First for 2020

This is the first charity quilt for 2020 that is actually finished. I took 5" squares, cut them in half (5" x 2 1/2") and added a 2 1/2" square on one end. These pieces were sown into rows with the rows then being sewn together. The finished size is 40" x 48". I found a piece on fabric in the closet that worked for the backing.

To finish off the quilt, I used the "magic binding". The blue strip measured 1 1/4" and the red strip measured 1 1/2". When those two strips are sewn together and pressed, the 1/4" flange is created. The binding is sewn to the back side of the quilt, turned to the front and stitched where the two pieces come together. Using a matching thread makes the stitching almost invisible.

Third In The Set

Today  I am posting the third placemat that I just finished. Again I went to my scrap basket, sewed several strips together and made this placemat. I quilted it much like the other two.

Here is a picture of the quilting. All was done using the IDT on my Pfaff sewing machine. I used a decorative stitch that I have seen called "the wiggly stitch".  I reduced the width of the stitch from 9mm down to 6.5mm and increased the length from 3.2mm to 3.6mm. Then I just follow the seam lines. This stitch is very forgiving. If I happen to get off a little, it doesn't show.

For the borders, the machine was set for a regular straight stitch. As I sewed across the border I moved the fabric from side to side to create the waves. No lines to follow and I can make it as wavy as I want. This is an easy way to add the quilting to your work.

A New Year -- 2020

I can hardly believe that the first month of 2020 is gone. Here in Michigan we have had some really warm days and a few really cold days. We have also had a couple of large snow storms.

Parkinson's Disease continues to be a controlling factor in my days. My husband has some really good days and then there are days that are difficult. We try to take each day as a gift. Over the past few months I seem to be doing more and more quilting and less of the card making. I am trying to use fabric that I have on hand and I am also trying to become better at free motion quilting.

I took strips from my scarp basket and sewed them together to make some placemats. I then tried different ways of quilting them. It has been good to try something new. These placemats will be donated to "Meals On Wheels" in a few weeks.

Each mat measures approximately 12 x 16-inches. The pictures are not the greatest but the quilting shows up well.

Almost Ready

I think I am almost ready for the Parkinson's Support Group's Christmas auction which will be November 12. This year I tried to think of new items to make for the event. First, I made this table runner. It is 15 1/2-inches wide and 44 1/2-inches long. It is made from fabric that I already had on hand.

Second, I made these "Angel" earrings from beads I purchased from JoAnn's and Micheal's. Then I wanted a little box to put them in. So--- My next project turned out to be designing and making little boxes to put them in to. These boxes measure 2" x 3 1/2". I love little gifts in little boxes.

"Scrappy" Is Fun

This past week, I finished up two quilts. I really love the process of making the three pieces -- top, batting and backing, feel like one piece. It goes from three separate pieces to one united unit. Both of these quilts were made with squares cut from scraps and leftover fabrics from other projects.

This first quilt was made from a pattern from Pat Sloan's website "I Love To Make Quilts". I was introduced to this web site about a year ago at the January Quilt Retreat hosted by the Pieces and patches Quilt Guild. I have just started my third year as a member. This was one of the free patterns that Pat made available this past summer. This quilt is called "Oh My Stars". Here is the link to this pattern. I used 5-inch squares that I had cut plus some extra fabric for the stars and border. You could also use two charm packs. The quilt measures 41" by 50". Just right for a small child's quilt.

For the quilting, I used a "wiggle" stitch that is on my sewing machine. I am not sure of the correct name of the stitch, but this is what I have seen others call the stitch, especially on Pinterest. It is a very forgiving stitch and one that I have really learned to enjoy using.

This is the second quilt that I finished last night.  It was made from two different blocks. The first was a block made using sixteen 2 1/2-inch squares. The second is called an X-block. This block was made with four 4 1/2" squares that have two 2 1/2" squares added to opposite corners. When sewn together, the four small blocks make one large X-block. Each block finishes to 8-inches. The over all measurement for the quilt is 40" x 56". This quilt reminds me of ones that my grandmother made.

Almost Complete

I have all of my Farm Girl Vintage Quilt blocks sewn together. I still need to add a border and get it quilted. The final step will be to add the binding. There is a total of 48 blocks. I am looking forward to having the project finished. I had never made 6 1//2-inch quilt blocks with so much detail before. I learned a lot about my sewing skills and over the course of construction, I also was able to work on the areas that I needed some improvement on.

I am glad I participated in our Quilt Guild's challenge.

Amazing

It is amazing to me how a "friend's birthday" can draw us back to our paper crafts.  Yesterday we were celebrating Daan's birthday. Today he turns 80. I looked through my cards but didn't find one that I wanted to use. After looking through my stamp inventory book, I came to SU's "Enjoy Life". This set had the perfect stamps.

You see, Daan has Parkinson's Disease just like my husband. He sometimes has trouble walking because of his freezing. BUT when he gets on a bike, he is free and can ride for miles. Actually, there are a total of four couples that have become very close friends over the last two years. All of our husbands have Parkinson's, but more than that, we all love the Lord. We enjoy being together. We all have similar interests. Yes, our husbands have Parkinson's but that does not define who we are. We all still have an identity. We love doing the things other couple's enjoy doing. It may just take longer for us to accomplish the task. Of course we are each limited from doing certain fun things. Often time, I feel excluded from social events because we have to deal with these certain limitations. These friends understand.

So I want to share my card with all who come to my blog.

Here is a list of the items that I used--

Stamp sets --  Stampin' Up "Enjoy Life" and "Bloom with Hope"
Card stock --  Pacific Point
Ink --  Gina K Designs Black, SU Soft Sky, Brocade Blue and Pacific Point
Accessories --  Make up brush for sponging

For the sponging, I used one of the new make-up brushes that I received as a gift. I was really pleased with the results. I love the softness that the brush creates.

I hope have a beautiful day. Our Michigan weather is perfect today.

Circle of Friendship

I love the "Friendship Star" quilt block. One day as I was looking at different quilt blocks, I came across a picture of the friendship star blocks. The unique pattern placed the stars in a circle. I immediately fell in love with the pattern. As I looked further, I came across a picture of a graph for the pattern. I decided what size I wanted each square to be and then I got out my own graph paper. I had collected a number of fat quarters that featured the same design -- just different colors. So that was what I decided to use. The background fabric was a charcoal black Kona fabric. I had always wanted to make somethings with a black background. So I set to work.

The results----

Each of  the individual finished squares measures 3-inches. The quilt finished to a 31-inch square. I did the quilting on my Pfaff  Quilt Expression 4.2. I have had my machine since the first of May. Love it's features. I did my quilting by stitching down each seam using one of my decorative stitches. When I finished, it looked like the quilting was too far apart so I stitched in the middle of each row.

Finished!

Quilts for "Together We Can Make A Difference"

I want to get organized. I look at the fabric I have. I start to go through it and in the end I cannot bring myself to put any of it in the waste basket. What am I to do?

A few weeks ago the Lord laid it on my heart to use some of the fabric to make baby quilts for one of the charities that the Pieces and Patches Quilt Guild is sponsoring this year. I have been a member of the guild since August, 2016. The organization is "Together We Can Make A Difference". This is an organization whose purpose is to touch and help people of Jackson, Michigan. Here is a link to their web site "Together We Can Make A Difference".

Each of these finished squares measure 10" x 10". The quilt measured 38" x 38". For the back I used a piece of blue flannel and I quilted it on my own sewing machine.

For the second quilt I used 5" squares of the pink and yellow to make the 4 1/2" half square triangles. I then cut the "bear" squares to 4 1/2". The quilt was assembled using the Jacob's Ladder pattern. The finished quilt measured 36" x 44". I used a piece of flannel that turned out to be perfect for this quilt.

I love this blue fabric with the little teddy bears. I had trouble deciding what to put with it. Finally, I decided to use yellow for the little 4-patches. This quilt measured about 37" by 37". The piece of flannel that I had was big enough for this quilt and the first one.

When I finished these quilts I had completely used only one piece of fabric--the bear fabric used in the second quilt. Back to the design board.

"Finished"

Finally finished---

The dream for this wall hanging began back in November 2017. At our quilt guild meeting that month, my name was drawn for one of the three door prizes. I got a charm pack of the "Hit The Spots" grunge fabric by Basic Grey for Moda Fabrics. On the way home that night the thought ran through my mind, "I am going to make something with this charm pack. I am going to finish it and I am going to take it to a quilt guild meeting for "Show and Tell". Eighteen months later I accomplished what I had sat out to do. Sometimes it takes me longer to do a project than I had thought it would.

A few days after I got the charm pack, I went to Country Stitches in East Lansing, Michigan to try to find a coordinating, light (in color) fabric.  I didn't know at the time my journey was just beginning. I discovered that there were lots of "grunge" fabrics. I chose a light beige for my background, went home and started making half square triangles. I probably ended up with about eighty 4 1/2" squares.

When I started laying the squares out, I discovered that I wanted to make a wall hanging and I did not have enough squares. On line I found a website where I could order another charm pack and they even had free shipping. So I ordered it. When the charm pack came, I began making more half square triangles. When I finished those squares, I started to try to figure out the layout, and I discovered that the possibilities were numerous. I tried several layouts and you can see the one I decided on below. I finished the top but different things started happening and I was never able to decided if I was going to quilt it myself or if I was going to have a friend do it who has a long-arm business. Earlier this year I decided to have my friend do the quilting. A couple of weeks ago, I got every thing finished (the binding and attaching the sleeve for hanging) and got it hung. I love the design and I love how it looks in my living room. It makes me happy.

When some friends saw it, they wanted to know who I had made it for. They looked at me strangely when I said, "For me." Yes, for myself. It makes me happy when I have a chance to set down and look at it hanging on the wall "finished". I deserve to have a wall hanging in my living room that I made and I deserve to be pleased when I look at it.