Monster Log Cabin Quilt

A year ago this month I started making the blocks

for a log cabin quilt for my sister.

I had decided to destash my reproduction fabrics

because they just aren't my thing and I had a lot of them!

I began cutting them into 1 1/2" strips to make this quilt.

The blocks were made and the top was pieced

and then it sat....

and sat and sat.

Finally, in May I sent it off to be quilted.

I had considered quilting it myself on my sewing machine

and then reality set in, thank goodness!

If I had tried to quilt this monster quilt myself,

I would have ended up bald, with two bad shoulders,

having to repent for language used

and with a smashed up sewing machine.

Instead, I have this....

This quilt is HUGE!!!

It's a ginormous king.

I'm not actually sure of the size at this point,

but it will definitely be large enough

for my sister's king bed.

 

She loves these colors and fabrics

and is excited to get it.

I told her I might have it done by October!

 

It has been trimmed and the binding is being stitched

to the back now.

This is going to take a while!

The quilter did a beautiful job. 

I just wanted something simple and she nailed it.

It will be wonderful to finish this quilt and remove

it from my list.

It will be at your house soon, Rhonda!

Happy Quilting!

More Quilt Camp

Five of us went to "Quilt Camp"

in Angola on the Lake, NY

last week and went through lots of thread,

lots of fabric, lots of unsewing

and lots of chatting.

It's always fun to see what everyone is working on

and the projects are usually very different.

In my last post I showed the first project I completed,

along with my sister in laws big project. 

One of the ladies loves scrappy quilts.

This year she was working on this paper pieced web

and it is gorgeous.

Her scraps are wonderful and I love the background fabric she's using.

 

She wanted to do something different along the edges without adding

a border, so she drafted pieces to complete the webs along

the edges.  They look great and really give the quilt a finished look.

 One of the other ladies worked on a kit she had and made this

quilt for her uncle.  We all wanted to bring this one home with us.

My sister in law brought some blocks she had made and needed to add

the sashing and corner stones to make the top.  I like this one a lot, too!

 After I finished the tie stockings,

I worked on a quilt for a friend of mine.

I've had this fabric for a while that has a large design to it.

If I cut it up into small pieces, the design would be lost.

A month or so ago I found this pattern that is for a mystery block quilt

from Moda Bake Shop

and knew it would be perfect for this fabric I had.

Here are three of the four rows of blocks I needed to make for the quilt design.

I cut the sea fabric and the sashing strips

and put them all together into the quilt top.

The outer sashing strips and border strips need to be added.

This design really shows off the fabric with the sea life.

(There's a theme in my Hidey Hole this summer!

This is the third quilt I've made with sea life fabric.)

The fifth quilter was doing a lot of hand work and I didn't get any photos

of what she was working on while there.

It was a very productive week!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making today.

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Camp!

For the past three years in July

I have taken a trip to upstate New York to go to 

Quilt Camp 

with my sister in law and three other women.

I didn't know the other women before the first year,

but have gotten to know them and really enjoy being with them

for several days in the summer.

We rent a tiny house a block from Lake Erie in

Angola on the Lake, NY

and sew, chat, sew, chat and eat.

The house is set up for quilt retreats.

It can only hold six quilters,

each having a small amount of space around

a ping pong table,

a twin bed in one of three bedrooms,

and all the food you care to bring or order.

The ping pong table is in what would be the living room,

which also has an ironing station and a cutting table.

My sewing machine is at the end on my SewEzi table.

By the end of our time there, 

the floor is covered in thread,

the waste baskets are filled with scraps

and many blocks have been created.

The first project I worked on this year

was the Christmas stockings made from my friends neck ties.

When I finished a stocking,

it was hung on the window behind my chair.

We were upset that Santa never came once they were all finished!

:D

This stocking I had made a few months ago.

 

These three were all made at quilt camp.

I like that I was able to fussy cut the tie with the

children so that their faces were on the strips.
They are ready for delivery next month when we
see our dear friend.

My sister in law took my wedding gift idea

and made a Christmas tree skirt for a friend's wedding in August.

The fabrics she chose look so good in this design.

This was her first attempt at Y seams and she did a great job!

I will be borrowing this pattern from her at some point.

It's a beauty!

When this tree skirt was hanging on the design wall

and my stockings were on the windows,

it looked quite festive in the room!

And Santa Still didn't come!

I will share more creations from quilt camp soon.

Happy Quilting!

Happy Birthday America!

May we all remember the sacrifices that have been 

made to give us our freedom and liberty

in this great country.

I am especially appreciative of this after my trip

to China in May.

Happy 4th of July!!

(Image found here.)

 

I Want To Swim...

...in the deep blue Sea.

Well, actually I don't because of the recent

shark attacks on the east coast,

but seeing this fabric and finished quilt top

makes me want to see all of the beautiful sea life

that lives in the oceans.

This fabric is "Calypso" and is a digital print.

The photos really capture the true colors of these fabrics.

I'd love to have wallpaper like this

and would just sit and gaze at it all day.

Just look at the whale, the fish, the seahorse, the turtle and the grasses and coral.

This top was created thanks to a counting 

(or comprehending!) error I made making this quilt.

I am so glad I made that error!

This quilt may have to live with me for a while.

Happy Quilting!

You Are My Sunshine Baby Quilt

My niece is expecting her fifth child.

If it was up to her, she would have ten!

Her husband is not in agreement, however.

I just finished the baby quilt for this new little one

and will deliver it when I am in Pennsylvania next week.

This started as two jelly roll sets.

I sewed them in sets of three strips,

one set was color, white, color

and the other was white, color, white.

The white as little yellow/orange pin dots in it.

I cut the strips into wedges and sewed them into squares.

 

It isn't your typical baby quilt palette,

but my niece likes different things.

 

Plus, I like to make the baby quilts out of fabrics

that will grow with the child.

 

She is having a girl,

which will make two girls and three boys....

all under the age of six!

 

The backing isn't quite as dark as the photo is showing,

but I love the stripes with the florals on the front.

I quilted it using straight lines and squiggly lines.

This quilt is so soft and cuddly already.

Another baby quilt checked off of my list!

Happy Quilting!

Patriotic Pillows

In my last post I wrote about making a

Patriotic table runner or table topper

for my mom and siblings each year for the past

8 years.

This year's table topper is a flag I made

altering this pattern just a bit.

After making the table topper flags,

I decided to make some pillows for 2 friends and myself.

I liked the pillows made at Cluck Cluck Sew

and pretty much followed her idea.

The pillows are quilted, bound and stuffed.

There's something about red, white and blue that just makes me smile.

 

I needed the light blue border to make the pillows fit a standard size form.

It brings a little more light into the pillow, too.

 

I love this swirly fabric I used for the back.

There is a hidden zipper so the form can be removed

and it can be used as a topper instead of a pillow.

 

The 2019 Patriotic items are done!

Happy Quilting!

2019 Patriotic Table Topper

For the past 7 years I have been making a 

Patriotic table runner or table topper

for my mom and my siblings.

My dad was one of the most patriotic people I know

and he died in July.

It started as something by which to remember

our father and I had no intentions of making one each year.

Well, 8 years later, I am still making something

patriotic to give to my family around July 4th.

The first runner is in the upper left hand corner of this photo.

Last years are at the bottom.

I had a plan for this years table topper and started creating the 2019 version.

Very quickly I realized what I had in my head was not going to work in fabric.

Plan B was found and here is this years table topper.

My original plan was to use buttons for the stars with a blue background,

but my buttons were too small.

I would have needed a lot more than 50 to fill the space

and I couldn't do that.

 

I had the red and white stripes cut and sewn already

and needed to find a star that would work.

Finally I found this star idea and altered it to fit my needs.

While the buttons would have been fun,

this is much more functional for a table topper.

I'm not sure the little quilt could have been hung

if it had a lot of buttons sewn to one corner,

so this ended up being the better way to make this years quilt.

 

The quilting is very simple

and I love the wavy lines on the flag.

 

The date needs to be added and then these will be ready to give

to my family.

I've already started thinking about next years quilt!

Today I'm linking to Design Wall Monday.

Happy Quilting!

Pot Holders

A few years ago I made some pot holders

for a church bazaar and a friend bought a few to give as gifts.

Recently, she asked if I could make her some more for 

her and her cousin.

These go together so quickly and are a fun project to make.

The only request she had for fabrics was that she wanted

a couple out of Christmas fabrics.

The finished size is about 8" square.

I used two pieces of batting and one piece of the insul-bright inside the pot holders. 

Both my friend and her cousin have campers,

so I thought this fabric would be a hit with both of them.

It's the only piece that wasn't in my stash.

My friend's kitchen is yellow and blues.

This is perfect!

They will be delivered in the next day or so.

Another project checked from my list!


****Edit****

Libby asked what the contrasting stripe was for about 1/4 of the way
down on the pot holder.
I made the pot holders with a pocket for your hand.
I saw one like this somewhere and thought it was a great idea.

It protects the front and back of your hand.

Or it's doubly thick if you don't put your hand in the pocket.

 

 

The pocket is a 6"x8" piece made the same way as the 8" square part.

Happy Quilting!

Sea Life Baby Quilt

Happy Monday morning!

I have another finish to share today.

My piles are slowly disappearing and so far

I haven't been making new piles!

We will see how long this lasts.

I finished another baby quilt and

absolutely love the fabrics used in this one.

I had a layer cake of these beautiful fabrics called

"Calypso" by In the Beginnings

and then found this pattern that calls for a layer cake.

I had the blue polka dot grunge for the background

and started cutting the pieces.

 

It didn't take me long before I had the quilt top finished.

There is an outer border that I didn't add because I didn't

want the quilt to be that big.

 

 

This fabric is digitally printed

and is so vibrant and beautiful.

 

I had to really think about how to quilt it and am pleased with

what I came  up with for this one.

It's nothing fancy and was fast and pretty easy.

While making this baby quilt,

the directions called for 52 HST's for the border.

I read that as needing to cut 52 4" squares to use

for the HST's.

Yep... you guessed it... I had 52 HST's left!

When life gives you extra quilt parts,

make another quilt!

Pinwheels were made from the HST's and I had enough

layer cake pieces to fill in with those.

 

My photo is slightly blurry, but I love the fish in this print.

 

This one will be sewn together and borders will be added

to make another baby quilt.

Woohoo!! for mistakes!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!