Sewcial Progress

It's been a couple of weeks since the Sewcial and I did make some progress on my projects.  I took five projects with me and completed four!  So what did I get done?

I started this quilt SEVERAL years ago (I'm thinking early '90s) and had everything except the borders done.  I managed to bring it up to 91 x 91 (before quilting) and am hoping it will fit my bed once it's quilted.  It has a nice "vintage" look to it.

This is a "Grab Bag Log Cabin".  The pattern is an old free handout from Thimbleberries.  All it takes is one jelly roll and you've got a great throw.  I've made this quilt before from other fabrics and added a border to make it a bit bigger but I don't plan on doing that with this one.  The fabrics are Kansas Troubles (I don't remember which specific line though).

This baby quilted was started about 10 years ago.  The pattern is from a book called "Even More Quilts for Baby".  I had all the blocks done but needed to sew them together and then add borders.  Not sure who will receive this one but it's a cute little quilt for a baby girl!

 

Lots of great patterns (and easy too!) in this book. 

I didn't have a specific pattern for this one but had seen the quilt on the internet and recreated it in Electric Quilt.  I started it several years ago and even worked on it at retreat but never got it completed.  The star in the center is rather "bright" so I'm thinking once it's quilted, I may try and "age" just the center star to tone it down.  I have some "Distress It" that I'm thinking of using to try and tone it down.

I also recently completed one of the projects from the quilt retreat in January.  I finished the quilt for my neice, Harper Grace. 

I freehand quilted a floral design all over the quilt. 

Machine embroidered quilt label.

So, that's one projected completed and delivered to it's recipient.  The tops I completed at the Sewcial will go into my "TO BE QUILTED" bin. 

In the meantime, have a great day and we'll see you back here soon!

Patti

I'm going to be "Sewciable" tomorrow . . .

Tomorrow (Saturday, 2/11) is Fabric Town's "Quilt Sewcial" event.  A 12-hour day of nothing but sewing, eating and visiting with friends!  We meet twice a year at the Old Chicago Conference Center in Apple Valley -- 30+ ladies doing what they love!  No cooking, no cleaning and no interruptions!  And, we even have a massage therapist who does chair massages --- one of the "Sewcialites" nicknamed him -- Stevie Wonderhands!!!

Sew.... (sorry, I couldn't resist) .... I decided it was time to dip into that bin of "Projects in Progress" and see what I could take with me and complete!  I picked 5 projects -- a baby quilt, a wall hanging, 2 throws and a quilt that falls somewhere between double and queen size. I would love to get at least four of the five projects completed .... one of the throws is at it's early stages so I'm not sure just how far I can get on that one.

Gary and Mom will be hanging here at home .... now play nice, ya'll!

Well, I better scoot and get myself to bed.  I have to be at the conference center at 7 a.m. to help set up.  I'll let you know what I get done!

Patti

Yay --- A Quilt Retreat!!!!

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to go on a quilt retreat with a bunch of great ladies. Three days of quilting, food and fun! Oh, yeah! I decided I was going start working on those "in progress" projects and packed up 15 projects to work on. I know, it sounds ambitious, but some of the projects only required adding a border or two.

By Sunday afternoon, I had finished 11 out of 15 of my projects. Here they are:

No. 1:  This one is for my grandson, Liam -- he LOVES HotWheels!!  I purchased the fabric not knowing what the quilt was going to look like -- I knew it needed to be a twin so I started with the center and worked my way out.  The center is a black and white check (like a finish flag) and I plan on adding his name using machine embroidery applique.  I'm also going to order a pantograph of race cars and finish flags.  I have enough fabric left to make him a coordinating pillowcase!  I can't wait to see his face when he sees it for the first time.

No. 2:  This will end up being a wall hanging.  I added extra green fabric to the sides so it would measure the same width as the sunflower topper.

No. 3:  This throw is made with 3 Sisters fabrics.  I only had to add the two red side borders and cornerstones.

No. 4:  I started this one at the last retreat I attended two years ago. Again, it just needed the outer borders and it was done.  Fabrics are by American Jane.

No. 5:  A jelly roll quilt using a Roll Play by Pieced Tree Patterns.  I had to add both the inner and outer borders to this one.  I realized I didn't have enough of the outer border so I took a table topper I had made using leftovers from the jelly roll strips and "unpieced" it to form the cornerstones.

No. 6:  This quilt is from a Terry Atkinson book -- I think it's called "Big Jake" ... it's not quite big enough to use as a quilt on a double/full size bed but could be folded and laid across the bottom of the bed.  I'd like to finish this one and give it to my Mom for her bed.   I'm envisioning some pretty feathers in those big white spaces.

No. 7:  I taught a "Saturday Scrappers" class at my "favorite LQS" (Fabric Town in Apple Valley --- I just happen to work there as well) -- and the block used in this quilt was one I shared with the class.  I made up several blocks and designed my own quilt.  I love this quilt and can't wait to get it finshed and displayed in my living room.

No. 8:  This sweet little quilt is for my great-neice, Harper Grace!  (Don't you love that name -- it sounds so "southern")  I used "Yellow Brick Road" by Atkinson Designs and a funky & bright floral collection.  I don't remember the name of the fabric line.  I did get this one quilted and will be doing the binding over the next few days.  Watch for pictures!!!

No. 9:  A cozy flannel quilt for Mom.  She saw this one last January after I finished quilting one for the shop as a sample ... now she'll have one of her own.

No. 10:  A cute wall hanging from the book "Sew One and You're Done" ... I used some 3 Sisters fabrics.  I keep looking at it wondering if I need to add a border or just bind it in a red fabric.  What do you think?

No. 11:  Ooops ... no picture of this one.  No. 11 was a table runner I had quilted using a Civil War cheater fabric.  The binding was already sewn to th front of the runner, I just had to do the hand sewing to the back.

So, not bad for a three day retreat.  The next one is in April --- wonder what I can get done then!

Patti

It's been HOW long?????

I can't believe I only had a handful of posts in the last year. But then, since August it has been a bit crazy. We moved my Mom up from MI to live with us, my daughter, SIL and grandson can to visit in September, Mom and I celebrated our joint birthday in October and then the holidays hit in November and December. Oh, I think about posting something new, but then it seems time just gets away from me. My goal this year is to be a bit more active with my blog ... both this one and my professional blog (www.quiltsfromthetrail.com/blog).

I took off the weeks before and after Christmas from my quilting business -- the week "before" so I could enjoy the holiday with my family; the week "after" to get my quilting studio cleaned up and organized. Part of the organization included going through bins that I have stacked in a room that I call "The Fabric Room". Not only do I have a closet full of fabric, neatly folded and organized by color, but STACKS of plastic bins lining the room that contain even more fabric.

Here's a look at my fabric stash in the closet.  I've been collecting fabric since the early '90s so I have quite a bit as you can see.  The top shelf has primarily novelty fabrics -- seasonal, kids, etc.   I don't know if I'll ever sew it all up in my lifetime.  I told my daughter that it is her inheritance.  She said, "Just leave me instructions!"  My response, "Oh, that's not a problem -- it's called books and patterns, honey!"

 Here are the multitude of bins -- they contain fat quarters, yardage -- all categorized by either designer (Robyn Pandolph, 3 Sisters, Amy Butler, etc.) or size (three of the bins are just assorted fat quarters.

Then there are the "project" bins .... I've had the bins sorted by "Kits" (2), "To Be Quilted"(3), "To Be Bound", "Handquilting", etc.  for a while but never really went through them to see what I had in each ... until recently.  I decided to go through the "Kits" and "To Be Quilted" bins and see exactly what each bin contained.

Here's what I found:

Kits:  1 baby quilt, 1 pillowcase, 2 pincushions, 1 Queen quilt, 2 table runners, 7 throws/lap quilts, 4 table toppers, 4 tote bags, 1 Twin quilt, 1 wall hanging, and a Merry Beary stuffed bear kit (this one is from around 1992).

To Be Quilted:  These are projects for which I have a backing  -- 1 baby quilt, 1 queen quilt, 9 throw/lap quilts, 3 twin quilts, and 2 wall hangings.  There are also another 25 or so projects that I don't have backs for yet.

Projects To Be Bound:  Here's the sad thing on these -- most of them have bindings already made and ready to sew on...one just needs to be sewn to the back.  In this bin we have -- 3 baby quilts, 2 table runners, 3 throws, 2 table toppers, and 8 wall hangings.

Projects in Progress:  These are projects I started but either got bored with them or was too anxious to start a new project and set them aside.  In this category we have -- 6 baby quilts, 2 twin quilts, 2 double/full quilts, 3 queen quilts, 6 table runners, 6 table toppers, 6 pillows (Folded Pillows by Patchworks of Sayville, NY -- www.patchworks.com), 1 tote bag, 5 wall hangings and -- drumroll, please -- 27 throws!!!

So, this year's goal is not only to blog more but to get all of these projects done .... pieced, quilted and bound!!!  I should be able to do pretty well on both of these goals as I'll be posting the projects as I complete them.

Oh ... and then there are my knitting projects .... we won't go there right now!

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

Patti

Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap: July

I recently joined an Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap online. Each month I send someone on the list two hexie flowers in the colors of they've chosen and I in turn receive one or two flowers from another person on the list. There are about 60 people participating in the swap. The members are from all over the world: USA, Australia, Canada, the UK, Croatia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, and even, India!

I received the two striped hexie flowers from Karily P in Idaho and the red/gold hexie flower is from Linda McC. in Ontario, Canada (according to my list I should have received Linda's in September...she's just a little early!).

I'll be sending two hexie flowers out to Christine in New South Wales, Australia on Monday.

I think this swap is going to be a lot of fun and interesting to see the fabrics that come from around the world!

Have a great weekend!

Patti

That Doesn't Look Good . . . .

As some of you know, we are in the process of replacing our driveway. We had a crew here last Friday tearing out the old asphalt drive. It left us with a nice gravel/dirt driveway that makes me feel like I'm living out in the country.

G's cousin is doing the driveway replacement this week. He and his son came over tonight to take a look at the front left corner of the garage -- we had a couple of huge gaping holes that they wanted to check out. After digging down about 2 ft. they found this:

They will be digging out the entire front of the garage to see just how far the cinderblock failure runs. We also noticed a hole on the front left of our porch which they're also going to dig out and see what's going on.

Hopefully, by the end of this week, we'll have a beautiful cement driveway....rain, rain stay away!!!!!!

Later,

P

Repurpose......

A few years ago, I was at a garage sale when I came across what was left of a young girls bedroom set. You know the kind ... back in the 60's or 70's when every little girl wanted a big canopy bed with the matching desk, dresser and chair! I picked up the dresser, desk and chair for the bargain price of $10.00 for all three pieces. The finish looked like an antique white with these little blue and yellow flowers on the drawer fronts. Not exactly my decor style so I proceeded to paint all three pieces white. The dresser and desk were both missing knobs ... they were those white porcelain knobs with very vintage feel. I took the knobs from the desk to fill in the missing spaces on the dresser; and replaced the desk knobs with new "brushed nickle" ones.


My my recently made the decision to move from Michigan to Minnesota and will be moving in with me and hubby. As a result, I needed to empty our office/paper crafting room and guest room so they could both be painted and refinish the floors. Mom will end up in the former craft room and my craft room will move to the former guest room. (Hubby's office moved to the basement.) So, I had to figure out what to do with this little desk. I didn't really have any room for it anywhere else in the house, but I didn't want to get rid of it. What should I do? So I started thinking .......maybe I could cut off the right side of the desk and just keep the half with the drawers. So hubby and I got to work. After a little bit of wood putty, sanding, priming and painting ... then a little bit of distress work .... we came up with this little beauty!

The new "chest" now resides in our living room next to my chair where it hides my knitting projects as well as some other needlecraft handwork (embroidery and English paper piecing). I really love how it turned out.

What have you recently repurposed in your home?

Happy crafting,

Patti