Bon Voyage 2021

 I'm trying to tie up loose ends in my quilting projects and plans to get a good start on the new year.

I want to finish up some more UFOs before I start something new but the temptation is so great 

I finally decided to get out my Roseville quilt top (2010-2018).

This isn't the final layout for the blocks but you get the idea.  I put it away over 3 yrs. ago thinking I would come back and do borders.

I got out the background fabric, measured it and the quilt itself and began calculating how much I need, what size border to cut, and since I didn't want to do the border from the pattern I needed to come up with a plan.

After heming and hawing (I don't now if I spelled that correctlly) and getting distracted over and over and coming upstairs for something and going downstairs without it. . . numerous times.

I came to the conclusion that this quilt doesn't need a border.  I will quilt it and bind it and be happy.

On to the next UFO from 2006.  It is a Round Robin from my quilt group.  I have 11 blocks made from 11 different ladies and now I need to figure out what it's going to become.

The colors aren't  true in the photo.  I think my green cutting matt is clashing with that celery green and making everything look dull.

It will be fun to come up with something unplanned and it will be great to get another UFO off the list.

Joyous New Year,

Robin

Between storms

 The snow is melting because of the rain that is preceding our next winter storm.

But, my grandchildren took time to make some snowmen as they marched out to their cars to go home from our Christmas Eve brunch this morning.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and if you're alone, I hope you'll reach out because I'm sure I'll be online tomorrow too.

Robin

Orphan Quilt Day 3

 Yeah, I think I'm in over my head.

Pretty this is not.  But, it used up a lot of extras from the orphan box.  I cut down the extra pinwheels from the quilt below.

I used the large sections of 2 1/2" squares leftover from this quilt 

And I just couldn't pass up using those outrageous friendship star blocks that I inherited from my mother-in-law's passing.  They are from the 70's and I'm sure there is polyester in them.

It's 60" square.  I have an idea for a much narrower border but I think that might be it.  My leftover blocks just don't play well together.  

Never say never,                                                                                                                                     Robin

PS  I just saw a mistake (how can you tell - you ask?).  It on the very bottom row where there is a single dark square.  There should be two side by side.  

Orphan Quilt day 2

 I thought this would be a breeze.  After all, the blocks are already made, right?

I spent most of the day yesterday just eliminating the blocks that definitely didn't go with the others.

Like I took out the blocks that had antique gold in them.  And the ones that were brown.  They didn't seem to go with the pinks, yellows, and purples.

I used two applique blocks that I made in 2004 or something.  I bought all the patterns from a cute little shop in Fallbrook CA.  But, after making two, I lost interest and then years later I put the fabrics back in the stash and gave all 12 patterns away.  The big stars are from a Jan Patek quilt (Country Paths I think).  The colors weren't right for the rest of the quilt.  The tree and house are from Sleigh Bells by Jan Patek.  The little girls are from a CW (Barbara Brackman) quilt I made that needs another border.  And the flying geese are just a nice leftover.

I lucked out by having the sprig print from the tree and the green homespun from the house still in my stash so I could repeat them in a strip under the flying geese.

The thing of it is. . . it feels like it shouldn't have taken me so long to figure this out.  But, again, it's not what looks good together.  It's what doesn't look good together so there's a lot of auditioning.

It measures 36 1/2 square so things are divisible by 2 or 4 or 6 or 9 or 12.  This is the perfect size as I work on the next border.

The thing about Orphan Quilts is, that they are very busy.  There is no way to get around that.

Robin

No guilt quilting day

 This is what I'm looking at.  We got 8 1/2" of snow last night.  More is expected tonight.

My grandkids were excited for a "Snow Day" until the schools all went to remote learning.

But, for me, it's a no guilt quilting day.  The only problem is I'm in-between projects.  To bad I'm not doing Bonnie's mystery because this would be a good day to hunker down and sew.

I think I'll get my orphan blocks out and arrange them.  It might be orphan day.

Robin

This is going to be a way bigger project than I thought.  Whew!!!

Love Letters, Sweet Land of Liberty, SNOW

I finished the machine applique on the Love Letters quilt by Barb Adams.  I am normally a hand appliquer but I thought this method would be faster.  And it was. . .  

But, it was not nearly as satisfying and it got a bit monotonous by the 3rd block.  I would wake up at night with the rhythm of stitch forward- stitch left-stitch right- repeat, going on and on in my brain.

But, it turned out to be a lovely quilt top and I look forward to hand quilting it later this year.  I'm tempted to do a border on the top and bottom that would make it longer for the bed, it is 84" X 84" square.  That being said, I don't have any more of the solid background fabric.  I don't remember what color it is.  It might be Kona Bone but it is definitely not Kona Snow or White.

I realized I never show my finished Sweet Land of Liberty quilt, pattern by Cheri Payne.  It was fun to hand quilt.

This is the back of the quilt.  I had these two panels from long ago by Sandy Gervais and since they had a patriotic theme, I used them for the backing along with some leftover twill-like fabric from the backing of another quilt.

I mostly quilted in the ditch and around the designs but once in a while I felt like doing more hand quilting .

I followed the design of the background to do quilting on this angel.

I just added some echo curves for this angel.

And I quilted a star in this blue field that needed a little embellishment.

I layered my Cheddarback (that I am calling The Children's Hour) quilt top weeks ago and now that Love Letters is done I can start hand quilting it.  This picture is dark because I took it downstairs on a snowy day but you can see some of the hand quilting.  

AND, speaking of snow, we finally got our first snowfall of the season.  I know it doesn't look like much but in our drought ridden state it is absolutely delightful.  We only go 2" here in the valleys but the mountains got over a foot of powder.  The skiers are all so excited.  I don't ski but love love love the snow. 

 

                                                               I am so grateful!!!

My sister-in-law is a shopper.  She bought this forlorn Santa at a Christmas clearance sale a few years ago.  He's missing the center "HO" in his banner.  She mailed it to me saying she thought I would know what to do with it.  Ha! Ha!

I'm thinking about redressing it in a pieced coat.  I was thinking rows of tiny flying geese but after seeing Barbara Brackman's latest post on cat mummies. . . I'm wondering about tiny log cabins.

I don't really know what I'm going to do with it but I'll take pictures if any re-decorating happens to go on. 

This year my husband is down with a back injury.  It makes carrying big boxes of Christmas decorations impossible.  So I decided I would just decorate my little 3 ft. tree that I could carry by myself.

All of the decorations are jewel-like in colors of teal, chartreuse, magenta, and purple.

 It's so unlike my usual tree of Hallmark, Country, and Homemade ornaments and garlands.  It's a pretty little tree but I miss my usual one.  Sometimes we have to make new memories, don't we?

Robin

Check out the other blogs on Slow Sunday Stitching

 

Warm Chamomile tea with honey feels so good going down a sore throat.  I figured honey has antiseptic qualities so it might help me keep from turning this cold into a sinus infection.   I'd show you my satisfied face but bed-hair is best kept from everyone - ha!

Robin