Show down for squarely red

It has been bad timing/weather for taking  my outdoor photos. I finished the binding Sunday night. And I finally can show you this comfy quilt.

I really like how it turned out and hope that whoever receives it will snuggle in it ion cold wintry days.

After work, I saw the new stash bee design and quickly whipped up two blocks. The colors are classic and will make a great quilt. So easy.. These are 16 inch blocks.  They look quite orange on the blog, but in person are much redder. 

Squarely red

I am happy to say that this donation quilt has been layered and quilted by ME in an all over stipple. Hooray.

My shoulders are a little sore, but there is a big smile on my face.

I wanted to finish it Saturday, but I completely emptied one large spool of Gutterman thread. And I didn't pick up the refill until after work today.

The top is 100 percent stash. I did buy the border and a large flannel back. The binding is cut. So all that is left is attaching it and hand stitching it down.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Finishing, finishing, finishing.

Working on:

Homespuns for church donation:  borders on!  Binding cut.

So glad to get this off my plate. I have a friend from church who said she would quilt it.  I have the back the the batting already.  This is what it looked like before border.

This will go to and Indian reservation in South Dakota, I believe. It will keep somebody warm.



Here is the backing and border that was left over.  It looks great, and resembles the soft flannel feel although it is just a woven cotton. The back is a nice flannel, an extra wide piece.




Tumbler together!  A Quilt of Valor!

Putting it together proved to be a bit more tedious than I would have liked. If you look at the outside edges on the right and left, you can see that it is the same block. As the tumbler does have a zig zag edge pattern, I cut it evenly down the middle and then reassembled the middle blocks, (former outside ones) together.  What I didn't realize in the original layout was that I needed one more vertical row to connect the 2 same shaped blocks. That was the tedious part.



I think I have found a back, but need to add more to the width. I found a cut off a quilt I made my brother of the same fabric company. And I will need to get a binding, and quilt it.

I would have sewed more today, but my son's basement ended up flooding and help was needed. Darn sump pump! My hubby had to purchase and install a new one. Some company came to dry the basement out, which included pulling up carpet and moving things upstairs and off the floor. Fortunately, he has insurance.

2nd Flimsy of the year!

So Sunday:  a day of rest!  Well my sewing machine needs a rest.  Actually, it needs a tune up.The tension is OFF. I couldn't stand it while I started to put this baby into larger sections. 

As I was at church this morning, I asked about the deadline for the donation quilt. This one, the one I started back here.  February 8.  It was sitting on my back table. And I was tired of prepping all my applique and not sewing piecework.  And they want the donations by the end of April.  Ugh,  I have a quilt to finish before then for the quilt show the 21st. 

So I needed to sew for someone else today.  And while putting chunks together for this donation quilt, my tension was just wrinkled on the long seams.  I found all my blocks that were made and laid it out.  Don't know how, but it worked out with 1 left over.  The layout is 9 by 11 squares.  Again this is a disappearing 9 patch with the red in the center and a staggered lay out. 

So I put my Bernina to the side, organized all the cords and such, and got my back up out.  It worked fine, but I did have to research how to get that 1/4 inch seam.  

Good news! The donation homespun quilt is together and the size is 54 by 66 inches.  I think I will add my red flannel as a border and cut it from the wide back.  I have more than enough.  It is hard to tell, but these are all homespuns.  I like how the red is random, but really pulls it together and gives it a pop.   

February coming to a close.

I feel like an inchworm: making little progress to show, yet definitely moving.

February goals done:
1) En Provence top completed  63 inches square!
backing purchased  Sent to quilter.  I just could not see me quilting over those bulky intersections.
Kudos to those of you who do! But on my regular sewing machine, I just dreaded the thread breaking. I steamed the heck out of the seams, too, without trying to warp the size and keep it square.

2) BOM for quilt guild done

3) Stash Bee blocks made: It is a great pattern for those 5 inch charm packs.
I happened to have one for an eye spy quilt, and found awesome guy prints.
Even had a pack of Cherrywood fabrics of a 8 by 9 size variety found at Quilt Expo in Madison, WI.


4) Rainbow Scrap Challenge:  4 blocks made, 4 cut out to finish
Teal/aqua/sea green are not colors in abundance in my stash. I had to break down and acquire a few.



Added to all the blocks so far made:  my colors are muted, and don't always like the lighting/camera.




5) Challenge for small group selected:  postcard scenery with small bits of fabric for greenery
There is a wonderful tutorial in the latest Quilting Arts magazine.  The challenge is to do thread painting.



Other progress:
Homespun bull's eyes almost quilted.  Ugh.  ran out of navy thread........

Log Cabin quilt along: piecing completed along with inner border, applique prep for pattern pieces cut out, bias stems and circles made

Started a donation quilt for church for the Native American tribe we support;
blocks made from disappearing 9 patch with red centers.  6 x 7 patches put together.
Additional blocks made. Wool batting and flannel red backing purchased.

No UFO progress this month. Oh,  Scrap!

On to March:   Goals:

1) Finish. Yes Finish the Log Cabin.  Lots of applique in my future.

2)  Put together my 30s hearts!  Need to get it done for the quilt show in April.

3)  Red Rainbow Scrap Challenge

4) BOM for quilt club

5) Leaving room for inspiration and squirrels.    But thinking I need to get grandson's  big bed quilt going.  His birthday is in May, and I didn't get it done for when he turned 2 last year. I let it go as he has been using my son's graduation quilt from high school. But I did make a matching pillow case.

Cutie that he is:  Here he was experimenting with magnets.  He is really getting good at figuring things out, like how to take things apart.

This and that

It's been a day of little projects. Yes, some laundry and cooking (chicken and rice soup)  and even some bubble bread for tomorrow.  But I have been working on of those small monthly projects ( goals to do each month.)

Already have my Stash Bee blocks done for February.

First up I finished a valance to match the curtains I already made my daughter in law.

Then a BOM from my guild meeting this week. Ahhh, spring colors.

Next I really want to do some RSC blocks. It is hard to find teal, aqua, sea green or whatever you want to call it.  I just don't have much at all.

I have worked on my Donation homespuns:  about 20ish 12 inch blocks, that then get quarter cut. 

Arranged and sewn into rows. 48" by 42" at this time.  ( Yes, this is the same block as the Stash Bee above. It is all about color placement.)

And I have ironed all my log cabin and then arranged and put them  together.

All while nursing a cold, using lots of kleenex for the nose and hot water to drink.

Donation quilt

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a need for quilts for an Indian reservation out west. All I can remember is it is the Lakota tribe and my quilting buddies at church are going to make quilts of lap, twin, and double size to send to them and warm them up.

 I started cutting up my homespuns the last couple nights into 4.5 inch squares and found a red for the centers.   I am trying to balance the dark, starker colors with some rich mellow ones. So now I have 2 piles of fabrics on the floor. Poor hubby! At least it is better than pins on the floor.


I know that others may not like working on the floor, and I do have a cutting table.
But I was an elementary teacher once, and  am used to getting down on the floor even with my grandkids. Plus I used to do all my pattern cutting for clothes sewing on the floors.
It works for me.



Here are some 9 patches before ironing and cutting them up.

It is a nice diversion. Oh, did I hear "Squirrel!"  Sometimes making things for others is very rewarding. Plus, I do have that stash problem.  And of course, I think I need more warm reds, and blues.  I was surprised when I opened up my drawers of collections and didn't have some of the colors, I needed. To buy or not to buy? That is the question?



Here are 7 blocks cut up and rearranged. So good... so far...



Also,I want to thank Nancy Roshto for her wonderful idea of the Double Slice Layer Cake  Pattern.
 It is super easy and from the Missour iStar Quilt Company video here:  Double Slice layer cake pattern.
And I do have layer cake waiting for a purpose.

Homespun Bull's eye

It's the weekend; I am back quilting. Yeah.

And It is the ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY for the blog.  Hooray for me! 834 views. 7 countries, and many supportive comments.  Thank you!









So I pulled more homespuns in blues and reds, cut more circles, layered and sewed them down, and then cut and reassembled them. I finished 5 new blocks in addition to the previous 4 totally 9.


Lay out is 3 by 3 with a border in darker plaids, having additional quarter circles in the centers.



It is baby sized, currently 32 inches square; I will need to add one last border: 2 inches on one side,  4 on the other to finish off at 36 by 40 inches.

Border on:




All that is left is to back it with a fleece I purchased, quilt on the sewn lines and then bind it. The intended purpose is to donate it to a nursing home for a wheelchair/lap quilt.

Sidetracked

We all get sidetracked. I began a project, not on my list, to jump into my lineup of projects..  I have a meeting of quilty friends next week and I found out I needed to do something with circles.

So I have an abundance of homespuns and had made one  bulls eye block of 3 concentric circles for a donation group quilt long long ago.   I pulled red and blue prints and off I went.



Bulls Eye Pattern  Link 

I found a pattern on Pinterest: One 9 inch background square with  3 circles 7 in., 5.5 in.,and 4 in. I made 7 blocks and cut them in quarters and reassembled them. So far so good. 4 squares made.