Thursday, January 17, 2019

Squirrel Invasion

With all the cold weather and the seed and suet feeders full we've had a small invasion of little red squirrels, one or two grays, and of course the chippies.  I seem to be building squirrels in the sewing room too ...

I've always tried to avoid making those flippy corners demanded by so many quilt patterns. Seems no matter whether I tried drawing lines or just winging it corner to corner I always ended up with too many cut-off points and other crooked atrocities.  But after reading Bonnie Hunter's blog for a few months and how she consistently recommended the Simple Folded Corners ruler, I caved and put it on my Christmas wish list.  And thus began the current mess in my sewing room I'll loosely call squirrel-building!  Here's a photo of that magic ruler in case anyone (besides me) hasn't seen or tried one before this.  The white tape is surgical tape placed on the back to keep the ruler from slipping, the green painters tape to keep me from losing my place cutting hundreds of corners over the past couple of weeks!
No affiliation with the creator of this ruler, just a happy user!

The first project I started in an apparently vain attempt to clear the Christmas fabrics tote.  Not a chance, but here's what the design wall looked like a few days ago.  Kind of a mess, huh?

Being transformed into rows like this - the top row with borders attached.
Loving how all those star points are coming along

I've since finished and attached the second row, and began the third row before being sidetracked this week with a request for a nursing home quilt. 

The recipient in question is a 95-year-old woman with dementia, who in her younger years lived on a farm not far from here and had also been a quilter.  Her son asked me if I could make her a lap quilt, I think in the hope that seeing the fabrics would spark some memory of her former enjoyment of creating her own quilts for family and friends.   In the past couple weeks our quilt ministry has received some donated fabrics from an estate, included were a few fabrics suitable for quilting, all probably vintage 1980s and 1990s fabrics.  Some still retained their original sale tags, most were 5 yard pieces, purchased for $2.00 or less per yard!  I added a few more fabrics from my stash and decided to try flying geese with the new ruler.  Again, so happy that I wasn't losing the points!


And tonight this little top is complete.  I'll piece the back and hopefully get it layered and ready for quilting tomorrow.  The top currently measures 42-1/2 by 46-1/2 inches, a good wheelchair size.

We're expecting a major snowstorm and blizzard conditions beginning on Saturday, so I'm hoping to be able to quilt much of the weekend, if we have power.   Then decide what to do with all those bonus HST squares!  More squirrels!

Wishing you all a good weekend, hopefully out of the path of the storm.

11 comments:

Janet O. said...

So you have squirrels inside and out!
I've never tried that ruler. I wonder if I own it. That may sound weird, but when a friend was dying of cancer she packed up most of her quilting stuff and sent it to me. She had so many rulers and I still haven't figured out what they are all for.
Love the transformation when you get the star points put on the sashing between your Christmas fabrics!
Beautiful use of the florals in the nursing home quilt.

Kyle said...

It's a ruler I've never seen before. I'll have to check it out. You made a sweet quilt for a quilter who once had fun like we do now. I saw that storm is heading off to east with strength and lots of snow. Stay warm and enjoy your indoor time.

Barb said...

love that star setting. I've seen it before and always thinks it looks great especially in Christmas prints.
What a lovely nursing home quilt - you are so kind! she'll love it.
Good luck with storm...hope you get lots of stitching time.

Wendy Caton Reed said...

That is one of my favorite patterns. It looks great in Christmas colors. I have used the same ruler for over 30 years and I rarely see another I would consider buying. But, this one really makes sense. I eyeball a lot of my corners and I think this would really straighten out my corners. Thanks for the tip!

Barbara said...

Well, I love all those projects. The ruler looks interesting. I might have to take a closer look at that.

Pat said...

Your wonderful star settings are a perfect example of what happens when quilters have fabric, cut it up in little pieces, sew it back together and create magic!! These cold months are tough on our outdoor friends...looks like you are taking care of them and at the same time caring for someone who is special.

Needled Mom said...

I love that ruler! The star setting looks fabulous.

Lizzy D said...

I love seeing the squirrels and other animals! I've been feeding the sparrows, the only little birds we have here. Gully lurks on my neighbors' shed but I have hardened my heart and only feed him at the beach. Mo is afraid of the big gulls.

I love the Twinkling Stars sashing, magical! I never understand rulers like that, maybe because I so rarely use a rotary cutter? And the lap quilt is charming, it will comfort her and perhaps stir a bit of long lost memory too.

hope the storm is a fizzle!

lizzy

moosecraft said...

That is one sweet way to use up some Christmas fabrics! Very nice lap quilt as well....I'm sure she will be all smiles when she see's it! Stay safe and warm!

Nancy said...

I love, love, love your red and green Christmas quilt with the stars. I loved it without the stars, too.

Hey, I didn't know there was a tool like this. I don't like the flippy corners either and took to cutting the corners off and cutting triangles using just my ruler. It's great to know there's a ruler designed for the job. I'll have to look into buying one.

Your lap quilt is beautiful. I especially like how carefully you cut the borders so the large flower clusters are aligned.

Paulette said...

What a great investment, that ruler! Love your Christmas fabrics quilt. The stars created by the cornered rectangles really add the wow factor. Lovely little lap quilt for the sweet elderly lady, too.