Words & Stitches

Well, I nearly made it to all six challenges this season. The last challenge was to do a piece that spoke to who we are on the inside. I used this charm pack to revisit a design I tried last year. I wanted to show the spark at the center that we have to be careful to keep despite the darkness that tries to push in.

I decided to quilt it with freehand feather-ish things interspersed with pebbles. So, why didn’t it get finished? Well, on Friday, my youngest had her tonsils removed. Everything went well and she was home early. Later in the day, she began spitting out blood and by the next morning, we were back in the ER and prepping for emergency surgery to get the bleeding stopped. We stayed overnight and I spent some time on Worldwide Quilting Day doing EPP on my Violet Craft Lion. I took the lion to Australia with me and didn’t really have the heart to work on it again. This was my view as I worked in the window seat in the hospital room. We were able to come home again on Sunday and are back in recovery mode. (Needless to say, I’m one grateful and relieved mom.)

I also spotted this adorable quilt in the hallway to the Children’s Hospital Wing. It’s not a great photo but I love the lollipop trees. (Below it is the artist info.)

Meanwhile, in my yard there are signs of spring. The daphne is blooming…possibly the best scent ever…and my crocuses and tulips that I planted under the shepherd’s hook are pushing up and blooming. There’s much weeding to be done but there’s been a lot of rain. So I am content to stay inside and sew.

And what am I sewing? A little something for this hop. And, speaking of hop, I’d better hop to it or I’ll have nothing to show! Hop on over to any one of these quilters for some amazing inspiration!

Happy quilting,

Beth

This week’s Project Quilting challenge was crazy quilting. Now, I’m not much of ribbon and embroidery person but I love improve piecing with tiny bits that my friends think I’m “crazy” to keep. The process is the same as crazy quilting.

I started by dumping the blue crumb jar on the table.

Then I started sewing bits together until I could get 9 6.5″ squares. I dived into the 3.5″ strip bin for star points and background.

I added a fun quilter’s map fabric between the blocks with blue cornerstones and finished it with one of my mini- bolts in blue. (It’s so fun to use up pieces of fabric!)

I backed it with flannel and bound it with a two- toned binding. The quilting is a freehand of loops and hearts using my Q’nique 21 Pro. This one is definitely one I’m keeping because I love how it came out! (It’s 60″×60″, by the way. )

Happy quilting!

Beth

Dusting… not my favorite activity. After all, you dust and then you just have to do it all again but dusting off my quilt books is a whole other story!

I’ve cut down my books in the last couple of years from four shelves to two. The remaining books either inspire me or are on the bucket list or they are tried and true useful old friends.

“Quilts for Baby, Easy as ABC” is one of those that went right into the keeper pile! Written by Ursula Reikes and published by That Patchwork Place in 1993, this book is chock full of fun, fast and easy baby quilts.

In 1993, I had a busy two year-old and lots of friends having babies. Now it’s younger friends and neighbors having babies, including some of those friends of my daughters!

This book has really stood the test of time! The quilts are fun and fast and easy enough to finish quickly. They have the added bonus of finishing at 38″ wide so you don’t need to piece a back!

This little alternating four- patch is one of my go-to’s.

I just need to add a red binding for a pop of color at the outer edge and this one is ready to find a home! I backed it with a cute nautical flannel and it’s almost ready for snuggle time!

Please check out the other bloggers on this hop

Monday 3/1

Words and Stitches  

 Samelia’s Mum

High Road Quilter

Tuesday 3/2

  Karin’s Crazy World

Lemon Tree Snippets  

 Anjaquilts

Wednesday 3/3

Beaquilter

   Cynthia’s Creating Ark

  A Quilting Readers Garden

Thursday 3/4

Kathy’s Kwilts and More       

Quilting Patchwork Applique

 The Darling Dogwood

 Creatin’ in the Sticks

Friday 3/5

Beaquilter

Quilting at the farm  

 Kathleen McMusing

And big thanks to Beaquilter for organizing this and letting me play along!

Happy quilting!

Beth

I did it! I just finished my largest PQ Challange Quilt! My goal this year was two-fold… use what I have and make usable size projects. The theme this week was “Snail’s Trail” and I decided 25 12- inch blocks were doable, right?

Except the weather did this

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And, after a mighty push and a nearly all-nighter… it’s finished! And, as an added bonus, two more mini bolts are used up.

I’ll post a better picture when it gets light out… and when I wake up.

Happy quilting!

Beth

Ack! Didn’t February just start? Wow, this year is flying! Well, January was pretty productive although it was UFO-neutral. I finished one, my string quilt and then created another with a blog hop. Oops. I finished 2 Project Quilting challenges and 8 scrub caps. I also set a record for me in that I did not buy any fabric except for pre-ordering the kit for the new Tula Pink line. (I mean, I did make an exception for Tula in my use-what-you have plan.)

I also made progress on the sewing room. The elliptical machine has a new home, one chair that was piling with miscelanea was cleared off and two sewing machines were gifted. So, what’s up next?

Well, I found six more UFO’s in the cleaning of the room. So, I decided that February (all three weeks that are left) are about which UFO’s are quickest to finish. I have two that only need bindings and several smaller tops. The goal (and I know this is lofty) is six UFO’s off the post-it wall. One is a panel so I hope to get that done. I’m a little worried because the Joshua Tree panel was one I started after Phil died and just pushed myself to start with a plain border and then my Scrappy Mountain border fit without any fuss at all (thanks Bonnie Hunter for a great block and instructions!) I doubt the quilting muses will smile like that at me again so I better do some math this time!

And, before I do anything else, I need to gear up and go to the grocery store. The fur friends have been quite patient with this flurry of sewing but if we run out of cookie treats, well, I don’t want to have to tell them, do you?

It’s cold and windy here with a hint of a possibility of the white stuff (we get really excited about it where I live in Oregon.) I hope you are warm and safe and surrounded by fabric!

Happy quilting,

Beth

Since I now have the luxury of only working one job, my goal for Project Quilting this year was to make bigger items and this week I almost made it! So, I have a tiny finish (a pin cushion) for my finish.

But, I also want to share my almost finish. When the Virtual Vacation theme was announced, my thoughts went right to the ocean. With the pandemic, I haven’t sat on a warm beach since the time of my mom’s funeral. I am excited for a post-covid world when we can safely travel. Hawaii is high on my list, and London. Of course, there are furry friends to attend to when we travel and we are still trying to integrate the Puma into the kitty herd.

Anyway, the almost finish…I started with the idea of sailboats and then rabbitted off to signal flags and every ocean needs fish, and where would the sky be without birds and, hey, it’s the tropics so birds need color…well, you know how that goes. Also, I wanted my signal flags to spell out something and they do. I was going to spell out Sail Away with Me but I didn’t want to deal with some of the angles (remember, only a week) and so I went with Let’s Go. I think I’ll have to find a way to quilt in a sneaky apostrophe, there’s no signal flag for that!

Also, I decided that I really want to take my time quilting this one…I’ve been watching Angela Walters videos and I’m feeling inspired! Ooops, gotta go or I’ll miss the link up!

Happy quilting!

Beth

Hello!

I started with such good intentions for a weekly “weigh in” but I was caught off guard by the intense grief the new year brought. The first 3.5 weeks were just hard. I couldn’t quite figure out why. I mean, the world’s in crisis, but “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” (The story goes that a reporter actually said that to Mary Lincoln but that appears to be a myth.) It’s not like 2020 hasn’t given us all tremendous practice with sorrow. And the vaccine is providing hope. So why was I so very blech?

Well, there’s that whole “another year that they won’t be here for” thing.

The whole missing them thing. But none of that is new.

What was new was my New Year’s resolution… not the fabric one, the one I didn’t mention. Most years I start with the best of intentions and a mile-long list. I’m convinced that this is the year I’m going to lose the weight, purge the house, organize the photos, clean the garage, e.t.c, e.t.c, e.t.c.

This year… one resolution. 2021 is my year to break the habit of emotional eating. I figure I already walk 4 or more times a week. I’m slowly purging closets and drawers. I’m working on a more consistent cleaning schedule (the “cleaning lady” comes on Monday nights but between you and me, she’s not that good. Also, she’s me!) So the best gift I could give myself was to get rid of my tendency to eat my emotions. And guess what? Then you have to feel them. So the sharp edges of grief have been poking at me and draining away my energy. Leaving me feeling like a deflated balloon. Now, that it kept me from sewing… just not sewing as much as I’d like!

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I have been doing some work on the sewing room that I will share tomorrow. The elliptical went to a new home, a couple of vintage machines found new homes and I’ve been trying to find something to let go of each day. It’s still a stretch to figure out where everything is going to go but it’s getting better… slowly.

I did pick something up at my LQS the other day.

I’m looking forward to using this on the scrap pile!

So, tonight, it’s a hot bath and early bed kind of night. Tomorrow it’s Saturday, the cleaning lady has the day off and my sewing room awaits!

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Happy quilting,

Beth

Well, once again I’m burning the midnight oil to finish my project. I got distracted by, of all things, working on cleaning up the sewing room! One of my goals this year for PQ was to make larger projects. For my fussy cut, I went back to my go-to block… the Sawtooth Star. I love this block for showcasing a print. I had a piece of a Mother Goose print so I made a 42×60 baby or toddler quilt. It’s very late so I’ll add a daylight picture tomorrow.

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I love when Carol at Just Let Me Quilt hosts a blog hop! She always comes up with fun ideas. So, for that upcoming romantic holiday, the challenge was hearts… minus the traditional use of red!

I decided to use a free pixelated heart pattern from Elizabeth Hartman as my inspiration. I wanted to go for a spring time look but I might still rethink a couple of those outside purples that get lost at the edge. (Contrast is king, you know!)

I raided my 3.5″ strip drawer for florals, built my heart and had a “Wait, what will I use for the background?” kind of moment. I decided on this blue from the stash and used nearly every last bit of it! Which brings me to the current dilemma – where do I go from here? I want to add a top and bottom border so I could even out the size but there are only 2 3.5″ strips left. Geese, maybe? Smaller hearts? Flowers? My brain is churning with ideas! I’ll keep you posted. So while I’m spinning the cogs in my brain, hop on over to the other wonderful quilters whose hearts (and creativity) are fired up this week! In the meantime, I better figure this one out before it has to be put on the UFO wall. Any idea what the aging process for that is? A week? Two?

Here are the other wonderful quilter’s…

January 18

Creatin’ in the Sticks

Life in the Scrapatch

Freckled Fox Quiltery

All Thingz Sewn

Den Syende Himmel

That Fabric Feeling

 January 19

MooseStashQuilting

Websterquilt

Words & Stitches

Vroomans Quilts

Quilt Schmilt

Cynthia’s Creating Ark

Songbird Designs

 January 20

Selina Quilts

Stitchin At Home

Samelia’s Mum

Just Sew Quilter

Scrapdash

Karrin’s Crazy World

The Darling Dogwood

 January 21

Quilt Fabrication

Ms P Designs USA

Beaquilter

Becky’s Adventures in Quilting and Travel

Ridge Top Quilt

For The Love Of Geese

Sew Many Yarns

Quilting Gail

January 22

Just Let Me Quilt

Karen’s Korner

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Quilt In A Not-Shell

Storied Quilts

Kathy’s Kwilts and More

Homespun Hannah’s Blog

Finished and sliding in under the wire.. it’s nice to keep the tradition alive! I bit off a tad more than I should have this week and decided to make a throw size quilt. I used a super easy star block featuring 8 different yellows and a grey, many left over from a quilt I made for my youngest a while back. Roughly 60″x60″, this was a throw that was quickly claimed by my oldest (her favorite color has been “lellow” since before she could speak. )

I made the border by cutting 3.5″ strips and cutting then into miscellaneous sized chunks. I quilted it on my Qu’nique Pro 21 using my favourite swirly design. This is definitely a quilt I’d like to revisit as it would make a great donation project!

Thanks, Kim and Trish for making the new year much better already! This is my second finished quilt of 2021!

As it’s 3:45 in the morning, I’m going to close now and post again tomorrow!

Oh, and, of course, nothing gets done here without the appropriate “help!”

Happy quilting!

Beth