Four scrappy stars

It's summer and everyone is busy.  So I only received four Scrappy Star blocks through the online block lotto this month.  Either Pat, Lou, or Tricia will be the winner in August, and anyone who wants may make up to four blocks for her.

I don't mind just receiving four blocks, though, since one day I got ambitious and made 16.  I may make a few more because it's a great way to use up 2" squares, and I have a whole boxful.  This should make a lovely quilt, but I have yet to decide on sashing.  That will have to wait until I finish my Family Estate or whatever I'm calling it.

Another quilt for the etsy shop

I finished this last week but didn't get around to taking pictures and listing the quilt on etsy.  Here is my Disappearing Nine Patch Kitties quilt!

I love the pink batik binding, but I don't know that I'll ever do a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt again.  It's too hard to get the colors spread around the quilt in a pleasing way.  I spent forever rearranging them!

I haven't done any sewing today - just errands, laundry and reading (The Light in the Ruins, Chris Bohjalian's latest).  In a little while, I'll head to Sandy's for our Monday afternoon get-together, and then I'll go to the Websterville playground for a neighborhood meeting to plan the new equipment.  Tomorrow we hope to give the dog a bath, I'll clean house a bit, and then there's a meeting to plan the Democrats' summer BBQ.  Maybe I'll get some sewing time in in the afternoon, although there's a terrific sale going on at my local quilt shop...

Denise's round robin, etc.

I joined an online round robin group but the person before me was MIA.  So after a couple of months without anything to work on, I received Denise's center last weekend.  It poured all day Tuesday, so I started working on my round, 5" wide.  And here we are! 

These are not my colors, but I enjoy doing round robins and swaps to get me out of my comfort zone. It's all packaged up to head to Candy for her round, and I will await the next one, which should be Cindy's, sometime early in Sept.  Meanwhile, I can keep working on various UFOs.

One project I'm working on is called "Family Estate" from a book by Edyta Sitar.  Pieced house blocks alternate with appliqued ones featuring fruit and a bluebird.  It's pretty easy but a perfect hand project for the hot weather we had last week.  I'm ready to put the 9 blocks together, for a 30" x 30" center, and after a little more applique, I'll add a border or two.  I envision a wallhanging since I have plenty of bed-sized quilts around the house right now.  I like Edyta Sitar's patterns which combine batiks with other fabrics.   Maybe I'll even handquilt it, but don't hold me to it!

Loyal Union Sampler

I have been waiting patiently for Jennifer Chiaverini's new quilt pattern book, Loyal Union Sampler.  It's supposed to be published September 1, and one of my online groups is doing a block-of-the-week, similar to the ones we've done for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler.  I'm all set to go - have been amassing gray, blue, and white fabrics from stash for a while.  I also have copies of two other books featuring 6" blocks that Karen generously sent me, just in case the 121 patterns in LUS aren't enough, LOL!   And for some nutty reason, I preordered the tote bag (above) along with the book.  This will be a nice winter project.

Three finishes

With 42 straight days of rain at some point during the day, it has been hard to take pictures of finished projects.  We had a cloudy morning, but the sun finally came out, so I could take a few pictures.  First, there's the Twirly Baby Quilt, which will go in a raffle basket for the children's room at the library this fall.

 

Next comes the Cozy Nine Patch throw, made from blocks received in a swap at my guild along with some more blocks made by Bob (he made a batch for everyone in the guild) and by me.  I used a setting from a Bonnie Hunter pattern.  This is "cozy" because I used Quilter's Dream Supreme batting, which feels like the thickness of two batts.  It's going on my etsy shop.

 

And finally, today I finished sewing the binding on this sampler made with blocks from a "Square Robin" as well as the guild block of the month.  I'm calling it Heart of Vermont Sampler, 2013 because it all centers around the guild block (which I designed).  I spread it out on the sofa, so you can't see the top row, but it's a good-sized square and will be great for wrapping up while reading this winter.

 

 

I quilted each of these quilts on my home machine.  The Cozy one I did in a basic grid pattern because of the thickness of the batting, but the sampler is a true sampler, which free motion, stitch-in-the-ditch, outline, and other quilting.  it was fun.  Now on to finish a few more flimsies!

Scrappy Stars

I won the block lotto in one of my online groups this month, so I got to pick the block I'd like folks to make for me.  I chose an Eleanor Burns block called "Scrappy Stars" because it appears to be good for stash-busting.  I received a block from Pat (lower left in photo) and have been making a few more.

 

 

Because I have a box full of 2" squares the centers are easy to make, and it's a trip down memory lane to put them together.  Some have been in the box a long time.  I have a bunch more ready to make in a variety of colors and figure that, when added to the blocks others are sending me, I'll end up with a pretty nice quilt.

 



I have run out of white fabric, though, so I'll have to go to the quilt shop this week.  A reason to shop! 

VQF

One of my favorite annual summer events is the Vermont Quilt Festival, "oldest quilt show in New England."  That is where I first saw the Dear Jane quilt and bought the book, around 2000 or 1999.  I met author Brenda Papdakis and later bought the templates and started working on the triangles which I used as a border on a quilt in memory of my Tante Jen.  I later started working on the blocks and have made several Dear Jane-inspired quilts as well as quite a few very nice friends around the world along the way.

After I looked at a few of the contest quilts, there was an announcement that Brenda herself was giving a gallery talk, so I ran right over.  She was just as I'd imagined, soft-spoken and very nice.  I wish I had taken a workshop with her when I was into the quilt.  There were about two dozen variations on the theme, and here's one by Linda from Colorado:

I love the way it sparkles.  Later in the morning, Brenda facilitated a Dear Jane Reunion, for about 100 enthusiasts who told their stories and showed finished quilts and works-in-progress.  It was heart-warming, and I continue to be impressed by the way one quilt has brought so many people together and helped so many work through problems and issues in their lives.

I did manage to see all the contest quilts, chat with people I knew, and shop most of the vendors.  One of my favorites did not win a ribbon, but I love it anyway.

It's made of candy bar wrappers.  My sister mentioned that they all seem to be empty, and I replied that they were most likely eaten while quilting.

This is a terrible picture, but it was a very intriguing Cathedral Window quilt set in a "Trip Around the World" fashion.  The blocks were about 2.5" so a lot of hand work went into this!  I probably will never do anything like it, but it sure impressed me.

As for the vendors, Sunday is the best day to go in my opinion because you could actually get into the booths.  A couple of vendors I know said that Friday was a madhouse.   At any rate, I bought fat quarters for a birthday swap, a marking pen, a 60-degree triangle template, a book about the mill girls of Lowell, Mass., with quilt patterns, a vase for my mom, and some Frida Kahlo socks for my friend Yve.  Quite a satisfying day!