Stella, Tobias, Ursula - Orphan Block Tops

I dug into the orphan blocks and made 3 tops - Stella, Tobias and Ursula. 

Orphan Stella

40 x 60

It consists of twelve 12 inch blocks. I didn't make any of them. 

I added a 2.5 inch striped strip between columns to make it 40 inches wide which is usually the minimum requested width for comfort quilts for kids.    

 I added a six inch border of the same striped fabric and scraps to the top and bottom so I would have 60 inches in length. 

Orphan Tobias

42 x 60

For this one I dug through a little pile of 6.5 inch orphan blocks for 15 blocks that would make good centers for 12 inch Stars with yellow points. A few of the orphan blocks were mine but most of the blocks came from several other folks. 

I used 3.5 inch scraps for the Star backgrounds. I made Flying Geese with yellow wings for the Star points. I cut the Geese wings using the Easy Angle ruler and cut the Geese bodies using the Easy Angle Companion ruler. When I use the Easy Angle Companion ruler I make the first cut of the strip with the Easy Angle ruler and then end up making extra HSTs. I've blogged about this several times in the past. 

So anyway...this time I turned those extra HST parts into 6 inch Broken Dishes blocks and used that as a column inbetween the Stars in order to add to the width of the quilt. 

Orphan Ursula

40 x 60

The  fifteen 12 inch orphan blocks in this one all came from other folks. I just had to sew them together and add a couple of strips between columns. 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Dec. 2 - My corn filled heating pad/cold pack.  I made many of them years and years ago for myself and for Christmas gifts. It has come in handy many times over the years. I usually keep it in the freezer and use it as an ice pack (usually on lower back when I overdo it gardeningg); however, it can be heated in the microwave and used as a heating pad too.  I've been using it a lot lately on my swollen, itchy, red,  burning shingle eye. 

Dec. 3 - Finished a book! - The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson. Fictional story inspired by the true story of the Bond Dance Hall Explosion that happened in West Plains, MO in 1928 that killed many, mostly teens. The cause of the explosion was never determined. 

 

Intersections

Intersection Blocks

A free tutorial at Film In The Fridge.

There''s lots of different variations on the way to make the blocks. For this quilt I'm going to consistently use 8 inch square centers and 1.5 inch strips for both rounds.  I'll be using scrap chunks to make this kiddo comfort quilt. 20 blocks needed for a 4 x 5 layout. 14 more blocks to go! 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Dec. 1 - A bowl of homemade chili.  

Cherry Baskets and Bramble Blooms

Cherry Basket

That's the actual name of the quilt block and I made my blocks all in cheery cherry fabrics. 

I've been big stitch hand quilting the blocks with red perle 8. 

I've also finished the wild rose and leaf needle turn applique on the second corner of my Bramble Blooms II quilt. I was going to see how I liked just doing the applique in opposing corners before I went on to do all four corners. I've decided I need to put the wild roses in all four corners. And before all is said and done I will probably add a few appliqued butterflies. 

The previous blog post about the first corner. 

Bramble  Blooms is an improv-do-your-own-thing Quilt Along hosted by Audrey at Quilty Folk.  This is my second quilt that will be a series of 3 quilts. 

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Nov. 30 - Pink sky at sunrise. Golden glow at sunset. 

 

With 3 Inch Width Scraps, Novelty Pieces and Quilt Back Trimmings

 

16 Patch

10 inch block

made with 3 inch width strips

This past year has been a blur with hubby in and out of the hospital and with me helping him and doing all his chores as well as mine around here. I've also been working on clearing areas of land for some more of my dream gardens.   Also this year I have been blessed with scraps and other quilt makings from many folks who know I like to sew with scraps and also like to make donation quilts especially for kids. In previous years I used to have a few quilt blocks going for almost any size scrap I came across and I would make blocks as scraps happened.  I have fallen behind on that task and now am trying to get back to business as usual.   

So this set of blocks all use 3 inch width scraps. Not only will I use 3 inch width scraps as they happen but I also hope to use up a little box of novelty bits and pieces and empty a box of quilt back trimmings.  The novelties and quilt back trimmings will probably be used along with other widths of scraps but I'll get to that in a different post one of these days. 

So, as you saw above one of the blocks I'm making is 10 inch finished 16 patches in reds,  blues, yellows. Goal is 24 blocks in a 4 x 6 layout.  I have gone through a few quilt back trimmings and novelties and cut a few strip sets. 

Peaks and Valleys

from Jo's Country Junction

Modified to use 3 inch scraps for a 10 inch finished block. 

I will be using that green fabric in all the blocks. 

Goal is 24 blocks for a 4 x 6 layout. I had some 3 inch squares so counted out enough for all my blocks and moving forward I hope to have all pieces cut for this quilt by year end. 

Bits of Bricks

From a Youtube video. I rarely watch them because my computer takes forever to load them and then they are sometimes broken up; however, someone sent me the link so thought I would check it out. 

These units finish at 2.5 x 8.5 and consist of two 3 x 6 inch rectangles. 

The units get staggered a little so there are no seams to match.   I will be adding a 3.5 inch unfinished scrappy border. 

I sewed together the waste triangles from the Bits of Bricks units and will keep them in a baggie and decide what to do with them later. Some might be wonky because I don't take the time to cut an even 1/4 inch from seam lines. I just take a big scissors and snip. I'll just use them wonky in something so I don't have to do a lot of measuring, trimming, etc. on those snippets.  

Also while sorting 3 inch width scraps I cut 3 x 5 rectangles and 2 x 3 rectangles to be used in something later. I cut those sizes because someone gave me some rectangles cut to that size so why not expand on those sizes. They can always go into some type of coin quilt. 

I also cut 3 inch squares for some future use. 

And anything greater than an inch and less than a square gets sewn together into strips for some future use. 

 A month or so ago I emptied out a box of 3 inch width scraps and ended up with 10 tops.  I had also cut a lot of the remaining scraps into pieces for Four Patches.  I'm still working on those. 

So now when I have 3 inch width scraps I know what to do with them right away!  I keep this notebook next to my computer. It is full of doodles of quilt layouts, math, block goals and so forth. It's kind of fun to look back through the notebooks once in awhile.  I also keep a notebook next to my computer that has all sorts of notes and scribbling in it from reminders to quilts to make to seeds to order to quotes I like to tips and research on health, homemade remedies, recipes, and house maintenance. 

And now when I have 3 inch width scraps I can go look in my 3 inch project box and add units and blocks to it.  

And on to the next size scrap...

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

November 27 - I received my order of native wildflower and grasses from Prairie Moon nursery that will sow 1500 square feet. I recently finished clearing the area out front near the ditch. Now is the time to sow because most seeds need cold stratification. More on that later with pics.      I also received a surprise sampler box of 9 Amaryllis from hubby John.  He said he ordered them for me when I was having what he thought was a really bad day. I don't remember what day that was but, hey, maybe I'll have to pretend to have a few more bad days in the future (wink, wink)! 

November 28 - Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for every single day. 

November 29 - Finished a book! Plum Springs by Dan Lawton. A dysfunctional family, child abuse, addictions and vigilante justice. Plum Springs was the winner of the 2019 New Hampshire Writers' Project Readers' Choice Award For Fiction but I'm not sure I really liked the book. I liked the writing style; however, the plot just seemed too far fetched to me. 

Sweet!

A sweet finish!

56 x 72

I finished the top in January 2022; however, some of the blocks were much older than that and came from a swap.   An explanation of the unusual kind of swap is on that Jan. 2022 blog post. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine (Brother PQ1500SL) with horizontal and vertical lines. 

The nice thing about this one is since it is candy themed I could use some Christmas and Halloween candy fabrics from the holiday themed fabrics without them seeming to be related to any holiday. I think I mightt have some Valentine's Day candies in there too. 

The binding is scrappy and pieces came out of the leftover binding box. I had to piece a back. 

The backing has all sorts of sweets and a strip of chocolate. The sweets in the turquoise tone on tone don't show up very well but there's almost the same sweets in it as in the pink. I think I bought both pieces a long time ago (pre-retirement in 2017) on clearance at Connecting Threads and they were part of the same line. 

And now it's ready for donation! 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Nov. 26 - Finished a book! -- Other Birds:A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen. Magical realism. "an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home."   

"...untold stories. What happens to them? Where do they go? If you never share your stories with at least one other person, does that mean they weren't real, that they never really existed?" - Sarah Addison Allen

It's light easy reading with a happy ending for when you are not feeling well! 

 

What's In The Hoop?

What's (finally) in the hoop?

Cherry Baskets

I'm big stitch hand quilting with red perle cotton. 

I need to decide on a motif to quilt in that half circle area  inside the basket handle. I'll decide after all the rest of the quilting is finished and just think about it until then. I need to dig out my quilting stencils and see if there's anything in those I can use. 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Nov 21 - Received another seed order. A lot of the seeds are for my new goth/moonlight garden but with a few veggies thrown in. And I received a free packet of mixed lettuces. 

Nov. 22 - Received a surprise box of scraps from Jeanie B! Oh, joy! They are sorted and quilts designated!

Nov. 23 - Received a box of scraps and other goodies from Donna! Wooohoo! Again they are all sorted and quilts designated!

Nov. 24 - Recovering from shingles and feeling a lot better! My eye was swollen shut, I had a horrible headache, and swollen lymph nodes as well as buring pain and rash on half my face from ear on up over scalp. I never take naps but was so tired I would wake up for an hour and mosey around and then go take another nap. Today my eye is open, headache is gone and lymph nodes are not as swollen; however, I am pretty crusty looking now from my ear through scalp. This too shall pass but right now I'm not really a sight to behold! 

Nov. 25 - Seed Saver's Exchange! They are located in Iowa where I live. I received today their 25th Anniversary 2025 Seed Catalog.  I've been ordering from them for years starting in the old days when nothing was ordered on the internet. I used to be a member long ago and was able to get seeds cheaper than non members and seed varieties not available to non members in exchange for membership fee and some of my saved seeds sent to seed bank. 

NOTE! 

This is a Google blog. I noticed a few weeks ago that Google was making some revisions to the way comments on blogs work. I used to get notice of your comment and it would come to my email along with your email address if you had it marked public on your google profile. Then I could reply via email. Now I get notification via email; however, I don't get your email addy anymore. If you have replied in the past I have now put you in my contacts so I can still reply via email. If you are an anonymous commenter then I will start replying to you on the blog.   I think Google wants all comments and replies to stay on their servers. (What happens on Google stays on Google?)

I have a Google Pixel 8 phone. At around the same time as this comment thing was happening my phone told me I needed to change to a new messaging ap. 

I am not a Facebook member; however, I used to be able to go visit most public Facebook pages. I had a winter sowing one I liked to visit from time to time.  Well, about the same time those Google things were happening public Facebook pages stopped being available to me the non-member. 

So, I think these are all moves toward Artificial Intelligence. Big Tech (Brother) is watching me! Or trying to watch me!  Not sure I like that. 

 

Framed Squares Top

It's a top!

Framed Squares

54 x 72

I said I was working on "oldies and biggies" this month and this is one of the oldies. 

I won these Block Lotto blocks back in January 2018.  Although Block Lotto has disbanded the instructions for making the block are still online. 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Nov. 20 - I am so thankful for the time you all take to comment. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I learn more about you, sometimes you give me a big head and sometimes I learn something new. On my last post I mentioned I had a burning rash on my face and thought it was from spider bites. A couple of comments mentioned the possibility of shingles. Well, I did not know you could get shingles on the face but when I read about it I figured out that's what I had. My husband told me the "spider bites" were swollen lymph nodes. I've been to the family doctor and opthamologist and am on the road to recovery thanks to a couple of comments. Thank you! 

FYI -- I've been asked if I got a shingles shot. The answer is no. I have a history of Guillaine Barre Syndrome (GBS) and evidently a shingles shot can trigger GBS so I opt out on the shingles shot. I don't want GBS ever again. So far shingles is a breeze compared to GBS. And even so the shot is only 90% effective in preventing shingles.