I just got home from the Jane Stickle Retreat in Shipshewana, Ind. I had so much fun, I didn't remember to take pictures! I am definitely going to bed early tonight.
I finished a Pastor's Attic quilt block while I was there,Block #15, Vase of Mixed Flowers. Total number of blocks completed - 18!
I also sewed this stack of churn-dash blocks for the reproduction quilt I want to make. I need 56 blocks. I sewed and sewed and sewed, then I counted the blocks, I counted 47. So I made 9 more and counted again. I got 64 blocks that count. I'll count them again tomorrow morning.
Of course I made a purchase from the resale table. I bought this bundle containing 29 fat quarters of Dear Jane II fabrics! I really think I got the best item on the table!
I purchased some other odds and ends at stores but I need to show you this one. Karen Kay Buckley has Perfect Ovals now. I bought a packet and they will be used on the next Pastor's Attic Quilt block. Update 11/21/16 - Here is a link to Rosemary Youngs blog. She has a smilebox with the quilts from Rebecca Haarer's lecture and the show & tell.
I wrote this post in late September but didn't get it posted. Since being written, 4 of the 12 projects have been completed. I may repost this post occasionally during the winter to share the progress I'm making. In January I read in many blog posts about the projects planned for the year. My life is different and my quilty season starts in the Autumn. Not on September 1st or the 22nd but when the end of the summer activities end. The garden needs to be put to bed, all the canning/freezing needs to be completed, the fall house cleaning needs to be finished and, hopefully, the flowerbeds are cleaned up (that hasn't hapened this year). When these tasks are completed, I can dive into projects with no guilt. I'm sharing a list of the 12 projects I'm planning on tackling this season. They are in somewhat order of importance. Some of the projects are small and will easily be completed. I will not finish all the larger quilts but I hope to make some progress toward completion.
1. Pastor's Attic Quilt - still appliqueing blocks. 16 completed, 9 more to applique for the center. I try to applique every evening, block 11 is under the construction right now. I'm not appliqueing them in consecutive order. Updated November 15 - 17 completed! I started the Pastor's Attic Quilt in November, 2015 so I've been working on her for a year. My goal . . . to have her sewn into the flimsy stage ready for quilting by November 2017. I plan to hand quilt her.
2. Sweet Surrender - Inside applique blocks completed. Need to piece the triangle blocks. Foundation papers are copied.
I started Sweet Surrender in January 2016. My goal . . . to have her sewn into the flimsy stage by sometime in 2017. Pastor's Attic quilt has higher priority.
3. Nearly Insane - She was my One Monthly Goal for October. I added a row. I started piecing Insane in January 2016. My goal for Nearly Insane . . . to have all the center blocks pieced by January 2018. This is a really slow project.
4. Postage Stamp Quilt - I decided I need to piece 10 blocks a month to get this quilt finished. (I dream kingsized!) When I got the blocks out, I realized why I had put it away; I had used all the yellows and oranges and there was only one purple 4-patch to be used! I went ahead and pieced 5 more blocks so now there are 10 completed blocks. The blocks without yellow and orange just jump out at me though!
I pulled fabrics and had a marathon cutting session. I cut different sized strips besides the 1-1/2" needed for the postage stamps. I also cut a stack of 5" squares for some other projects. I'll keep sewing the 1-1/2" strips until they're all sewn. Then I'll cut them apart and sew 4-patches. Hopefully I'll be able to piece more blocks starting in January. My goal for this quilt project? . . . I have no idea when she'll be completed.
5. Tractor crib quilt - This is my One Monthly Goal for November. We have another grandchild arriving in December. (Wow, two in one year!) We won't know the sex of the baby until he/she is born. I have a Sunbonnet Sue quilt I made several years ago so I'm prepared for a girl. I have this cute tractor pattern I've been wanting to make, perfect for a grandson of farmers. I have the fabric, just need to get the pieces cut and get started sewing. The pattern is available through Counted Quilts. They have a lot of cute patterns. My goal for this quilt . . . he needs to be finished by the first of December. The baby is due the 8th! Update - Finished November 11, 2016 & the baby came early!
6. Wilfred & Cloves - This is the center of Wilfred & Cloves from the Creating Heirlooms, One Stitch at a Time by Carolyn Konig. I've been want to make this quilt ever since I bought the book several years ago. I appliqued the center of this quilt in the fall of 2014 and nothing has happened since. I have the fabrics pulled for the pieced blocks, just need to get them cut out. My goal . . . again, I have no idea. I need to finish up other quilts first.
7. Churn-Dash Quilt - This antique quilt was pieced and quilted by the farmers great-grandmother, Fannie Baumgartner Kauffman. I've always wanted to make a reproduction of this quilt. The plan is to use the blue fabric left from my Dear Jane quilt. Now I need to get the blocks prepped so they can be pieced at the Jane Stickle Retreat in November. My goal for this quilt . . . I would like to get her completely pieced and in the hand quilting frame by January. Will it happen? We'll see. 8. Summer Quilt - Several years ago, the farmer told me we need a light quilt for summer. I've been turning that idea over in my mind ever since. This winter it is going to happen. I have 12 quilt blocks I embroidered years ago. I need to come up with an alternate block in between them and some borders to make it large enough for king size. I will have her long-arm quilted so she will be ready for the 2017 summer season. 9. Quilt - 3 Star Bright crib quilts - I don't know on which blog I saw this crib quilt, but I went to the link they provided and downloaded the free pattern. It's designed by Katie Blakesley and called Star Bright. How could I resist? Of course I couldn't sew up just one, I made three tops. Now just to get them quilted. Goal . . . to be finished by May 2017. Updated - finished 12-27-16.
10. Grandmother's Flower Garden EPP crib quilt - I would like to possibly start another EPP project the first part of the year but I need to complete this crib quilt first. Update - Finished October 30, 2016 and I've decided I am NOT starting a new EPP project in 2017. I'm going to keep working on the applique quilts.
11. Blocks for 2018 Guild Charity quilt - Every year our guild provides a quilt for the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale. The members of the guild piece the blocks, the committee puts the blocks together into a flimsy. Then the guild hand quilts the quilt top. Finished October 23, 2016
12. Block for Marie Troyer, 2015 Guild President - Every year the members of the Maple Leaf Quilt Guild make a quilt block for the past president as a thank-you for their leadership. The past-president specifies which block they want. Marie designed the pattern. Finished October 24, 2016 Linking up to - Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Sew Fresh Quilts
Block 11, Floral Vase Arrangement of the Pastor's Album Quilt is finished. She took longer than some of the other blocks but was worth it. Now I need to prep the next block, Vase of Mixed Flowers.
The tractor crib quilt is finished! I've met my One Monthly Goal of completing this quilt and it isn't even the middle of November. The baby wasn't due until December 8, but he came early! And yes, it was a boy so he is getting the tractor quilt.
The quilting was completed with my home sewing machine. A clam shell stencil was used for the sky. The tractor body is quilted with diamonds and a Baptiste fan stencil was used for marking the seat.
The straight line quilting in the tires isn't quite accurate but it got the job done. I wasn't sure how to quilt the soil and mud. I decided to use wide spaced echo stitching.
For the border I came up with a simple design. The pattern doesn't have a border, but I thought it needed one, it ended too abruptly. Since this is an Autumn baby, the leaf fabric was appropriate. The flange was added to the binding for extra zing! The brown stripped binding was pulled from my mom's stash, fabric from the baby's great-grandmother needed to be in the quilt too.
I added the JD 4240 myself; that was not included in the pattern. We have a John Deere 42/40 so I wanted to replicate that in the quilt.
My One Monthly Goal for November is a crib quilt for the new grandchild arriving in December. This tractor pattern is perfect if the baby is a boy. The pattern is available from Counted Quilts. They have a large variety of quilt designs.
The fabrics are cut and ready to be sewn. The pieces are labeled so I can keep everything straight. My goal is to not only have the quilt flimsy pieced but quilted also. This will be quite a a challenge but I think I can do it.
The quilting has happened for the Grandmother's Flower Garden crib quilt. I'm pretty proud of my quilting, the best I've done so far. She bound and finished! She is not a designated quilt so she'll stay here until a need arises. I think the flowers look like they are floating on the quilt.
