Ringing in the new year (late of course) with a small finish, a completed flimsy, and some possibilities. Let's just ignore last year's accomplishments since they were so few and far between. Nothing to see here!
Starting the new year, I pulled a stack of lovely flannels gifted by Lizzy (Gone to the Beach) from a few of her recently completed projects (thanks Lizzy!). The quilt ministry bins have been sadly lacking in completed quilts since last fall's auction and the local flooding that uprooted a number of folks in the hurricane (Bonnie?) that hit just before the Carolina disaster called Helene. My plan was to cut 6-1/2 inch squares of the plaid flannels and see how large a quilt could be made from them. Here is the first finish of this year, lap quilt size about 50 inches square, already designated for a chemo patient friend of one of our church members.
and the back
I fell in love with Jolene's (
Blue Elephant Stitches) Hollow Stars quilts, and for the past couple months have been making star blocks during our quilt ministry meetings. I began this flimsy with a small fat quarter bundle of 8 or 9 mostly blue/green (and one bright, bright orange) prints and expanded from there with enough to make this top, now pinned and ready for some quilting love. Haven't yet decided whether it will be hand quilted
One block with the last of my most favorite Paris fabric:
I can see more of these blocks in my future since they're a fun, easy make and each block takes only a bit of fabric. Noticing that my stash doesn't seem to dwindle as much as I'd like but there sure aren't many large pieces anymore!
I'm determined to empty at least one or two fabric bins this years, so next on the list for piecing at our meetings are these two brighter than bright tops in the making.
and this one
I'm thinking about adding a bit of applique in the black blocks of this second one before stitching the blocks together. More to come.
I know that Blogger has been messing with our ability to comment, and to have comments come to our emails for response, etc. Has anyone figured out the magic formula to change settings so that we can once again receive comments in our email? I've tried the old way of changing the email address, then resetting to my gmail account as before, but nothing seems to work. Any help greatly appreciated! Also it seems my comments to other blogs are being listed as 'no reply blogger'. Blogger seems to be going to great lengths to discourage us from using it, not caring that some of us are old and not computer savvy enough to move an entire blog to another format. Very discouraging.
I've been thinking about Bramble Blooms III but haven't yet begun the design sketching process. Hoping to begin tackling that soon.
The Polar Vortex is heading our way, but for now the temperature outside is nearing 40 degrees and beginning the January thaw. I don't expect the snow to completely disappear before the bitter cold descends on us tomorrow evening, we may find ourselves walking on top of the icy remainder before mid-week. Stay safe and warm, and enjoy this winter quilting time!
15 comments:
You started this year running. A finish already! Yay! It looks so comfy and huggable. Congrats! I like your Hollow Stars quilt too. The bright quilts sure are happy! They will brighten up anyone's day. We are all (mostly) showing up as no reply blogger. The only way I find to fix any issues is to click the help button and write Blogger Teckies what problems I have. Good luck with that. Have a wonderful new year! ;^)
I have had good luck getting emails sent to my inbox by deleting my email address in the settings, close Blogger, go back into your dashboard and click on settings and add the email address back in. I don't remember if there is a save button on that page. You will receive an email from them telling you that you have signed up and you click on the link. If you don't get an email from them, check your junk/spam folder. I have mine sent to 2 different emails and that is how I catch whether it has stopped working in my main email.
If you have luck getting comments sent to your email|:
Even though we are all shown as no reply, if you go to the comment section of your dashboard and click on the name of the blog you can find out if they have an email address. If they do, add it to your contacts in your email program. Then when you get a comment from that person, click on reply and their name and email will be in the send to line.
such an array of pretties...yes we are having a brief respite until the vortex arrives tomorrow with snow...going to be a long week
I love your Star Hollow blocks. They really do make for great looking quilts! Great to already have a finish too. I love starting out January with a finish.:) Don't have any advice about the blogger comments but will try what Wanda suggested.
You are off to a busy start! Love your Hollow Stars quilt, super colours!
Thanks Wanda, I've tried this exact same procedure several times without luck. Changed email addresses, etc. Appreciate your letting me know what worked for you.
The blogger issue is a real nuisance, one which none of us needed. I went the instructions from Wanda in her second paragraph and that does seem to be working fine for me.
I must try the stars one day, I like the simple shape and also your two last quilts are so colourful.
I followed this procedure but this time no result. I fixed it to have comments go to my Gmail account that I do not usually use. But only some comments come through. Must constantly also check spam.
The ugly flannels turned into a very beautiful warm and comforting quilt. You worked magic. The back is so interesting too. I have more fabric to destash, do your ministry bins only need quilts or would fabric be good too?
Love the Stars and other brights, very cheery as this awful weather approaches.
I'll respond to your comment n my blog tomorrow, offline today as a friend installed a really great new modem for internet and cell phone [but not for fixing Blogger, lol.] Stay cozy. Thank you for using my flannels for a wonderful result and purpose.
lizzy gone to the beach
Hi Pat! You've been making nice progress on some pretty projects! That Hollow Stars design is very cool. It seems, depending on the fabric you choose, that stars are different sizes, even though they're not. I also love those "brighter than bright" tops, especially the first one. Wow! I don't know if you're planning to give these away, but a child will really go for the first one.
I'm smiling about your stash not dwindling, but "there sure aren't many large pieces anymore!" You've exactly described my own stash situation. I have lots of small pieces, but nothing large enough to make a planned quilt design. Seems I'm only, ever, sewing with scraps.
As for Blogger's changes... I went to the Blogger discussion group and found an answer to why comments are all coming in "no-reply." Last November it was an intentional change by Blogger, supposedly to protect commenters' email addresses. Ha! In any case, their change shouldn't have impacted your ability to reply to comments. The commenter's email address still shows up when you hit "reply." Still, I understand your frustration with Blogger. They are trying their darnedest to make us stop blogging.
I am all in on emptying some fabric bins this year. Your Star Hollow quilt is lovely. I think I need to challenge myself to get things quilted this year too.
I have a stack of flannel fat quarters that I have been wondering what to so with. Just a simple 6 1/2' square would fit the bill terrifically. Your small quilt turned out great. I really like your Hollow Stars quilt top. That is very tempting to make. My comments still come to my email so I shouldn't complain but they come three to a message which makes it hard to reply.
The blog comments come to my email as no reply but when I click on reply the commenter's email works. I don't get it, but it works. Back to the matter at hand: I like the hollow stars with their floating points. And I really like the chevron/log cabin/whatever blocks. Stay warm!
Thanks for visiting Juliann. I wasn't able to find an email to respond directly, but let's try to challenge each other with those long-awaited finishes!
Gosh, you've been busy, Pat! Look at all those quilts. Hooray for you!
That's a beautiful flannel plaid quilt. It looks very serence, just what a chemo patient might need.
Somehow, the hollow stars seem to glow or twinkle more brightly than the solid ones. It's a fun quilt.
The bright quilts look so happy.
Blogger is frustrating. My problem is a little different from yours. I still get comments in my email but they come as a string, as though they were replies to the first comment, and they say Anonymous. But when I click to reply, the email of the commenter pops up. Sometimes I wish I were in charge of making decisions about how blogger works for users.
I hope you have been staying warm. For us, it looks like a few days of warmer temperatures are coming. They will be a nice break from the cold.
Also, reading through the comments, what Nann and Robin said about blogger comments.
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