Hand Pieced QAL Mini Quilt Finish

My hand pieced quilt is finished! Whew! A big thank-you goes to Patty at Elm Street Quilts and Kristin at Simple.Handmade.Everyday for hosting this event. Their tutorials were so thorough and helpful, and I appreciate their kindness and dedication to teaching the timeless craft of hand piecing. I enjoyed being in the QAL with so many other participants and saw many beautiful blocks during this process. Most mentioned how relaxing it was to hand piece. For me it was not that relaxing - LOL! I think I'll save my close handwork for cross stitching and crochet. 😉

Hand piecing has been a pretty intense project for me. After working on the first block, I was about to quit because my hands and neck were sore! I persevered and got my hand sewing muscles on board. The blocks were increasingly complicated, and I learned to sew through seams, not over them. Over time my hand stitching became a little more consistent.

Simple sashing and borders seemed appropriate for these traditional blocks. I was going to add cornerstones in the teal, but I decided to just use that color in the binding instead.

Hand quilting seemed daunting, but I took inspiration from Janine Marie at Quilts from the Little House, who has mad quilting skills and did a fascinating series of posts of her hand-quilting career. So I plunged right in. It took several nights in front of the TV, but I finally finished. I sandwiched the quilt with regular batting, and after consulting with Patty, I realized I should have used thin batting, because for me it made small stitches impossible. So my quilting has a few big, irregular hand stitches - hah! However, as my my Mom used to say, "it'll never be seen from a galloping horse!"

Detail of my grandmother's quilt

I am including a photo of a detail of one of the quilts my dear Granny Mitchell made. Look at that beautiful design she quilted! Her stitches were tiny and evenly spaced. After learning how to make a quilt by hand, I cannot fathom how she had time to make the many quilts that my family still enjoys today!

This little quilt will reside in the guest bedroom with the Scandi throw pillow I made with the same colors.

Quilt details:
9 blocks hand pieced and hand quilted

Finished size:
22" x 22"

Fabrics used:
Desert Bloom Mesa Ivory Plus by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda
Floral Scatter in Teal, Bouquet in Red, and Floral Scroll in Brown, from Bloom Collection by Makower UK
Orange solid from my stash

Background: Off white background from my stash

Binding: Turquoise - Linen Texture Collection by Makower UK

This post is linked to Patty's Hand Pieced QAL Grand Prize Linkup. Click on the link to see many beautiful versions of this quilt!

2019 Goals and OMG for January

It is already the fourth day of January! Goals for 2019 have been rolling around in my mind for many days, so am listing them as well as my One Monthly Goal for January.

1. Catalog my UFOs (unfinished objects), WIPs (works in progress), and ideas for quilts to compile a master list of quilts to be finished or started.
I printed the project sheets pictured above last year and completely forgot about them. They will be helpful for me to see at a glance how far along I am with each project.

Here is this list so far:

1. A baby quilt for my future grandson, nicknamed "Little Bear" by my daughter. He is due in May, and my daughter wants a quilt similar to the one pictured above that I made for our 2-1/2 year-old granddaughter, detailed here. I have the fabric in the colors she wants - blue, gray, green, mustard, and burgundy. This is my One Monthly Goal for January.
2. Craftsman quilt I blogged about here, for my husband. I have The pieces are cut and some blocks are sewn.
3. A quilt for granddaughter #1, who has requested a "green" quilt. She is 17, and I made her a quilt when she was 12, but I suspect it has been folded and put away in her closet - hah!
4. Scrappy Trip Around the World, like this one made by Margaret Ferguson whose feed I follow on Instagram (@quiltsbymargie47). This should be a great project for my scraps.
5. Another Mercyful quilt for Bernie at Needle and Foot. I blogged about the ones I sent to her in this post.
6. Participate in the Hand-Pieced QAL hosted by Patty and Kristin. It has been a long time since I practiced block construction by hand, and it should be very enjoyable. If you'd like to hone your hand-piecing skills, read all about it here.
7. Antique quilt revival, blogged about here. This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.
8. Lori Holt's Vintage Christmas Sampler I have the book and intend to start early!
9. Texas Flag quilt by Aspen Tree - I have the pattern, and the fabrics are cut.
10. Farm Girl Vintage quilt I started in 2015, to be used as a runner across the comforter in our guest bedroom. All the blocks are completed.
11. Make little quilts for my kitties. They are all such good helpers and deserve their own pallets!
12. Moorland Stripe Crocheted Blanket by Attic24 - I have all the yarn and the pattern.
13. A crocheted scarf using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn in Wheat. I started it this week and also want to make an afghan from the remaining yarn.
14. Vintage Christmas Sampler cross stitch by Lori Holt. I have the book and threads, and am waiting for the oatmeal 10-count linen to be back in stock.

2. Help my husband build fabric and yarn shelves on the wall where yarns and needlework supplies are pictured above.
My fabric stash is currently stored in the closet, and my theory is that if I can see what I have, I won't order more. Like many other quilters, I start the year with a commitment to use fabric on hand and refrain from new purchases, but my resolve usually falters by February!

3. Purge and organize my scrap jar and scrap bins.
When my mother-in-law passed away in 2017, I inherited a beautiful glass canister that has been perfect for scrap storage. But it's full! The scrap bins are a mess inside and have no room for additional scraps. If I organize and purge SIWNU (Scraps I Will Never Use - I made that up!), I will be more likely to use scraps in future projects. Cleaning and organizing makes me happy!

4. Keep "tweaking" my sewing room arrangement to make everything easy to find and convenient.
Rearranging furniture keeps me motivated and excited. I recently turned my cutting/ironing table around to make it more accessible, and it made such a difference! To make the table surface less crowded, I removed the iron and put it on the table behind it (next to my sewing machine). Now my cutting table is exclusively for cutting. My husband made the ironing table as well as a table to hold my laptop, notebooks, pens, and craft items. He enjoys carpentry in his building, and I am happy to provide him with projects!

5. Complete repairs on the vintage quilt I purchased last year and blogged about here.
This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.

6. Create items for purchase in my Etsy shop and add a second shop.
My plan is a Christmas-themed shop with quilts, table runners, mug mats, etc., and another shop to sell quilts similar to the hand-tied ones I made for my kids. As I become more interested in quilt repair, I may offer that service in my shop. We shall see!

7. My garden goals for spring are to have a smaller garden and to plant more flowers.:
During last summer's heat, part of our large garden sweltered, and it was difficult to keep up with watering. This year we will reduce the size for easier maintenance. Last year I planted two packets of zinnias and was astounded at the abundance of butterflies and bees that came to play. We got as much enjoyment from watching them as from the vegetables! So one area of the garden will be reserved just for flowers. Here is the schedule::
Planting in March:

• Tomato plants
• French Breakfast Radish
• Lettuce

Planting in April:

• Seeds purchased from Burpee: Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, Crimson Sweet Watermelon, Butterstick Zucchini, Contender Green Bush Bean, Scarlet Runner Pole Bean, Dragon's Tongue Wax Bush Bean, Supremo Cucumber, Armenian Sunrise Cantaloupe, Garden Sweet Pea, Mammoth Dill, Lady Lavender
• Cowpeas - purple pod and black-eye
• Bell pepper plants
• Zinnias

8. Walk more!
We both got FitBits last year and began walking early mornings. We started a little too strong, walking 5+ miles per day, and my husband developed a knee problem. The doctor fixed him right up, but we lost a couple of months in the process. When we began again, we had more realistic goals, and now generally walk 2-1/2 to 5 miles, four or five times a week. Too much rain this winter created too much mud on our dirt roads, so walking was more difficult. Holidays and colder temperatures have slowed down our motivation. We have a few days of sunshine coming up, so we hope to start walking again.

Here's hoping we all accomplish our goals in 2019! I am linking this post to Patty's One Monthly Goal for January.

Cat Nap Quilt

This Cat Nap quilt for our granddaughter's 14th birthday was created around a Cats in the Library panel made by Timeless Treasures. She loves kitties and recently rescued a cat from a shelter, so I wanted to make her a quilt to cuddle with "Griffin" the kitty.

Griffin

Close-up of some of the cat panel blocks

I was able to cut 8 blocks from the cat panel and had originally intended to make these Scrappy Susannah blocks to surround them, but I decided to do regular 16-patch blocks instead. In retrospect I wish I had done the Scrappy Susannah blocks or at least placed the white squares inside the blocks for more interest, but I still like the way it turned out.

For the back I framed blocks of leftover fabric in navy.

The quilt shrunk 2 inches in width and 4 inches in length when I washed it

Quilt size: 46w X 61h
Fabrics: Pool and Moutarde Grunge, an orange Grunge (Burnt Orange?), PB&J Daisy Mae Picnic in floral yellow, and white and navy grunge-like fabrics purchased at Hobby Lobby (I will find the names and update them here). The white reminded me of Basic Grey Grunge White Paper, but it is soft and almost gauze-like.
Backing: Mostly white "grunge" by Hobby Lobby plus leftover fabrics from blocks
Binding: Navy "grunge" by Hobby Lobby
Quilting: Diagonal straight lines on two corners and wavy lines for the remainder
Thread: Superior So Fine #50 Genoa Gray
Things I Learned: Washing a quilt prior to giving it away is important. I haven't washed a quilt prior to gifting it since 2013, when the bright fabrics on a quilt I intended to give away "bled" badly onto the white fabric. I kept the quilt and tried in vain to remove all the spots of color. I don't even notice the spots now! So I washed this quilt first and was very happy with the result. There was "no bleeding"! The navy softened to a dark faded denim-look after laundering and the quilt became very soft and snugly.

Scrappy American Flag Finish

The Scrappy American Flag was completed a couple of weeks ago, but I am late getting a blog post up!

I have yet to sew a hanging sleeve on the back, and it is currently "tacked" onto the kitchen wall.

Many thanks to Julia at Running Stitch Quilts for a great pattern! And thanks to Amy of Diary of a Quilter for her American Flag Quilt tutorial (another great pattern!), where I learned the proper way to hang an American flag vertically is with the blue/star field in the upper left corner.

Jack loves the new backdrop to his handsome-ness!

I primarily used 2-1/2 inch scraps of Moda's Freedom by Sweetwater and filled in with scraps from stash. I loved fussy-cutting a couple of my favorite states!

The back is from a layer cake of Moda Independence Trail.

Binding is a nice navy grunge-ish fabric I found at Hobby Lobby!

Currently working on a quilt for our soon-to-be 14 year-old granddaughter!

Debbie's Prayer Quilt

The prayer quilt for my niece is finally finished! My niece is a strong Christian, and I positioned the three magenta and violet crosses to serve as a remembrance of the three crosses of Calvary - I think she will like the significance.

Pattern illustration

As I mentioned when I blogged about it (almost 3 weeks ago!) I used Plus Quilt pattern by Jeliquilts.

I pieced the back with some leftover cuts from the fabrics (listed below)

I particularly love this bird fabric and the bit of whimsy it adds. And it was very gratifying to audition it and see it contained the colors from the other fabrics.

I made a few errors and had to rip seams a few times, even with the binding! The Kona magenta fabric I originally intended for the binding raveled too much after all the chaos, so I looked to my purple stash to find something that would work. Lo and behold I had a 1/2 yard print that was perfect!

I stitched crosses in each corner

The quilting was mostly straight line, with some wavy lines on the border.

Last time I talked to my niece, she was feeling stressed about her upcoming treatments following her mastectomy, so my wish is that this prayer quilt will give her some comfort.

Quilt Details:
Finished size: 45"x45"

Quilt Front:
Collage Bird Dot Cream by Carrie Bloomston for Windham
Bohemia Teal Dots by Julie Paschkis for In The Beginning
Kona: Snow, Ash, Violet, and Magenta
On a String in Lime by Valentina Ramos for Robert Kaufman
Unknown dark eggplant fabric Made in Japan

Binding: Mosaic Purple by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery
Backing: Collage Bird Dot Cream by Carrie Bloomston for Windham, Kona Ash

Thread used:
Superior Threads So Fine Genoa Gray

A Mug Mat for My DIY Guy

After I made myself a mug rug, I decided to surprise my DIY Guy with one. "Mug Rug" didn't sound quite manly enough, so his is a Mug Mat.

His favorite "OU Sooners" coffee mug is crimson, so shades of red, black, and gray will compliment it!

This time I did regular straight-line quilting instead of quilt-as-you-go. After taking my usual long time choosing fabric, I finished it all up in less than an hour - almost instant gratification!

The back is solid red. Although it appears blue in the photo, the binding is a Kona gray.

I'm linking to Cynthia's Oh Scrap!

First Finish of 2016 - QAYG Mug Rug

Taking inspiration from Diann's tutorial on Little Penguin Quilts, I not only made my first mug rug but also my first quilt-as-you-go project! Diann's beautiful mug rug was featured as a guest post on Cyndy's Oh Scrap! back in February, but I didn't see it until I read Diann's Best of 2015 post.

Last year I had every intention of making a mug rug like Christine's and even downloaded the pattern from Craftsy but I forgot about my plans as the year progressed. I loved the look and simplicity of Diann's so I decided to try it first.

I used scraps for the front and for the binding and pulled a larger piece from my stash for the back. The amount of time I spent picking out scraps to use was ridiculous - I had a lot of trouble deciding, so maybe that's a sign I need to make more! Although I had many stops and starts removing stitches and re-positioning fabric, I finally got the hang of things and finished in about two hours.

I followed Diann's example and quilted diagonal lines

I finished it yesterday evening, and loved having it on my sewing table waiting for me this morning! I'm linking to Cyndy's Oh Scrap!

Don't forget to enter my End of Year Giveaway!