Hens and Chicks Table Quilt

A couple of weeks ago, hubs sweetness and I went to Always In Stitches, a LQS, if you will, for me.

I found this delectable fabric and brought home a yard.  It's "Pam Kitty Floral" by Lake House Dry Goods' founder, Holly Holderman.

What happy, bright, cheerful colors and I love the selvage!  An awesome blog I came across recently while browsing for different selvage designs is the Selvage Blog.  

(images from Selvage Blog) 

How over the top cute are these!

This weekend, I decided that I wanted to put together a new table topper for my bedside table and that the "Pam Kitty" needed to be a focus fabric.  I scoured Pinterest, Flickr, blog sites and quilting magazines on hand for inspiration.  I knew I wanted straight sewing after all the "Y" seams from this monster.

(waiting for inspiration on how to finish this out...ideas?)

Two geometric quilts kept speaking to me.

Bush Fire Quilt by Quilt Craft and Film Strip by AmandaJean.

I started cutting 1 1/2" white squares and sashing them with 1 1/2" wide fabric strips that complimented the focus fabric.  I then went a little bigger and did the same with fabric cut 3 1/2" wide around a 3 1/2"sq white center and played around with the placement.

I had already settled on my finished pattern when I came across this "upscaled" quilt on Pinterest.

How weird is that!  I thought I was being so original.  LOL

This is what I finished putting together yesterday.

I named it "Hens and Chicks".  The table by my bed measures 28" x 18" and the table quilt comes in at 23" x 15" before finishing.  I've already picked out a bright, yellow floral print for the back and a skippy pink polka dot for the binding.

This went together fast! and was fun to hit the scrap baskets to find yummy fabrics to go with the "Pam Kitty Floral".  Hopefully, it will be my first finish for 2013 and on the table soon!

Fabric Tuesday, WIP Wednesday and Finish It Up Friday are linky parties hosted each week.  You can click on the links and have a quilt show without even changing out of your jammies and leaving home!  Make sure you start 2013 right and stop by for inspiration and encouragement!

May 2013 be full of blessings, new beginnins, renewed and restored relationships, love, and quiltey goodness!



Final Finish for 2012

...just in time for Finish It Up Friday with crazy mom quilts!

I fell in love with EPP (English Paper Piecing) Rose Star Blocks.  I made a lot of them!  Each one was so much fun to pick out fabrics for!  I am not a huge fan of sewing these by hand...I love the look, but I figured out how to cut templates for machine piecing them.  Having a good feel for "Y" seams is very important.  You can find more Rose Star Blocks that are EPP on flickr.

The first one was started on January 21st, 2012!

Here it is, December 28th, 2012...and I can say I've finished up the block piecing and joining part of the quilt.  This was an "on again-off again" relationship!  I worked on joining the blocks on and off through the year.  There were times I was very discouraged and just folded it up and put it back for when I wanted to work on it again.  I decided to get it out over the Christmas holidays to see if I could finish it up.  I'm so glad I did!  Once I started, the work went fast and easy and was perfect for sewing on in between Christmas activities and slow days post 25th.

My helper elves (Ben and Chris) helped me capture this in some weak, morning light in our kitchen. 

There are a total of eighteen blocks joined together by a soft, white muslin.  I'm working on making it a twin size quilt for snuggling and cuddling up with a good book (or iPad mini e-book).  Now comes the hard part of deciding what fabric (s) to use as borders, what the back will look like and the ever perplexing question of "how do I quilt this?"

I don't know that I have a favorite because each one I pieced became my "new" favorite block!  Hubs and Javi like the deep red, rose fussy cut one.  It is such a happy mix of some of my favorite fabrics and colors.  There's even some vintage fabric in there, which always makes me happy!

Thanks for joining me through the year and sharing a love of sewing and quilting with me!  I have "met" so many people, made friends, learned so much and been encouraged by the projects you've shared with me.

Blessings for 2013!



Snowflakes!

We haven't had many of them here...and I'm perfectly okay with that!

Living in Indiana for over forty years has taught me I'm more of a beach person, not a wintry slopes one.

Not much sewing going on around here lately.

So, in the spirit of the season, I thought I would go back and look at a snowflake project I did for a swap a couple of years ago.

This was a fun, paper piecing block!  You can find the pattern here.  My original Flickr notes say I took this to the printer and had it increased by 50%.  I wish I had kept better track of statistics and general information about this!

I'll be doing this one again for a mini to hang on our front door through the season after Christmas.

Guess I'll be making another trip to the printer.

May your season be merry and bright!

 

Epiphany Finished!

and ready to hang in our front hall when all the painting is done!

I had originally wanted it in the den over the fireplace, but, oops!

It's too big!

Epiphany finished out a whopping 31" sq.

Woo Hoo!

I was inspired by this incredible  photo on flickr a few weeks back.

I know, right?  Beautiful!

This is a Ferris Wheel block and I've been in quiltey love with it for a long time.

Out came the scraps and some stash.

Kaffe Fassett and some of my beloved vintage sheet go well together, don't you think?

Ferris Wheel is usually an EPP (English Paper Peicing) block...but I really stink at that!  lol

I have better results machine piecing using "Y" seams.  I hand appliqued the finished block onto a stiff, white muslin I had in the stash.

Some straightline quilting and hand quilting around the outer edge of the block with periwinkle embroidery floss...and I knew I didn't want to quilt into the white at all.

Love the look of stained glass when the sun shines through the back.

I finished the binding on it this week and wanted to share it at Canoe Ridge Creations for Sew Modern Monday,

Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday and at Freshly Pieced as part of my WIP Wednesday.

While I rested from the binding (arthritis can be a bummer when you want to hand stitch) I played some Quilter's Solitaire.

LOL

Four short of a full "deck", these 2" x 3.5" scraps are laid out and on their way to some chain piecing for more Useful Baskets.  I have four made and ready to ship to New Jersey to a friend as soon as I know she's up and back to normal speed again after Sandy's visit.

These baskets are sold to support our homeschool co-op's Senior Scholarship Fund.

I have an order for twenty from one person.

Crackin' the whip here and burning the midnight oil!

Don't forget to stop and look at all the eye candy on Canoe Ridge Creations, Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced!



Bloggers' Quilt Festival 2012

has been drooled over, pined over, "oohed" and "aahed" over, coveted and pinned to Pinterest!

Don't know what I'm talking about?

Go here and get your quiltey goodness fix for a loooong time!

I'm always amazed at how creative quilter's are!

I'm entering "The Wheels on the Bus" baby quilt.
My entry number is 417.
Voting begins soon!

How much fun!

This was completed in June of this year for a very sweet baby-to-be.

Little Miss Lula.

A miracle ten years in the making.

I started these blocks a long time ago to teach myself curved piecing, got a case of Quilter's ADD (a true condition, look it up! lol) and put them away to work on something else.

Little Miss Lula's mom grew up in our church and when I received the invitation (late because of the post office) for her baby shower, I went hunting through my orphan blocks to put something together quick because all babies need a quilt don't they!

I thought, "Such happy colors and fabrics will keep a tater tot busy just looking at them for a while."

White sashing always adds a crispness that sets off very colorful blocks.  Amy Butler, Jennifer Paganelli, Moda prints I had collected, Heather Bailey and even some of my beloved vintage sheets are in here.  It's a standard crib size with a super soft vintage sheet as backing. 

Moda's "Birdie" was a perfect pick for binding.  I liked the way the circle theme is echoed and who can resist putting so much pink into a quilt when my life is so blue and full of "Snips and snails and puppy dog tails." with three growing boys!

The Mom-To-Be received some very lovely handmade things and I'm so glad to have been able to send along a quilt to wrap a sweet lil' tater tot in this winter! 

I'm submitting this to Amy's

in the "Best" of categories of:

Favorite Baby Quilt

Favorite Scrap Quilt

Favorite Bed Quilt

"The Wheels on the Bus" is a standard crib size quilt that was machine pieced and quilted by me.

A special technique was the curved piecing I learned on these blocks.

If you never go to another link here again, this is definitely one you will not want to miss!

Good luck to all the entries...they're truly all treauses and worthy of recognition!



"Squeeze Your Own Bundle" Competition

 from Randi at i have to say and Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts.

Oh my!  What a fun way to mix and match fabric and also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of these fabrics!

You can find all the rules here if you'd like to play along.

I chose these for my fabric bundle,

and I've thought long and hard and decided to name it "Autumn Acoustic" in honor of my son, Chris.

Chris has been learning to play electric and acoustic guitar now for about two years.  We've been homeschooling him going on five years now and I couldn't have ever guessed how much I would enjoy teaching him and spending so much time with him!

Today, in between lessons, he helped me get flower beds ready for winter and rake and bag leaves.

We had a beautiful morning to share.

Thanks to Randi, Rita and Faith for being the judges and to Alyce for such an awesome way to put together some very cool fabrics!  I enjoyed looking through Randi's etsy shop and dreaming!

Stained Glass Epiphany Quilt Top

Is done!

I marked a 1/4" turn under seam and hand appliqued this to a white background. 

Onto the quilting!

Huzzah!

Linking up with Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced to get my quiltey fix this week!

See ya there!



Mandala Mini Quilt Top

Dang it!

I hate it when this happens!

I'm still working on a "new" WIP when along comes an epiphany.

I really need to stay off of flickr.

LOL

A new project.  Machine pieced hexies, squares and triangles.  This design is done and waiting to be hand appliqued onto white fabric for a mini quilt over the fireplace mantle.  I'm gradually decorating the den, "my" room, with things I love.

Oh yeah.

Feelin' the love!

Come out and play WIP Wednesday at Lee's Freshly Pieced!



A Pocket Full of Posies

Last time I posted, I had just finished up this scrappy, patchwork pillow inspired by Twin Fibers inpirational finish inspired by Camille Roskelley.

LOL

Well, I love the block so much, I made two more.

Only these are bigger and have a twist to them.

When finished, they will measure 20" x 20".

Whew!

That's a very big block. 

Dipping into my scrap baskets again, this time I cut my "petals" 3" x 3" and used 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" for the points.  I had a couple of hexagons lying around (I mean really, who doesn't?) and plopped one down in the middle of the yellow center.

Yeah.

I kinda liked that!

(purple center)

(pink center)

This size block was a lot easier on the fingers when pressing!

I'm having so much fun going through my scraps and taking trips down Memory Lane.

Do you do that?

See a piece of fabric and think, "I know what that is!  I know where I got it!  I LOVE that fabric!"

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for some Friday eye candy ala quiltey finishes for the week.

Won't you join us?

Pictures, Patterns and a Plump, Patchwork Pillow

Several people have asked about the Jack's Chain pattern.

My Jack's Chain is machine pieced, but there are EPP (English Paper Piecing) methods that work as well.

Below are pictures and links with pictures, patterns and tips for cutting and piecing this block.

Quilter's Cache

Carpe Lanem

Annika

Pinterest

And these two which had pictures I couldn't download.  It is a fun block to piece and join and I'm looking forward to continuing it through the Fall!  LOL

 mellicious

quilterkeri

One of the blogs I follow is Twin Fibers with Jennifer and Jessica.  A couple of weeks ago they had the sweetest, pinkest, girliest finish.

(Inspired by Camille Rosekelley)

I pinned this sweet mini quilt to my "Amazing Quilts" board on Pinterest and thought about it a long time.

While I'm still working on long term projects

(Summer Quilt)

(Tessellation)

(Jack's Chain)

and cranking out Useful Baskets,

I convinced myself I needed some instant gratification.

I increased the size of Jennifer and Jessica's photo of the finished mini quilt and started scheming.

I deconstructed the block into a basic Bow Tie block.

(A Bow Tie WIP for me)

I used an easy tute to help me determine sizes.

Using the instructions for the 3" finished block, I went to the scrap stash and started picking pinks, greens and a yellow for the center.

Here's where I was as of last Wednesday morning:

The "points" of yellow that jut out into the pink from the center are made using 1" square pieces!

Drawing a line from one corner to the opposite corner on the reverse side of each 1" yellow square, line up the 1" yellow square, rst, with one corner of a 3" pink square.

Sew a seam right on the drawn line, cutting the 1" yellow square into triangles.  Use a rotary cutter to cut a 1/4" seam allowance past the seam line.

Press the seam allowance towards the pink.

Ugh!

I hate pressing small things like that.  My fingers end up looking like overcooked broccoli!

 

I started this project a week ago and I'm finally happy to share my new pillow for the den.

This cutie measures 18" x 18".  I decided to sash the flower with some scrumptious blue fabric I found on one of our road trips and edged with a matching red.

Some hand quilting around the petals and a vintage sheet backing mean I've had my instant gratification, learned a new block and made a super sweet pillow for "my" room.  LOL

(lovin' the soft feel and fun aquaness of it all!)

Linking up with Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced.  You should go there too.  Really!  Who doesn't need a little eye candy through the week!