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October 31, 2014

Split Nine Patch Finished!

I love this finish!  Every time I hang it up for pics, I just stare at it.  It's absolutely beautiful!!

Nelson says, "Hi!"
There are so many pieces involved.  One-hundred eighty-two blocks.  Twelve pieces per block.   For a grand total of 2,184 pieces.  I started piecing it as my leader/ender project in July, 2013.  I believe it's final measurements are 102" x 108".  I seem to see it with a lightweight denim backing because it screams, "old-fashioned" quilt to me, which of course means it needs to go on picnics at the park.  I see a lot of sunny, fun family days in it's future!



October 29, 2014

Halloween Quilt

I made this quilt a few years ago for my sister-in-law, Carly. I asked her to snap a few pics for me so I could share it with y'all and link up with Val for her Tuesday Archives this week.


I don't buy a lot of kits, but I really fell in love with this one. The center is a panel and it has a pieced nine patch for one of the inner borders.


Those pumpkin cornerstones were part of the panel, I believe (if I'm remembering right!). 


I love how playing with borders really can add character to a panel quilt.


Carly thrilled me when she told me last Halloween that my little nephew saw this when she pulled it out to do the Halloween decorating and begged to have it on his bed for the season.  :)  Love it when the little ones enjoy my quilts!

Go see what everyone else is sharing this week at Val's Tuesday Archives linky party!


Sagittarius Done!

Now that I finished up the Split Nine Patch, I was able to work on the Zodiac Stars again last night. I managed to finish up Sagittarius....


I can be such a perfectionist!  That one side doesn't quite match up so I'm seriously considering ripping it out and doing it again.  But overall, i really love it, so for now, it can stay.  Hopefully tonight I can do the three little starlets out of these blues and then move on to the next block.

Also, I finished up my sample blocks for my new leader/ender project, Patches and Pinwheels.  Read more about it here.
 
 
Each block measures 6-1/2".  I seriously love these little blocks.  The pinwheel goes together so fast compared to the 36-patch!  It makes a nice break before the next patch block. 

What are y'all working on this week???  Come see everyone's projects over at Freshly Pieced.

October 28, 2014

Let's Talk About Leaders/Enders

If you've been following along, you know that I just recently finished up the center of my leader/ender project for last year, the Split Nine Patch.


I actually finished putting the borders on it last night, so I'll so the finished top to you on Friday.  But that being said, it's now time for a new leader/ender project.

If you're not familiar with leaders/enders, Bonnie Hunter explains them really well on her blog and you can read all about them here.  Basically, you have a side project that you use to end your chain piecing on your regular projects.   Something simple that you can keep a stack of next to your sewing machine works best.  Over time, those little pieces add up, which is how I came to complete that beauty up above!

As I was assembling that top, I took a good look at my scrap baskets and determined that my 1-1/2" box is overflowing.  Thus I needed a project that used up 1-1/2" pieces.  I really have been wanting a postage stamp style quilt and originally thought I'd just do a simple 36-patch block.  But I wanted it to be a bit more interesting.  This is what I came up with:

I'm calling it Patches and Pinwheels.  (Yes, I seem to do best with simple graph paper.)  So what I've decided is to work with a controlled palate and add some pinwheels between the 36-patches.  If you're interested in joining in, the 36-patches are made with 1-1/2" squares/strips.  The pinwheels are 3-1/2" HST's.

Reminder, an easy way of doing your HST"s is to use the Easy Angle Ruler.  If you are making 3-1/2" HST's, you layer 3-1/2" strips of your two fabrics, right sides together, and use the ruler to cut them at the 3-1/2" marks.  The ruler removes the dog ears prior to sewing so there is no waste.   I love this ruler since I know that I'm making 3-1/2" HST's that I can just go to my 3-1/2" box to pull the strips.  Nice and logical, just like I like it.

Please let me know if you want to join me in this leader/ender (or any other leader/ender) challenge!  Maybe we can do a monthly link up to show our progress. 

Hope you get a lot of sewing time in today!!

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation!




October 27, 2014

Pink Scrap Quilt

Here's another quilt that I made a few years ago and have been wanting to share with yall. And the Blogger's Quilt Festival is the perfect excuse for pulling it out and taking pics.  I made this quilt for my daughter, Cassidy, a few years back.  


There is a pattern that I picked up called Cake Mix, by Cozy Quilt Design.  I decided I could use up the scraps that I had from making a quilt for my niece in using this pattern.  The pinks and purples were perfect for Cassidy.  


As you can see, it is a fairly simple quilt, but the effects of placement are wonderful.  It calls for 10" squares (layer cake), 2-1/2" strips (jelly roll), and a bit of yardage for the matching squares and inner border.  I used up the scraps I had instead and used a bunch of smaller squares for the border.


Isn't it awesome how using just one cohesive fabric makes a scrappy quilt really pop??


At the time, my daughter was really into peace symbols so I quilted it with an all-over design of daisies and peace symbols.


It remains one of my favorite patterns and I've made it up in several different ways.  But this one remains a favorite


And best of all, the then 12-year old little girl loved it!!!  :)


AmysCreativeSide.com

Flintstone's Quilt

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a bit and going to enter a few quilts into the Blogger's Quilt Festival this year.  I've been wanting to document all of my quilts on my blog anyway, so this is giving me that little push I needed to do that.  First up is my Flintstone's quilt.

Flintstone's quilt 

I always see panels that I love, but I hate the look of straight "panel" quilts.  I can't get myself to make them.  I have to change them up and make them my own.  That's what happened with this quilt.  I fell in love with the Flintstone's fabric when it first came out.  I cut the larger pieces.  Then fussy cut some of the smaller squares and framed them....
 
Center of Flintstone's Quilt 

Then used a bunch of fabrics from the Flintstone's line with a few extras and made a variety of filler blocks.
 
Side of Flintstone's Quilt 

The hardest part is getting all of the sizes to work out.  Using the design wall was a lifesaver.
 
Top of Flintstone's Quilt  
 But in the end, the design came out perfect and shows off the fabric in the line without looking like your typical "panel" quilt.

Flintstone's Quilt 

Cassidy claimed this one as soon as she saw it on the design wall!  I don't even remember my kids watching the Flintstone's!  You'd think I'd have been able to keep this one myself!
 
Flinststone's Quilt  
I'm entering this one into the original design category over at Amy's Creative Side.  Please do take a look around and look at everyone's wonderful creations!  Don't forget to vote!!


AmysCreativeSide.com

Linking this post up with Val's Quilting Studio for her Tuesday Archives linky party featuring panel quilts!  Come see people's creative use of panels!


Split Nine Patch Center

Yay!! I got all the blocks together for my split nine-patch!!

 
It may not look like it, but there are 182 blocks there, 6-1/2" squares.  Each block has 12 pieces in it.  For a grand total of 2,184 pieces!!  I do love using up my scraps.


Here's a closer shot of the pinwheel and a look at the blocks.  Each block has (6) 2-1/2" squares and (3) 2-1/2" HST's.  The design is all about the placement of the blocks.  This was my leader/ender project over the last year.  All that I have left are the borders and I'm hoping to get those on it tonight.  


I've started a new leader/ender project and I'll share more about that tomorrow for Scraptastic Tuesday.  Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times and Quilt Story.

Also linking up for the Challenge Update with Jo at Jo's Country Junction.

October 26, 2014

Sunday Stash 10/26/14

I finally received my Aurifil thread from Massdrop!!  Is it crazy that I get so excited about thread??


The price was amazing so I picked up two different sets.  Aren't the colors yummy??


And the timing is just right because I really need to do the hand stitching on my Rotaries in Bloom and some of these threads are perfect for it.

I also finally broke down and bought the book, "Quilty Fun," by Lori Holt.  I've been wanting it since it first came out.  Connecting Threads had it on 40% off sale so I grabbed it.


And finally, since I've been wanting to try out the solids from Connecting Threads for a while, I went ahead and purchased this Lemon Yellow at the same time.  Their price is only $4.96/yard so I grabbed two yards.


Y'all, the quality of this fabric is impressive.  I compared it to a piece of Kona and liked this better.  Then I showed both pieces to a non-quilter, non-sewer and just judging by look and feel, they chose this too.  I highly recommend this fabric!!

That's it for this week.  I'll be linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.

Molli Sparkles


October 24, 2014

Oliso Iron - Massdrop

I just have to share!  I'm so excited.  I've been wanting an Oliso iron for years.  The price has always deterred me.  But.....Massdrop has one right now and it is starting at $114.99 and can drop as low as $106.99!!!

 https://www.massdrop.com/r/ZP8L4K

So I'm letting all of you know, just in case there is someone else out there like me that's been holding off, now's the time!!


October 23, 2014

Split Nine Patch Progress

I got four more rows added to my split nine patch last night!!

You can really see the design now.  That's eight rows down and only six to go.  I really want this finished by the weekend.  We'll see!!

 

What I'm Reading - Time's Edge

I'm a reader.  From the time I was a barely talking and read the end of the movie to my parents, "The End, End, End," to today, I've always been a reader.  I have a link in my sidebar to the books I'm currently reading but I've really been wanting to share more about them here.  So here is the very first, "What I'm Reading," post.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1477825827/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1477825827&linkCode=as2&tag=aquichi-20&linkId=3QEMJZR5UMJH2ILQ

Late one night, I happened to finish up a book that I was reading, and was looking for something on my Kindle that would capture my interest.  I found a book by Rysa Walker called Timebound and I was sold.  It is about a teenage girl who's grandmother informs her that she is a time traveller and that the girl has inherited the ability.  Nothing different than a ton of books with the same idea.  But where this series really makes it's mark for me is that it takes you back in history and gives you an interesting look at different times.  In Timebound's case, it was taking you back to the Chicago World's Fair and dealing with H. H. Holmes, America's first serial killer.

Time's Edge is book two in this series and was just released on Tuesday.  If it tells you anything about what I thought about the first book, I pre-ordered this book and as soon as I received the notification from Amazon that Time's Edge was delivered to my Kindle, I started reading it.  And sure enough, we start out traveling to the "grassy knoll."

Here's what Amazon has to say about Time's Edge...

To stop her sadistic grandfather, Saul, and his band of time travelers from rewriting history, Kate must race to retrieve the CHRONOS keys before they fall into the Cyrists’ hands. If she jumps back in time and pulls the wrong key—one that might tip off the Cyrists to her strategy—her whole plan could come crashing down, jeopardizing the future of millions of innocent people. Kate’s only ally is Kiernan, who also carries the time-traveling gene. But their growing bond threatens everything Kate is trying to rebuild with Trey, her boyfriend who can’t remember the relationship she can’t forget.
As evidence of Saul’s twisted mind builds, Kate’s missions become more complex, blurring the line between good and evil. Which of the people Saul plans to sacrifice in the past can she and Kiernan save without risking their ultimate goal—or their own lives?

So far, Amazon readers have given Time's Edge a 5 Star rating.  I'm not done yet, however, I am enjoying it thoroughly.  If you enjoy this type of book, take my word for it and go get Timebound and Time's Edge.  You won't be disappointed!!

 

October 22, 2014

WIP Wednesday - Split Nine Patch

I've had so much going on for Cassidy this week that I've had very little sewing time.  That being said, I have manage to get the first four rows sewn together for my split nine-patch leader ender project.

 
I also have the next two rows pinned and at the ready next to my sewing machine so I can attack it after work.  This was Bonnie's leader/ender challenge from July of last year.  I finally got all 182 blocks done over the weekend and laid out so I could get the top together.  



This quilt has it all:  Texas prints, Christmas and Halloween fabric, kid prints, script prints, just everything!  I kinda see it as a picnic quilt.  I'm really tempted to back it in a lightweight denim.  We'll see.

Jo over at Jo's Country junction has a great challenge to pull a Bonnie UFO to try to finish prior to the start of the new mystery.  This is the only Bonnie UFO I have so it's the one I'm going to work on.  Hope to have it done pretty quickly.


What I am Sleeping Under

Jo over at Jo's Country Junction is hosting a fun linky party this week.  She wants to know what you're sleeping under.  So I snapped a few pics to show you.

Here's my bed.  You see that I have two quilts on my bed, and I do sleep under both.  I like the house cold at night and I curl up under both of these beauties.

 
This one is a fat quarter friendly quilt or it can be made with a layer cake, a jelly roll and a tiny bit of yardage.  I made it years ago so I can't remember the name of the pattern, but it is pretty easy to figure.(Edit:  Thanks to Helen, the name of the pattern is Cake Mix from Cozy Quilt Designs).

 
As you can see, I love the blue and yellow combination.  This next quilt was a swap type of quilt.  I cut out the center rectangles then mailed them to the next person to add a border who then mailed it on, etc.  Very basic but very pretty.

As an added "bonus," I snuck into Cassidy's room to see which of her many quilts she had on her bed.  Yes, my 18-year old daughter loves her Flintstone's quilt!!  
 
 
Again, I made this one a few years ago.  Still a favorite around here.

So that's it.  What are you sleeping under?  Come join in the linkup at Jo's Country Junction.



October 21, 2014

Leaders/Enders - Scraptastic Tuesday

Hi y'all!  I love scraps.  In all the years I've been sewing, I've never been able to get rid of any leftover fabric if I felt it was big enough to use in something else.  That being said, I have a TON of scraps.  And until about a year ago, those scraps sat in bins.  Waiting.  Just waiting.


 
Sound familiar???  So since She Can Quilt and Mrs. Sew and Sow have started this fabulous new linky called Scraptastic Tuesdays, I was inspired to stat sharing how I've started to wrangle the scrap monster.

Step One:  Admit that you have a problem!  I know, I know, sounds cliche' right?  But it's true.  You can be a scrap hoarder or a scrap user.  But you have to admit to yourself that you've been just collecting scraps before you can get yourself to start USING them!!

Step Two:  Start cutting your scraps into usable sizes.  This step held me up for a long time.  What size should I trip them to?  What if I cut something down and later needed it a bigger piece?  But the simple fact is, you haven't been using it because it's in the dreaded scrap bin.  If you have it sorted and cut into usable sizes, you may actually use it!!!  

So what's a usable size?  Depends on the quilts you make.  I cut mine in half-inch increments from 1-1/2" - 3-1/2".  Smaller pieces get cut into squares.  Anything longer than 10" gets cut into strips.  Then it all gets sorted into plastic bins like this:

 
Step Three:  USE THEM!!

Once I started getting my scraps cut into usable sizes, I was at a loss as to what to do with them.  I stumbled across Bonnie Hunter and read about her scrap system and just about the time I was starting to tackle my scrap problem, she was starting a leader/ender challenge.  I took that as a sign that I was supposed to start there.

The basic premise of a leader/ender is that when you are doing your regular sewing, you end your stitching with sewing two pieces of fabric together (like 2 - 2" squares) and leave it under your presser foot.  You start your next sewing session by feeding it directly behind this piece, like chain piecing.  Then when you end, you feed another set of scraps through.  Thus the scraps become your leaders and enders when stitching.  You use less thread and are sewing a project in between all your normal stitching.

The first leader/ender project I tackled was a split nine patch.  I just finished the last block that I needed over the weekend.

Here's the stack, all 182 of them.  They finish at 6-1/2" and it's enough for a queen size top.  There are so many different layouts you can do with this block.  Think of them as giant half square triangles.  I started assembling rows and here is a glimpse at the first four rows together...

 
 I've learned quite a bit working through this leader/ender project and have already started another one.  My 1-1/2" box was overflowing so I decided I'm going to do some 36 patch blocks.  This first leader/ender was "anything goes" as that is the way Bonnie teaches it.  I discovered that I really prefer a more controlled scrappy look, like I used in my Scrap Jar Stars quilt.  So this new leader/ender is going to be a more controlled palate.  

Simple.  Scrappy.  My favorite!  :)



October 20, 2014

Design Wall Monday 10/20/14

I have been so busy this last week! Here's a look at everything I have had going this week.

First up, I got all the piecing done on my Rotaries in Bloom.  All that's left is the handwork.  These are for the Quilter's Garden Row Swap being hosted by Deana at Dreamworthy Quilts.  I'll be keeping this one...

Swapping this one....
 
 
And keeping these three...

I finished these blocks for my niece's graduation quilt, Zodiac Stars.  
 
I finished the last of my split nine patch leaders/enders project.  All 182 of them.  Assembling the rows on that one now so I should have that top finished to show you this week.
 
 And I started piecing the Sagittarius block for the Zodiac Quilt.
 
 
See?  Busy, busy week!  What have you been working on?  Go see what everyone has on their design wall over with Judy at Patchwork Times.

Also linking up with Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday.

Fresh Poppy Design