Rows Parade

I'm a little slow in showing this new quilt which I bound last week.  I had to find two tall people to hold it up so I could take a full photo.  Luckily, Soni and Mary were willing at quilt guild on Saturday, and here Rows Parade is!  It was a row of the month designed by Aby Dolinger, and all the rows were made with scraps I already had.  I did buy the sashing and border fabric as well as the binding and backing.  It was fun to make, and I especially enjoyed the hearts row made in February.  Most of those blocks were hand appliqued.

I started out choosing colors from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but then veered off the page a bit.  And somehow it grew to be full sized - not my initial intention!

Brrr!

At 11:30 this morning, my phone read -5 degrees, Alexa said it was -7, and the thermometer in the kitchen read -14.  Take your pick!  It is a very cold day, but sunny which is nice.  Even our neighbors who have Alaskan Eskimo dogs (white and medium-sized) put coats and booties on their dogs which they rarely do.

I have been inside sewing, of course, and baking bread yesterday and today.  The hearts turned out really nice and have been set aside with the January row by row blocks.

Think I'll do some reading this afternoon as I babysit the final rise and baking of the bread.  It's a great recipe - Antique White.  Here's the recipe for the bread machine:

Put in machine in this order (some machines require a different order):

  1 c. warm water

  3 T. unsalted butter (room temp.)

  3 T. honey or maple syrup

  1 t. salt

  3 c. bread flour

  1.5 t. yeast

Set machine on dough setting.  As the machine is mixing and kneading, keep an eye on it and make sure it forms a smooth ball.  If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.  If it's too chunky, add a little more water.  I tend to babysit my bread machine at this stage.

When the machine is finished, remove dough from pan, shape, and put into a greased bread pan.  Cover lightly and let rise for about 40-45 min. or until doubled.   Sometimes, when it is cold in the kitchen, I preheat the oven for one minute and then turn it off.  I allow the bread to rise in the warmish oven for half an hour before removing it to preheat the oven.  Sometimes I slide the bread into the oven before it has come to the full 350 degrees and it rises a little more. 

 

**The dough is soft and makes great rolls that freeze well.**

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about half an hour.  Let cool before slicing.  Makes great toast!

February hearts

It's February 2, Groundhog Day, but I forgot to check to see if he saw his shadow.  No problem.  In Vermont we are hoping for six more weeks of winter as that would be shorter than normal!   Our beloved yoga instructor reminded us that we were astronomically in the middle of winter yesterday.  Hooray!   She noted that some folks use this time to clean closets and do other spring cleaning chores.  Funny - I just put together a box for the Re-Store and a bag for the Salvation Army.  I'll deliver them manana, but meanwhile I'll be driving around with them.  

Today I'm doing a little hand applique, working on Aby's row of the month.  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month is, coincidentally or not, pink, so I'm making my row of hearts using pink scraps.

I'm using a bunch of hearts cut out of freezer paper from past projects.  Usually, I baste the seams over the freezer paper before sewing, but this time I just ironed them as, at 6", they are pretty easy to iron.  I will have a couple of blocks with smaller hearts, and those I will probably baste using quilting thread.    January's blocks were very easy to do, and because I made six 8" blocks then, this month I'm making 8 6" ones.  I'm not sewing the blocks into rows yet as I'm not sure I'll use them as a row by row quilt or some other way.  I have months to decide.  Aby has offered a few different layouts for the blocks, depending on the final size.

Below zero weather with terrible wind chill are predicted for tomorrow and Saturday, so hand applique seems like a cozy way to beat the cold.  I have a couple of really appealing mysteries loaded onto my Kindle, too, so staying indoors under a quilt should be just fine.   

Gray skies

 

We took a run over to Montpelier this morning to deliver another box of Paul's latest book.  The bookstore staff said it's a best seller and the books we brought won't fill their stack of orders.  Paul will be getting more soon to take to the bookstore and the state historical society gift shop.

While we were there, we went over to see an exhibit in one of the store windows.  It is based on an article Paul wrote a while back; there are three large panels quoting from the article as well as several signs.   All give credit to Paul so I took his picture.  Unfortunately, you can see also the reflection of the buildings across the street.  It's a gloomy day but not too chilly.

On the way home we stopped for milk and went to the bank, but there was still time to sew before lunch.  I made some Hunter's Star blocks yesterday, and then today I made six blocks for Aby Dolinger's row by row quilt along this year.  In both cases, I used blue because the tote that holds my blue stash is bursting at the seams. 

 Luckily for me, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color this month is bright/dark blue.   
I didn't connect the row by row blocks yet so I could take a picture of them.  I've found that wide, skinny rows don't always photograph so well.  

After I finished those blocks, I started back on my Arboretum blocks for the online swap.  I was surprised to see that I had already made so many several months ago.  I think I need to make 14 to swap for 7 people.  Will have to check my email to be sure.  At any rate, any new blocks I make will be for me.  Nice!

Book case row robin

Toward the end of 2017, I joined a row robin group online.  These ladies are great quilters.  Whenever swap blocks or rows come back to me, they are ready to sew with - no trimming, no fixing in any way.  Because there were seven in the group, I have been thinking of how I wanted to arrange the shelves.   I didn't really want to end up with a long, skinny quilt.  What would I do with it? 

I decided to make a throw, 60" x 60", with two ranges of shelving, as we might have here.  Above one set of shelves, I would hang a picture that I made in a David Taylor class a few years ago.  I was happy to be using two UFOs in one piece!

It's a snowy day - perfect for finishing my bookcase row robin flimsy.  I love all the rows!  

Carol included a spot for a photo and suggested I substitute one for her and her husband's.  But I like it the way it is - Carol looks very funny.  She and Pat also made up some cute book titles to put on the spines, and Pat included what looks like the whole Supergirl collection as well as the old reliable Betty Crocker cookbook.  Susan included some very colorful spines, a toy truck, and a little tchochke.  Fran embroidered some of my favorite book titles on spines - Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, etc.  How did you know?  She also included a sleepy kitty.   Tricia included a whole collection of Jane Austens, my favorite author, and an interesting sculpture.   


I didn't want to end up with a long skinny quilt, so I took Leigh's row apart and made it into two shelves with an extra little quilt block accent.  I love the plant she appliqued.  I cut my own block down to fit and am using the rest on the back with everyone's labels.  

On the top of the bookshelf, I pieced a jar full of notions, a little loon picture in memory of my dad who loved them, and an Elvis snowglobe.  No, I'm not a huge fan, but I thought it would be fun.   Now I will be hanging the flimsy in the closet for a while until I get around to quilting it... eventually.

Progress!

Yesterday, I finished putting the last borders onto the red, white and blue medallion quilt I started working on last winter.  I had found an oversized "Goose in the Pond" block in red and white in my pizza box of leftover quilt blocks.  From there, I added borders, using fabric my Dutch sister sent me and some scraps in my stash.  At one point in the spring, I put it away because I knew it should be bigger but wasn't sure what to do next.  At the Vermont Quilt Festival this summer, I saw just the fabric I wanted for an appliqued border, and that's what I've been working on piecemeal ever since.  It has grown to about 84" x 84" and is ready to quilt.  That's what I hope to be doing over the next month or so.

But first!  I need to finish stitching a facing down on the back of an old wool appliqued UFO that also needs a little hand quilting.  It was an 8" square that I finished long ago.  I needed to do a little embroidery and, when I tried using gold metallic thread, it looked awful.  I took it all out and used plain gold cotton thread instead.  Much better.  A colorful border makes the final little hanging about 11".

My row robin bookshelf quilt returned home Saturday after a trip to Washington state, Australia (two stops there), London, North Carolina, and Florida.  These quilters did some amazing work!  I am anxious to put it together but will try to restrain myself until after I get the Goose in the Pond quilt done.  I did buy a tan "Quilters Linen" fabric (I love this Kaufmann line) for the outer shelving and sides of the bookcase.   It's going to be fun to look at.

Rain and gloom

This year's October weather seems much like past years' November that I hope we don't slip right into December weather after Halloween.  

We did manage to take a short walk in the forest with Suzanne this week when she came down to get her car serviced.  The sky was gloomy but what was left of the foliage was quite pretty.  We have had a little wet snow the last couple of days, too.  Rib-sticking meals have been the order of the day - chili, mashed potatoes, beets.

I've been chipping away at UFOs this week and have just one more border to finish appliqueing on the Goose in the Pond medallion I started last winter.  Actually, the center block is about 3 or 4 years old.  I cut all the strips for two plain outer borders as well as the binding, so I am looking forward to finishing soon.  

My bookshelf row-by-row quilt returned yesterday after having been worked on by six quilters in Australia, London, Washington state, North Carolina, and Florida.  It looks fabulous!   I am still considering setting the "shelves" in two ranges with a wall above for a mini quilt.  That will probably necessitate making another "shelf" or two of books.  Row-by-row quilts tend to be 36" wide, but I'm thinking 72" or so would be more practical.  I need to figure out what the outside of the "shelves" will be made of.  Perhaps a "grunge" fabric will mimic antiqued wood?  The quilt shops are having a Halloween shopping event, so I might run down later today.  Saturday is the state quilt guild meeting, always a source of interesting ideas, and sometimes a source of interesting fabric, too.

27 Days!

That's right - 27 days of rain in May, and rain every day so far in June.  Vermont is as green as it can be which is fine unless you want to do something outside.  Yesterday we did find a little morning sun to walk in the forest for a welcome change.   Most of the wildflowers have finished blooming but the ferns are still filling out, and we were pleased that the trails weren't as wet as they might have been.  Nearing the parking area, we heard the distinct sound of a woodpecker on metal.  There is very little metal in the forest, naturally, so we had to stop and find out what it was.  Samantha took a short video, but also this photo:

It was such a distinctive looking woodpecker that Samantha used her phone app to find out what type it was.  While she was looking, I jokingly said, "a yellow bellied sapsucker," and it really was!

It did rain later in the day, so I dove into the latest Elly Griffiths mystery, The Chalk Pit, her ninth featuring archaeologist Ruth Galloway.   Earlier, I finished putting together a bookshelf for the row-by-row robin I'll be participating in later this year.  It was easy - why haven't I made one of these quilts before?

Waiting...

...for my friend Yve to let me know if the quilt I'm making her to give as a gift will be twin or double bed sized.  I finished the curved log cabin quilt center a few days ago and it is still hanging on the railing upstairs.  I love the way it turned out, but it's too small to cover a double bed.  Yve's friends are trying to decide what size will fit in the little girl's room, but I hope they figure it out soon.  I want to finish with borders, get the back put together, and hand it off to the quilter when I see her at the state quilt guild meeting October 29.  I was on a roll, but now I'm getting involved in other things.

Today I finished the purple row by row quilt I did with an online group and sandwiched it for quilting.  The rows ended up not being in the order shown.  I put floral strips between the rows and set two of the rows horizontally, making it a big wider than the original 36".  That meant I had to add some odd scraps to get everything to fit.  It ended up at  45" x 55", so I managed to anchor the rows and start some detail on the blocks this afternoon. 

I'll keep quilting on it a little at a time, improvising as I go.  I love this sweet little quilt, but it really has turned out to be a baby girl quilt.   Will it sell on etsy?  Or should I give it to the library to raffle off?  Or should I put it in the auction at the library banquet?  We'll see! 

Two finishes

Yesterday was sunny so I set up my quilt rack and took some photos.  It turned out to be way too windy, so I had to take them indoors - OK, but not as light as I'd hoped.  Here's the round robin quilt that I'm going to send to my cousin Jeanne.   I hope she likes it!

I love the fabric called "Lady Slipper Lodge" but I have quite a bit left over, including a charm pack.  I may give it away sometime.  This round robin involved four other quilters who greatly enhanced the simple  "trefoil" block I made for the center.  I did the outer borders, beginning with the darker purple one, to get it to double bed size. 

I think it took about a month to quilt, very carefully on my home machine.  I used a lot of thread!  The back is simply muslin.  I bought several yards of 90" wide muslin for backs and still have enough for at least one more quilt. 

Next is the throw I made with rows and fabric from this year's Row by Row Experience, an international activity sponsored by quilt shops.  Each shop had a unique row and a fabric license plate.  I exchanged plates with some quilters in the US and Canada and incorporated some into the quilt.  I still have plates left over that might make a cute tote bag. 

I used a "quilt as you go" method on this one, quilting each row individually and then putting them together.  The center rows are all from Vermont shops, and I loved quilting Dorothy's yellow brick road.  The row on the left came from a shop in Colorado, but I adapted it a bit due to its very complicated pattern.  I needed one more row, so browsed online at shops in New England's rows.  One shop's row was simply four maple leaves, so I created my own.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but all the stems are made from the license plate fabric used at the top and bottom and as the binding. 

There are still three crib-sized quilt tops hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted.  I hope to start on one this weekend although I may work on something smaller today.

First row

It is very sticky, so I'm sequestered in my sewing room with the AC on.  I finished the first row which is part of the international Row by Row Experience.  It's a kit from Quilting with Color and employs two techniques I'm not wild about - fusible applique and paper piecing.  But it turned out quite cute so I shouldn't complain.

I'm thinking about quilting each row as I finish it so that I can quilt around the fusible applique.  I'm not sure what I'll put between the rows, so I have set it aside until I figure that out.  Now I'm working on Hen House Fabric's row, and it's more to my liking - a simple Log Cabin with embellishments (bird buttons).  This and the next one, from Yankee Pride, are patterns only, so I can pick my own fabrics and am using scraps.  I also have patterns from a couple of online shops and may add the fabric license plates I've collected through a swap here and there.

Row by Row Experience

This summer, I'm collecting license plates at local quilt shops through the international (US and Canada) Row by Row Experience.  I joined a swap which includes quilters from California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Ontario.  Each of us is gathering four different license plates for the others, and yesterday I received four plates from Carol in NC.

So far I've visited three shops and just have to visit one more before sending the folks their plates.  This may take some time since I have hit all the shops that are close (within 45 min.) to me.  I would love to visit Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire this summer and get their plate.  I sent away for plates from the Missouri Star and Hancock's of Paducah online shops, and I have some saved up from last year.

Along with the license plates, each shop has developed a row pattern, so I'm picking one of those up, too.  I love the Colorado one which Mom sent me and I received yesterday.  It's from Harriet's Treadle Arts (Harriet Hargrave's shop) and shows the lovely Rocky Mountains along with traditional blocks.  And isn't the card Mom sent with it cute?  It reads, "Would you be the designated quilter this week?"  Cards like this would be fun to make with scraps.  Hmmmm...

I don't know when I'll get around to making anything with the plates or the row patterns I've collected, but I figure they may come in handy if I participate in another row robin, either locally or online.  I certainly don't plan to enter the contest each shop is sponsoring.  Too much pressure!