Nine Patch Bliss

I haven't had a chunk of totally mindless sewing time in a while.

The other day I came into my Hidey Hole,

pulled out some nine patches I had made quite some time ago,

found my box of Kaffe scraps

and began to cut.

Making nine patches is totally mindless sewing to me

and Nine patches I made.

I had made a few of these some time ago

and had put them aside, 

not knowing what was going to be made with them.

 

A lot of the 2 1/2" Kaffe squares were already cut,

but the polka dots needed to be cut to make the nine patches.

 

I just sat in here with Netflix playing

and sewed and sewed.

One thing I like about Kaffe fabrics

is how the colors are the same tones

from the older fabrics to the newer fabrics.

They can be paired together and they look 

like they are from the same time frame.

Last night I prepped four projects for machine quilting.

The Christmas Tree Skirt will be quilted today and tomorrow....

I hope!

 

I was hoping to have these pumpkin wall hangings done

by now,

but we had visitors over the weekend!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday

over at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Happy Quilting!

Christmas Tree Skirts

Last night I pulled fabric to begin another

Christmas Tree Skirt.

**Edit**

The blocks are made for the new tree skirt
and are arranged on my design wall.
Some tweaking has been done since this photo was taken,
so the blocks are in place and ready for sewing.


 

As some of you know,

Christmas tree skirts are my "go to" wedding gift.

The one I am getting ready to make

is not for a wedding gift, however,

but for a silent auction item for an organization I support.

The auction will be in October

and I thought this might be a fun item to have in the auction.

While deciding on the design for this tree skirt,

I looked back at my photos to see

which designs I have used in the past.

I thought it would be fun to  have them all in one post.
Some of the tree skirts I've made did not get
photographed for some reason,
but most are here.

This is a Bucilla Kit I made for my younger daughter
one year for Christmas.
I think the kit has been discontinued.

My own design.

Made from the Moda Bake Shop pattern
"Fruitcake Under My Tree."
I made two of these this particular year
and made a HUGE mistake on this one.
The hole is not centered!
It actually works out well, though,
because we put a tree up in the corner of our foyer and the
skirt fits it perfectly with the hole off center.

This was made with a pattern that I can't find.
It uses the wedge ruler and was pretty
easy to make.

A bright skirt!

Another "Fruit Cake Under My Tree."

This pattern came from "Freemotion By the River"

I made this for my now Son-in-Law for
Christmas last year.
It's another discontinued Bucilla Kit.

An adaptation of the pattern from
"Freemotion By the River"

Another "Fruitcake Under my Tree."

I love this pattern and am using this one again for the
silent auction tree skirt.
It uses 10" squares and goes together so quickly.
It really shows off the prints nicely, too.

There are other patterns in my stash, waiting to be used.
They are such fun things to make for gifts
and people seem to appreciate them.

Happy Quilting!

Pumpkins, pumpkins....

Fall is creeping in a bit here

with cooler temperatures,

lower humidity

and leaves falling from the trees.

I hate to see summer end,

but it isn't up to me.

:)

Things are slowly getting back to normal

after my daughter's wedding last weekend.

I didn't spend as much time in my

Hidey Hole

as I would have liked,

but did have some fun making

Pumpkins.

I found this pattern at Cluck, Cluck Sew

and gathered a lot of my orange fabrics.

Instead of making one big quilt,

I'm making a few small quilts.

They will be given as gifts

and shared with others.

 

 Some of the pumpkins look like apples to me,

but quilting should help that.

I'll quilt the curved pumpkin lines in the solid one especially.

The pumpkin on the right is gold metallic....

quite glitzy!

*****************************************************

My thoughts and prayers are going up for those

in Irma's path and continue for those in Texas.

May God bless you and keep you all protected.

*****************************************************

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today

at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Happy Quilting!

Wedding...

What a week we have had here!

My younger daughter was married on Sunday

and things could not have gone better.

The weather didn't cooperate for the rehearsal party at our home,

but we just moved it all inside and

talked and laughed and ate and

visited with family and friends,

new and old.

Sunday was a picture perfect day for the wedding.

Cooler, clear skies and little humidity.

It was gorgeous.

Now that the gift has been given,

I can show the finished wedding quilt

I made for the happy couple.

This pattern is called

"Diamonds in the Deep." 

It's made with four different blocks

and then several different blocks

cut for the setting triangles and corners.

I had it quilted with a swirl pattern

in the teal color thread.

It isn't difficult to make

but takes precise sewing and trimming.

My new Son-in-law chose the color

and my daughter was thrilled.

**************************************************************

I am not one to put photos of people on my blog,

but will make an exception here.

These are a few photos that family took of the wonderful day.

I can't wait to see the photographers photos!

Drew and Jillian were married at our church.

The Bridal Party

 My older daughter, Emily, is next to Jillian.

Next to Emily is Colleen, my god daughter. 

(I made the other Diamonds in the Deep quilt for her back in the spring.)

The Groomsmen are Drew's brothers in law.

A family moment before the wedding.

It was a wonderful weekend and we are sad for it to be over,

but thrilled that Jillian is starting her life with such a wonderful man.

Happy Life!

Finished Penguin

First of all,

my prayers are going out to all the people in Texas who are

dealing with this devastating storm and flooding.

I can't even imagine what you are experiencing.

May you find strength and peace in the midst of this chaos.

***********

 

My nephew and his family are coming to town

for my daughter's wedding this weekend,

so I really wanted to get his new son's

baby quilt finished.

I stole bits of time from the craziness here

and finished it over the weekend.

WOOOHOOO!!

My nephew is a HUGE Pittsburgh Penguins fan,

so I was so excited when I saw the pattern for a penguin baby quilt.

Out came the black and gold fabrics

and the fun began.

The baby's name is "Kessel" after one of the Penguins best players.

I used the "Crafted Applique" method to machine quilt

the letters of his name to the snowball and the lines on his beak.

My sister, who is a huge Capitals fan,

had some unkind words to say about this baby quilt.

Who will be our nephew's favorite aunt now?!?!

 :D

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday at

 Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

You may not see much of me until next week.

It's wedding time at my house!!

Happy Quilting!

Another New Baby...

My extended family continues to grow.

And you know what that means....

more baby quilts are being made!

My nephew and his wife had their second son almost two weeks ago.

This nephew is a HUGE hockey fan

and the Pittsburgh Penguins is his favorite team.

In fact, they named this son after his favorite player...

Kessel.

When I was deciding on what quilt to make for the

newest member of our family,

I came up with a brilliant idea....

A Penguin in Pittsburgh's colors!!

This pattern is perfect for the Penguins fan in the family.

I found the pattern here, ordered it and pulled out the fabric to make it.

 

 It was a bit tedious to make

because of all the different parts and pieces,

 but it went together easily.

Next is to get it basted and quilted.

Hopefully I will be able to deliver it soon.

A niece is in labor as I type this,

but her little one's quilt is already made.

:)

 

Happy Quilting!

A Little Sewing Time

It's Friday already!

Another week has zipped past us,

but I did get a little play time in my Hidey Hole.

When I started making these blocks,

I was thinking it would be a baby quilt.

I am loving these fabrics and design together,

so I might just keep making blocks and see where it goes.

It's amazing how the blocks come together.

They look like such a mess when first sewn

and then a few trim cuts here and there

with the Quick Curve ruler

and then a square ruler, and...

 

Voila!

Ten inch square blocks!

I'll be sewing more turquoise strip sets together!

Happy Quilting!

Slowly coming along...

I'm finding snippets of time

to come play in my Hidey Hole

as the wedding plans are being finalized.

Over the weekend

I managed to press all of the curved pieces

for the Metro Rings quilt.

There will be triangles added to the

sides at the top and bottom of the arcs.

 

These colors just make me smile.

I used to not be a huge fan of gray,

but it's become such a great neutral color.

 

Once the triangles are sewn in place,

the block is squared up and looks like these do.

 

I am loving this quilt and am pleased

with my first attempt at working with curves.

I'm doing a late link up to 

Design Wall Monday

at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Happy Quilting!

Applique Flowers

This finished quilt top has been a long time

in the making.

I'm not sure when I began appliqueing the blocks,

but it was a least two years ago.

A little work would be done,

it'd get put away for a while

before being pulled out and a little more 

work would be done.

Earlier this year I decided it was going to be finished.

Finally, it's a completed top.

I am pleased with the finish,

but had the most difficult time finding the outer border fabric.

Do you ever have something in mind

and nothing works because it isn't that?

I'm not sure how many quilt shops I visited,

how many online sites I checked and

how many times I looked at my stash,

but nothing was working for me.

 

Several pieces of fabric came home with me and were scrapped.

Finally, I found this piece the other day.

While it isn't even close to what I had in mind,

it works.

I'm pleased with it and think it looks nice with

the applique.

 

 

Now to get it quilted!

Happy Quilting!

Scattered.....

Things are a bit scattered around here lately.

I can't seem to stay focused on one thing for very long

and that's okay.

My daughter is getting married in less than 4 weeks,

so this could be part of the reason for being scattered.

I did start a new quilt the other day

and am taking this one slow.

I've never worked with curves

and it's a challenge!

Usually I start something and zip right through it.

Not this time.

This pattern is called

"Metro Rings"
and uses the 

Quick Curve Ruler.

Cutting the curves with this ruler takes some getting

used to, but I really like using it.

 

Thankfully there is extra fabric built into the design,

so things square up and even out nicely after trimming.

Sewing these curves does take time and patience!

I'll keep plugging away and hopefully have enough blocks

for a quilt top soon.

Happy Quilting!

 

 

 

Dresden Mini Finish

Can I just say that I love this little quilt!

This is one of those quilts that I kept putting off making.

I'm not a huge fan of 30's prints...

I don't want to work with the little blades in the Dresden plates....

What am I going to do with it once it's finished?...

Then the day came....

Out came the fabric and

the mini plate template

and the fun began.

 

Why did I wait so long to make this cute little quilt?

30's are still far from my favorites,

but they grew on me just a bit.

 

Thanks, Mom, for the kit and pattern you bought for me.

It's a keeper!!