"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says...."Oh crap! She's up!" Unknown

Friday, January 31, 2025

Brick Wall #2 Finish

 It's so nice when a pile of forgotten parts is found
and quickly become a new quilt.

Several years ago I made this Brick Wall quilt
and had bricks left over.
When I found the pile recently, I had to add a few
low volume bricks to complete this quilt top.

Now it is quilted and ready for donation.
 
 
 
 
This was quilted using a very quick and easy design.
I don't know what it's called,
but I'll call it Swirls on a String.
 

 
The sashing strips were cut at 1".
 

 
 
January started out slow for me since I had
Carpal Tunnel release surgery done,
but ended up being a good month with three finishes!
 
 
Happy Quilting!

 


Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Broad Strokes Veterans Quilt

I just finished my first Veterans quilt for 2025.
 
 
This quilt is not my normal color palette or my normal style of quilt,
but it went together very quickly and really shows off this
gorgeous Kaffe leaf fabric.

The pattern is called "Broad Strokes" from the book 
3-yard Quilts on the Double.
I bought the book a couple of years ago,
thinking it would be good for fast and easy donation quilts.


 
 
This leaf print had been in my stash for quite some time and I
really wanted to use it. 
The yellow polka dot and the green floral were also in my stash
and paired nicely with the leaf print.



 
 
This took no time to cut and was super easy to piece.
I think it makes a striking quilt!
 




The coloring is off in this photo. The yellow background is
the same yellow as the polka dot on the front.
I was happy to find this perfect background fabric
 in the clearance section at my local quilt shop.
 
This will be delivered to the group who makes and collects
quilts to donate to our local Veterans hospital.
It's a small token of thanks to those who have given so much.
 
 
Happy Quilting!


Sunday, January 26, 2025

Another Canyon Dance

 There are certain patterns and quilt designs that I am really drawn to.
One of them is "Canyon Dance".
It's an old pattern and it looks like the designer is going out of business.
I bought a set of templates when I first made the pattern and
it made cutting the pieces so much easier.
 
One day I was looking at my stash and decided to pull some batiks
to make another one of these quilts.
 
 
Here is the result:
 
 
 
 
It is a wild and crazy quilt and I love it.
Sewing these curves is not difficult at all
and the blocks are trimmed at the end.
 
 


 
Hopefully, this one will be quilted soon and will be donated.
Mindless sewing at it's best!

Happy Quilting!

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Sampler Quilt Finish

 I have to say,
I'm not a fan of making sampler quilts,
but for some reason I decided to use
a jelly roll and a fat quarter bundle
and make a bunch of sampler blocks 
at quilt camp in the fall of 2023.

Then the blocks sat... forgotten in my cabinet.
I pulled them out last fall and sewed them into a top.
Then this past week I quilted it and now have a finished quilt!


 
 
 
I don't remember what the fabric line of the jelly roll was,
but the fat quarter bundle was Tula Pinks dots and stripes. 
They played so nicely together!



 
 
After my carpal tunnel release a couple of weeks ago,
I had trouble cutting, but could sew.
I have been watching videos on quilting swirls
and practiced along the outside borders of the quilt.
I need more practice, but it's coming along!
 
 


I love the backing fabric I found on clearance
and there was just enough for this quilt!

It's ready to be donated.

Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

First UFO Challenge Top Finished

 In my last blog post,
I mentioned that I have joined the
UFO 2025 Challenge.
 


The first UFO I tackled is one that I started
years ago and put into time out when I realized
I had made a big cutting error.
I received a number of comments 
encouraging me to go ahead and finish the quilt.
As my husband and a few others said...
if one hasn't seen the pattern,
how will they know how it was supposed to look?
It will be my take on the pattern.
 
Well,
the top is finished and I love it!!
 

 
It still needs a good pressing,
but it's finished.
This is "Diamond Delight" from
Kaffe Fasset's book
"Quilts from Morocco"
with my own design twist.
:)
 
I am preparing the backing and will send it off to my
longarm quilter soon.
It's so exciting to have this quilt done and out of time out!
 
 
As I was going through some piles of parts,
I found this pile of Kaffe bricks I had used to make
this quilt a few years ago.
I had seen this quilt on Pinterest and loved it. 

  
 
There were enough of the colorful bricks in the pile
and I had to add a few of the low volume bricks to the mix.
After cutting the 1" sashing strips, it went together very easily and quickly.
It is now in the "to be quilted" pile.
 
Last week I had carpal tunnel release surgery on my left hand
and am very thankful to have cut several quilts before it was done.
I can sew, but cutting is a challenge.
Since the first UFO challenge is done,
I can decide which fun project will come out of the box next.
 
Happy Quilting!

Saturday, January 4, 2025

New Year... Old Project

If you are on Instagram,
you may have seen that Jandi Dean is
hosting a UFO challenge for 2025.
 

While I am not one to usually start something and not
finish it, I do have projects and kits that I've purchased
and then let them sit.
And sit they can do!
 I jumped on board with Jandi for this challenge.
 
 
For my first UFO,
it is a true UFO.
I don't remember when I cut the parts and pieces
for this quilt, but it was years ago.
I moved it to this house almost 4 years ago
and think it was cut out several years before that.
 
This is a Kaffe Fasset quilt from his
"Quilts in Morocco" book and I loved the fabrics he used.
His shot cottons and stripes are so soft and comfy feeling. 

As soon as I cut the pieces out,
I realized I had made a huge mistake.
My striped fabrics were cut so the stripes were on an angle
instead of straight across.
GRRRRR!!!


 
 
This is a photo of the quilt from the book. 
I was so mad at myself and put the pieces and
fabrics away.... for years.


With this challenge,
I decided that done is better than nothing.
The quilt will still be soft and cuddly,
even though the stripes are all on angles.

So, the sewing has begun.


 
 
All of the big blocks have been made and one has been framed,
just so I could see how it will look.
It is a jumble of fabrics and designs,
but once it's done, it will keep someone warm.
Once all of the blocks are framed,
I will arrange them so the colors are
more evenly distributed.
 
 

 
 
Hopefully, this will be done by the end of the month
and I can move onto the next UFO on my list.
 
 
Happy Quilting!



Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Out with the Old, In with the New

As I look back on 2024 and what I was able to accomplish,
it was a very good year. 
 
A lot of time was spent in my Hidey Hole,
making baby quilts, big quilts, donation quilts,
Christmas decorations and other fun things.
 
 
 
As I look over all of these finishes,
I am very thankful for the desire and ability to create.
It feeds my soul.



While spending time in my Hidey Hole, in the car, sitting with my husband in the
evening while he watches sports, etc., I listen to books.

!
It was a record year for me!
My favorite book of the year was
"The Women" by Kristen Hannah.

Welcome 2025!

May you all have a blessed and joy-filled year
and may your bobbins never run out of thread!

Happy Quilting!

Thursday, December 12, 2024

The Irene Baby Quilt

 My sewing machine is back home and working!
For those who have Bernina sewing machines,
it's best to plug them into a surge protector strip
versus the wall outlet.
It turns out, this is why my machine was malfunctioning!

Once I had my machine back,
I was able to finish quilting this baby quilt for donation.


 
 
This is "The Irene Quilt" by Kitchen Table Quilting
and is a super fast pattern to make.
 

 
 
A while ago I had picked up a jelly roll of "Willow" (I think)
and was able to make two baby quilts from this jelly roll.
 
 

 
 
The quilt is finished and has been passed on for donation.
I hope to make many more quilts for donation
in the coming year.


My Cricut machine has been busy, too!


 
 
These shirts are ready for my littles to wear for our
annual cookie baking day this weekend.
 
 



My littlest little won't be baking with us,
but she can still get a new shirt.
This child has some of the chunkiest thighs I've seen.
As my son-in-law says.... her thighs have thighs!


Happy Quilting!

Friday, November 15, 2024

No Sewing Machine Again

 I had my sewing machine in the shop in September
for its annual clean and service.
They had it for almost 3 weeks then,
which was fine because I was gone for part of the time.

Two weeks ago I was quilting a baby quilt
and it began acting up on me.
I was using the serpentine stitch to quilt 
and as I was sewing, it would switch to straight stitching mid row.
The only way I could get it back to serpentine was to turn the
machine off and back on again.
After the first time, it would switch back to straight stitch frequently.

So, back into the shop it went and the time frame is
four weeks this time.
:(

Thankfully, I wasn't planning on doing a lot of sewing
for Christmas.

Before I took it in,
I managed to piece this quilt for my great-nephew.
My sister-in-law (his grandmother) saw this kit while we were on
vacation in September.
I told her if she bought it, I'd make it.




It's been sent off to my quilter and should be back in a couple of weeks.

I really need to get a back up sewing machine!

Happy Quilting!

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Three Completed Baby Quilts

 These three quilts have been hanging in my
Hidey Hole for quite some time.
It feels so good to have them finished
AND delivered!!


 
 
I didn't follow a pattern for this one and can't remember
how large I made the triangles.
 
 

 
 
This quilt is made from "The Charlotte Quilt" pattern by
Kitchen Table Quilting.
 
 



This quilt was made from an old pattern from
Moda Bake shop.
Is that even still a thing?

Now, I can begin a new pile of baby quilts.


Happy Quilting!

Thursday, October 31, 2024

The Charlotte Quilt

 The other day I posted a baby quilt made using
a Kitchen Table Quilting pattern,
"The Irene Quilt".
Today I have another quilt finish using a
Kitchen Table Quilting pattern,
"The Charlotte Quilt".

Both quilts were made using the same jelly roll.
I think the jelly roll is called "Willow",
but I'm not 100% sure.


 
 
These colors are so soft and soothing...
Not my usual color palette. 



 
My pile of "to be quilted" quilts is growing,
so I really need to get going on this.
 


Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Chasing Dreams Finish

 I am excited to say that my
"Chasing Dreams" quilt top is finished!
The final stitches were sewn
and I can finally cross this off of my list.


 
 
This was made exactly like the pattern and kit.
It was too intimidating to think about changing anything.
Plus, I love it like it is!
 


The batiks in this kit are so rich and luscious.
I'm thinking of having this custom quilted,
so will be chatting with my long arm quilter.

Woohoo!!

Happy Quilting!

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Chasing Dreams

 Several years ago, while on vacation,
I found this kit for the Chasing Dreams quilt
by Jacqueline de Jonge.
I have pulled it out and put it away more times than I can count.
It intimidated me so much that I just couldn't make it.
 
Finally, it was time.
Before quilt camp I cut all of the pieces
and prepared to make this one.
 
I did take other projects in case I just couldn't make it again,
but pushed myself to start it.
 
 
 
 
The first step was making the big star in the middle.
It's all paper pieced, which helps with the precision. 
I finished that and was pretty happy with the results.
Next up was the small star and then the flying geese outer band.
The most difficult part was dealing with all of the paper!
I finally thought to use some clips and folded the unused paper
until I got to those sections.



 
 
This was my sewing set up.
I remembered to bring my light box,
which made all of the difference.
 
 

 
 
Isn't my trash pretty? 



 
 
These beautiful borders took HOURS to make!
 I could not be any happier with them
and was very glad to have them finished.



 
 
The pieced border pieces will go on after two narrow borders of
the black and white striped fabric and a black and
white star fabric.
 
Onward and upward!
 
Happy Quilting!

 

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Baby Quilts

 For the first time in a long time
I do not have any quilts that I have to be making,
so I am taking the time to make some baby quilts
for donation.
 
My church helps support a free health care clinic
and they have requested baby quilts and blankets
to give to their patients.
 
 
 
 
This quilt is made with a Kitchen Table Quilts pattern,
"The Irene Quilt"
and went together in no time.
I had a jelly roll of Willow and used half of it for this quilt.
The other half is being used for another baby quilt.
 
Last year at Quilt Camp I used the
Jelly Roll Sampler pattern by
A Quilting Life
and made all of these blocks.
I used the Tula Pink fabric
(I'm blanking on the name)
for the sashing and setting triangles
and put it all together.
It will be trimmed once it's quilted.
 

 
This last baby quilt has been waiting to be sewn
together for some time.
I had some of the Kaffe fabric and
pulled pinks and blues from my stash for this
triangle quilt.
I don't know what it is about triangle quilts,
but I just love them.
 
The edges will be straightened once it's quilted.
 


 
Now to get all of these quilted!

Happy Quilting!