Week of 20th January 2020

It’s time I got a little bit more active here so I have decided to mostly join up with Home Sewn’s Tuesday Linky.

This is what I planned for last week.

To Do Tuesday 14th January.

• Join up the blocks and rows on my Ombre Carnival Quilt.
• Make some more vintage blocks.
• Continue on with the Scrappy Crossroads leaders and enders blocks.
• Continue to work on the memory quilt block.

I am almost joined up for my Ombre Carnival Quilt goal for January. I then will make a decision about adding a few more blocks to the bottom section, which at present I am thinking yes. Just so its rectangular rather than a square. But that’s not part of this month’s goal.

I spent most of my time on the vintage blocks and have added quite a few to the couple I had from last week.

Lori Holt in the final layout (I am a long way off yet) has an American flag which of course isn’t appropriate for my quilt so I have been thinking about how to fill the space and I think I do have a partial solution, just have to work out exactly what. Maybe a vintage looking school house!

I did continue on as I pieced these blocks and my ombre quilt blocks with my leaders and enders. It slows the process down a little but… I have eventually another  quilt at the end of it. My 4 patches and other blocks that go to make up the main block are all sitting here waiting to be put into a full block.

The memory quilt block

I did some work on one part of a block – paper piecing and a little appliqué.

I also delivered my previous Scrappy Crossroads Quilt to one of my sisters Pauline, when I don’t know what to do with a quilt I put it on our family Facebook group and say “Anybody want it?” Pauline said yes in a matter of minutes, so that was great. Although I do have a quilt for her too in the pipeline she doesn’t know about!

I received a request, while visiting, from her grand daughter – my great niece, for a quilt – she likes pink, (but not hot pink) yellow and blue and wants to have some dogs on it. Oh and monkeys! Well I am a little nervous about all that! Thinking the dogs will be appliqué and there could be monkeys on the back as Tula Pink has some monkey fabric but then again there is some cute pink fabric with dogs that could go on the back too. I’ll mull on it a little longer. I did tell her that it would be 2021 before I’d get to it, we all know we have so many projects on the go! However now it’s all I can think about!

Scrappy Crossroads Quilt

I also received a couple of lovely packages of fabric in the post as well. Lori Holt fabric for a couple of the quilts of hers I want to make. A Farm Girl one because it would be perfect for one of my sisters who quilts too, but still! And she is starting a quilt along Vintage Housewife at the end of this month so I am joining in with that.

 

To Do week of 20th

Continue with my memory quilt block.
Piece together all the carnival ombre quilt rows and that will be my OMG finished for January.
Make another block or two in the Vintage block along.
Maybe piece a Scrappy Crossroads block together.
Whatever takes my fancy.  I like room for picking up what I feel like when I like!

 

Weekly To-Do List

It’s time I got a little bit more active here so I have decided to mostly join up with Home Sewn’s Tuesday Linky.

• In the last week I worked on a few things. My one month goal top got a little work on it, As I make the diamonds on the quilt it also gives me some small 2″ half square triangles which I am boxing away among other half square triangles for a scrappy quilt sometime.
• I am sewing a leaders and enders scrappy crossroads quilt and I made some of the squares up into a couple of blocks.
• I was working on a block for a second memory quilt of my mother. Paper piecing went a little awry for some reason but just decided to keep the flaw!
• My one that I am going to share is the first  two blocks in a quilt along that Lori Holt ran last year on her blog that I am doing this year because her posts are so interesting and well I also love vintage. She called tthe one on the left Grandma’s Star because of her grandmas – it is what is also called Bethlehem Star. It finishes at 12″ when sewn into the quilt. As well the second one she called Pattern Basket.

  

  

  
  

To Do Tuesday 14th January.

• Join up the blocks and rows on my Ombre Carnival Quilt.
• Make some more vintage blocks.
• Continue on with the Scrappy Crossroads leaders and enders blocks.
• Continue to work on the memory quilt block.

OMG Ombre Move Along

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

A new year and another project to work on this January. I am going to work on my Ombre Carnival Quilt.  A kit I fell in love with last year.

My goal is to get the stitch and flip sections completed and then the blocks sewn together in rows. It isn’t quite the full quilt, I need to decide whether I stop with this size or add the rest of it, or keep the remainder for another quilt. I will see.

What it looks like at the moment.

 

Scrappy Crossroads Quilt

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

I set out to get as far as sewing together the bits of batting for the Scrappy Crossroads quilt and the backing and then sandwich the quilt together. That was the goal. I then went on to actually quilt, bind and wash it… because why not!

I really loved the colours as they turned out in this scrappy quilt. I love the quilting I did on the blocks in the middle of each. I am unhappy with the pink X blocks and the quilting there. It just doesn’t look happy.

For the quilting in the scrappy blocks I started with a template of a circular feather and then just echoed around it and did some fmq leaves on the stick out sections. I like it.

I was actually quite unhappy about the quilt. But… I was listening to a podcast last night that said mistakes are learning points, so I’ll make another scrappy crossroads quilt in different colours and hope I can do the X a lot more to my satisfaction. I don’t want it too heavily quilted because then it takes away from the softness.

Quilt Planning for 2020

Looking Back First of all.

So what did I want to do for 2019?

1. Complete quilting my bookshelf quilt.   Yes, and its hanging on the wall.
2. Quilt my hearts quilt. Yes and I donated it to the Christchurch first responders to the shooting in March. I’ll want to make another one for keeping!
3. Quilt my Sunny Skies quilt. Sunny Skies? Let me think about that, maybe the top is still sitting in the cupboard.
4. Quilt my Scrappy Crossroads quilt. Well I know about this one, its my December goal and I do believe I am going to go beyond my goal and totally finish it seen is I am about to work on the binding.
5. Continue to work on my Splendid Sampler 2 quilt and at least complete the flimsy of it. Yes, I aborted from making the full 100 blocks and made a slightly smaller flimsy and happy with that.
6. Make a simple quilted bag or two! Oh yes and very happy with them too.
7. Make a couple of mug rugs. Made one and have another waiting to have binding.
8. Begin to piece another scrappy quilt  or two or… I did put another one or two on their way, still working on them. But.. have decided the Scrappy Crossroads is my favourite kind of scrappy.
9. Complete the flimsy of the second memorial quilt in memory of my mother. I completed one this year.  I did add blocks but didn’t complete the top yet.
10. Work through an online class on free motion quilting and develop  more skills. I did watch various tutorials and did more fmq and am happy with this goal. 

So all in all the good year and of course I made things on the spur of the moment which is part of the fun of quilting.

Most delighted with

Mostly because Scarlett loved this quilt and wraps herself up in it often in winter and cries if she leaves it behind as she goes between her grandmother’s and her own house. What more can you ask as a quilter!

Happy gifting

My niece and two great nieces in Auckland responded well to these quilts – the one on the left finished in a previous year and the middle one a spontaneous quilt of this year and the Bloom  quilt – sewn a previous year and quilted this year.

Hearts Quilt

After the Christchurch shooting in the mosque quilters were called upon to make quilts for the Muslim families and the first responders and so I was really happy to get involved.

For first responders and four blocks for the Muslim quilts that I sent off. I also received enough blocks from the headquarters to put together two green heart quilts but don’t seem to have any photos on my computer.

Biggest booboo

Putting the machine sewing needle through my finger while using my walking foot and three layers of fabric. Really – it happens! Totally good as new now!

2020

• Finish the top of my second memory quilt of my mother and quilt it. I want to write up a booklet too of her life with photos – I keep saying I’ll do it so 2020 seems like its a must
• I want to do the top of Vintage Quilt blocks that Lori Holt has, I fell in love with it and I am a bit of a traditional person and prefer traditional too modern.
• Quilt my Splendid Sampler 2 top.
• Find Sunny Skies and quilt it!
• Finish some 61/2 inch appliqué / embroidery blocks I am doing for a log cabin quilt.
• Take part in the Aurifil block of the month. One block a month.
• Complete Ombre Bloom Kit top
• Design and complete lap surfing / beach quilt for my brother-in-law for our next winter.
• Be open to whatever catches my eye and desire to do it.

Linking up with Quilting Jet Girl

 

Goal for December

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

I have a rather pedestrian goal for December but it needs to be done so that I can finish a quilt top that was made from scraps. The Scrappy Crossroads block.  I had been hooked by Lori Holt’s tutorial for it, although I love her fabric more I think!

The backing and batting will also be scrappy and I want to do a better job of piecing the batting so I will take a bit of time at it. Not sure if I will do it by hand or machine or use tape. Or all three!

I also need to piece the backing so it will be a bit scrappy too. And then I might even get it sandwiched.

And the quilt top

 

Log Cabin Cat Quilt

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

My OMG was to complete my log cabin cat quilt by sandwiching, quilting, binding and washing it. All of which has been completed and I am very happy with it. I am obsessed with log cabins and actually succumbed and bought the Forty Fabulous Years book by Eleanor Burns, and I must say I have enjoyed it.

Here is the cat quilt all finished.

I got the cat patterns from a book Better Homes and Gardens Cat Craft Collection and from KLee2Strings Designs on Etsy.  And now I’ve ordered another cat quilt book because I want to add some different cats to this kind of quilt!

I don’t even have a cat and nor do I want one. I think they fit in really well to a log cabin quilt. There are so many fun, wonderful things about cats, but there is the darker side too!

Log Cabin Cat Quilt November Goal

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts

My goal for November is to complete my log cabin cat quilt. I pieced this the last couple of months. I love log cabins and I wanted to try out the cats in between. It was just a bit of fun and I enjoyed doing it. I got the cat patterns from a book Better Homes and Gardens Cat Craft Collection and from KLee2Strings Designs on Etsy.  It will be lap size.

I have pieced it, and pieced a load of batting pieces – I must admit not that well but intentions to improve on that in the future! I need to organise my batting pieces better and take more care in putting them together.  Just saying!

I have sandwiched the quilt and done some stitching in the ditch to stabilise it.

My goal is to do the free motion quilting and bind it. And maybe even washed by the end of November!