Finishes - Yay!

Finishes always feel good, don't they?  Sometimes I feel like I am adrift in a sea of projects and UFOs.  So when a finish comes along I feel especially good.  

I finished the binding on the Lil' Baskets quilt last night. YAY!!!  This quilt is not huge (70" x 70"), but it seemed to take forever. :-)  

Now it is ready to go on the back of the couch where the cats will sleep on it and we will get to use it occasionally.

I even like the reproduction back I selected.  With all the colors in the baskets, it was hard to choose an appropriate back.  I decided on a reproduction that complimented the borders. 

This quilt is a nice compliment to the courthouse steps quilt I made a few years ago. Ignore the leaves.. with so many trees it is hard to get a photo without them!

Both will keep us and the kitties warm on cold evenings this winter. 

 I also started this little penny rug on Halloween... and finished it on Sunday.  I  have had this pattern for a few years.  Glad I finally made it.  It was quick and fun!

Have a great week!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Stars In a Time Warp - Update, 7 Weeks of Stars!

Oh boy... I didn't realize I was so far behind in my posting of star block from the Stars in a Time Warp QAL.  Geez!!!  Where does the time go? (No pun intended - wink)  So I will try to do these in order and hopefully you will learn something about these fabrics like I did.... at the very least find them interesting!

Week 34 was Bronze Style Prints.  I chose the golden brown colored fabrics I found in my reproduction fabrics as Barbara suggested.

Week 35 was Cretonne.  Hmmmm.. this was definitely a learning experience as I learned Cretonne was a style of fabric very much like Chintz.  So I not sure I go this one 100% correct but I found  a really pretty floral print to use for my star.

Week 36 was Lancaster Blue and Greek Keys.  Very interesting to see the Greek Key motif used in clothing. However, I didn't have any of this style of fabric in my stash, so I went with the Lancaster Blue.  You can see a good example of this color in the corner squares of my block.

Week 37 - Chocolate and Blue plus Lace Prints.

This chocolate and blue print was recently purchased and I love the look of these two colors together.

The lace print was a complete surprise.  I was actually looking for something else when I found this in my stash.  Don't you just love when something like that happens?? :-)

Week 38 was Black, Gray & Asian Style Design.  I focused on the black fabrics from this week's lesson.  I knew I had plenty of those to choose from.  However, I realized I need to add some black and gray reproductions to my stash. :-)
Week 39 was about Claret Red.  So pretty I had to make two!



Week 40 Barbara inspired us to use Cadet Blue & Celestials.

Again, the Cadet Blue was easy to find in my stash.. lots of grayish blues to choose from there!

And the Celestials are so much fun.  I wish I had more of these, but I think these two fabrics fit the bill perfectly.
Right now I have 66 stars done... and we are going into week 41.  Whew!

Meanwhile, Gracie has decided that the unfinished basket quilt on the back of the couch is a good place to take a snooze....  It will be well broken in by the time I get the binding finished!

Happy Stitching!

Deb

Under My Needle Lately

I feel like I have really been so far out of the quilting and blogging loop lately.  

We have been focused on other things: planning, preparing, family visiting, etc. for my father-in-law's funeral.  It was a beautiful service where both of my in-laws were finally buried together. It was so nice to have our family together since we all live so far from each other, while sad circumstances brought us together, it was really hard to see them leave.  

In between, I have been doing some stitching....

I decided it was time to work on some bindings for quilts that are almost done!

This is the binding going on the Liberated Log Cabin quilt. The machine quilter did a great job.  I love all the colors in this one!  It was a lot of fun to make.. but even better to git 'er done!

Since I had cleared off my work table to square up the Stacks quilt. I thought it was a good opportunity to do some more trimming and bindings.

This is the Cake Stand or Lil' Baskets quilt.  Another great job by the machine quilter. This quilt measures 70" x 70".  It will look great on our family room couch this winter!

Finally, this quilt, called French Roses, was started in... ummm.. almost embarrassed to say... 2008.  Don't you think it's time to get this one done!!??  It was machine quilted about a year ago. The flower shapes are all raw edges.  It should add a nice dimension when it is washed and those edges fray a bit. 

A bias cut pink and green stripe for the binding will look great.  It definitely needs to be finished and on a bed. 

I definitely have plenty of binding to sew down now...  I wonder how long it takes to hand stitch down 848 inches of binding? :-)

Happy Stitching,

Deb

Overwhelmed...but Making Progress

I am still feeling overwhelmed at work and thus not a lot of time for blog writing or even blog reading.  It's just a busy time and it will pass.  However, my sewing room is even overwhelming to me at the moment and has become more of a source of stress than solace.  

So, over the long weekend, when I tried to unplug from everything, I decided to try to get a sense of accomplishment by focusing on a UFO.  Notice I did not say UFOs (plural) .....too stressful.  But if I could focus on one and make some progress, I knew I would feel better.

Do you remember these sweet little baskets?  Hmmm, the date on the photo above might give you a clue. :-)  I started these a long time ago... I actually talked about them in my first blog.  That was August, 2012!  You can see that post here.  It's about time I finished this quilt.

So, I dug into my basket of completed blocks and started sewing them together.

Row after row.. until I was about out of blocks.  Oh, and guess what - I need to make more baskets.  9 more baskets to be exact.

By the looks of what is left over, I definitely need to concentrate on colors other than red or peach.  Some nice cool blues or greens, maybe even a yellow are definitely in order and greatly needed. 

Unfortunately, I did not get the quilt totally pieced together this weekend, but I did make some good progress and I am working on my additional blocks in the evenings.  I also pulled out this wonderful Moda fabric by 3 Sisters called Papillon that I bought a few years ago when one of my favorite shops was closing.  It will be perfect for the borders. 

In other 'need to make more' news... I thought I had all of my flower blocks for the Audrey's Flowers quilt almost done.  I had even taken them to a LQS for help with the setting triangles and borders.  The gals at Quilting Possibilities were very helpful.. and I came home with some great ideas.  Then I realized that I was short by 6 blocks.  Could I have miscounted?? It's possible.  Had I put them in another basket? another bag? No.. if I had them at all .. and that is questionable.. I didn't have them any longer.  So I prepped 6 more flower blocks.  

But in the "I finally got it done" category.. my Cake Stand quilt is finally pieced together and ready for the longarm quilter to do her magic. 

I haven't made mitered corners in awhile!

So, just remember...... 

 Happy Stitching!

Deb


Linking up at Let's Be Social and WIP Wednesday.

100 Basket Blocks on the wall...... Take One Down, Sew it Around....

You know the song, right?  Well I have changed it a bit, but you get the idea.  I finished the last of the 100 basket blocks needed for the Lil' Baskets Quilt on Sunday.  It was great to finally get them all done - I can't decide which is my favorite - I like all the colors! 

There is something about muliples of small blocks that appeals to us.  Like Dear Jane, etc., right? Here are most of them spread out on the guest room bed before I started sewing them together.  So pretty!

The quilt from the book (Scrappy Firework Quilts by Edyta Sitar) uses a smaller print in the plain blocks. 

 

 I  chose a larger scale print by Jo Morton from her Bridgeport collection.   

You can see how they look on my design wall with the brown blocks and the rust colors set-in triangles. 

Thankfully we didn't get any of the snow that fell on part of the northeast!  It is a beautiful, sunny day here and hopefully these images will be a distant memory!

What a winter!!!!!

I better get sewing!

Happy Stitching!

 

Deb

 

Linking up at Let's Be Social and WIP Wednesday!  Check out the other projects quilters are working on.