Big Stitching Baskets

I'm big stitching my basket quilt in navy perle #8 with a #4 (I think) embroidery needle. 

I finished the pillowcases I was working on to go with the Double Wedding Ring quilt for my granddaughter's hope chest. 

First of all, I didn't notice when I cut the band for embroidery that is was a lighter yellow Kona than what I had bought for the body of the pillowcase. Oh, well, I went ahead with my plan and finished assembly in two tones. 

Second of all, the transfers I used had a vine beneath HIS and nothing beneath HERS. HERS is in bigger lettering and vine didn't fit in same space.   I fixed that.  I added a crocheted edging to HERS.  I just happened to have some purple crochet thread on hand.  Might as well use it up. 

Slow Stitching? 

Join us each Sunday at Kathy's Quilts Slow Stitching Sunday. 

Today is Brought To You By the Color Orange

I've been making Little Monkey blocks for two years. Last year I had scraps enough for only 9 blocks.  I don't think I'm going to add sashing between blocks so need quite a few for a bed sized quilt.  Now I think I need to figure out exactly what number is "quite a few". 

3 blocks plus. I want to make a quilt like a Vintage Butterfly one I saw at Nostalgic Cafe.  (I think this block is actually called Beggar's Block).  These blocks finish at 9 inches. 

I've also been making 3 inch spools since last year and and want to make a bed sized quilt. 

I just started making those Rail Fence variation blocks at top last week after I saw a vintage quilt that used them.  And I made one orange postage stamp block which I think is all I need to begin  to put together a quilt I have in mind. 

Got Scraps? 

Use them up and show them off each ScrapHappy Saturday.  

There's so many fun things being made with scraps you'll want to make them all. 

Snowmen, Snowflakes, Snowballs

My A Lovely Year of Finishes Goal for September is to finish up a Snowball/9 Patch quilt UFO. 

I was hoping to finish it last year for my daughter for Christmas. Maybe she will get it this year instead. 

Many, many, many times she has requested seasonal and holiday lap quilts. Why I do not know. She's a "decorate for every holiday and then some " type of person and I am not. 

Maybe she will get a Winter and Valentine lap quilt this year. Maybe...

Anyway...I need to sew the rows together, quilt and bind before the end of September. Yes, that's my goal and I'm sticking to it. 

Potpourri That I Hope Doesn't Stink Up a Room

Well, I started out with Flowering Snowballs because Molly Flanders Makerie was having a Quilt Along. 

I've been sloooowly quilting along making my Flowering Snowballs out of my cherry pie themed fabrics and different cherry colored reds/pinks. 

I want to make a large bed-sized quilt. 

These are the latest 13 blocks I've made and I think I now have 32 of them. 

Unfortunately I'm easily distracted so it takes me awhile to finish quilts (or enough blocks to make a quilt) and I have lots of UFOs. 

Latest distraction? I've been meaning to try some large 15 inch Road to Lampasas blocks in 30s fabrics. 

Here's my trial blocks. I like them. So now I'll be making more whenever the urge strikes. 

And I used up some more 4 patches to make more Bear Foot blocks.  I've been using up swapped four patches but ran out of them (but am expecting another swap batch very soon) after I made that block with deep purple HSTs so whipped up a few of my own from 2.5 inch scraps. 

I need to count. I may have enough Bear Foot blocks for a large quilt. 

What have you been working on? 

Need some ideas? Visit Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. 

50 Shades of Envy (and then some)

The color is still green for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

I made 10 more Dandy Quilt blocks. 

Each block takes a 4.5 scrap strip of green and  4.5 inch and 2.5 neutral scraps. 

I've been trying to use up my green chunks. 

With the scraps left from the scraps from making the Dandy blocks this month  I made some 4.5 inch HSTs and turned them into a couple of 12 inch blocks...

... and a 16 inch chevron block.  And I saved 16 HSTs to add to my pile of HSTs for 16 inch Depression blocks. I also cut some 4.5 inch squares from the neutral to use in my Arkansas Crossroads blocks and have some green 4.5 inch squares cut for centers for Happy Blocks or Stars or some such for donation quilts.

Got Scraps?

Use them up and show us what you do with them each ScrapHappy Saturday

Jack's Chain and Pickle Dish Progress

 I finally gathered enough 3 inch 9 patches to work again on my Jack's Chain quilt. 

(Some of the 39Ps are from a swap). 

This is what got added and it sure includes a lot of Y seams. I'm starting to get the hang of them. 

One thing I found out...if you swap 3 inch 9 patches you need to make sure they are all exactly the correct size. I think one swapper's blocks were about 1/8 inch too big and that sure throws off Y seams! It took me awhile to figure it out. 

I think I will add this much again x 2 and the quilt will be ready for hand quilting. 

This will be a wedding quilt that will go into my grandson's hope chest. 

And I've made more arches for a Pickle Dish wedding quilt for a granddaughter's hope chest. 

I think I have 52 arches and need 72. 

For some other WIPs and WOWs visit: 

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

WOW Wednesday at Esther's Blog

Does Black+Pink=Blink?

51 x 63

Another UFO is finished.

Pink and Black Sampler

Blocks swapped in 2010

My August goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes  (#21 at the goal setting party) was to at least get a top made from those swapped blocks. 

Surprise! Surprise! I finished the entire quilt. 

(I was on a staycation last week - gardening, canning, sewing, cleaning- and got a list of things completed! )

I free motion quilted some flowers of light pink thread  in each square on my Plain Jane Janome.  

And I practiced some circles in the center  of the flowers (because I want to do some circles/snowballs on an upcoming quilt) and I like how they puffed up after a trip through the washer and dryer. 

 For the backing I had an old piece of  pink and black roses fabric in my stash but it was not enough so I added some ballerina fabric I had on hand.