Kaffe Fassett Stripe Quilt: Another Ernie Quilt Finally Finished

It's been awhile since I've made an Ernie Quilt and it's one of my favorite patterns because I just love making quilts with 2.5" strips.  I've had the Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton and Woven Stripes strips die-cut and ready to sew since last year and finally had the opportunity to make this quilt since buying my new, sweet, very portable Juki HZL-70 HWA sewing machine which meant I am now able to sew in the kitchen while watching TV, a cause for much of my quilting downtime.

I posted several times about Ernie quilts HERE, THERE and IN BETWEEN.

While my Postcard from Sweden Quilt was being made, (you can read about it here), I started working on the Kaffe Stripe Quilt because I was loving the Shot Cottons and knew I had this project on the back burner--talk about constant Kaffe.  I consider this to be a DREAMi project and finally have something to cross out from one of my project lists I made too many of for this year.

I have to show you my "No Rose, You Didn't" backing for this quilt.  I do not like making pieced backings. To me it's just like making another quilt top and when I'm in a hurry to finish a quilt, I don't want to sew another quilt top.  I have a pile of quilt tops laying around in my studio and I knew laying in the pile was an 84" square top made from big patches of Kaffe fabric which may have been a modified Turning Twenty pattern, a pattern when it was first released, I couldn't stop making them.  It took me a couple of hours to remove some of the rows of this quilt top so I could use it for the backing since I really didn't have anything else in my stash vault that would be as neat as this quilt top was and besides I've come down with a slight case of not wanting to buy any new fabric (I hope this "virus" goes away real soon). Who knew five years ago I was making a future quilt backing when I made this top.  I just love the big purple cabbages. I'm thinking I may have made several quilt backings already and may be making more now without knowing it.

I don't usually talk about the color thread I use for machine quilting because I not very good at choosing a color and I mostly quilt with a light gray.  I knew gray wasn't going to work well with this quilt and luckily I had in my Connecting Threads Essential Thread stash (no affiliate link here) a spool of the Fawn thread which is an apricot beige thread which worked very well with blending in with the many colors in this quilt.  I am loving the quilting which sewed like butter on my Juki 2010Q and I could have finished the quilting in one sitting if I didn't have to go to bed at 3am in the morning--I didn't want to stop.  The quilt is bound with a solid Chartreuse Shot Cotton which was the only solid color that I had enough for the binding and fortunately worked very well.

I was really hoping to take a perfect photo of my Kaffe Fassett Stripe Quilt while in Myrtle Beach; one with it laying on the sand, sunset on the sea with a whale breaching in the background, perfectly centered on the horizon (just for Sandra) but it was not to be had--the wind was something fierce--20 to 30 mph.  It wasn't fun for the Master Quilt Holder on the balcony nor could the quilt stay on the railing at the beach. The best photos were taken either in the elevator lobby or inside the condo where we were staying.  Plus, there was no way I was going to lay it on the sand since I had visions of it parasailing over the Atlantic Ocean and onto the whale's back (again this vision prompted by Sandra's request and maybe to make it a tale, Louise (Quilt Odyssey) will rescue it during her sea travels).

I had planned to sew the binding while traveling to Myrtle Beach, but I ended up finally finishing the quilt right before we left (I'm beginning to like the look of machine sewn binding).  I definitely wanted to take photos of this quilt and my Postcard from Sweden Quilt here in warm, sunny weather since we're experiencing far too little of it in the Midwest as you can see from this photo taken on a snowy Sunday, the day before we left.  I really put the Master Quilt Holder to the test when I kept repeating to make sure the quilt does not touch the ground and get wet.  He did a practice stoop down before we went outside.  I think the quilt photographed better in Myrtle Beach, despite the wind, don't you agree?

I do hope you check out the links for the Ernie Quilts, especially the first one since it's about my dear friend Mary Etherington who started me on my Ernie adventures.  Like the old commercial saying goes "Try It, You'll Like It!".

Hubby and I will be traveling back home this Friday and look what awaits me when I return, my Dot Dot Dash blocks from Christa Watson's Piece and Quilt with Precuts book which were made during upstairs sewing time with my sweet little Juki. Also, Sandra of mmm! Quilts will be starting her Second Annual Quilt Along: Adult Plus Playtime Quilt, (you can read about it here) on April 24th. I had a fun time doing her Free Fall QAL last year and this year's pattern is not going to disappoint since I'll be using some of my Alison Glass Chroma fabrics. I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove since there's not much sewing happening in Myrtle Beach because I wanted to give my hands some rest.

And one more thing, this Sunday, April 22nd, I'll be posting my project for the 30 Quilt Block in 30 Days Blog Hop so I hope you'll check it out. (you can see it here)

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

QAL Blocks: Classic Meet Modern and 30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days

Yesterday, it was all about sewing blocks and Zen Chic fabrics; two for the Classic Meet Modern (CMM) QAL hosted by Kelly Young of My Quilt Infatuation, (you can read about it here) and seven for the 30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop hosted by Carla Henton of Creatin' In the Sticks, (you can read about it here).  I would like to mention that the weather we're having this weekend is just perfect for staying at home to sew.  Thankfully, we don't have the snow like our neighbors up North.

First up, are the April CMM Blocks: the 18" Rolling Stone Block on the right and the 10" Susannah Block on the left done in Zen Chic's Figures fabric line.

I'm now one-third done with the Classic Meet Modern QAL.  In a rare moment of mental clarity after thinking about how those who are participating in the Gypsy Wife QAL (yes, I'm talking about Nancy of Grace and Peace Quilting ) and are able to post their blocks using a quilt layout to show their progress, I figured out how to do this on PicMonkey using the layout sheet included in the CMM pattern.  It's not perfectly done but now gives me an idea how my quilt is coming along and will help me with fabric choices for future blocks--much easier than laying the blocks on the display board every month.

Last week, I posted about the first seven blocks for the 30 Quilt Blocks in 30 Days Blog Hop and I now have finished blocks #8 - #15 (done in Zen Chic's Hey Dot fabric line. (Sorry for the gloomy photo but it was 1am in the morning and there's no sunshine in my underground studio.)  I'm now current but only for today since we're leaving for a one week road trip tomorrow. I'll have some catching up to do when I return but it won't be too difficult--these blocks really sew up quick and fast.  BTW,  I like to mention again that I have completed my project and post for Block #22 Crosswalk block and excited when I can post it next week, Sunday, April 22nd.

For my fellow bloggers who were unable to participate in these two QALs and said they would be sewing vicariously through me, we are having fun and there's still time for you to join in.  Here's hoping to finding some sunshine and warmth next week ........

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation

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