Show and tell

 I took a couple of quilts to guild show and tell the other night.  First is a little (36" x 36") quilt made with blocks of the month I won in the lottery.  I made the purple one (top right), and all the rest were made by guild members.  One was smaller than the 12" suggested, but I just added a little sashing to make it work.  That was a tough block to make (because the pattern given was difficult to read) so only six of us participated in the lottery.

This Ohio Star Variation (?) will go to "Bags of Love" for kids in foster care.  I had the border and binding fabric in my stash.  The backing was a sweet purple and green print that I had found on the guild free table several months ago.  I quilted it in about a 2" grid, using a smaller one for the plain sections around the outside.

I also showed my Unity Quilt (a Bonnie Hunter pattern) at the meeting.  Several other people have been working on them, too, and I'm curious to see how theirs end up.  It was quite an intense experience, and I hope not to do another BH pattern for quite a while (if ever)!

  

The yellow fabric was a constant, but the neutrals (and there are many) and the light and dark blues were all scraps.  I had a lot of trouble fitting the last border on, even though each round's measurement were exactly as Bonnie had stated they should be.  In the pattern, she noted that the last border needed to be "eased," and I can attest to that.  It took me quite a while to get it on.

Marie quilted it in a swirly pattern and said she had no trouble with the last border, which was a relief to me.  It's now on our guest bed and looks great.  This is the best shot I've gotten, though, since the room is small.

Yesterday we drove over to Plattsburgh, NY, for calling hours for Paul's cousin who had passed away suddenly.  I had never met Susie, but we had talked about visiting sometime.  It's a good reminder to catch up with relatives sooner rather than wait. 

More "Unity"

June is the month for the next-to-last round of the Unity quilt along for the guild.  I think five or six of us are sticking with it, and, as I work on it, I think about how I absolutely hate following a pattern!  So this is a developmental activity for me, with the end result being a lovely, rather large quilt.  There are five or six other projects sitting in boxes, but this is what I'm focusing my energy on when I'm not getting ready for our Colorado trip tomorrow.

June's blocks are rather complex and involve making a seemingly endless bunch of half-square triangles.  Luckily, they finish at 2" and can be cut with the EZ Angle ruler.  This allows me to cut the dark and light sides together and zip them through the machine.  I pile them up in groups of 10 on paper plates so I can keep a relatively accurate count.  I think I need 170-something HSTs.  

Then four patches are made, which go together in pairs, then halfsies, and then the final 8" block.  I have a little over half of the four patches made, and if I have time today, I'll finish those.  I like Bonnie's recommendation about pressing which allows the four patches to nest well together.  

I'll finish this round when we return in a week or so, and then I think I'll work on the July section to finish the whole top.  I'll try to use the bright yellow for the binding if there's enough left, and I'll take the quilt to Marie for long arming.   She's working on one, too, so it will be interesting to see what she recommends.

I really look forward to working on something else, possibly less detailed in the coming months!  I've neglected Austen Jubilee so I'll probably start with that.  I thought I'd made all the blocks for the Quiltmaker mystery, but now I see there are more blocks to be made over the next few months.  My collection of  Jane Austen at Home fabric is really diminishing.  Hope I can find some coordinating scraps in my stash.

Fun foodie times

 

I saw this on Bonnie Hunter's blog today and just had to laugh.  Ain't it the truth?!?  My friend Pam and I met for breakfast on Tuesday and had some delicious bagels with cream cheese.  No guilt but, afterwards, we did talk about now hard it is to lose weight at "our age."  Today Paul and I are meeting Bob and Pauline for lunch at a great burger place, and tomorrow Mary and Manny are coming for dinner.  Fun times do revolve around food, but it's fine, really.  

I've been reading What Happened to the Bennetts? by Lisa Scottoline, quite a page-turner.  I take breaks periodically to sew, and yesterday I finished a quilt top using a line of fabric by Robin Pickens called "Tulip Tango."  I guess I'll call the quilt that, too, until I can think of another name.  I love the mix of pinks and lime greens in this quilt which features Sawtooth Stars in various sizes - 4", 6", 8", and 12".

Today and this weekend I'll work on miscellaneous blocks of the month - a 12" basket for guild, 6" rosebuds for an online swap, and some RSC blocks.  I need to get busy with the cake blocks for a swap I'm in, too, but I want to put some ricrac between the layers and keep forgetting to run over to Joann's for some.  When I finish all of these miscellaneous things, I'll start working on the Unity quilt round for this month with all its fiddly pieces.  This is next-to-last round with lots of HSTs has been intimidating me for some time.  I'll take it easy and hope to finish by July.

A few small projects

 

This little wool penny project got sashed and put together this week after languishing for a few weeks.  It's a sampler of various embroidery stitches.  I found the batik background a little difficult to embroider but was pleased to find the sashing/binding in just the right colors hiding at the bottom of my blue tub.  Now it needs quilting, which I will get to manana.

At guild the other night, the coming month's block of the month turned out to be a 12" block exactly like the 6" one that will be coming up for the June Unity quilt round.  I got busy right away and found it wasn't so hard at 12".  I was dreading the 6" version, but now that I see how it goes together, I'm not AS intimidated.  Still slightly intimidated, but ready to soldier on in June.  I can't remember its name - Twirling something-or-other.

At any rate, I made one to keep and one for the guild lottery in May.  I won the March blocks but have set them aside while I work on a few other things.  I'm still working ahead on the May section of the Unity quilt - 2" x 3.5" flying geese.

This week I also made a beige linen tote bag for the Quilters' Auction at the state guild meeting in May.  Everyone on the board will be contributing things to put in it.  I've had the linen for quite a while and still have enough to make another bag or two.  Forgot to take a picture, unfortunately.

April's "Unity"

 

The sun popped out yesterday and actually stayed all day.  Today we'll be having a bit of sun followed by two days of rain.  That's April for you.  We managed to take the Unity out for a photo, though.  There will be several more rounds in the months ahead as I quilt along with others in my local guild to achieve a queen-sized top.  

As is typical of a Bonnie Hunter pattern, there are lots of pieces to cut and sew.  This round wasn't as difficult as the previous month's - it is 6" (finished).  I'm liking the look so far.  You can't see it from afar, but all of the fabrics are scraps except for the constant yellow.   Next up:  2 x 3.5" flying geese at the top and bottom to achieve a rectangular shape.

  

Working ahead

The Unity quilt is very involving and takes quite a bit of time, even as a quilt along.  I decided to start the round for April the other day.  It starts with 32 6" friendship star blocks, but they aren't the usual friendship stars.  There's more piecing.  I used my Easy Angle ruler to cut the half square triangle pieces this time.  I learned with previous Bonnie Hunter projects that this ruler is the easiest way for me to achieve at least some semblance of accuracy.  

Here are all the pieces I've made over the last few days.

And here's my first block.  You can see my sketch of the color placement, too.  I printed the pattern out but only in black and white since our printer does not want to print blue anymore.  The sticky note works for me.

It's hanging on the design wall so I can make sure I put the HST squares in just the right places.  I had to re-press the blue HSTs so that they nest with the yellow ones.  And I'm making an attempt to mix up all the background fabrics in each block.  Don't know if that will be possible by the last few blocks, but I'll give it a try.  It should take me a few days to make all 32 and then arrange the round.  After that, there's a round of plain background blocks.

Another foot of snow

It snowed all day Friday, but yesterday was typically sunny and cold (high of 20 but 5 degrees when we got up).  Everything got plowed and shoveled, and the world was bright and shiny.  I stayed in and watched Paul fill the bird feeders which had gone empty during the snow.  This morning, I surprised a big deer at one - no wonder they get empty so fast!  And six more ran through the backyard in the dark.  

Meanwhile, I finished the next round of the Unity quilt and anticipated the next one - 6" blocks that are a variation on Friendship Star.  Will I have enough fabric?  I know I have enough neutrals and bright yellow, but what about navy and light blues?  Guess I'll find out later in the month when I do the next round.  It's about 42" square now and will end up queen-sized.  

I'm going to set it aside and work on a few other things, including various blocks of the month.   I have a lot of projects going here and there and have run out of project boxes.  I need to get a few more so I can retire some of my pizza boxes.  The Unity quilt doesn't fit in one, so I'm using a plastic bag Paul got at the hospital.

My first project today will be making a few blocks of It's The Point so I can show them to a potential customer and to the pattern designer, Tess.  I have quite a few charm squares all cut but need to cut the framing/sashing strips.  My version is going to look quite a bit different than Tess' sample, but I'm testing the pattern and hope my bright and black colorway will be helpful to her.

Diligently working...

...on the third phase of the Unity quilt.  This round is comprised of 36 4" (finished) saw-toothed stars, so the pieces are super tiny.  It's not so bad once all the pieces are cut, and because I get bored, I make a few, cut, make some more, etc.  The last 14 are cut and ready to sew, which I hope to do tomorrow when a big snowstorm is predicted.

Aren't they cute?

Hankies

Every time I look at my stack of old hankies, new ones seem to appear.  I had been saving some for a tutorial on crazy quilting with my Saturday sewing group.  But I discovered a lot more in various tubs and project boxes.  I used two to make a small table runner last week.  I added a hexagon cut from an old embroidered tablecloth.  Each block was surrounded by 1.25" strips of pink or beige fabric for a very feminine, spring-y table runner, now waiting patiently to be quilted and photographed.

What shall I do with the rest of the hankies?  I have used them in baby-sized quilts, purses, pillow tops, zipper bags, and more.   Knowing I like them, people give them to me, and I also bid on some in an online auction to benefit our beloved Old Labor Hall here in town.  I even have the book Hooked on Hankies and have played around with folding them in various shapes.  My fingers fumble a lot while folding.  I might manage a butterfly someday.  Today, though, I'll pack them away again until inspiration strikes.

Over the weekend, I read a super book - West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge - about two men driving a couple of giraffes cross country from New York to San Diego during the Great Depression.  I liked it so much, Paul read it, too, and enjoyed it as much as I did.  

I am working ahead on a couple of February projects, including the next step in the Unity quilt along and a swap with my online group.  We had a full day of snow yesterday and stayed cozily indoors again after several days of below zero weather.   Here are all the requisite parts to the next round.

Today I started putting these together and adding them to the center.  What a job!  There are a lot of points to fit and press together somehow.  I took a break to read part way through.  Hope to get the last rounds on tomorrow.  

Unity quilt

Happy New Year!  May 2022 be a good year for everyone.  2021 was a bit shaky due to Paul's health, including a long hospital stay, but he is doing fairly well right now.  My biggest hope for 2022 is to be able to get to Colorado in June to celebrate Mom's 100th birthday.  Fingers crossed!

I spent yesterday putting the center medallion of the Unity quilt (a Bonnie Hunter pattern) together.  I'm pleased with how it looks.  Here are the sections ready to sew together.  I like the way the dark blue chevrons swirl around the bright yellow ones.

I'm using a variety of low-volume backgrounds for a scrappy look, along with various dark and light blues.  The bright yellow will be a constant.  It went together easily due to Bonnie's suggestion to press seams open.  I hate doing that but managed to get most of the seams to nest OK.  I added a 1" border all around before putting it away until nearly February.  This project is a quilt along with members of my local guild.  Every month, we'll work on another set or sets of borders, and Joanne and I will figure out a schedule for the next steps later this month.

Today I'm going to make some Indonesian food for dinner.  We'll be celebrating my heritage to start the year.  While it's simmering, I'll clean up the sewing room a bit and start on a few face masks.  I have lost all but one in parking lots and other unknown places this past year.   The blue paper surgical ones don't fit my nose very well despite the metal nose part.  The shaped ones work better for me, and they're washable for reuse.  I do keep a box of the blue ones in the car and in the house, just in case.  

Unity quilt along

Joanne and I are running a quilt along in 2022 using Bonnie Hunter's "Unity" medallion quilt pattern for our local guild.   We both missed making it last winter and were re-inspired when we saw another guild member's finished quilt this fall.  I love scrappy medallion quilts.  I have been gathering fabric for this quilt this month.  The original colors are red, blue, and aqua, but I'm using bright yellow, dark blue, and light blue since I have a lot of blues in my stash and want to use more yellow in my quilts.   I have a full project box of neutrals collected, too.  

I can't wait to begin work on those dreaded chevrons in the center, so I probably will get a head start in a week or so, after I finish quilting the big block quilt (which needs a name!) and binding Harriet's Journey.  For 2022, I plan to continue making four 6" pineapple blocks each month, making some 12" blocks in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and making the guild blocks of the month.  I hope to finish a little quilt with elephant blocks on a black background, too.   

Meanwhile, this week has been a busy one and the coming week promises more of the same.  This week we've had two sets of guests visit for lunch, and today there will a third.  The extra leaf is out on the dining room table.  Wednesday I'll be helping set up and take down a luncheon for the library staff put on by the Friends of the Library.  Due to COVID, we won't be having our traditional holiday gathering, but we don't want the year to go by without recognizing all they are doing.