Kaffe Junk Jewelry Finished

Back in the winter my friend, Dottie, and I decided to make

a quilt similar to one we had seen at a quilt show.

We gathered our Kaffe fabrics,

ordered the white with black polka dots

and began cutting wedges.

I. LOVE. THIS. QUILT!!!!!

I showed the pattern when the top was completed

and if I had seen just the pattern,

there is no way I would have made this quilt.

No offense, but the quilt on the pattern is not my taste at all.

The booth that sold the pattern had a quilt made from Kaffe and polka dots

and Dottie and I were sold.

Mine is back from the LAQ, bound and finished!!

Between the two of us we have quite a Kaffe stash.

There aren't too many fabrics repeated in this quilt.

 

This quilt required the Creative Grids Spiderweb ruler

and was used to cut both sizes of wedges.

 

Look at this!

Another pieced backing by me!!

I've had these peacock prints for years 

and decided they would make a good backing.

 

I think I bought the fabric to make a stack and whack quilt

and that never happened.

 

One thing that surprised me was how well the binding coordinated

with the backing.  I picked it because of the front and wasn't too 

worried about how it would work with the back.

Turns out it looks great on both sides!

 

We went to town cutting the Kaffe wedges.

In fact, I have another top done and waiting to be quilted.

The border is different because I didn't have enough of the polka dot.

 

This was quilted with a swirl design with purple thread.

 

Kaffe and polka dots.

Does it get any better???

Happy Quilting!

Be well and be safe.

Wedding Gift in the Making

My younger daughters' college roommate is supposed 

to get married in July.

She is struggling, knowing that she is going to have

to postpone the wedding and doesn't want to.

I am seeing my daughter next month and am

planning on taking my traditional gift to her to

give to the couple, if the wedding is a go.

If not in July, then it will be delivered whenever the wedding does take place.

As many of you know,

my traditional wedding gift, when appropriate,

 is a Christmas tree skirt. 

I've had a layer cake of Christmas fabrics in my cabinet

for some time and decided to use this for the tree skirt.

The pattern I am making used to be on the Moda Bake shop

site, but is no longer there.

Thankfully I printed it off!

This pattern is super easy and goes together quickly.

Make hour glass blocks with 12 sets of two 10" squares... a light and a dark.

I trim them down to 8" blocks. 

For the setting triangles, I'm able to use

a 10" square cut in half on the diagonal.

Once I trim the dogears, I'll sew the blocks together.

Then the quilting will be done and binding added.

 

This guy just happened to be in the right place for cutting

on the diagonal twice!

 

I had four dark squares left over that worked well for the

setting triangles.

 

These four blocks were in the skirt originally and I did not like
it at all.  After walking away from it for a while,
I went back and realized that it was this reddish/orange fabric
that was ruining the look for me.
This fabric looked like apples or tomatoes and not ornaments.
More blocks were made and these were replace.
Ahhhh....much better!

Happy Quilting!

Red and White Irish Chain Finished

 

Years ago I had collected red fabrics to make the 

Just Takes 2 quilt

that was a 2 block a month QAL, I think.

(It felt like 2 blocks a day at times!)

I love red and white quilts, but had never made one.

I made a quarter of the quilt and a few more blocks and stopped.

I hated it!

The look was not for me at all and I did not enjoy making the various blocks.

The box of red fabrics went into a cabinet

and the finished quarter quilt went on a hanger.

On January 1, Amber of Gigi's Thimble hosted a QAL.

She was making an Irish Chain quilt,

one I've wanted to make for a while.

I knew just the fabrics to use

and out came the box of reds collected for the Just Takes 2 quilt.

Last week my LAQ called and said my Irish Chain was finished!

WOOHOO!!

Tonight I finished stitching the binding down and am thrilled with this quilt!

This is a queen size quilt and will go on my bed at some point.

 

The quilting isn't dense or too fancy.

I wanted the reds to sparkle and shine.

My LAQ did a great job!

Now, at some point during the process of making this quilt

I began thinking about what to do for the backing.

I didn't have a piece large enough in my stash and I wanted

to use what I had on hand.

Then I remembered....

 

The quarter of Just Takes 2, along with a few extra blocks

was still hanging on the back of the door in my hidey hole!

 Yes!! Finally a use for these blocks.

I found all of the larger red pieces of fabric in my stash

and started piecing a back.

This is my least favorite thing to do in quilting,

but I was determined to use these blocks and not purchase fabric.

 

 

 

It's wild, but I love it!

Pieced backings are not usually my thing,

but this one works for me.

The blocks have finally found a home and I have a red and white quilt!

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well!

Solid Fun!

It's amazing what is found when cleaning is done, isn't it??

I knew I had some solid color fabrics in my stash.

For the longest time these were just pushed onto a shelf in

one of my cabinets. I have deep cabinets, so it was a deep shelf.

No rhyme or reason to how they were stored...

just added to the piles on the shelf.

In my cleaning of my Hidey Hole,

I decided it was time to organize this shelf

and put some order to my solid fabrics stash.

WOW!!

I had a LOT of fabric stuffed onto that shelf.

After the fabrics were folded and organized,

it was time to make something with them.

Last year I bought this book after looking at a friends' copy.

Out came the book and out came some fabric.

After several days of cutting and sewing this is what I have...

The little triangles look like stained glass to me.

I just love how this has come together.

 

One thing with solids....

they sure show the wrinkles and creases.

I've ironed each piece at least twice,

but you breath on it and it wrinkles.

 

The pattern calls for the zig zag edge to be bound as is.

I may play with half triangles to see if I like that look better.

If not, I will get this top sewn together and added to the

"to be quilted" pile.

I have several other quilts picked out to make from this book.

We shall see where I am lead next!

Happy Quilting!

Be safe, be well.

Fabric Finally Used...

Isn't funny how our tastes change over the years?

As I was cleaning my Hidey Hole 

I found this piece of fabric I had ordered at least five years ago

to use in a specific quilt.

I found the book, looked at the quilt and wondered what I was thinking!

I didn't hate the quilt, but I wasn't going to take the time to make it today.

So, instead I pulled out my box of Kaffe scraps and started playing around

with the beautiful fabric.

I tried one design and it didn't work.

Then I decided Half Square Triangles.

Lots of designs can be made with HST's.

This is what came out of the play time.

 

First of all, I can't believe I've made another scrap quilt!

Maybe the coronavirus has infected my quilting thoughts

and has turned me into a scrap quilter!?!

 

 

 

I really enjoy making HST's.

They are so versatile and so relaxing to make.

The thing that is so cool about this gray/brown fabric

is that it changes colors depending on the light,

the angle or how it's positioned.  These two photos show how in some positions

it has a burgundy/maroon tint

and in others it has a teal tint.

Sometimes it looks more brown than gray.

At first I thought there was a front and back to the fabric,

but that isn't the case.

 

 

The dark background is not my usual choice,

but I'm very happy with these results

and am even happier to have another pile out of my cabinet.

My box of Kaffe scraps doesn't seem to be any less full, though.

Happy Quilting!

Be well and be safe.

 

Baby Blue is Finished

I seem to have a pattern with my quilting.

I'll spend weeks piecing and sewing tops and things together

and then I'll spend a few weeks quilting these things,

unless something needs to be finished right away.

The big quilts I make are sent to my LAQ,

but the smaller things I do myself.

Yesterday I finished quilting Baby Blue,

the baby quilt made with found four patches

and batik scraps.

The four patches were left over from a quilt I made years ago

and the dark blue in the HST's was from scraps left from a quilt backing.

Here you can see the little swirls in the dark blue batik.

 I see another quilt made with this block in my future!

 It was so fun to make!

 

This baby quilt will be donated to my church

once the isolation orders are lifted.

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well.

Hummingbird Wallhanging

This isolation has done wonders for my UFO piles!

This past week another pile was busted and out of the cabinet.

Back in 2013 I bought this kit from Keepsake Quilting.

(Are they still open? I haven't received a catalog from them in years!)

Anyway, the kit arrived and after I looked at it,

right into the cabinet it went.

Even with the laser cut pieces, I knew this was going to take

a long time and a lot of tedious work to make.

Boy, was I right!

My first problem was I didn't have a teflon pressing sheet.

 Out came my light box and a glue stick.

After hours of finding the right piece and removing it from the sheets,

the top was ready for quilting.

The kit was very well organized and was easy to follow.

Removing all of these little pieces of fabric from the sheet

was a challenge at times.  The pieces were so thin in spots,

I was afraid I'd tear the little points from the piece.

 And why do I never notice the thread until I'm writing the blog post??

 

The designer of the pattern did a beautiful job with this.

His eye is gorgeous.

 

The tail feathers were especially challenging to put together.

And whoever would make this pattern and trace and cut

the pieces themselves.... my hat is off to them!

 

This guy is now hanging in my kitchen and he's beautiful!

(and straight.... it's the photographer!)

I've been playing with my camera a little more.

This is the first peony from my yard, along with some

mock orange and rhododendron.

They all smelled so good!

 

My daughter brought this rose home to me.

I think it's one of most beautiful roses I've seen. 

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and Be well.

Baby Turquoise and Gray Quilt Finish

This stay at home time has been a good thing for the

Piles of unfinished projects in my Hidey Hole.

Today's finish was started over a year ago as a 

challenge for a quilt group I had belonged to at the time.

Progress stopped for some unknown reason.

When cleaning my Hidey Hole at the beginning of the stay at home order,

I pulled out the pile of blocks I had finished

and was determined to get this quilt done.

Done it is!

These blocks are from Lori Holt's book

"Vintage Farm Girl"

and were made from scraps left from a larger quilt I made.

 

I used straight line quilting with my walking foot for this one.

For some reason,

I have a difficult time quilting straight lines.

Mine wabble and wiggle a bit as I go along,

even when using the guide.

 

This little quilt has been washed and is waiting

for a baby.  For once I am caught up on the baby

quilts needed!

 

This color scheme is one of my favorites.

Actually, anything with turquoise is my favorite.  :)

 

I'm not a fan of sampler quilts,

but did enjoy making this one.

Another pile gone!!

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well.

Christmas Table Runner Finish

This table runner almost ended up in the trash!

Sometime last year I made all of the square in square

blocks and was so frustrated because they were not

coming together in a consistent size.

(I really dislike precut strips with the zigzag edge.)

This had been a kit I bought at a local quilt shop.

Anyway, in my cleaning frenzy at the beginning of this isolation time,

I came across this pile and was headed to the trash can with it.

Then I began to think.

All of this time was spent making the blocks.

All I needed to do was trim them to a consistent size,

adjust the inner borders and finish the thing.

The top has been done for a couple of months

and the quilting finally began over the weekend.

Here we have a finished Christmas table runner.

It's a dreary day here today,

so the colors are off.

The light fabrics aren't as yellow as they appear in the photos.

 

This ended up measuring 26"x52" so it's a good size runner.

 

This will be put away until Christmas and either be used

in my home or given as a gift.

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well.

Jacobs Ladder Top Finished

I love it when I find a pile or bag of parts and then am

able to use them in a quilt and have none left-over!

For this finished top I had to scrounge for some 

fabrics that would work and make a couple of 4 patches

so it would be the size that I wanted it to be.

I am thrilled with this result and may need to collect

fabrics of this color again to make a bed size quilt like this.

This quilt won't have borders because I don't want it to be any bigger.

It's a good baby quilt size as it is.

 

Ahhh... these colors just sooth my soul!

 

And see that bright orange spot in the block?

Isn't it so cool when things work out perfectly

and you had nothing to do with it?

 

I could not have fussy cut this any better!

Serendipity!!

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well.

Pillowcases and Snap Bags

I am the oldest of five children--2 girls and 3 boys.

My mom has 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

All of these great-grandchildren are the grandchildren of

one brother and my sister.

The one brother has 3 children and 10 of the great-grands,

all under the age of 6!

I don't get to see these little people too often because they live in

Pennsylvania and I am in Virginia.

Two years ago I made the grand nieces and nephews pillowcases.

 You'd have thought I had given them a house in the middle of Disney World.

Since I have a little more time on my hands these days,

I decided it was time for more pillowcases.

I found out what each child likes and ordered fabric for the

bodies of the pillowcases.

The fabric for the cuffs and accent pieces came from my stash.

Yesterday was pillowcase making day!

There are only eight pillowcases because two of the eight are baby girls.

 The boys are all into super heroes,

so I found some cute fabric for theirs.

One girl is into sparkle and Frozen,

one is into Sponge Bob

and one LOVES oranges!

 

The two baby girls are getting bibs,

but they aren't made yet.

 

Pillowcases are so quick and fun to make.

Next time I may make seasonal ones for them.

 

With the leftover fabric,

I decided to make the snap bags

that are popular now.

Two friends have made these and raved about

how fast and easy they are to make.

Boy, were they right!

I made all of these in about an hour and a half.

 

I may don my mask and go to the dollar store for

bandaids, tissues, etc. to put in these little bags.

Then they will be boxed up and mailed to Pennsylvania.

It was a fun sewing day yesterday!

Happy Quilting!

Be safe and be well.