A Finally Finished: Postcards from Sweden

My Postcard from Sweden quilt is finally finished so I'm happy to post since it seems that finally finishes have been few and far between for me this year. I know the linky party hosted by Sandra of mmm! Quilts isn't until next week (April 18th) but I wanted to post about it today for several reasons but mainly because it is a big finish for me.

Hubby and I took advantage of the glorious sunshine today to take photos at the walking path by the neighborhood playground and it would have been perfect if Windy didn't decide to tag along.

So far in 2018, I have participated or am participating in five QAL and I'm pretty proud that I have stayed on schedule with them despite having a few squirrels and one blogger (clue: she's hosting the Postcard QAL) distracting me.  I have to say my participating in the Postcard from Sweden QAL was erratically consistent, I was either early starting with the sewing of the HSTS, really behind in sewing the rows together due to a visit to the Granddaughter and then finally pushing to getting the top and the quilting done (an extra week was added to the schedule) during the past few days only to be early.  

The making of the Postcard quilt was made possible by:

• my stash of Kaffe Fassett shot cottons which have been waiting patiently for the right project to use them
• my Sizzie die-cutter--thank you 4-1/2" HST die
• my having a supply of 5" cardboard squares to make color cards and them little white labels to help keep the HSTs in order.  I only made one HST wrong but when you think about it, would anyone had noticed
• my big display board to make sure the HSTs were positioned right

The machine quilting was a breeze; I did squiggly quilting lines, just like the original quilt, in a lilac thread.  Needless to say but this quilt is so squishy soft.

As for the backing and the binding, it had to be Kaffe Fassett fabric and it had to be from my stash so despite not having a lot of Kaffe yardage in my stash, I had this purple somewhat paisley print which had most of the colors in the top.  As for the stripe binding, it was not my first choice, I was going to mix two fat quarters of other stripes since I didn't have enough of one but wasn't really sold on using them. I decided to check in my binding drawer to see if there was any Kaffe fabric in there and lo and behold there was yardage of the pretty multi-stripe.  (The rule of my binding drawer is that right after a top is made, I set aside the binding fabric in the drawer which then is not to be used for any other project.  I cannot remember which quilt top  I set aside this stripe fabric for and I'm hoping that I didn't need all of it.)

I just had to include another photo of my Postcard from Sweden Quilt because I love it so much.  My quilt measures 48" x 60" and it just the perfect size to cover the legs especially for the road trips which we will be taking one next week to Myrtle Beach.  This quilt is so soft thanks to the Kaffe fabrics and the colors just make my heart sing.  I will say my quilt is not as bright as the original Postcard from Sweden quilt. I used whatever Kaffe fabric came closest to the ones specified from the original quilt based on what I saw online and even though I don't know if they were on the mark I just love the combinations.  As I mentioned before, would anyone notice if my colors are off.  

And lastly, two more things:

If you read my last Throwback Thursday post, hosted by guess who, Sandra of mmm! Quilts, (you can read about it here where I recounted my memory of receiving a gift of a doll pattern from Amy Butler which may have been prompted by the outfit I was wearing, here are the lime green socks I mentioned.  After I posted, I remember that I still had the socks, maybe a little faded, and I pressed them for the photo--are they not cute and the wearer deserving of a free pattern.  They're now hanging in my studio and maybe one day I'll make a really big doll so she can wear them or I'll save them for Micah who I think will have big feet like me since at one-year old, she's at the 99 percentile for height.

And speaking of Micah, here is a photo taken by her Godfather, Chad, of Kamerad Arts, reminding me of how long I've been her  Grandmother. Thanks for all of her birthday wishes which were posted. BTW, see what I mean about her having big feet; at least she has a smile to go with them.  Hee, Hee, I should be receiving a message from her mother soon.

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday,  MMM Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday

30 Blocks in 30 Days: Blocks #1 - #6

The 30 Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop hosted by Carla Henton of Creatin' in the Sticks started this past Sunday, April 1st.   (Here is the link to this blog hop: https://createinthesticks.blogspot.com.)  My first six blocks are done and really came together real quick after I finally came up with a plan on how I was going to make these blocks.  Carla's original 30 Block quilt had a lot of negative space because the same solid white was used for all of the blocks which is wonderful for exquisite machine quilting skills which I do not have.  I decided to make each block stand out on their own by not using the same background fabric for each block and also also there will be a little less "lights" used.  My fat eighth bundle of Zen Chic's Hey Dot which I've been saving for the right project would be perfect for the 30 blocks.

 

I knew this would be the right fabrics for these 10" blocks which are wonderful to showcase the fabrics.  And I might add that these blocks are fun to make and each one can be sewn together in less than 30 minutes. The only part that may be a little time consuming is deciding which fabric to use.  I have to confess that I made all of these blocks at once so if you want to join the 30 Blocks in 30 Days blog hop it would be real easy to catch up.

There are thirty bloggers who will be showcasing their block and project every day in April.  I will be featuring my version of the "Crosswalk" block on Sunday, April 22nd by making a project with this block.  I hope you check out my blog then but also check out the other bloggers' creation by clicking on the link above where you will find the schedule and the links to the other bloggers.

Meanwhile, I'll be sewing up more of these blocks at once plus working on my project because my darling hubby scheduled a getaway the week before my scheduled post.  Yikes!  I keep telling myself won't my quilt look pretty when I photograph it in Myrtle Beach.

Linking up with:  Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday

Throwback Thursday: The Dollmaker Wannabee Me and Meeting Amy Butler

It seems that ever since Sandra of mmm! Quilts resurrected Throwback Thursday where we can share tales of yesteryear's quilts and creations, the months go by really fast now.  Fortunately, this also gives me a month to think about what my next post is going to be about and decided this one  will be about a memory.  One of the big differences about making a quilt years ago is that I, like other quilters, did not have a camera phone nor a social media connection to record yesterday's doings which is something I wish I had then for the time I'm writing about now.

I had mentioned in the past if I couldn't make quilts, I would make dolls and saying this in the presence of my fellow quilters, their comments were not very encouraging.  I could still hear Lynn, the owner of the quilt shop I used to work at, saying: "I don't think so."  I've only made two handmade dolls during my twenty years of quilting:  one was a Jan Patek pattern and the other one was an Amy Butler pattern which is what my post is all about.

Back around May, 2002, almost sixteen years ago, I attended the Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City with Lynn, the quilt shop owner and two of my co-workers, one being Carol, whom I've written about in several of my posts and in this post you will see why she is so valuable to me as a quilt peep.  One of the highlights attending this Quilt Market, besides being my first one and the excitement of seeing all of the designers and the fabrics, was meeting Amy Butler, before she became THE Amy Butler.  Carol knew all about her through Country Living Magazine and she even made one of her bag patterns.  I, on the other hand, didn't know a thing about her, just that as soon as I met her, I was so impressed with her happy and sunny personality, her talent and her booth was just wonderful.  Amy was at Quilt Market to promote her own pattern company, Art of the Midwest and had a line of doll patterns called Americana Angels. We visited her booth several times to purchase her patterns for the store and just to say hi to her.  And on the occasions we saw her outside her booth and on the escalator, we gave her the royal wave while chanting "Amy" in which she returned the same wave right back to us.  The sad thing about this encounter is that it is only captured in my memory and I don't have any photos with Amy...nada.

During our first visit to Amy's booth and when we were leaving, she said to me, and only me in the presence of my group, "Here, I want you to have this pattern--it was the Little Miss Liberty Angel doll pattern."  I was flabbergasted and managed to thank her and being someone stunned, I did not ask her to sign it.  I can't say for certain how my co-workers felt about this but there was a certain question lingering in the air as why I was chosen to receive this pattern.  Maybe Amy saw in me the doll maker I wanted to be.

Soon after Quilt Market, I made the Little Miss Liberty Angel Doll, the driving force being that I had to make it because the pattern was a gift and it was also during the time when patriotic quilts were popular due to 9/11 and beautiful fabrics were available in red, white and blue colorways.  I made my doll using Jan Patek's Attic Treasures by Moda and it spent some time hanging in the shop, and after that, has hung in my upstairs hallway wall for almost fifteen years now above a wall quilt I designed and made using the same line of fabrics.

This doll measures 15" high with a 13" wingspan.  It was fun to mix up the fabric prints for all of the parts, tiny and small, which needed to be made and sewn together.  The pattern was not difficult at all and easy to follow, but truth be told, I could probably make a quilt in the time I spent making my Little Miss Liberty Angel.  Probably this is the reason why I don't make many bags or purses or anything else besides a quilt.  Still, it was worth making my Little Miss Liberty Angel Doll and I consider it a remembrance of meeting Amy Butler and am reminded of it every time I walk by the doll/quilt.

If I ever find the time, I would like to make another one of her dolls, they're just that clever and cute.  The two patterns I purchased afterwards, the Sailor's Siren Mermaid Angel and Great Plains Cowboy Angel have been waiting for me to make for at least fifteen years.  I think the Cowboy doll would look great in feedsack fabrics.

Soon after meeting Amy Butler, her popularity exploded with fabric lines, publications and her own line of patterns and it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.  Every now and then after meeting her, Carol and I would still wonder about why she gave me the pattern.  This usually happened when we were around Amy Butler fabrics. Around four years later, I found my answer with Mark Lipinski's magazine "Quilters Home", August 2006 and the quilt celebrity he did a Q&A interview with was THE Amy Butler.  One of the questions he asked her was what her color was the most like her personality and she replied "Lime Green"-- Oh Yeah!--the color of the dress I was wearing when I first met Amy was Lime Green.  No one else in the group was wearing this color so this must be the reason why Amy singled me out, right?  I might add I was also wearing matching lime green anklet socks that had crocheted lace around the cuffs with my Mary Jane shoes so I must had also looked a little quirky too. I immediately called Carol to tell her that the mystery was finally solved and  to inform her I needed her to stay my friend for all times because I needed her to vouch for me that Amy Butler gave me a pattern.  Maybe I should tape a copy of this post to the pattern to make sure I never forget how this pattern was acquired.  As mentioned earlier in this post, no photos, just memories and Carol as my witness.  And yes, I like to give Carol yearly reminders about this important memory and hope that she and I never forget the time we met Amy Butler before she became THE Amy Butler.

I enjoyed sharing this memory and adding it to my quiltlore.  BTW, I hope you check out the other quilters' stories, especially Sandra's, mmm! Quilts because she gave me an idea what my post for next month will be.  I have a month to think about it in my head.

Linking up with MMM! Quilts' Throwback Thursday

30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop

30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop

Tomorrow, Sunday, April 1st is the start of the 30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop hosted by Carla Henton of Creatin' in the Sticks.  If you're like me, who likes to make simple quilts with squares and rectangles to showcase the fabrics, you may want to check out this Blog Hop by clicking on the link above.  This will take you to Carla's Blog where you can click on the 30 Quilt Blocks Tab at the top to get more information and see the schedule of Project Designers.  Each block finishes 10" square and can either be used in a variety of ways and is a great project for the scrap stash.  I know I plan on making some of these blocks individually for baby quilts which I will be doing as the Project Designer on April 22nd for the Cross Walk block.  I hope you'll join us!

I "BEE" Ready

Last week I posted the table topper I made for my granddaughter Micah's First Birthday celebration and coupled with a few more things which I'll show later, I thought I was ready.  That is, until I happened to see the coasters I made using my Checkerboard Express pattern (you can read about the Checkerboard Express block and projects here) and thought that I could make some using some of the leftover fabrics and then a big "duh" hit me: I should have made the table topper like the one I made using Christmas fabrics.  So, I had to make another topper which is 24" with 8" blocks.  

Really, you would think that I would have remember this pattern when I was planning to make the table topper; it's only been at the most four months. What's also maddening is that prior to planning the topper, I was busy die-cutting hexagons for Micah's mom to make a photo backdrop and even though hexagons and octagons are two different shapes, you would think I would have had the idea that an octagon table topper would be more fitting for the party theme.  

Here's a photo of the first table topper after I finally finished it; nice and rectangular. I like to think that divine inspiration happens but sometimes not right away. I'm pretty sure both of the toppers will be used somehow for the celebration and it can still be used afterwards.  Maybe one of them could be a wall hanging.

And speaking of divine inspiration, I happen upon this blog post, when I should have been working on some projects, and came upon this wonderful tutorial for making fabric letters, (you can read about it here) and talk about seeing it at the right moment for once.

Seriously, each of these letters can be made in  ten to fifteen minutes.  It was great that I already had a 12" paper mache' letter "M", leftover fabrics from the topper and best of all I used some of my endless mound of scrap batting.  I used both my rotary cutter with a pinking blade and pinking shears for the tighter spots. These letters turned out so cute and, of course, it wasn't until after I made my first letter, I realized I could used two different fabrics instead of the same for the front and back so they can be reversible.  I don't know how Micah's mom, who doesn't know yet that I made these, will be using them but maybe hanging them on twine with mini clothes pins would look really cute.

And last but not least, a little DIY project with $1 Soccer Baskets purchased at the Dollar Store and adding some bee stickers to make some table decor. I'm saving the other basket to do when I'm at Micah's house; maybe she'll want to help me put stickers where they don't belong.

I never realized that bees were popular so I'm glad I put my BEE game on despite having been stung by one of the big furry ones many moons ago and it was one of the worst pains I ever experienced.  BTW, I found something just as wonderful as buying fabrics, buying baby girl clothes.  I'm looking forward to bringing my baby clothes haul for my week visit with Micah and her family celebrating her first birthday and Easter. I'm not sure if I'll have much time to do any sewing, although I plan on bringing some projects. Once I'm back home, I'll have some major catching up to do as well as participating in Creatin' in the Sticks" 30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop starting on April 1st (you can read about it here) which is right up my alley since all of these blocks are made with super simple squares and rectangles.  I will be posting on April 22nd with my version of the Cross Walk block.

Wishing everyone a Happy Spring, warm and sunny weather and a blessed Easter.  And don't let any Bees sting you!

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday

Miss Behaving or Misbehaving in March

It was a pretty good week of sewing for me: something I needed to do, I done did; I'm current with two QAL projects, I got to DREAMi! and still found some time and a way to start on two more projects.

The table topper for Micah's First Birthday party is on the way to be ready for the big celebration at the end of month.  The theme of her party will be Bees and I found the sweetest fabric by Timeless Treasures "You are My Sunshine."  The topper measures 27" x 39" and I just used a simple nine-patch pattern to showcase the fabrics and also because I didn't want to put in too time on something which may be on the receiving end of some party spills and crumbs.

My March blocks for the Classic Meet Modern Block of the Month Quilt Along hosted by My Quilt Infatuation are finished.  This month's blocks were the 10" Propeller block (left) and two 6" Sawtooth blocks and sewed together very easy.

All of the half-square triangles have been cut, sewn and arranged for the Postcards from Sweden from MMM quilts.  Since I used my stash of Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons with some Peppered Cottons, my quilt doesn't look at bright as some of the other Postcard quilts so I may be calling mine Postcards from Kaffe.  We have two weeks to sew the rows together and I'm hoping Sandra will change it to three weeks since we'll be spending some time with the darling granddaughter at the end of the month.

This is my DREAMi! project which is  another quilt from Christa Watson's Piece and Quilt from Precut book, Dot 'N Dash which I happen upon quite innocently (wink).  I was putting away some fabric and came upon the wonderful Robert Kaufmann's Quilters Linen in a color I call Steel Teal which I forgot I had bought less than six months ago.  I knew it would work well with some 2-1/2" strips I already had cut in shades of grays, teals, pinks, etc. to make the Dot 'N Dash quilt.  Since Sandra is the host for both the Postcards from Sweden QAL and the monthly DREAMi linky party, it's going to be pretty okay if I take a little time away from the Postcard Quilt to spend a little time working on the Dot 'N Dash quilt, right Sandra?

In my never-ending quest to carve out more sewing time during the day, I thought a new portable sewing machine, a Juki HZL 70HW-A to use either in the dining room or kitchen would help.  I already own a Janome Gold which is a sweet little machine but the only drawback is that it does not have a needle up and down feature which I kick myself for not wanting to spend the extra $100 for it.  I sew in my studio which is in the basement or lower level of my house and too often I am drawn to the laptop which is sitting on the kitchen desk and I find myself spending way too much time on Social Media, Blogs, computer games, etc. which could be better spent on sewing.  I thought maybe having a sewing machine upstairs would distract me from the computer.  Also, since there are the TV shows I want to watch in the evenings, I also can also sew then as long as I have Closed Caption on. Really, it's not because the sewing machine is noisy, it's just that Hubby likes to play his guitar while watching TV.

I'm thinking my idea is working out quite well.  Since the arrival of the new Juki, I sewed sixty-four 8"x 12" strip blocks made from 2-1/2" strips of Kaffe Fassett stripes and shot cottons which have been waiting to be made for awhile so I'm considering it to be an unidentified UFO project.  And yes, I'm still spending more time with Kaffe and am pretty sure this is going to be my last project for the year using his fabrics, maybe.

And I sewed a mega strip for a future Staggered Strips and Squares quilt using low volume fabrics with some black and white Cotton + Steel fabrics. Once the strip sets and blocks are cut, I can finish sewing the top upstairs.  

I think my Juki Jr. and kitchen table sewing is just what I needed to get more of my projects done.  And as for my Janome Gold, I'll be saving it for Micah, she doesn't need to know about the wonders of needle up and down until later. Hopefully, whatever March Mode I'm on, either Miss Behaving by staying on task or Misbehaving where the fun is, it continues.  I'm happy with doing both.

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday,  MMM Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday

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Farewell to Fassett February

February was a funny month for me which I can best describe as I was in a mood for not staying on task and felt kind of bad that in less than two months into 2018, I wanted to throw my project lists, which I spent a lot of time planning, aside. After all this was my year for Making it Easy and I was feeling pressure from my project lists so there's no better way to relax is to sew something you want to sew and that's what I did with my Kaffe appliqué quilt.  I finally started working on this quilt, after six years of fermentation which the blocks and leaves were ready for appliqué, when we were vacationing in Texas at the end of January.  I appliquéd 36 blocks in around a week which is doable when you unexpectedly don't have access to WiFi. Once I was back home, I sewed the alternate blocks which I am happy to say I had the fabrics in my stash to make them and once I was ready to assemble the blocks into a quilt, I was pleasantly annoyed that I needed to appliqué four more blocks in order to use the same setting as its fraternal twin quilt.

There are a few quilts patterns which I have made several times and an appliqué quilt pattern would not be one I would want duplicate unless maybe I thought it would be a fun road project.  When the Darlene Zimmerman Going Green pattern was first published by American Patchwork and Quilting in February, 201l, I was inspired to make two versions of this quilt; one with Feedsack fabrics and one with Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I finish the Feedsack quilt top in 2013 and finally finished it in 2015 as part of Country Threads' UFO Challenge and I was in no hurry to work on the Fassett version even though the pieces were ready.

Although I'm participating in Tish's Adventure in Wonderland's UFO addition this year, my Kaffe quilt did not make the list so finishing the top was an unexpected surprise and what would even be more totally unexpected is if I finally finished it this year so it can join the Feedsack quilt. I'm already planning on ordering the coconut buttons so there's a good chance, especially if I get into one of those moods again. 

BTW, Feedsack and Fassett fabrics are some of my first fabric crushes and I have even used them together as you see from the quilt above.  You can read about this combination in my last week's Throwback Thursday post, Feedsack and Fassett Fabrics Go Together, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, here.

I don't know if March is going to be any better for me to get back on task seeing that I have taxes to prepare, yuck, annual doctor and dentist appointments, big yuck here, and a very big and happy deterrent, Micah, my very precious granddaughter will be celebrating her first birthday at the end of the month.  This means if any quilt is going to be finished, it's going to be hers and it has to have bees because she is the Micah Bee.

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday, Tish Adventure in Wonderland