Mother's Day

 A few months ago, my sister bought this quilt from me as a gift for her sister-in-law. Her mother-in-law loved it so much she wanted to keep it. I suggested that a lap quilt would be a nice Mother's Day gift. So here is a gift for Estelle.

 My sister and I chose a focus fabric via text messages. Then I turned to the stash for an assortment of fresh greens, pinks and reds.

 

I was scrolling though Instagram and saw a pic of the Quatrefoil Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Company. After piecing a test block, I knew it was the perfect choice.

After doing the quilty math, I realized I would not have enough background fabric to complete the project as intended. The stitch and flip corners were going to waste too much fabric. I devised a way to cut my background triangles to the right size, place them on the square just so, and stitched a 1/4" seam. All that was "wasted" was a corner of the colored square.

I couldn't resist piecing those little triangles into pinwheels.

Those bonus pinwheels are now a couple of mug mats.

 

 The top came together quickly. My go-to loopy quilting took a few hours to complete on Saturday night. Yes, that's how I rock a weekend!

Everything came from my stash except the backing and binding.

For Estelle

59" X 72"

Started April 10, 2016

Completed April 25, 2016

Border: Martha Negley Dahlia

Backing: Martha Negley Crabapple Path

Salvaging Selvedges

Today is the 101st anniversary of Girl Scouts of the USA. Fitting that I would stop and pause after stitching this selvedge to a border strip.

I decided to quit while I was ahead and piece together 9 spiderweb blocks.

I'm on a roll here, so I'm posting this from my phone. I'll have more for you tomorrow.

Green Day

When I loaded the photos for today's post, I noticed how much glorious green they contain.

I decided that I needed a new paper piecing project. Linda at Paper Panache posted a new mystery block this week. I haven't done one in a while, so I printed it out. I have a confession to make. I'm a cheater! I color them in and figure out the design before I cut into any fabric. The blues in the current piece appealed to me, but the finished block wasn't something I wanted to work on this week. It could make a nice gift for a certain family member, so I'll add it to the list. Since it's a mystery, I can't tell you what it is.


On to my next source for paper piecing inspiration: Carol Doak. I signed up for the postcard exchange on her Yahoo group and started looking for a fun block. I played with some different blocks and layouts and liked this one the best. It's a free pattern on her website: Introduction to Paper Piecing. The little blocks are about 1.75" square. I was in a hurry to finish before Pete's track meet, and I messed up the color placement I had planned. The magenta and red are reversed. It should have a color wheel effect. I guess I'll keep this one.

On to the track meet. Pete's discus-throwing technique is improving. His goal is to qualify for the state meet in discus, shot put and turbo jav (it's like a Nerf javelin). He likes throwing stuff!


While I waited for him to take his turn, I worked on a prayer shawl. Gotta love all that green!


My TV watching project last night was the March basket block. The prep work was done so I could just sit and start sewing. Four hours later (Red Sox game, American Idol, The Mentalist and Without a Trace) my block was done.


What color will today be?
Tina