Blue Stars Center Finished!

 The applique center for blue Stars Around the Garden is finished! There are 60 leaves on this applique and they took awhile. After I took the picture, I trimmed the center to the correct size. Now I can start on the sashing.

I didn't even touch the vintage Boston Commons quilt this week so I don't have a hand quilting update but I did finish knitting another dishcloth.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Not a Jelly Roll

Saturday, September 19 was national jellyroll day and lots of quilters got together physically or online to sew jellyroll quilts together. I wasn't one of them. I spent my day working on feathered star block which is supposed to be the medallion center of my variation on Ancient Stars.

There are two black in the star so it's kind of challenging to see the detail. I've included a close up photo of a corner.

I'm another step closer to sewing this quilt together but it's going to take a back seat while I work on Stars Around the Garden.

Linking to Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, Put Your Foot  Down, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, UFO Busting

Slow Hand Quilting & Applique

I quilted across the vintage Boston Commons quilt this week. 

The white background fabric isn't perfectly flat but it is quilting nicely. Do you see my whoops in this picture? Apparently I ran out of thread then forgot to finish that one feather. The feather has been quilted and I rolled.

Last summer (2019) Kevin hosted a mystery sew along called Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt. His pattern is very similar to the design of this quilt.

I did not finish the applique for the center of my blue Stars Around the Garden but I did make progress. I should get it finished it this week.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Red Easy Breezy Blocks

 I've decided to add a 3rd project to the RSC, easy breezy blocks! Easy breezy is Bonnie Hunter's leader/ender project for this year. I did some figuring and modified the pattern for 8" finished blocks using 2-1/2" strips. I ended up making 12 blocks.

These blocks and the future blocks will end up being used for charity quilts.

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday

Even More Blue Stars Around the Garden

 Piecing 12" finished blocks go fast. Here are the last six blocks for my blue Stars Around the Garden.

While I was piecing the last several blocks, I kept looking at all the blocks on the display wall. Not all the fabrics pulled together like I had hoped but they were nice enough except for that block on the top left row. That just didn't make me happy. I want the fabric around the center to highlight the center. That fabric just make it look blurry, so I redid that block!

Doesn't this block look more interesting than the other block? Just the center of the block was reworked, the outside HST's are the same as before.

Once the cutting table is cleaned off, I can get to the sashing. I'm going to add yellow corner stones which the pattern doesn't call for. I need to finish the center applique medallion first though.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Clever Chameleon, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday

Blue Stars Around the Garden, the Center & Hand Quilting

 For several weeks I've been appliqueing the center for blue Stars Around the Garden. This is why the hand quilting progress has slowed down.

Hopefully I'll finish appliqueing the leaves this week then I can progress with sewing the sashing and blocks. I never cut the sashing segments ahead of time because I have already trimmed the center incorrectly (trimmed too much) then needed to make adjustments in the sashing.

I did make some hand quilting progress this week.

The center white sashing puckers didn't quilt out as well as they did on the other side but the right side had been especially bad. It does look a lot better than it did before quilting.

I had taken a close up of the quilting of the center after I quilted it this week but it disappeared into the void of wherever pictures go.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Red Circle of Squares

 Two red circle squares blocks have been pieced, a darker one and a bright one.  These are fun blocks to make. Here is a link to the directions if you want to make some too.

Sorry for the blurry photo but you get the idea.

The background fabric is leftover backing from quilts made for two of the granddaughters. There are pieces left so you'll see more blocks made with this fabric.

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday

Southwestern Quilt Finish!

Joy, from Calico Point, did a lovely job of long arm quilting the southwestern quilt. I had decided I wanted a more 'manly' quilting design for this quilt since our son-in-law will be using this quilt too.

I selected this dragonfly design which shows nicely on the backing. But are there dragonflies in Arizona? I googled it and this is what pulled up. 

I used the zigzag fabric for binding which I machine stitched.. Our daughter will be visiting in a few weeks, I'll see if I can cram this 71" by 100" quilt into her suitcase to take back with her. This quilt will see use this winter when Phoenix cools down and air conditioner season is past.

Here is the quilt roll.

When I purchased the fabrics for this quilt so many years ago, they put it in this nice shopping bag. The fabric lived in this bag for years but I could always see this orange bag. I always knew where the fabric was. If I can't get the quilt into her suitcase, maybe she can have a carry on?

Updated 9-29-20 Our daughter has been visiting for the past 10 days. She flew back to Phoenix this afternoon and was able to fit the quilt in her suitcase. She slept under it while she was here.

Linking to Peacock Party, Put Your Foot  Down, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, UFO Busting

More Blue Stars Around the Garden

 More blocks for blue Stars Around the Garden have been pieced.

This quilt has an applique center medallion which I have been working on for several weeks. I'll show that part in an upcoming post.

Linking to BOM's Away

Slow Hand Quilting

 Blogger seems to have taken care of the font size discrepancy which makes me happy!

The quilting is completed on the patchwork border and the white border. 

This quilt has some issues besides all the puckers, like an uneven edge! Oh well, that just adds to the charm of the quilt. 

When I quilted the border on the other side of the quilt, I quilted the Baptist fan regular with the fans going the same direction. When I started quilting the side borders, I started alternating the directions of the fans. I liked it that way, so side of the pieced border also has alternating fans. Yes, that mean one border is different but that's ok on this quilt. She likes it that way.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Red Scrappy Sprouts

 I've made two red scrappy sprouts blocks, a dark one and a brighter one. The darker fabrics are still from my mother's stash and the brighter one are fabrics I've acquired over the years.

Here is a link to the pattern.

Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday

Starting Blue Stars Around the Garden

 Last winter I pieced a Stars Around the Garden flimsy which I donated to be quilted for a fundraising auction. The proceeds supports the school our Pennsylvania grandchildren attend. Here's a link to that project.

In that post I mention that I want to make a Stars Around the Garden quilt in fabrics I really like, blues and white of course! I've started using my favorite combination of blues and whites but throwing in a little yellow for contrast. 

I'm also fussy cutting all the centers. I really like how they look.

There are 14 12" finished pieced blocks in total, half of them will include yellow. 

This is the 3rd quilt I've pieced from this pattern. The pattern includes an applique border option instead of the pieced border. The pieced border was used in the other two quilts, this time I'm appliqueing the border.

Linking to Peacock Party, Put Your Foot  Down, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, UFO Busting

Blue Easy Breezy Courthouse Steps

 My easy breezy quilt is a flimsy. I used simple sashing and cornerstones in between the blocks so now it's a courthouse steps quilt. It measures 92" by 105".

I like it but I think the chains running toward the right would show more if I had used darker fabrics instead of the lighter blues.

This was such a fun, fast and easy quilt to make. I didn't make at dent at all in the 2" strip box but I tried. Making at least one quilt from that box was a goal for this year.

Easy breezy is a free leader/ender pattern from Bonnie Hunter, except I just sewed all my blocks all at once. I'm not good with dragging out piecing blocks. Putting the blocks together into the courthouse steps setting was my idea. I have no idea of how Bonnie is going to set her blocks.

For now this quilt will hang in the to be quilted closet. It will definitely be long arm quilted, not hand quilted.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Clever Chameleon, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday