To-Do Tuesday #1 Weekly Progress Update

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us is now hosting the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party, and I’ve decided to join in. She’s been writing weekly posts for over two years, and her posts are informative and well-formatted. Mine will be simple and to the point (though I do have to admit to shamelessly copying Roseanne to even get started with this post!).

To-Do for the week of August 13th through 19th:

As far as what I accomplished last week, you’ll have to trust me about what my goals were since I didn’t write a post about it (wink).

  1. Finished Bug’s Kitty Quilt  – √ Done
  2. Made 24 (out of 40) Stargazer Month 7  blocks – √ Done
  3. Decided on fabrics for Mime’s Kitty Quilt – √ Done

To-Do #1

Small projects are so satisfying to make! It felt great to finish the kitty quilt for my cat, Bug, on Sunday. I attached the paper-pieced letters (that I had sewn the previous week) to two side pieces that matched the background and then sewed them to larger cuts of one of my favorite Loved to Pieces fabrics. I made the reverse side using simple patchwork featuring more of the Loved to Pieces fabric collection. (See my Bug’s Kitty Quilt post for my info on this project). I quilted this 21” square mini quilt using wavy lines. It’s my favorite way to quilt because it is so quick, and I like the informal look. And with only 84” of binding, I got it machine-stitched on Saturday and hand-stitched on Sunday.

To-Do #2

I have been participating in Rebecca Bryan’s (of Bryan House Quilts) Stargazer Block of the Month this year and am fairly close to being caught up. I am making this lap-size quilt in the main color way with one change which is substituting purple for lime. I am paper-piecing my blocks using traditional foundation paper piecing, though most people participating in this BOM are using the freezer paper piecing method. I haven’t been blogging about my progress with this project but posted about it one time on Instagram. So I guess it’s time to starting sharing more about this BOM. This past week I made 24 Stargazer Month 7 blocks. Below is a pic of the obviously stacked blocks. The triangles on the top are made with Caribbean and Celestial Kona solids. The ones below are made with Purple and Caribbean Kona solids.

To-Do #3

I decided on the fabric for a kitty quilt for my best friend (also named Mary) who also has a cat who sleeps at the end of her bed, and she would like a small bed-runner for Mime that features her name. Mime’s quilt will feature Kona Amethyst and Purple solids for the letters and the super cute Dear Stella Meow Mix fabrics will be used on the front and back. Below is the fabric pull:

To-Do for the week of August 20th through 26th

  1. I plan to finish making the blocks for the Stargazer BOM Month 7 which will include making 8 reverse triangles in Purple and Caribbean solids, and then four triangles in each direction in Purple and Aqua solids.
  2. I am going to paper-piece the letters for Mime’s Kitty quilt.
  3. I plan to start choosing fabrics for the Lumen Quilt that I will be making for my step-daughter. I will be using many of the gorgeous Alison Glass Kaleidoscope fabrics that I used in my niece Kim’s Feathers Quilt.

I think that’s enough goal setting for this first post! Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Linky Party #2.

 

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Bug Kitty Quilt Finished

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

Yesterday I finished the kitty quilt for my cat, Bug, who generally likes to sit/sleep at the end of my bed in one particular area. I’m hoping this 21” square mini quilt will protect my Tranquility quilt when it is finished, but of course it is likely that she will move to another spot on the quilt! This mini is reversible and the back side features many of my favorite Loved to Pieces fabrics (collection by Mister Domestic) used in my Tranquility quilt. In the photos below this quilt looks much larger than 21” square!

In my 2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long post, I had originally planned to make this quilt a little larger and was going to make the letters using Jaybird Quilts Alphabet Soup pattern. I decided instead to paper-piece the letters and bought the upper case alphabet pattern from Diane at From Blank Pages. Sometimes you gotta go with what you know (and what you have experience with!).

Below are a couple photos of Bug on her quilt:

Linking up to Cooking Up Quilts: Main Crush Monday. This cat-sized quilt is also one of my 2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long Goals. Linking up to 2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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Comfort Quilt Finished and Gifted

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I realized a couple days ago that I hadn’t written a post yet about finishing the comfort quilt for Kathy, who is the sister of my best friend, Mary. Kathy tragically lost her 49-year-old daughter, Sandra, to a stroke in June. Sandra was an extremely vivacious person who loved life, especially after she became involved in Christian ministry in her 30s. Mary and I designed this quilt together. The first part she wanted to include was the “God Rays” which I free-style paper-pieced on 11 x 17 sheets of copy paper.

The bright sun in the above photo washed out the center Angel panel. Below is a pic that more clearly shows the beautiful angel. I actually like how the narrow yellow sashing arches over the angel.

We also included two cookie cutter angels using a pattern by Amy@ During Quiet Time, two half-square triangle crosses, and a country style church (pattern purchased on Etsy). Amy of Amy’s Creative Side did the quilting even faster than her typically quick turn-around, so that we could send this finished quilt off to Kathy as soon as possible. I’m happy to report that Kathy loves the quilt and is considering framing it. At 52” x 53”, it would make a fairly large piece of wall art!

Linking up to Meadow Mists Designs Favorite Finish Monthly Link-up July 2019, and I am also linking up to 2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long Finishes as this is one of my 2019 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long goals.

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August ‘19 OMG

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My August ‘19 One Monthly Goal is to finish my Tranquility quilt top. That is the name I have chosen to give my adaptation of Robin Picken’s Harlequin Quilt. I purchased the PDF at her Etsy shop, but she now sells both the PDF and paper pattern at the shop on her website. I chose to create paper-pieced templates rather than using a plastic template for cutting out the shapes or a triangle ruler. And I did not follow Robin’s pattern exactly. Except for the borders, my placement of the half-rectangle triangle blocks was more random. I added two more columns and one more row, but using her pattern and Saija Kiiskinen’s lovely take on the Harlequin quilt for inspiration, I was able to come up with a workable design that features the same fabric collection that Saija used, Loved to Pieces by Mr. Domestic, though I used different coordinating Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids (Tile Blue, Cozumel Blue, Fresh Water, and Zambia Stone). It will be a good size quilt at 75”x76” that I will use on my full-size bed. Below is a pic of the blocks I have sewn into partial rows. It shows 11 of the 19 total columns and 5 of total 11 rows. I’m definitely liking how this project is shaping up.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: August ‘18 OMG.

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July ‘19 OMG Finish

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My July 2019 One Monthly Goal was to finish my Vertices quilt top.

I wanted to love it for so many reasons!

  • It is made with a wonderful fabric collection, Loved to Pieces, designed by Mr. Domestic.
  • My favorite colors of turquoise, teal, and aqua  are prominently featured in the quilt top.
  • The fabrics are all Art Gallery Fabrics with their luxurious feel.
  • I stretched my paper-piecing skills by drawing out different equilateral triangle templates (some from Melody Miller’s Cotton+Steel Picnic quilt pattern) on graph paper and then sewing on the photocopies.
  • I used my light tablet for the first time to place a tricky inner piece of one kind of equilateral triangle.

But when I laid out blocks on my bed, the layout felt too chaotic to me. So I decided to add light green sashing/borders to insert some calmness and order.

Which I think it did, but I just wasn’t crazy about it. That night as I was lying in bed feeling “twired” (you’ve probably heard of this “new” feeling—tired but still wired—unfortunately a feeling I experience more often than I would like), I realized that the quilt I REALLY wanted for my bed is a version of Robin Pickens’ half-rectangle triangle Harlequin quilt which is inspired by Saija Kiiskinen’s take on the Harlequin quilt using Mr. Domestic’s Loved to Pieces fabric collection. I absolutely love Saija’s version (See her quilt here) but decided that I wanted my quilt’s irregular triangular borders to be made with solids featured in the quilt: Pure Elements Tile Blue, Fresh Water, and Cozumel Blue.

The next day I photographed my Vertices quilt top and put it away. I think I will finish it next year for a donation quilt.

I bet you all can guess what my August One Monthly Goal will be!

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: July ‘19 Finishes.

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2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long Goals

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I have several new goals for the third quarter of 2019. First up is my Vertices quilt that uses fabric from the Loved to Pieces collection by Mr. Domestic along with coordinating solids. For the last couple months I’ve been working on equilateral triangle blocks for this quilt. When I laid out the blocks on my bed to arrange them, the overall effect felt chaotic to me, so I made a design change. I’m not going to add half-rectangle blocks to the beginning and end of each row. Instead I’m going to use light green sashing and borders to insert some order.

My second planned project is to make a much calmer complementary half-rectangle block throw-size quilt to my Vertices quilt that also uses Loved to Pieces fabrics and some of the half-rectangle blocks I’ve already made:

In keeping with the turquoise color scheme, I’m going to make the following projects:

3) A Sparkler Mini using the pattern that Yvette@Quilting Jetgirl wrote for the Summer Sampler 2019. Below are my fabric choices for this project (Jade Green, Capri, Aqua, and White):

4) I’m going to use similar solids for a baby-sized quilt using Kristi@Initial K Studio’s Reflection pattern. The fabrics will be Sea Glass (on order), Aqua, Azure, Capri, and White.

5) I have yet another project on my to-do list that will use leftover Loved to Pieces fabrics and possibly some of the solids pictured above. It is a baby-sized “kitty” quilt for my cat, Bug, using Jaybird Quilts’ Alphabet Soup Bonus Pattern: Name Quilt. I have the book and the specialty rulers, and I think this will be a fun project to make.

6) And last but definitely not least, I will finish the comfort quilt pictured below for a friend who tragically lost her daughter last month:

Linking up to 2019 Qtr 3 Finish-A-Long.

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2019 Finish-A-Long Qtr 2 Finishes

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

I had a productive second quarter of 2019 and finished all the projects on my proposed 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Goals list except I lost all interest in making a Wedding Whirl Mini. I have blogged about all my finishes except one which is my Meadowland Quilt that I finished binding in mid-June. This 64” X 80” quilt features one of favorite fabric collections, Imprint, by Katarina Roccella. I currently have it on my bed until I finish my Vertices quilt.

My first 2019 Qtr 2 finishes were my Travel Trailer Pillows (Blogged about here ).

The Secret Project listed in my 2nd Quarter Goals was a Dog Adoption Celebration quilt (Blogged about here ). I love the photo below of Ishwa. He is such an intelligent and friendly boy.

In May I finally finished one of my all-time favorite projects, my Rainbow Autumn Chain Quilt (Blogged about here ).

I also finished the Camping Quilt in May that I hand-delivered to my brother and sister-in-law in California (Blogged about here ).

Linking up to 2019 Qtr 2 Finish-A-Long Finishes.

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July 2019 OMG

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My July 2019 One Monthly Goal is to finish my Vertices quilt top. Please see my June ‘19 OMG post for more information about this project. Below are two photos of the 55 blocks I have done so far, that will be totally rearranged in the final layout:

My first task this month will be to make more half-rectangle triangle blocks, both in the colorful Love to Pieces fabrics as well as white, light grey, and medium grey HRTs that will form a border of sorts between the colorful triangle blocks and the eventual binding.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: July 2019 One Monthly Goal.

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June ‘19 OMG Finish

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

My June ‘19 One Monthly Goal was to make 50 more equilateral triangle blocks for my version of Melody Miller’s Cotton+Steel Picnic Quilt. I have included one other equilateral triangle block not included in the Picnic quilt. I recalled my 10th grade Geometry class and remembered the equilateral triangle bisected down the middle forming two right triangles. Below are two pics of the 55 blocks I’ve made so far arranged by type of block but certainly not how they will be arranged in the finished quilt:

I’m now referring to this project as my Vertices Quilt. I think I have enough of the larger blocks and am now focusing on making more half-rectangle triangle blocks. I hope to get this quilt finished in time to enjoy it this summer.

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: June ‘19 OMG Finishes.

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Quilty Inspiration

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Quilting is in my Blood

Earlier this week, I saw an Instagram post by @mgjbtx_quilts that absolutely resonated with me. The post’s bold graphic stated, “Here’s to Those Who Inspire Us and Don’t Even Know It.” I plan to post on Instagram and will tag the people who have been so inspiring to me in my quilting/blogging journey that started 4 1/2 years ago. But I knew that I needed to write a blog post as well that can include a few more details.

Blogging

I first need to recognize some of my mentors who helped me learn about quilt blogging when I joined a New Quilt Bloggers Group in 2015. Being a member of this group also stretched my quilting and design skills as we were encouraged to write online tutorials about blocks that we designed that eventually were sewn into quilts by our mentors to donate to charities. A big shout-out goes to:

After I started to acquire elementary quilting skills through taking a Beginner’s Quilting Class in October 2014 at my local quilt store, ThreadBear, I spent hundreds of hours online reading quilting tutorials and then in 2016, I was lucky enough to take classes at QuiltCon from Jeni Baker and Amy Smart. Their websites are listed below:

Patchwork

Online Quilting Bees

I also joined two online quilting bees in 2016, Stash Bee and The Bee Hive. Alyce Blyth is the creator of The Bee Hive, and she designed 13 of the 25 block tutorials and asked other talented quilters to design the other 12 blocks. The beauty of the all these blocks is that they create wonderful secondary designs when the blocks are sewn together. I participated in The Bee Hive again in 2018 as well as this year, and my piecing skills have improved immensely from sewing many of the Bee Hive blocks.

Paper Piecing

Back in 2016 was when I first started paper piecing when a few Bee Hive queen bees chose paper-pieced blocks. I hated paper piecing at first, and it totally STRESSED me out! But my swarm-mate and friend, Linda, at @sew4sanity gave me a lot of encouragement and pointers which helped me get the blocks made. I turned a major corner in my opinion of paper piecing when I decided to try making the free LOVE pillow pattern by Diane of From Blank Pages. I had read several paper piecing tutorials by then, and I took my time, and by the time I finished the pillow, I kinda sorta liked paper piecing. But the project that made me a paper piecing convert was the Summer Sampler 2017. This sampler quilt program with weekly block tutorials was organized by Lee Heinrich, Faith Jones, and Katie Blakesley (who also co-wrote one of my favorite quilting books, Vintage Quilt Revival). They designed many of the blocks, but other quilters also designed some of the blocks. I learned about using a basting stitch to ensure that paper-pieced sections were properly aligned from Holly of Bijou Lovely who designed the Celestial Star block for the Summer Sampler 2017. And Lee shared a post about piecing tricky angles. Both of these tips immensely improved my paper piecing and gave me the confidence to try more intermediate paper piecing patterns designed by Kid Giddy, The Tartankiwi, and Lillyella. Most recently I read this very informative Instagram post by Emily @lemonyquilts on using an inexpensive light tablet for intricate paper piecing and have used one a few times with my current Vertices project.

Color

I have learned so much from other quilters about color. These days I’m really drawn to transparency and color gradient designs, but many other palettes are also pleasing to my eye. Just this past week I finished binding my Meadowland quilt with its rich palette of teal, turquoise, mustard, navy, and dark/light grey. Here are some of my favorite color masters:

Quilting Collaborators

These days I do very little of my own quilting except for pillows, placemats, and table runners. I have a few longarm quilters that I enjoy collaborating with who are listed below, but I want to give special recognition to my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us who did such an awesome job free motion quilting my Random Intention quilt in January. And recently Roseanne posted a great tutorial for spiral quilting using a walking foot that I may just have to try someday. In addition to ThreadBear, who have superbly quilted many of my projects, I have been thrilled with the quilting results of these longarm quilters:

Binding

As all quilters know, binding is the last task we have to do before we have a totally finished project (or facing which I have yet to try). I haven’t had much success with machine binding my quilts, so I’m in the hand-stitching camp of quilt binders, after I machine-stitch the binding to the front of my quilt. I have a favorite binding tutorial that I always refer to when joining my binding strips at the end. I have even taken screen shots of the pictures in case my internet is down when I’m at this crucial step! I have not taken the time to properly thank Megan@ Canoe Ridge Creations. So thank you, Megan! Her Double Fold Binding Tutorial can be found on her home page.

Quilt Photography

Actually there is an optional final task after binding has been affixed, and that is photographing the quilt. I’ve taken some decent shots of my quilts, but I dream of sending one of finished quilts to Kitty of Night Quilter.

Many Thanks

There are many other people out there who have encouraged, supported, and inspired me in my quilting journey. I really appreciate the generous spirit of the world-wide quilting community, and I’m so glad to be a part of it.

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