Monday, March 18, 2024

Snowball in Snowball Finish

Snowball in Snowball
37.5 x 49.5

It's a finish!



Scrappy Snowball in Snowball blocks tutorial can be found at Susie's Scraps. Awhile ago two different people gave me gallon bags of 2 inch squares plus I had some of my own. This is one of several different quilts I made using the squares.  For the snowballs I used mostly lime green or bright green scraps. 

I quilted it with spirals. 


The binding is a dark kind of ugly green but the backing is cute. 

Remember polaroid photos?

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:





And sew on...

****
CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

March 18 - in the early morning hours when I could not sleep I finished the two book series Velma's Story by G.L. Gooding based on the life of his mother.  (The two books are Where Courage Began and Road to Resilience).   I enjoyed the book because it takes place in Iowa near where my brother-in-law lives. And it covers the Depression era so I can kind of envision what my ancestors, who settled in different areas of Iowa, experienced. 


 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

A Finish That Looks A Little Fishy

Under The Sea
42 x 48

It's a finish!

This is one of several quilts I made with some gifted fish fabric.   This one was inspired by the book Nine Patch Pizzazz by Judy Sisneros.   The book is more of a method and tips book that shows different layouts that combine large prints with nine patches. 

The back and binding are different solid blues.  I quilted it with some squiggles and bubbles.

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:





And sew on...




****
CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

March 16 - I won $4 on a lottery ticket. I don't ever BUY lottery tickets. I get one FREE ticket every month as a member of the Iowa Lottery VIP club.   So I really did win $4!! 

March 17 - Celebrating my Irish ancestry! All of my paternal ancestors were Irish - Joynt, McDermott, McNally, Brennan, Walsh, Herron, Griffin are a few of the surnames I've researched. 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Another Monkey Wrench Finish

Monkey Wrenches
40 x 50

It's a finish!

Throughout 2022 and 2023 one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects was Monkey Wrench blocks in three different sizes made with scraps in the color of the month.  I was able to put together over a dozen tops so far from the blocks. This one has 10 inch Monkey Wrench blocks in pink and orange. 


I quilted it on my DSM with lines.


And here's the back.

 The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:





And sew on...





****
CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

March 15 - Surprise! I received a box with some orphan blocks, parts and fabric in the mail.  
I also received my order of onion plants in the mail.  


 

Friday, March 15, 2024

Orphan Barney Finish

Orphan Barney
It's a finish!
42 x 48

I made this top and several others last year when I was working to clear out the block orphanage.  Every so often some folks send me orphan blocks and I put them in the orphanage until it gets full and then I dig in and see if I can put any blocks together into a quilt or two or three.  Last year I surprised myself and made 13 orphan block tops.  I did not make any of the blocks in this quilt. 

I quilted this one with vertical lines. I had just enough of a muticolor fabric to use for the binding. And the backing is a sweet patchwork fabric. 

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:




*****
CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

March 14 - A little birdie stork has told me grand niece Ari has finally made an entrance into the world weighing in at 8 lb. 11 oz. 



 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Orphan Alice To The Finish Line

Orphan Alice
Orphan Block Row Quilt
40 x 49

It's a finish blowing in the wind!


I don't think I made any of the blocks in this one. 

I quilted it with swirls on my DSM (Brother PQ1500SL). 

I was going to make a scrappy binding but I didn't have enough bits and pieces in my leftover binding box so made use of an old tan calico. 

The backing is turquoise with gold swirls - in the fabric as well as ones I made with the quilting. 

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:




*****
CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

March 13 - I think I have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. (Still working on the courage to change the things I can).  

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Finished With An Edgy Idea

Selvage Coins
41 x 60
It's a finish!

It looks kind of wonky but it's blowing in the wind! 



I made the top in April 2023 when I was working with strings and selvages.  For this one I used most of the brightly colored selvages with little or no writing. 

I just did some vertical line quilting. 

And it has a scrappy binding.



And if the recipient doesn't like the selvages on front they can use the back for the front and the front for the back.  The back (or front) looks like a quilt made of triangles. 

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:




*****
CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

March 12- A few things in bloom! 

Species tulips

Iris reticulata and crocus here and there along pathways.

I've even seen some bees in the crocus. 


When I was out in February I saw that a rabbit had eaten most of my Hellebore (aka Lenten Rose) to the ground so once again this year I was not expecting any blooms. I put stuff all around it hoping to keep the rabbits out of the Hellebore patch and I guess that worked well enough for me to have at least one bloom this year. 


Scilla is starting to appear everywhere

And I'm not sure I'll get anything other than species tulips to bloom this year. I think a rabbit has been in my tulip bed and eaten almost all of the foliage to the ground. I stuck sticks in the ground here and there thinking the deer were eating the foliage because that usually keeps them out or I see signs of them in there because they will knock over the sticks. Since the sticks were all still standing and the foliage was still eaten I think rabbits are the culprit.   So, while I am celebrating a lot of flowers in bloom already I am not celebrating the devastation in my tulip bed!   And so it goes...



 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Two Finishes

One Block - Two Different Layouts
Two Finishes! 
Each 35 x 50

Quite awhile ago I was given these string blocks and parts. My UFO list says I completed the flimsies in 2023 but I can't seem to find the blog post about it. 

In one quilt the blocks forms diamonds. I quilted on the vertical and diagonal lines in blue.


The back is solid blue and the binding is yellow.

The other layout is zig zag.

I quilted squiggles in a yellow/red/orange variegated thread inside the yellow zig zags. I used blue thread to quilt inside the seam lines of the blue zig zags. 


This one has the same blue backing and yellow binding. 

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:




*****
CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

March 11 - Surprise! I've never had a snow pea volunteer in the garden.  Must be time for me to plant my snow peas! I've been looking at the average soil temperatures 4 inches down in my area and they vary between 37 and 41 degrees. Since snow peas sprout in cooler temps, my pea trellis ready and since it is going to be a nice day today with rain later in the week I think today is the day for planting my snow peas! It is really fun to walk around the garden this time of year. There is some new treasure to find every day. 


My surprise! A volunteer snow pea.   The variety I usually plant is Green Beauty.