Finished on Friday, Gifted on Sunday

 A fairly quick last-minute finish for August, and already gifted to a sweet young girl, I'm calling this quilt Butterflies and Batiks.

Simple patchwork and bordered with my very favorite batik fabric.  The quilt measures 70x58 inches.

I took these photos quickly just as the sun was about to set, so rather weird lighting on some of them.

Shadowlands!

I made a quilt similar to this but baby size around 40x40 inches a few years ago.  The remaining pieces of butterfly fabric were just sitting in a bin at our ministry closet, and so all I had to do was add another soft pink print, and the light purple batik and green stop-borders and the outer batik border from my stash to bring it to a size just perfect for a 7-year old cutie.

Here's a photo of the back, fun large dots!

I machine quilted all over with a leaf and loop design, you might be able to see the quilting a bit better in the following photo.

Sometimes the simplest gift can bring both the giver and recipient much joy.  My heart is still smiling!

So, what's on tap for September?  I'm planning to work on a Christmas gift for a family member, so no photos will show up on the blog.  The blocks were completed in August and I just need to add sashing and borders before it can be machine quilted.  Beyond that I'm planning to spend the rest of this year trying to finish at least one of my Bramble Bloom tops, and complete the quilting on a long-neglected historic panel quilt that really needs to be finished before next year's bi-centennial + 50 (whatever it's called) celebration.  That one is currently my oldest ufo and really really needs to come to a conclusion!

Our last week of August has been Cold!  Two nights we just missed having a frost by a degree or two.  Some areas near us were not as fortunate.  Our tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and the deer are decimating anything in the garden that hasn't been doused with chili powder or cayenne pepper. We haven't yet figured out if either are effective.  The bucks are gathering in our hayfield every evening, some days as many as eight.  The does and fawns come out in the early morning to browse whatever is left.  Early one morning last week a flock of about 15 turkeys wandered into the hayfield and side yard, the first wild turkeys we've seen here in the past 4 or 5 years.  It was nice to see them back again, all looking very healthy and well fed!

That's about it from my little corner of the world.  Til next time, hope, love and joy to you all.

An August Finish!

Here is my completed "Kaffe to Cranston" quilt, all quilted and bound!  

This was made using the "Sticks and Bricks" pattern that appeared in American Patchwork & Quilting in April 2012, designed by Amy Walsh.  As you will see from the photos this wasn't the easiest quilt to photograph, the solid bars appear as either brown or a deep purple depending on lighting.  We've also had hazy and smoke-filled skies this week due to the western Canada wildfires.  

  

Another finish that is destined (eventually) for our Quilt Ministry, but for now it's spending a bit of time on the quilt rack in our living room, so we can soak up all the intense colors and patterns.

I machine quilted this one using the "Jester's Hat" motif that we learned way back in the 2012 FMQ Challenge.  It's a versatile motif that is enjoyable to quilt except for the fact that I keep running into dead-ends and have to break thread and restart in another section way more often than I'd like!  It finished at about 66x74 inches.

The backing is pieced with the remainder of this wide back that I used in my improv Log Cabin quilt completed earlier this spring.

We are expecting a second cool night of mid-50s temperatures, then it's back to high humidity and mid-to-upper 80s for the next week.  We could certainly use some rain although there's none in our forecast until next Wednesday or Thursday.  My husband has been on garden watering duty daily, and his tomatoes are thriving though none are red yet.  Hopefully in the next week or so we will see some beginning to show color.

Bramble Blooms 1 is in the hoop for hand quilting, but I haven't had the motivation to pick it up and work on it in the evenings.  I'm sure that will change as the weather cools and autumn is upon us.

Thanks for visiting, and happy quilting!  

And in a flash, July flew by

 Yes, July has ended, with a bang, so to speak.  This past week has been filled with chaos, beginning with the discovery on Sunday afternoon, that our ten-year-old freezer had decided to stop working. Thankfully, we discovered this before all the food had thawed completely, in fact the meat stored in the very bottom was still frozen.  Still, quite a mess, trying to cram everything we could salvage into the freezer section of our home fridge and the 25-year-old spare fridge in the garage.  We were able to secure a new freezer on Monday and have it delivered, so far so good.  The only real loss are the several bags of frozen blueberries, which had thawed and then refroze into a solid mass.  We're also in the midst of our current blueberry harvest so at least there will be some fresh blueberries to freeze for this coming winter.  Then, this morning I awakened at 6:30 to the sound of heavy machinery and the construction crew pouring a new concrete slab at the front of the barn, the first part of a driveway paving project my hubby has been wanting to happen for several years.  The noise and the vibrations of the various equipment has rendered me a nervous wreck, longing for a few minutes of silence.  (Four hours after writing this paragraph, the construction seems to have ceased for the day-blessed quiet prevails!)

However, I'm happy to report that July was not entirely unproductive, as I finally finished the first of the Hollow Star trilogy quilts!  First one started, last one finished, since this one is for me and was hand quilted.

I think I had the most fun making this one, possibly because it was started with a small bundle of fat quarters - no idea anymore the name of the collection or the designer.  Maybe someone will recognize the fabrics in the close-up photos below and let me know in the comments.  Anyhow, since there were only 8 or 9 pieces in that fabric bundle, I supplemented with some other scraps from my stash to bring the quilt to a good useable size for a twin bed or as a large sofa quilt.  

I love the quirky beetles, part of the fat quarter bundle, as are the two following photos! I purposely left a few blocks as 9-inch squares since it seemed like a good break from all the stars.

I also had a chance to use up small scraps of old favorite fabrics - fun!

And a lovely piece of yardage I've had for years, just waiting for the right quilt to use as a backing.

For the quilting I first ditch quilted around each of the blocks, then switched to hand quilting within the blocks, using Aurifil 12 wt. which is pretty much my go-to now for hand quilting.  The finer weight hand quilting thread has become difficult to see and handle as I get older.  Not to mention hanging onto the tiny quilting needle!

I've had a lot of fun making these hollow star blocks, and now need to get back to some other projects that have been in various stages of completion for months and even years.  Time to bring some order to the chaos!

I'll be back in a few days with another finish, just need to add binding once something appropriate is found!

Til then, enjoy these first days of August!

June Doings

Here it is, the last day of June, and I'm left scratching my head wondering if anything significant was accomplished this month amidst the days of high temperatures and humidity that has left us lethargic at best.  

We started the month with one of the largest floods we've seen since we've lived in this house.  My attempt at photos of the worst of it was a big fail, all too blurry to show anything significant.  The creek was probably nearing 100 feet beyond the bank and into our far back yard, and deposited a lot of crud, small trees, large limbs, etc. to be cleared.  Mostly accomplished at this point.  

The rainy days as well as the heat and humidity left me with more than the usual days of summer sewing time.  So, there is one small finish, a wheel chair/nursing home size quilt for our ministry efforts.

Yet another hollow star quilt that used up all the blocks that didn't seem to fit with the first and second quilts.  The first is yet to be finished since I'm hand quilting that one, though it should end up being a July finish.  

A lot of "vintage" fabrics appeared in this small quilt. Serpentine stitch to the rescue for quick quilting! It finished at 36x45 inches.

While I was outside I attempted to photograph some of our flowering plants, limited success there but here are a couple of the better ones.

We've had beautiful blooms so far this spring/summer, so far the intense heat hasn't diminished the flowering, though the hard thunderstorms do take a toll on the taller plants. Thankfully hubby has built tubing rings to hold the peony plants  upright as much as possible which has really helped a lot.

One last bit of quilty fun, I've continued to work on the small bin of "Kaffe to Cranston" brights, here is the third attempt at emptying the bin, a finished flimsy and now pinned for machine quilting. About 66x74 inches.

And would you believe, that little bin is still over half full!  Of course you would!  After I put together a binding, I think the remainder will be processed into 2-1/2 inch squares or strips and taken to the quilt ministry.  I'm tired of looking at them at this point.  

Many reasons for this month to be done and dusted, and I've already switched my calendar over to July in anticipation of some brighter, lighter days!

Til next time, happy quilting!

Between the raindrops, a finish for May

I've been having fun making up a bunch of Hollow Star blocks according to the tutorial that Jolene of Blue Elephant Stitches provided on her blog awhile back.  This latest finish is actually the second quilt made from her tutorial, the first is still in the hand quilting process.  

This latest finish is slated for donation to the church camp's annual auction over labor day weekend.  Measuring 63 x 72 inches, I quilted this one by ditch stitching around each block, then used a serpentine stitch down through each of the star blocks.  

I was finally able to grab a few photos outside when we had a bit of partial clearing yesterday.  May has been a rather dismal month here, fairly cold, windy and rainy much of the time. We're all looking forward to some warmth and sunshine, soon!  A few closer shots of some of my favorite blocks:

A bit of whimsy here and there, so the quilt doesn't take itself too seriously!

As I look at these photos, they all seem a bit blurry, almost as if viewing them through a light film of rippling water.  Please let me know if they appear clear to you, it's always possible that my eyes are the issue rather than the new camera I've used over the past few months after my beloved Sony died last fall.  I so wish they still made that camera, simple to operate and great pictures nearly all the time.  

Til next time, I hope you are enjoying some warmth and sunshine!

One Last April Finish

Just a short post to celebrate one last finish for April, just completed yesterday morning in time to grab a few photos before the T-storms and high winds hit.

These were the leftover blocks after I completed the first quilt in this little series (see my last post for that finish).

This was free-motion quilted throughout, the meandering jester's hat design.  It measures 50x50 inches after its beauty bath and dry.  

Used all of a couple smaller pieces of yardage for the back.  This will go to our Quilt Ministry for donation as the need arises.  

And that is a wrap for April.  Next up, a second hollow star quilt top nearly ready for assembling.  Next post ...

Happy stitching and looking forward to May and the blooming of the peonies and irises!

An April finish and spring doings

 A quick post, because that's the way life goes these days.  First a quilty finish for the camp auction later this year.

We finally had a day dry enough to get outside for a few shots in the early morning sunshine.

I machine quilted a large meander in the colorful blocks and stenciled the outer border.   Then had a lot of fun doing some hand quilting with a gold shade of 12 wt. Aurifil thread outlining the circle appliques and in the setting triangles.  The camera had a difficult time picking up the hand quilting except in close-up shots.

For the backing I used up all the remaining black tone-on-tone fabric and two black/red prints that have languished in the stash for more than 10 years. Never quite knew what to do with them.  All in all, I made a big dent in the bin of black fabrics.  As I age, it's more and more difficult to work with black since I can't see where I'm stitching!  

This was a fun finish and I hope someone will like it enough to bid on it at the auction. 

This morning my hubby came home with these little feathered fluffs.  For our daughter who hasn't been able to find any chicks in their area this spring.  They're scarce here too.  These are Rhode Island Reds and Sapphire Gems.  Their heat lamp went back on as soon as I snagged these photos as it's quite chilly in the garage.  We'll be babysitting them until Sunday when the family can make the trip to pick them up.

On that note, I'll close for today.  Hopefully back soon with some more quilting and life on the mini-farm!

Finally, a Friday Finish!

When I made this quilt top, and even after marking some segments for machine quilting, I never intended to hand quilt it!  But, I couldn't resist adding some hand quilting stitches to the center, and then one thing led to another ... and what do you know?  The last stitches on the binding were finally completed late last night.  

My new camera and I do not get along!  I have to shoot from near the ceiling to capture the entire quilt - of course holding the camera over my head and hoping.  So most or all of these photos only capture a portion of the quilt, which isn't all that big at 57x64 inches.   

Audrey's pretty center block which she gifted me several years ago.  When building this log cabin improv I tried to take my cues from her center, including the birds theme as well as coloration, etc.  It really was a fun make, and my interpretation of the Jen Kingwell Daylesford Quilt pattern using several orphan blocks and pieces from my stash.  I did not follow the pattern instructions precisely as far as sizes and types of blocks, width of strips, but used up strips and pieces from my scraps.  Only the outer border is from yardage.  

Some leftover Quilty 365 blocks made their way into the quilt!  

And, the finale, the back!  I think hubby actually likes this side better!?

A bit of a 'walk on the wild side' compared with the quilts I generally make, this one was great fun from start to finish!