Seasons

The seasons change, and so too the seasons of life.   Quilting is slowing as other demands on time and energy for caregiving for my sweet DH increase.  I'm still enjoying reading your blog posts in the quiet moments, though you'll have to forgive me if I don't always comment.  

Over the past couple months I have been able to complete two simple quilt tops, both will eventually become donation quilts through our little ministry.  This first one used up a bunch of 2-1/2 inch squares that had accumulated in the bottom of my "work box" that travels back and forth to our meetings, and was completed entirely during our weekly get-togethers over the past several weeks.  The top measures 56-1/2 x 60 inches.

When I made the "Black Magic" triangle quilt last year, there were quite a few leftover triangles and I knew there would be another one for donation to the yearly camp auction.  One of the names suggested for the first version was "Puffins and Penguins" though that quilt contained neither.  So I scouted out some penguin fabric, and when I won a recent giveaway from Sally at Objects of Design I asked for a square of puffin fabric if she had any, and she responded with several swatches of sweet little puffins. Thank you Sally!  The new quilt flimsy will be "Puffins and Penguins" and it measures 73x73 inches.

Shown in all its rumpled glory on the guest bed since the critters are all shedding their winter fur and this is the only room that remains relatively fur-free at the moment.

There are all sorts of wild and sassy animals and other wonderful I-Spy things in this top!

Have I exhausted my enjoyment of making these triangle quilts? Nope!  When our lives become more normal again, I'd love to make a Panama Pyramids quilt, maybe using some Kaffe Fassett pieces I've been accumulating. For now at least, I think black and white "might" be out of my system.

There might be a mini project at the end of the month, just the binding left to add if time permits.  If we are fortunate enough to have some good weather several of the kids and older grands are going to have a work party outside to help clean up all the branches, rocks, logs and other debris on the property left from last winter's windstorms and floods.  We surely need the help, and soon, the grass is growing gangbusters after our warm 70-80s weekend.  On a happy note, the daffodils have begun to bloom!

Til next time, happy stitching.

Book and Quilt Sale for Ukraine refugee relief

 The plight of the people of Ukraine has been heavy on my heart these past few weeks.  Since I've been (hopefully temporarily) unable to do any kind of quilting tasks due to extreme joint inflammation in my thumbs and wrists, it seemed like a good time to weed out some hand quilting books and offer them to you, along with a quilt I hopefully began several years ago but which I will never be able to complete given my thumb joint issues.

My plan is to donate the proceeds from this sale to Quilted Twins who are so generously forwarding 100% of all donations directly to Poland where they are used to purchase much needed items directly for both refugees currently in that country as well as being sent across the border into Ukraine.  You can read more about their efforts via Becky's blog here.

First, the books.  My plan is to ship all books via priority mail.  If you purchase multiple books I will  combine the shipping costs to try to give you the best rate.  Shipping is only within the continental United States for all items.

The price of each book is a $10.00 donation plus shipping cost.  I will accept a check or money order. Please leave a comment letting me know which book(s) you would like.  If you're not a regular commenter, be sure to include your email address in your comment so that I have a way to contact you!

                                                                        SOLD

SOLD

 

SOLD

Next is the quilt I am selling.  I purchased the vintage top online several years ago intending to hand quilt it for donation to our local church camp benefit auction.  The quilt measures 113" x 91" and is in excellent condition.  The top was completed by an Ohio Mennonite quilter and was sold at her estate auction.  It is marked for quilting including the borders and sashings!  I added batting and backing fabric, and it is pinned and ready for the quilting to be completed.  I started the quilting in one block as shown.  Along with the quilt you will receive 7 spools of Presencia No. 8 thread purchased for the leaves around the 12 hand-appliqued/embroidered blocks. Also included will be the provenance I received from the online seller.

Asking $100 plus shipping for this amazing quilt-in-progress.  Please note that shipping within the continental United States will be expensive for this item due to the oversize box needed to accommodate the bulkiness.  I hesitate to try using a vacuum-shrink type bag for this since it is pinned and I'd hate to risk any rips occurring.  Best-guess estimate for shipping via the postal service is between $25-65.00 depending on your location, UPS is even higher.  If you live within driving distance from my location in western NY, I'll be happy to arrange local pickup.

QUILT IS NOW SOLD!

Not sure if the leaves around the hand appliqued/embroidered flowers were meant to be embroidered.  I chose to big stitch hand quilt them as shown below to cover the printed outlines, using the included Presencia thread.   This is the only block that has any quilting thus far.  I used regular white cotton quilting thread for a bit of outlining within the flower itself before I had to give up on the project due to my arthritis issues.

The backing fabric:

Leave me a comment if you have any questions or are interested in any of these items!  Have a great weekend!

At Long Last - Quilty 365 is Finished!

 For what is now years, this project seemed destined to never reach a finish but now, seven years after it began, this oldest UFO finally reached the finish line just before noon today!  It was my priority for the year and there is a huge weight off my shoulders to finally say "it's done!" 

At 110x114 inches this is my largest-ever finish, and most of it is hand quilted!  Here's how it looked spread out on the living room floor after finishing the hand-quilted portion - the entire central section.  The borders have since received some ditch quilting along with a few lines of serpentine stitching. What appears to be a sloppy binding is actually the backing basted to the front to keep the batting away from kitty paws.

And here it is on the bed for a test run prior to heading to the laundromat in a couple days for a much needed bath and hopefully a bit of shrinkage.  The plan was always to make this quilt "bedspread" size for a queen bed.  

Amazing how heavy this thing is!  My daughter likes weighted blankets and I think she will love this.  Maybe someday it will be hers, though it's going to live with us for awhile.  Got to be able to pet this long awaited creation for a bit before giving it away.

So many memories associated with many of the hand appliqued circles, of pets now passed, our time in Oregon, quilty friends who traded precious bits of favorite fabrics while we all made our daily appliqued circles, holidays, the anticipated grandson - now five years old, and so on.

A scrap from my son's wedding quilt - they've been married 21 years this June!

Remembering Griffen

Olie - our faithful Oregon beach buddy

I used Hobbs Polydown batting in an effort to keep the weight manageable, but chose to leave the fabric backing all those appliqued circles to give them a bit more loft - thus adding a LOT of weight.  Hand quilting thread is Aurifil 12 wt. while the machine quilting in the borders is Aurifil 50 wt.

The sashing in all these photos appears red, but it is actually a lovely burnt orange.

The back

So happy to cross this oldie off my list!  

I'm planning to purge my bookshelf soon, and hope to have another post next week of books I plan to sell.  The plight of the Ukrainian refugees has been heavy on my heart these past weeks, and proceeds from any books sold this month will be sent to the Quilted Twins Ukrainian Relief Fund that sends 100% of donations received to Poland where Becky purchases needed supplies that go directly to both Ukraine and to the refugees already arrived in Poland.  You can read about this effort on Becky's blog here. I've linked to the latest post as of this evening, though there are quite a few additional posts as the blog is updated nearly daily.

Til next time, happy stitching!

February Mini

 Back in 2016 I made "Memories of Astoria", a special quilt for my husband who spent his early college years in that little town near the mouth of the Columbia River.  You can read more about the inspiration for creating this quilt here.

While making that quilt I made two versions of the "fish through the porthole" block.  The first one ended up being a little too large for the space so rather than ripping and cutting down the background an identical but smaller version was created for the quilt and the first became an orphan block.  While digging through a bin of fabrics last month I unearthed said orphan and decided this was the year it would become a finished mini quilt. 

It was just a matter of adding another round of borders to bring the block to a placemat size.  The circles were hand appliqued, so I decided to hand quilt around each of the fish, then a bit of machine quilted clumps of beach grass and stitch in the ditch for the borders, and it is finally finished.  

Some fresh-fallen snow on a sunny late afternoon provided another view in a different setting and light.

We're bracing for yet another snow-ice-freezing rain storm tomorrow.  It's been a wild-weather February with everything from record low to high temperatures, snowstorms, ice jams and major flooding, with a few sunny days to give us hope that spring will eventually arrive.  The first robins and red-wing blackbirds made an appearance yesterday.  I may go out and look for any sign of daffodils poking through the ground before tomorrow's snow covers them yet again.

Be sure to check out Wendy's (The Constant Quilter) post on the 28th for more February minis.  

Til next time, happy stitching!

A Finish!

Today's snowstorm provided a perfect day to finish this donation quilt for the family who lost their home to a fire in early January.  Since we're not expecting sunny weather for at least a few days, some indoor photos will have to do.

The quilt finished at about 59x74 inches, a good size for a single bed.

Machine quilted - stitch in the ditch and serpentine stitch throughout.  Hopefully you can see the quilting a bit better in the following photos.

Though probably not visible in the photos, there was not enough of the stop border fabric to complete the binding, so I alternated strips of two similar solids to complete the quilt.  

Since the snow is expected to continue through tomorrow, I'm going to allow myself a play date with a pile of orphan blocks, parts and pieces, and see if something develops into a quilt.  In between working on taxes that is.  Maybe February's mini quilt will take precedence, we'll see.

Til next time, wishing you sunny skies and happy quilting!

Time for a Mini

It's nearly the end of January, and for probably the first time ever, my monthly mini has been waiting patiently for a couple weeks to make its debut on the blog.

Following up on Janet O.'s "baggie challenge" from last fall, I found another baggie of mostly red and white tiny flying geese,  mostly finished and ready for pressing.  They made up into this placemat size little quilt.

The narrow blue strips separating the columns of geese are leftover 1" strips from cutting the layer cake pieces for the hatchet blocks shown in my previous post here.  Border and binding are from some miscellaneous less-than-a-fat-quarter pieces in the stash.  It all appears a little bit wonky in the photo, just as it does hanging on the design wall - keeping it humble but happy!  

Here is the back, made with a found piece of an older toile, bordered with another small piece from the stash.  

I've decided that the minis for this year will all be more or less placemat size since there are already more wall size mini/small quilts than we have room to display.  It's always nice to have a new placemat, and some of these may eventually be donated to the local meals-on-wheels office for holiday delivery to their clients, or given as little gifts.   Trying to use up as many scraps and odds and ends as possible this year.

For more mini quilts, check Wendy's blog The Constant Quilter at the end of each month where she posts links to a growing number of mini-makers blog posts.  Thank you Wendy for continuing this Monthly Mini Challenge for yet another year!

January Doings

January has brought fierce winds, a nor'easter that dumped  around16 inches of snow here, and after a one day thaw, we're back in deep frigid bleak mid-winter. The temperature this morning was -19F and as I write this it is -8 degrees.  Our year-old Sammy cat is outside at the moment, worrisome to be sure, but he's become the little terrorist if we try to restrain him from going outdoors.  Hopefully he is in the barn where there is a small heat lamp over his "camping out" bed.  He's quite the adventurer, yesterday we caught him stalking a couple deer who like to visit the bird feeders near the barn.  Quite a sight as they all took off running, Sammy gave up the chase when he saw those long legs a-leaping!

On the quilting front, the year started lazily and I decided to attack the baggies and swiffer boxes of scraps in an attempt to clear some of the excess clutter around here.  Happy to say my January mini was finished early last week, and will be posted closer to the end of the month.  Then I tackled another bag of mostly 2-1/2 inch scrappy pieces most of which were leftovers from the Marrakesh quilt of a few years back.  I ended up with three placemats and two smaller hot dish or mug-rug flimsies, to hopefully all be quilted soon.  I'm planning to raid my orphan block box for backings for all of these, the plan being to use up as many of those oddballs as possible this year.

Another project I'd begun last year at quilt ministry was this one, which I quickly discovered would never work out in that venue due to space limitations and the constant interruptions that happen there. Anyway I'd hoped to make some progress building additional slabs this month, since sidetracked.

In the meantime, we learned last week that a family who had attended our little church lost their home and everything but the clothes they were wearing in a fire.  No insurance, sadly, which is often the case in this area.  The grandparents have two adult grandchildren plus another non-family member living with them.  Our little quilt group which has shrunk drastically in these covid times is busy working on making some quilts.  We had only one to immediately give to the family, but hopefully within the next couple weeks there will be four more.  This is the one I've been working on for the past week and a half, now a completed flimsy.   The blue and gray fabrics are a layer cake that I'd picked up a couple years ago.  A bit disappointing to have so many of the fabrics in the light range, I'd hoped for more dark to better achieve the diagonal gradation of color in the hatchet blocks.  The pinks are all scraps from the stash.  Here's how it looked in the semi-final layout before sewing blocks together.

And the completed top:

I used up all but a couple tiny scraps of the backing fabric from Lady Sings the Blues for the border. The top measures 59x74 inches.

Barring another snowstorm I'd like to get this pin-basted at next Tuesday's quilt ministry meeting, along with another top that was completed last fall, the red and white log cabin quilt.  They will both be simply machine quilted and bound and hopefully out the door to the family in a couple weeks.  

I guess that will more than take us into February!  And I thought I might just ease into the new year ...

But it's all good, quilting a red and white quilt in early February sounds just about right.

A Look Back and a Peek Ahead

2021 seemed like a hugely busy year, quilting-wise, though there were probably less finishes than in most previous years.  Probably a continuing trend as age creeps up on all of us.  I did complete six mini/small quilts, three baby quilts, two throw size and six bed size.  Four ended up being donated and two were gifted.  You can find all of them on the Page entitled "2015 and Later" just under the blog header.

Here are a few of my favorites from last year.

Sing the Blues Mama Lou

Stitched by an Aging Hand, my diamond jubilee quilt

Lady Sings the Blues - gifted

Black Magic

For 2022 I'm not setting a lot of goals but plan to just let the quilts ebb and flow as they dictate.  Of course finishing the oldest UFO - Quilty 365 is a priority, but beyond that, a few minis and donation quilts.  And absolutely no BOMs, sew-alongs, mysteries, or other entanglements that I'll feel guilty about abandoning or otherwise falling behind.  

After the long saga of hand quilting my diamond jubilee quilt I chose this little cutie to put into the hand quilting hoop for evening fun. 

I'm planning to set this one aside for a future great-grandbaby when it's completed.  No hurry with this one, just a few stitches every evening as time allows.

There appears to be no end in sight to the endurance test we've all been living through for the past couple of years.  Rather than choosing a "word" for the year, I'd rather stay with what I call Words for Living and mine has been the phrase Faith Over Fear.  Happy New Year!