to raffle it off to the quilt show volunteers. Surprise, Ninnies!

 I had a few more stars and scraps to play with, so I made eleven mug mats. Most of the stars were rejected from the raffle quilt because they were too big. They were perfect for improv piecing.

Simple straight line quilting is effective on these small pieces. They are roughly 7X10".

The guild is planning to teach a beginner quilting class starting in January. We thought the show would be a great place to publicize it. A few of us are making samples, and here's mine.

I've had these music prints for years, and it was time for them to be used!

OK. My break is over. Back to quilt show prep!

Blogger's Quilt Festival- Throw Quilts - Batik Arrowheads

 My entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival Throw Quilt category is Batik Arrowheads.

I started this quilt in late March as a class project from Anita Grossman Solomon's Craftsy class, Traditional Blocks Made Simple. At about that same time, a family friend was hospitalized and in need of love and prayers. This quilt soon became his.

I really enjoyed diving into my batik stash to find the most guy-friendly prints and colors. We shuffled the blocks around several times before settling on this warm/cool arrangement.

 

The backing is nothing to write home about. It gets the job done. The quilting is simply straight lines in the ditch. I loved how it looked on the back of my brown sofa.

 

My mother tested out the quilt at a Marine Corps function for enlistees. 

 

Again, many thanks to Amy for making this all possible!

 

Settle in with your favorite drink and enjoy the show!

WIP Wednesday

 It has been a pretty good week here in Rhode Island. The weather is finally warming up and feeling like Spring. Daffodils are blooming and the forsythia is hot on their heels.

Finished: Batik Arrowheads. Read more here.

In Progress: RIMQG Crayon Challenge. My crayon is magenta. Blocks are done and laid out on a flannel-backed tablecloth on the floor. If I need to move it, I can roll it up and the blocks stay in place.

Modern Stash Bee. March was my month in the Mo Stash Bee, Three Men and a Baby Hive. The last two blocks arrived yesterday after a little coast to coast detour. Many thanks to my hive mates for contributing to Pete's boot camp graduation quilt! You can find my tutorial for this block here.

I need to add lots of labels to finished quilts, so I printed a bunch on a sheet of printable fabric. Now to cut them apart, border them and add them to the quilts.

Also in progress, the making of a future Marine, which apparently requires lots of protein and mud!

In the near future:
April blocks for Modern Stash Bee
Quilting Mod Bento
Quilting Swap Soup
Starting Bloom Bloom Pow Quilt Along

Time to link up!

Batik Arrowheads

 Another completed quilt! This was a quick one. Once I started making blocks, I couldn't stop! I started it on Friday, March 29 and completed it on Friday, April 5.

The pattern is Anita's Arrowheads from Anita Grossman Solomon's book Rotary Cutting Revolution and her Craftsy class Traditional Blocks Made Simple. (If you purchase the class, you get the e-book for free!)

 

All of the batiks came out of my stash. The only thing I had to buy was the back. It is quilted in the ditch with a variegated YLI machine quilting thread that blended perfectly with the back.

 

 It looks really good on the back of my brown sofa, but it won't be there for long. I'll bring it to guild show & tell tomorrow, then it will be given to a friend who needs to be wrapped in love and prayers.

My mother tested it out for him! If you saw yesterday's post, you know we went to a Marine Corps Poolee family day. The recruiters put them through their paces, then turned them over to the Drill Instructor standing behind mom.  It was a fun day for all of us!

Batik Arrowheads

March 29-April 5, 2013

50" x 76"

Easter Arrowheads

 Weird title, I know.  These pink Anita's Arrowhead blocks are the closest I can get to a Springy pic today. I think this will become a table runner someday soon.

Let me back up a little. In August 2010, I bought Anita Grossman Solomon's book Rotary Cutting Revolution. I'll say it again. I think she is a quilting genius! Back in 2010, I made my first pancake (Anita's term for the first block that doesn't always come out right, like the first pancake). It was good, but I wasn't excited about making more. I did get excited about playing with stripes and made this. I've been collecting striped fabric ever since.

Fast forward to 2013. I signed up for Anita's Craftsy class called Traditional Blocks Made Simple. I watched all the lessons, and picked up amazing tips along the way. Finally on Friday, I raided my batik stash and started cutting.

In no time at all, I had 4 blocks done!

 More cutting and stitching while watching basketball and I had 12 blocks done by half time of the Florida game. (Go Gators! Senior Erik Murphy lives around the corner from me. His mom came over to pick up some Girl Scout cookies before her last trip to Florida. I look like a Hobbit next to that family. I'm 4'11" and their 3 boys are between 6'8" and 6'11"!)

Saturday morning, I headed back to the batik stash for more. By noon I had the 3 pink blocks done and 10 more blocks started. I'm having so much fun with these blocks! Can you tell?

I think I'll keep going, pulling pairs of batiks from the stash, cutting and sewing until I have enough blocks for a man-sized lap quilt. A friend's husband had a brain tumor removed last week, and we've been praying for his full recovery. He is improving, but has a long road ahead. I hope to have this quilt ready for him when he moves to the rehab facility.

 

I wish you all a blessed Easter!

Ninnie Plan B

Muuuuch better! I like it so much better than the first one. This will be donated to the Ninigret Quilter's silent auction.


The border fabric is a Philip Jacobs' Delphinium. I pulled some batiks and Viola! The whole piece will be about 12" across (7" sides). I don't think I'll include a hanging sleeve/contraption. (How do you hang a hexagon?) It is the perfect size for a candle mat/table topper.

When I went trolling Flickr for inspiration, I found this little quilt by DeeRoo G in the Doll Quilt Swap group. I drafted a paper piece pattern for the half- hexie which is 1.5" tall. The quilt is pieced in rows, so no set in seams! It went together super fast. The points aren't perfect, but they are close enough for jazz. Now to quilt it. Then I'm making another one to keep!

Update: The original pattern is called Hexed Star. Of course, mine is much smaller.

Block Lotto- September

Here are my Block Lotto blocks for September.

The block is called Curved Rails. It is simple and effective, especially in batiks.

This is my favorite block of the bunch!