Quilts and Books

I can't believe it's been over 4 months since I last posted here. I've totally dropped the ball on the TBR challenge, and I've decided not to join for 2018. There's been a lot to occupy me this last year, and with luck I'll be starting a new job in February. Time will tell about that. Meanwhile, the quilting has continued. In fact I had several I needed to make on short deadlines. So here's what I finished from August-December this year. First up is this baby quilt I made for some friends' baby girl. The dad is a huge Star Wars fan, so I was able to include a special fabric just for him. There are several patterns or tutorials for this out there. I used the Arithmetic Quilt pattern. Some people also call it a "Plus Quilt." This was made totally from my stash. Next was another mini for an Instagram swap. I wasn't going to sign up for any more in 2017, but I couldn't help myself. This particular swap was based on a specific group o...

Lots of sewing continues to happen in my world. I've finished a couple of small projects recently, and one big one. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen this first one back in early March. I made it for an Instagram swap. The swap involved using one of several stylized alphabets by Kristy of QuietPlay . My partner for the swap requested the word feminist and I was delighted to make this for her. I love it so much, I may make another for myself, although another idea is also brewing. We'll see. I used the slant of the cursive letters to determine the angle of my matchstick quilting lines. Next up is a little wall hanging I pieced back in 2015 and finally got around to quilting in March. It was a detailed little pattern. It looks nice and cheerful hanging near our back door. I just did simple, minimal quilting on this one. This last one was made for some friends who just had a baby. While traveling last summer, I found the elephant fabric and bought it with...

Four and a half years ago when I was in Sisters, Oregon for the annual outdoor show , I picked up several yards of a colorful print fabric that I just fell in love with. The fabric was designed by Valori Wells , a native of Sisters and co-owner of the shop that sponsors the annual show. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but I was pretty obsessed by it. Some months later I was browsing through my copy of the book We Love Color , a compilation of quilts by designers using all solid-colored fabrics. Ironically, Valori Wells has a quilt in the book, but it wasn't her design that spoke to me, it was the one by Lisa Call. This link will take you to her blog and a picture of the quilt she made for the book. Her inspiration for the design is pretty cool. Anyhow, I was able to take her muted color palette and translate it into my bright, colorful version of "Stepping Stones." I love this quilt. All of the colors in the focus fabric are used fo...

In 2016 I did a lot of sewing, but didn't finish that many things. My goal this year is to catch up on all of those UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) that surround me. I'm going to have to start a few things from scratch, too. I've signed up for 2 more mini-quilt swaps on Instagram and our extended family is expecting two new babies later in the year. I'll be busy making quilts for them. Meanwhile I can celebrate this little 18" quilt that I finished earlier this week. It's from the Black & White mini-quilt swap that I signed up for in November. This one will be going to Sweden next week. I can't wait to see what I'll get in return! The original pattern is called "Christmas Lanterns" from the book 101 Fabulous Small Quilts . I reduced the size by 50% and left off the borders. There are 288 rectangles that measure .75" x 1.5" finished. The quilting is cross-hatched, following the seam lines with white Aurifil 50 wt. thread. ...

In my last quilting post I talked about some Instagram swaps I joined this fall. The second swap was a Christmas Tree mini quilt using the Geometric Christmas Tree pattern by Kristy Lea . My partner in this tree swap wanted a modern minimalist look and a glance at her Instagram feed gave me the idea to use a black constellation fabric I found last summer. I made a test quilt, didn't quite like the very light green that looked white, and made a second one for my partner. I finished them both, and kept the first for my own Christmas decorating. So here's the first one: I think the gray thread that I used for the quilting overshadows the constellation print just a little. Still, I really do like how this turned out. But my second attempt was MUCH better: I used black thread for the background and a wider cross-hatch for just the tree. The constellations are easier to see. I also got rid of the pale green fabric as I mentioned above. Here's the lovely tree I...

I haven't shown off any of my finished projects since last spring when I finished the purple and green quilt I'd first begun for my sister . As I look around, it doesn't seem as if I've finished all that much stuff, yet I've been spending a lot more time sewing over the last 6 months than I used to. As is typical for me, I am working on half a dozen thing simultaneously. It's kind of like how I read--a library book here, a book on my phone everywhere, another book on my Kindle over there, and an audio book in the car. Sometimes I feel like a poster child for middle-aged ADD. But I'm managing to be productive. One thing I'm also doing? Hanging out on Instagram. It's where a lot of the other quilters are. I've discovered swaps! Too. Much. Fun. There's more about that below. Anyway, there's proof I've made stuff!! First up is this little backpack. I found the pattern on Craftsy . It's not very big, about 8" x 11...

In my February posts about my sister, I mentioned that she gave me a ton of her stuff--fabric, tools, a machine, and lots of partially completed projects. I brought it all home, stacked in the guest room and tried to figure out where to store it all. Gradually, I organized it, re-arranged some of my own stuff, and figured out how to put it away. It was an emotional process and it took months. I didn't always get a lot of sewing done; it was hard to find the energy as I continued to get used to her being gone. A few months before she passed away, Char handed me this particular quilt and insisted that I finish it soon. It's actually a quilt top that I made for her back in 2006. She sent me the pattern and fabric and asked me to make just the top. She was going to use it in the book she was writing. When I was finished I sent her the completed top, the pattern, and the leftover fabric. In the book, it's used to demonstrate a basting technique. So she basted the layers tog...

To those of you who offered me your condolences on the passing of my sister, I want to say thank you again for your kind words. It meant so much to me. It has really helped to finally talk about it. So now I want to brag on my sister just a little bit. She really was exceptionally creative with her quilting; she put a lot of thought into the quilting of the quilt. Rather than try to tell you about it in my words, I'll just let these pictures of her quilts speak about it. First up this is a little baby quilt. If you click to enlarge you'll see the pattern of flowers, leaves, and stems quilted in red and green. Here's the quilt she did for the QBFF paint chip challenge back in 2011. I currently have this one hanging in my kitchen nook. I love looking at it. The small sections quilted with the rainbow variegated thread are a great touch. The center section is quilted with metallic thread. This is not easy to do. It requires the right needle in your...

I haven't posted anything quilt-related in ages. Of course, I haven't published much of anything here since August, so I guess that's no surprise. This will be a quickie because I have to go and finish reading my TBR book. So, back when I had my surgery, I had a nice 6-week staycation. I did a fair bit of sewing on a variety of projects which is another way of saying I finished almost nothing. Here's one thing I did finish in November, just before I went back to work. The leaf blocks are small so the whole thing is about 9" x 14". The blocks were from a little kit I purchased. The pattern is by Designers Workshop . I took a class once from the owner, Eileen Sullivan, a long, long time ago. She taught me more about color than anyone else ever has--in just one six-hour lesson. I have several of her patterns. The kit included just the fabric for the leaves. I raided my stash for the rest of it. At Thanksgiving my sister gave me a bunch of her Christmas fab...