Quilting is in my Blood

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.

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.

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.

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

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

I’m posting two days early because I wanted to share about the online Wavelength workshop on October 24th being done by the super talented Rebecca Bryan. Spaces may be limited, so I wanted to let people know about this awesome opportunity for an incredible price. See the end of this post for details.

To-Do for the week of Oct 13th-Oct 19th:

1. Start working again on my Solstice quilt. √ Done
2. Take another Sashiko class through the Pacific International Quilt Festival. √ Done
3. Write a post about my other secret Christmas quilt. √ Done

To-Do #1

I finished my Solstice Month 7 units which form the inner star in the pic below. The second photo shows a close-up of one of the units (Solstice pattern by Rebecca Bryan). I’ve decided that rather than finishing up the quilt that I would like to make a hexagon table topper (and use the other units in an improv project down the road). I know Roseanne has made a few hexagon table toppers. I’m wondering how difficult it is to bind a hexagon-shaped piece. Hopefully Roseanne and anyone else with experience binding this shape will share a helpful hint or two.

To-Do #2

I really enjoyed the Hitomezashi Sashiko class on Oct 16th with Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby (@shibaguyz on Instagram). Even on Zoom, these guys are very engaging, and the three-hour class flew by. I particularly liked learning the rice stitch. A kit was provided as part of registering for the class which included a few different materials to stitch on. One of them was a 5” square of quilting cotton that has a quarter-inch grid on it. We used it to learn how to do the rice stitch which involves offset running stitches, crosses, and diagonal stitches. Shannon and Jason shared so much valuable information, and they have a Sashiko book coming out in December that I definitely plan to buy. They suggest using a double width of Aurafil 12 wt thread (also provided with the kit). I like the look, though I can see some separation of threads in my practice piece below. Perhaps with more consistent stitching that won’t happen too often (and maybe a little less puckering!) I liked doing this rice stitch so much that I finished this practice piece Saturday morning just to reinforce the learning even though it will just stay in my Sashiko supplies as an example.

To-Do #3

I waited to write the post about the Merrily quilt below until it was delivered to Mary’s sister, Kathy. Please see my Merrily Christmas Quilt Finished and Finally Delivered post for details and all the angst Mary and I went through until Kathy received her quilt. The  second pic below is the quilt back.

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. I’ve started making strip sets with leftover batik scraps.
2. Finish my Dahlia Sashiko project.
3. Take Rebecca Bryan’s Wavelength mini-workshop on Oct 24th on Zoom. The workshop is only $37, and participants get a digital version of her Modern Rainbow Quilts which is one of my all-time favorite quilting books. Wavelength is the cover quilt photo. I’ve wanted to make her rainbow version of Wavelength ever since I bought the book from Rebecca at the Stash Books booth at QuiltCon in 2016, but I’m also tempted to make one with an array of blue/green fabrics. I probably won’t even start making this project quite yet, but I definitely want to see some of Rebecca’s tips. You can see a mini version in blue/green fabrics as well as the full-size rainbow version in this Post. If you’re interested, you can sign up for this workshop Here.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #63.

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 6th-Oct 12th:

1. Make more Sunflower blocks.  √ Done
2. Write a post about my two secret Christmas quilts. √ Partially Done

To-Do #1

I have finished making my Sunflower blocks. I made 12 that are being made into placemats and four that are being sewn together for a table runner. I will share a pic of all 16 blocks when I write my Oct 2020 OMG Finish post at the end of the month. Below is a pic of one of the 14.5” square blocks in the Sunflower table runner on my new Lori Holt mini design board.

To-Do #2

I decided to blog individually about the Christmas quilts I have recently finished. I shared about the problems I had after washing the quilt pictured below in my Snowy Forest Quilt post.

To-Do for the week of Oct 13th-Oct 19th:

1. Take another Sashiko class through the Pacific International Quilt Festival. I’m taking the Hitomezashi Sashiko class on Oct 16th with Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby which I am really looking forward to.
2. Start working again on my Solstice quilt.
3. Write a post about my other secret Christmas quilt.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #62.