April Amazement

Despite being away from home for a total of fifteen days in April due to a Maine vacation and going to the GP House several times,  I was not expecting to have a Finally Finished this month. This past week when we were done with our travels, I worked on a somewhat secret project for one of my favorite Quilt Designer’s new book launch for early June. I thought if I was going to properly participate, I needed to first sew a top using one of my favorite patterns designed by her. I finished the flimsy this past Friday afternoon, several hours before dinner and thought I could possibly have a flimsy finish for April’s Country Thread Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. I was thinking that I was going to skip doing a project this month but when you soon realized that there was still time, the Peaceful Kingdom Cabin Fever quilt was a big finish last night and amazing for several reasons.

I’ve been saving this group of fabrics for several years now and been waiting for a pattern which would showcase the Rae Ritchie by Dear Stella print on the left. I don’t know the name of this print and since it’s more than several years old and thinking I may have purchased it for a baby quilt for the darling granddaughter who is now six years old, I’m calling it Peaceful Kingdom since the orange tiger and deers are co-existing rather peacefully in the pretty landscape. Rae Ritchie prints are always interesting and the colors in this print are fun. Before deciding on a pattern, I’ve been accumulating prints from recent purchases and from stash. I was quite pleased when I finally put these group of fabrics together on the right which are Cotton+Steel, two Bonnie Christine prints (the mint green circles and yellow alphabet), the rose pink dots from Clothworks and the blue dotted line is from Blend’s The Adventurers. When I make a quilt with less than ten different fabrics, I think the colors need to snap together or match perfectly which means sometimes the fabrics need to be from one fabric line but with this quilt using different fabric lines made it fun and happy.

I’ve been buying/collecting Villa Rosa Design quilt pattern cards since 2011 when they first came out and now have almost thirty pattern cards which includes the ones from Pineapple Studio. I always like buying these  cards (not an affiliate link) since they can be inspiring for quick and easy makes plus you can’t beat the price. I can honestly say though, I have never made a quilt using one of these pattern cards until now.  When I decided to finally make something with my Peaceful Kingdom fabric grouping, I knew I could use one of the pattern cards and the Cabin Fever pattern by Running Doe was perfect. Thankfully I purchased this card back in January when two of my Bee Sistas ( Wendy and Kathleen) participated in a Villa Rosa Design QAL and seventeen of these cards arrived at my house. (With this many new cards, I better have found a pattern, don’t you think? What can I say- $2 each, free shipping plus an app to tell you which pattern cards you own-I just have to remember Rose Cards means Villa Rosa Design pattern list and not my list-confusing, right?)

Anyhoot, Peaceful Cabin Fever (I have to be careful typing Peaceful since I sometimes mix-it up by typing Pieceful as in Wendy’s Blog)  although it was Pieceful with the cutting and sewing of the flimsy completed way under two hours.

Imagine my surprise when I thought Saturday was the first day of May but instead the last day in April which meant I could have a Finally Finished for the month. Horizontal wavy line machine quilting was with Aurifil #2123 (a very pale yellow color), two inches apart which made it fast and easy. The blue Cotton+Steel print was used for the binding and thought I would have to hand sew it since Juki Junebug is semi-retired now. But, with finally purchasing the Even Feed Foot for Jinny Janome, I was able to sew the binding down and it turned out great. Do I dare say, Jinny performed better than Junebug for machine binding?  I’m just glad I can finally machine sew binding down once again. Peaceful Kingdom measures 39”x47”. It’s amazing that the Peaceful Kingdom Cabin Fever Quilt was made slightly over 24 hours, right? And yes, I hummed “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” song from The Lion King even though there was tiger and no lion.

I had two yards of the Rae Ritchie print which I used for the backing although I was tempted to save the leftovers for another Running Doe pattern which I did not purchase although I thought I had the Baby Goose pattern. It would have been perfect also for this print but glad I used it for this quilt instead since this makes it a two sided quilt. I just love this print so much and really should be used for a backing because it’s so pretty and interesting. I had purchased this fabric online and was not disappointed with it once it arrived and started the quest to make something with it. After I had cut the piece needed for the front, it was two inches short for the backing so I sewed two strips of a mint green print on the top and bottom and it’s not too noticeable.  I used  a Pellon Cotton/Poly batting which makes for a puffier than usual quilt, just perfect for a new baby tummy time playmat. I think the Cabin Fever pattern would be great for making tummy time playmat quilts, especially using bright colors and patterns to stimulate the baby. Also, if you need a quick quilt to make for a baby shower, this pattern would be just right.

I thought I give a sneak peek of the flimsy for the upcoming book launch. Could I name it Wild Kingdom? I seem to have a theme this month. I should be home more during May which means I will work on finally finishing my Rainbow Neighborhood Quilt, this secret Quilt plus the May quilt for the Dirty Dozen Challenge. It would be another amazing month if I finish all three since June will be another traveling month.

I thought I would end this Post with a snapshot collage of my Strips Ahoy Quilt, meeting up with Kathleen McMusing and my amazing fabric and one pattern (not a Villa Rosa Design Pattern) purchases all done while in Maine which truly was a wonderful vacation.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Glass Houses/Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL/My Blocks Are Finished

The Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL hosted by Sandra of mmm quilts was kicked off last week and just like my usual and previous mode of participating as someone who does not QAL well, I am ahead of schedule by having all nine blocks finished but for good reasons. The thought of not having a finished quilt by the June 30th Parade was not acceptable for me since this would be the first time since participating in the past six QALs that I would only have a flimsy finish. Plus, after making the First Block and like Sandra said, these houses are addicting to sew, especially with my Alison Glass stash and the guidelines/suggestions she made by as how you  can make the houses your own, it was hard for me to make only one house a week, especially with the two vacation planned during the QAL. You can read Sandra’s Rainbow Neighbourhood post Here.

I had already made the first block before reading Sandra’s Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL Kick-Off post and was really excited/inspired with  the many good suggestions she made with how the houses could be made. I swear she read my mind or now can forecast Rebel QAL behavior because I already planned on doing some of them by:

• Choosing to make only Type 1 and Type 2 houses since they were the simpler of the designs since I didn’t want to cut up too much of the wonderful Alison Glass fabrics. It was fun putting the fabrics together from the yardage, charm squares and scraps from my Ernie Express Quilt #2. My Accuquilt Die-Cutter (no affiliation) was used to cut the squares, rectangles and HST which was made possible with normal measurements meaning there was not eighths or sixteenths. When working with the large scale prints, I did spend some time fussy cutting which is usually not my favorite thing but I do like the results. I have to admit I sure did use my seam ripper a lot, my error or lack of skills and not the pattern.

• I changed four of the quilt blocks to more simpler blocks. (I really wanted a Heart block for the House in the center.) My earlier problem with the first quilt block not being an accurate 8-1/2” was remedied when I switched from using Jinny Janome to my Juki HZL F600 which has a scant 1/4” foot. 

• I cut and sewed one block at a time just to stay organized but as you can see below, I work in mmmayhem mode. Another good reason for doing these blocks all at once is that this mess can be cleaned up by putting away the fabrics, die, equipment, etc. I do have some bits and chunks which will make lovely crumb blocks one day.

I can’t decide if  I have a favorite Glass House because I love them all. There’s not one that I’m unhappy  with and am glad they all play well with each other as a Rainbow Neighbourhood should. It feels so good to have these blocks finished before leaving on vacation later this week. I have another project that I’ve already started which needs to be finished by June so I’ll be busy upon my return from vacation.

I can’t say enough how fun these house blocks were to make. I’m thinking of making some more to hang on the door in holiday or seasonal fabrics.  If you haven’t already join the Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL, it’s not too late and it will be easy to get caught up. The pattern (not an affiliate link) can be purchased Here.

Piece/Peace!

Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL

 

It’s time to say “Je ne sais QAL” because Sandra, mmmquilts announced her 2023 QAL, Rainbow Neighborhood and, once again, as I have for the past six years, will be participating which is now a rite of Spring and to celebrate her late father, the Famous Canadian, birthday. I had purchased her pattern last December and mentioned to her then that I thought this should be a QAL. As soon as I downloaded the pattern, I printed it which I hardly ever do and it’s been sitting on the studio desk since and knew I could start it once I decided on the fabrics. Imagine my surprise and happiness when Sandra first mentioned the QAL back on March 25th that the Rainbow Neighborhood was the pattern. I was at the GP House which meant the pattern and my stash was at home so I could only think or “mmmull” over my usual reasons for participating. Do I like the pattern, Big Yes, especially since I had the pattern and realized the blocks are 16” and the quilt blocks are 8” and not 4” as I thought they were; can I use fabric from my stash, I’m pretty sure I do but have to wait until I’m at home which won’t be for several days; and since I’m doing the throw size, the schedule for completion is doable since a block a week is sewn until the end of May and then have the month of June to assemble the top for the parade on June 30th. We have two vacations planned during the QAL so the chances of having a finished quilt may be slim but at least you only need a top in order to be eligible to win one of the many great prizes Sandra has lined up. But the main reason for making Rainbow Neighborhood will be explained later at the end of the post.

On the drive home, I decided the fabric I was going to use was my stash of Alison Glass which was the perfect choice since I’ve accumulated stash especially from buying a nice selection of yardage and scraps online from a blogger who was having a destash sale. Once I was finally in my studio I was able to choose the nine colors for my Rainbow Neighborhood along with the background, sashing, border and cornerstones.

I am so happy that I can use my Alison Glass fabrics for Rainbow Neighborhood and I’m having a little tongue in cheek moment by naming my quilt Glass Houses. I have some charm squares for most of the colors and will be using them for the 8” quilt blocks along with the black and white print. The multi-color light print will be used for the sky for each house. I should mention that the yellow green solid is not an Alison Glass print and will be used for the cornerstones. If I do any deviation from the pattern, it will be the sashing and border due to only having one yard of the multi-color black print which I want to use as the border but I don’t like pieced borders which I would have to do since I need at least 60”.

The official start of the Rainbow Neighborhood QAL is April 3rd and I’ve already started after checking with Sandra to see if there was a sequence as to which house to make and there’s not, really. My first block is already done and the cutting and sewing was easy but I need to be better with the quilt blocks measuring 8.5”. I do love that the house blocks are 16” finished, my sewing is much more accurate with large patches. I did press all of the seams open, except for the rows but in the future, will only do it for the 8” quilt blocks. My chimneys did not line up with the roof lines as well as I would have liked so pressing these two rows so the seams will nest might be better. My plan is to make three more blocks before we leave on vacation on the 12th so I will be on schedule once we return.

We did spend half of March at the GP House which the darling Granddaughter did a wonderful job babysitting us and we also celebrated her sixth birthday. Once we were home from our last visit and before I started working on the Rainbow Neighborhood QAL, I did finish my March top for the CountryThreads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. My plan is to make this a Patchwork Blankie by backing it with a pink plush which has been hanging around the studio. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use Jinny Janome since I haven’t sewn plush with her yet and Juki Junebug is stored away in the dining room or the formal sewing room now. BTW, the problems which I had with Juki Junebug could not be fixed by the last shop and they wanted to ship it to shop in Alabama who said they could fix the thread cutter plus the foot pedal problem. I decided I could live with these problems rather than spend any more money. There would be certain quilts, such as this patchwork blankie, that Juki Junebug could still do. It’s just a matter of setting her up on the dining room table which I may be now in a mood to do.

As mentioned earlier in this Post that I had a really good reason for wanting to make Glass Houses, aka, Rainbow Neighborhood is because I thought it would be the perfect wall hanging to go with my Petal Pop quilt which was finished last year. The plan then was that this quilt would be for the darling Granddaughter and now with the perfect wall hanging to go with it, this will be her new bedroom ensemble. After all, she’s now the big “6” and it’s time for a change.