A Finish in the Middle of a Busy Season

It is apple season! So thrilled to have so many apples but they come with a lot of work as we harvest them. Too bad I did not record how many bushels we have already picked but a conservative guess would be at least 20 bushels. And there are so many more on the trees yet.

Our Cortland and Liberty apples make great pies, applesauce, and (my favorite) jelly! But washing, sorting, and chopping is a lot of work! And I'd hate to see them go to waste.

Here they are ready to put in the stock pot to cook down and strain, once cooled, for apple jelly juice. Because there is so much pectin in apples, you really do not need to add sure-gel, but I have not mastered the skill of knowing exactly when it reaches the jell stage.

A reliable candy thermometer would be helpful. My mother was an awesome jelly maker. Her jellies were perfect. They were jelled, but yet so soft. And melted once it was spooned on toast. Mmmm.

Fall is coming upon us quickly and there is much more to do:  putting the gardens to bed, and preparing for cold weather. I'll be happy when it is finished and I can get back in the sewing room guilt free! Yay!

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I have had this quilt finished for a couple of weeks now but have been unable to get a post up to report it. The pattern is called Wee Wonderland and is a super easy pattern to use up a layer cake with.

Basically you just cut a layer cake and a 10" square of a background fabric into a nine patch. Use varying widths each time and you get - not wonky - but irregular shaped 9-patches. Can you spot the "negative" matches? By rotating the blocks you can mix it up even more.

I loved how it turned out and will keep this technique in mind for a future quick project using up my layer cakes I have stored in the pre-cut drawer.

The fabric line was Moda's Bee My Honey and I got lucky to find a yard remnant on ebay for the borders. 

It measures 76" x 76" and I used up 13 yards of stash. This makes my 6th finish this year and a grand total of 67 yards busted out of my stash.

I still have a binding pile upstairs to attack. And my Strip in Earth is all cut and ready to sew together. Isn't it fun knowing you have something cut and ready by the machine so you can sit down and make some serious progress? My motivation is to get it to a flimsy so I can begin Christmas sewing and a challenge project from my quilt guild. But those apples...

Happy stitching!

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Did you know?

Did you know that for every weed you pull in the fall - you have killed 7 weeds in the spring? How is that for incentive? It helps when you have chickens with fluffy butts that love scratching and picking through a bucket of pulled weeds that are tossed into their yard. They just purr and cluck in contentment.

Meadow Mist SAL Finish

Cheryl Bickey from Meadow Mist Designs featured a sew-a-long last spring using her book, Just Two Charm Packs. I participated in that sew along, but did not get mine finished by her deadline. Nonetheless, it is finished today and I love the result.

The pattern is called Betty. It is a granny square type design and the Moda charm packs I used were Field Notes, by Blackbird Designs. A Kona banana solid was used for the sashings and the borders. I was lucky to find a yard of the large floral print in the same design line on ebay to frame the quilt nicely. The backing is a bird toile type fabric that I sewed the two lengths together to make it doubly wide enough to cover the entire quilt. The label is sewn in the corner and now it is done.

Its finished size is 52" x 64" which is a nice throw size. And I used a total of 8 yards of stash to make it.

There are plenty more ideas for using up charm packs in Cheryl's book, Just Two Charm Packs.  I may have to revisit that book since I have plenty more charm packs in sets of 2, 3, and even 4. Most of which were purchased during quilt shop closing sales.

 

Although we tend to think that charm packs are a quick and cheap purchase (ranging between 9$-12$) they are actually premium priced when you figure what you are actually getting with those 42 5" squares. They layout to about 25" of a regular width of fabric. That is slightly over a half yard. But we do get an entire line of fabrics that all coordinate with one another. And they are fun to work with because of that. 

This Betty quilt makes my 5th finish this year bumping my total of stash used to 54 yards.

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The garden is beginning to give us fresh produce. It is always fun to go out and see what is ready for picking and plan our evening meal around what is available. We often eat just veggies for supper during the growing season. Just add some crusty bread and its a meal! Do you eat likewise in the summer?

Right now we are picking green beans (long tender filets), zucchini, and cucumbers. This year our "try something new" was Armenian Cucumbers. 

 

Armenian cucumbers are the long light green ones you see above. They are from the melon family but tastes like cucumbers and grow in hot weather.  I just found a recipe for cucumber bread that I want to try. 

Stay safe. Enjoy your summer and garden. And happy stitching!

Siggie Finish in Hot July

It has been a long journey getting this quilt done but I am so happy to announce its finish today! I still have a large box of siggies (Signature blocks) from the years 2004, 2005 and 2007 but that is a story for another day. A lot of people exchanged blocks those years and there are enough for another two quilts at least.

But for this one, I gathered up the blocks I had for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 siggie block exchange to make this quilt. Participation sure dropped off during those years. I sashed each square block with colors separating the years: A soft yellow borders the 2010 year; A teal borders the 2011's; and a light pink borders the 2012s. 

It is 12 blocks wide and 13 blocks long making its total of 156 unique and different blocks, all signed and embellished by their makers.

 

Because of those embellishments, I had to make the decision to hand quilt it. There is no way a machine quilter would attempt quilting this with the various buttons and tidbits sewn on.

But that is what made this quilt so much fun to work on. All those embellishments would spark creative ideas for the quilting. Each block lent itself to individual quilting designs according to the theme or fabric design. 

I found I was looking forward to my evenings quilting this lovely quilt project. It was never boring and it was always thought provoking. I often wondered about each block maker and where she is today. Is she still quilting? Where is she on her Dear Jane journey? Has she assembled her "siggie" quilt? How did she lay out its design?

I also found that I really, really, LOVE  hand quilting!! I am not the best at the art. My stitches are not tiny and often they are not consistent in length, but the whole quilt drapes so nicely. It is so soft and it is so cozy!! I often ran my hands over the stitches enjoying the feel of this quilt. I am already thinking about which quilt to hand quilt next.

The borders were quilted in simple triangles with echo quilting between each one. All and all, stitching was no further than an inch apart. 

The batting I used was pieced from various cotton battings I had leftover from other quilts. It will be interesting to see how it looks once it is washed and dried. Probably softer? I hope!

Does anyone have suggestions for removing pencil lines? I tried to keep my lines light and I used a hard lead .5 mechanical pencil for thin lines but I still can see some of them and so it will get a soak and washing soon during these hot summer days. I hope they all come out!

It measures 71" x 78". I used up 11.2 yards of stash. This is my 4th finish this year so now I have used up 46 yards of fabrics. 

There are 4 large quilts on the spare bed upstairs waiting for their binding to be attached. I am aiming for the 100 yard goal again this year so these will help leap to that end. 

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Meanwhile, I have not been keeping up with Bernina's sew along. In fact, I have not been getting much sewing done at all since completing my siggie quilt. Instead, I have been destashing and weeding out fabrics in the sewing room.

I am so tired of seeing stacks and fretting over them that I don't enjoy the projects I am working on. It is kind of a catch 22 thing...

1. put them away and out of sight where they are forgotten.

or

2. leave them out to worry you, and fret over the need to get them sewed up.

I opted for the tidy, put-them-away choice. My mind likes it tidy and neat without distractions. And now that there are less fabrics laying about, I can concentrate on what I need to do next. And enjoy the process. That is why we do this quilting thing, right?

 

This job has taken sooooo much mental energy though! I am close to burn out. I think I have touched every piece of fabric I own! So far I have removed:

60 - 1 yard pieces

40 - 1/2 yard pieces

82 - fat quarters

144 - yardage pieces (from 2 to 10 yds. some on bolts) 

That totals 244 yards of fabric!!

Then there are 11 kits looking for new homes, bundles of miscellaneous craft fabrics, strips and strings and cut squares. All are leaving the premises! It feels so good, honestly!

Oh yes, there are several tools that are duplicates (counted 7 rotary cutters in my drawer. I only have TWO hands!). And magazines, and a 10 ream paper box packed with books, and a stack of patterns. 

And then there is a plastic bin full of quilt tops. Some with their backings attached. All flinging out the door into the yard sale.

I am praying for good weather and lots of people looking for bargains because I am feeling generous. And half of the proceeds I make I will be donating to CMA's Great Commission Fund.  Everyone wins!

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Why the push for Stitchers to use up their stash? Nobody asks stamp collectors to mail letters!

 

Happy stitching everyone. And have a safe and happy summer. Please remember to pray for those in Hurricane Beryl's path.  

 

Twist & Shout Finish

My Merry Mayhem New Year's Day Mystery quilt project is finished. I just took the last stitch last night. 

She measures 52" x 63" and I used up 8 yards of my Civil War Reproduction fabrics.  I used these CWR fabrics with the hopes of whittling down the collection I have. Isn't that funny, because you know how that goes! Sadly, they are not so popular these days but the quilt finished nicely and looks at home with its fellow antique.

This Twist and Shout quilt is my third finish for this year and I have busted through a total of 34.81 yards of stash so far in 2024. I need to attack the "binding to be" pile to bump that number up.

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This has been a busy month. Between attending our grandchildren's soccer and softball games, getting the garden planted, and keeping up with the lawn and flower beds it has been hard to get into the sewing room. 

The bees are busy and humming in the herb bed. The sage has flowered this year along with the chamomile and chives. I planted some onions, lettuce, and spinach on the other side and it is fenced off temporarily to keep the neighbor's dogs and rabbits out. 

We worked outside all week and planted the rest of the garden. It is watered and mulched, and we have high hopes for lots of fresh produce. Each year it is fun to try something new. This year's new vegetable is Armenian Cucumber. It is actually in the melon family but tastes like a cucumber. It takes the heat well so it might be a nice substitute. 

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Bernina has announced a new Quilt Along. 

This "Between the Lines" QAL is divided into 9 rows and will feature different techniques like: paper piecing, curved piecing, strip piecing and more. The finished project will measure 55" x 66" which is a nice throw size. And it is small enough to machine quilt myself if desired. 

The first row begins June 9th so head over to their site for more info.

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I'm still plugging along on hand-quilting my Siggie quilt. These blocks were the D13 block from the Dear Jane quilt. I participated in this block exchange for several years and it was such a thrill to find my "squishie" package in the mail with all the blocks by quilters from around the world. 

Some of the blocks were embellished so that is why I have decided to hand quilt it. No machine quilter would agree to working on it - unless it was free style. 

I have found that I really, really love the feel of hand quilting! The quilt is so much softer, and not stiff like it would be if machine quilted. It has taken me a few months (8 months?) and I am almost done with all the blocks. Once they are all quilted, I will have the four 5" borders to quilt. and then it will be ready for the binding. And lots and lots of snuggle time.

Perhaps you have found your block while reading these blocks? I know I always look for mine when I see a siggie quilt posted online. Let me know in the comments. ♥

"Why the big push for Quilters to use up their Stash? 

Nobody asks stamp collectors to mail letters!" 

Another Finish - a new start in 2024

But a finish IS a finish after all! This diversion began in January while watching YouTube videos. I came across The Quilted Forest channel and fell in love with this block. It has no name that I could find (just a Block-of-the-month block) but it is somewhat of a variation of a disappearing nine patch. Although its construction is not like a disappearing nine patch. The small squares that run diagonally was the appeal for me. It catches the eye as more blocks are made.

 

This block above was not used on the front because it was too pastel to blend well with the others. Instead I used it along with another like it on the back for an "after quilt".

This quilt project truly is a utilitarian quilt. Nothing special, although I do love many of the fabrics I used. Perhaps with better planning, and more time spent it could have been a bit more spectacular, but it is done and ready for use now. Can you spot the diagonal design now?

Maybe one day, I will try another. I often say that, but rarely do so... Stay tuned. You never know. 

 

This one finished at 72" x 88" and I estimated that I used up 14 yards of stash. This will make finish #2 with a total stash used - 26.81 yards so far in 2024. 

 

I am presently waiting on my New Year's Day Mystery quilt to come back from the long-arm quilter. And I have 2 more quilts ready to take with me when I pick up my Mystery quilt. So there will be more finishes to report. 

This is the year I hope to really clean up on the UFOs. I know I will always have some unfinished projects but I hope to get that number down to a number that does not overwhelm me. 

Oh dear. We found this written on our back window by our darling grand daughter. I guess we will never wash that window now.
 

 Happy Stitching!

Across Kansas Remake

During my recent endeavor to add up all the stash I have sitting on my shelves, I ran across a few forgotten UFOs. One of which was a box holding 12 bright yellow Dresden plates. Sunflowers. I've had these for years. I seem to remember purchasing them on ebay or maybe at a garage sale. The centers are cut out but not sewn on. The points need pressing. Just a little finessing is all they need...and a nice setting.

I have experimented with different ideas through the years. Pictured is a block I made using scrap neutral squares and then I appliqued the Dresden, or Sunflower in the center. Meh. Likely why I quit after one block. In the box they went, waiting for new inspiration. 

I combed Pinterest for ideas a couple of times and found a few I like - you know how that goes. But then I happened upon a pattern I tore out of an old Quilter's Newsletter Magazine from 1996. It was written by Faye Anderson and the pattern is called, Across Kansas. 

I am hooked! Unfortunately, the pattern as given in the magazine finishes with 9" blocks. Because of the fact that my Sunflower dresdens are 12", I have a problem.  My first attack at enlarging this pattern was to go to my EQ software. All was going well, except when I saved to my workbook, two lines separating the center squares would disappear. Perhaps I need to set up the worktable with more division marks but after 4 tries I gave up.

Now it is time to take out the trusty Quilter's graph paper by June Taylor, and say another silent prayer of thanks for the hand-sewing, quilt-drafting class I took many years ago. June? Are you reading this? If so, I love you!

I learned so much in that class. ANY block pattern you see, you can redraft, trace unto template plastic, add seam allowances and go! Yeah, its old fashioned, but it gets the job done. 

So now I have my templates made and cut out ready for my first sample block. I am so hopeful this all works because I really, really love this pattern! And did I mention that I have lots and lots of fall fabrics to use?

 

I did a little searching online and found that Kaye also wrote the pattern, The Early Bird Gets the Worm. Remember that one? So crazy cute!! I think it made the QNM cover one month.

And she also wrote the book, Applique Designs My Mother Taught Me to Sew. 

I own both of these items and I may have to give them a second look soon. Does anyone have information about Faye Anderson? Is she still an active quilter? She certainly was a talented one! I can certainly name three designs by her that I love!

So wish me luck as I dive into the fall stash and make my first test block. If you hear someone screaming in the distance, it might be me. Angles and arcs are not my strong point, but I am determined! Sometimes we need a little challenge, right?

Happy Stitching!

My First Finish - and it is March Already.

It seems I am a bit slow in getting my projects to a finish this year, but slow is still progress, right? This quilt began in 2016 as a New Year's Day Mystery with Merry Mayhem. I think this might have been my first mystery I participated in with her. I am very happy with the final quilt.

The original directions were for 4 blocks in a row with wide rows on each side for lots of white space. It was really quite pretty, but I fell in love with these star blocks and decided to make 12 more for my own setting. 

I copied the center star as cornerstones in the sashings for some extra interest and expansion of the design. It is very scrappy and made with reds, greens, golds, and browns. I also used various beige and cream fabrics for the backgrounds. 

The backing is a plain muslin and the binding I used was a print that had all the colors I used in making the stars. Strangely, that was the hardest decision in finishing this quilt as I debated between a plain cream binding (safe choice) or go with framing it by using a multi-color print. It should have been done months ago! 

I sewed on a piece of the binding fabric diagonally in one corner to partition off an area to sign and date the quilt. 

It finished at 85" x 85" and I used up 12 yards of stash. 

So I recommend Merry Mayhem Mysteries. They run each year with fabric requirements and pre-cutting the week before the new year begins. I have since participated in two other mysteries. Twist and Shout was done earlier this year and you can read about it here.  It still needs to be quilted.

Happy Stitching!