Saturday, February 29, 2020

Slow Sunday Stitching


Time to check in again for Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.   

This week I finally finished February's assignment of the Buhl-Bushong Quilt offered as a BOM by The Virginia Quilt Museum.  It was to finish this border.  

These are all three borders so far.  


Today I prepped two of the Ella Maria Duncan Blocks for February's assignment of this BOM offered by Sentimental Stitches.   So these will be my Slow Sunday Stitching this week.




I'll be linking up in the morning to Kathy's Quilts.  Be sure to pop over and see what everyone else is working on.  I continue to appreciate this weekly motivation and inspiration from other quilters!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 27, 2020

One Monthly Goal- February-Done



It's time to link up finishes for February for One Monthly Goal @ Elm Street Quilts.  I so much appreciate this monthly motivation for finishes and many thanks again to Patty!

For February, my One Monthly Goal I stated here.  I call it my couch project.  The section of couch I sit on is a chaise type section.  Our couch is sort of a corduroy type fabric and last year I noticed there was a run in one of the low areas.  I didn't want it to get worse, so I ironed a large patch on the inside, but the patch was heavier than the weight of the couch fabric, that it bunches up around the edges like this, and it bugged me.



For awhile I had this quilt I made my husband years ago on top of it, and wrapped around the edges, but every time I got up, it came undone, and was wrinkly.  This picture is after I smoothed it out.


I really liked the configuration of this quilt, and decided I would do something similar and make quilt, and turn it into a cushion cover.  

I remembered I had some swap blocks.  I went to pull them out.  Many, many years ago, in 2005 I belonged to a Yahoo Group called "The Fat Quarters".  For awhile we did something called "Lotto".  We would all receive a focus fabric, and we would make a block.  At the end of the month, someone would pull a name, and that person would receive all the blocks.    

In September 2005, I won the 15 blocks.  The focus fabric was sort of a primitive Christmas, but you really have too look to see that the branches have ornaments on it.  

This was the focus fabric and every block had this in it.  



Several of the names you might recognize as block makers:  Bonnie Hunter @Quiltville, Lori DeJarnatt @Humble Quilts, Nancy Stevens @ Blogging, Near PhiladelphiaRandy Danto @Barrister's Block,  and the only other one I know that has a blog is Moira McSpadden @ The Quilted Snail.

I made my plan, and decided I needed to make 80 blocks total at 9" finished size.  So I needed to make 40 HST's and 25 more pieced blocks.  These were my Lotto blocks.



I got the blocks together and it looked like this.



I quilted it, and then I serged around all the edges because I wanted to wash it before I started making the slipcover portion.   It was way big enough before I washed it. 



But after I washed it, It  had shrunk about 4-5 inches all around.  It didn't matter so much in the length, but I needed it for the width.  So on the back of the piece in sewed in a strip of upholstery fabric that I happened to have.  This is the back side that I need to piece a strip into.  I just used muslin for the backing because it will be inside the cushion cover.  




I squared the corners so it would fit properly at the bottom edge of the cushion


This is the finished cushion cover.  I love how it came out, and how it doesn't keep unloose!




I'll be linking up to Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal.  Thanks again Patty for all you do!

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Hand Quilt Along, Slow Sunday Stitching

Three weeks have passed since the last Hand Quilt Along check-in.  During that time, I finished hand-quilting my Color it Red project, a 15" piece called Hattie's Baskets designed by Jo Morton. 



I am really pleased with how it came out.  This is only the third piece I have hand-quilted and the Hobbs Tuscany Collection Silk Blend I won last year worked a lot better for me than whatever I had used previously. 

I also finished this morning the Cassandra's Circle center piece for the 2020 BOM by Barbara Brackman @ Civil War Quilts.  I was having a hard time getting these plumes placed.  I had all of them sewn on but 1 when I noticed there was not enough room, it was going to be overlapping its neighbors.  So I took 3 of them off, and resewed them.  They are placed better, but I think I need to loosen where they fit under the flower and straighten a couple out.  I'm still thinking about that.  At least it is done. 



What I will be working on the next couple of days is the Buhl-Bushong Quilt,  finishing up the assignment for this month, to finish this border.  This is month 8 of a BOM being offered by the Virginia Quilt Museum from one they have in their collection. 


I still need to piece a lot of my crown blocks that go in the center of the quilt. 

The others in the Hand Quilt Along are below.  Pop on over and see what everyone has been doing.

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

I will also be linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching on Kathy's Quilts.  Be sure and check those links out too.

I really appreciate the inspiration I find on both of the above.  My favorite Sundays are the ones where both happen to fall on the same Sunday.  

Thanks for stopping by!  


Thursday, February 20, 2020

Color It Red Blog Hop






Welcome to my day of the Color It Red Blog Hop, hosted by Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt.  Many thanks to Carol for thinking of this blog hop, as it prompted me to start and finish several items I have wanted to do for a long time.

I first started searching through my books for a project, and I came up with this book, in which I love all the projects!



I had always loved one of the small quilts called Hattie's Basket, and it was red, perfect for this blog hop.  I pulled out the Civil War reproduction scraps I have cut up and started putting the quilt together.  This measures 15 inches square.






I really love how it came out.  I hand-quilted it, and it was a small enough project I could get it finished too!  I used the Hobbs Tuscany Collection Silk Blend which I won last year in a contest from Hobbs.  This was so much easier to use than whatever I used in my first and second attempts at hand-quilting!  Loved it!  I think I have enough to use for another hand-quilting project.



Sometime in January, Kathy Schmitz came out with the Love Sampler.  I bought it, and thought maybe I could get it done for the Color it Red Blog Hop.  Stitching went pretty fast, and I was able to finish it up before Valentine's Day!


I have a number of stitchery projects that are not quite finished.  I had this one from a Redwork Club my LQS used to have sitting in a pile, along with a baggie, with some fabric and buttons.  This UFO probably goes back to 2003 or so.





I made it into a cushion.  Didn't use the buttons.  The baggie didn't have any instructions about what I was supposed to do, but it was enough fabric for the back of the cushion and a border.  The little border around the heart says LOVE.





One last project I made was a bag for my grand-niece Lucy.  I found the pattern for the bunny here on Just Let Me Quilt with Therm O Web.




Today is the last day of the Color it Red Blog Hop.  The list for the whole hop is below.  Hope you have been having as good a time as I have with this hop!   Thanks again Carol for organizing it!


February 17th

February 18th

February 19th

February 20th
February 21st

What I've Been Up To, Color it Red Blog Hop











The Color it Red Blog Hop continues, hosted by Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt.   I have been seeing  some amazing projects.   Here is the whole schedule in case you have missed any days.  As you can see below, my day is tomorrow.  I can 't wait to show you my projects!  


February 17th

February 18th

February 19th

February 20th
February 21st



Wednesday Wait Loss Featured smaller.jpg   I discovered this morning I was featured on Wednesday Wait Loss #159 @ The Inquiring Quilter  for my Valentine quilt I made years ago.  I used to belong to a Yahoo Group of quilters that at times made swap blocks for a certain occasion.  This was made from various swap blocks I received in that swap from 1999!



Most of the things I have been working on are for the two blog hops I am involved in coming up, the Color it Red tomorrow, and the Dust of a Quilt Book Blog Hop in March.  

This week has been sort of disruptive, our heat went out again on Saturday night and it was fixed Monday evening.  I couldn't find it in myself to work in the unheated portion of the house.  Yesterday involved taking my husband downtown for an appointment and coming home during peak traffic.  I am so happy I am retired and don't have to brave that traffic anymore!

My handwork has involved Cassandra's Circle, the new applique BOM by Barbara Brackman @ Civil War Quilts.  I have been working on these plumes for some time now.  Before I started, I ironed creases vertically, and horizontally for the center, and then diagonally on all four corners to try to get good placement.  It seemed to be going along pretty good, until I got to one of the last plumes, and I have no room between the adjacent two.  Right now I am taking the dark blue ones off and repositioning them to make room for the one on the left hand side that is pinned.  I'm stitching one dark blue one on the right, and then I will move the dark blue one on the bottom left.  This 36" block is sort of hard to stitch.  





The other finish I had recently was a pillow cover for DD#2.  Last year I had given both daughters and granddaughter a cushion which I told them I would make a new one for each season.  I was caught up till spring on everybody's except DD#2 who happens to love owls.  So I took my Accuquilt Owl die and made this one for her.  

She had seen my Winter Blues Blog Hop quilt hanging on the wall and loved several fabrics in it which she wanted incorporated into her spring pillow cover. 


She wanted some of the toile, which I didn't have enough scraps of, she also liked a plaid print, and the dish fabric.  

So this is what I came up with.



Thanks for stopping by!