2018 Finishes - Garden Party #55

This is a table runner from the Thimbleberries program "You're Invited" for the month of March 2007.  When I am typing these dates, I think wow, that was a long time ago, many years ago.  There is no feeling like getting all of these projects finished.  The baggage of unfinished projects can be heavy and discouraging in our quilting world.

Take this table runner for example,  I put it aside this top as the pattern called for quite a bit of appliqué in and around the center blocks.  I don't really like doing appliqué, so I put it away.  When I set out to finish my UFO's, I told myself that I didn't need to do my projects like the pattern, and could do without the appliqué!  What a feeling of control and freedom.  This project turned out simple and something I really like without the appliqué.  We need to learn to do what we like and what it takes to complete projects.

It is a fairly large table runner, measuring 27" X 52".  I have a table it will fit, but I haven't used it yet.  I'm thinking of using it a gift for a distant friend who really appreciates the work that goes into these projects.  

Also, I had to get creative for the backing.  This is a different color value that Thimbleberries tried (and failed in my humble opinion), but it then cause difficulty in getting a matching or a close to matching fabric to use on the back.  Then, I remembered that during the participation in this program, they sent me two of these kits by a mail mix up, when I called about it they told me I could just keep the second kit for free.  I dug through my bins of kits and found the duplicate, and I had enough to create a backing using two of the fabrics from the front.  Win! Win!  The rest of the kit went into the scrap bin for future scrap quilts.

Warmest...

Size: 27" x 52"

Fabric Lines Used:  Thimbleberries 

Colors:  Red, Yellow, Blue, Green

Pattern:  Garden Party (Thimbleberries "You're Invited" 03/07)

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2007

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Starry Path - #54

This quilt is a Block of the month from 2009 at one of the local quilt shops.  Once again I did all the blocks during the year, but put it aside and it became an UFO.  I pulled it out this year, as one of the BOM's I was committed to get done.  The sashing are patterned pieces, so I had to spend time getting them made up and then I was able to proceed in putting the top together.  There are big background blocks, every other block with the printed fabric blocks.  There was an option to do an appliqué ring of flowers using the same colors as the blocks, but I opted not to do that for this quilt.  It came out better than I thought it would with all that background white space.

The borders use the same fabrics as found in the blocks.  It measures 65" X 65".  It doesn't look square in the picture, but it is, believe me.  I am not a fan of square quilts, but this is quite pretty.

Again, the sunlight doesn't due the close up pictures any justice, but I like the sherbet colors used in the quilt.

I had enough of the border fabric as a backing, and the fabric from the inner border for the binding.  

Size: 65" x 65"

Fabric Lines Used:  Unknown

Colors:  Sherbert yellows, pinks, blues

Pattern:  Frizzle Frazzle (Lynette"s "You're Invited" 05/06)

Designer:  Diane Bowden

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2006

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Hourglass & Rails - #53

Everybody who reads about my projects and quilts, know that I'm  a follower of Bonnie Hunter at her blog Quiltville.  Every year around June/July, she puts out a new Leader Ender project.  I combined two of her years blocks to make this quilt.

Year 2016 was the pinwheel block and year 2017 was the rails block.  I chose to alternate the two blocks and came up with this quilt.

This quilt is made with 30's reproductions prints, and there is not duplicate within each block.  So, in essence, there in one block in a pinwheel and one block in a rail using the same print.  But, it is really very scrappy.  It measures 84" X 102".

The sun did not do justice of this quilt.  This is a close up of a corner of the different blocks.  I get all my quilts done in a stipple pattern by my long armer quilter.  It is very reasonable, and looks great on most of my common quilts.  

I chose a very pretty pink tone on tone to match the period pink colors.  I used it also for the binding.

Size: 84" x 102"

Fabric Lines Used:  30's Reproduction Prints

Colors:  Red, Green Yellow, blue, pink

Pattern: 2016 Pinwheels and 2017 Rails Leaders Enders 

Designer:  Bonnie Hunter

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2016

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Farmer's Wife #52

Going back to July 2011, another blogger started a quilt along doing the Farmer's Wife sampler quilt.  This was really popular around that time,  and several bloggers and local quilt shops were doing it either as a quilt along or a BOM.  I had already purchased the book several months earlier (you can purchase one here on Amazon, or anywhere else you want to get a copy.  The local library might have one too.  This sampler is by Laurie Aaron Hird, and has a total of 111 sampler blocks.  The book comes with an accompanying CD rom with all of the templates.  Marti Michell also has most of the templates in acrylic to use with this sampler.

In the book, the first half of the book shows a completed block along with a letter from 1920's wives that inspired each block.  The second half of the book has a page for each block, showing cutting instructions and construction diagrams.  

I jumped all in, really excited.  I printed all the templated out on card stock, cut them out, and started cutting out each block. I blogged about each block I made.  I was so into this sampler, that I opted to do it in two separate color ways.  One in civil war reproductions and the other with a fabric line called Breath of Avignon by American Jane from Moda fabrics.

I used both the acrylic templates and the card stock templates to get each block, then placing the cut pieces in an individual zip lot sandwich baggie for construction at a later date.   Little did I know, until I was in too deep of construction, that the card stock templates were copied at normal printing (which is at about 98%) instead of setting my printer to print them at 100%.   So, many of my blocks were off up to a quarter of an inch.

Some of my blocks came out 6.5 inches and some came out at 6.0 inches.  Panic time!!!  I gave it some serious thought.  One, do I trash the whole project and move on, wasting all that fabric, or two figure out how to make it all work together. 

I took option 2.  I took the framing fabric and added an additional 1/2" to the blocks that were too small, and then framed all the blocks according to the directions.  Anyone looking at it would not see the correction.  It takes only me to know what happened and the fix.  Especially after it was quilted, there is no glaring or even an easily noticeable fix to the error.

I am still working on how to fix the other color way to get that quilt done.  I am guessing this one will fall under my 2019 Finishes.  

To read about my finished quilt on the blogger who started the quilt along, please go here.

Here are some up close pictures of the different blocks and the finished framing and cornerstones, and you can't tell.  

I opted not to add any borders other than the offsetting triangles and bound it with the same fabric I used in framing the blocks.

I tried to get a picture of all the blocks used in the sampler.  Just a note about the blocks done in this sampler.  Remember they are only 6.5" square, and some of them had up to 65 pieces per block.  Sometimes it would take about 2 to 3 hours per block to make.  

This quilt requires lots of time and planning.  

Warmest...

Size: 72" x 84"

Fabric Lines Used:  Civil War Reproductions

Colors:  Black Gold, Orange, Green, red, blue, purple, yellow

Pattern:  The Farmer's Wife

Designer:  Laurie Arron Hird

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2011

Year Completed: 2018

Rug Hooking

I have another hobby that I don't get to very often. I even blogged about these two projects back in 2012.  You can read more about it here.  

I am on a mission to get UFO's done this year, even those that are not quilt related.  I pulled these out, and I am ready to get them bound, so they can be put in the finished column and possibly put them to use.  

This hobby is called Rug Hooking.  You can google it or look it up on Pinterest, but it is a fascinating hobby.  Basically, you cut up wool in even small 1/4" strips and hook them into a base.  The result is just beautiful.  The finished products can be from primitive to very intricate perfection.  

The top two pictures are the first one I did in a class where I was taught how to do the craft.

I folded the backing to get it ready for the binding it needs to finish it for use.

And this is the next one I did and it is ready for binding.

I choose to use rug binding (can be bought by the yard, I purchased a whole spool) to finish my quilts.  I have this one started, and I am about half way done.  

An up close look at the binding after it is sewn on around the edges.  It gives the hooked rug a nice finished look.  Then you just slip stitch the binding down around the inside of the rug.  

I usually only do my hand work while traveling to and from our trade shows.  We don't have one until the first weekend of December.  I will be able to finish this one and then work on the other one. 

I can then add all my Rug Hooking UFO's to the finished column, and then start on a new hooking project.  

Warmest...

Wren

2018 Finishes - Sugar Pines - #51

This finish is another quilt from the Thimbleberries program called "You're Invited".  It was a kit for the month of July back in 2007.   I believe it is a table topper, but if I had given it more thought, I think it would have been a great Christmas tree skirt.

The piece measures 46" X 46", with four focus blocks that have an embroidered leafless tree in each block.  

I opted to do the embroidery on my domestic machine. using a simple zig-zag stitch.  Once it was quilted, it looked just as nice as if I had done it by hand.

This kit was done in darker Christmas colors and a border with a Christmas flower.

I the binding is done in red and the backing has all the colors of the front of the kit.

Warmest...

Size: 46" x 46"

Fabric Lines Used:  Thimbleberries 

Colors: Gold, Green, Red

Pattern:  Sugar Pines (Thimbleberries "You're Invited" 07/07)

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2007

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Star Blossom - #49

I am working my way through the programs that I have kits from, and this is another one from the Thimbleberries program "You're Invited" for April 2007.  It is called "Star Blossom" and is a quilt / table topper.   This one would look nice on a table because of the way the five stars are laid out in the middle.

This has a fall look about it with the colors used in the top.

Just a close up of the star, and the other blocks.  I used a scrappy binding to use up the leftover fabric from the top.

I have used this backing on several of my Thimbleberries quilts, as it has the colors of most of Lynette's color palette, and it comes in a 108" width, making it an easy go to fabric for a lot of these quilt kits.  

Size: 42" x 42"

Fabric Lines Used:  Thimbleberries 

Colors:  Black Gold, red, Green

Pattern:  Star Blossom (Thimbleberries "You're Invited" 04/07)

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2007

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Fresh As A Daisy - #47

Another square quilt / table topper from the Thimbleberries program "You're Invited".  This is called Fresh A Daisy for February 2007.  

This has nine blocks with each one appliquéd in the center of a daisy using blue and pink fabric.  I machined on the appliqué design using a blanket stitch on my domestic machine.  Each appliqué is done on the same background fabric, and then each block is framed with the same fabric from the fabric used as the petals or from the borders.

This is one of only a few quilts that I have done that have different fabrics for one border.  Gives a whole different look to a quilt.  I really like it for this quilt.  Gives it a whimsical look.

Close up of a couple of the daisies and the framing.

The binding was done in yellow, matching the small inner border, tying it all together quite nice.

I had several strips leftover from the petals, frames and borders, so I stitched them together for the backing.   I was still short, so I found some fabric that had all the colors in this quilt top, and stitched it to the top and bottom of the backing.  It now is a double sided quilt with a different pattern on the front and the back.  

Warmest...

Size: 56" x 56"

Fabric Lines Used:  Thimbleberries 

Colors:  Pastel blue, pink, yellow

Pattern:  Fresh As A Daisy (Thimbleberries "You're Invited" 02/07)

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2007

Year Completed: 2018

2018 Finishes - Party Pumpkins - #50

I don't celebrate Halloween, but I do like the fall decorations, and this is perfect for those who like fall and Halloween.  

This is another quilt (more like a wall hanging or a table top covering) from the "You're Invited" program club of 2006 - 2007.  This one is from June 2007.  It is another one that I did the top and left the borders, quilting, and binding for later.  That later came this year.  I am trying to take each of these programs that I signed up for and had the tops started and get them completed.  Since this was over ten years ago, and my tastes have changed, if I haven't done the top and don't like the quit, I have taken the kit apart and put the fabric in the Thimbleberries scrap bin.  I really would like to work on scrap quilts rather than a kit I no longer care about.

This quilt has appliquéd blocks at the top and bottom of the center of the quilt and a strip brick center of various fall colored prints.  The pumpkins and moon pieces are machined sewn with a blanket stitch I have on my Huskvana Quilt Designer sewing machine.  That was the only machine I owned until I got hooked on Vintage Sewing machines.  I will be blogging about them more later this year.

Again, this is more of a wall hanging / table topper as is is only 48" X 52"  

The border has a triangle flying geese as its first border, and then a matching strip border that matches the dark triangles.  

I wish I had gone with a darker backing to go with better with the front colors, but it matches the triangles from the border, so all is well.  At least the binding is dark and a matching fall color with the front fabrics.

Warmest...

Size: 48" x 52"

Fabric Lines Used:  Thimbleberries 

Colors:  Black Gold, Orange, Green

Pattern:  Party Pumpkins (Thimbleberries "You're Invited" 06/07)

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Nelson

Year Began: 2007

Year Completed: 2018