Some small projects to share

"Lollipop Flowers" - 23 x 25" by Becci

I'm not finishing anything new lately -- just bits and pieces of progress --  life getting in the way again.  My plan (my hope) was to finish a couple nearly-done quilt tops this weekend and actually begin some sandwiching and quilting.   But not quite yet.  (insert MAJOR sigh here)

DH and I are out of town for two or three days.  I remembered to bring the laptop, so I'm sharing some of the small quilt projects from our quilt guild show last month.

Click (once or twice) on any photos for a close-up look.  A lot of lovely stitching here--made by my friends.

11 x 15" --  HST in borders are 1/2"

I hope you're having a productive weekend.  Mine is in tatters--not going as planned--but that's life.  Maybe I'll have some time for embroidery. 

18 x 22" --2" broken dishes blocks--CWar fabrics

14 x 15" -- 1/4" (yes, 1/4") hexagons

3 interpretations inspired by 2" square magazine photo

closeup of one of the 3 trees above-- that's a real nut in this tree

"Failed Dear Jane"-- 11 x 11"--then Chris said "enough"

"Written with Thread" by Georgia

"Written in Thread" by Sue

"Dew Drops" -- 3/4" hexagons

every hexagon has a different embellishment

This and that

finished top is 60 x 78 inches

It's been a while since my last post, but I haven't been idle.  I just haven't been posting.

--We had an unusual, unwanted, 9-1/2" snowfall last week.  It slowed us down and caused cancellations, including our guild mtg, but now it's melted.  Boo, Mother Nature!  Not funny!

--I spent time out of town with a daughter who had a procedure -- and she's doing just fine now. 

--I've spent time in a dental chair lately, and I now have a new smile.  I had a car accident +40 years ago, and the steering wheel made a big impression (literally) on my mouth.  I have to admit that the steering wheel finally won, but I put up a good fight for 40 years.    

My latest Kim Diehl top is finished -- described in the last post  (from her book Simple Comforts).  Blocks are 6", and I modified the pattern by adding length and width, and I substituted some pieced blocks in the border of simple 6-inch squares.

some of the C. War repro fabrics added to this quilt

I'm at a standstill with my 1930s Kansas Twister or Purple Pinwheel quilt (haven't chosen a name yet).   Seven vertical rows on my design wall so far, and after I add purple triangles to the ends of the short rows, I'm not sure what  to do next.   I have 18 or 20 extra blocks made and want to enlarge it a bit.  Plenty of options.  I could add here, widen there, turn it 90 degrees and lengthen, or I could add purple triangles and then trim 2 sides straight . 

Kansas Twister quilt in progress

Five pinwheel blocks were made from same-color leftover triangles.  Can you spot them?  one red, one pink, one blue, one green, and one yellow. 

I'm wasting too much time, thinking and rethinking how to finish this one.  It will be another giveaway at work, and someone will like it, whatever I do.

We were supposed to have a dept meeting today, but it was postponed.  I want 3 or 4 quilts ready to give away next month. Seven coworkers still without quilts, and my goal is for everyone in my dept to have one by the end of August.  Hopefully no more meetings cancelled between now and then.

Two new projects with purple

progress posted on design wall

A new Kim Diehl quilt found its way to my sewing machine a week ago while quilting with friends.   I'm making good progress on the cover quilt of her book Simple Comforts. Starting with a 2-year-old kit, I added purples, lavenders, and a few Civil War repro fabrics.  My version will be a little wider and longer than the book project.   Blocks finish at 6", and the outside border will be plain squares plus a few of these pieced blocks.  
This will be a giveaway at work.    



My newest project uses 1930s strip sets and a 60-degree pyramid/triangle ruler.  I needed a 30s solid, and my stash choices were lavender, blue, or pink.  Purple won. 

Darlene named this "Hollyhock Garden"

This is a project from Darlene Zimmerman's book Quilts from Lavender Hill Farm.    Twelve  charming projects, one for each month.  I haven't yet figured out how many "flowers" I'll need to make. Her pattern calls for 2" strips, and I'm using 2-1/2" strips.  (I don't remember the last time I made a quilt exactly like the pattern.  I usually change something.)

This 30s fabric hexagon project is a bit different from the last one, which I wrote about here.
Both projects have the bias edges we deal with when sewing 60-degree triangles, but this one is a bit more stable -- less chance for stretch.   These hexagons are constructed by sewing straight-of-grain edges to bias edges. That stability is nice.   Another advantage of these hexagon blocks is how the colorful centers hide center seams that don't meet perfectly.

This will be another giveaway at work some day.   A daughter was home this weekend and cut the triangles from the strip sets I'd sewn.  Two make the work go so much faster.

UPDATE 4/29:   An old Fons and Porter book arrived by mail today (cheap on Amazon) -- American Country Scrap Quilts, and on page 109 is a quilt made with these same pinwheel blocks.  The book lists several names for this block including Kansas Twister, Whirligig, and Texas Trellis.  (always nice to know)  

A day of smiles

Tulips for the teachers

Yesterday was a day for smiles--and a few tears-- when our granddaughter Maddie gave quilts and flowers to her two preschool teachers.  They're farewell gifts, as our son's family prepares to move back to United States.

Maddie made a special card to go with this Q.

Frau K with her quilt

I wrote about Frau K's quilt HERE and HERE.  The pattern is from Kim Diehl. 

Miss M's quilt is made from a pattern by Kim Schaefer, and you can read about it HERE. 

I have a list of plans for the weekend--taking a big stack of dog pillows to the local Humane Society, driving around town for the city-wide garage sale, sewing rows of my next quilt together (I haven't shown it yet), and maybe a little spring cleaning.   Today was a sunny 75-degree day, and it'll be the same tomorrow.  Lovely spring is here.  

Everyone together

Miss M with her new quilt

Our local quilt show

Bali Wedding Star - a Judy Niemeyer pattern by Pat

These are photos from our guild show last weekend here in northern Iowa.  I'm not going to try to arrange them any more.  Blogger is not playing nicely tonight.    At least the captions are staying with the appropriate photos (so far).
Enjoy!  They were lovely to see in person.  These are all larger quilts. I'll share some of the smaller ones another day.
Note--clicking on each photo will enlarge it--not just put it into a slide show.

Easy Street --Bonnie Hunter pattern by Pam

Orca Bay -- a Bonnie Hunter pattern by Pam

Chris's CWar fabric version of a pink Q I made this spring

Sue's Dear Jane - lovely piecing and quilting

Edyta Sitar pattern

log cabin variation with skinny little strips

Blazing Stars by Chris--pattern from Dereck Lockwood

Sue's snail trail quilt with a fun saying

Another dramatic quilt by Chris

Civil War Homefront - B. Brackman kit by Sue

Fan Dance -- paper pieced

Winner's Bouquet-Terry Atkinson pattern

4th of July - Judy N pattern by Chris

Georgia's version of our raffle Q

great use of denim + 1-1/2 inch strips

City Blocks pattern--I want to do this one!

Neutral quilt I made in March 2012 as retirement gift for our boss--borrowed back for the show. Nice to see it again.

stack & whack plus a few fun blocks made by Kris

The Big House pattern - want to make it some day

Three more winners

Gloria's name was drawn for the Market Baskets quilt

We didn't have a dept meeting at work last month, so I had three quilts to give away to coworkers today.  If you're a regular reader, the quilts are familiar. 

The "Market Baskets" quilt is described here. 
Info about "Turn by Turn," the Kaffe red/blue quilt, is here and here.  
The pattern for the 1930s hexagon quilt, "Merry-Go-Round" is described here, with more details in following posts. 

I started with 38 quilts to make for coworkers.   These are #25, #26, and #27 since May 2012.   Four ladies have left our dept before their names were drawn for a quilt, so there are only 7 more to make for my co-workers.

Erin won the bold Kaffe quilt

 

That's it for now.  I have many photos to share from last weekend's quilt guild show, but I have a doozy of a cold, complete with headache, dizziness, and that punky feeling at the beginning.  All I want to do is sleep.  Drat!!   I'm heading upstairs to rest, under a quilt, of course.

The 1930s hexagon quilt went to Joyce

Quilting with Hall and Oates

LAQG raffle quilt, 93 x 103"

This is our guild's raffle quilt for this year (guild show this weekend in Clear Lake, Iowa).   The choices that guilds make are always interesting.  Some are made by committee, some by one or two quilters.  Every raffle quilt has its own story.

The story on our quilt is that one lady (my friend Chris) made this, and after the top was finished, she didn't care for it.  She offered it to the guild for the price of the fabrics, and that was that.  A pair of matching pillow shams also goes to the winner.   The quilt is even more striking in person.  It's a beauty!!

Turn by Turn finished top, 66 x 82"

I'm FMQ'ing one final quilt for our guild quilt show this weekend--this familiar Kaffe project from the last couple posts.   The speed on my HQ Sweet 16 is set for 52 (my favorite easy-meandering setting), headphones are on, and my iPod is giving me a shuffled blend of easy-listening songs.

Songs from the 60s by Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Sedaka and Dionne Warwick, Diamond Rio and Brooks and Dunn classics; romantic ballads from the Carpenters--some of my iPod selections.  But the songs by Hall and Oates help me quilt with a smile on my face and an extra tap in my toes.  They're my #1 favorite for FMQ with total joy.  

Many of us have favorite music for our quilting time. What are yours?   I love the upbeat songs when I'm quilting, and I prefer slower paced when piecing, often instrumental only.   I want to concentrate on the piecing, not sing along with the words. 

Some new quilt books have found their way to my door (as if I need any more).  These are my latest purchases.  

The one I'm most excited about is yesterday's arrival, newly published  "The Blue and the Gray" from the ladies at Country Threads in nearby Garner, Iowa.   I think the quilts in there are wonderful!  unique!!  delectable!!!   The projects were designed for customers in their Civil War Club, currently in its 4th year.   You can see many of the projects if you go to the link above.

NOTE:  most of the projects are NOT large quilts.   Typical finished sizes of the majority are 40x48", 35x35", 20x36", 26x32", etc.  Only four of the 18 projects have a side measurement over 60 inches.

There are so many projects in here that I want to make some day.  I'd like to enlarge several by substituting larger blocks. The cover quilt, for example, finishes at 35-1/2" square.   I've love to have one 71" x 71" that I could nap under.  It's been a while since a new book has gotten me so excited.  This one did.   Color palettes are interesting (lighter fabrics in some, giving a worn, aged look), and they use traditional blocks in new-to-me layouts.    If you like C.War fabrics, you may want to check out this book.

Good news from Heidelberg yesterday.  The two quilts I made for granddaughter Maddie's teachers were mailed from Iowa last Friday, and they arrived in Germany on Wednesday.  Thank you for the quick delivery, USPS !!

Sashing makes a difference

Rows of HST sewn together--sashing just resting in place

My second post today. The Kaffe quilt I wrote about earlier today has progressed enough to show it again.   I totally replaced two fabrics, and the horizontal HST rows are sewn together.

Thanks for the suggestions to add lighter fabric in between the HST.   I didn't explain the pattern very well.  That is part of the pattern.  

After sewing the HST, then sashing is added everywhere.  It's a very simple, straightforward pattern. One-inch blue strips go between all the blue fabric triangles.  I'm using a brown/white dotted fabric between all the red fabrics (as in the original pattern.)  It's a subtle separation, but enough to be noticeable.   I'll use the same dotted fabric as a  border -- 1" or 2" wide -- I'm decide later.

This is the finished 8-block width, and I still have 4 more rows to add to the length.  I should be able to finish most of the construction tomorrow after after my workday ends.  

Always a learning process.

current layout, with obvious problems (without flash)

This quilt was going together quickly, and I set a goal for myself to have it done by the end of the week. That's when something hits the fan, isn't it?

The pattern is "Turn by Turn" in the spring/summer 2011 issue of "Quilt Sampler" magazine, from the Tennessee Quilts shop in Jonesborough, TN.  The original layout is 10 x 10 blocks, and I'm reducing the width by two rows.   It's made from large HST (7" finished) and sashing.  Blue diagonal rows are sashed with its own blue fabric, and red rows are sashed with something else.

I didn't buy the kit (but I see it's still available.)  The 80 HST from my stash are done and up on the design wall.  That's when I saw problems.
--One red/pink row looks yellow.  Up close, we thought the pink would be fine.  It's not.
--Too many dark rows, side by side.
--Too many solid-looking and geometric-patterned fabrics. I need more variation of color and design.

These problems could have been prevented.  I should have spread out the fabrics in order and taken a photo before sewing.  I also could have (should have) put the triangles up on the wall before sewing them together into HST. So much easier to re-arrange or discard choices at that point. 

covering part of the "yellow" row with an option

These two photos don't flatter the layout at all.  My design wall area is in a hall, and the light distorts pictures.  First photo without flash, second with flash. 

Lesson learned the hard way.  I'll be playing around with fabrics this afternoon, rearranging, rethinking. I'll be replacing fabrics in the center sections--two, maybe three.  Each fabric is in two rows of HST, so that complicates the process a bit.  

I have to keep in mind that this quilt will eventually be given away (to a co-worker), and no matter what fabrics I use, someone will like it enough to put her name into a drawing.  

I hope your quilting is going smoothly this weekend.  A relaxing time is always our preference, especially on the weekends.  The TV is going off, some relaxing music is going, and I'm going back to the design wall.