December 2020 OMG

Posted on December 1, 2020 by

My December 2020 One Monthly Goal is to make the quilt top for the quilt I plan to give my friend, Kristen, when she has her baby girl this spring. Kristen has requested a quilt with cats and birds featuring purple and teal colors. I have added in blue as a transition between purple and teal. I have decided that the center of the quilt will be the Geometric Cat, pattern by Kristy at Quilt Play. I belong to her paper-pieced 2020 pattern club, and while this is the first of her patterns I am making, I’m sure it won’t be the last. Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I “colored” the coloring page provided in the pattern with scraps of fabric creating a fabric cat collage. I used most of the colors from my Dimension in Dusk Quilt designed by Nydia Kehnle and frequently referenced Nydia’s Dimension in Dusk Color Chart. Someday I hope my digital coloring skills improve enough that I can primarily color my quilts in ProCreate on my iPad but for now creating a rough fabric collage is what works best for me.

I will sharing more about the birds in this quilt in my To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update posts (weekly linky party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us) as well as the December 2020 OMG Finish post at the end of this month.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: December 2020 OMG.

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November 2020 Favorite Finish

Posted on November 30, 2020 by

My favorite November 2020 finish was getting my throw-size (54” x 54”) Christmas North Stars quilt bound and photographed in time for me to put it on my bed on Thanksgiving Day. I absolutely love Elizabeth Hartman’s animal patterns, and while they all have lots of pieces (many quite small), these traditionally-pieced patterns are well written and extremely doable for even a confident beginner quilter. I definitely recommend using an organizational system. I re-use snack size, quart, and gallon size storage/freezer bags over and over for my projects that have lots of pieces. Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting did the quilting for me, and she used the Snow Winds quilting pattern. I am so thrilled to be able to keep and enjoy this quilt hopefully for many years to come.

I really like the back too. I used Robert Kaufman’s First Snow Scenic Winter fabric with a border of Kona Oasis.

Linking up to Meadow Mist Designs: November 2020 Favorite Finish.

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To-Do Tuesday 68 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on November 30, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us. Since Roseanne has opened the linky party a day early and my post is written, I’m posting today and then hopefully I can post about my December OMG tomorrow.

To-Do for the week of Nov 24th-Nov 30th:

  1. Sew my Color Jolt quilt top together. √ Done
  2. Write my Nov 2020 OMG Finish post. √ Done
  3. Stitch another modern Sashiko square. √ Done

To-Do #1

From completion of the last Color Jolt block to the completion of the quilt top, it just took me four days to get ‘er done! I did deviate slightly from the pattern instructions from sizing up the length and width of my paper-pieced sections to opting to take the paper off prior to sewing the sashing strips on the blocks. I like the stained glass look of the teal blue sashing against most of the blocks (with the blocks that have more blue/green in them, it is more subdued), and I think it’s very likely that I will make another version the Color Jolt Quilt again in the future.

To-Do #2

Here is a link to my November 2020 OMG Finish post with all of the blocks on my design wall.

To-Do #3

I hope everyone isn’t getting sick of my rainbow Sashiko squares! I’m planning to keep stitching one per week unless I’m up to my eyeballs hand-stitching down binding 🙂 I tried something new this week which mostly worked for me. Awhile back I downloaded Sashiko coaster patterns from Blair at Wise Craft Handmade. She has generously shared two sets of free patterns along with links to her You Tube Sashiko stitching series which I found very useful when I first tried Sashiko. They can be found Here and Here. I decided that I wanted to stitch her Fundo (Scale Weights) pattern and used a regular ball point pen on top of the pattern placed over Olympus light blue carbon paper to trace the design on some plain indigo Sashiko fabric. Some of the lines were hard to see, so I went over a few with my Clover fine white marking pen. Here’s is my Fundo rainbow Sashiko square: 

To-Do for the week of Dec 1st-Dec 7th

  1. Write my December 2020 One Monthly Goal post and make progress on that project. It’s really fun and colorful!
  2. Stitch a sixth rainbow Sashiko square.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #69.

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November 2020 OMG Finish

Posted on November 25, 2020 by

My November One Monthly Goal was to make 47 more Color Jolt blocks using some 10-inch squares from my stash for a throw-size quilt that I plan to donate to a worthy cause next year. Kate with SparkleStash.com hosted a recent Quilt-Along, and while I was too late to participate in the Quilt-Along, I decided it was the perfect relatively quick project to do before I start making more challenging quilts in the coming months. I’m hoping to have this quilt top finished over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Check out all sorts of wonderful Color Jolt blocks and quilts on the #colorjoltblock tag on Instagram.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilt: Nov 2020 OMG Finishes.

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To-Do Tuesday 67 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on November 24, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Nov 17th-Nov 23rd:

  1. Make more Color Jolt blocks. √ Done
  2. Take a photo of several of the placemats and table runner before sending them to my brother and sister-in-law as 50th wedding anniversary gift. √ Done
  3. Stitch another modern Sashiko square. √ Done

To-Do #1

I got all the Color Jolt blocks done. Here’s is a pic of several of them:

To-Do #2

I did take a pic of the placemats and table runner on the conference table at work which is the second pic below and which shows the reverse side of the placemats. However the first photo is the one I like the best which is one taken by the happy recipients. The package arrived Saturday evening, and we FaceTimed with them while they opened the box. It was a lot of fun!

To-Do #3

Here’s the fourth rainbow Sashiko square: 

To-Do for the week of Nov 24th-Nov 30th

  1. Sew my Color Jolt quilt top together.
  2. Write my Nov 2020 OMG Finish post.
  3. Stitch a fifth Sashiko square.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #68.

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To-Do Tuesday 66 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on November 17, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Nov 10th-Nov 16th:

  1. Work on binding the placemats that I will be sending to my brother and SIL as a 50th wedding anniversary gift. √ Done
  2. Make a few Color Jolt blocks. √ Done
  3. Stitch another modern Sashiko square. √ Done

To-Do #1

After I received my Sunflowers “quilt” back from Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting, I cut it all apart into one table runner and 11 placemats (there were supposed to be twelve, but there was an “Oops” with one placemat that eventually will be a Sunflower Mini). Luckily I had only planned to send ten placemats to my brother and SIL. I thought about machine stitching the binding down on both sides of the placemat, but frankly, when I’ve done that, I haven’t had great results. So after I machine stitched the binding on the front of the placemats, I slowly but surely got the binding hand-stitched down on the back of the placemats as well as the table runner, finishing the hand-stitching on Monday. Below is one of the finished placemats. I really love the Sunflowers quilting motif in goldenrod thread that Melissa used. I deliberately oversized them at 13.25” X 19” because I knew they would shrink when washed even if air dried. After the placemats were washed and air dried, they measured 12.75” X 18.5”. 

To-Do #2

I did indeed make a few more Color Jolt blocks that are pictured below. It’s a fairly easy paper-pieced pattern though I prefer to cut wider and longer pieces than what is written in the pattern instructions. 

To-Do #3

I continue to have fun making these fast and easy modern Sashiko squares using rainbow thread on a dark indigo background. I plan to sew them into a table runner. 

 

To-Do for the week of Nov 17th-Nov 23rd

  1. Make more Color Jolt blocks.
  2. Take a photo of several of the placemats and the table runner that I will be sending to my brother and SIL as a 50th wedding anniversary gift and then get it in the mail!
  3. Stitch a fourth modern Sashiko square.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #67.

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To-Do Tuesday 65 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on November 10, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Nov 3rd-Nov 9th:

  1. Stitch another modern Sashiko coaster. √ Done
  2. Start sewing the triangles together for my Solstice table topper. √ Done
  3. Start binding my Turquoise Christmas Tree Panel quilt. √ Done

To-Do #1

I got my second modern Sashiko coaster stitched this past week. I’m going to call them Sashiko squares as I plan to sew them into a table runner rather than make them into coasters. This rainbow thread sure is fun to stitch with. 

To-Do #2

I did get my Solstice table topper sewn together. I’m not totally happy with some of the points, but it’s good enough, and believe it or not, I’m planning to quilt it myself with minimal strategically placed straight lines :). I’ll share a pic after I’ve finished it.

To-Do #3

I also finished binding the Turquoise Christmas Tree Panel quilt. You may remember that this is the same panel whose dye bled on the Snowy Forest quilt I finished a couple months ago. I made sure to choose a dark fabric to bind it (Kona Celestial), and I definitely won’t wash this quilt with anything else. It’s such a beautiful panel, and I’m glad to have it as part of our Christmas decor. Below are two pics with the second one showing a close up of the wonderful snowflake quilting pattern used by Sew Shabby Quilting.

 

To-Do for the week of Nov 10th-Nov 16th:

  1. Work on binding the placemats that I will be sending to my brother and SIL as a 50th wedding anniversary gift.
  2. Make a few Color Jolt blocks.
  3. Stitch another modern Sashiko square.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #66.

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To-Do Tuesday 64 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on November 3, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Oct 26th-Nov 2nd:

  1. Make some sunflower blocks for placemats and table runner for a belated house-warming gift for my friend, Amanda. √ Done
  2. Stitch one modern Sashiko coaster square. √ Done
  3. Decide on my November OMG. √ Done

To-Do #1

I decided to make some sunflower placemats and table runner for my friend, Amanda, as a belated housewarming gift. The blocks on the main design board in front are all for Amanda with the top two rows being made into placemats and the bottom row into a table runner. On the right (the 4th column) are blocks that will be made into placemats that I will be keeping. Notice how the color placement looks on the block in the lower right corner. The dark fabric placement looks so different when it isn’t centered. I think I’m done making sunflower blocks for now!!!

To-Do #2

I really love how the rainbow Sashiko thread looks on this navy blue square. It’s a little wonky to be made into a coaster. I’m thinking now that I might sew this square (and others you will see in coming weeks) into a table runner.

To-Do #3

I  did decide on my November One Monthly Goal and wrote about it in this Post.

To-Do for the week of Nov 3rd-Nov 9th:

  1. Stitch another modern Sashiko coaster.
  2. Start sewing the triangles together for my Solstice table topper.
  3. Start binding my Turquoise Christmas Tree Panel quilt.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #65.

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November 2020 OMG

Posted on November 1, 2020 by

My November One Monthly Goal is to make 47 more Color Jolt blocks for a throw-size quilt that I plan to donate to a worthy cause next year. Kate with SparkleStash.com has been hosting a Quilt-Along, and while I’m too late to participate in the Quilt-Along, I like the improv-esque  look of these blocks, so I ordered and downloaded the pattern. They’re made with simple paper piecing, so I’m a happy camper! Below is the one block I’ve made so far:

Check out all sorts of wonderful Color Jolt blocks and quilts on the #colorjoltblock tag on Instagram. Some day I want to make another one with ombre fabrics.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: Nov 2020 OMG.

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To-Do Tuesday 63 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on October 27, 2020 by

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Oct 20th-Oct 26th:

  1. Make a Fiddlesticks block for the Kat & Cat Quilts Covered in Love Sept-Oct block drive. √ Done
  2. Finish stitching my Dahlia Sashiko project. √ Done
  3. Take Rebecca Bryan’s Wavelength mini-workshop on Oct 24th on Zoom. √ Done

To-Do #1

I had so much fun making this Fiddlesticks block that I want to make a whole quilt of this block sometime. I’ve started a leader-ender project where I am sewing pairs together from batik scraps that I will eventually sew into strips. It’s not too late to make a block to donate to the current Covered in Love block drive (see link above).

To-Do #2

I finished my Dahlia Sashiko project that I plan to make into a small pillow. It was fun to stitch, but I’m looking forward to making some quicker Sashiko coasters I may (or may not) give away for gifts 🙂

To-Do #3

I really enjoyed Rebecca Bryan’s Wavelength mini-workshop this past Saturday and took a lot of notes, but I did not start my own version yet. I’m leaning toward making the throw-size rainbow version, and I just don’t have the time or the space to start a large improv project right now. For now it will go on my Quilty Bucket list.

To-Do for the week of Oct 27th-Nov 2nd:

  1. I’ve started another Sunflowers placemats/table runner project as a belated housewarming gift for my friend, Amanda. This time I’m using a tan grunge fabric for background. I hope to get all the blocks made this coming week and then I’ll share a pic.
  2. I’m working on some modern Sashiko coasters. I should have one finished in the next several days. It’s a great World Series-watching project!
  3. Decide on my November One Monthly Goal.

Linking up to .Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #64

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