Scrappy Pinwheel Quilt Top Complete

For whatever reason, I love older fabrics. I'm not talking about 30's or Civil War Reproduction prints, although I do love them, but in a different way. I'm talking about piece of fabric from 1993 that never got used or yardage from 1997 with the ticket still stapled onto it. I love the old ugly fabrics from those decades that no one quite knows what to do with.

I often wonder what the original buyer had in mind when they purchased the fabric. I also wonder why it sat in someone's stash for decades before finally being used. I always feel good about dragging these fabrics out and finding a way to use them in a quilt. I sometimes feel like a fabric rescuer. 

I know I have found tags older than these before. 

Some selvage to add to the bin.

I like how this scrappy pinwheel quilt top turned out. I debated on using sashing in between the blocks, but in the end I thought it was fine without it. 

Happy New Year!

Big Wonky Stars Quilt Top Complete

Sometimes you just need a quick and easy quilt to work on. This only took a few hours to put together. I've been working on a few quilts that have been taking a lot of time to put together and it seems like I haven't accomplished much lately. It's nice to finish something. This pattern is from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB8Z-Zuad2A 

I used yardage instead of a layer cake. I already had several 10 inch squares already cut up, so it was pretty quick to lay it out. I will probably use this as a Quilt of Valor. I checked and it meets the minimum size requirements. I also thought about adding a border. I will have to play with some fabrics to see if something will work. I know I have some quilt backing that will already work. 

This weekend, I will be working on getting caught up on projects. I have several quilts that I am trying to get cut up and bagged for a quilt retreat in February. I also want to organize some of my stash that is currently in disarray. I know there are a few totes that are half full. It's time to condense. I also need to vacuum my sewing room. So many things to do, so little time!

Happy Quilting!

A Pair of Rag Quilts Complete!

Merry Christmas! Not only does the holiday bring family together, it also gives me a chance to get caught up on some quilt projects. I managed to get these two rag quilts done this weekend. I've had these projects cut up for at least two years. I was so busy with my scrap dive projects, I put these on the back burner. They are made from leftover t-shirt scraps, scrap batting, and old bed sheets for the backings. If that doesn't scream frugal, I don't know what does!

The main reason why I wanted to get these finished was to add to the pile of quilts to be given away at Christmas. During Thanksgiving, I ended up giving away 21 quilts to family members, however, not everyone was there. My niece and her family are traveling from Colorado to be here for Christmas. My oldest brother and his family will also be here for Christmas as well. Both family's missed out on my Thanksgiving quilt giveaway. 

While I have enough quilts to be given away at Christmas, I wanted to have a few extra so that the last person to pick wouldn't feel like they got the short end of the stick. I think I have enough variety to make everyone happy. 

Be safe during the holiday season!

Birch Tree Quilt Top Complete

It doesn't seem like I have gotten anything accomplished the last couple of weeks. I think part of the problem is that I have about eight projects going on at the same time. Today, I finally finished this birch tree quilt top using scraps out of this year's scrap dive from the quilt show in October. I found a free pattern on the Stash Bee Blog at http://stashbee.blogspot.com/2014/01/hive-2-january-block-tutorial.html As I was working on this project, I realized that this pattern would have been a pretty good leader and ender project. If I make another one, I think that's what I will do. I will get all of the strips sewn together while working on other quilts and then finish the blocks later. 

I love free patterns. I am trying to think if I ever bought a pattern and I cant think of a time where I bought one. I do have a few books and magazines but most of those were given to me. I do spend quite a bit of time searching the internet finding free quilt patterns. I have a jump drive that I have saved them to. I also have quite a few quilt ideas pinned on Pinterest as well. For me, I would rather spend money on fabric than patterns! 

Now that I've had a quick break, I better get back to quilting! Seven more projects to get finished up!

Hotel Quilting, Round Two!

I had a feeling I would be spending another night on this adventure. Luckily, I was able to book a room where I normally stay when I'm in Sioux City. I was disappointed in the room I was in last night. It didn't even have a fridge! The lighting is slightly better here as well. I am going to have to remember to buy a small travel light and pack it in my quilt bag. 

Tonight I worked on another crumb quilt. I have nearly half of it sewed together. This is the part I hate about quilting. I would rather be making blocks or even cutting fabric!

I don't think I will get it finished tonight, but at least I've made progress on it! We'll see what happens! I may get my second wind.

Hopefully the weather will play nice tomorrow so I can make it home! I don't mind being on the road, but there's something about sleeping in your own bed that is comforting.

Hotel Quilting

It seems like I'm on the road at least once a month. When I drive instead of fly, I most always bring my sewing machine and a project or two to work on depending how long I'm staying. This trip is only supposed to be one night, however, there is a winter storm warning in effect starting tonight with 6 to 9 inches of snow possible. It could easily turn into a two night stay. I have to be prepared!

Tonight I wanted to keep things simple so I just worked on half square triangles. I'm happy with my progress and that's all that matters!

I wonder how many other quilters out there bring projects on the road with them? I know there are others out there! Are you a hotel quilter? 

Thanksgiving Memories

It's no secret in my family that Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. Christmas is way too commercialized. Halloween is getting that way as well. Thanksgiving is all about eating and being thankful. I've hosted my family's Thanksgiving for about the past ten years. I usually put on a pretty good spread of appetizers before we even eat the main meal. I always have pickle wraps, little smokies, a meat and cheese tray along with buffalo chicken dip, a veggie tray and mushrooms. The list goes on and on! 

Reflecting on my life, I am truly blessed. I am thankful for my family, friends,  job, and health, I am also thankful for my ability to make quilts. This year I wanted to give my family something special. I gave everyone who came to Thanksgiving this year a quilt. I had everyone draw numbers and started with number one. The rules were simple: No stealing and if you didn't want one, you could give your number to someone else. 

I really thought that it would take a while for everyone to choose their quilts. I was wrong! I spread them out on the floor and it seemed like they had an idea of what they wanted when their number came up.

Most everyone took their quilts out to their cars right away! I told them there was no stealing! Even my dad wasn't going to take the chance.

I gave away twenty quilts to my family today. It was nice to be able to give some of my nieces and nephews a quilt since they didn't have one yet. I know there are a few family members out there who don't have a quilt yet. I will have to do something else some other time. In the mean time, I better get back to quilting!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My New Quilting Buddy

I haven't got much quilting done lately. It seems like every time I turn around, I have something going on. This weekend was no exception. I've been thinking about getting another cat for a while now. My 18 year old cat, BoBo, passed away in February and it hasn't been the same without a four legged friend in the house. One of the girls at work knew of someone who was looking for a home for about ten cats from two different litters. I drove two hours yesterday morning to Denver, Iowa to meet this guy. After about a half an hour of meeting him and a few of the other cats, I knew he was the one for me. 

I loaded him up in the cat carrier and made my way back home. I can honestly say he did pretty good in the car. He cried a little initially, but once we got going, he settled down until the final twenty minutes of the trip.

 Once we were back, he made himself right at home. He found his water, food and litter box. He even found a carboard box lid to chill in! I decided to let my daughter name him. She came over after she got off work with cat toys for him. She liked the names Oliver and Weasley. Since we are Harry Potter fans, we thought he should be a Weasley since he is part ginger. We came up with Weasley Oliver for a name. My mom thought we should call him Ollie for short. We will see what happens!

He tried to help me with my string blocks earlier today. He seemed really confused with what I was doing. He will get used to it! Hopefully I can get some quilting done next weekend. I have a lot of projects that I want get going on and finish!

Happy Quilting!

Vintage Sewing Machine Finds!

I didn't think I would be hauling home three old sewing machines this week, but here I am! I stopped at the Family Quilt Shop yesterday to talk to the ladies and three sewing machines were sitting there, taking up space. Two of them were in cabinets. I asked Cindy what was going on with them. She said that someone had dropped them off and just wanted to find a home for them. There were originally four, but someone took one by the time I stopped in. I wasn't really sure if I wanted one so I decided to think on it last night. I figured that someone would have at least taken one, but when I stopped by the quilt shop today, all three of them were still there. I finally decided to take all of them. I think I will work on them when I get time. There is no hurry or timelines to meet so they can just sit there in the house. 

This Morse 600 is my favorite of the three. It is in serious need of a cleaning and the belt is cracked. I love the color. I will probably try to get this one working first.

The Singer Model 500A is a great machine to look at. I couldn't resist taking it home. This is the only one that didn't have a cabinet. 

The Free Westinghouse is another great machine to look at. I'm going to have to do some research on it to see how old it is. 

Speaking of free, all of these machines didn't cost me a thing! At least for now, until I take them somewhere to get them looked at, cleaned and running. Maybe I will get lucky and they won't need much work. We will see what happens!

Vintage Nine Patch and 54 40 or Fight Quilt Complete

These two quilts have been finished for over two weeks now, so I thought I would get them posted before I forgot again. I had them done for the quilt show. I had been so busy, that I never got around to making a post.  The vintage nine patch was a top I inherited when my daughter's great grand mother passed away several years ago. It sat in a bag the entire time. It was one of those projects that I thought about doing, but something always seemed to take priority. I gave the quilt to my daughter last night. I hope that she enjoys it for years to come. 

I also finished my 54 40 or Fight Quilt while we were setting up for the quilt show. I had to finish the binding on it, so I ran home to do that while we were waiting for the stands and curtains to show up. There were over two hours late getting there which gave me the time to finish this one up. I'm glad I was able to show this one. It will be going on my bed! 

I am happy to announce that I finally got done sorting all of the scraps from the scrap dive. It took two weeks and I am very happy with the variety and amount of what I ended up with. I am in the process of figuring out what to make first. So many choices!

Happy Quilting!

The Scrap Sorting Continues

Well, it's been over a week since I brought all of the leftover scraps home from the scrap dive. I really thought I would have been done by now, but sadly this is not the case. I have two overflowing laundry baskets left to sort. I know that I could probably start sewing, but I really like to sort everything down to the smallest scrap to see what I have. I keep finding surprises. Tonight, I found a fat quarter hiding. I thought I got them all out the other day!

I'm sure every scrap quilter has a certain way of sorting their scraps. Some quilters probably don't even bother. For me, its worth the time. I will know exactly what I have to work with and it will save me time later on when I am working with certain size strips or pieces.

My process is pretty simple. First I dump all of the scraps out onto the floor. From there, I pull out all the bigger pieces. This year I got quite a bit of yardage. I sorted these bigger pieces into solids and prints. In the mean time, I start different piles. I have piles of  1 1/2, 2 and 2 1/2 inch strips and squares. I also have a pile for any strips less than 1 1/2 inches and a pile for strips that are in between the three sizes of strips. These will more than likely be cut down to one of these three sizes. 

Other piles that I have are squares and rectangles. These squares range anywhere from 3 inches to 6 1/2 inches. I also have a pile for scrap binding. For some reason, I have quite a bit more than I had two years ago. I'm guessing I have enough for four or five quilts, maybe more. 

I do have a pile of selvages and will add to that piles as I work on cutting. I've been wanting to make a selvage quilt and this will be the year to do it. 

I have a tote of orphan blocks. I probably have twice the amount I did two years ago. Orphan block quilts are a lot of fun!

The last two piles I have are panels/cheaters and fabric other than cotton. There is some flannel, jean, minky and few other odds and ends that I have to figure out what to do with. 

So, that is pretty much what I do. I had used up some of my stash last year which freed up some empty totes and boxes. I am using those to store these new scraps. 

Hopefully I can finish sorting so I can start sewing. I have a list of ideas and it will be fun to see what all of these scraps will become!

And Sew it Begins...Again!

Another great quilt show has come and gone. Now it's time for a new batch of scraps from the scrap dive. Two years ago, at the end of our last show, I bought the remaining scraps. I ended up making forty quilts with those scraps. I plan on doing a post on that soon once I finish the last two quilts up. I ended up buying the remaining scraps from the scrap dive this year. It seems like I brought home quite a bit more this year. Here are my goals the next two years with these scraps:

 1. Make fifty quilts before the next show.

2. Make thirty quilts with new patterns that I haven't used before.

3. Use all of the fabric up.

I'm sure I will think of other goals as I continue to sort the fabrics. It's a bit overwhelming having a pile that big on the floor. It took my daughter and I four days to sort all of the scraps two years ago. I'm thinking it will take me at least a week if not longer to get all of this organized. 

Crunch Time!

With the quilt show quickly approaching this weekend, I have been working feverishly trying to get all of these quilts finished up. I never thought I would say this, but I feel like I need a break from quilting! It doesn't need to be a very long break, maybe just one night where I can sit at home and relax.

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I had internet issues and had to get a technician out to fix the line. This is part of the reason why there are so many quilts in this post.

I had to sift through all of my pictures to find the ones I hadn't posted yet.

It's much easier to post one or two at a time.

I just love Irish Chain Quilts!

Time to rest up! More quilting to do tomorrow!

Sunday Finishes

It would be nice if this rain would ever let up. I shouldn't complain, the main reason why I want it to stop raining is so I can take pictures of my quilts outside. I know the farmers are really struggling to get their crops out. Their livelihood is as stake whereas I just want a decent picture. 

Today was once again frustrating. The longarm wasn't playing nice again but I did manage to finish my scrappy mountain majesties and wedge quilts. I know the wedge quilt was a UFO from two or three years ago so it is nice to get that one off the list. 

I am off tomorrow and hopefully I can get something figured out with the longarm and get some more quilts finished up. The days are speeding by and the quilt show is coming up fast. Hopefully I will be ready!

Country Lanes Quilt Complete

I was really expecting to get more accomplished today but I woke up late after staying up to replace the broken washer. My daughter came over to do laundry and the washer decided not to play nice. Luckily, I had another one in the basement, so I switched them out. The morning consisted of completing another quilt top and spent the afternoon finishing this quilt up. I bought a kit that was already cut up last year. I have quite a bit of pieces left over so I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. Chances are they will end up with the rest of my scraps and incorporated into scrap quilts!

Half Square Triangle Quilt Compelte

It amazes me how temperamental my longarm is. I had no issues quilting my Cubs quilt, but this one gave me all sorts of issues. So frustrating, but it's done. This is one of my last quilts made with fabric out of the scrap dive nearly two years ago. By the time I got to the end of this one, I was tired of making half square triangles. I never did count them up, probably didn't want to know! My big weekend plans are to get more quilts finished up. Hopefully the longarm cooperates!

Chicago Cubs Quilt Compete

I managed to finish this Chicago Cubs quilt tonight. The fabric I used was leftover from the quilt I made for a wedding gift for my niece and her husband last year. This quilt will be donated as part of our quilt show's silent auction at the end of the month. It will be interesting to see how many people bid on it since there are quite a few Cubs fans in the area. I may have enough Cubs fabric to make another quilt later on in the year, but for now I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy!

Scrap Happy Quilt Complete!

I am really excited to get this quilt done. After the quilt show at the end of the month, it will be heading to West Virginia to be given to my roommate I had while I was overseas. I figured that was the least I could do since she had to put up with me sewing every day while we lived together. I really lucked out with having someone who could tolerate my nonstop sewing. I was able to complete 32 quilt tops in four months because of this. I'm not worried about giving this quilt away since I have plenty of fabric to make another and I already have some 2 1/2 inch squares already cut up.  

So Many Quilts!

As our quilt show quickly approaches at the end of October, it seems like I am spending every moment working on quilts. After this past weekend, I feel like the pile of quilt tops have shrunk significantly. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! Now I just can't see my couch with all of the finished quilts on it!

I tend to do quite a bit of repeat patterns, especially if it is a easy pattern or one I like. I like to use different colored backgrounds or sashing to get a different look. 

 This sawtooth star quilt is my favorite one of this bunch. When I was making it, I was afraid there was going to be too much green in it. Once I put the blue sashing on, it was fine.

This quilt goes by a couple of different names. I found that it can be named either stoplight or keyhole quilt. It is a simple pattern that uses 2 1/2 inch squares and strips. I like easy patterns that don't produce a lot of waste!

 This sampler quilt was fun to do. The yellow binding isn't as bright as the picture shows. I blame it on the lighting!

This fretwork quilt was fun to do. I have another one that needs finished. Hopefully I can get to it soon. 

Another cowboy boot quilt. I didn't really want to use orange cornerstones, but that is all I had when I was overseas. Sometimes you have to work with what you have. 

Two Patriotic Quilts Complete

Today I went over to the quilt shop to talk with the ladies and realized I never got a picture of the Moda Love Quilt of Valor I made a while back. I made the top and Cindy quilted and bound it. It will be presented this October. I had another quilt there but she couldn't find it. It is missing in action. I think she gave it to one of our quilt guild members to bind and it just isn't back yet. No worries! It will show up eventually! 

I managed to finish my patriotic string quilt that I was working on this past weekend at the retreat. I was frustrated with the longarm again. More skipped stitches and it didn't seem to matter what I did. One of these days I will get it figured out!