Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Minis and More: Summer Star quilt top


In an attempt to make up my mini charms and charm packs into wallhangings or table toppers, I am going to participate in the Minis and More Parade. (See link in sidebar for more info.) Time will tell how far I get with this endeavor : )



Here is my July entry. Summer Star - perfect pattern for July made up with Prairie Paisley II by Minick & Simpson for Moda,perfect fabric for July. Love how the top turned out! As I wanted a larger wall hanging, I used a regular charm pack (5" squares) to make my Summer Star. This pattern pieced very quickly. Pattern available here - Etsy.

So Happy my points came out a lot better this time (probably because I took more care with my piecing and trimming). I won't be able to get it quilted until next week but I'm feeling proud of myself for getting the top done. I have wanted to make a patriotic wall hanging for several years. Step one completed! 

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!!!




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Friday, June 26, 2015

Baby Sea Stars quilt

Thank you all for stopping by and giving your input regarding binding. 
The giveaway winner is Debbie - Sheltered Stitches. Congratulations, Debbie!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my version of Sea Stars, the newest pattern release by Cheryl over at  Meadow Mist Designs. I was excited to test another this pattern for Cheryl. First, I'm drawn to her striking designs and her patterns are always clear, simple, and easy to follow. Second, I love half-square triangles. Third, for some time I have wanted to try a quilt with the plus sign block. Fourth, I thought it would be perfect in grays and yellows, a combination I've been wanting to try even though it is not my combination of choice at all.

How do you not spend all day putting a fabric selection together for a new quilt? Go to your local quilt shop 15 minutes before they close. No kidding. Worked for me. I pulled all the yellow and gray marbles they had, went with the three of each that seemed to want to be together, and tossed in Bella white from stash. Done! Whew, that was easy : )



Cutting my 1/4 yard cuts for the baby size went very smoothly and quickly. I love Cheryl's cutting instructions. So clear and simple. Trimming the HSTs was a breeze with my new Bloc-loc ruler. Love it! Can't recommend it enough if you like to use HSTs in your quilts.




I struggled a bit with piecing. Wrong moon or something. Every block needed ripper attention for some reason or other. I persevered and pushed through the mental fog to victory. Here it is all pieced and ironed. Really like how the blocks come together and form the stars. Ingenious! Am very happy with how the fabrics play together. Sometimes you just don't know how they are going to turn out, you know what I mean?



Quilted! Wasn't sure how to quilt this one. Thought about going with my favorite wavy lines, but it just didn't seem the right choice. Thought about single straight lines on the diagonal but wasn't sure how that would go with the velour backing (and no time for experimenting). So, straight line to the right of seams in both directions. Love how it turned out! Simple, doesn't distract from the block pattern, still soft and cuddly. Quilting success!

Cheryl has another winner with Sea Stars - striking design in a clear, easy to follow pattern. I love that about her patterns.

Giveaway! Closed.
Ok, folks. Time for a giveaway. For a PDF copy of the Sea Stars patterns how about giving me some binding input. What color would you bind this quilt with - one of the grays? one of the yellows? maybe white? For one entry comment letting me know what your binding choice would be. For an additional entry let me know if you are a follower, new or old.  Please make sure I have a way of contacting you. Winner will be drawn Monday, June 29.

Sea Stars can be found on Etsy, Craftsy, and Payhip.


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Saturday, December 13, 2014

Giveaway Winner and Thank You


Thank you, everyone, for stopping by and for each and every comment. Total comments = 108! This is a record for my little blog. Thank you!!

The winner is #105 - Ella and NestaDecember 12, 2014 at 3:53 PM
I would like to make a matching pair of quilts for my daughters in 2015. They have already been waiting a while!
Congratulations, Ella and Nesta! Maybe you will use your new patterns to make your daughters' quilts this next year? 

It seems a lot of you are going to try to create more for yourself in the coming year. Please, please do. We need to take care of ourselves. Up until a couple years ago now, I quilted and gifted and quilted and gifted. I think there was one table runner that I  kept for us. Then my children started asking, "Is this one for us?" "Are you giving away this one, too?" "Mama, when can you make something for our table?" Mama, can you make me a quilt?" "Mama, can you teach me how to make a quilt?" While I think it is a very good thing for children to see their parents give, I also began slowly to see that I need to give things I make to them and myself as well as others. We (my family and myself) need to feel that love and care just as much as others (in all honesty, probably more so) or things of the heart get out of balance and the giving becomes harder and more stressful to do and the spirit of giving can become tainted with grumblings and maybe even a bit of resentfulness (just speaking from personal experience here, probably just me). 


So, in late 2012 I made us a wintery quilt and that is where I started officially quilting more specifically for my family and home :)

This year I invite you all to join me in quilting/making more for yourself or your family. Whether it's for one or eight (oh dear, what have I gotten myself into : ) or just for yourself (one of these days I would like to make myself a quilt), let's get started and see where we can go with whatever our craft is in 2015. Can we add a bit more comfort and joy to our own home and thus be more able to give true comfort and joy to others?


Also, since it seems to be the moment for a bit of honesty and before you all begin to think I'm down on gifting : ), I have to say that I do so continue to enjoy giving to others. This past year I made and gifted this lovely tote. It was a lot of fun to make and I learned a lot (just need to remember what I learned...) I knew my dear friend and sister-in-law liked this fabric so I thought I would surprise her. I'm fairly certain she thought she was going to get another runner (she has a lot of runners now that she quilts herself) and by golly! the look on her face was worth the late nights. She was so surprised and pleased with a tote bag just for herself. (Us moms do need to look out for each other.)

For those of you setting goals to finish some works-in-progress or beginning something new or tackling something else around your home, I encourage you to do a little bit every week (sometimes a little bit every day is a bit too challenging to work in). In little bits here and there a bigger goal is slowly accomplished. 

Future posts to include a wedding gifted quilt and my dear husband's 40th birthday quilt. Oh, and my 13-year-old daughter's first quilt top :)

Warm wishes to all.
Thanks for stopping by.
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