July Monthly Mini

 

I borrowed this idea from many others who have done this. Scene within  a square of toile, framed with scraps. Lightly quilted. See more on Wendy’s blog, here. 

Meanwhile I finished piecing the center of my BIL’s Quilt of Valor. 

Far from perfect, but at least I managed to not cut off any of my star points. Next round, two rows of 3” blue and light nine-patches, with alternating light blocks. Fun! 

All for now,

Sandy

 

a day late

In my apparent state of (ambivalence? dimentia?) I forgot to hang my Flag Quilt yesterday.

 I took care of that this morning.

 Meanwhile, while I'm here, I thought I'd try to share with you something I came across this morning while surfing around on Pinterest.  Like many of you, I was and am still a great fan of Sue Garman, and was stunned and distressed when she passed away several years ago. I continued to follow her blog when her girls took over, a brave and challenging thing to do. What footsteps to follow! 

I always think of Sue Garman as the creator of beautiful exquisitely detailed quilts that are painstakingly planned and perfectly constructed. But the following post shows her love of scrappy quilts and off-beat quirky quilts, the type that have come into popularity more recently. And I love her take on this! I don't remember seeing this post before. Click on the link and enjoy! http://suegarman.blogspot.com/2012/11/

Also, I just realized that "Come Quilt" is another blog I lost when I inadvertently deleted my blog list a few years ago. I'm still working on finding the missing blogs. It helps to peruse the lists of others, but I'm still missing a lot. 

Here's something new. Yesterday I discovered I can no longer view more than the most recent ten blog posts on my list. The thing at the end that says "show all" ? Its not working. Not on my ipad, nor on my computer. I have gone into my settings, and the maximum blog posts it allows to be shown is ten. Can't be changed, apparently . So if I don't check my list at least once or twice a day, I may miss your post entirely. Extremely annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas how to solve it?

Sandy

 

June Mini

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Obviously, I'm a little late with my June Montly Mini. 

After my vacation, which was immediately followed by guests in my sewing room, I was so itching to sew something I actually started three little quilts at once. Two planned, and one that "just happened". I got the binding stitched down on the first one a couple nights ago (more on the other two next time) but my husband was monopolizing the computer, so I failed to post. I did try to do it on my ipad, but things weren't working out too well there, so it had to wait another day. 

Without further ado, here's my finished mini for June:

The yellows and the green are from Sheryl Johnson's Veridians and Ambers. The double pink I found in my stash.

The back is an old classic from my stash. All hand quilted, as you can see. I haven't washed this yet, as I'm enjoying a "smooth" look for now. I will try to tag on another picture once its properly crinkled up.

The inspiration is an antique doll quilt, which I found on Pinterest.

I actually have a tiny bit of the that green, which I gleaned from a cutter top a few years ago. Look closely and you can see that the maker turned it over to the "wrong" side for the binding. They look like two different fabrics, both usable as "right" if you know what I mean. I may have one or two 1 1/2' squares left of it. Oh how I wish I had just a teeny scrap more! (or a whole bolt) 

Before I forget, here's the link to The Constant Quilter (Wendy's blog) for more Montly Minis. Check it out! 

Meanwhile, I finally put the finishing touches on my Pandemic Quilt, which as you may recall was a virtual round robin with my "beach" group (so named because for the past several years - up until Covid - we rented a beach house for our annual quilt retreat.) 

I'm calling this my Moda Medallion because most of the fabrics came out of my Moda bin - which of course are not necessarily all Moda, but whatever. Years ago I would have custom quilted this by hand, as that would be the most fitting, IMO. However, these days my hand quilting is restricted to small projects such as doll quilts. This will go to a long-arm quilter - I'm thinking an overall small stipple - then will be donated to charity.

Next up are finishing up a few quilts for the VA, and then I want to get started on a Quilt of Valor for my brother in law, who served (and was injured) in Vietnam. Maybe I'll make a few stars this evening, just to celebrate the day!

love,

Sandy

Back on Board ...

... with a couple of new mini quilts for this month. 

I had already started making bunches of 9-patches with the idea of making a large throw using a double-nine-patch pattern, which I still want to make, btw.  But that was before I saw this charming little quilt on Pinterest.

I love the colors. The Browns/blues/grays, naturally ... (for me) ... but also the orange, which I have vowed lately to try to use more of. I found a couple of orange-y fabrics in my stash I thought might work well with my dull-ish 9-patches. I didn't want anything too bright.

After playing around awhile, I came up with this.

I thought it needed a little something to frame it in. I had just enough of a pretty blue and white print for two small borders, the binding, and the back.

I quilted the ditches by machine (with my handy almost-invisible Microquilter thread) and completed it with simple hand quilting, diagonally across the blocks.

But I had lots more 9-patches, so I continued to play around.

I got a little braver with the orange on this one, which ultimately turned into this.

Same quilting strategy as the first one, but all by machine. I think the blue binding sets it off.

For the photos, I once again default to my crusty old bench swing in the corner of the back yard. 

That creme and blue fabric is so soft! 

And a pretty brown floral for the little guy.

Don't forget to look at Wendy's blog for more little "Monthly Mini" quilts!

love,

Sandy

 

March Mini and other things

 

It seems like I just wrote a blog post, but that was a month ago. Good grief. Where does the time go? I have been sewing, apparently too much because I'm suddenly experiencing flair-ups of extreme pain in my right hand. My guess is tendonitis. As for cause? Most likely, rotary cutter. 

Its torture to not be able to sew. I'll have to find other activities. Walking/hiking works. But most everything else I do involves my hands. Ugh. 

Anyway, lucky for me, I have lots of scraps that can be sewn into little quilts with little to no cutting. I have little bins of these things everywhere. One is full of "waste" triangle squares, which I rename "bonus” triangle squares. I grabbed a handful of them and made this.

I had to cut the border strips and stitch on the binding, but that was before the worst flair-up. I hand quilted some simple lines down the centers of the rows and the borders, and though you can barely see the quilting, ts a sweet little quilt and feels heavenly to the touch. It will probably be a gif. 

Good news! My friend has offered for me to come over and use her electric Go-cutter, which I have been taking her up on. But I still have to pre-cut the fabric, so even that will have to wait for a bit.

Meanwhile, I was really itching to do something fun, and so I grabbed my little bin of 1 1/2 x 2 1/2" bricks. I was inspired by the darling little brick quilt Janet O gave me, and taking her idea as a starting point,  I made this:

The only thing I had to cut were the binding strips, which is actually a fake binding. I sew it on like a border, then sew the quilt together like a pillow. I had only a four inch opening to close at the end. As of now its un-quilted. I did machine quilt in the ditch between the “binding” and the body of the quilt, which gives it definition. The "binding" is a little wonky, and slightly wider than I had planned, but that's because apparently I can't do even the simplest math, and I cut the strips 1/4" too wide. The method needs a little fine tuning, but is potentially a brilliant way to fake a binding onto a tiny quilt or a mug rug. 

 

 

Here they are, relaxing on a bed of dry maple leaves. (See the little tree starts coming up?)

 

 Here's the link to Wendy's blog for more Monthly Mini's

 

 

I also made a throw for a friend, before the hand issue got out of hand (no pun intended).

I saw this on Pinterest:

 I thought it would be a good way to use up some of myy reds (or any other color, for that matter, but I have an overabundance of reds). So I started in and got this far ...

 

... then I thought I'm not so sure I want stars, so I played around with it. 

This is what I ended up with. 

 

I'm calling it Exploding Star. You can see how simple the blocks are, and there are no doubt many design possibilities.

I have an appointment with the hand doctor coming up, hopefully some PT. I have a big first-time four-day quilt retreat coming up at the end of next month. Hopefully I'll be in shape to do some sewing!

(editing seems to be on the fritz tonight. Oh well ... )

love, Sandy

A Matter of Scale

 

I think I've finally recuperated from our Quilt Show, and thought I'd go ahead and show you the two quilts I had in the general exhibit. 

 

Above is the Log Cabin I made as a sew-along with Temecula Quilt Company a couple years ago, followed by a detail shot below.

 

 This quilt was really fun to make, because it allowed me to use a ton of scraps and small pre-cuts, as well as dig into my "precious" tiny pieces and other fabrics I'd been hoarding for years. 

Compared to the detail shot, I think the full quilt looks rather bland. It does not necessarily pull the viewer in to examine it up close. The wonderful array of fabrics is completely lost at a distance. Many may pass it by in favor of the more graphic and colorful quilts. 

I believe the problem is a matter of scale. It wasn't until I finished the quilt and saw it hanging that I realized the scale was all wrong, and I wish I had either made the blocks bigger, or made the quilt smaller. The upshot, however, is that I live with this quilt up close and personal, as it is in the rotation of "cover up" quilts I use on a daily basis. Like when I take a nap, or for a throw on the end of the bed. Up close, I can examine and enjoy the individual blocks, and appreciate the array of fabrics within. But a learning lesson, for sure.

A different example of scale caught me by surprise, when I turned the corner into an exhibit bay and saw this:

 

I thought, "Oh, that looks like a miniature version of my Road to Oklahoma quilt."  Then I realized, that IS my Road to Oklahoma quilt! It just looks tiny hanging next to the larger quilt its next to. 

 

Designed by Nancy Mahoney and published in Marsha McClosky's book "A Dozen Variables" close to fourty years ago. Ageless! The design is paramount in this quilt, and the individual fabrics are secondary. The scale of the blocks is perfect. 

Following are a few more quilts, just to highlight the amazing talent and variety of styles used by the quiltmakers in our guild.

 

Quiltmaker/artist Lisa Saporta, who does beautiful improv. 

 

Quiltmaker/artist Thom Atkins, usually noted for his beadwork, "paints" a beautiful scene in fabric.

 

Quiltmaker/artist Kristie Schulman, who's use of color and shape makes her quilts sing! (you can see why I might not want my quilt next to hers ... ha ha!) 

As always, I wish I had taken more pictures. As always, I wish there were at least one or two more days to thoroughly examine each and every quilt in the show. Sigh ...

 

All for now, 

Sandy 

February Mini

Real quick post here as I have to leave for my haircut in a few minutes, and we all know how important that is. Plus this will be a total experiment because Blogger has totally changed the format for creating a post. Everything is appearing in code! Anyway ... a couple months ago I thought I'd try to recreate this little antique

I substituted black for the strips because I couldn't find an appropriate red in my stash.

Cute, but far from the original. Fast forward, our beloved Wendy to the rescue. Several beautiful cuts of red fabric appeared in my mailbox! I chose one and got started right away, recreating the recreation. I set it aside when done, then realized when I was getting ready to post this morning that I hadn't quilted it yet (!) so I proceeded to do so. That's why I'm late.

Here are the two "sisters" ( or maybe cousins?)

I love them both. Now go to Wendy's page to check out the rest of the bunch. Love, Sandy

I'm a Winner! (and other stuff)

You all know about (The Constant Quilter) Wendy Reed's "Montly Mini" challenge, right? which in itself is loads of fun and results in many very cool mini quilts every month. Then a few months ago Janet Olsen  (Rogue Quilter) challenged us to make a mini from a baggie of scraps left over from another project, which we referred to as "The Baggie Challenge". I jumped on board right away. Even more fun, right?

At the end there was a drawing, and lo and behold, my name was drawn! The prize was this darling tiny quilt made by Janet. I just love it!

This little beauty came in the mail a couple of days ago, along with an array of other goodies, including ...

Two bars of Janet's handmade soap! Any of you that have been lucky recipients of Janet's soap know how wonderful it is. All natural ingredients, and smell heavenly.

Also included were a purse-size hand lotion, two Utah Chocolate Truffles, one of which I ate immediately, and mini charm pack. How fun! 

Let's go back to the quilt. How cool is the back!

And check out her corners. Talk about perfect! 

Thank you so much, Janet!

😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

OK, on to other things. I thought I'd go ahead and give a sneak peek of my  Quilt Show entries, and Auction quilts.

First up, "Amish Inspired" which started as a Block of the Month in 1999. I won the blocks, and right away proceeded to build them into a quilt. Its quite large, measuring 76 x 100". I had intended to hand quilt it, a daunting prospect even back then when my hands were still good. Meanwhile I got stuck on a backing. Long story short, it got put on the back burner and I moved on to other things. 23 years later (ahem ... ) I decided I needed to move it out. I enlisted my friend Claire (cspoonquilt) to baste it for me on her long-arm, I machine quilted it on my Janome, and we are donating it to our live auction as a fundraiser for our guild.

(psst ...  our Quilt Show and Auction is in two weeks! Click here for information.)

Next is my Scrappy Log Cabin, which I've posted about before, also going into the auction. 

I also completed two quilts for the general exhibit. The first one was a sew-along with Temecula Quilt Co, which I'm simply calling "Log Cabin". I haven't been able to get a good picture of the full quilt yet, but here's a detail picture. 

Its based on this antique quilt.

I've seen many versions of this on the internet, as many folks sewed along. I just love the colors. 

Lastly, I made Road to Oklahoma, out of the book A Dozen Variables my Marsha McCloskey and Nancy Martin. 

Here's a close up

Again, those blues and browns I love so much. This one is going to my niece, Hana.

That's about it. Wow. Two posts in two weeks! I'm exhausted.

love,

Sandy

ps ... don't forget our Quilt Show and Auction is in two weeks! Click here for information.

Better late than never: my January mini

  

Do you ever look at a picture of a quilt, let's say in a book or Pinterest for instance, and say to yourself, "I want to make this quilt, like... right now!" ? 

That happened to me a few weeks ago. I was browsing through an old quilt book of mine, American Doll Quilts by Kathleen Tracy, and got stopped at this one.

I don't know. I've looked at this picture dozens of times, but for some reason this time it grabbed me. Its just so ... innocent, and simple. And darling. The thought occurred that it might be a fun little project to do at my upcoming quilt retreat, which was in a couple of days. So I immediately started pulling fabrics and quickly (if that's even possible) kitted it up. I did cut lots of extra pieces, so I could pick and choose as I went along. 

Fast forward, here's my version of Kathleen's Prairie Quilt:

Of course I didn't have her fabrics, but I did try to capture the feel of her little quilt. I was lucky I had a nice small check for the border, as I feel that was/is intrigal to the look. I auditioned a pink binding, but I didn't have the right pink, so I went with another "oldie" light, having the slightest tinge of green in the print. I think it works nicely. 

But then I had leftovers. Of course!  Ha ha ...you know what's coming, right? 

Naturally, I made another mini!

So ... late as I am, these are my offerings for January's Monthly Mini challenge. If you haven't already done so, go on over to Wendy's blog to see all the other January minis. 

There is one other item I finished last month, something I've been wanting to make for a long time - a homemade cover for my sewing machine.

I had been visualizing this, made with postage stamps, but didn't know quite how to go about actually making it. It was serendipitous timing that Lisa Bongean offered up a pattern on her Blog recently, which is exactly what I was visualizing. It was also lucky that she made her pattern to fit her Juki, which is the exact same model that I own. Anyway, I simply sewed together several of my postage stamp blocks and adapted them to her pattern. Voila!

Looking forward, my guild's annual quilt show is only three weeks away. We took a leap of faith and made the decision months ago to hold a real "in person" show this year, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that this will actually take place. I'm thinking with Omicron on the wane (here in central California, at least) and no new covid varients for now ... yet... we should be OK. Meanwhile I've been busy getting my entries and auction quilts ready, and I'm just about there. My quilts will be hanging, which gives a nice opportunity to take some decent pictures, which I hope to post at the end of the month. 

That's it for now!

Love, Sandy