Threadology Twisted Finish

 Happy December! At the beginning of the year, I made threadology blocks along with FQS as their charity quilt. I really did not want to make mine look like a giant spool, so I was inspired by Melissa Corry's version which had more blocks and a different setting. You can find details here: 

http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/search?q=threadology

I dug into one of my quilting books and created so more blocks using my Bonnie & Camille scraps.

 I love how it came out with Rachel's happy flower quilting!

 Rachel is my friend that I trade hand binding for her longarm quilting. I totally trust her to select the quilting pattern and thread. Our bartering is perfect for both of us and allows me to hand bind lots of quilts and avoid the struggle of machine quilting!

 Here is the backing--I have not washed it yet, but I have been cuddling under it all week binding it and then binding another quilt for Rachel.

I used a backing from the Scrumptious line and embroidered my label. I am too in love with this one to give it away, so it is staying at my house!

 I was not planning on doing Bonnie Hunter's Frolic Mystery Quilt, but I picked up the paint chips a couple of weeks ago and did a little stash shopping. I decided I would make it if I had enough fabrics in my stash--with the exception of the lighter blues I had everything I needed. I opted to use lavender in lieu of the lighter blues, so I am in!

 Here are the four patches for Frolic clue number 1. You can find the information for this scrappy mystery quilt here: https://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/frolic-mystery.html

I made my last blocks for the Ombre Gems Quilt Along. I have it laid out on my daughter's bed--I am making slight adjustments with block placement, but it is my December One Monthly Goal (OMG) to sew this top together.  Plus, it has to be off my daughter's bed for when she arrives home on December 23. Check out other OMGs here: https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2019/12/one-monthly-goal-december-link-up.html

Speaking of my daughter, she spent Thanksgiving with her friend Mel in Washington D.C. She was driving back to school yesterday and she called me to see if I could make a quilt for Mel's family. They have hosted her numerous times in the last few years especially at their house in Breckenridge. She wants something rustic with browns, greens, blues, etc. that would go in their Breck house. I dug into my stash of tops and found this beauty. My sister gifted me her quilting stash in June 2013 and there were probably half a dozen of these Sister's Choice blocks in it. I made many more blocks for a total of 30 a few years ago and got the top completed--it is about 70 x 80 inches. I already have a backing and binding for this one, so I am just getting it all prepped to drop off to Rachel for her to work her longarm magic! I hope to have it ready for my daughter to take it to them at the new year! I am a big believer that the right quilt finds the right person or family.

I have been keeping up with the Farm Girl Vintage 2 QAL. Here is my Cold Watermelon Block and my Corn and Tomatoes 2 Block.

These blocks were from this Friday, the Cross Stitch Block and the Curious Crow Block. I am using scraps from my bins and Kona white for the background.

This is the batik beauty I am currently binding for Rachel. I will be working on it for Slow Sunday Stitching:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2019/12/slow-sunday-stitching.html

It has been lovely having the whole Thanksgiving week off! Very hygge-- with lots of hot drinks, candles, reading, yummy food, quilting, and cozy cuddling with our dogs. We have three weeks until winter break which will be more of the same.

Mid-November Update

 No excuses--I have been quilting, but it just does not seem like anything earth shattering, more like just puttering around with blocks and binding. I have been keeping up with the Farm Girl Vintage 2 QAL. These are last week's blocks the Bright Zinnia Block and the Barn Cat Block. I made an orange tabby because at one point when I was a kid, I think we had four orange tabbies at once! I did six inch versions of both blocks.

 This weekend, I made the Busy Beehive Block and the Cheerful Tulips Block. The beehive is 12 inches and the tulips are six inches in my plan.

I am also keeping up with the Ombre Gems QAL. Here are the six blocks and half blocks for this week

and last week's two indigo blocks.  We only have two more blocks to go and then trimming and putting the top together.

I spent some time this week ripping out machine quilting at Rachel's. Her longarm had a timing issue on the last row of one of my quilts, so we spent some time ripping it out and catching up. Her hubby brought us a bottle of wine to enjoy as we ripped away, despite the unsewing part we had a good visit.

This is my Threadology Twisted that had the final quilted row messed up. She was quilting it with a sweet flower design and it looked amazing. The repair tech will be at her house on Tuesday, so hopefully her machine will be back up and running, so she can finish the quilting and I can bind it. I think this is actually one of my all time favorite quilts I have ever made! I grabbed a fun batik quilt of hers to bind in the meantime.

I have really needed a day off from work, but with the whole week off for Thanksgiving coming I am just trying to hang in there...

Welcome November!

Well, I survived the week--and as a teacher that is saying something! It snowed Monday and Wednesday, plus Halloween on Thursday made this week extra long and crazy. Friday was pretty mellow--the kids were zombies from staying up too late and sugar crashed from way too much candy. Friday was also the start of the Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt Along.  A link to info is on my right sidebar. I am sewing along with Lori Holt and the Fat Quarter Shop! I will be using fabrics from my stash and scrap bins--my motto is the scrappier the better! The plan is to sew two blocks a week--this block is Autumn  Pumpkin 12 inch version.

This Block is Baked with Love also a 12 inch version. November means pumpkins and pies, right? I am embroidering the steam with a silver perle cotton for Slow Sunday Stitching right now:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2019/11/slow-sunday-stitching.html

I put a small piece of Warm & White batting behind and will trim it down--I think it is much easier to embroider the individual blocks.

 I made my Ombre Gems Blocks for Week 6. Info for this one is also on the right sidebar.  These are my aubergine blocks.

 Here are my plum blocks and half blocks

 and my turquoise blocks.

 I finally washed my To Spin a Star Quilt--I had finished binding it a couple of weeks ago. Sorry about the shadows--the time change has messed with my lighting.

Here it is on our pasture fence. It is so bright and cheery. It got nice and crinkly after washing and drying it!

 I made this design as a pattern test for Diane of Butterfly Threads in the spring. You can purchase this great scrap busting pattern here:

https://www.dianedknott.com/shop.html#!/To-Spin-A-Star-PDF-download/p/134474083/category=19199039

From the back, I love using a black and white binding on a bright quilt--it is a nice frame! I am not sure what I will do with this one, but it will eventually find a proper home.I am binding another quilt for my friend Rachel right now--it is lovely to snuggle under a cozy quilt and bind it on these chilly evenings. Have a great week!

Swan Dive Quilt

This is my secret sewing I have been working on for the last month! Fat Quarter Shop was looking for volunteers to use their Swan Dive Quilt pattern and I wanted to make a chemo quilt for my friend, Troy--he just started his 18 months of chemo. This is a free pattern from FQS and comes in two sizes. I opted for the lap size as it is perfect to use during chemo treatments 54" x 66". The pattern was designed to use with their Jolly Bars- 5" x10" rectangles--it takes one Jolly Bar for the baby size and two for the lap size. They wanted us to use a current fabric, so I ordered a layer cake of Moda's Zen Chic Backgrounds and a Kona black layer cake and yardage--I was going for a modern, masculine look. This would also be a great way to use up some scraps from your stash too!

The large pinwheels and flying geese were made using the Jolly Bar Cake Mix Recipe papers from Miss Rosie's Quilt company--they were very helpful since there are 800 half square triangles!

Since I needed to make my FQS deadline and get this to Troy ASAP, I opted to quilt it myself with straight line, vertical quilting, spaced every three quarters of an inch. I also used a gray minky for the backing and silver thread. I have washed it and it did shrink up some, but it is nice and cozy with the minky backing and the Warm & Natural batting gives it some weight. Here is the link to FQS and all the details for Swan Dive:

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/free-pattern-jolly-bar-friendly-swan-dive-quilt

This one is going in the mail today to Troy as a quilty hug during all his chemo treatments! Thank you Fat Quarter Shop for allowing me to make my own version of this quilt and gift it as a chemo quilt!

Quilt Along Progress

Howdy! I traveled to a conference last Sunday for work, so I did not get to sew very much last weekend. It was fun to get to go do some shopping especially at Trader Joe's and the bookstore, but the conference was kind of a bust. I was slightly ahead on my Ombre Gems Blocks and I made this week's this morning--lagoon, avocado, and teal. This quilt is going to be stunning!

I am all caught up with my Sunday Best Quilt Sampler blocks. I have not added the sashing and cornerstones because I am not sure if I will use red or navy.

 I am using some of my Bonnie and Camille scraps and stash for these.

My B&C Early Bird fat quarter bundle arrived while I was gone. We are supposed to get snow tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. I will whip up some soup and enjoy cuddling under a quilt and binding to stay warm and cozy.

Ombre Gems Quilt Along 2

 I have a confession--I wore pajamas all weekend because I just stayed in my sewing room. I got caught up with my blocks for the Ombre Gems QAL. More information is on my right hand side bar--I am using Ombre Confetti fabric. These are my magenta blocks.

 These are the hot pink, popsicle pink, and persimmon blocks and half blocks.

And these are the coral, honey, and mustard blocks and half blocks. It feels good to be back on track.

 I am still behind on the Sunday Best Sampler Sew Along, but the navy I am using for my sashing and binding arrived with the red for my stash--I would rather spend more and get free shipping than pay for shipping!

This is my secret sewing for Fat Quarter Shop--if it is on time, we will reveal in a week. I finished quilting it yesterday and snuggled up under it last night binding it. I have about 1.5 more sides to go, but I will meet my deadline and get this mailed off to be used as a chemo quilt. Yay for Slow Sunday Stitching: https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2019/10/slow-sunday-stitching-retreat-report.html

I have parent/teacher conferences this week, so that will be some long days--but I will have Friday off which makes up for it. Have a great week!

October 2019 Happenings

Last weekend I was disappointed we didn't win at Cow Patty Bingo, but this week I won this beautiful Harper's Garden Fat Quarter Bundle on Instagram from Hunnie Quilt. You can pick up the bundle here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/711895108/fat-quarter-bundle-harpers-garden-by?ref=shop_home_active_9&pro=1&frs=1

The fabrics are lovely and her prices are good and shipping is free!

 My secret sewing project for an upcoming Fat Quarter Shop sew along is ready for pinning. I am pinning it today and getting started on the quilting. I am straight line quilting it along the length. It is a modern looking quilt because of the fabrics I chose, so I think the straight line quilting will enhance it. I am making this for my friend, Troy, to use during his 18 months of chemo. It will have a cozy, gray minky backing. Wait until I can share the whole thing, it is really cool looking!

I am a little late for this sew along--the Sunday Best Quilt Sampler. I am using some of my Bonnie & Camille stash for the blocks.

I ordered a navy with white circles to use as the sashing, but it still has not even shipped and the seller has not responded to my inquiry. I hope to make the two blocks this week and add the sashing when it arrives.

An Ombre Gems Quilt Along began this week. I have had the pattern and these fat quarters for quite some time waiting for this project. I am going to get going on it this week.

It is Sunday, so laundry, football, quilting, and cooking are on my agenda. I just washed and changed our sheets and put the Scrap Dance Waltz Quilt on our bed. I haven't washed it yet to get the crinkly goodness--it is so big I need to take it to the laundromat. I also need to figure out our pillows, but the dachshund shams my sister made me look cute on it. I also picked up navy and white gingham sheets at Marshall's a month ago that look good with all the Bonnie & Camille scrappiness. It is supposed to get down to 19 degrees this week, so we need a heavier quilt on the bed. The cold evenings help me get cuddled up with some hand binding. Have a great week!