A Recent Finish

I needed this quilt to be finished for a cute little birthday girl.
This quilt top has been languishing in the closet FOR YEARS and now I am glad it has THE PERFECT little person to go to.

This is Bonnie Hunter's Cathedral Stars design.  It's a free pattern located on her blog, just click on the "free patterns" tab up at the top of her page.

Last time I posted about this I was mulling over what to do about the backing.

I played around here with pieces and parts BUT I wanted to use up some of those little 4 patch blocks I had left over from the top AND I thought it would be fun to have her
name somewhere.

Here's what I finally came up with.  I don't like to have a seam down the middle, especially since it was going to be hard to match up those polka dots.

Her name is Bonnie but she is called Bonn or Bon Bon.
I. LIKE.
( she did too)

I machine quilted it from side to side using a wavy stitch.  This stitch gave a good effect on the stars.

She was excited and very happy.  Grinning big she explained "it has my name on it"!

I received a text a few days later showing me how good and matchy matchy it was with all her little friends.
So glad this top was finally finished and was sent off to be loved!

Wonky Wishes Finish

I really wanted to try and squeeze in another finish for 2014.

(not that i had that many in 2014 to begin with)

AND I DID….

TA DA! 

I LOVE THIS QUILT!!

This is another Bonnie Hunter pattern.  So far, she has only written the instructions for the 4 star "BLOCK"

but looking at her quilt I figured out the sashing sizes and such.

You can go HERE to see Bonnie's quilt and read what she has to say about this block.

IT'S SO SCRAPPY!!

SONG BIRDS, MUSIC AND PURPLE BUTTERFLIES!

Anything goes!

CARROTS TOO!

I machine quilted it in what I call "MATTRESS PAD" design.  LOL, well, that's what I call it!

Basically a cross hatch design.  You can see it in the previous photo.

My backing is a small red floral calico with a mottled red/rusty binding.

measures 63" x 78"

HEY……..DID I TELL YOU I LOVE THIS QUILT?!

GO MAKE YOU ONE!!

Scrappy Trips Around The World

I am just W-A-Y crazy over these Trips Around The World Blocks!! This is what we are making for our November BLOCK LOTTO. I made 9 blocks this time to enter in the drawing. These blocks were made using 2 1/2" strips I had saved up in my scrap bins. Your strips only need to be 16" long and your finished block with be 12". The pattern was taken from one of Bonnie Hunters tutorials on her QUILTVILLE website.

One of the main reasons I LOVE this block is it's versatility. You can get totally different quilt looks by just playing around and re-arranging your layouts as you can see in the different photos.

This is one of my favorite layouts along with the layout of the first photo I posted.

These blocks are VERY easy to make, but require a little more extra time than most blocks but I think they are WELL WORTH IT!!

I HOPE I WIN THIS MONTH!!!!!!!

I HATE borders

........WEll......sort of........seems I dread doing them! I have several tops that would be finished if only I would just add the borders. It's not that I actually HATE the borders......borders add soooo much to a quilt. The main issue is WHAT I have to go through to add them. I don't have a table or counter long/large enough to accommodate laying out the whole quilt so I can measure and fit the borders to my top.....sooooooo.....here's where my love/hate for borders begin. Push the living room furniture aside.....drag out the vacuum and vacuum ONLY an area big enough for the quilt top....after all, I'm into borders at the time and NOT into vacuuming the whole room......spread out my top and THEN.....AND THEN.....this is when all the bending and squatting starts.....crawling around getting carpet burns on my knees......struggling to keep the GOOBER dog off the top so everything stays flat and smooth. By now I am working up a sweat and I turn on a little fan close by to help keep me cool and calm AND THEN the fan keeps blowing up my quilt top....SOOOOO, off goes the fan......LOLOL.....by now my fat butt has been up and down so much it's ridiculous!!!! BUT I REMAIN DETERMINED!!! The photo above is a close up of one I am working on today.....look at all those tiny pieces......these are called PARALLELOGRAMS!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this border but I HATE HATE HATE the process of getting it attached!! Those borders are getting added to this top. I participated in Bonnie's latest mystery quilt she featured over at her website Quiltville. This one is called Roll Roll Cotton Boll.....AND being a farm gal married to a guy who farms COTTON I figured I should do this one. I used up ALL of my white/off white scraps and strips. It felt good to get that bin emptied so I could freshen it up with some new prints! I didn't make mine as large as her instructions but I think mine will be plenty large. I have already been crawling around on the floor today adding a 1 3/4" bright green inner border with tiny white dots that is not shown in this photo. That tiny green border really made the top pop.....that is when I REALLY decided I liked the quilt. OK....I'm off to grunt and groan some more.....my plan is to get ALL the outside borders sewn on today. And if I'm NOT TOO SORE maybe I'll tackle the borders on my BUTTERFLY quilt. Does any of the above sound familiar?......WHAT DO YOU do when it's time for you to add your borders???

My Fall Quilt Festival Quilt

Here is my selection for Amy's Fall Quilt Festival. This is a Quiltville pattern...Chunky Churndash I made back in 2008/2009. I soooo love the scrappiness of it. I guess scrappy quilts are just about my favorite. The whole quilt was sewn with 'stash' scraps and yardage. The navy blue fabric is about 25 yrs. old, leftover from some curtains w-a-y back in the 80's when 'country blues' were all the rage. Was I ever glad to finally find a use for it.

I am a die hard hand quilter!!! I find it so relaxing and find the 'dip and dot' look most appealing .....but yes, I have machine quilted some of my other quilts and still plan on doing more. Hand quilting is time consuming and I'm already pretty behind on my finished tops.

I chose to hand quilt concentric circles for this one. I measured to find the center and just drew myself a 2 inch circle and went from there. I think my circles are about 1 1/2 inches apart. Don't you just love this photo of the back. I love it best 'cause it's finished!!!!
Now run on over to Amy's blog and check out the rest of the fabulous quilts. Blogger won't let me link from Amy's name above so just go to my sidebar and click on the Festival Button and it will take you right there.

4 Patch & Furrow Quilt Finish

Yes....it's good to have another finish under my belt!! I love how my scraps and the vintage repro fabrics mix well together! I am amazed how hot pinks and red reds can play nicely with the soft floral pastels.

Even though some of the darker squares seem to jump out at you....in person this quilt has a soft vintage feeling and look to it. I am so happy it turned out exactly as I had it pictured in my mind. I split my furrows squares using two different fabrics instead of just the one color scheme. I decided not to add borders to it.....just wanted it to look like some of the old quilts I have collected through the years. I don't think mine looks a whole lot like Bonnie's, but her quilts inspire me to be creative and I love to do my own version!! This quilt measures 60" x 66".

I wanted to hand quilt it sooooo bad....but I made this one for a gift and I thought machine quilting it would be best so that she could really use it if she wants. Don't you think it has a 'plaid-ish' look to it ???........I like!

This is my favorite block!! Mr. Brown Dirt went by the fabric store and picked these out for me!

For the binding I chose blue scraps to finish it off with. The backing is some more of that 17 yr. old fabric I also used for the back of my Chunky Churndash.....the one I hand quilted with all those concentric circles....remember? And I 'STILL' have enough of this fabric left to do ANOTHER quilt back.....man, what was I thinking when I bought all that yardage!!!

And a big THANK YOU to all you 'rowdy'.....'clowning' blogger friends of mine for harassing me about not blogging! It's nice to be missed!! I promise.....I haven't been lounging or loafing..........really......I've been stitching away...letting the fabric dust fly!!!

Chunky Churndash Quilt

WHAT do me and this quilt have in common??? We were BOTH up at 2:00 a.m. this morning! I was bound and determined to get this finished before the end of the year.....well, I just barely slid in on time.....HA! I have a whole day to spare!!!

The back.........showing off the hand quilting......ooooooouuuuu....be still my heart! My concentric circles are 1 1/2 inches apart. I debated at the time between that and one inch. I wish now I had gone the one inch. I like it like it is....but I have seriously considered hand
quilting another line in between.....OK....I'm dun considering...and that won't be happening!

The little churndash blocks change into different designs depending on the fabrics don't they? This is a pattern I used from Bonnie at Quiltvilles website. I can't believe the navy triangles are sewn with some fabric I have had for 17 yrs......and the fabric used for the back I have had for at
least 16 yrs........and whaaaaaa.....I still have too much of it left!!!!

WOW....I almost can't contain myself.....sooooo FAB after the washing!!!

Sorry Little Churndash quilt...I know it took me a while and sometimes I neglected you...folded you up and put you away more than once.....but we're friends now aren't we???

Leaders and Enders

This is my new Leader/Ender project. Gather up your strips and strings. Use anything less than an 1 1/2".

Cut some 5 1/2" paper squares, making sure what you use the ink will not rub or iron off onto your fabric. ( tip from Bonnie).

Take a light and a dark and lay them in the center...right sides together. Stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Flip and press top piece down. Keep alternating light with dark strips until you reach the edge. Your strips should be long enough to extend 1/2" off the edge of your paper.

Turn square around and start sewing light/dark strips going the other way until............

You end up with this!!! Uh... mine doesn't look so light/dark....oh well, no bigg-ee! Now trim....leaving 1/4" of fabric extended from edge of paper. If you will keep a pile of these papers and your strips close at hand while you are working on other projects you will ALWAYS have fabric under your needle.....and if you do, you will be working on two projects at once and one day you will end up with one of THESE....A Basket Weave Quilt.....Bonnie has more detailed instructions for this project on her web page.

Ok....all of you who whine about paper piecing....just keep the ones you have sewn by your chair and lazily tear out the paper in the evenings while you are watching the 'boob' tube.

I learned about leaders and enders from Bonnie at Quiltville....this is such a great idea!

Confetti / Cathedral Stars.....

As you can see....I have more or less finished the top to my Confetti Stars. This is my version of Bonnie Hunter's Cathedral Stars Quilt she has instructions to over here. I made mine so colorful I thought it reminded me of that glittery confetti you can get at the party store. I'm thinking I will just add a border around using the same turquoise green. I decided I didn't want rows of various borders of straight lines going around it. I wanted the stars to stay the main focus.....and then I'm thinking the blue for the binding. The hot pink stars are bright enough without adding more of that color around the edge....I'm just saying.....

It will lay on the floor through out the evening so Mr. Brown Dirt and I can do our ritual we do every time I finish a top. We look at it....admire it....critique it....give our various opinions on how wild and colorful this one is. We will discuss which fabrics would be good for the back and....LOL....try to guess on how long it would take me to hand quilt it! I truly LOVE this one.....I'm thinking GD Shaylee's name might be on this one!!

AND GUESS WHAT??? I pulled another SNEAKY drawing for a giveaway. I selected these Halloween fabrics left over from my blocks I made for Jane's Spectacular Halloween Swap. I drew a name from this post....there were 43 comments made......I appreciate all my regulars for helping me out with your opinions.....coming to the rescue when I needed it. Oh how I love to be sneaky.......AND the winner is...#33.......BONNIE from CALAMITY JANES COTTAGE!!! Oh....and by the way.....she is having a giveaway.....go check it out before it's too late!!!
Congratulations Bonnie.....get with me so I can get your snail mail address.

'His' and 'Hers' Green/Fall Quilt Progress

I have been sewing up these little Star Struck blocks like crazy!! This top picture is the 'HERS' version....that would be ME! I got really excited when I discovered this darker green polka dot went perfect for the sashing. I think it makes mine more fun! Go here to read how the 'His' and 'Hers' came about.

I have this cute little fold up table I cart out and set up right next to wherever I ended up laying out my quilt blocks. I pull out my 'trusty' nearly 30 year old Singer and away I go!!

I really like the whimsical polka dot sashing I decided to use on mine!!

'HIS'
For Mr. Brown Dirt I decided to sew his blocks together without sashing. I thought his throw should be simple with less whimsical features, more of a 'manly' look.

For 'HIS' I decided to border it with the matching polka dot with just a touch of the pumpkin color showing. And if you look closely, you'll see grapes and garlic. There are pears and bell peppers....just all kinds of fruit and veggies mixed in through out both of our quilts.

For 'mine' I think just more polka dots to border the edges. I put some of the pumpkin with it but decided I didn't like it!
When I finished sewing the blocks together it hit me.....what 'if' these look REALLY loud and out of place thrown around in my living room...???? I scooped them up and ran downstairs and threw them on the couches......and a pleasant surprise....the orange and bright greens didn't look that bad. So, I'm excited to be ahead of the game and will have some seasonal colors to use for fall. I may have to break down and machine quilt them in order to get them finished. WAH!! I don't think I could get them both hand quilted before Oct. It might be best since I KNOW these will be used. We'll just have to wait and see about that!!!