June-balaya

There was a lot of mish-mash  and jumbling of activities involving celebrations, Mother Nature paying a visit to our house, health appointments for myself, a family wedding and, of course, a whole lot of quilting that I thought June-balaya would be a good name for this Post.

June always involves the celebration of two birthdays, Demando’s and myself and it just warms my heart that we’re both the same age now (wink). And not to be forgotten, are Hubby and my youngest son celebrating Father’s Day. During the first two weeks in June, we experienced heavy storms and tornado warnings and the first of two storms which happened two days straight, we lost our 34 year-old Linden tree which had graced our parkway. So far this year, Illinois had 172 tornadoes and now leads the nation which makes me uncomfortable. As for my health, I had my annual vision exam, a bone density scan and a mammogram and thankfully all went well. To top off my had-to-do list, was renewing my driver’s license, which after my new photo was taken, the very nice security guard walked with me to the exit door when I told him a major crime had just been committed. I’ve been saying that mucho money can be made by charging an extra fee for a glamour or soft focus photo. But no...I have a photo of me looking like an old man.

We traveled to Wisconsin for the wedding of our grandniece who had her ceremony at a farm venue right across the road from her Grandmother’s (Hubby’s sister) house. Less than 24 hours before the ceremony I realized that I had  over fifty leftover signature blocks from my younger son’s wedding thirteen years ago and I contacted my niece (the Bride's mother) to ask her if I could make a wedding quilt with them. She said yes, so  during the two-hour drive, I altered the paper holding the signature blocks. The funny thing about doing this was, the Bride, was the one who handed out these signature papers during the wedding and reception at her cousin’s wedding. I jokingly asked her if she would have time to re-assume this duty but she was a little preoccupied so her future sister-in-law and my hubby did a great job passing and collecting them. Once the newlyweds are finished building their future home, we will decide  on whether a large quilt or smaller wallhangings will be made.

And finally, to the quilty portion of this Post. I had two quilts to finish and  a Post to write on June 15th for the Lyra QAL hosted by Sandra, mmm Quilts and another Post revealing my Secret Sewing project from last year which was my quilt made from Kelly Young’s 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Block Sampler Book released on June 16th. By then, I was ready to call it a month but then there were two weeks still remaining.

I thought I should finish my #11 of Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge which was the flimsy I made in 2024 after I had finished my Spectacle Square-tangle Quilt. For both of these quilts, I used the Easy Bricks pattern designed by Amy Smart, Diary of a Quilter which is a great pattern for a layer cake.

I enjoyed making the Spectacle Square-tangle quilt so much that I wanted to make the pattern again using a Whisper by Windham Fabrics layer cake which I had in my stash for several years along with other fabrics which went well with it. I had plans to make a queen size quilt but decided to make a 66”x88” flimsy instead. Unfortunately, straight-line machine quilting did not go as smooth as I wanted and I ended up having to rip out eight lines of machine quilting because I didn’t realize the backing was scrunching up. This has sworn me off of making large quilts for awhile but at least I was able to use my CT Essential Thread in Blush. I do like this quilt which I’ve named Birdsong though Bird Brain came to mind. I was tempted to make a simple one-patch Patchwork Throw with all of the leftover fabrics remaining because I may need a new one for traveling this September and I found the perfect plush in my stash, but I didn’t.

Instead, I decided to finally finish the quilting for my Peace Quilt which I started two month earlier. I made this 16” x 26” flimsy twenty years ago before going back to work full-time. During this time, I was making these small quilts which I call Patchbox quilts because I was making them with large squares of novelty prints. The Peace hands were fussy cut and then fused to two different black prints. My plan was to hand quilt this but after the Peace hands were  done I decided to machine-quilt the rest. It has laid on my table in front of my sewing machine when I finally realized that all I had to do was straight line quilting, grid style using a jewel tone variegated Star Thread. While machine quilting, I had another realization that this quilt needed to be finished, because……

I needed another quilt to hang on the front hallway door next to the gaMMMa galaxy quilt because the one I had hanging next to it did not complement it as much as the Peace quilt. I wonder if Eunice, my Studio Tormentor who lives inside my head and tells me what I should be finishing was guiding me. This time, it was most welcomed. Both of these quilts one days will be heading to the darling granddaugher’s bedroom at the GP House. I plan to hang the Peace Quilt outside her door as a reminder that her father when he was only in first or second grade, hung a handmade sign outside his bedroom door with a drawn peace sign and the printed words “Peace in Mike’s Room”. Hubby and I both thought what could have prompted him at such a young age to do this and realized he didn’t like our yelling at Demando to do his homework among other things.

There were still a few days left before leaving for the GP House for the weekend and thought the Rainbow House Flimsy would be a quick finish. While looking for background info on the Birdsong quilt, I saw that this flimsy was made in 2024 also and that it would be good to finally finish two 2024 flimsies.

The only problem I had was  I wanted to use the stripe backing horizontally which ran along the selvedge and would be too short for the 39”x45”flimsy by several inches. I added strips, of a polkadot print found in the scrap box, to the top and bottom. Since I already had the variegated thread still on my sewing machine, I used that to machine quilt with straight and wavy lines. The black print with teeny multi color dots was found in the stash. I’m glad the Rainbow House quilt was a finally finish because it reminded how much I love this rail pattern which uses only six fat quarters. I need to make some small quilts for the darling Granddaughter’s classroom by Fall and this would be a great pattern since it sew quick and very cute with the right fabrics which I’m sure I have in my stash. I will confess that I want to keep Rainbow House quilt because I love the prints so much but maybe will be ready to give it up by Fall.

Last but not least, all during June in the late evening while watching reruns of the Mary Tyler Moore TV Series on YouTube, I was handing piecing the Smitten Says blocks which I started planning on the last days of May. Fabric patches were cut for appoximately 500 diamonds and then basted to make 177 5”x6” hexagons. Originally I was going to use a combination of diamonds and equilateral triangles (like the Simple Smitten quilt) to make the hexagons but decided to use all diamonds instead.  All of the hexagons are now sewn and ready to be laid up on the design board. Then, the  next step is to sew the hexagons together in rows which I definitely will have to do on the big counter high kitchen table at home and, of course, watching more Mary Tyler Moore episodes which ran for seven years. The Smitten Says hexagons were supposed to be my road trip project for our upcoming September trip but I really enjoy EPPs now and was missing it after my Simple Smitten quilt was finished. I already have a new EPP project in mind for the road trip and can start cutting the fabric and paper pieces soon.

I’m thinking I should take it easy in July but July-balaya wouldn’t be a bad Post title and it’s also fun to say.  Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July holiday.

12 Days of Christmas Quilt Block Sampler Book Release

Today is the release of Kelly Young, My Quilt Infatuation, latest book 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Block Sampler: Perfectly Pieced Holiday Design” which provides step-by-step instructions for 12 festive blocks inspired by the classic Christmas Carol. I was excited when I read her Posts last year showing her quilt, working on the pattern and the plan to do a QAL starting in July. I emailed Kelly to let her know how wonderful her quilt was  and I was planning to participate in the QAL. The darling Granddaughter loves singing the 12 Days of Christmas song all year and I knew she would love the quilt for Christmas. However, plans changed when the book publisher agreed that Kelly’s wonderful pattern should not be a stand alone pattern but a book instead. This meant that the pattern and QAL would be delayed until this year.

Kelly knowing that I wanted to make the 12 Day of Christmas quilt to give the darling Granddaughter for Christmas, kindly gave me a draft of her pattern with the condition that I would keep it a secret and not post pics of my quilt until her book was released. This was the Secret Sewing Project I was posting about last September and would be revealed in May/June.

TaDa! Here is my big reveal! When I was discussing this Post with Kelly and asking her how I should explain receiving the pattern, she suggested that I say that I was asked to be a “Pattern Tester”. I mentioned that this may be hard to believe by those who have read my Posts and there would be a possibility that Sandra/mmm quilts would be spitting out her coffee as she reads this. However, I considered myself as taking a pattern test and followed Kelly’s instructions completely. Does my Dancing Lady look like she’s doing the Can-Can?

These are the fabrics I pulled from my stash which were: Basic Grey Grunge, Vanessa Christensen’s Confetti Ombre, Zen Chic Spotted Zebra, Jennifer Sampou Chalk, Timeless Treasure Gray Grid, Figo/Libs Elliott Workshop, Robin Pickens Thatch and Leanne Andersen Houndstooth. I used two different white Grunge prints for the background: Seeing Stars for the large areas and a Basic for the smaller areas.

As with the other books and patterns by Kelly, she writes great detailed instructions and provides wonderful illustrations for the  twelve blocks. I thought I shared four of the blocks and if you know me, a fan of the big patches, I really enjoyed making all of the blocks, even though I worked on a tight schedule of twenty days. Kelly offers great tips and hints for sewing the blocks (perfection is not required but it sure does look nice--these are my words). My favorite of all, a big game changer for me, was to use diagonal seam tape (which I had an unused roll of it stashed in my drawer for several years) to sew the many connecting corners. If I had a favorite block, it would be #10 Leaping Lord whom I’ve named Jethro but Gaston would have also been a good name too.

Kelly did an amazing job on machine quilting her quilt so I’m embarrassed to show that I only machine quilted horizontal wavy lines approximately 2” apart. The reason for using Basic Grey Grunge Seeing Stars fabric for the background and embroidering many gold stars throughout the quilt was to make it look more interesting. The same dark green Grunge used for the numbers was also used for the binding.

I wished I had a video of when the darling Granddaughter first saw her 12 Days of Christmas quilt. She had such a smug smile suggesting she knew Grandmin would make her this and knowing it was just for her. Her father, my youngest son, was so excited, took many pics and was given very ample warning not to post or share any photos. The quilt hung at the GP house until early January when it was taken down when the darling Granddaughter wasn’t around and brought back to our house for safekeeping. Would you believe the darling Granddaughter started singing the 12 Days of Christmas song on April 15th. I’m pretty sure her quilt will be hung up right after Halloween. BTW, this photo collage shows the first Kelly Young pattern I made, Purse Strings quilt 2013 and the latest; both quilts, as well as several other quilts made with Kelly's patterns, were bequeathed to her.

It should be no surprise that I am a big fan and follower of Kelly and have made  sixteen quilts from nine of her patterns; six of them with her Unruly pattern, my very favorite. I have all of her books and have participated in many of her past NTT Linky parties. Her latest 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Block Sampler book is an absolute gem. In addition to her patterns, there are some interesting tidbits that I never knew about the song. Even though my quilt is made, there are several blocks I would make again and would be perfect as a stand alone for wall quilt or pillows or combining several blocks to make a small wallhanging. My Grandniece just got married this weekend and I’m thinking of combining the Dancing Lady, Turtle Doves and Leaping Lord blocks to make a special First Christmas wallhanging. Also, there is a bonus Father Christmas pillow pattern which I definitely will be making. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Kelly's Post. Her book is available now at her Etsy Shop as well as Amazon and any other distributors where you purchase your books (not an affiliate link).

And lastly, a very big Thank You to Kelly for trusting and allowing me to make my quilt last year, it was very appreciated and much loved.  I hope readers will see that I can follow a quilt pattern and keep a secret.

Celebrating a Famous Canadian: Lyra QAL Parade

This is the tenth time I have participated in this annual celebration which happens around the same as Demando and my birthdays along as Fathers Day for hubby and my youngest son who is the the darling Granddaughter’s Daddy. Sandra, mmm quilts, the host extraordinaire and designer of the wonderful QAL patterns, really outdid herself with this year’s Lyra pattern. There are three versions; I had to make version I, (the official QAL quilt) which I’ve named gaMMMa Galaxy and version II (the extra quilt) Artemis in coMMMemoration of the recent Moon Mission which captivated our attention and brought back old memories of watching past space explorations at home and at school. My quilts this year, versus last year’s, does look like the Lyra pattern, but with a slight change.

Back in early April, Sandra had sent her mmminion/mmmuddle or pattern testers, the Lyra pattern; some of us tested and you know who just looked at the pattern and planned an alternative way to make it. Sandra, in her effeminate “mmmickedness” sensed I was up to something and emailed me. Along with an annual celebration, I do an annual confessional with Sandra as to how I was not going to follow her pattern and keeping “mmmum”. As in the past, Sandra approved.

Here is my confession; my quilts are smaller than the Lyra pattern because I used my die-cutter which made the patches 4”(f) rather than 5” like the pattern so my quilts measure 32” square and not 40” square. The Kite shape (left) bought back memories of Sandra’s first QAL, Freefall, which I couldn’t print the foundation pieces and had to draw my own. Was this a bad mmmemory?

Only five fabrics for the Lyra pattern were needed but gaMMMa galaxy uses twelve. While I trying to choose which color I wanted for the spiky star points, I realized I had all of the colors in the same print which were in the Allison Glass Star print to make the ombré points. Would you believe over the course of several days I finally came up with this combination and was once finalized after I found the multi-color grid fabric in the backing vault. It may have taken awhile but I was really happy that all of these prints, especially the lights, were found in various areas of the studio.

To make assembling the blocks easier, I made a diagram showing which color/print went where and then sewed it together row by row.

I thought my favorite quadrant quilting wasn’t going to work but it did. I used #2600 White Dove Auril thread for both the top and bottom and like using this color since it blends well with bright multi-color prints. The backing is a white grunge, which I won’t show you, and the binding is the multi-color grid print. I am liking 32” square quilts as I can hang them on the inside of the front doors and if the right colors, I have the perfect space in the family room. For now, gaMMMa galaxy is hanging on the front door but eventually will hang in the darling Granddaughter’s bedroom along with Star Shine Prism Break Quilt which was Sandra’s Orinoco Flow pattern.

While I was sewing gaMMMa galaxy, Sandra came out with version II of the Lyra pattern and I immediately thought it was the perfect pattern to commemorate the Artemis Moon Mission. Sandra did do version III which may be her official pattern for Artemis but I had already die-cut the patches for version II. I’ve always said that it’s easy for me to pull 10+ fabrics for a quilt, but when it’s less than ten, it takes forever because when there’s only a few, they have to click. Once the Art Gallery low volume print was chosen for the Moon, I chose two prints from the Carrie Bloomston’s  Story and Dreamer collection and the red is from Matisse/The Women fabric line by Exclusively Quilters.

Sadly, the two prints from the Carrie Bloomston stash was used up in Artemis but was worth it. I ended up not having enough of the teal print and had to substitute another similar print for some of the  connecting corners in the square in square units. This gave me a new personal quilting rule that if you can’t see the difference from the moon, then it’s okay to substitute. Would you believe, I had more trouble with this quilt in sewing the rows together. I kept flipping the patches so they were pointing wrong; I did this at least five times.

The Moon fabric was important to make up for my lackluster quilting. Again, I did quadrant quilting with CT Essential Thread #21160 Parchment. I’m being lazy with this Post as I am not showing you the backing  which is just a low volume print found in the stash. The dark blue Story print was used for the binding which I am so thankful I had just enough. Artemis is now hanging in the family room on the wall just perfect for a 32” square quilt.

Isn’t it amazing that the same pattern made two different quilts just by fabric placement. I’m also proud of the fact that I did sew all of the square in the square blocks (except one) which I do not like sewing and sadly did not have a die in the right side. 

In celebration of Sandra’s Tenth QAL to Celebrate a Famous Canadian, I have my annual collage commemorating this:

And also a collage of the mmmany mmmerry mmmakes made through these same years…

And one more since it involved Sandra sending me some of the fabrics and having me purchase the backing from a friend who was destashing. I’ve named this quilt Oh Sanada and was given to her daughter to give to a friend who was undergoing medical treatment.

If you’re counting all of the mmmerry mmmakes, the total is 24. 

I always say that each mmmake gives me a punch onmy GET BELLA card and I’m thinking #25 should give me a nice 8”x10” glossy, pawed by her sweetness. What do you think? Sandra already sent me some of Bella’s fur.

Be sure to visit to see the other Lyra QAL quilts. I would not be surprise if the other participants mention how much they enjoyed this pattern.

I’m writing this Post a week before the Parade as I will traveling back from the GP House and hopefully it will post on the 15th.  And I will have another Post tomorrow which will reveal last year’s secret sewing project and proof that I can follow a pattern. You can read it Here.