Month: September 2017

Block #6 I wish you a Merry Quilt Along

Had to stick with my snowflaked themed fabric.  As crazy as this sounds, all these different colors are from the same piece of fabric.  It started with small snowflakes and the dark purple and changed colors and snowflake sizes about every 14 inches.  I think it goes well with the other blocks.  I thought I had my sashing figured out, but now I am not so sure.  Maybe trying to plan in advance was not such a good idea.  I need to wait a bit longer.  Trying to imagine what the next blcoks will be like.  For Instructions, please visit Sandy Star Designs.

20170928_200355_resized

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Finally got Caught up on my Free Quilt Blocks, but lack inspiration

I really like this quilt.  I think it might be because I love Orange Fabrics.  I never feel like any shop has enough Orange Fabric or it is because Red Rooster Quilts gives me the fabric for free.  One block every two weeks.  It is not just for fall or Halloween.  My daughter Haley actually likes this quilt.  That is a surprise since she usually has something negative to say about my quilts.  This is a quilt I will keep for me and hang up somewhere in the house.

Been feeling a little uninspired lately.  I have many many projects started, but don’t feel like working on any of them.  I have like 4 quilts that need quilted, laying on the pool table, multiple other projects started.  Yet, I just stare off into oblivion.  I usually have more time on the weekends to work on my craft, but I always get a pile of things ready for during the week, even if I only have a few minutes, I usually sit down and sew some of these things, so they are ready for the weekend.  The pile is still sitting there untouched and then there is Block #6 for I wish you a Merry Quilt Along.  Need to get that done.  It does not look to hard, some piecing, some applique.  I will get to it, eventually.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

One Monthly Goal for September – WooHoo!

I had serious doubts as to whether or not I could actually get to 15 blocks.  Finished #15 on Saturday.  This is not necessarily the order I will use when I put them together.  The last 15 will contain some specialty blocks, I think.  Meaning, not just books on a shelf.  I was considering doing a could of photos in frames on the shelf.

So, it is likely that I will put this quilt away for a while.  Partly because I am tired of it and partly because my daughter Haley hurt my feelings when she told me that my blocks did not look like books on a bookshelf.   Too Bad she didn’t wait until I put them all up on the design board before she chose to run her mouth.  It could easily become a 10 year project.  I hate getting my feelings hurt.

All the same, I finished them.  I do love the the One Monthly Goal.  It really is a great motivator to get things done.  It has nothing to do with prizes, but more of finishing what I said I would finish.  I have to come up with something for next month.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I love seeing this

So the local quilt shop to me, Red Rooster Quilts, is having a tent sale today and tomorrow.  They are selling all their quilt and quilt tops tops and had them displayed along the fence.  It is just a beautiful site.

I bought nothing.  How crazy is that?  I am trying very hard not to buy things I don’t specifically need to complete something.  Although that rarely stops me.  Since I am in the shop a lot because it is about two miles form what I work, I had already seen most of the stuff they were selling at the tent sale in the store.  It had been discounted for a while.  Nothing called to me, so I just picked up my free bi-weekly quilt block and wandered up and down viewing the quilts/quilt tops.

Just wanted to share the beautiful photos and make sure any of my local Columbus friends were aware that there was a Quilting Tent Sale.  Have a great weekend!

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Bloggers Quilt Festival – How Fun

I found a Bloggers Quilt Festival by reading Susan’s blog at DesertSky Quilting.  She always knows where the good stuff is.

20170813_195432_resizedThis contest is hosted by Amy’s Creative Side.  It is a great place to see a lot of beautiful projects.  There are prizes just for entering.  No pressure.  Prizes are randomly drawn based on entries.

My entry is My “Oma’s Treasure”.  I love this Wall Hanging because it means a lot to me. Brings back a lot of memories of My Oma and my Mom, who I miss.  At 53 I still want my Mom sometimes.  This is also something I dreamed up, so I can claim it for my own design, even though ti is a little Loud.  I had a lot of great advice from my Blog friends on things to do, which I greatly appreciate.

My Oma has been gone since I was a teen-ager.  The embroidery in the middle is from a kit she sent me from Germany.  I found it is a box of stuff I was going through and decided to turn it into something Quilty.  As a teen. I was not to bad at embroidery.

I hope you all enter the Bloggers Quilt Festival.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting.

 

Opinions are just that, Opinions

So, I felt a little guilty about my AccuQuilt post.  There are quite a few people that love the AccuQuilt system.  I love it for applique shapes.  I have one and many dies.  What I had a hard time with was cutting square, triangles etc…  I felt that I was double cutting and there was a lot of waste.  Many people chimed in on both sides of the fence, which really was the intent, to hear form those that use it for that and those that don’t think it is for them and reasons behind their thoughts.  I truly love everyone’s opinion and that is what they are, opinions.  Some things work better for others, some are wondering about things.  Just meant to start some good dialogue and hopefully get some to try things they might not have in the past.

I truly believe that I don’t care for the AccuQuilt for cutting my traditional shapes because I also have/use every day, Alto’s Quilt cut.  I have had it for maybe 15 years.  It is a super fast and accurate way to get things cut.  You can tell by my photo, that mine is well used.

This has a base that holds a cutting mat.  You have the ability to move the ruler all around the mat.  It has something called a Speedcut (metal ruler on right).  This let’s you cut row after row without measuring.  Just move the ruler to the desired measurement.  Cut and move (to where metal ruler is at edge of previous cut).  You can cut and cut without measuring and each will be the same.  The ruler also tilts at any degree.  Super helpful.

So, what is the downfall?  It is pricey $229.95 on Amazon.  However, I use this every day.  I always cut with it.  Downfalls, well the cutting mat wears out as any cutting mat would with constant use.  It is a special size, so you can’t go buy it anywhere.  You have to buy it from them to get the right size mat.  Those are truly the only downfalls I can come up with.  I can cut things very accurately and quickly.

I am not advocating that everyone run out and buy one, just explaining why the AccuQuilt for traditional shapes is not my favorite. Does not mean that it can’t be yours 🙂

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I Wish You a Merry Quilt Along Block #5 Snowman

I am not sure why this block gave me fits, but it certainly did.  I still don’t like how the scarf looks, but I am going to have to live with it.  I have never been interested in making a holiday quilt before.  Not sure why since I was collecting snowflake fabric, but I didn’t have much else.  A few scraps of this and that that I am not even sure where they came from.  I do like these blocks.  I think it will make a cute quilt.  All the tiny pieces certainly did test my patience though.  I had to go back and cut things multipe times becase I lost track  of the pieces.  I now know for sure that one of the quilts I have planned will make me crazy for sure becasue it has a bunch of tiny pieces.  Dredding it already.  Haley gave her seal of approval on the snowman block.  That is a surprise becasue she has something to say about everything.  It does look sort of cute.

Starting to imagine what the other blocks will look like.  I have a couple ideas of things I think we will see.20170916_214220_resized

This past week has not been very production for me from a sewing persepctive.  Lot’s going on in my personal life and then I thought I was catching a cold, which is a no-no when you take biologic drugs for rheumatoid arthiritis.  I think I managed to kill it with Zi-cam, which tastes awful by the way, but it seemed to do the trick.  Hope to get some things done tomorrow.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

I wish You a Merry Quilt Along

 

In Honor of I wish you a Merry Quilt Along

So, Long term, I have been figuring out how I am going to put together this quilt at the end.  I need to keep with my snowflake themed fabric, so I am putting these snowflakes in all the corners of my sashing.  I think all my sashing will be this dark red.  I have done 20170910_144145_resized-e1505246987713.jpgreverse applique on these.  Interesting way to do things.  I think it lets me see more of the snowflake.  I like it.  We will see as I go along.  I think I figured that I will need 20 of these.  They are 5.5 inches square.  better get busy.  Not to mention Block #5, which came out today.    Super cute snowman.  If you need to download the instructions, they are here.  Block #5 was designed by Sherri Shish of Powered by Quilting.  Stay tuned for my Block #5.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Quilting Like A Crazy Woman

I certainly have gotten brave in a fairly short time with my quilting.  Not only did I put pebbles in the sand, but I did some thread painting on the palm trees.  I am thinking that my alternate personality must be taking over again.  She seems to be better and braver with quilting than I am.  I should name her.  I will have to think about that one.

I am finding that this quilt with all the quilting is quite time consuming.  I don’t mind, especially since this is for my one day grandchild.  I think about that while I am quilting it.  My daughter, who is only 13, thinks I am totally crazy.  But being an “Old” Mom, I worry about not being around when she has children.  If she waits as long as I did, it could happen.  I need to make sure that those grandkids have quilts from me whether I am here or not.  While she thinks I am crazy now, I hope she apprecaites it some day, whether I am here or not.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

Stay Safe Florida

A question for Quilters…

I don’t know how many of you use an accu-quilt product.  I have had one for a long time, before they were really popular.  Maybe 15 years or more.  One of my girlfriend’s is a teacher and brought one home from the school to work on something.  I ran and got some fabric and it cut so well that I ended up buying one.  Of course I have the “school” model, not the fancy ones aimed at quilters.  When I got it, it was initially for shapes, pumpkins and planes and dogs etc…  At some point my late husband Jerry got me a big set of quilt blocks.  It cost several hundred dollars.  I had never used them until this past weekend.

So I cut out All the pieces for the quilt pictured using my accu-cut.  Here is what I found, 20170905_203052_resized.jpgthat there seemed to be a lot of cutting before you die cut and then there was a lot of waste.  I had a fairly large half square triangle that was just that a half square triangle on the die, instead of a square cut on the the diagonal.

I understand the concept behind die cutting.  Each piece is perfectly cut and exactly the same.  It is supposed to make piecing more accurate and easy.  I don’t know if it does or doesn’t.  I just felt like it took twice as long because I had to cut before die cutting and then the waste.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it for cute shapes, I am just not sure about block cutting.  I am hoping someone can share their thoughts with me because it just seems weird to me.

Normally, when I am cutting my pieces, I do have an Alto Quilt Cut, which I love, so I feel I am pretty accurate.  What am I missing?  Thanks for your help.

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting