Irish Chain QAL

I have wanted to make an Irish Chain quilt for some time now.

Years ago I helped my god daughter make a small one

for a school project,

but I've never made one for myself.

Amber at Gigi's Thimble is hosting a two color

Irish Chain quilt along and I jumped on board.

I had a box of red fabrics from a quilt I started years

ago and didn't finish, because I wasn't liking it.

The reds were used for another sampler quilt

I made with a quilt group I used to belong to.

There were still A LOT of red left in this box.

Perfect!

The first two steps have been released...

Press your fabrics

and

Cut them into the various sizes given on Amber's blog and Instagram.

 My fabrics were washed and pressed.

2 1/2" strips were cut of the reds and I was ready to go.

(The true colors are somewhere between these two photos.)

Since mine is going to be scrappy,

I knew I didn't want to use the strip method of sewing

and then cutting the parts.

I cut my strips into 2 1/2" squares and have them ready to go.

One of my problems with QAL's or leader/ender quilts

is that I get too impatient.

I want to make the quilt now.

 

Therefore, two of each block has been made and I LOVE

 how this quilt is going to look.

I will slowly make more blocks since it will take me

longer to make it this way.

This QAL has inspired me to use my red scraps

and empty another box in my Hidey Hole.

I have started the 2020 off with a red scrappy theme!

 

Happy Quilting!

Flying Geese Have Flown

Several years ago I decided to cut most of my

reproduction fabrics in usable pieces and get them

out of my stash.

Reproduction fabrics are not my favorites

and I wanted to use them and move them along.

Several quilts were made from the different pieces,

but I still have a bag of pieces left.

In this bag were a bunch of Flying Geese that I had made.

Why I made them, I have no idea.

I don't know if I had something in mind

or was just making Flying Geese because I like to make them.

Anyway,

out came the pile

and this quilt top was made.

I realized as I was sewing all of these geese together

that I was making a scrappy quilt!

 

It's a monochromatic scrappy quilt,

but scrappy, none the less.

(Scrappy Quilts are not my favorite to make.)

 

 

All of these geese look so nice all 

lined up in formation.

 

They haven't told me where they are going yet.

 

A backing will be found and this one will be finished to donate.

 

Even the outer border is scrappy!

 

These pieces were in this bag of parts, too,

and will soon be sewn into a top.

I'm not sure how large this one will be,

but piles are disappearing from my Hidey Hole!

 

Just so you know, I haven't abandoned my bright

and bold fabrics.

This is going to be something fun!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Twelve Days of Christmas Ornaments

Today I have a finish to share that has been

a long time in the making.

A number of years ago I started making some felt ornaments

by mmmcrafts.

She would release a couple of ornaments a year and

I kept up with them until the last five were released.

The embroidery was done of these 5 for a long time,

but painting the heads stopped me in my tracks.

I am not a painter and have very little confidence in my

painting ability.

Finally I told myself to just do it and see what happens.

What happened is that I have 12 finished ornaments!

The faces aren't the best, but I painted them

and they are ready to be hung on my tree at Christmas.

The ornaments are designed so well and are so unique.

The patterns are really, really well written and are easy to follow.

 

This guy is my favorite!

 

Even the backs of the ornaments are finished

and look really nice.

Here are all 12 together.

I didn't follow any kind of color scheme

and love them all.

 

They are all made with wool felt,

as recommended by mmmcrafts.

I look forward to hanging these on my tree at Christmas

and am SO happy to have this pile off of my shelf!

Happy Quilting!

A Quick Little Quilt

During the Christmas holiday,

I needed something mindless to sew.

Out came a charm pack that I had gotten from

one of my quilt groups and a stack of left over

polka dot 10" squares.

A bunch of half square triangles were made

and sewn together into a little top.

Yesterday I finished quilting and binding this little quilt

and will my first donation quilt of the year.

The colors are a little brighter than what is shown here.

Pinwheel blocks are so fun and easy to put together.

I quilted swirls in white thread,

which went very quickly.

 

A couple of years ago I had pieced a number of 10" squares

for a small backing, but never used it.

The colors were perfect for this top.

In addition, I used what wasn't needed for the back

and cut the binding strips.  I never butt the ends together for binding,

but think it works for this little quilt.

This happy little quilt will be donated to my church

for the Baby quilt project.

Happy Quilting!

Two More Finishes for 2020

The first set of finishes for 2020 was a pair of

USA map pillows.

I'd had the panels for some time and they

were screaming loud enough to be made.

Along with the black pair of pillows,

I had ordered a gray set.

Those are now finished, too!

These panels are "Metropolis" by Moda

and are so much fun.

 

I love all of the different fonts used for the states names.

These were super fast to put together.

 

The pillow inserts were added and the pillows

are ready for use.

 

Back in March, my sister bought this panel and 

accompanying fabric and wanted to make this wall hanging.

Her job became crazy and there was no time for sewing fun.

The other day I decide to make it for her and remove this pile from

my shelf of projects waiting to be made.

This panel was pretty straight, which was nice.

Not much trimming was needed.

 

The yellow daisies add so much to the black and white panel.

It's ready to deliver to my sister.

Onto the next thing on my shelf!

Happy Quilting!

First Finish of 2020

I have a shelf in my Hidey Hole that holds projects

that are waiting to be finished.

(This is in addition to the cabinet that also holds things waiting to be made.)

One of my goals for 2020 is to empty this shelf.

The items will be moved off of the shelf and completed.

The first project off of the shelf was a two panel set of

USA maps.  A while ago Sara at My Sewing Room

made pillows from these same panels and I really liked them.

She told me what the name of the panel, which is  "Metropolis" by Moda Fabrics,

 and I was able to find them on-line.

They have been sitting on the shelf since then.

Today they came out to play 

and two are finished!

All they need are the pillow forms.

These panels made good size pillows... 20" square.

I just love the map of the United States.

 

This is square... the photographer isn't, though! :)

I wanted a pop of color and like the turquoise binding I used.

 

They were quilted with organic straight line quilting.

Once the pillow forms are purchased,

they will be stuffed and ready for display.

Happy 2020!

May all of your quilting dreams be completed!

 

Twenty-twenty!!

Goodbye 2019!

Hello 2020!

May this New Year be filled with as much joy,

creativity and blessings as you can hold.

Mindless Sewing

With Christmas and family celebrations,

I had not been in my Hidey Hole for a while.

I needed something quick and mindless to work on for

short snippets of time.

Out of the cabinet came a charm pack

and left over polka dot squares

and the making of half square triangles began.

This little baby quilt came together in no time.

 

There was little thought of where the pieces would be placed.

Just sew and sew.

 

I think I have something that will work for the backing,

so I hope to get this quilted and done quickly.

Mindless sewing is the best!

Happy Quilting!

Christmas Stitching

Merry Christmas

one day late!

Or, should I say,

Happy Boxing Day?

Anyway,

I hope your day was just as you wanted it to be yesterday.

My family and I enjoyed a very leisurely day...

late breakfast,

opened the couple of gifts we had,

talked and talked,

and then spent the afternoon watching 

Christmas movies.

While we were watching movies,

I was sewing binding to the back of my

Plaidish quilt.

This was quilted last week and was waiting

to be trimmed and have the binding added.

 For some reason, I am into very simple quilting

these days.

Just straight lines with my walking foot.

 

I love the serendipity of this whale.

You'd think I fussy cut this guy,

but I didn't!

 

This quilt was made from all scraps...

something that hasn't happened in a long time.

It will be put away for a donation when needed.

Happy Quilting!

Old Tablecloth Made New

Years ago my mom,

who was not a quilter per say,

made my siblings and I log cabin tablecloths for Christmas.

It had to be at least 25 years ago.

She did a beautiful job making these tablecloths.

Since she was not a quilter,

she didn't put a backing on these or quilt them.

They were just the blocks, sewn together and hemmed.

I loved mine and used it every year.

After a while, the seams frayed and began to come apart.

I put it with my Christmas things,

but hadn't used it in years because it was coming apart.

This year I pulled it out,

fixed the seams,

found a backing and quilted it.

The tablecloth is repaired and ready for use again.

The fabrics she used are so pretty and festive.

The border is actually a dark green and not black.

There was another border, but that had to be removed.

I was able to use some of it for the binding.

 

I think she may have used the "Quilt in a Day"

method by Eleanor Burns to make these blocks.

 

I was able to use a new border template to quilt the border.

 

It is a little wavy and wonky because of use and the seams

that needed repairing, but I'm pleased with the results.

 

It's stabilized and reinforced and should

last another 25 years now!

This is a funny napkin from a Christmas party.

What did you ask Santa for this year?

 

Merry Christmas!

Ocean Waves Finished

As I started typing this post,

I realized that I had not named this quilt

I've made for my daughter and son-in-law.

It's the colors of the ocean and looks like waves,

so it will be called

"Ocean Waves".

Ocean Waves is finished!

This pattern is "Canyon Dance"

and this is the fourth or fifth quilt I've made with this pattern.

I love it!

 

(It is square... the photo is wonky!)

My daughter loves these colors,

as do I. It was fun playing with all of these batiks.

 

I started not to use this photo,

but it's like the sun shining on the water.

It's a queen size quilt, so it's a bit difficult to photograph.

 

Nothing to match but the block corners on this one.

And the curves are easy.... honestly!!

 

The backing is from my stash and leftovers from the quilt!

I hope to have one more finish for 2019,

but this may be it.

Not a bad way to finish the year if it is!

Happy Quilting All!

2019 VCU Ormanents

For those who may not know,

my oldest daughter, Doodlebug, has Down Syndrome.

She's 33 years old and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES VCU basketball.

(VCU is our local college team. My husband and younger daughter are grads.)

Doodlebug has gotten to know the basketball coaches and staff over the years

and each year she and I make ornaments for them.

It's a challenge to find ornaments that she can make, or at least

help me make. We've been doing this for 10 years, so there is quite a collection!

This years ornaments were so much fun to make!

It went together quickly and turned out so cute.

I saw the idea on Pinterest and knew they would be cute

in black and gold.

 

My daughter had a blast making them and can't wait to hand them out

to everyone who receives one.

 

People have told her they wait for their new ornament every year.

In fact, a staff member, who is a good friend,

moved this past year and asked if he could still get an ornament.

:)

Merry Christmas!

Poinsettia Pillow Finish

I love Poinsettias.

I love Pillows.

When I saw this Bucilla kit for a poinsettia pillow,

I was sold.

The kit called for the panel to be sewn to a

piece of 10" felt to make the pillow.

Who makes just a 10" pillow?

I added fabric and a zipper back, bound it

 and it's finished.

It was more difficult finding a fabric that would go with the poinsettia

than I thought it would be,

and I am super pleased with what I found.

This fabric is from "Splendid" by Robin Pickens for Moda.

 

This kit went together very quickly

and is a newer kit by Bucilla.

 I do need to get a larger pillow form.

I'm using what I had on hand for the photos.

 

This is a better photo of the gorgeous fabric.

Guess who might have ordered a fat quarter bundle of this line??

I have two tree skirts to make in the upcoming year!

 

 

Noel hopped on here to say Merry Christmas!

Happy Quilting!