Triple Patriotic toppers

I'm thinking ahead to another season, a patriotic season which extends from Memorial Day thru Labor Day. If you are one of my followers you have seen the first two styles many times in different fabrics. If you happen to be here for the first time, I love making these styles for my Etsy shop.  These were made this past week. First up my stars and stripes table runner.

 

Of course I had to whip up one of my wedge round toppers too. I had the hardest time photographing this one, the blues just didn't want to come out right. But this morning I used my phone and it worked much better.

And now for the last one, it's a new design for me!!  OMG it was so fun to try out a new ruler and pattern!  The design is a free one from Krista Moser called Swirling star. It comes together quickly with strip piecing and the Creative Grids 60 degree diamond ruler. 

The quilting on this one took a bit of time but I love how it came out. Ruler work, U turns and a little stippling set this one off nicely I think. 

All three of the runners I have shown in this post have the same backing fabric. I bought a bolt of it from Marshall Dry Goods, very happy with it.  Soon I will have to piece more backings to use up some other leftovers though. Plus pieced backings always make a fun unique look.

On this Wednesday I will link up with Midweek Makers, and Wednesday Wait Loss. Thursday linking with Put Your Foot Down and NTT  

I hope you all are having a fun week whether you are quilting, on a road trip or doing something else. Here is something else fun happening in our yard... wild turkeys have been traversing between us and a few neighbors each day. They are trying to find some food that fell from our deer feeder. Each night we have been watching them fly up to the tree tops to roost for the night. They take a small running step and up the go, for such big birds they do pretty well. We counted up to 14 one night.  This was taken a couple weeks ago, since then a bit of this snow has melted.

And of course the deer are still almost a daily occurrence. There is at least six in this photo, you have to look out into the tree line to see three of them.  We enjoy watching the wildlife:)

Scrappy Tumbler

 It's a scrappy tumbler finish! These tumblers were leftover from previous tumbler quilts and in an effort to cut down on UFO's I finished it up.

Trying something different to calm down the busy tumblers by adding the solid blue sashing between rows.

I love working with the bright fabric for a child's quilt. Especially on Minnesota winter days. Although the days have been kinder to us the past week with temps touching 40 some days. I won't complain much about our weather after seeing all the destruction in the south and the crazy amounts of snow out west. My heart goes out to those who have lost everything and to the families of loved ones lost.

I used a solid light blue fleece for the backing and no batting for this one. This leaves the quilt very squishy and cuddly especially since I just quilted it with an all over meander. This quilt will head to the H2H (Hands 2 Help) donation pile, that makes 2 so far.  More on the horizon:)

Linking with Oh Scrap, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, Sew and Tell Monday.

Hunters Star baby quilt

I finally got back to working on the Hunter Star blocks a few weeks ago. 

The first blocks were made in February which I blogged about HERE.  The blocks were so fun to watch come together, would you like to see how they are made?  I cut them out using the Hunter Star Accuquilt die which made them easy to cut and easy to piece accqurately.  Here are the pieces all laid out in order.

And sewing the first pieces together. The die cuts the correct angles of each piece so they line up so nicely. The pieces on top after sewn and pressed look like the one on the bottom.

After those are all sewn and pressed it is time to sew the sections together. Easy peasy! Four of these quadrants make up a 12" block.

And before long you have a quilt;)  With the addition of a skinny green border and larger pink outer border my quilt measures 43".  

Pink flannel for the backing was given to me by a friend. Simple stipple quilting will keep this quilt soft for cuddling.  

On Sunday Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict opened up registration for the annual H2H, Hands2Help comfort quilt challenge.  This quilt will be donated locally for the challenge. I believe the challenge runs from now until early June, so I will have time to finish up a few more. Do you like to make quilts to donate?  It is so satisfying to give knowing they will comfort someone in need. It is also a great way to try new things and turn it into a quilt whether it is big or small. 

Linking with Wednesday Wait Loss, Midweek Makers, Finished or Not and Whoop Whoop Friday

Several Accuquilt sales that are going on for their cutters and starter sets, check the website for more info.  

Also from 3/23/23-3/27/23---50% off Studio Dies and Die Bundles (use code: 50STUDIO), and $500 Sale on Studio Cutter and Starter Sets (no code needed)

Thank you to those who buy thru my affiliate links!

UFO-Layer Cake Custard

Happy National Quilting Day! Seems appropriate to have a quilting post today don't you think. 

This quilt is a UFO of either three or four years I think. I know I started it one winter while in AZ. I pieced the blocks with the bars and then set it aside as they didn't come out the size I needed. I think perhaps the layer cake wasn't perfectly 10"🤔.  So it got put in time out. December I decided I needed to move it forward. After measuring everything I trimmed to a consistent size and then fudged a bit to make the square blocks the same size. Next thing I new I had a flimsy top all done, yipee!!

At that time I didn't feel quite ready to quilt it plus I had to find a backing. So back to the closet it went for time out.  Fast forward to March when I found the right color backing at Hobby Lobby and it was on sale:)  Most of you know I love freehanding my quilting but I thought perhaps I could try using a pantograph again. I love the designs but don't care for that method of quilting because I like seeing the stitching as it happens. Also love seeing exactly when I run out of bobbin thread!  But I had the perfect panto for this quilt.  Thursday morning I pinned it on the frame and went to get my laser light attached and for the life of me I can't find my laser light!!! You have to have a laser light to follow the panto.  After going through my longarm closet/room I gave up and decided to just freehand the hook swirl again.  Done is good, right.

Glide 40 wt. thread in a tan on top and a Glide 60 wt. in tan in the bobbin. 

 The top is all Island Batik fabrics while the backing is wide cotton from Hobby Lobby. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting. Once I get better photos this will make it's way into my Etsy shop.  

What did you do for National Quilting Day?  I went to my longarm meeting, so good to get out and spend time with friends.  This quilt was one of my show and tells. 

Linking with Sew and Tell, Monday Musings and Design Wall Monday

Crossed Canoe

This quilt was started in December last year, you can see the beginning post of it HERE. It is still in the WIP category in my opinion. Especially since it was still sitting out on my counter waiting for me to get back to it. When do you consider something as a WIP vs. a UFO?  For me if it goes into the closet it becomes a UFO. 

Back to the quilt, Saturday afternoon I had free sewing time so I decided this quilt needed some attention. I finished up the last 5 blocks that were needed. Remember I was running low on the background fabric and couldn't get anymore. So in order to make this a decent size quilt I am going to add purple sashings around each block. Then a 2" purple border before adding a piano key border of all the prints. However I need more of the purple and I am pretty sure I got it at Hobby Lobby and they are closed until Monday. 

A little better lighting after I got started on the outside border on Sunday. I will wait to do more after I make sure I can get more of the purple! I am only a few inches short I think but don't want to start and then find out I can't get more. The blocks are made using the  crossed canoe Accuquilt die. 

Linking with Design Wall Monday, This and That and Sew and Tell.

Pressing station is done!

I couldn't be happier with how my new pressing station came together!  It's all done and I have started moving in;)  I'll leave those two cubbies empty for now until I decide what other fabrics I want easily accessible. For now I have my fall/orange/gold/some browns in there because I will use them a lot in a few months. They were tucked away on the top shelf of my closet, now they will be easy to get at.  Also added were St. Patty fabrics and a few backings I need handy right now.  

Several of you were interested in my big board that hubby built several years ago. Here is the bottom of it. The 2x2's on the sides and end keep the board in place on top of a regular ironing board. It measures 22 x 60".  We had layered it with batting and a canvas and stapled it on.  Later I needed a new cover so I  T-pinned a new one on so I could more easily remove for a wash. Next thing I new I heard people using flannel for the cover so I bought yardage and just laid it over the top and tucked it between the big board and ironing board.

So after assembling the new Kallax unit we knew we needed to do something different on the bottom side of the big board. We left the original 2x2's and added three more sections in the middle so it would sit on top of the Kallax cubes. I needed it also for the right height for me. You might have noticed several little white pieces of wood on the side and ends of the 2x2's, those are the stoppers so the board won't move around and fall off the cubes.   This is just what worked for me, if you make one you might come up with other ideas that work better for you.

If you look again at my first photo you will see my big board sitting on top the cubes with the flannel cover I prefer. The flannel is still tucked in between the board and the cubes so I can easily take it off to wash or exchange it. The dollies/castors we bought from Harbor Freight are also screwed onto the bottom of the unit. We purchased two of them.

Both my bunny runners sold on Sunday so I finished two more yesterday.

Linking with TGIFF, Off The Wall, Finished or Not, Peacock Party, and Whoop Whoop.

Accuquilt sales for March 9-13 is an Extra 10% off GO! Qube Block Sets and Companion Sets (use code: MMQUBES10).   And on March 14th you get 2x the reward points. These are affiliate links.

A Pressing Matter and Fabric Acquisition

Last Friday the hubby and I went up to the Twin Cities so I could do some shopping. Our JoAnns is in the moving sale stage and so there aren't having the sales according to the ads. And there was some stuff on sale that I needed wanted, so we went there right after lunch. Plus SR Harris fabric outlet is always a draw for me;)  Here is what followed me home.  Pretty yellows for my sunflower runners, more of my favorite reds and the green for more shamrock runners(I did run out of that one). And the rest because I thought my supply of those specifics were low. This was the acquisition part of the trip.

The pressing matter was picking up this Kallax unit from IKEA.  Currently I have other brands of cubes for my cutting station and another for my Accuquilt station and I love them. This Kallax is going to be the base of my new pressing station:)  Years ago hubby made me a big board to put over my ironing board and it has served me very well. But I want/need more storage and so I got to looking on Pinterest and saw people using these cubes under their big boards. I am so excited and can't wait to get this all fixed.  We bought some dollies with casters from Harbor Freight and are going to mount them to the cube. Then I can roll it around as it will have to sit in front of my counters and I have stuff under the counters I need to get at from time to time. 

And to keep you up to date on my actually quilting, two more shamrock runners were made this week.

Linking with Design Wall Monday, Sew and Tell, and Monday Musings.

Project Quilting 14.5- Not Square!

Our task for Project Quilting 14.5 this week was to create something that was not square and make it without using a square. This was a really easy task for me as I just received some new shamrock fabrics and a coordinating greens. I ordered from JoAnns and from Marshall Dry goods and they both came the same day. So I set right out to make this round wedge shamrock topper. Now this style is nothing new to me as I have done them in lots of color ways.  There is definitely no squares involved!!

I do have a tutorial here on the blog, or you can find it under the tutorial heading above. They really are not that hard to make, they just look like it;)

When ordering fabrics online you never know if the colors are going to be exactly what you want. Especially if you are ordering from more than one place and you want all the fabrics to coordinate.  I anxiously opened the packages and OMG they all went together perfectly!!  I am sure I was squealing a bit because the hubby was giving me a look, LOL.  The backing fabric is the one from Marshall Dry Goods, I bought a whole bolt of it because that is the most cost effective way to go. I am sure I can use it for lots more table runners. 

Thanks to Tish for hosting the Project Quilting to which I am linking.  Looking forward to the next challenge to see if I can come up with something for it also.  More linky parties I am joining in with-Midweek Makers and Wednesday Wait Loss

ACCUQUILT has a special of 20% off your entire order when using code: QUILTMONTH23 until March 6th. These are affiliate links. 

Is it Spring yet?

I am so ready for spring to get here! We were in the midst of a winter storm this week, I think we got around a foot of snow. There were others not so far from here that received a lot more. But watching the snow coming down outside for a couple days made me yearn for spring, so I made my own spring by working with summery colors complete with flowers. These sweet daisies make me smile:)

There are some little flowers on the lighter colored wedges of this one too.

What do you think of this bright one. Think of how many occasions you could use this. It would be great as an Easter table topper, or how about all spring long or use it for a birthday party. 

                                  

Accuquilt---Buy one, get one 50% Off select GO! Dies (use code: TEXTBOGO50) Feb.24-26.

Also 2x Rewards for today Feb. 24th only!!

Linking with these Friday linky parties:

TGIFF

Peacock Party

Whoop Whoop

Finished or not Friday

Off The Wall

Beauty Pageant

And DrEAMI because I am dreaming of spring and that makes this a DrEAMI!

Sweet on you

The Sew it-Show it Challenge is hosted by Joan at MooseStash Quilting this month.  And the theme is 'Sweet on You'.  Right away I thought of Valentine's Day so that is what I went with. Plus I needed a little mini Valentine quilt for a little quilt hanger. This style of hanger pinches the quilt in between the boards making it so easy to change out seasonal quilts.

Now aren't these hearts just so sweet;)  This little wall hanging is 14x14 and packed full of Love!  After sandwiching my backing, batting and top I quilted it on my Funquilter in a diagonal cross hatch. Before binding it I appliqued the hearts on with a zig zag. The hearts and letters I made using Accuquilt dies. Three little red prairie points were added to the top before binding also. And topped off with three little white pearl buttons.

The pink little hearts on the background fabric just adds to the sweetness of my project.  We only got to enjoy it for a few days this Valentines season, but it will be all ready and waiting for next year. 

I hope you are enjoying the hop and are getting lots of inspiration!

Please check out my fellow bloggers who are participating in this hop today. But you can find the whole list for the week at MooseStashQuilting. Thank you Joan for hosting another fun hop!

Vicki's Crafts and Quilting (you are here)

Creatin' in the Sticks

Quilt Schmilt

Ms P Designs USA

The Crafty Grammie

Vroomans Quilts 

Words and Stitches

As an affiliate for Accuquilt I wanted to let you know...

Accuquilt has EXTENDED! - PRESIDENTS DAY SALE -- Extra 20% off Your Order (use code: PRESIDENTS) Thru Feb. 22nd.

February 23rd is a FLASH SALE! -- $20 Sale on select GO! Die Storage (use code: TIDYUP)

Linking with these parties: Wednesday Wait Loss, Midweek Makers

Project Quilting 14.4-QUILT

Project Quilting 14.4 is all about Novels- the rule was your project had to reflect a book you have read. The other rule is that it must meet at least one of these requirements: include patchwork, include appliqué, have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine.

I took a few days to think about which book, as I have read several romance novels. However that is not the avenue I went down. My mind kept wandering back to quilting, I remembered really enjoying Jennifer Chiaverini books.  So my mini QUILT will remind me of those books while it hangs in my sewing room.  

I picked two scrap 10" squares of Island Batik fabrics and sandwiched batting between them. Let the quilting begin, since this was a small project I quilted it on my domestic machine with a decorative wiggle and then a straight stitch in between those lines.  The heart was cut using an Accuquilt heart die after applying fusible web to the blue batik fabric.  Accuquilt's 2" alphabet came in handy to cut QUILT out of felt which I had applied fusible web to also.  What a fun little wall hanging. This was my second PQ challenge and I really enjoyed it!

Linking with PQ 14.4, and Oh Scrap!