A Quilty Day

 I quilted  two more kid quilts in time to take them back to quilt club yesterday. That made 5. The four-patch just quilted with a simple basic meander.

 The lilac checkerboard I quilted with big freehand flowers. Fast and fun. 

All I brough home was a bag full of 2.5" strips. They were still mostly flat but all lengths so I thought I'd sort through for a few particular patterns and chop the rest into squares. That will be for another time dd is here. 

She packed up her stuff and went home after quilt club. I was then able to straighten up my space again. Since it was relatively clean I pulled out batting scraps. I will want to use them up before I crack open a new bag.  

Then I loaded another quilt and decided on how I'd quilt it. Fun fun.

Blue rescued quilt

 This was quilted next because the batting scrap fit it perfectly. 

DD started cutting her blue scraps last January. We dont remember for what pattern. Just that they were cut too short for the intended pattern. 4" long instead of 4.5". Rather then cut them smaller yet to squares I said we could figure out something to do with them.

 So she settled on simple checkerboard though she had some strange pink in the mix.  Then it sat for a while longer.  Again she played with them some more thinking she would add some colored sashing to this arrangement. 

Well apparently not, as it sat several more months. Then she admitted she didn't like the direction it was going. That's when I took the blocks, found the sashing in the stash and put it together.

Quilted it a few days ago. A simple basic meander was all it needed. 

Having fun here. The next one is loaded and waiting.

Basic Pinwheels

 I don't remember what stage the pinwheels were in when they were donated but somebody else joined them and added the borders. Who did what I don't know.

I found a back and quilted it over the last 2 days. The quilting is similar to one I quilted last week. A fun and fast freehand loopy line. Each row of pinwheels took 4 passes. It'll get turned in on Tuesday for someone else to bind. 

LIFO

 This was the top quilt on the pile to be quilted. Last In First Out.  I think the only reason it was done right away was cause I just found the backing to match and it fit perfectly. I found it an interesting setting but can't imagine it in much bigger blocks. These are 6". It was done yesterday.

Then I dug into the pile of tops. Well the first 7. Two more seams and they are ready. I might see if there are more with their backing chosen. I could get more ready. I'll probably cut some batts today too. It's exciting thinking of getting these quilts done and out of the closet.

DH brought up the retreat I like to attend. I guess that's  the go-ahead to sign up. 

Paddlewheel

 Shingles is finally mostly gone that it didn't bother me to quilt. Finally! 

This paddle wheel quilt has been loaded on longarm since February sometime. Dd made the top last summer. I quilted it lightly so the puffy batting gives it that cuddly feeling. Or is it a "look"?

I've already started quilting another one and when that's done I'll be checking backs fit the tops and cutting batts. As I do that I'll be thinking about how I will quilt them. Likely something simple till this puffy batting is used up.  Then I'll be ready for a mini quilting marathon. 

A taupe top

 This was a kit I put together a few years ago. I started making the blocks when I was sewing at Studio 3. It patiently waited for me to get back to it. It was easy to forget about it while it sat in what is now dd's  closet. 

j made a different quilt using the taupe fabrics but that sold soon after finishing it. I still have enough taupe fabric to make another quilt. I might pass the fabrics on though. 

Hourglass Stars

 A few months ago I started  sewing church triangles.  Yesterday I finished sewing all the quarter square triangles that I could find. Well those that would finish 4" or more.  I even cut a few more.

Now to decide what to do with them all. Not a ton of options but enough to play with for a little while. Probably a border or two. I should check the bin of orphan blocks. But that could be like opening a can of worms!

I sew with dd often. The other projects on my flannel  wall are hers. I have Civil War hour glass blocks on the flannel wall at her house too.

Keep Playing

This quilt was a joint effort too. DD planned a basic pinwheel block but cut all the blue pieces too short. 4" instead of 4.5"  Ready to trim them into squares for another future project I showed her on Pinterest a few checkerboard type designs using rectangles. Why waste the fabric and work for squares? Okay she decided and arranged them on the wall.  Nope she decided; didn't like that. Next she started grouping the 4-patches she had made into some unique blocks. Yeah, kinda ugly no matter what fabrics we added to them. Even considered cutting the rectangular 4-patches into square blocks. 

She abandoned  them at that point. I was surprised she kept trying. Some time later she admitted she didn't like it so didn't want to work on it. I told her that happens to all of us. No problem. Don't waste time feeling bad.  That's when you pass it on to the church group. That's me, of course. 

It didn't take long for me to decide on this. A little longer to finish the top. Now she's sorry she gave it away. 

Playing Catch Up

About the only quilting I've been able to do  since February  has been in my dreams. Surgery in spring  was followed by Shingles hard to identify with no rash. It's not cleared up yet months later. Cutting, sewing and quilting has not been enjoyable. Ouch. It is a bit better so I find myself sewing for short spurts.

These first two dd did for donation. Like me she made a bunch of blocks with no plan then decided to split them for 2 quilts. Then decided to keep one. We will see when they are bound and done done. I hope to quilt them for her soon. I added the border to the bottom one. We are undecided about a border for the top one. 

The center of these blocks were left from an earlier project dd made. I suggested she add another round to make the blocks "happier".  Without wasting anytime she started cutting and sewed till the blocks were done. I joined them a few days ago. Not planning to border it. This will be a summer quilt for her. The center patch were scraps of batiks from strip ends that weren't quite square. I was about to dump them and she asked for them. This was a year ago when she had little fabric. She has almost a small dresser full now.

I like this snowball variation probably cause I like the puss in the corner block. I see I need to adjust the borders. For sure your borders are too long if you can't smooth it squarely on your flannel wall. I still have quite a pile of Civil War fabrics. I hope someone likes them besides me. I'll wittle away at them slowly.

My goal has been to finish a few ufos that were abandoned. Both dd's and mine both here and at her place.  Often her blocks are done then she's on to the next project. She doesn't like the long seams. Many of hers are for donation so I'm going to finish them up. There are more, this is it so far. Just a few hours needed on each. I have several in the closet already cut and waiting as I like. Good thing as it is uncomfortable to cut. You will know I'm good when I use the longarm again. 

The garden is happy this year with all the rain. The weeds especially. Dh has been good about helping with the big ones before they set seeds. The prairie garden is about to peak. Too hot to be out there today. 

Till next time. 

Busy scraps

 Busy week with appointments. Not much sewing going on here. 

But I quiltedhi Lois's red sashed log cabin variation.  Another that she made at Studio 3 last winter. I made crumb blocks with green sashing at the same time. We were tackling the pile of strings.

With each block she proclaimed. "This is so much fun!" I quilted it with meandering loops and flowers trying to keep it loose for the puffy batting. 

Then last night while on the phone with Lisa I finished one of her tops. It was abandoned probably early October when she had to start another quilt. This one is intended for me. I could quilt it before she sees it again. VERY FUN.

Lisa has become a regular quilting companion. I'll be over there again today. I hope to get the string blocks together today. It's beginning to warm up abit so I could walk over today. Yay.

Two more quilted

 For a mini quilting marathon I'm pleased I quilted 2 more yesterday.

They both use the same block, the moc log cabin. This started as a group effort at Studio 3. Several of us made the blocks from a shoe box each of squares and triangles. At one point I noticed all the blue so I focused on grouping those. Lois put the blocks together with the green border and I did the blue. Another is quilted and gone and we're down to 1 box. 

Typically this block is assembled as a 9 patch, but the patches finish at 3" so we went with a 4 patch setup for a smaller block so there was more design opportunity. I just quilted a lazy loose meander on a fluffy batting.

I have meetings all week so I may not have much energy for more but I do have another ready to quilt. 

Mini marathon

 I quilted one of Lisa's today. It felt so good. I need to use a bit of a contrasting thread or adjust the light. It is hard to do a good job when the thread matches the  fabric. 

Then I cut batting for 4 more. I'll load one tonight while I chat with her. We're avoiding getting together while Mark is sick in bed. I'm avoiding him too but it's easy wit hin in bed so long.

I may as well sew. We finally got some snow. Maybe 9" in 2 snowfall. It kept missing us. I had a neighbor plow us out. So yes good time to sew. I hope to use all 4 batts soon. So this is 1 of 4. She  hasn't done much binding yet so she'll get some practice on this one. I'll have her do back to front technique. 

 

Pushing Piles

 A quilt I forgot about. I made the blocks for this zipper quilt sometime  in Dec. I think. There are a few variations around I like this best. So much I'll likely do it again. 

Deciding on what I want to work on next slows me down sometimes. I think I'll focus on finishing up a few of the piles sitting out.  Amazing how often they're just moved around my workspace. There's a few hourglass blocks to sew and a shirt that needs the sleeves hemmed. The Railroad Ties are waiting to go to Lisa's to be sewn there.

Then I pulled out a pile of orphans looking for 1 Block.  And a rooster applique project. I'll just fuse that so I'm saving tracing the fusible for a phonecall. 

Besides longarming, I'll pull together some 3 yard quilt bundles and tweak them.  Some of the fabric is out already, piled in a corner. I found more of my patterns . Some that are a tad more than 3 yards. Lisa has a pile in another corner.  

See? No need to think of starting something  new today. And when the time is right I'll just take a kit off the shelf. 

First Heartbeat

Another one quilted this afternoon. Pattern called First Heartbeat from a magazine several years ago. I really like this one. I can see making it again. Or maybe just a kit with a fun print in that blank area.

It took a while to decide how to quilt it. Once that's decided it goes quickly. 

The area without piecing could have been wider but I trimmed it to accommodate the backing available. No, this is not a 3 yard quilt, but it's close. 

I prefer it vertically too. But I had it lengthwise on the longarm. Now to locate the binding. 

Stolen Moments

 A few hours sewing yesterday. Actually cutting and helping Lisa with her project. Always fun with her.  In between I finished up the hour glass units. More waiting to be made.

So maybe not a strippy quilt. But they'll be used somewhere. I don't always have a plan for what I sew but something will come up. I just thought I could do these in stolen moments usually wasted doing nothing. I think the trick is having something thoughtless ready to sew. I'll try that. I have more ready for next time tomorrow.

The borders are finally on this star I made eons ago. It's been hanging out with a bin of backings. Cleaning out the sewing closet a little at a time unearthed a bunch of fun stuff. A bag of junk too. Why do we do that?

Today is quilting with the church ladies. We moved this spring to the Community Center so we could avoid stairs. They have wonderful storage for us too. We make quilts for donation and I'm calling us Comfort Quilters. Maybe Club would be easier.

I'm taking in 6 quilts I quilted for them in January and a pile of scraps. I'm always eager to get any excess out of the house. No kits this time. They will do the bindings and find homes for them. Though I think they are falling behind in that department. 2 of our usual places are gone! Too many quilts out there. 

Slow day at Retreat

 I'm retreating at-home with my online guild. I did more relaxing than quilting since I haven't been sleeping well.

I did pair up  and sew some more triangles  With me its all about contrast. An obvious/distinct line separating light from dark. Notice how the darks with the light are almost the same as the lights with the darks. Deliberately. 

 The triangles were turned in to Comfort Quilters over the years and I didn't know if they were just extra or waste triangles or oversized or what. Yes I have a boxful in every size immaginable. So I only checked and trimmed to size the light triangles then matched the square corners. By sewing 1/4" from the long light triangles edge I'd have hst  units that don't require trimming again. 

I also did some quarter-square triangles for hour glass blocks. Those aren't done but if I like them I might use them as a border in a quilt some day. 

Next I tore out the chartreuse green and fluorescent yellow logs from the railroad ties blocks. They were just too loud for the quilt. I replaced them with pinks and reds and finished the last 3 blocks. I'm happier with it now and I may just add that piano keys border. Deciding on a plain border will be my challenge for tomorrow. 

I hope you had a chance to relax a little today and do some fun sewing. 

 I ended January quilting one more comfort quilt.  There are actually 4 of these. A king size top was donated to our group. It wouldn't fit my frame and we don't donate that size. So I took out a few seams to make the 4. The pattern is a variation of Indian Hatchett. It's  all in the placement of color. We don't have a clue who pieced it. They did a nice job. 

I'd forgotten the back barely fit on 1 1/2 widths. I did add extra as I wasn't in the mood to play chicken. As it turned out the end of the quilt came past the seam by 1/4"  maybe 1/2". Dang. What to do? What to do?

I opted to quilt it short. And trim the edge off. Of course I haven't done that yet.  I'll plan to discuss it on Tuesday with whoever binds it. 

I must remember to baste a temporary strip at the top. I am using the red snappers now for loading quilts and I can't as easily start as close to the top of the available back. 

 Happy quilting