Getting Ready for 2015

Shall I list what needs to be completed in 2015?  I dug into my closet and found a couple of plastic tubs with more quilt tops waiting.... Some I had wondered where they had gone and others I was surprised to finally find them.  First up, I need to choose (3) quilt tops and prepare them with batting and backing for Round 2 of machine quilting by my friend, Susan Shea.

1)  Attic Windows needs a border, back, and batting.
2)  Cube aka Honeycomb Waffle top needs a back and batting.
3)  Pinwheel top needs a back and batting. 
All need research as to when I made these and the history, so labels can be made.

Design Wall Monday

The last couple of days, I've been working on The Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt, designed by Bonnie Hunter.
This is Part 3 with the green, black, and neutral squares.  I've enjoyed pulling out numerous fabrics from my stash.  So far, I have 63 units completed.  The pattern calls for 120 units.  Bonnie's quilt finished at 88" x 88".
I don't really need a quilt that large, so I may make it a bit smaller.  We shall see.......

Part 3 of Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt

Link up with Judy at Patchwork Times.com to see the creations of other quilters this week. 

Quilt given for Christmas 2014

Landscape Quilt for Eric

 

 

Here's the landscape quilt that I gave to my nephew, Eric for Christmas this year.  I used several different fabric panels, along with various fabrics I had in my stash.  I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt.  The quilting was done with the walking foot and some free motion quilting around the birds and animals. 

Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

Lessons learned this week--
Print the instructions first with pictures
Read the instructions carefully, prior to cutting--
When I used my Die Cutter for the green strips, I didn't catch the fact that they were to be cut 2" wide not  2.5" wide, so all needed to be trimmed.  I'm now back on track. 

Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt blocks (2014)

Merry Christmas

"The Nativity Quilt"

The pattern was designed by Naomi Norman of Franklin, TN.  Two of my best friends and I had the opportunity to test this pattern in September 1996.  Wow,  that was a long time ago.....
The wall-hanging is 38" X 50" and used freezer paper piecing for speed and  precision.

The Nativity Quilt

Thanks to Bonnie Hunter for setting up a Christmas Eve Linky Party.  Check out these creations at:  Christmas Eve Linky Party

Cat Quilt just needs a border

I would love to say that the cat quilt top is finished but I can see it still needs borders.  I still have one more cat panel to go. 
The next panel only has one cat instead of four.  They are all designed the same with the black & white checkers.  I may try to use some greens in the borders since I'm running low on pink scraps.  Plus not all the pinks I have matched the cat. 

Measures 39" x 42.5"

If I use all my pinks, I won't have enough for Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt, which I am participating in for the first time.   Yesterday, I worked on cutting green squares for Part 3.
I used my AccuQuilt Die Cutter, to cut the strips. 

Design Wall Monday

Last week, when I went to Tuesday sewing, someone gave me a sample pack of "Smudgy Cat" by Greta Lynn.  I added a few pieces from my stash, in hopes of creating (2) small quilts for a couple of little girls that needed something special just for them.  I plan to cut the panel into (2) center blocks, then cut the smaller cats fabric pieces into (4) blocks each for corner squares.  The inner borders will be strips of pink and black and white fabrics.

Cat Panels for 2 quilts

This afternoon, I finished the machine quilting with my walking foot for the 3rd quilt to be given this Christmas.  I'm holding back on posting pictures since I'm not sure who in my family may be reading this Blog.  I have just one more quilt to finish by Christmas.

I'm taking a break this evening and hope to cut out some green, white, and black squares for the Bonnie Hunter Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt project.  I only have one small section done for Part 2, but since I pulled out 20-30 fabrics for Part 3, I thought I'd work on those first.  

Link up with Judy at   PatchworkTimes.com to see the creations of other quilters this time of year...       

2014 Grand Illusion Link-up Part 2

Here are pictures of the fabrics I chose for the 2014 Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt

  76 blocks for Step 1 that I have completed so far...

I am linking up with Quiltville 2014 Mystery Link-up Part 2

Design Wall Monday on Wed.

Finished (2) quilts and shipped them to California on Monday.  Hooray!!  I still have (2) more quilt tops to finish by Christmas but I needed a break, so......why not take on another quilting project.
I have always been intrigued by Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilts, so I decided to give it a try this year.  The quilt she has designed is way too big for me but I thought it would be fun to take on a challenge.  Step 3 will be posted this coming Friday and so far, I have just completed most of Step 1.  Tomorrow, I will work on Step 2 and somewhere along the way, I will work on my (2) quilt tops.

So, here is Step 1, in progress...

Fabrics from my stash

76 blocks sewn for Step 1

Check out Judy's website to see what others are creating this month at Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Thanksgiving Week-end, I discovered Bonnie Hunter was starting a new Mystery Quilt.  I have heard about her mysteries for several years but was never to a point where I could start one.  Too many projects were waiting.  If you are curious, please visit her website at:  Grand illusion-Bonnie Hunter mystery.  She explains all the details on her website.

Here's a picture of the fabrics I chose from "my stash".  I plan to make do with the scraps I have. 

Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Hop over to Judy's Blog at: Patchwork Times.com

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

May everyone who reads this today, have a blessed and joyous day with family and friends.  I wish this was a scene from our backyard but it is actually a beautiful fabric I found for the back of a special quilt.

Design Wall Monday

Been busy this week...The goal is to complete (4) quilts by Christmas.  I have all but one quilt top completed.  This afternoon, I did the machine quilting on the purple quilt and it is now ready for the binding.
I did not feel confident enough to free motion quilt, so I used the walking foot.  I only broke 3 quilting needles.  They were all size 75 and could not make it through the thickness at the block intersections.  Thankfully, I found all the pieces each time I broke one, so I could proceed.  After breaking the 3rd needle, I decided to change to a Schmetz Microtex Needle, Size 90/14.  Since this quilt used many different purple fabrics, I didn't have enough of any one purple fabric to use as the binding, so I have chosen a black binding.
I plan to sew on the binding, entirely by machine.  The lower right hand corner is folded over, so you can see what the back looks like.  I still had plenty of the back fabric left over but it looked too busy for the rest of the quilt.

Purple Quilt from Scrappy Challenge in April 2014

Check out what others are doing over at Patchworktimes.com

Design Wall Monday

This morning, the sky has been spitting a few tiny flakes of snow.  Since I have retired and do not have to drive anywhere, we have had little to no snow.  I still feel sorry for those who must deal with snow on their way to work and back.  Been there, done that and "it's no fun".

I have been busy working on surprise gifts.  Here's what I have on the Design Wall.  I have blocked out the name on the shirt.  I still need to applique around all the pieces and then decide on the actual quilt design.
The plan is to have simple blocks and let the fabrics speak for themselves, since the fabrics are all baseball related. 

Check out Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com to what others are creating this week....

Batter Up

Does anyone else save the selvages?

This afternoon, I discovered a great reason to save the selvages.  I wanted more fabric to match the fabric I used in the corner blocks of the quilt I've been working on for the past couple of weeks.  It's a Robert Kaufman fabric called Fusions but there were several different shades and I couldn't tell which one matched with what I have.  So, I decided to check my Selvage bin and down near the bottom, I found what I needed.  "Fusions"  #5573.

What a delightful blessing!  So, this afternoon, I ordered 5 yds. from Hancocks of Paducah and while I was about it, I also ordered a neat fabric for the back of the quilt. 

Design Wall Monday

This past Saturday (Nov. 8th) our guild had their annual Quilting Stuff Auction.  All our members bring in their fabric, partially completed projects, patterns, magazines, quilting supplies and yarns, etc.  We stack it up in piles over all the tables (I should have taken a picture).  We buy tickets for 10 cents each and then place a ticket in the paper bag taped next to the pile you wish you could win.  I tried to be selective in where I placed my tickets.  I won the following:

(1) stack of magazines (Quilt Mania, which is printed in France but written in English)
(1) stack of magazines (Fabric Trends, which showcases fabric and quilt patterns)
A bag of scraps, strips, and completed blocks
A good stack of children's fabrics, which will be great for Project Linus quilts
and Hooray, Hooray -- 30 yards of flannel--another great for Project Linus quilts..

30 yards of Flannel

Be sure to hop over to Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com to see what others are doing this week

Design Wall Monday

I am in the middle of designing a new quilt for someone special. I found a neat picture on-line, which gave me a design idea for the quilt with a size of 60" x 70".  Even with the landscapes pre-printed on the fabrics, it is still difficult to choose how to arrange them.  I had wanted to make an attic window with a realistic view, however the pictures on the fabric were not going to line up correctly when viewing out the window.  I finally determined that the attic window quilt would not work for a bed sized quilt, because the panel pictures are too small.

Here is what I have so far......  Hopefully, next Monday, there will be more to see.

Be sure to see what others are creating at Patchwork Times.com this week. 
















This afternoon was so pretty and warm, my DH and I took our dog to the Dog Park.  She did very well.
She enjoyed running after a tennis ball and bringing it back.  She socialized with a couple of dogs with only a few low growls, which we were not too excited about since we didn't want any dog fights.

Crunch Time

It's November 1st and "Crunch Time" has arrived.  All the things I wanted to get done during the year and now I want it accomplished before Christmas, especially since some items are Christmas gifts.  Why do I always wait until the last minute?  Waiting until the last minute keeps me focused on each project to get them done in time.  Of course, some items need to be mailed across the country, which means I cannot allow myself to wait until the week before Christmas to complete them.

Last night, "Halloween" was icy cold with a brisk wind.  We always go out to eat and then to WalMart to purchase our gifts for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse.  It has become an annual event for DH and I.  We escape the Trick or Treaters.  Last night was not a good night for anyone to be venturing out since it was so cold.

Today, I made a couple of fleece hats for the shoebox gifts.  The hats are so easy to make and fun to create. 

Fleece Hats for Operation Christmas Child

  

Design Wall Monday

I have spent the last week preparing (3) quilt tops and backings for machine quilting.  My DH asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year and I said I wanted to get all of my UFO's machine quilted.  Thankfully, I chose to start with only three.  My goodness, it took quite a bit of time to find and prepare the backings for each one.  I still need to cut the battings before Wednesday morning.  I'm just posting a picture of one of the tops, along with the backing I chose.  One of our guild members, Ann, recently passed away and the back that I'm using was one of her fabrics.  Ann had the most beautiful fabrics and all her fabrics had been pre-washed.  This is the Gunderson Reunion Quilt.

Be sure to hop over to Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com to see what others are working on this week.

Red floral will be the backing

Design Wall Monday

Falling Triangles--the tutorial is presented by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I just love her tutorials.  Our Sewing Group continues to receive fabric from many different people.  Last year, we received a donation of 10" squares of floral fabric.  However, not all the squares were exactly 10", so I chose to die-cut them into triangles and then added 2" strips.  This top will be approximately 44" across and 55" down for a total of 80 blocks.  I have discovered more triangles are needed before I can finish the top.  I need to get this top completed before the end of this month, so it will be ready for tying at Project Linus Day in mid November. 

Be sure to hop over to Judy's at Patchwork Times.com to see what others have created....

Falling Triangles

Beautiful Fall Day

Today is sunny and warm - a beautiful day...  so off we went to capture the beauty of the ducks, geese, and their surroundings.  This was my first time taking pictures with a Nikon D7000.

Enjoying my day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design Wall Monday

As usual, it is Tuesday night and I am posting Monday's Design Wall project.  Actually, I had all the blocks already cut out and waiting for a design.  I had thought about using the 6 1/2" muslin squares for a QOV but the Roclin muslin was too lightweight, so I thought a Project Linus blanket would be better, especially since our annual Project Linus Day is coming up next month.  I barely made a dent in the pre-cut  (3 1/2") blocks that I have in my sewing room.  Pre-cut squares in different sizes are one of the few items that are actually organized in my sewing room.  Ha.  This is what I have so far.

Be sure to link up with Judy at Patchwork Times.com to see what others are creating this week.

Design Wall Monday  10/14/2014

 

Christmas Quilts

Two weeks ago, our Sewing Group spent the day cutting strips of Christmas fabrics.  We cut 2", 4", 6", and 8" strips.  Yesterday, we began sewing the strips together, creating lap quilts measuring 40" x 60".  The quilts will be tied with white, red, or green fleece on the back.  Here's a picture of my favorite:

Christmas Quilt Top 2014

Design Wall Monday

On March 1st, 2014, I made a comment on So Scrappy's Rainbow Challenge Blog and won a pack of hand dyed fabrics created by Vicki Welsh and ever since then, I have been wanting to make this color chart. Where shall I hang it in my sewing room?  It needs to be located where I can get up close to it and check the colors.   

The article by Maria Elkins in the Aug/Sept 2011 (pg 12-16) issue of Quilting Arts Magazine was my inspiration.  Vicki's hand dyed fabrics encouraged me to create the wall hanging.

Be sure to link up with Judy's Blog to see the creations of other quilters.   

Color Chart 2014 Ready for Use

Another quilt top for someone special

Last week, I worked on the Teddy Bear quilt top.  This week, the Snowman quilt top.  I ran out of snowman blocks, so I added 2 white squares but they needed something, so I added red circles.  They really stand out, but hopefully the child who receives this quilt will think they are fun.   Our weekly sewing group is working on Christmas quilts to be given to those in need.  Yesterday, a few of us ventured off to the country and sandwiched over 10 jelly roll quilts, using Christmas fabric and green or red fleece as the back.  There was no need for batting, since the fleece will be cuddly and warm.

Snowman Quilt

I grew up in the country with a horse in the pasture to ride and goats and chickens next door, so I love going out in the country to see RJ's goats and chickens. 

Design Wall Monday

This afternoon, I machine embroidered around each appliqued piece on my Color Chart wall hanging.  There are (5) more narrow sections that must be designed and embroidered before I can finish the top.  I have no idea where I will hang it in my sewing room but I know I need it.  I have always chosen my colors based on one colorful fabric that I love.  Scrappy quilts have always been a challenge for me, so I'm hoping this color chart will make a wonderful different in my future quilts.
Check out Judy's Blog to see what others are creating this week...

Beginning of Color Chart wall hanging

Christmas Quilts

Our weekly Sewing Group makes quilts for those in need.  Our leaders decided to begin making quilt tops using Christmas fabrics and make Row by Row tops.  As we were cutting the fabrics into different size strips (2", 4", 6" and 8"), Linda came across this cute fabric with little bears, surrounded by candy canes.  We also had several yards of joyous fabric in red and green.  Then, I realized I still had a couple of pieces of fabric with (4) bears.  Two were St.Patrick's Day bears on green fabric and two were Christmas bears on red fabric.  There was not enough red fabric to make seam allowances, so those were machine embroidered onto white 8" fabric squares.   It was a wonderful way to practice my machine embroidery.  The red border fabric has squiggles of gold throughout.  The plan is to use fleece on the back, so the quilts will be cozy and not need batting.  Most of our quilts are tied.

Christmas Quilt top with Teddy Bears

Flowers

At the beginning of Spring, I purchased (2) Penta flowers.  The color was so striking, I thought they would be pretty in my big flower pots.  The small plants had only been planted a few days and here came the last frost of the season and it appeared that both plants died.  I did not dig them up, just in case....Amazingly, each plant survived and flourished this summer.  Here is what they look like now in mid September.  In order to keep them alive through the winter, I would need to transplant them and bring them indoors.  They would definitely look pretty in our bathroom.  We shall see.

Penta Flowers

Perfect Fabric Found

Back in February 2014, I created a Scrappy "Pink" quilt with ice cream cones and lots of HST.  While looking for a couple of silicone bobbin keepers, I discovered a fabulous fabric which was perfect for the back of my Ice Cream Cone quilt.  On top of that, it was on sale.  So, I bought 3 yards. I found it at:  Superior Threads

Here's the quilt:

Ice Cream Cone Quilt Top finished 02/27/2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the fabric I found for the back of the quilt:

It's hard to see but the background is a light pink

Design Wall Monday

Last week, Darlene Zimmerman (aka "The Feedsack Lady") came to middle Tennessee to teach two different classes to several guilds in our area.  I chose to take "Amalie's Log Cabin" class.  Can you believe it?  After all these years, I had never made a log cabin quilt.  Darlene suggested cutting all the strips to the exact size.  This did help keep the blocks from growing off center.  Plus, I didn't have to trim after sewing each strip.  Darlene designed (5) different patterns. With each pattern, Darlene included "Amalie's Story", which told of her great-great grand aunt.  Letters were also included with the pattern, but the letters were fictional based on known historical facts. The other patterns are:  Thimble quilt, Hourglass quilt, Crosses and Losses quilt and Many Blessings quilt.  All can be found on her website; Feedsack Lady.com

One of our guild members brought her hand crank Singer and she created her blocks at an amazing rate and they looked wonderful.

I decided to make a table topper with my accumulated stash of Civil War fabric.  It still needs a couple of borders before I quilt it.

Now, that I have learned the best way to sew these blocks, I hope to make another table topper in honor of my Great Grandfather, who was in the Civil War.  He enlisted Sept. 14, 1861.  Our family saved his Civil War Diary, which he wrote from Nov. 15, 1864 to May 4, 1865.  He was in the 9th Iowa V.V.I.

Civil War Table Topper

  Link up to Judy's Blog to see what other quilters have accomplished...  

Design Wall Monday

Is it September already?  The days of this year have been just clicking by....
Excited to be finally working on this project.  I found it in the Aug/Sept 2011 Quilting Arts Magazine.  On page 12, Maria Elkins wrote an article on "Color Confidence", along with a wall quilt, she designed. 

Amazingly, I have never made a color chart and now I realize what I have been missing.  Back on March 1st, 2014, I made a comment on So Scrappy's Rainbow Challenge Blog and won a pack of hand dyed fabrics created by Vick Welsh and ever since then, I have been wanting to make this color chart.   There are several more panels that I need to make. 

This is what I have created so far.....

 
Stop by Patchwork Times.com to see creations from other quilters....

New Family Arrived

Our deer little family has increased.  While I was at sewing yesterday, my husband took several delightful pictures and a little movie.  Two Sundays ago, I spotted a deer and her fawn at the salt & mineral block in our backyard.  The next Sunday, there were 2 fawns with Mama and yesterday at noon and later for dinner, the entire family.  Oh, I might add that we purchased 100 lbs. of whole kernel corn for their enjoyment.  We have discovered that we will probably not be able to continue this feeding schedule, since we were not expecting this crowd.  We also have several types of birds, a couple of bunnies, and lots of squirrels.

Mama and her family on 08/26/2014

Design Wall Monday

Last Thursday, I began working on a couple of "Bags of Love" for our sewing group.  We only need to make (3) button holes for each bag and since I hadn't made a button hole in over 15 years, I was having a difficult time.  It only took me 3 days to make the first bag.  Most of the time was spent remaking the parts that I did incorrectly due to "operator error" and not reading the entire instructions.  The 2nd bag, I made yesterday.
The picture shown below is the first bag.  I have an entire bolt of 60" Navy ticking, which I hope to cut into sections for bags and work on them tomorrow.

(1st)   Bag of Love

If you are not familiar with "Bags of Love", it is an organization called:  It's My Very Own and is a faith based non-profit organization dedicated to providing for displaced children through the support of local communities.
Children are removed from their homes due to drug abuse and neglect, not because of anything they have done. These children are victims. Many are left with nothing of their own. They lose their home, their parents, their clothes and their toys. Each Bag of Love includes a handmade quilt, stuffed animal, toys, and personal care items.

Link up with Judy at Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have created...

Design Wall Monday

I found a pattern for a Sewing Machine Cover on page 94 of the August 2012 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  I liked the design and the fabric used.

However, I wanted to use a block of hand pieced hexagons that I had sitting in a pile of unfinished pieces.  I machine appliqued the the hexagons onto a section of grey "Marblehead" by Ro Gregg for Paintbrush Studios.  My Brother Embroidery machine was not the same size as listed in the pattern, so adjustments were needed.  By the time I was done, my cover looks nothing like the magazine design but I am very happy with how it turned out.  A different design was machine appliqued to the back of the cover as an added surprise.

Link up to Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com to see what others are creating....

2014 Quilt Trail Adventure continues

We had lunch at the Cripple Creek Presbyterian Church.  Lunch was catered by Carolyns Creations also known as Goodness Gracious and it was delicious.  Historian, Steven Cates gave a lecture about the families from the area.  Many of the people we visited had lived in this area their entire lives as did their ancestors.
A small local quilting group presented a quilt show in the church.  Several of the ladies belong to my local quilt guild.  There was a fantastic photo transfer quilt with hundreds of photos.

Readyville Mill

Our last stop was the Readyville Mill, which was built in 1812 and is home to a restaurant and available for weddings and special events.

Tennessee Cotton

Double Wedding Ring at the Readyville Mill

Peaceful areas surrounding mill

It was a fantastic day and I hope other quilt blocks will be added to the Trail for next year.    

Fourth Stop on the Quilt Trail

Joe Brown is a blacksmith, using traditional methods, inspired by nature.  He explained that he loves making leaves. 

Joe Brown hammering out a leaf

Working on another leaf


His daughter, Erin showed us how to spin sheep's wool.  She was very patient and explained each step.  She also does tatting, which she makes into earrings and other jewelry.  Erin also creates new fabric by taking fabric scraps, laces, ribbon, and thread and sewing them into new unique fabric.  She was wearing a scarf that she created with her new fabric.  I just had to purchase a small package of greeting cards which she made with the fabric.

Erin spinning sheep's wool

This is the Quilt Trail "Bears Paw" block across the road from the Browns 

2014 Rutherford County Quilt Trail Tour

Today, about 20 ladies ventured out on a delightful, sunny summer day to see the country side around Rutherford and Cannon Counties.  It was the first ever Barn Tour in this area.  Local high school students painted the quilt blocks and mounted them to the barns.

Our first stop:
Star within a Star--the barn was built in 1935.  The land was acquired in the 1820's and the Murray Farm is still in operation and being worked by the same family.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Star within a Star on Bradyville Pike

The next stop was along side the road, so I did not get a picture of the Dutch Girl.

Our third stop:
Log Cabin--Ferrell Hollow Farm
Cindy runs a retirement farm for special needs horses while creating products with unique herbal blends.  I bought a jar of Calendula Balm for my hands.  Her husband, Alan crafts handmade rockers and chairs using native Tennessee woods.  

The white strips in the log cabin block are painted with lavender flowers which are grown on the property.

Log Cabin Block and Cindy

One of the Special Needs horses

 

Alan has been on Tennessee Crossroads with his handmade chairs