The spree!

 Yesterday, I went on my annual birthday shopping spree at A Quilter's Garden.   The owner, Dee, very generously gives a discount of 1/2 of one's age, so for me, rounding up, that would be 37%.  You can't beat that with a stick!   I generally buy basics - fabrics for backgrounds - and then a few whimsical pieces just for fun. 

 
This year, I decided that I would try making a couple of quilts with unusual (for me) backgrounds, a nearly solid bright yellow and a purple/burgundy print, along with my usual white-on-white and black/white print.  

I still have some cream left over from last year's spree.   I think I'll use it for an appliqued sampler I'm thinking of.  I rediscovered an applique book by the Piece 'o' Cake ladies and used one pattern for the haunted house wallhanging I'm working on.  Most of the patterns in the book are floral, though, which I know I'll enjoy appliqueing.

I also had some holiday projects in mind, so got fabric for them.  I would have been running down to the shop to make those anyway.  I found a nice fall pumpkin fabric for the backs of the three Halloween table runners I want to finish and sell.
 

There are new Christmas fabrics on the shelves at the shop, so I put some into the pile for Mom's requested tree skirt.   I already had some Grinch fabric set aside at home, but it has a lot of blue and chartreuse.  I'll use it for other projects - bowl cozies, gift bags (my sister Jenny loves these), etc.  

The pine tree fabric with red accents will go nicely with scrappy greens and reds for the tree skirt.  The pattern was created by my friend Tess, and I'm planning scrappy greens and reds for the stars.  Mom's favorite color is green, so this seems like the perfect choice for under her tree.

Halloween

I have quite a few Halloween-themed charm squares, having participated in a swap this spring and bought a few extra charms and fat quarters.  After I finished appliqueing the "haunted" house, I decided to make a border of hourglass blocks using some of the charms.

 I like the way it turned out and look forward to quilting it.  But before I do, I decided to make a few table runners to sell a the florist's downtown and on my etsy shop.   I finished all the tops today but now need to get some fall-themed fabric for the backs so that they can be reversible.  Because Halloween is such a short "holiday," it makes sense to let the runners do double duty.

Pop Stars

The little (55" x 59") Pop Stars quilt is quilted and bound.  The pattern for the blocks came from a video tutorial by Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company, and I used it for a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project from the fall of last year until now.

I used mostly scraps from the various colors chosen for the RSC each month, although at the end I used scraps from my box marked "Wild Patterns."  It included fabrics with more than one color and some novelty prints.  The gray backgrounds were mostly scraps, too, left over from the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt last fall.  I did buy the darker gray border fabric.

The various border blocks were made from triangles cut off when making the stars.  It was quite an easy block to make, measuring a weird 8.5" finished, but by the time each month rolled around, I had completely forgotten how to make the block.  Two of the yellow blocks were made too big (9" finished), so I cut them down to fit into this quilt.  I do like the way each star floats on its own background.

I tried something new in quilting this quilt, wavy lines, fairly close together, all along the length of the quilt.  I decided to give it a try after an online lecture by Judi Kirk, a British quilter, through the Vermont Quilt Festival.  She spoke with a bed-sized quilt as a backdrop, and that quilt had the same type of quilting.  She uses that type of quilting because she says it does not distract from the quilt's piecing.  

It was easy but somewhat tedious, yet I liked the way it looked in the end.  When you start, you make the vertical lines 2-3" apart, and that doesn't look too good at all.  After doing those lines far apart all the way across (I started in the center), you fill in the spaces at random intervals.  It is the randomness that really helps the quilting blend in.

I also used Kirk's suggested polyester thread with a ballpoint needle, although I think cotton thread would work just as well.  The poly is finer and does shimmer a little, which is a nice effect.  I will definitely use this technique again, although I'd like to try a few other techniques first.

Quilting

I've been quilting my Pop Stars quilt here and there throughout the days.  It's easy but a bit repetitive, so I take breaks after an hour or so.  I'm doing close, squiggly lines all down the length of the quilt which is crib-sized.  It looks pretty good but it also feels odd to be doing something so free form.

In between quilting sessions, I've been appliqueing a Halloween door hanging based on a pattern from the Piece 'o' Cake ladies' book The Best-Ever Applique Sampler, but I used a variety of Halloween fabrics.  When did purple and lime become Halloween "colors"?   No matter - I like both.

A "tree" made of one of the big flowers will go to the right of the house, and now I'm wondering about a little embroidery or other embellishment.  A pieced border with a variety of Halloween fabrics will go around the house block, and then I'll quilt it very simply.  I love having a smaller project that will actually get finished sooner.

This has been really fun to work on.  I may yet make another small quilt out of the same book which features more floral designs, my favorite.

A Little of This and That

It was a busy weekend because of the Friends of the Library book sale.  We hadn't had one in over two years, and throughout the pandemic a small group of us boxed up any donations that came in so that they could be stored at the printer's across the street.  We have 80-90 boxes over there, waiting for our annual sale under the big tent.  That will happen next summer.   Meanwhile, we still have a mountain of books at the library.  So we're holding three sales in hopes of making room for more donations as they come in.   The next sales are August 27-28 and October 1-2.  It's exhausting work but it helps support the many programs the library offers for all ages.  Rockin' Ron the Pirate was there Saturday, and they had an overflow crowd at Senior Day a few days before.

I did manage to squeeze in some sewing here and there, including this month's blocks for Harriet's Journey.   I can't decide how I'll set these blocks and thought I'd try making those pink and white alternate blocks to see how they'd work.  I may simply sash the blocks in white with various colored cornerstones, although I like the top right block as a possibility, too.  

I have 32 blocks made, and there are about 100 or so blocks in Chiaverini's quilt.   I'll go until I'm sick of making them.  The paper pieced star looks easy but ended up very wonky.  But I really enjoyed how the chain block turned out.

This morning, I pieced a back and some batting so I could baste my Pop Stars quilt (a Missouri Star pattern).  Then I started quilting it in random curves up and down the quilt.  It's a little tedious, but I'm liking the look so far.  The quilt measures about 54" x 59" so will be nice for a crib or child's throw.   

I worked on these star blocks as part of the monthly Rainbow Scrap Challenge.    They are easy to make, if you can remember from month to month how they are put together.  I always had to look the instructions up.  I only bought a little dark gray for a few blocks and the outer border.  All the rest is made from scraps.

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Hot, humid days

We are moving a little more slowly these days due to the humidity.  The AC is going in the sewing room, thank goodness, and its coolness wafts downstairs a bit.  A fan also helps make life bearable, both in the bedroom at night and in the living room in the day.  Reading and sewing have been my main activities lately.  I managed to make a few more pineapple blocks for the RSC - so far I've made 24 6" blocks, not enough for a quilt.  So I'll keep at it, making four blocks a month, until I can't stand it anymore.

I'm working on my monthly blocks for Harriet's Journey now.  I love working with the "Moody Blooms" fabric and am now wondering about how I will set the 6" blocks.  I'm testing a block Chiaverini calls "Philadelphia" as an alternate block.  That will result in a very pink quilt, so I'm not sure this will be "it."  I may simply go with white sashing between the blocks.  We'll see.

Yesterday, I received a surprise in the mail - not one but two mug rugs from Cindy in Washington state as part of a mug rug swap.  They're awfully cute and were put into immediate use.   Cindy did a great job with both hand- and machine embroidery and free motion quilting.   I guess happiness is a new mug rug!

I'm off to the library this afternoon to help out at the Friends' book sale.  It's always fun to see the shoppers enjoying the treasures they find and catching up with folks we know.  The sale continues tomorrow, too, when I'll be back with the clean up crew.

A few more photos

 A few months ago, I posted a picture of the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt I made last winter. but it wasn't a great photo.  I took what I'm calling "Green Mountain Spring" outside for better photos last week.  

I'm not sure what I'll do with this quilt as it's too large to fit in a "large" USPS priority mailing box.  Guess I'll just hang onto it until I hear of a need locally.  I don't feel good selling any quilts made from Hunter's patterns as she posts them for free for people to use and enjoy.  This year I've made three although I usually find her patterns far too fiddly, with loads of tiny triangles. 

I like the way Marie quilted it, with big swirly leaves, along with the hot pink border strip.

I really don't like to make mystery quilts because I'm not always thrilled with the color combinations I choose for the unknown pattern.  I really love the one I did years ago, though, using Christmas fabrics.  Maybe this quilt will grow on me, too.

And here's one of the mug rugs I made recently for a swap.  I forgot to take a picture, but the recipient, Mary in Ontario, did.  It uses a Vermont "license plate" from the summer shop hop a few years ago, along with a binding made of selvages.  Now to figure out what to do with the 14 leftover license plates from all over the country.

"Options" and more

Thursday, I started working on the blocks of the month for July.  I have at least four going, and this has turned into a problem.  I do like to finish things, and, when ongoing projects begin to feel like obligations, it is time to rethink them.

I did make my three 8" "Options" blocks in red, black, and white.  I have lots of scraps in these colors, which I like, so the only thing I've bought for this quilt so far is another yard of white on white.  I'll keep working on this for a few more months.

Next, I got out my box of "Pop Stars."   This is a Missouri Star pattern which calls for the stars to float on their background.  I have been making these as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and have 26 made so far.  I've been alternating the backgrounds between light and dark gray, so I can alternate 30 blocks, which finish at the odd size of 8.5", for a nice crib-sized quilt.  That's what I'll work on today.  The color this month is dark blue, but I see I have not yet used orange or burgundy, so I'll see what I have in my stash.

I do like the RSC because it helps me clean up the bottoms of my various scrap boxes.  I usually throw out little bits that I don't think I'll use or cut them up into 2.5" and 2" squares for future projects.  

After I finish putting this little Pop Stars quilt top together, I'll work on a few more pineapple blocks.  These are tedious to make, so four a month seems like a good pace.  I expect the pineapple quilt will take a couple of years to finish, but that will be fine.  I'm going to let my Harriet's Journey blocks slide until I get a handle on Pop Stars.  No pressure!

Yesterday, I joined my Calico County Quilters group for some hand sewing time.  It was good to see everyone and talk about what's happening in our lives.  I like these no-nonsense ladies a lot.  I brought along a pre-printed white on white piece I started hand quilting about 20 years ago,  It is actually coming along quite well now that I have my clip on magnifying glasses.  What a boon those have been for quilting and applique.

Photos!

I've been having a hard time taking pictures of finished quilts this year.  Paul, my main holder of quilts, has been ill for so long and, while he's getting a little better every day, he still isn't up to the task.  I asked a neighbor to hold a quilt and he just couldn't get the hang of holding it taut.  It kept sagging so you couldn't really see the quilt.  Chris has been busy doing lawn care so only comes on rainy, overcast days, not good for photography.  Yesterday I took a stack outside to hang on the fence at the corner of our yard.  Here are a few quilts made this year.

This little quilt uses vintage hankies and some Jane Austen reproduction fabrics.  I plan to give it to the Old Labor Hall for their next fund raiser since the hankies came from a loyal board member who passed away last year.

This bed-sized medallion quilt (twin?) features sashiko in the center, with borders all around.  I didn't use a pattern; just made things up as I went around.  The more I look at it, the more I like it.  Marie quilted most of it in a swirly pattern, but I hand quilted the center.  Who should I give it to?

The photo of the whole quilt shows that it's way too wrinkly to show.  I need to steam it to get some of the wrinkles out before photographing the whole thing.  It's a string quilt but more organized than my usual squares.  Based on "Honeycomb," by Karen Griska, this is about crib-sized and quilted on my home machine.

And here's the Dancing Nine Patch (based on a Bonnie Hunter pattern) I've been working on for the last few weeks.  I made the nine patches over the last year or so after I noticed my box of 2.5" scrappy squares was overflowing.  I had just enough of the blue sashing to finish.  I love the colorful striped border of this couch quilt.

I like the way the quilting turned out.

There are more photos to come - stay tuned!

Hope you had a happy Fourth of July

After several days of heat and humidity, we got two wonderful, cool days of almost constant rain.  This will turn our Green Mountains to their usual green rather than the scary brown we've seen for a while.  I had even been watering my flowers often, which is quite unusual for this time of year.  My shasta daisies have all burst open and look good.   

And inside, my orchid started blooming!  It hasn't for years, but this spring I got brave and repotted it.  What did I have to lose?   I read that you should only water orchids with one ice cube each week, so that's what I've been trying to do.  We'll see how the other one does.  I have hope.

I've been sewing a lot by hand the last few days so I don't have much to show.  I am almost all the way around sewing the binding down on a 64" x 64" scrappy Dancing Nine Patch (Bonnie Hunter pattern).  Will try to take a photo once the sun comes out, hopefully later today.

My friend and long arm quilter Marie finished my Scrappy Trips quilt earlier this week, so I have a binding to put on that quilt, too.  It's 72" x 72" and I'm not sure who I will give it to.  I have quite a pile of quilts to rehome now, but I need to take pictures before mailing them out or storing them for local fund raisers.

I also started a new applique project this week, a Halloween wall hanging.   It features a scrappy, wonky house from a pattern by the Piece 'o' Cake ladies.  Right now the plan is to border it with scrappy hourglasses, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.  When did my favorite color - purple - become a Halloween color?  

Meanwhile, the cooler weather has me baking again - snickerdoodles and blueberry cake.  Both nearly gone since I gave some cake to Chris to take home yesterday.