A Few Finishes

Hello Everyone,

Boy, this has just been a terrible week!  I fervently hope that it can be over without any more big news stories.  We woke this morning to the news about the big explosion in West, Texas.  We used to live at Fort Hood, Texas, and whenever we drove back to South Dakota, we would stop in West at the Czech Stop for kolaches.  I'm Czech on my father's side of the family and although no one makes as good kolaches as my Grandma did, theirs are pretty tasty.  (a kolache is a pastry)

I am happy to show some finishes today.  First up is a purse that I've been working on the past week.  When I went to the quilt shop in Manassas (after our Ikea experience) I found this pattern and got it.  It is by Pink Sand Beach Designs and is called "Barbados."

The pattern called for using fusible fleece to provide the substance, however, on other projects, I've used ByAnnie's Soft and Stable and I really like the body that product provides to bags and purses, so I experimented and used it.  Because the Soft and Stable isn't fusible, I had to do some quilting to attach the fabric to the product, but that was easy enough.  The only issue is that I also used it in the lining, and I think that made for a bit too many thicknesses--the lining doesn't lay as nice as I would like, so the next time I make this, I'll use the S&S on the outside, and fleece on the inside.

It is a great size with the necessary pockets for my tastes.  On the front is a zippered pocket as well as a large pocket behind the tan batik accent strip.

The back features a large pocket that is divided into two--perfect for sunglasses and cell phone!

There are two small pockets inside, as well.  Now that I made the pattern, I can see that one could easily add more pockets to the lining. 

I had never made a pattern from this company before.  While I found the pattern to be confusing while just reading it (I always try to read the pattern first, before I start construction) when I was working with the fabric and had a visual in front of me, it was easier to see what was meant in the instructions.  I will be making more of these bags!

Here are my other two finishes:

Our king sized quilt came back from the longarmer!  I bound it entirely by machine. 

While it was in the laundry, getting all crinkly, I made the bedskirt.  Both the binding fabric and the skirt fabric are from Old Glory Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings.  Not surprisingly, I LOVE that fabric line.

Don't forget that you can email me photos of your favorite bindings and please come back tomorrow.  This week I got my one hundredth follower and my next post will be my 250th, so I am celebrating with a giveaway!  See you then!

JoAnne

A Big, Big Finish

Goodness, it has been nearly a year ago since I first saw this:



It was a wall-hanging sized quilt in McCalls from last year's May/June issue.  I fell immediately in love and knew it would be our next bed quilt.  In the meantime I had to move from Hawaii to Virginia and boy that was a long process that wasn't really complete until August and in the midst of it all, we got a new, king-sized bed, so I had to refigure everything. 

I began making star blocks.  A few weeks ago I had this stack of 84 or so.  I needed 100.




I got them all done but it was NO FUN sewing all those star blocks to each others.  The seam allowances were all pressed the same way.  It was sewing over hills and valleys.  Luckily, when I complained about it here, many of you wrote to say I could do it!  And so I perservered.

Then I began on the borders.  Around the big block of 100 stars went a cream border (cut at 2" finishing at 1.5") then a navy border (also cut 2") a gold border (cut 1" finishing at .5") and then another red border (cut 2.")  I was about to start the red borders when I realized my math was wrong and that I "grew" the quilt by nearly 2 inches.  UGH!  I had to rip off all the borders down to the cream one and begin again.

I got the inner borders all on and began with the double-sawtooth borders.  When I make half-square triangles, I cut a bit larger and then trim them down to the correct measurement so that they fit perfectly.  There was a lot of trimming to do, but Harry Potter on the audiobooks helped pass the time.  I think I've listened to all all those books at least 10 times, if not more.  They entertain me, but if I miss part of it, no big deal.

Anyway, Saturday morning was the big day!  I finished!!!!!  Next up, photography.  Only it rained or snowed most of the day.  Sunday morning it was sunny, but still a bit slushy, so we waited.  Finally, in the afternoon it was a bit breezy, but otherwise okay to take photos.


TA DA!!!

It finishes at 108" square.  King-sized!  I was really liking it all blue and white, but once I added the first red border, it really started singing to me!

Here is a detail of those pesky inner borders which I had to remove and redo.

 

Cream, navy, gold, and red. 

 

I almost didn't use the gold border, but I think that it brings a lot to the party.  That little jolt of difference really packs a punch.

 

 



  I love the variety of blues in the stars.  If we look at the whole thing again, notice how the different blues shimmer across the quilt.

It was a bit windy, but my darling husband managed the quilt on a ladder, clamped to a length of bamboo.

The original quilt was designed by Lynn Lister.  I enlarged the stars to finish at 8" and my large sawtooth border consisted of 6" half-square triangles and the smaller one is made of 3" half-square triangles.  Changing the sizes of the units helped keep my much-larger project more in scale to hers, but also allowed me to make far less stars than I would have needed if they were smaller. 

I am so tickled that this project is finally done--except for the long-arm quilting.  I'll be sending it off soon.

Maybe it will actually make it onto the bed before winter is technically over!

I hope you all have a great day!
JoAnne

A Distraction

Good Morning Everyone!

I began my morning by waking up and hearing the rain drumming down on the roof, lashing against the window, and the wind howling.  This is our part of the "big storm."  Luckily we won't be getting the snow.  It is the kind of day that I would love to spend all cozy in my quilt room, but I have to go out this morning.  The occasion is quilt guild, though, so it will be a fun outing.

Lately I have been "busy" with these.

 

This pile is 84 sawtooth star blocks.  I need 100 for the king-sized quilt I'm making for our bed.  Winter is nearly over (if we are to believe the groundhog) and my husband keeps mentioning that our bed is quilt-less.  Anyway, since I took this photo, I finished all the blocks (plus a few extras) and have laid out 70 of them.  My design wall only holds that many, so I will put them together and then lay out the other 30.  Usually when I get to this stage of my project, the momentum really pushes me to the end, however, I'm having the opposite situtation with this project. 

 

I constructed all of these blocks the same way.  My problem in putting them together is that all the seams are pressed the same way--the seam allowances do not nestle!  So, all those points have to be matched and all the bulk is in the same places.  It is a little like stitching hills and valleys!  Anyway, I used the Fit to Be Geese ruler when I constucted the stars, so at least they are matching nicely.  Since the seams are such a disaster, I'm choosing to press them open to help distribute the bulk, and I must add that trying to press a really long strip open on a shorter ironing board is "challenging" and less than fun.  And so far, I've only done sets of two of the long strips!  I'm dreading sewing them into larger pieces, sigh. 

 

You can't be surprised to find out that I've found other things that I "needed to get done."  I got caught up on the Temecula Quilt Co.'s row quilt.  Next I remembered that Mary from Quilt Hollow had alerted me to a project that made her think of me in the new April issue of American and Patchwork Quilting.  I picked it up at the store and browsed through it.  At first I didn't see anything, but then I finally spotted it.  This project was shown in an alternate color story.  Now usually I don't care for a one-block quilt, so I disregarded it for a bit.  I kept looking at the picture, though, and yesterday I carried the magazine up to my quilt room with me.  I started pulling fabric to see what I had that would work, and then I began cutting, and well, one thing led to another and the next thing I knew my husband was calling to say he was on his way home from work.  It was nearly 7 pm and I had no clue what was for supper.  I had sunk into that wonderful "no distractions, no realization of time, etc." quilt mode!!!  I love that, especially since I've been so distracted lately!

 

Luckily my husband is very understanding and sweet about me not making supper and so we just had a "heat and eat" meal and then I disappeared back upstairs and came down a couple hours later with this:

 

 

I taped the flimsy to my mantle.  It fits there just perfectly--and I can get a nice picture of it hanging.  I'm really loving it!  This year is my year to improve my machine quilting and I'm taking a class in a few weeks on feathers, so this quilt is going to be perfect to "custom" quilt.   I can't thank Mary enough for putting me onto this project!

 

Meanwhile, back on the design wall....   I really hope I can refocus on the project and get it done!  But of course the next row is going to be published at Temecula Quilt Co.!

 

Have a great day!  I hope your weather is better than mine!

JoAnne

A New Crush

Last night we ventured out through traffic to go to the mall.  I wanted to look for sheets, but the store was out of the size I needed, then we had dinner, and finished with a browse in the book store.  I looked at quilting magazines.  I was browsing through the current (May/June) issue of McCalls when I turned the page and saw this!

Oh my!  I'm in love!!! I'm practically drooling right now.  I want to make this, and I want to start today!  It finishes 56"x56" and the star blocks are 6" but I am considering enlarging it to make a bed quilt.  We need a new quilt for our bed.  Our current one is 12 years old.  Would you like to see it?  You can at Judy Martin's website here -- it is looking much shabbier now.  I had to cut off the binding and apply another (and the first was bias cut, but still frayed.)  The problem is that I LOVE that quilt and haven't found another I loved as much.  Until last night.  I've actually considered remaking the original, but it is a square, and so it is a bit short on our queen-sized bed.  This new quilt I could make a rectangle.

My plan is to make the star blocks 8" and enlarge the border, too.  I already have the plan!  I have the fabric!  I have the excitement!  I don't have the time....    shoot.  My mother-in-law comes tomorrow night for 10 days.  Maybe after.  Of course, I have absolutely no business starting a major project right before moving.  But it has happened before.  Until then, I'm keeping the magazine with me, and stealing peaks as often as I want.

Aloha,

JoAnne