The Splash of Color QAL Top Is Done

I'm a little late with this post but as soon as my granddaughter and her parents left on Friday, I went downstairs to my sewing studio to finish my Splash of Color quilt top.  Seven days was way too long to be away from my sewing machine but like I have said before, Micah takes precedent over quilting.  While I was sewing this top, I, again, made another change and will add it to the story of the making of this quilt which I'll  post once I quilt the top and it is finally completed. I'm experiencing some indecision with the quilting and the backing now which means it's time to take a little break from this project and work on something else.

You can read about the Busy Hands Quilts' Splash of Color QAL here and finished quilt tops are to be posted starting Tuesday, November 28th.  Myra will be hosting a parade of quilt show for the finished quilts after Christmas, just in case some of the quilts will be Christmas gifts, starting on January 2nd.  Hopefully, I'll make up my mind soon about finishing my quilt because I don't want to miss the parade.

Linking Up with:  Myra of Busy Hands Quilts and Crazy Mom's Quilt Finish It Up Friday

Some Show and Tell Before I Take A Holiday Break

Now that my commitment to the Blanket Ministry has been met, the rush to complete my other projects before the end of the year is on.  This past weekend was a productive one and I must have been still working off of the adrenalin from completing the six baby quilts from last week.

It's great to have another quilt cross the finally finish line and in time for the holiday. I sewed the binding for the quilt made from this past summers 12 Days of Christmas QAL hosted by Sarah Craig of Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  you can read the post here.  Jan, my longarm quilter, again did a wonderful job. While I was making the top, we were experiencing crazy hot weather with lots of rain and now the weather is still sort of unpredictable, cold, rainy and cloudy.  I think the days of taking photos outside when it's sunny are going to be few and far between. 

This is one of the few quilts I've made which has a pieced backing and I used scraps from this project and from stash.  I think the reason why I don't like to piece my backs is the time it takes to make a backing to fit the top; it's like making another quilt top. My son, who held the quilt up for me while I took the photo, does not have the same knack as his father who has earned the title of Master Quilt Holder because father knows how to lower himself so his shoes doesn't show, made the comment that he liked the back of the quilt better than the front of the quilt.  The son also does not have his father's knack for knowing what to say about my quilts.  

The quilt is already hung up in the family room  thanks to father and son who knew I was taking their photo to provide some beefcake to liven up today's post.

The sewing and layout for the Splash of Color QAL blocks, hosted by Myra of Busy Hands Quilts,  you can read about it here was also done this past weekend.  I still have to decide on the sashing and once the top is made, I can write more details about the making of this quilt.  Just to give you a heads up, this quilt was supposed to be pinwheels.

Last month in early October, I attended a Kaffe Fassett workshop and the blocks have been hanging on my design board since then.  I finally sewed the blocks together and added the border and cornerstones.  I needed the design board so I could lay out the Splash of Color  blocks and also was afraid that someone or something was going to knock the blocks off. Here's a sneak peek of the top with the luscious purple Minky which I'll be throwing together and will write a future post about my wonderful Kaffe experience once the throw is completed.  I was tempted to finish it yesterday when the Minky arrived and do a late nighter but decided not to push it since I had to get the house ready for the holiday.

And speaking of taking a holiday break, here is my precious granddaughter who is providing the cupcake to this post to sweeten it up.  Micah will be occupying most of my time when she and her parents arrive this weekend for an eight-day visit.  I don't think I'll have too much time to sew, and if I do, it's probably be something for her.  With this sweet face she's going to get pretty much what she wants.  As you can see, Micah already has the pout down pretty good.

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving  next week. I am grateful that I will be spending the holiday with family and friends and am thankful for the many things life has brought me this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

Happy Quilt Joy: The Six Baby Quilts for the Blanket Ministry Are Finally Finished

I was doing a very happy dance, though not very peppy, last night at 1 a.m. in the morning which was the time I finished Baby Quilt #6.  I have now fulfilled this year's commitment of twelve baby quilts for the Blanket Ministry which is the second most wonderful time of the year for me.   Three of these baby quilts are almost six weeks late and the other three are over six weeks early but nevertheless they are all finally finished and can be crossed off the project list.  I started planning to make three of these quilts back in September thinking that I would be able to finish them by the end of the month to meet my quarterly commitment.  Once I knew I wasn't going to finish the quilts in time, I decided that I would combine it with this quarter's commitment by making six baby quilts at once which I should have known from past experience that it's not a good idea.  It was grueling for me to stay on task, even knowing that once these baby quilts are done, I wiIl be free to work on other projects and possibly starting new ones--I did buy 14.5 yards of fabric last week. 

Here are the six baby quilts with some stats (finished measurements):

36" square, 9" Rail Fence Blocks, horizontal layout

37.5" square, 7.5" Rail Fence Blocks with 7.5" plain squares

40" square, four 18" squares with 2" strips and 4" square

36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, horizontal layout

36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, horizontal layout 

36"x45" Rail Fence, 9" Blocks, alternating layout 

You can see the other quilts I've made this year for the Blanket Ministry on the following links, (here) and (here).

I joined the Blanket Ministry when it was started at our Church almost five years ago which was also the same time I retired.  I can remember when I first started, my machine quilting was not so great  and was something I really dreaded doing and sewing the binding  by machine was something I never did before. Now that I have made over fifty baby quilts, my machine quilting and comfort level has improved and machine binding is a snap now. Really, most of these quilts are made with my favorite rail fence blocks with six fat quarters, it takes me around four hours, from start to finish, to make a baby quilt, so I wish I wouldn't make them three or six at a time--it would be easier if I would just plan to make one baby quilt a month.  But knowing me, it's easier said than done. I'm hoping next year I will try being more on schedule and on task.  But for now, I'm really looking forward to having some guilt-free quilt time after I give my Juki some tender-loving maintenance.

Minus 100 Yard Challenge.

For one brief moment, my updated total was -102.75 yards and it was so brief since I had to add last week's purchase of 14.5 yards plus 3 yards of Disney Princess fabric I knew I had to have for my granddaughter with a thankful 3 yard reduction.

Previous YTD Total:  -75.25 yards                     Current YTD Total:  -88.25 yards

Here's to some more late night sewing because I have a challenge to meet!

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

The Primitiva Quilt/Another Quilt Crosses the Finally Finished Line

One of my first posts when I started my blog last year was my disappointment that the Primitiva Quilt which I made in 2015 was still a top after more than a year and wasn't ready for Fall.  It was on my 2017 project list to finally quilt and come October it still was a top and it was bugging me that another Fall would go by with Primitiva still waiting to become a quilt.

I was going to be focused this week by working on projects as planned:

I basted and started hand quilting the Smitten Top

I sewed over fifty blocks for the Splash of Color QAL which Myra from Busy Hands Quilts is hosting(you can read about it here).

And on Wednesday afternoon, before I started quilting the six baby quilts for the Blanket Ministry, I decided to cut the binding I needed and pulled out my die-cutter and the 2.5" strip die.

After that was done, I thought I would cut some more binding while the equipment was out and went to the drawer where I keep fabric set aside for binding and saw the Primitiva fabric. And that's when my best laid plans fell on the wayside because after I was done die-cutting those strips, I was suddenly in the mood to machine quilt the top.  So the backing was sewn, the pin basting quickly done and the decision to quilt organic squiggly (inspired by one of the prints) lines with orange thread came pretty easy  which normally doesn't happen especially when I'm in impromptu mode.

One of the reasons why it took me several years to finally finish this quilt was trying to decide if I should just back it with Minky and call it a Patchwork Coverlet. I'm glad I chose to quilt it instead because the back looks and feels so lush and besides that, what else could I have done with the four yards of backing fabric I already had.  As of right now, I can't seem to locate the rest of the Primitiva fabrics, it's not where I thought I would have put it.

Here are the stats:

Size:        56" x 72"

Blocks:    4" (finished) four patches with 4" x 8" rectangle blocks

Fabric:     Primitiva by Jane Dixon for Andover

Pattern Source:  I'm pretty sure I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

Primitiva is now adorning my dining room table now and am glad that I'll get to enjoy it for at least three weeks before the Winter/Christmas quilts come out.  Hopefully, once I finish quilting the baby quilts, one down with five more to go, my good machine quilting vibes will come back because I still have six more tops on my project list. I should visit my binding drawer again.

An interesting note:  The Primitiva fabric was purchased around the same time I bought Matisse (you can read about it here) by Alexander Henry and Hot Flash (you can read about it here) by Louella Doss (around 2010-11) and you can see similarities with the bright colors and the fun prints.  Also, the three quilts I made from these three fabric lines were all finally finished during 2017 which is a pretty big quilting feat for me.  I love it when I can cross off a quilt, make that three quilts, off my project list.

I won't be posting an updated total for my Minus One Hundred Yard Challenge until I finish the baby quilts for the Blanket Ministry but I can say I've reached my goal; however it's only for a short while because I'm going out today with my Quilt Peep, Carol, to see the Kaffe Fassett Trunk Show at our local quilt shop where I also happen to have a gift certificate.  I'm pretty certain there is going to be some fabric purchases.

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

Two Big Strippy Block Quilts Are Finally Finished

This must be my year for finally getting some of my older quilt tops done. Thankfully, when this happens, I still like the fabrics and colors and have a purpose for them. My two big strippy block quilts were finally finished this week.  Both of the tops were done in 2014 and it only took me four years to finally decide that they needed to be quilted by my long arm quilter, Jan, this past summer.

 

The first top was made with the Alexander Henry's Matisse fabric line which came out in 2010 and sat in my stash for several years.  I couldn't find a pattern which would showcase these wonderful prints until I saw a quilt on Pinterest which was the Easy Peasy Strip Quilt by Judith Lockhart (you can see the pattern & tutorial here).  I did modify the pattern by changing the strip dimensions to 8-1/2" wide and the cut lengths to either 8-1/2", 16-1/2" or 24-1/2"to better showcase the large focal prints.  The Matisse quilt measures 56" x 64" with a 4" finished black and white border which is not part of the fabric collection.

I love the large, loose organic floral lines Jan quilted with a pastel variegated thread; it does not detract from the large prints and the simple pattern of the quilt.  Judith, the pattern designer was absolutely right when she said her pattern lets "the fabric make the quilt."  When I first made the quilt, I thought it would be a nice artsy quilt for lawn concerts or picnics but I've changed my mind.  I'll be hanging it up in my studio to remind me of my college days when I was an Art History Major and made many visits to the Art Institute to study Matisse paintings.  Funny, I never envisioned that one day I would making quilts with Matisse prints.

After I made the Matisse top, I also used the same pattern for another big strippy block quilt with Free Spirit's Empress Woo fabric designed by Robyn Randolph and again was sitting in my stash for awhile.  This quilt measures 48" x 56" and the strips dimensions are also 8-1/2' wide but the lengths were cut either 6-1/2" or 12-1/2" and the border is made up of  4-1/2" cuts of squares and rectangles of the fabric line.  

Jan, again, quilted with a large, loose organic line and used a perfectly, peachy-rose thread. The Matisse quilt was on my project list to complete this year and the Empress Woo Quilt was not even on my radar to finish, sadly, I had forgotten I made this quilt. When I was preparing the quilts to send to Jan, I came across the Empress Woo binding which reminded me that the top was just sitting in the the someday-a-quilt drawer.  I thought this would make a nice floor quilt for my granddaughter, Micah Rose, but, again, I've changed my mind; I'll be hanging this on the wall in my bedroom at her house instead. It's a good thing I still have some of this fabric left because I now need to make a bed quilt to go with this wallhanging.

I love making quilts with big strippy blocks.  They're fast and simple to make, a great pattern for large focal or modern prints and even a great way to use up some long, forgotten traditional fabrics which I still have a lot of in my stash. I'm from the school of still loving all the fabric I bought but just feeling guilty that I haven't made something with it yet. The quilt above, which was made several years ago, was inspired by another quilt I saw on Pinterest, Tifton Tiles (you can see the pattern and tutorial here).  I can see making another quilt like this with the French General fabrics which have been neglected too long.

I'm happy to say that I've been staying on task this week; I cleaned my studio, did not get distracted with any new projects, although I was tempted, and more importantly,  I've finished making the six tops for the Blanket Ministry.  Before I start quilting them, I need to have some sewing downtime with my blocks for the Splash of Color QAL.

Minus 100 Yard Challenge

Previous Total:  -84.625 yards                      New Total: -75.25 yards

Yes, I did buy some new fabric but still am pretty certain I'm going to meet my goal because the new total does not include the fabrics used for the Blanket Ministry, Splash of Color QAL, etc. plus there's always backings to be sewn.

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

I'm in DIP (Distraction, Interruption, Participation) Mode This Week

My plan this week was to work on the six baby quilts for the Blanket Ministry at Church so I can fulfill my commitment for this year.  My goal is to finish all of them by the middle of November but I rather finish them sooner or later so I can work on some other projects that are still waiting to be finished. But, wouldn't you know it, I got distracted from working on the baby quilts because Linda, one of my best quilt peeps and who does wonderful wool work, gifted me with some wool squares she personally felted herself.  While putting them away in my wool stash cupboard, I came across two wool projects, neither of them on my project list; the one on the top (Wool Circles) was started last Winter and the one on the bottom (Cat Pillow) was a kit purchased several years ago from Country Threads before they closed. Both of these project were waiting for the wool pieces to be appliquéd and since both of these projects were perfect for the season right now, I decided to put aside the baby quilts to work on them and they're both in the flimsy stage now.  The only problem I have with working with wool is that it's something I don't like to do during the summer when the weather is hot. The heat this Summer has crept into the first weeks of October which shortened the time to work with wool for Fall projects.  And I've never been one to make Fall projects during the Winter or Spring either but maybe that's something I need to rethink because, for me, the time for Fall makings is very short.

I happened to read Kat and Cat Quilts/Covered in Love blog and saw she was having a Susannah in the Fall Block Drive (you can read about it here) so the Wool project was interrupted. I knew I had to participate in this block drive since these blocks are made with Fall colors and are 12" finished which were right up my alley since I already had some of the 3" HST and squares in my scrap stash from past projects.  These blocks were made with several of Sandy Gervais' Fall fabric lines which are some of my favorite prints and I had to make more than just one.  Kat has already received some blocks and is making a quilt with a really neat on point layout (you can read about it here).

I'm participating in Busy Hands Quilt's Splash of Color QAL and we're now in Step 3--cutting the fabric (you can read about it here).  My quilt is going to be made up of 6" Tessellating Pinwheel blocks and thankfully I was able to die-cut the patches.  I've never made a quilt with this pattern so I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

My Granddaughter Micah Rose loves black and white patterns and colors so you know who is going to be receiving the Splash of Color Quilt.  A Granddaughter of a quilter can never have enough quilts especially when she already loves fabric.

Now back to finishing up the six baby quilts; I have two tops done and will be working on number three. But first, I really need to clean up my studio but afraid, in the midst of putting things away, I might come across another project to distract me.  Here's to wearing blinders during clean up and staying focused because these baby quilts need to get finished.

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

It's A Finally Finish for the Cotton + Steel Coin Quilt

I was so happy we were blessed with beautiful sunshine this morning after the rainy and cloudy days we've been having for the past three days.  I was getting worried since today's post is what I consider to be a tad late and all because I couldn't take photos of my finished Cotton+Steel Coin Quilt  until this morning. I should have taken photos on Sunday or Monday when the quilt was bound and there was beautiful sunny days to be had but no, I thought I would take them on Wednesday which is the day I usually start writing my post.  Unfortunately, I didn't check the week's weather forecast which predicted that the rain we needed for the past few months is finally coming big time.

I really wanted to have a nice photo of this finally finished quilt which turned out to be one of my favorite quilts I made this year to showcase the lovely quilting which was done by Nancy of Grace and Peace Quilting who fortunately already took photos of my quilt after she had machine quilted it in a beautiful Baptist Swirl pattern (you can see the photos here).  I posted about the making of this quilt (here) and (over here).

Between the time Nancy posted photos of the quilt and when I received it back on the last day in September, I couldn't decide on what color binding I wanted to use; it was between the dark teal grid or a fuchsia/pink print and I spent several days waffling between the two colors, one day it was definitely going to be fuchsia and the next day it was no, the teal grid would be a better choice.

I think part of my indecision was because of the pretty mint backing and trying to decide which color would look nice against it and finally realizing that it should not play a part in the decision making. And once I finally decide on the teal grid, it turned out I didn't have enough and I had to find it online and order it.  This is an old Cotton+Steel print and I'm glad and lucky it is still around.

Now that the Cotton+Steel Coin Quilt is finally finished and a quilt to be displayed rather than to be used, I have hung it over the bannister over the staircase which is one of the few places in my house where a larger size quilt can be displayed and enjoyed. I knew once I saw another quilt Nancy had quilted with the Baptist Swirl pattern, which is one of my favorite quilting patterns, I wanted it for one of my quilts and fortunately the Cotton + Steel Coin Quilt was waiting to be finished.  I had no qualms about sending this top off to another state and it was done within several weeks even with Nancy having to order the mint thread.  For a quilt which started as something I wasn't too thrilled about making, it now just makes my heart sing.

Linking up with:

My Quilt Infatuation: Needle and Thread Thursday http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com

Crazy Mom Quilts: Finish It Up Friday

Confessions of a Fabric Addict:  Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?

Busy Hands Quilts:  Finish Or Not Friday

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