2017 Finishes - Little Birdie Stitches - #31

This is the other project using the fabric line called Sunkissed by Moda.  Each month an embroidery scene depicting something special to the month it came out, featuring little birdies.  The embroidery work was fun, the little birdies are cute, and the colors were scrumptious.  I had a lot of fun doing this project.  Anything with little birds are right up my alley, since my name is so much like the little bird wren.  This was the first time working with gray as a background color, but it was a light gray, and this line had a couple of pieces of gray print, that went with all the other colors very nice.  I started the embroidery this in January 2012, and if you would like to read the progress of each block and finishing the flimsy, you can click here.

Unfortunately, I also have had this flimsy done since 2014 and it got stuck with the other project, waiting to complete the other two projects I had in mind to do with this fabric line.  But these last couple of years have been a diligent work of completing UFO's and not worrying about other projects that haven't even been started.  

Therefore, I sent this off to the long armer to get quilted, and it came back last August.  I got it bound in September 2017, but the weather was very cooperative until about a month ago.  Sometimes, it takes me awhile to get the whole package done.

Again, sorry for the wrinkles, it has been folded up for almost a year before I could get time and weather cooperation to take pictures.

Close up of border, binding, and quilting.

Close up of the backing.  Had to piece the backing with a couple of prints, as this line is hard to find now.

Size: 52" x 66"

Fabric Lines Used:  Sunkissed by Moda

Sherberts - pink, yellow, green, orange, gray

Pattern: Little Birdie Stitches

Designer:  http://littlemissshabby.com/category/birdie-stitches/

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Logan Nelson

Year Began: 01/2012

Year Completed: 09/17 

2017 Finishes - Block A Palooza - #30

Back in January 2011, there was a Blogger's Quilt Along called "Block-a-plooza".  It featured 16 bloggers, who designed a block.  Each week one of the 16 bloggers would post their block and in the end you ended up with sixteen 12" blocks and then they provided three different quilt top settings to finish the Quilt Along.  If you want to read more about this program and my progress you can click here.  I am not going to talk about this one much, as you can click on the link and read all you want about it.  I didn't take many pictures while working on this project other than to take a picture of the final block once it was done.

I will say that I had to remake two blocks, as they were so out of shape I couldn't work them in to fit when I started to piece the top together.  I actually had the top finished back in 2014, but it got put in a pile back in the closet, because I really liked the fabric line at the time and was making another 12 month program using it, and I had two more projects to do out of the fabric.  I did finally finish the other 12 month program and finished these two at the same time.  It is called Birdie Stitches #31.  You can read about it in a future post.

(It's been folded for a while, sorry for the wrinkles)

Size: 59" x 87"

Fabric Lines Used:  Sunkissed by Moda

Sherbert pale pink, orange, green, yellow, gray

Pattern: Block A Palooza

Designer:  Quilt Dad and Moda Designers

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Logan Nelson

Year Began: 2011

Year Completed: 09/17 

2017 Finishes - Star & Chain #26

I have posted about projects out of this book before, as it was a year long program called "Anniversary Club" put on my a quilt shop for Thimbleberries.  The program sent out a kit once a month of each project in this book.  If you are interested in the other projects I have completed from this book you can read them here. If you want to read about the process of making the quilt, you can click and read about it here.

This project is called "Star & Chain".  I fell in love with it, mainly from this picture.  It is one of my favorites from the book.

This is a picture of the layout of the block.  Was a little complicated to do and put together when all the pieces were cut out and made.

These are just some of the pieces that made the frame around the star in the middle.

This also is the making of the frames.

These are the little triangles that were cut off of the frames.  I have to think of something to do with all of these piles of leftovers.

This is one thought of using up the triangles, but pin wheels are not my favorite to make.  Remember this was done last year.  The triangles are still technically in a pile, just now piles in a bag.

These are finished star units.

Here is the making of the rows, showing how the framing goes together around the stars.

This is a finished flimsy.

Final and finished product.  I think my picture is as good as the one in the book!  

This is a close up of the quilting and binding.

Finally this picture shows the backing I choose.

Size: 64" x 76"

Fabric Lines Used:  Kit using Thimbleberries Fabrics

Greens and Yellows

Pattern: Star & Chain

Designer:  Lynette Jensen

Long Arm Quilter:  Carol Logan Nelson

Year Began: 10/2016

Year Completed: 06/17 

Mini Quilt Club

Yep, I did it again!  I signed up for another program/club this year.  I am a sucker for getting kits in the mail and or a BOM!  

Moving right along, this is a yearly club of mini quilts.  You can view them or sign up here if interested.  It is for 6 quilts, one every other month, for a year.

I signed up because I thought that in doing all my big quilt projects, I would like to do a small project, something that I could get done rather quickly and feel accomplished.  I also liked that these mini quilts will all be done in Civil War Reproduction Fabrics.  That way, when I go to display them, they will have some cohesiveness about them.

This is mini project is called " Mams's Scrapbag".  I was able to make it in two nights.  My only issue with this one is that I didn't not square up my blocks, so my center came out about 2" bigger around on all sides.  So, since there was only enough brown border for the smaller version, I adapted four corner posts from some leftover scraps from the center.

Home machine quilting was another reason I opted to do some of these mini quilts, as I can work on these on my machine.  I opted to do a cross hatch for this mini, and the picture below is the one direction.

Here is a close up of the cross hatching quilting showing both ways on the mini quilt.

 This is a up close look at the finished quilt with the binding all done.

And the final version.  Looks like I need to iron it, as it is been folded in my sewing bag from the weekend.

Warmest...

On Ringo Lake Mystery Quilt Finished!

Just a note at the beginning of this post.  I have been having trouble with Google Blogger and getting logged in, due to security updates, so it has been a bit of a struggle to get signed in to do a post.

This mystery, On Ringo Lake Mystery Quilt, has taken longer this year to finish than in year's past.

I think the most difficult part was making the sashing and putting it together on point.

Don't get me wrong, I really like how it turned out.  The colors go really well together, and makes for a soft print quilt.

My driveway is the only place that was dry enough and a large enough space to get a photo of the top.

I now have it ready for the long arm quilter.  I will post finished pictures later.  

Warmest...

On Ringo Lake Mystery Quilt Update

Believe it or not, we are past clue 4 and this Friday will be clue 5.  I am not keeping up as well as I have in past years, but I have made some of each clue to keep up with knowing what and how the pieces are going to fit together at the big reveal (which usually comes on New Year's Day)

Clue 1:

Clue 2:

Clue 3:

Clue 4:

Christmas is right around the corner, this weekend in fact, so I'll take a moment to wish all my friends, whether in person or through this blog a Very Merry Christmas!!!  

I'll be back next week with clue 5, and some other non-quilting sewing stuff.

Warmest...

Little Quilt

I came across this mini quilt in one of my magazines (American Patchwork and Quilting, Oct 2017 issue)  and was inspired by it enough to want to do one myself.  It is called Chocolate Stars by Jo Morton.  She does a line of mini quilts each year for a program called Little Women's Club.  She even has a book out just recently with nothing but these little quilts.   The block in the lower left hand corner in the first picture is an old vintage block that Jo Morton takes and does a remake on that block.

This mini quilt will be done completely by hand.  So, I dug out one of my floss pocket holders and put all the small pieces in to keep them organized and easy to travel with while in the vehicle.

One of the reasons that this mini quilt will be better off done by hand quilting is because it had several set in seams.  These are so much easier to do by hand than by machine.

Here is a partial one done.  

And getting more done on the star block.  

I am enjoying this little quilt and it's process of doing it by hand.  Even if it takes me a year or so....

Warmest...