It's Cool To Be Square blog hop

Being a part of a blog hop is always so much fun don't you think?  So when Carol from Just Let Me Quilt announced she was having  "Its Cool To Be Square" blog hop I jumped on the bandwagon.   It kinda happened as I was just starting this quilt back in March.  And it just so happened it involved squares.  So it was meant to be:)








I had purchased a bundle of 10 fat quarters at the Minnesota Quilt show last year.  And it has been staring at me and begging me to use them in a quilt.  I just hadn't figured out just what quilt and then to find a pattern that needed only 10 fat quarters.  As I do from time to time, I went through a box of patterns and found one that would work great if I substituted the light colored fat quarter in that bundle.  Of course that meant going through my bright fun colors of stash to get one that would look like it fit in.  See that pretty teal border print with the purple polka dots, yep that's the one I substituted and then decided to use it for the border and binding also.

The pattern is called Sweet Pea and is from Anka's Treasures.  It is a fast pattern to make up and fun looking at.  While her pattern has you applique flowers onto the quilt I decided I didn't want to do that.  I like the simplicity of the 'cool' squares and it lets the prints shine through. 

I quilted the whimsical all over freehand flowers with this teal thread.  It's spring I guess and I am stuck in flower mode.

Then when it came time to quilt it a couple weeks ago, I started panicking because I don't usually have a lot of big yardage pieces for backings on hand.  The one I originally picked wasn't big enough and I didn't have time to do a pieced backing.  So I dug a little deeper and wowzers I came up with the perfect piece, the right size, the right color, bingo!!!

It measures in at 56"x 66".  A great size to cuddle up and read a book or watch TV with. 

Thanks Carol for hosting and letting me be part of this blog hop!   Here are the links to the other bloggers participating.

May 18

Creatin' in the Sticks

Life in the Scrapatch

Day Brook Designs

Songbird Designs

The Darling Dogwood

Kathleen McMusing

Quilting Gail

May 19

MooseStashQuilting

Beaquilter

Quilt In A Not-Shell

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Seams To Be Sew

Daughters of Dorinda

Kathy's Kwilts and More

May 20

Ms P Designs USA

Selina Quilts

Karen's Korner

Just Because Quilts

Becky’s Adventures in Quilting and Travel

Sew Many Yarns

May 21

Scrapdash

Websterquilt

Quilt Schmilt

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting (that's me)

May 22

Just Let Me Quilt

Vroomans Quilts

Patchouli Moon Studio

Den syende himmel

Quilt Fabrication

Samelia's Mum

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down

Can I get a Whoop Whoop

TGIFF

Finished or Not 

To Do Tuesday #18

Oh it's been a busy and productive week in my quilting/knitting studio.  It feels so good to accomplish the goals one sets for the week, but then to exceed those goals, wowee!!

1.   I hoped to get more machine knit sweaters sewn up.  DONE  and with buttons to.  These are small sizes of 9 months, 1 year and 2 year.   Acrylic and nylon yarn.  These are knit on my knitting machine and I hand sew the side seams.

      2.  The next goal was to continue to work on the customer quilt.  DONE
      I  was able to get all the blocks sewn and the rows sewn and it is now a flimsy and as of yesterday pinned on the longarm and the quilting has begun.

In addition to that I started sewing masks to list in my Etsy shop.  Etsy keeps asking for people to make them as so many need masks.  So I decided to list a few. 

I also got a start on two football table runners for an order.  And I quilted an eye spy quilt for a local customer.  It's always so fun to see each fabric she has chosen. 

During this next week I hope to finish the customer quilt shown above,  maybe a few more masks, and start piecing a birthday table runner for an order. 

I think I can stay on task for another week;)  

Thanks to Roseanne and Sue for hosting To Do Tuesday.   Let's all cheer each other down the goal line:)

Monday Memories #2

Here were are already to Monday Memories #2.  This week I'll share three more photos of items I used to make and sell at craft shows.  There were all made starting in the mid 90's.  

Here come the bunnies!!  Sitting bunnies, hanging bunnies, bunnies with carrots.  Oh yes I adored making bunnies back then and they were good sellers. 

Bunnies made from osnaburg fabric with a looser weave, and bunnies made from tea dyed batting. 

Bears made from plush felt, some bunnies were too.  And then we have some dolls and angels.  Boy I sure went through a lot of poly fill stuffing these guys!  Their clothes were made from homespun fabric in all colors. 

More bunnies, apples and birdhouses.  And enter some snowmen.  These birdhouse hanging decorations were made from wood.  Yes I went through a phase of loving all things made of wood and painted.  I really wanted to learn how to be good at it.  Even after inheriting my dads band saw I just never felt good at it and decided I should go back to doing what I did feel good at...sewing.   I think I chose the right path after all;)

I hope you enjoyed going down memory lane with me.  Each Monday over the next several weeks I'll show you a few more photos of what I made pre-blogging days.

What did you use to make that you might not have shown on your blog?  I'd love to hear about it. 

Today starts the 'It's Cool To Be Square' blog hop.  Join me on May 22nd when I will share my project.

    

Linking with Monday Making and Design Wall Monday, 

Easy Charm Baby Quilt

From time to time I scour Pinterest for a new idea for an easy quilt to whip up.  One I have supplies for, the right size and fun to make.  I found this tutorial from Jessica Dayton.  I had a charm pack I wanted to use and I also had four fat quarters to throw into the mix.  My fat quarters were always in the same position in these nine patches.

Who doesn't love a good nine patch set off with sashings.  The navy polka dot and white cornerstones did the job perfectly.   

I fell so fortunate when friends give me things they no longer feel they will use.  In this case the backing is a pretty pink fleece which my friend gave me.  I assured her I would use it for a donation quilt.  Don't you just love the texture that quilting on fleece gives.  A pretty pink thread topped it all off nicely. 

This is a quilt I will donate locally in honor of Hands 2 Help hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  

Linking with Oh Scrap and Sarah's progress for H2H

To Do Tuesday #17

My week was pretty simple, I didn't feel like sewing and I didn't until yesterday.  I know you are thinking well what did she do instead, because you know I can't sit still and do nothing!

I uncovered my knitting machine and knit every single day.  Six little kid sweaters are knit, and I am in the process of sewing them up.  They are all cardigans and all are 9 months to 2 year size.  Here is one of them.

My supply of these little sweaters have dwindled and I haven't done much knitting the last 2-3 years.  So I need to get my hiney in gear this year. This one still needs buttons and a label.  

So my goal last week was a solitary one and that was to start working on a quilt order.  I cut the pieces out and pieced one row.   So I met my goal:)

Goals for this coming week will be:

1. To sew up the other five sweaters and maybe get the buttons sewn on them.  

2. Continue to work on the customer quilt.  I have given myself three weeks to work on this as I have other commitments that were lined up before I took the order. 

Linking up at To Do Tuesday.  

Monday Memories

I'll get to the memories soon but first some background.  Last week I just didn't feel like sewing at all.  That is just not like me.  I didn't have anything pressing at the time that needed sewn anyway.  So I decided to uncover one of my knitting machines and knit some kid sweaters.  My supply is down and I needed to get busy on them.

While knitting I was near a messy set of cubbies that had fabric in them and piled on top of them and it was not appealing at all.  That afternoon I started sorting and organizing and putting in bins and before long it looked better.  The next day, after knitting another sweater, I tackled another little cupboard that had miscellaneous stuff in it.  Some of it was put in another location and that made room for more fabric storage;)  In that process I found an old photo album that housed photos of things I used to make a long time ago, like 30+ years ago.  A light bulb came on and I thought why not share some of those photos with you.

Most of you know that I do local craft shows but did I mention that I started doing them 35 years ago!
First I made clothes for Cabbage Patch Dolls and Barbie Dolls. I haven't found photos of those yet.  But shortly thereafter I began making and selling these baskets on ice cream pails.  Those are sitting on the fireplace and then the stuffed lamb dolls.  We haven't lived in that house in years and I still miss my gorgeous fireplace.

These country kitchen towel dolls were all the rage for a few years.  Their face, arms and bodies were made with muslin and stuff with polyfill.  It was fun looking for just the right combination of prints, plaids to go with the towels.  All of these items were made from purchased patterns.

And they evolved into bunnies, ducks and lambs. I made all the other dolls sitting on the shelf(which my dad made). My parents were very crafty too and sold at craft shows for years also.

Wow did those photos bring back memories of things I used to make.  I didn't date the photos so they most likely won't be in the order of which things were made. In the next several weeks I will be sharing more memories on Monday.   Perhaps you have old photos of things you made pre-blogging and would like to share your memories on Mondays also.  At this time I don't have my blog set up for a linky party, but you could write your own post about your memories anyway.  If you send me a link to your blog post I could include it at the bottom of my post so others could find you.

I hope you enjoy getting to know me a bit better through my memories.

Linking with Monday Making, Design Wall Monday

Sunset Ridge for H2H

I've been preparing for the H2H (Hands2Help) drive hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Sarah has been hosting for many years, I have joined in for the last four years I think.  It is very rewarding for me to make and give a quilt to someone that needs a little pick me up when they are struggling.  I call it a quilty hug.

If you are a follower you saw this one for a quick little photo in my To Do Tuesday HERE.  The quilt flimsy was actually pieced in the summer of 2019.  So another UFO out of the closet!  It really is great to make flimsies here and there and then when it is time for the H2H drive all I have to do is quilt and bind.













The pattern is called Sunset Ridge at Moda Bake Shop , I modified it for the size I wanted.  Mine is approx. 40" x 46".  A lot of scraps were used  for this and very little white for the background.  A quick and fun quilt to make.

And luckily the pink plaid flannel a friend gave me worked perfectly for the back.  I love using flannel for the back as it makes the quilt so much softer and cuddlier.    

For the next several Mondays I am going to post Monday Memories.  That is on Mondays I am going to post pic's of things I used to make many moons ago.  These are things you have never seen before and didn't even know I made.  I hope you'll come back on Monday for the first post!

Linking with Oh Scrap and UFO Busting

Stars and Stripes

A local customer asked me about making her one of these Stars and Stripes table runners before Christmas.  And since it was patriotic we agree I could wait until spring to make it.  Well you know me, might as well make two while I am at it.  The one went into my shop and was gone pretty quick.  

So I whipped up another in different fabric. 

I have been quilting them all the same.  Glide Navy thread is used throughout.  Ruler work in the stars and in the red and white stripes.  Freehand stipple in the navy background of the stars.  I used some of the dies in the 8" Accuquilt cube to make the flying geese for the stars. 

It's Thursday so that means I will join the linky parties at My Quilt Infatuation, and For the Love of Geese.  Be sure to head over there and get more inspiration, I mean we don't have enough do we, hehe. 

To Do Tuesday #16

Here we go again, another week gone by fast and I am trying to remember what all I did, LOL  I better go look at the calendar.  I have been writing done each day I finish something.  When I say finish I mean to the very end of the last stitch on the binding.  Okay, hold on while I go look;)

Alright I am back.  My goal for the week was to complete five table runners and quilt one donation quilt.

First up was another sunflower table runner- DONE

Next were the two card trick table runners that I posted about HERE - DONE

                                    

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen the work in progress on the fourth table runner. My original checkerboard star.   DONE         

And the fifth one is another rendition of my United We Stand table runner.  DONE  This one is the one that my DH thought I should do.   You can see the first version HERE

The last goal I had was to quilt another donation quilt.  What do you think did I meet this goal?  

Well of course, I didn't want to let anyone down, LOL  DONE

I was just in a crazy go, go, go mood this past week.  Which was good because it didn't happen in the sewing room over the weekend. This was the quilt from Tish's QAL last year.  Yes it is finally done!  Since this is for a Hands 2 Help donation you will see it again in it's own separate post. 

That was a good week don't cha think, I am sure happy with it.  Like I mentioned each day I completely finish something I write it on the calendar in my Quilters Planner.  At the end of the month I tally it all up, makes me feel accomplished!  

For April I finished 20 table runners, and 1 quilt for my Etsy shop which I figure is approximately 47 yards of fabric.  The only fabric that I bought was 3 yards of solid brown for an upcoming quilt.  And I paid $1.37 for a jelly roll.  How did I do that you may be wondering..I had a gift card that I won from Fat Quarter Shop for $25 and the jelly roll was on sale.   

Also in April from my personal stash I finished 5 small quilts for donations, I don't count the yardage on that just because I keep it totally separate from my business. 

Do you keep track of how much fabric you use or how many projects you get done each month?  I never used to, but I thought it would be fun to try it. 

Linking with To Do Tuesday at HomeSewnByUs.    Oh wait I didn't set a goal for this week, haha.

Keeping it simple and that is to work on a quilt for an order.  I might be able to sneak in something else we'll see;)

Let's all go have a great week!

Hands 2 Help finish #3

Last Tuesday I showed you a finish all rolled up to prove I met that goal.  Today I will share the quilt with a better view.  It's the blue and yellow quilt I had worked on a bit here and there the last few weeks. This quilt is # 3 that I am donating for Hands 2 Help 2020.  It will go locally to the Crisis Nursery Center.

The piecing of this top was complete on April 14th and then it waited to be quilted until I was ready.  After completing the yellow and gray quilt last week with the three hook swirl I decided to go ahead and use it again for this one.  It is an easy, quick all over design that still keeps the quilt soft and cuddly.

For the back I had a piece of lightweight denim chambray that was the perfect color to go with this top.  And it was just the right size, no cutting, or adding to it. Love when that happens!

I think it would be fun to remake this one and for the prints use scraps and be consistent with one color of solid throughout. No time to try that right now, but maybe for next year.  The strips are all cut at 2.5". 

Linking with Oh Scrap, Design Wall Monday, and Monday Making.

Two patriotic card trick toppers

It seems people are getting ready to decorate for several patriotic holidays.  I have sold several in the last month.  So I decided to make some more and see if I can make a dent in my patriotic fabric bin.  

Here are two card trick toppers I made using this tutorial.  They measure about 34" across.  Not hard to make at all.  This one has more of an antique look with using tan instead of white or cream.

Don't you love the striped binding!  I used to think that binding these toppers were a pain in the you know what!  But after doing several I have gotten the technique down and it isn't bad.  You know the old saying practice, practice, practice.  Hobbs 80/20 batting and Glide Navy thread.

 And this one has a cleaner more modern feel don't you think?

Both of these I used the freehand allover hook swirl.  This one has a variegated red, white and blue thread on top. I believe it is a Star thread.  I don't have the label on it anymore.  And again Hobbs 80/20 batting. 

April has just flown by even with all the craziness of the world right now.  Other than not seeing family our lives didn't change all that much.  We are kind home bodies anyway.  But not being able to go to the fabric store and pet the fabric is starting to bug me!!  But perhaps that is not all bad as I am using up a bunch of stash, even though I can't really tell by looking at it, LOL 

Linking with NTT, Put Your Foot Down

To Do Tuesday #15

Here we are with another week gone flying past.  Let's see how my To Do Tuesday goals for the week went.

1. Make another Hunter star table runner in Patriotic fabrics.  I didn't even show you the first one yet and it          sold yesterday.  I'll show them both at the same time.  EDIT:  LOL I must not have had enough coffee this

    morning when I posted as I did show you the first hunter star!!!  HERE  ya go.   DONE

    It is very similar to the first one, but the border fabric is different.

2. Finish a southwest table runner I am currently working on. DONE x 2

    This is my second Kokopelli table runner, which is my original design.  It is available in my Etsy shop. 

Instead of working on goal #4,  I decided to make another southwest table runner with these three Island Batik orange fabrics.  This is my version of a Navajo block. 

3. Quilt two more H2H quilts. DONE

    These will each get their own post so they are ready for the H2H link up party later in May. 

4. Quilt a leaf table runner. NOT DONE

5. Maybe start piecing another donation quilt. NOT DONE

I don't feel bad in the least that I didn't get all five of my goals met.  Because I did a few more things that I needed to do at that time. I'll share those later on.  Sometimes I meet the goals and sometimes I need to replenish items in my shop. 

For the week of April 28th-May 5th, my goal is going to be really loose:)

Goals 1 thru 5 are to make 5 table runners-which ones you ask.  Whatever I want to when I wake up that day!!

Goal 6 is to quilt an H2H donation quilt. 

And if I go off the rails and do something else it's okay with me.  How about you are you a stick to your goals kinda gal or are you okay with going off the rails?  

If you want to link up your goals for the week you can do so at HomeSewnByUs for To Do Tuesday. 

Also linking with Clever Chameleon