A Little Catching Up

I worked on a few smaller projects this week--things that were in the works that just needed to be finished up...ahhh, that word, finished!

Nikki, a friend in the KC Modern Quilt Guild, is very active with the Quilts of Valor project. Her group issued a QOV Firecracker Challenge for 12.5" star blocks to be used in sampler quilts. It's been a while since I've made a wonky star block and now I remember how fun it is--lots of possibilities.

I needed to print out some more paper pieces for my ongoing hexagon project. I make 1 inch "hexies", but I noticed there were .5" pieces available for printing also. Having seen these tiny hexagons--they're adorable--I wanted to give them a try. Not bad, but I think I'll stick with my big ol' 1 inchers!

And, just today, I finished this embroidered Mad Hatter, using a Wild Olive pattern.
 

Considering all of the swaps I've particpated in, I've been lucky. Maybe a couple of times, there's been a swapper who didn't follow through--I know, not nice, right? The flickr Bitty Block group is especially good about following through, but it looks like one of the people in the "Alice in Wonderland" swap isn't going to "be nice". And the bitty she said she would make is the Mad Hatter...well, I just don't think you can have a group of "Alice" anything without the Mad Hatter, so I made one for myself! I'm expecting one more block, the Cheshire Cat--coming from Australia--and when it arrives, I'll post pics of all of them--they're really cute!!

Marilyn

Trying Something New

When Weeks Ringle spoke to the KC Modern Quilt Guild last month, I was quite taken with the quilts she showed us.....the few that I photographed that evening (below) were just a handful of the ones we saw.  Beautiful!

Weeks even passed the quilts around so we could touch them and see them up close.  She talked about her quilting background and process and technique--all fascinating.  Binding the quilts was one of the things that caught my attention--it is a one-step machine sewn binding--and it turns out there are directions for this method in the latest book out by Weeks and her husband Bill Kerr, Transparency Quilts.  It also turns out that I recently purchased their book when I learned that Weeks was coming.

Now, in the past, I haven't had much luck with bindings sewn down by machine.  Granted, I haven't practiced much, which is probably one reason it ended up looking so sloppy--especially the back since you're stitching it down from the front.  But this method made sense to me, more than others had, and I wanted to try it.

I decided to whip up something small and quick, a mug rug (8.5" x 7"), then started on the binding.  You use a bias tape maker (although the fabric strip doesn't have to be cut on the bias), fold it in half and iron it,

slip it over the edge of the quilt, pin and stitch.

It felt a little fiddly at first, especially around the corners, but the directions are clear and easy to follow. I think it looks pretty good on the front...

...and on the back.

By the way, have you tried these Wonder Clips? I preferred the straight pins for this project, but I use the clips on my binding when I'm hand stitching it to the back and I love them!

Marilyn

Seriously?!!

I can hardly believe I won these...

A full fat quarter bundle of Zen Chic's "Juggling Summer" and "OHO" quilt pattern--an absolutely lovely surprise from a giveaway on bon bon atelier's blog!!  Bon Bon has a beautiful shop right here in Kansas City......and to them I say, THANKS SO MUCH!!!

 

Marilyn

Soooo, my last post was in December.....

and much has happened since then.  But what do you say we pick it up again with where I am right now.....




These little (3.5") blocks are for the June Bitty Block Committee "My Garden" swap. I used a pattern from Sublime Stitching for the tomatoes and a couple of text fabrics that seemed fitting to the theme.  I love their embroidered faces;-)

Summer break (from childcare for our 2.5 year old grandson, and since January, his new sister--now 7 months old) started this week--and I've got big plans to finish lots of projects before I start up again in early August!  Many of them involve bitty blocks from other fun themes the last several months.....so stay tuned!

Marilyn

Happy, Happy, Happy to You!!

Since my last post, I've enjoyed some fun sewing and crafting (and I have photos of those projects which I hope to show you very soon), but this is a glimpse of what's mostly been going on the past month...

...and more to come. Family and friends, that's what it's all about this time of year:) I hope you're enjoying your days and doing all of your favorite things too! Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season!!

Marilyn

A Challenge and a Swap, the KCMQG Variety

First, the challenge, The Modern Quilt Guild "Habitat" Challenge, which was to make a quilt using Jay McCarroll's Habitat line of fabric.

At our August meeting of the KC Modern Quilt Guild, we were given 6 fat eighths from the Earth Tones colorway. We could also add any solids and any additional Habitat fabric to make our quilts. I added solids from my fabric stash to create Log Cabin blocks and bought an additional yard of Habitat for the backing--I love having an excuse to make a trip to Bon Bon;-)

The Habitat fabric is a style quite different from what I would usually choose. So, initially, it was indeed a challenge. However, I'm all for stretching myself and trying new things. And it's a good thing because I ended up liking it very much.

The big 'reveal' took place at our November meeting Thursday night. What fun!! I think there were about 50 quilts and every single one of them was incredible!! You can see them too in the Flickr group.

And now, the swap--a potholder swap with members from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild...

Susan Beal was a guest speaker at our September meeting. She is the author of Modern Log Cabin Quilting and a member of the Portland guild. I really enjoyed her presentation--it was very interesting and so inspiring. Using that inspiration, we're making log cabin style potholders for the secret partner swap. But it's only a secret till December--that's when we receive our potholder and our partner is revealed!

Marilyn

I can't deny it, I LOVE a Scrappy Quilt!

A lot of my sewing this summer has been inspired by traditional quilt blocks. My biggest project is this:

Two quilters, Angela/Fussy Cut and Amanda/msmcporkchopquilts, invited others to join them in making quilt blocks from the book, The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. I'm going with my favorite scrappy quilt look, using colors and fabrics that call out to me when I start a block. There are 111 different 6.5" block patterns in the book--enough for a queen size quilt. I've made 19 so far:

Definitely a long term project, but that's alright, I've been having a lot of fun with them! The Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long Flickr group is now at 651 members (after just 6 weeks!), so there is a huge variety of colors and fabrics to be seen in the blocks--fun!!

Here are a few more traditional style blocks (also scrappy).....3.5" for a Bitty Block Swap:

And these (hmmm, again with the scrappy).....also 3.5" for a Bitty Log Cabins Block Swap:

******************************
A follow-up on the string blocks quilt.....

...finished...and delivered about a month ago, to Liam and his parents for their summer activities. I'm pleased to say they are enjoying it.

And I think it received their cat's approval too:)

Marilyn

phwoooh!!

That's me blowing the dust off my little blog:) Time flies, doesn't it? And life goes on! But enough of that...I'm on summer break! Liam's mommy is off work until August 1st, so I am too.

My first summer project is actually one I started on winter break. I finished my string blocks yesterday,


one hundred of them, and I laid them out on the floor this morning.



I really like it, but I really like scrappy quilts! I think it will end up measuring about 65" x 65" and could be a good picnic quilt. Sooo, off to the sewing room for me--I only have eight weeks to catch up on some projects, lol!!

Marilyn

No Prints Allowed Challenge

At the KC Modern Quilt Guild meeting last week, I showed the quilt top I made for our No Prints Allowed Challenge...


The challenge started in December with Kona Solids charm packs...one hundred of them, one for each member, generously donated by Robert Kaufman. We got to choose from classic colors, brights, pastels, darks and, my choice, dusty.


We could use our approximately 44 - 5" squares to make any patchwork project, any size, but at least part of every charm in the pack needed to be in it somewhere. I used all of the fabric to initially make a series of 'flying geese'...


They stayed on the coffee table and I continued to move them around for about two weeks until I was safisfied with my design.


We were allowed to use additional fabric as long as it was a solid. I added a medium gray and a dark gray.


The sun from our living room window was making it difficult to photograph the quilt top. But while I was waiting for it shine elsewhere, I noticed this view from the back--kind of a stained glass look;)


You can see more KCMQG challenge quilts in the flickr group, and several from the LA Modern Quilt Guild also...enjoy!

Marilyn