Blockheads bee skep

Here is blockheads #4: a bee skep designed by Jan Patek, colors by me. The horizontal rows are a half inch wide. It is machine appliqued.

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.

Quilt show and birthday

Last Sunday, I went to the quilt show in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It is different as it is always a Sunday to a Tuesday.  But it always has wonderful quilts and pulls from a much different area of quilters than the Mukwonago show.  Pardon my photography.

This first quilt is by Barbara Leis. She has won several national ribbons. This proves to be amazing as well. You can't see it well, but the striping between the colors is actually many, many strips of piping connecting the 2 sections, each with different colors. Truly amazing and so striking. 

This one is a miniature, but the colors really spoke to me and looked like suede. I wonder if they are Cherrywood fabrics or not.

We saw the pattern for this on display to buy in one of the booths.. such detailed piecework or paper piecing?  So fresh and modern!

I just liked the combination of blocks.

So many colors and such contrast with the black!

Of course, no quilt show is complete unless you find some pattern or fabric calling your name.

I fell for a lunch bag pattern and Easter egg fabric to make Easter bags for Grandma's house. 

Then we stopped at JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie and  I stocked up on a few backgrounds and colors. She has a wealth of country colors and wools. 

Then afterwards I went to my friend's house.  She showed me this mini quilt. It is a Kim Diehl pattern which uses red, and has a neat trick of the diagonal just being a block 1/4 inch larger than the 2 side ones. You just place the smaller block to the corner, matching the sides and sew the diagonal line. Do the same with the other one and you are left with a neat contrast strip in between.. She is going to place it in a picture frame with beautiful wood.

But lastly here is the picture of my son from his surprise birthday, yesterday. He is a very casual guy and loves the Blues Brothers and Star Wars. 

March

March 26.   Daunting approach to the end of March.  Isn't there one more weekend. Please!

I have so much I have been working on. And even more that I want to get done. There are the little things like just fixing the quilting on a donation small quilt, to the new donations started,  and the one that has been occupying my living room floor for a WEEK.  ( Although it was good for moving a few blocks for better color placement. )

1)Oh, and the weekly blocks for blockheads.


2)My RSC blocks are increasing: (see previous post for pics of latest and tricks).

3) Working on donation quilts:A) quilt of valor lap from my bull's eye almost done, B)homespuns needs a border and quilting C tumblers : still on the floor and I started D an eye spy for kids.

 $And lastly my log cabin quilt along just isn't going anywhere. ARGH!

I do have a good excuse.  My sewing machine is in the shop.  My really good one, the one I just know how to operate for careful sewing and the only one I have quilted on.  It has been gone for almost 3 weeks. Can you hear my exasperation?       Luckily I have a back up.  Thanks Hubby!
The extended deadline for my log cabin. will be for my guild's quilt show:  April 22.  
It has had one border added, but all it needs is applique placement, borders sewn, and then quilting.



Good news: checking the posts from March I can  see my accomplishments:
( goal for creating this job accomplishing)

My En provence is completed and given away.  WOOP, WOOP!


I quilted and bound my brother's extra courthouse steps 4th of July square.     Yes, an extra square.
But it is DONE!



And of course, new starts:

Easter bunnies!  Well, bunnies anyway for my mom.   I am now thinking a full quilt and to be done when I visit her in the summer.  Latest idea is to use the twister borders with the 30s fabrics and then borders of the variety of prints I have.
    (still has menacing eyes)

But I also think I am going to make placemats.  I am hating the lack of springtime weather and need something to look forward to.   If you want to make it the directions are :Here

RSC pinwheels tricks

I have loved making my "pinwheel sort of " block for my RSC. I have made more red this month. Mostly because I like the country colors of gold, red, blue , and green and the quilt from it will have more of them. It goes without saying that my stash has more variety in those colors.

I have the miniature pattern from Primitive Gatherings as well called Pinwheel Garden. It is a miniature.. No hints in there, though, just instructions to assemble the blocks and quilt.


So red blocks.... I even added a couple homespuns this week. And my red total is 13 making the whole sum and total number of blocks to 29.



As I made these this weekend, I was carefully conscious of my process to see what makes it come together at those pesky pinwheel centers.



First a real key was to spray size the fabrics prior to sewing. It made for crisper seams and intersections. ( Trick learned from Lisa Bongean, but I do not completely immerse in starch and then dry them.) I just used Best Press. I carefully ironed first  each color, and then my 2 colors together prior to marking the half square triangles and Thangles papers for the small triangles.

So 2nd real key is seam allowance ESPECIALLY at the beginning of the seam where the triangles of 2 separate blocks meet.

 It is easy to put the 2 triangles together as the seam allowances are going in opposite directions and "nest" together well.



Another thing I watch for is that the size of the seam allowance is key for both halves prior to sewing the 2 parts together. Here are 2 different views  I might use to check the match prior to sewing.  It works very well to have the seams finger pressed.  Matching them has one going in each direction and flat. Make sure to "butt" them together.


Here is an example of not matching well:



I quick rip it and then realignment made this for only one resew.

Then on the back I undo the seam allowance to both parts.  It looks like this when opened:




I do pin... and I do sew on top of them.  Rarely do I hit one. And to avoid it, slow the sewing machine while going over the pin. The needle will slide to the side, at least in my experience of many decades. I know others do not agree.

Blockheads 3

I am keeping up with the blockheads 6 inch block a week. This one was posted by Jo Morton. My fabric is Kansas Troubles stash. I saw Lisa Bongean's layout of the same block and used her color position as a guide, but substituted my own fabrics.

 And because each quarter square triangle block is one color, I subcut a 3 and 1/4 inch square diagonally into fourths and then just pieced them.

I wish I could say I was getting a lot done on quilting... a  foldover binding on a small quilt, a couple seams for an eye spy quilt.  Little bits done, but no real hedge on the progress. And my lovely log cabin has been sitting for a couple weeks.  

This is partly because my sewing machine, my baby of 32 years, is still in maintenance. I am awaiting our reunion  any day now and depend on it for for some things. The replacement is o.k. and does the basics, even the blanket stitch I so purchased it before, but I just don't like it as well. I guess we just need more time together. 

But the weekend is coming!  And there is a quilt show in Sun Prairie, WI,  to go to on Sunday. 

Charity quilt and Spring

First the donation quilt... the fabrics were donated by a local quilt shop. They had a die cut for the extra large tumbler. All I had to do was randomly sew them in rows and then lay them out. Followed by some rearranging and frog stitch : rip it, rip it, rip it. Wanted to get the colors spread out.

Next I need to see the rows together , slice it, and the sew edges together to make it rectangular. Somewhere I have a red white and blue print for the border.

Next up...  bunnies ...no chicks.

It was decide my HB and I would visit my mom for Easter.  I can't even remember the last Easter we were together. Even when we both taught prior to my kids, our breaks were never the same week. And although Canada may not be beach worthy, it will be good to see her. Her memory is declining, rapidly.

So I was browsing Pinterest for Easter ideas. I saw the 30s bunnies book and remembered I have it from many, many moons ago; copyright 2002.  After a mad search I even found it. Mom was born in the 30s and her bedroom was painted with a border of bunnies by my creative grandmother. I had always intended making it for her as these reminded me of them.

So I dug out my bag is 30s prints, found several small prints and appliqued the bunnies on white squares. I even was able to use the blanket stitch on my almost new/used sewing machine. (My tried and true is still in for a tune up. Boy, so I miss her.)

Voila, blocks almost finished...just the eyes  and a few face details. Next step..... not sure.  A table runner? Wall hanging?   Some pieced work around them, maybe framed first and then patchwork. Maybe even connector blocks. Still "hatching" the idea.

I know, the one bunny looks like he is out to get you,  But he just needs some TLC, of the sewing variety.

Worldwide quilting day

Hope you all had some time to quilt/sew today?

I had time this morning prior to my grandkids coming for most of the day.

Between last night and this morning I was able complete 5 more red blocks for the rainbow scrap challenge. (Total 9 red)

I am using thangles for the inch and a half blocks, and trim  the large ones cut from 4 inch squares.

Accurate quarter inch seams is crucial. I can tell right away if the seam allowance -at the spot where the 2 diagonal meets - if they aren't the same size. 

I also make sure the opposing diagonals meet tightly.

Progress!  These were pressed following the photo op. 

Blockheads unite

Blockhead number 2  Aunt Dinah. Created by Betsy Chutchian of betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com.  These are small: 6 and a half inches, but Betsy's instructions are well written with lots of tricks and photos. Starching the fabric did help to assemble it better. Again, seam allowance is key.  

  See Betsy's blog as she is even making a mini to go with each block. So cute!

My block is in Kansas Troubles fabrics.

Fully finished and more

I am happy to say I have my County En Provence quilt completed.  Ahhh, The Thrill!



But other small projects to report:

And I have now become  a Blockhead:  or at least I am following the Blockhead pattern from 5 designers; Jan Patek, Lisa Bongean, Betsy Chutchian, Lynne Hagmeier and Carrie Nelson. Here is my sample of this week's block which was posted on Wednesday is:



My Rainbow Scrap challenge blocks: 4 more, this time red.  And sometimes those pinwheels are indeed a challenge. And  I now have 20 blocks total.  And at the same time, I have always made 2 extra large half square triangles of each color to go as borders.



Another small finish:  A courthouse step block made into small table topper.  Prior to Christmas I finished this runner here.  The original pattern on All People Quilt called for 5 blocks, which made an incredibly long runner. So I finished it with 4 blocks instead, having a leftover.  And now the leftover will also go to my brother on his birthday this summer which is prior to the 4th of July.

Country En Provence

Here is the large photo of my country colored En Provence.  

And here you can see the back, binding and some of the quilting with a close up. 

Here is the beautiful stitching done by my longarm quilter.

Celebration!  And it will be given away today to the wonderful electrician who installed our new ceiling fan. He is also my daughter's boyfriend, and an awesome guy!

RSC blocks

Rainbow Scrap Challenge : red!  here are the first 4 blocks for this month in red. Love that the pile is getting bigger.  

I didn't have as much time to sew today, my usual Saturday was spent with my son and his family watching model trains.  We went from location to location in the town of Delavan, WI. There were all kinds of train sets with a wide variety of sizes and features including the great Circus Train, and amusement park and layouts with all seasons,multiple trains and of course, Christmas.  Of course, the 2 little boys just wanted to touch them.  Finally the last stop had Thomas the Tank and several wooden trains to play with.