Forty Four

There are 44 pieces in each one of these 6" blocks.  I only have the patience to make a few at a time before I'm antsy to go on to something else.

So it's taken me weeks to get this far.  I have 20 more blocks to go.

But, it is helping me accomplish my goal this year of quilting more tops than I make.

The colors look muddy in this picture.  

So far so good.

I've finished  4 quilts and given two tops away.  I've only made one top this year from the Bonnie Hunter's 2015 Mystery.  I finished it in January.

I'm not going to give up on this goal but I'm not really having as much fun in the sewing room as usual and there isn't a whole lot to post about.

The things we do to ourselves.
Robin

Fabulous project!!!

I just found  a project at the Piece O' Cake blog.  It is Becky Goldsmith's journey in making her Kauai Road piece.  I don't have permission to use a picture of it but go to the June 18th post and scroll down to see her creation process.  I can hardly wait to start a project like this.

She took a photo that she wanted to make into a quilt.  She enlarged it and traced it to clear vinyl.  Then put pieces up on her design wall with the overlay close by.  She just trimmed, folded, and pinned till she got the pieces the right size.

She carefully took it off her design wall, has basted the shapes into place, and is now hand stitching the background.

I just love the whole concept.

Maybe one of these pictures could be made into cloth.

Isn't this sky great?  It has so much potential.

And this picture for fall.  Maybe each pumpkin could be made out of a different orange fabric.

The possibilities are endless!!!

Does anybody know where I can find some extra time?

Robin

A teaching opportunity

DIL's finished top 19" X 27"

My newest DIL wanted to learn how to quilt.  We decided to start small and she began to look through my finished tops and small quilts.  She found the prairie queen block with the double four patch in one of tops and instantly wanted to make it.  I remembered that the little quilt below had a double four patch and showed it to her.  She was smitten.  It is from a pattern called "Simply Sweet" by Cheri Saffiote Payne

And then came the task of picking out fabric.  She soon decided she wanted to make something in red, white, and blue using the bright red but it got more difficult after that.  I got out my box of patriotic fabric, my box of Minick & Simpson fabric, all 3 boxes of Jo Morton fabric, the box of small scraps, and she searched the shelf of misc. large pieces by color.  She found two pieces of toile that she loved but couldn't quite figure how to incorporate them into the little quilt.  We finally decided to use one of them for the backing.  I was ready to pull out the boxes in my downstairs closet when she finally decided on the blue with the white stars and we were ready to begin.

My version of "Simply Sweet" by Cheri 

She soon became confident with rotary cutting.  She started sewing the tiny four patches tentatively but with determination.    She was a able to finish the project in  just 3 sittings.  She wants to hand quilt it so we'll be basting the layers together on Monday.

Instructions for Simply Sweet

 We went to Colorado the weekend after Memorial Day.  We hadn't been back for over eight years.  We took balloons to our little boy's grave.  He's buried in such a pretty cemetery.  Being there brought back so many sweet memories.

We stopped in Green River for breakfast on the way there.  My husband loves a good link sausage so he was delighted by these locally made ones.

We had a birthday this week.  It was grandchild # 6.  A rollicking playful young man, look at those eyes. . .

You can see additional sprinkles on the stovetop.  They were all over the entire stove top.  The celebration is today but grandma wasn't encouraged to come because it will mostly be scrambling little boys in a recreational facility.

Just wanted to share a few spring pictures.  The tiny carnations are from our yard - so pretty.

This picture of the teeny tiny grapes was taken at the nursery.  They are just so cute I couldn't pass them up.

Hope your Saturday is spent in your sewing room!
Robin

Welsh Quilt Study II completed

This picture shows the whole quilt, all 38" square of it.  It was originally supposed to end at the sawtooth border but that wouldn't work with a knife edge binding.  So I added the extra little border and quilted everything and then (gasp!) because of the way I had added the border had to do a regular binding.  I used the same toile fabric so it became a faux knife edge binding.

I'm not sure where I'm going to display it.  I have it as a lamp table cover here with a crocheted doily between it and the lamp.

Here I folded it and used it as the back of the chair.  Hmmmm?

This shows the intricate quilting and why it has taken me so long to finish it.  I remember thinking (when I made Welsh Quilt Study I) that I wasn't in any hurry to make another one.  Guess what?  That's exactly the way I am thinking again.  It's beautiful but SO MUCH work!  I've spent the same amount of time quilting this as I would a full size quilt.

This is a close-up of the center with the Welsh Tulips, paisleys, and butterflies.

Here are my most recent 1857 blocks.  I put my initials in the center of this one.

I loved doing this block because it smoothly made itself with all the soft curves.  And, of course, I love blue.

I traced my hand and appliqued it instead of doing the "chicken foot" block.

This block was a little tricky but I enjoyed it too.  I wanted to do this quilt entirely of Jo Morton fabrics but I found a little blue bird on some Blackbird Designs fabric called Meadow.

Here is a close-up.  I need to go back and do some touch up on those wonky cherries.

This is the block I finished last Thursday when I was at the cannery.  It almost looks military-like made with that stripe.

These are the fabrics I've pulled for the next block.  You can see a tiny picture of the basket block in the upper left.  Can't wait to get started.

Thursday I stopped by Quilts Etc. to browse.  I didn't realize that it was the Wasatch Front Shop Hop!  There were so many people in and out that I didn't stay long.  But I did take a photograph of this lovely climbing rose next door.

And then when I pulled up in my driveway I couldn't resist photographing my roses as well.

This is the next quilt on the frames.  I made one of these (Women of Grace & Charm - Blackbird Designs) years ago and gave it away.  I wanted one for myself so I pieced another one.

This is the backing fabric - don't you just love it?  I've been saving it for a long time to make sure I put it on the back of a quilt I am going to KEEP.  I think I might have to quilt with black or navy thread so the stitches don't show up on the back.

Blackbird Designs has a new quilt book just introduced at Spring Market.

It has my name on it for sure.  I think I'm going to reduce the size of the blocks though, they are 20" square.  Not sure how to go about it but it's in the queue so I don't have to worry about that for a while.

Well, that's my quilting bits since the last time.
Robin