lizzie's quilt, a 40 year finish and farewell

On Sunday night, about a week before Christmas Eve, I decided that I should make my sweet neighbor girl a quilt for her 18th birthday. It was a crazy idea, no doubt, but I forged ahead anyway. I'm not sure that I would recommend making a quilt in such a hurry the week before Christmas ever again, but I'm glad that I managed to pull it off. A deadline is a good thing! I gifted it to her on her birthday, which is on Christmas Eve. She was very surprised and loved it, which made it all worth it. I have heard reports that she's been using it a lot already. Hurray!

I made the label and THEN pieced it into the backing. I loved that method....because as soon as the binding was done, the quilt was done, done, done. Can't beat that! The blocks are 9" finished. Each rail was cut 3 1/2" x 9 1/2". All the top and binding fabric and some of the backing fabric was from my stash. (woohoo!) The quilt finishes about 63" x 81".

And now, for something completely different.....

My husband took some time over Christmas break to finish his Batman latch hook project. He is pretty sure that he got it for Christmas in 1978, making it a 40 year WIP. Hahahahahaha! I love that he actually took time to finish it, although we aren't sure where to put it now. :) He finished it for an honorary finish it up Friday project. Isn't that adorable??? I snapped a pic of him showing my boys how to latch hook, which was beyond precious. I give him 5 gold stars for his finish.

I've been looking back and it's been quite a year! I don't have a ton of accomplishments to highlight, but it's been a good year nonetheless. I did a fair amount of teaching/speaking and I did a decent amount of quilt making. Most importantly, I feel like I was able to be more PRESENT with my family this year than I have been in the past. It isn't always easy, but it's always worth it!

-I completed 14 quilts this year, which feels pretty reasonable. Out of those 14, 8 were primarily from the stash, 4 were primarily from scraps, and 2 used fairly equal amounts of scraps and stash. (The geeky side of me loves to see the breakdown of the finishes in this way. Always interesting!)

-I had a goal to use more stash this year, and I think I accomplished that. Hurray! I also added a lot to the stash, because I'm still living and breathing. Hahahahaha! It's just the way things go!

-I worked on several scrap quilts this year, too, but most of them are pretty intense, so they will take a lot of work to finish. I usually enjoy the process, so it's all good!

-I made the decision to wrap up my business this year, which was HUGE. (You can read more about that here, if you missed the announcement.) It was a very hard decision to make, and I'm sure I'll be dealing with the emotions of that for months to come. Change has always been difficult for me, so I shouldn't be surprised....but here's to the next chapter, whatever it may bring!

This is extremely difficult and very bittersweet, so I'll make it quick and to the point. Thank you for being a part of this amazing ride. It's been unbelievable. I loved being a part of your lives. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for all of your support over the years. I'll forever be grateful. For one last time....

Happy Monday to you! xoxox

black licorice--a completed quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

First off, thank you soooo much for your kind comments on my previous post. I am truly and deeply touched by all of your kindness and words of support. To answer the question that was asked so many times, yes, I do plan to leave my blog up as a resource. The other night at dinner I told my husband, "my blog really reached a lot of people". You should have seen the incredulous look he gave me, along with a big old "Duh!!!" We shared a good laugh after that. It has been an emotional week, but along with it, I have a deep sense of peace. For that I am grateful.

I'm excited that I have a finished quilt to share with you today! This one is called black licorice, but it also reminds me of stained glass. I gave it to my daughter, who loves ALL of the colors. She has been happily sleeping under it for several nights now.

The quilt is made up of 1554 little rectangles that finish at 1 1/2" x 2". That felt like a lot of pieces, even for me! :) Solids from a variety of manufacturers were used. There are a few shot cottons and a few linens that were used that give it additional texture that you wouldn't recognize until you get up close. I love quilts with details like that. I also love the darker patches sprinkled throughout that make subtle and random cross patterns when you are looking at it from a distance.

I made a special trip to the grocery store yesterday to get a package of "All Sorts" for the photos, just for fun. The candy tastes pretty good, too!

There is a LOT of quilting on this one....a black X through the middle of each and every rectangle. When I first quilted it, I quilted an X through all of the black rectangles, but it didn't look like it was quilted at all. Crazy! So, I went back and added quilting through all of the colored rectangles. It took a lot more time than I expected, but it was definitely the right choice!

I knew that I wanted to use Kona Marine for the binding, so when I went shopping and found this black and blue polka dot at SR Harris, I knew that it was "the one" for the backing. Hurray for a perfect match!

Using a black background for the quilt was definitely a stretch for me, but I'm glad that I tried it. I'm reasonably happy with the results! The quilt measures about 63" x 72".

 

This is my 3rd finish (out of 10, hopefully!) in my "Salute to Solids" series. You can see the first one here and the second one here. That means it must be time to start a new quilt! Hurray! :)

  

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the month. Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday! xoxoxxo

 

black licorice quilt progress

My sewing room is feeling a little full these days because I have so many works in progress...I'm afraid to count how many! I figured it was high time to get working on a finish, so this weekend I decided to baste my black licorice quilt. I prefer to pin baste because I get the best results. (I have a basting tutorial here that you might find helpful.)

I'm quilting a simple cross hatch through the black rectangles. I'm living on the edge and I'm NOT marking my lines before I quilt them. So far, so good! Quilting with black thread on black fabric is pretty forgiving. Also, the rectangles are small (2" x 1 1/2" finished), so eyeballing it isn't too hard. I'm moving right along with the quilting, thankfully! My goal is to finish the quilting and apply the binding before Thanksgiving day, so hopefully I can sit and relax with some hand stitching after cooking all day! It should be fun!

Do you have your hand stitching planned out for the holiday yet? Or am I the only one that does that?

Happy Monday to you!

lost in the crowd construction begins

I constructed my first block for my lost in the crowd quilt today! Originally I was going to assemble the quilt in rows rather than blocks, but oh, Mylanta, that would be a pain. I figured out pressing directions to ensure that ALL the seams in the entire quilt should nest in the final quilt assembly, even if I construct it in a block based format. Nesting seams is very important to me because it produces a neat and tidy quilt top.

Here's a rustic pressing diagram that shows my plan. (Arrows indicate pressing direction.) When I sew the squares into rows, the fabric is pressed toward the background fabric. When the rows are assembled into blocks, I will alternate pressing direction every other block. The A blocks will have the horizontal seams pressed up. The B blocks will have the horizontal seams pressed down. When the blocks are sewn into rows, every seam should nest. Hurray!!! I hope that makes sense to you and not just to me. Hahaha!

One block done, 63 more to go! I counted today...I have 822/1200 4 patches made. Not too bad, considering that I started this project in February! I love seeing a plan come together.

Because I know that someone will ask, the background fabric is Kona Lime.

Happy Monday to you!

biased projects

Later this week I will traveling to Michigan for glamp stitch-a-lot, where I'll be teaching improv string piecing to the students. I made the class sample many months ago, so I decided to immerse myself in a few "biased" projects to get warmed up for this weekend. It's been fun to revisit this technique! (You can see my biased tutorial here and the finished quilt here.)

I made a few pincushions from scraps to get started, because pincushions are ALWAYS a good idea!

They each measure about 3" x 5" and are filled with crushed walnut shells.

Then I moved on to some pot holders. They finish about 8 1/4" square. (I use Insulbrite for the inside, so they are heat resistant.) I also used bias binding, since the corners are rounded. It takes a bit longer to make them this way, but I really like the look!

AND...I started another quilt! I'm using mostly stash mixed with a few scraps. I thought I would try something new. Hahaha! It's definitely still a work in progress, but I'm enjoying the process. I'm still trying to get the color balance right, but maybe I'll get there by the time I make all 40 blocks. That's the hope, anyway!

 

I hope your week is off to a great start. Happy Monday to you!

LOTS of work in progress

I've been working on a lot of different projects lately, and I'll share just a bit about each project in no particular order. I was trying to NOT add any new projects to the list for the past few weeks, but as you can see, I haven't been the most successful in that endeavor. :)

This pink pineapple quilt has been a lot of fun to work on! I started by working out of the scrap basket, but I had to supplement with the stash. (It's all good! I'm actually USING my fabric. Hurray!) I looked back at my photos to discover that I made the first block at the end of June. Funny, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago! The blocks will finish at 8". I'm using the creative grids pineapple trim tool. (I'm pretty sure that the ruler is smarter than I am!) I am planning on making 20 blocks for a baby quilt. The recipient is already 7 months old, so I'd better get moving on it before I have to make it a twin size. Hahahaha!

I had the very beginnings of this quilt on my design wall for months and months. Last week when I moved the blocks to make room for more maple leaves, I decided that I might as well start sewing them together as I moved them to the side. I added several more pairs of squares and now I have YET ANOTHER work in progress. It's all good, though! I'm using my robust stash of 2 1/2" squares that I have been cutting along the way for a "someday" project. I'm calling this one "two step". It's just as simple as can be, but I already love it so. Simple scrappy quilts are my all time favorite!

I'm almost there on my magnificent maples! I'm so excited that there are only a few more blocks to make. I'm also VERY excited that the layout is already determined. That will save me a lot of time when it comes to assembly. Hurrah! I plan to do very thin sashing to allow the leaves to have room to breathe, and I might add a wider border to it. We'll see how it shapes up. I am still LOVING this color palette.

That's all I have to share today. I hope your week is off to a great start! xo

black licorice-a completed quilt top

I finished my black licorice quilt top! I worked on it quite a bit over the weekend and I was delighted to discover this morning that I only had 2 seams left to complete it. What a way to start a Monday!

Each piece finishes at 1 1/2" x 2". There are 42 blocks in each row and 37 rows, for a total of 1,554 pieces!!!! It's a good thing I did the math AFTER the quilt top was complete rather than before, otherwise that might have been a little daunting. Ha!

I think it's tricky to find that fine line of being out of your comfort zone, but still liking the results. I feel like I was able to accomplish that with this quilt and I'm so thankful!

This quilt is part of my "Salute to Solids" series. I have plans to give it to my daughter when it's complete. She's pretty excited about it!

Happy Monday to you!

etc.-a new work in progress

I've been resisting starting a new project for the past several weeks. After a lovely trip down to Iowa for teaching last weekend (and 500 miles of time to think), I cracked. I HAD to start something new or I was afraid I would explode. SO many ideas. SO little time. I know, it's a great problem to have. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The funny part is, when I went downstairs to sew, I thought I was going to start a specific project that I had sketched out on graph paper. I had worked out the math and everything. This isn't that project! I guess this one needed to come out first. I'm not sad about it! I'm having a lot of fun with this idea already and it will be perfect for my Salute to Solids series, too. (You can read more about that here.)

I'm calling this one "etc." All the solids are from the scrap bins so far. The strips measure about 1" finished and the blocks are about 6" unfinished. I'm excited to see where this goes. It's always an adventure!

black licorice-a work in progress

I've been working on this quilt off and on for quite awhile now. I considered giving it up for adoption a few times, but I decided to see it through to completion. It's tricky to push yourself out of your comfort zone but still like the project you are working on, but I think I've finally gotten to that point with this quilt. Hurray! My daughter LOVES this quilt, so she will be the recipient. I'm pretty sure that she loves color even more than I do, which is hard to imagine. :)

I'm using a variety of solids, all from the scrap bin. Each block is cut at 2" x 2 1/2" and finishes at 1 1/2" x 2". No strip piecing here, since it's all scraps. The black fabric is a combination of leftover Moda bella jelly roll strips and black Kona cotton. The pieces are a lot smaller than I bargained for, but even still, I'm aiming for a 60" x 72" quilt. I'm finally half way there, which is pretty exciting!

 

This quilt is a part of my salute to solids personal challenge that I started last year at this time. (You can read more about it here.)

 

Happy Monday to you!

retreat gifts, part 2

Thanks so much for sharing your ideas for "happies" in the last post. It was fun to read your comments. I've added a few new ideas to my list!

 

Of course pincushions are the number one on my list of things to make for retreat gifts. I have a few batches of them to share today!

In early August, I attended another annual quilt retreat with some of my quilting friends. I've been a part of that group for a few years now, so I'm finally catching on to each of their personal tastes. (It takes me awhile!) This year I made a paper pieced pineapple pincushion for each of them in colors that I thought they would like. (The pattern is in Plenty of Pincushions, Volume 1, which is available here.) Lots more assembly line sewing, but once I hunkered down, it wasn't so bad.

Each of the pincushions were heavily quilted, so I piggy backed them through my machine during the quilting process and it went pretty quick! Again, I love seeing multiple items grouped all together.  

A few weeks ago I was playing in my sewing room and I came across the scrap vortex blocks that I started on the 100 day project. I didn't do so well on the 100 day challenge, but that's ok! I turned a bunch of the blocks into pincushions in one afternoon. It was nice that the patchwork had already been made! I added a tab to each pincushion to "up" the cuteness factor.

I took these to a retreat that I taught at over the weekend and I let each student pick one of their choice. It's so fun to share things like this with other quilters and to release the pincushions out into the world as little bits of happy. It never gets old!
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Here is a rundown of my pincushion method in a nutshell (no pun intended!):

Each pincushion top is a little bit of patchwork that has been quilted onto a batting scrap. The backings are quilting cotton interfaced with SF 101 for a bit of extra stability. They are filled with crushed walnut shells, which is sold in pet stores as lizard litter. I hand stitch the openings closed with invisible nylon thread, so the stitches aren't visible.

I find that this combination produces a lovely finish for a pincushion. (I think it's safe to say that I've done sufficient testing. Hahaha!)
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Happy Monday to you!

lost in the crowd-a long work in progress

This morning I spent several hours cutting in an attempt to bring some order to the scrap chaos that is currently in my sewing room. My main objective was to cut 1 1/2" squares for my lost in the crowd quilt...but I ended up cutting up some other size scraps, too. There are some 2 1/2" squares, some 2" squares and some 2" x 2 1/2" rectangles. I have a goal to SAVE nothing smaller than a 1 1/2" square, but if you look at the photo above, you can see that I'm not quite there yet. Those little random bits in the top of the photo are keepers....

I did some sewing, too! I was able to add 25 new blocks to my total. It doesn't take long once the scraps are cut.

 

Earlier in the summer I hit the half-way mark....shown above are 600 little bitty blocks! I'm so glad that I decided to package them up into baggies of 100. It's kept the blocks orderly and makes the entire quilt seem attainable. (Hurray!) You can see the original quilt inspiration here.

It seems like every time I post about this quilt, there are questions about how I press the blocks. The beauty of this quilt is that there will be a plain 2 1/2" alternating square between each patchwork square, so the seams won't need to nest. That's one of the reasons why I took on this project...it's not fussy. I press to the dark when sewing two squares together, then I press the middle seam open because it helps distribute the bulk nicely. It's been working out great for me.

I only have 575 more blocks to make! Hahahaha!

need more coffee-a completed quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I recently finished this quilt that I'm calling "need more coffee". It's a spin on my mini coffee cups quilt....but I made a LOT more blocks this time. 110 blocks, to be exact. I was working on these blocks at my annual Gruber's retreat this past summer and my friends urged me to offset the rows of coffee cups rather than rely on a straight block setting. It was definitely the right choice! That little change made a big difference.

I used a variety of light prints for the background, but all of the coffee cups are RED!

I used the spool print from my Emma & Myrtle collection for the backing and a sweet gingham print for the binding. (The binding might be my favorite part of this quilt!!!)

I glue basted the fabric to help line up the repeat of the print for the backing. It takes a little bit extra time to do it, but the satisfaction that I get out of it is priceless. I know, I'm such a nerd!

I quilted it on my Janome Horizon. The original quilting plan was to quilt a 1/2" grid all over, but I came to my senses and settled for a 1" grid instead. I decided that it'll do. Hahahaha!

 

The quilt measures about 60" x 76".

 

As much as I LOVE this quilt, I think I'm going to give it as a gift. I can't keep them all....sigh.

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes. Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday! Have a great weekend!

bright birch trees 4-a work in progress

First off, thanks for the warm welcome back to blogging! I appreciate all of the kind comments that you left! I'm happy to be back at it. :)

After I made my third bright birch tree quilt, I told myself that was it...I wasn't allowed to make another one, because I thought I "should" try something new rather than remaking the same quilt over and over. My resolve lasted a little over a year, apparently. In May I started another one. I couldn't help it! This pattern is such a great way to use up little scraps....at least I think so! (Pattern is available here.) I was able to use ALL stash fabrics for the backgrounds, which is always a good thing!

It only took me a month or so to piece the top, which felt pretty fast, considering I wasn't spending all that much time sewing. I've had it basted for a few weeks now, and last week I finally started hand quilting it. (At least I'm trying out a new quilting treatment on this version!)

I decided to do some big stitch quilting echoing the lines of patchwork. It's looking better than I imagined. (Woohooo!!!! I love it when that happens!) I'm using this beautiful boxed set of threads that I've hoarded long enough. (The thread is perle cotton, size 8, designed by Anna Maria Horner for Anchor Threads. It was released several years, but I found some available here. No affiliation.)

I've hand quilted a few quilts in my day, but it took me awhile to get back into the groove. I ripped out my first quilting line 4 times (at least!) and then it occurred to me that I should mark some guidelines first, so my quilting lines aren't quite as wobbly. I used my Hera marker and a ruler to mark the temporary lines, which made all the difference. I'm well on my way to a finish AND I'm enjoying the process! Win/win!

(As an aside....I love my hera marker! If you don't have one, I would suggest getting one. It creates a temporary crease in the fabric rather than marking the fabric with ink, so you don't have to worry about whether or not your marking pen will come out of the fabric once your project is complete. While it works on both dark and light fabrics, I will say that it is much more visible on darker fabrics than light fabrics, but I've used it successfully on both. It's one of my favorite sewing tools ever. Again, no affiliation whatsoever.)

churn, churn, churn

Another day, another WIP! It's been fun to work on so many different projects this week. Thanks for following along with my mini series!

Today I pulled out my scrappy churn dash blocks. I've been thinking about how I will set them all together, but I still haven't made a final decision. I HAVE decided that I would rather make the larger blocks than a ton of the smaller ones. Oddly enough, my accuracy seems to be better on the smaller rather than the larger blocks. (How backwards is that???)

I joined 4 small blocks together to see how they look, but I'm not sure that I will be doing too many (if any?) more of those. There is a LOT of bulk in the back of this block. It is pretty cute, though....

It has been delightful to come across tiny little details like this little owl peeking out from the patchwork. So fun! It's sure to bring a smile to your face whenever you see it!

 

I have a tutorial for the larger blocks here and a tutorial for the smaller blocks here, if you care to make some of your own.

 

One thing I DO know for sure....I'm not in danger of running out of scraps ANY time soon. Ha!