Utility Stitching ...

About 40 years ago, when the world and I were much younger, I spent a couple semesters learning hand weaving, and eventually got a loom.  One of the first warps loaded onto that loom was about 20 yards long, a fairly thin cotton in random gold/brown colored stripes, with a thick white cotton weft from which I wove a sequence of placemats until that warp was used up, then reloaded the loom with green and light yellow stripes and wove more.  Gave many away, but kept about ten for our household use.  They've been in service all these years.

Now, those who know me well know that I'm a make-do, use-it-up, wear-it-out kind of gal.  But really ... after nearly 40 years and who knows how many times through the wash ...

There are several in this condition, and more that will be within the next few months.  One has a huge ink stain on it (?)  Sheesh!  Now the only reason the one in the photo is still here is that my dear hubby won't let me throw it out!  I made it, therefore it should last forever, right?  Hmm, I don't think so.  Even I won't be putting that on the table again!

Being at loose ends (read funk) in the quilting room, I'd been eyeing all the small totes and swiffer boxes filled with leftover triangles and HST blocks left over from a number of projects.  The one that has hung around the longest revealed two sizes of leftover pieces from my basket-making fun a couple years back.  There were enough of the larger triangles to make hourglass squares for three new placemats.  Or, stretching the definition just quite a bit, mini or small quilts.  Albeit with large piecing. Without further ado, here they are. Ditch quilted, and bound with some leftover pieces of older bias-cut plaid bindings gleaned from yet another swiffer refill box.

My camera was totally unable to reproduce the pretty creams and tans of the lighter triangles and most are quite washed out in these photos.

This third mat will probably go on the little bistro table on the back porch where I love to have my mid-morning latte on warm days. 

The backs of all three are from a couple pieces of a cute fabric line with teapots. 

At quilt ministry last week I pinned a large 84 inch square quilt, destined for this year's auction.  It has sat folded next to the Janome since last Tuesday, for some reason I can't work up the energy or kick my quilting mojo into high gear to even begin quilting it.   These wonky little placemats are all I have to show for a week's worth of stitching.  There are three more large quilts all cut out awaiting piecing, a king size (Quilty 365) in the hoop, Westering Women and the Christmas Stars tops hang in the closet awaiting their turn, along with a mini for another month, and on it goes.   I do hope this lethargy passes soon, it definitely doesn't help my state of mind when the energy level goes this low.
Thinking right now how good a pot of salted caramel black tea would taste.

Maybe I'll finish my string blocks for this month and then get started on quilting the latest beast.  In a couple days.  First though I may just stitch up another couple placemats.  Simple utility sewing can be kind of fun sometimes.  Sure beats mending!

A May Finish

Feeling just a wee bit ahead of the game with my One Monthly Goal finished so early in the month!  My goal was to finish this comfort quilt for a young boy in our area who is suffering complications from Lyme disease.  It has been delivered to him and hopefully he loves it as much as I loved making it for him.

The morning after the binding was stitched we awoke to a lovely hazy sunshine, sometimes perfect for outdoor photos.  So, even before my morning cuppa I whisked it outside for a few shots.

Sadly my lack of coffee must have had something to do with my shaky hands that morning as most of the outside shots turned out rather blurry.   And, the ground was wet from rain the previous evening so by the time we came back inside the quilt headed right for the washer and me for the coffee pot!

When the quilt was dry, we tried again, this time inside.

Quilting was mostly simple outlining of some of the major elements in each block, loopy meander around the solid block borders, and meandering of the large 10-inch outer border.

A couple close-ups:

And a look at the back - I love this print, reminds me so much of my own childhood back in the 50s when things like decoder rings, rocket ships, comic books and science kits were all the rage.

And with that, I'll wish you all a lovely weekend!  Linking with Wendy's Peacock Party.  I'll link with Patty at Elm Street Quilts when her One Monthly Goal linky party opens later this month.

One Monthly Goal for May

Around the middle of April our quilt ministry learned of a little 7-year-old boy who is chronically ill with the effects of Lyme Disease that has attacked many of his major organs.  I felt strongly called to offer some comfort through a quilt from our ministry.  Somehow I feel an urgency about this one, though I don't know why, but it immediately jumped to the top of the playlist.  Thus was my latest squirrel to enter my little sewing space and wreak general havoc on the best-laid plans of mice and quilters.

First, a little design wall play with some block layout possibilities.

And a finished top.

Fabrics are from two older In The Beginning lines, Catkin and Folklorica, gleaned from my stash and a donation to the quilt ministry a couple years back.   The size ended up being square to accommodate my remaining  Catkin border fabric from a grandson's quilt made back in 2012.

I'm using very simple meandering and outline machine quilting on the Janome to finish this off.
Quilting is progressing more slowly due to a couple of family emergencies, but I hope to get the quilting completed and a binding cut and sewn on in the next week or two, and that is my One Monthly Goal for May.   Linking with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for the May Goal-Setting Linkup.  Thanks Patty for keeping us inspired and on track each month!

Stringalong Progress

First up, my string progress for April.  I had every intention of completing my four blocks for April well before the month ended, yet this was the state of things last evening before closing up shop for the night.

There was more out of camera range ...

This morning the block segments were trimmed and added to the design wall in no particular order, but not stitched together yet.  At this point I think I'll leave them unstitched until all the segments are sewn (another 3 months) in case some need to be moved around for a more pleasing arrangement.  

Month 3 blocks

All blocks made thus far, looking a bit oddly weird with that bit of space 

between the top row and April's unsewn segments

Linking up with Lori at Humble Quilts 2019 Stringalong.   Only three more months until I can start thinking about borders for this quilt.  A piano key outer border maybe?  There are plenty more strings where these came from - the blue strings are multiplying in volume rather than decreasing!  How does that happen?

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with a sneak peek at the project/squirrel that inserted itself into the quilty lineup mid-month, and is taking center stage until its completion, very soon I hope.  This little squirrel is going to a deserving cause, so it's all good.

Mini Tumblers

I wasn't sure if this little quilt would be finished in time for Wendy's (The Constant Quilter) mini challenge, but the last binding stitches were finally put in earlier this evening - yay!  The weekend promises to be rainy and busy with family birthday parties, etc., so indoor photos under the lights will have to do.

A close-up of a few of the luscious fabrics.  All the tumblers and I believe the outer border (my favorite) were gifted from my blogging friend Janet at Rogue Quilter a couple years back - thanks again Janet!!  I tried some wonky big stitch hand quilting of the tumblers, and the borders were just ditch quilted on the Janome.  It was while ditching the narrow light purple that I discovered one of the pieces had been mis-cut, and is wider at one end than the other.  At that point I wasn't about to take it apart and recut - a humble little quilt indeed!

The back, a piece of an older purple tiny floral print from my stash.

And, just because I really wanted to have some outdoor photos with a daffodil backdrop and these are the only available stand-ins!

Have a wonderful weekend, and happy stitching until next time.

An April Finish Ready for Fall

Somehow this quilt speaks to me of fall, maybe it's the caramel background of the outer borders, or more likely the deeper shades used in the baskets.  At any rate the last stitch in the binding happened around 9:00 a.m. this morning, quickly followed by a little camera session.  Warning - photo heavy post follows!

First a quick trip to the guest bed to check for any unsnipped thread ends, etc. and a rather uninspired first photo.

A few of my favorite baskets.

Sun is shining, wind is blowing, time for some outdoor photos. Ahh, the green-green grass of spring!

The quilt is from a pattern in Fons and Porter's Fat Quarter Friendly book.  Theirs was called French Country Strippy.

I ditch quilted the vertical seams and perimeter of the basket blocks on the Janome, and then hand quilted the remainder with Gutermann thread.  After washing it measures 96 x 78-1/2 inches.

The back, nothing fancy, just slabs of leftover fabric.

Completing this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for April, and I'm happily linking this finish with Patty at Elm Street Quilts as well as Wendy's Peacock Party.

In the photo that follows you can see a red bird feeder on the post in the background.  Until last week there was a suet finder attached to said post.  One evening between dusk and 11 p.m. we had an unseen large black visitor who pulled the post nearly all the way to the ground, took the split rail fence behind it apart, and then made off into the woods with the suet feeder.  This was after completely destroying another feeder in the front yard.

We're thinking it was a return visit from this culprit who also loves niger seed feeders set out for our summer goldfinch residents.

Marrakesh - An April Quilt Finish!

I put the final hand stitch in the binding of Marrakesh this morning, and wasted no time getting a few photos while we had dry, partly sunny, and very windy weather.  Warning, photo-heavy  post follows!

Marrakesh is destined for the annual benefit auction for the church camp, held over Labor Day weekend.  After washing it measures 72x70 inches.

These photos were taken before washing out all the stencil markings, so some might still be visible to eagle eyes.  A bit closer look at the stencils used for the central portion.

The back.

Though I used stencils for most of the quilt, the outer border was quilted with freehand feathers, three on each curve.  Barely visible on the front, you might be able to see the quilting on the back a little better.

Moving outside, we were experiencing strong wind gusts all day, though the temperature rose to the low 70s!! Since it wasn't snowing or raining, some outside photos seemed like a good idea even though the yard was a tad muddy and more than a little drab.

Second attempt at keeping it over the rail until I could snap a picture.

Ha! Caught mid-fall.  Couldn't resist posting this one!

My favorite tree in the back yard.

We (the quilt and I) wandered back by the creek.  A lull in the wind made it fairly safe to shoot a couple quick photos on the rocks left by the winter floods/ice jams.  Every spring it's like a new shoreline along the creek, with plenty of new fossil rocks for the finding.  We have yet to find an arrowhead or any evidence of earlier Native American occupation here, though it seems like it would have been a great hunting area with all the wildlife, especially deer, that we see on a frequent basis.

And some miscellaneous photos of every blooming thing I could find while hiking the fields.

Snowdrops at creek's edge, no doubt replanted during a flood some years back.  Thinking of moving them closer to the house when they finish blooming.  This spot was covered with remnants of last winter's ice jam just a couple weeks back.

The beavers aren't far away.

Looking across the creek, more beaver damage to three adjacent trees, this one being the worst.  Between beaver damage and that mountain spring/stream cutting into the soil at it's base, we will no doubt lose it in the next year or so.  Nature rules!

After a soaking rain this afternoon, we're hoping for another partly sunny day in the mid-60s tomorrow.  I for one sure hope the snow has left for the season! 

Linking with Wendy's Peacock Party. 

Turning the Corner

Turning the corner - on winter?  Maybe, we awoke to "only" half an inch of new snow today.  Must be April!

Turning another corner today, as I begin the hand quilting on the final border of the basket quilt that has been in the works for at least four years now.

It has been a really positive incentive to post a goal each month since I began linking with Elm Street Quilt's One Monthly Goal for about six months.  This month, my hope is to finish the remaining hand quilting on the basket quilt.  A fabulous bonus would be to have the binding completed too.  Here's hoping!