Happy 2021

 ...and to finish this unusual year, the last quilt I finished in 2020.

The pattern is by Cotton Street Commons and is called, "So this is Christmas #219"

The original has a third row that matches the top one; but that would make the quilt too large for this wall.

May 2021 be a healthy and happy one to this entire planet.

Happy 2021!

Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy and healthy 2021. May all your days be merry and bright.

Quiltmania Solidarity Quilts 2020

Quiltmania magazine had a call for donation of quilt blocks to make quilts for health care workers, as a "thank you" for all their work, specially in this difficult year.

I couldn't pass this opportunity to say "thanks."

I have been around health care workers as an Occupational Therapist.

I saw the images of quilts that are being put together by volunteers in Georgia for the American quilts. There are quilts for Europeans also.

I see my block in this picture. It is the third down from the left side of the quilt.

I love the quilt. Thank you everyone involved in the creation of these wonderful quilts.

Image from Quiltmania Instagram

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2020

This Thanksgiving let's remember what we have to be thankful for and let go of the negative.

I finished the last squash from Sue Spargo's sew along. This was a lot of fun. I will wait and see hew suggestions for a border before I sew the blocks together.

The primitive turkey wall hang is a pattern by Cheri Paine (RIP), from years back called Ever Thankful. I just made mine this year.

Happy Thanksgiving,  Zoomgiving, or however you celebrate in 2020.

Squash Squad

Ever Thankful

 

Keeping up with projects

 

Fall is not in the air around here. It is very warm and humid for this time of the year. 

I am keeping up with my fall projects and complete ignoring the other ones.

The wool sampler is form Sue Spargo Squash Squad. We are actually staring pumpkin 9. I am so enjoying getting back to wool embroidery, even if I can't use any lanolin products due to wool allergy.

The cross stitch are 2 projects that I have kitted since early 2000's. I finally finished them, and found out that the sticky boards to mount them are hard to find in local stores.

Keep calm and take care of yourselves.

basket quilt top

I have been sewing along Alex Anderson from The Quilt Show for the past few weeks as she led a class on piecing baskets. I am not posting on forums or any other place. But I have completed this top and have a pieced binding ready to go. It will be a while to get to quilting. The colors in the picture are a bit off. It is really a lot brighter. The last border was a hard decision to make. But I like it.

 

More English paper piecing.

 ... and the top is done. This is my version of Sue Daley sew along called Paper Lanterns. My quilt top is smaller than the original because I chose to use 1 inch hexagons. Now, it goes to the pile of quilt tops to quilt. 

I am a "process" person, I enjoy the process, so finishing is not really a priority. I have no urge to sew fast or have everything done. But I do admit that I love to put the binding.

English Paper Piecing; Halloween style

 I just finished the top of an English paper piecing project that I started last year . Now, to the finishing borders and quilting. 

It is my hope to finish this project before Halloween 2020. It could happen.

New starts in October 2020

 

I don't ever shy away to start something new. 

These 2 Sew Along are what I have started. 

Sue Spargo is doing a block of the week with free patterns.  It is called Squash Squad and is available on her web site.

The pieced blocks are from Fat Quarter Shop and is their Sewcialite block of the week.

I am truly enjoying these.

Paper Lanterns Quilt Along

 This is my version of the beautiful Sew Along (SAL), that Sue Daley (link on the right side to her blog),

 is finishing up soon. I am using 1 inch hexies and not the 2" hexies on her original SAL.

I have finished a few more rows than this photo shows. 

I am loving this SAL and can't stop working on it.

But I also made a mistake and I will end up with an extra row. Not a problem in my book.

Lucy Boston- Patchwork of the Crosses

I finished my version of the Lucy Boston English Paper Piecing quilt. The setting is my own adaptation of the block. I love the original quilt too. I might make another wall hanging with the original setting. 

 

house block

 This block is one of my favorite house blocks. 

I made it for our guild president. 

We as a guild, make a block to the president at the end of the year as a "thank you" gift. She had requested a house block, any size or color. This is my contribution. I hope she enjoys it.

Another top completed

This is my quilt top for the Snow Flake SAL by The Fat Quarter Shop.

It was fun and fast. 

I used 14 strips from a old but good fabric jelly roll. I had these fabrics for a very long time. 

I will quilt it using my embroidery machine and a winter pattern.

 

Completing WIP

My "collection" of work  in progress is diminishing in 2020. Stay at home and sew has been a wonderful past time for me.

The quilt top is a collection of blocks made by friends. It was a "shoe box challenge."

We put our fabrics in a box and each month the box was passed around my Bee . The person with the box made a block using those fabrics. In the end we got our boxes back with our amazingly beautiful blocks. It was a great fun to put the blocks together.

The placemats were made over 10 years ago. All I had left to do was to add the borders and quilt it. 

Life got in the way of finishing it and once packed it was forgotten.🙈

 

Half Log cabin top

This quilt top was made using 8 inches squares of fabric. 

• For each block you will need 1- 8"  square of white/black fabric, and 1- 8" square of a color batik fabric. So you will actually make 2 blocks at the same time.
• Cut a 2 inches strips on one side, rotate the squares 90 degrees and cut another 2 inches strip and continue this way until a 4 inches square is left.  
• note- I did cut several squares at the same time. I carefully stacked 4 fabrics and cut them all at the same time.
• Alternate the black and white with the color strips and sew the block on a log cabin fashion way. 

• Trim to size (my blocks are 6 3/4 inches unfinished), and sew the top together.

I chose to sew my blocks on a diagonal setting and added black  and white triangles to complete the top.

I cut the side triangles using a companion angle ruler from  5" strips of fabric.

The corner triangles were cut using an easy angle ruler from 5 1/4" strip.

This quilt top finishes at 54 1/2" by 68"

Quiltmania 2019 Mystery

It is all quilted and washed and now air drying.

Marshall was designed by Jen Kingwell as a Block of the month (BOM) for Quiltmania magazine in 2019.

But I did change the final setting to make it my own.

Bias tape on the go

I saw this somewhere on the web; I can't remember where; but it is one of those moments "why didn't I think of that?!"

Just sewing the bias strip without ironing first. It works really well to make ties for masks. 

Thank you anonymous. 

Solidarity Quilt Block

Quiltmania magazine has a challenge for us. They are requesting 10 inch (finished), quilt blocks in reds. They will make quilts to donate to health care facilities around the world. You can make a block from the blocks they are giving for free, or one of your own. I made my own design using needle turn applique because I love to applique. It is ready to send when they notify us to do so. 

The second photo is my border for a 2012 quilt by Sentimental Stitches. The original quilt is called Benjamin Briggs. 

The quilt blocks were a BOM with 24 blocks plus a border. I have made 16 blocks; and now I think it is enough to make a large wall hang. 

So, I took one of the blocks and I am adapting to make the borders. It will be a pieced border and much easier to handle as I am needle turning this applique.  I am not using the original border for this quilt.

10.5 inches Solidarity block (unfinished)

16.5 inches by 8 inches border blocks ready to be washed and ironed.

Summer knitting

I have completed 2 knitting summer tops this past week. 

The white one is my own design and I made the pattern. That is how I learned to knit at age 12 years old. I get a non stretch top that fits well, measure it, draw a sketch; and after I make a gauge patch for the thread used, I calculate the number of stitches, rows, etc to fit the sketch created. It is not difficult, it is simple math.

The pink top is even easier, the pattern is a free download on Ravelry website.

It is called Bamboo Summer Top by Nancy Ricci. 

I did not use a bamboo thread, mine is actually recycled silk and cotton. It is a very pattern to make; but I am making a few changes on my own.

my own design

Nancy Ricci pattern with some added rows on the shoulder to make the neck opening a little lower

Bee Challenge for June 2020

My wonderful bee, the CPBEE had a challenge for June 2020. 

To make these cute little houses to trade among ourselves. 11 friends are participating and we decided to make 3 houses for each person.

These are my little ones. (I have made more than that). I plan to make a quilt with 53 houses. One for each week of 2020. There will be a couple of trees also, courtesy of some generous friends that made them to trade with the rest of us.

Due to this social isolation thing, I sent mine to the bee; and soon I should get the ones from my friends.

If you want to make your own, the pattern is called "Village" and is from Moda fabrics and Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

It uses charm packs, or any 5 inch squares you have. the houses are 5 1/2" X 7" unfinished.

They are very fun to make.

Please take care of the ones around you.

"Village"- pattern compliments of Moda Fabrics and Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Work in progress

This quilt top in progress is being made with a layer cake (10 inch squares). The pattern name is: "Algorithm Quilt" by Gudrun Erla from GE designs. It is fast and fun to make. It will be a donation quilt for my guild. 

Boots and more boots

If Cinderella went to the Houston Rodeo she probably would loose one of these. Who needs crystal shoes???

This is a top I finished a couple of weeks ago. It is now waiting to be quilted.

Photos from the floor. No editing.

Marshall Mystery Quilt 2019

I have finished my quilt top for the Quiltmania 2019 Mystery Quilt by Jan Kingwell. It is actually half quilted, when the Bernina got "sick" and will probably need some expensive "treatment".

I changed the final setting because I didn't like the split stars on the corners as the final clue on the magazine suggested. 

I am shocked with the quality of the fabric. I have never had this much problem with fabrics before (see photos below), I am wondering what is the thread count and when did the industry changed so much....

Marshall sandwich top half quilted. 

back of the blocks with the seams shredding excessively.

The lint accumulated when I just shook the quilt top before making the quilt sandwich. I did NOT try to remove the threads from the seams, this is just what fell off. :(

African Fabrics Quilt Top.

I have loved these blue African fabrics (mostly Senegal), for a long time. They were bought in NYC, Pittsboro, NC (The French Connection store), and the colorful borders were from my friend Barb fabric collection. She bought them in Houston, at the International Quilt Festival through the years. We found out that we probably bought it from the same people that also have the store in Pittsboro. The back will be more of the same fabric in the borders. 

Please stay healthy and take care of everyone around you.

Thank you

Donation quilt done

The floral fabrics for this quilt are from Kafee Fasset collection and the light gray is from a jelly roll; and all these fabrics came from the CPBee fabric bins for donation quilts. 

I quilted it using Amelie Scott Designs from the book Custom Quilt on Your Embroidery Machine. The pattern is SG Feather on the blocks and a feather sprig probably from Oesd patterns on the sashings. 

Another quilt on the floor photo. It is what it is. 

Row quilt challenge

These blocks, now a quilt, have been in my WIP for a while. 

The blocks were made by the members of the CPBee for me. I gave the fabrics and an approximate dimension of the finished row; and the person had a month to complete the blocks. The picture was taken with the quilt on the floor, which is never a good thing. But it is beautiful.

 I used a 80/20 blend batting, Glide thread, and a quilt in the hoop pattern by Amelie Scott from the Edge to edge Quilting Jumbo package I called "Garden."                            

About funny husband and such

These days of social distancing are trying to say the least. 

It helps when DH has a weird sense of humor.

This note was left on my design wall a few days back. 

The best part is that he helped me with organizing my studio. (which lasted a whole few hours).😊

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I have made this cake for the past 33 years.
Since this is a place I can always search for my "stuff" I am posting the recipe

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Kathleen recipe)

Cream 2 sticks of butter with
            2 cups sugar until light and fluffy
Add     2 eggs

Add 2 cups flour (plain)
        1 tsp baking powder
        1 tsp salt

Add 1/2 tsp vanilla
         1 cup sour cream

Pour 3/4 of the batter into a greased, floured bundt pan (or tube pan)

Sprinkle on topping made from 3/4 cups finely chopped pecans
                                                    1/4 cup brown sugar
                                                     2 tsp cinnamon and
                                                     2 tsp vanilla
Add the rest of the batter
Bake at 350F (180C) for 60 minutes
remove immediately from the oven
Coll 5-10 minutes before removing from pan
Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

I would include a picture; but half is in the freezer and the other half mysteriously disappeared. ^.^