Scrappy Heart Crush Quilt

Scrappy Heart Crush Quilt

February holds Valentine's Day, is heart health month, and the anniversary of some good, and not-so-good things in my life. For the past 3 weeks I've gotten one bug after the next with the last one knocking me for a real loop. Low energy had me looking for a mini project while I put Lorelei on hold. The scraps were calling out so I dug into my reds coming up with a neat little heart block. The beauty of it was how fast I could sew it. In under 10 minutes I had a 10.5" block to trim! in no time at all, February was looking up, and these blocks were ready for a quilt.

Lorelei Quilt: Lesson 1 Center Pinwheel

Lorelei: Lesson 1 Center Pinwheel

Tools: I used the Creative Grids Flying Geese & 45/90 Degree Triangle Ruler to make this quilt. I believe this to be an indispensable ruler for any quilter, but there are many similar rulers you may already own. This ruler trims the upper point off the triangle. You may use any similar ruler or the corner of any square ruler by allowing it to hang over the fabric strip. 

*An accurate 1/4" seam allowance is important with all piecing. Test your machine so you know the sweet spot. As you add seams to a block you may need to compensate with a slightly smaller seam allowance as you go. That may only be a thread's width. Don't be afraid to rip and re-do. 

**Pressing: Press each set of units as you finishing chain stitching them. I use a dry iron for pieces with bias as steam distorts.

Lorelei may appear more complicated than it is. Let's break the block down into a 9 sub-blocks. The entire block is 15" finished, and each of the 9 sub-blocks are 5" finished. There are only 3 different sub-blocks within the block. If you master 3 sub-blocks, you've got the whole quilt! 

Lorelei Quilt: Free Pattern Coming

Lorelei Quilt

Many evenings we sit in front of the tv to wind down before bed, and often there is nothing worth watching. I prefer to have my laptop open, and fiddle around with EQ8. I bought the 10" Accuquilt system a few years ago, and haven't felt I've been able to use it as much as I'd liked. So my goal here was to create some patterns using shapes available in the core group of dies, and that's where I started. I went on to design this block using 3 of the dies, and those shapes can also be easily cut with my favorite Creative Grids ruler, the 6" Flying Geese and 45/90 Degree Triangle Ruler. This ruler should be in everyone's repertoire. Therefore, the Accuquilt system will lend a hand in cutting several shapes, but it is not essential.

Glitter Top Done

Glitter Top Done

What a relief to finish this top last week! Okay, I may have been a little sad to see it end, but only for a moment. I've never done any quilt with so many of the same block, and likely won't again for a long while.

Glitter Blocks Week 6: All Done

Glitter Blocks Week 6: All Done

Did you ever think I'd get this done ahead of schedule? I did not, and I'm surprised. It leads me to two possible conclusions: the vacation with bad weather or having a schedule laid out ahead of time--or maybe both. Either way they are done, and I've laid out all 162 to make sure they work.

The shocker when they were laid out was I wound up with close to the same number of light and dark backgrounds without planning. It wasn't a juggle to lay them out, and even if it wasn't a definite light or dark it was fine using value as a guide.

I'm hoping to get these together this morning, and just maybe while the snow starts falling this afternoon I will load it on the longarm. We are due 2" in the next 24 hours, and while it's not a lot life will slow down here. My goal is to have it bound by Tuesday for a show and tell Wednesday. It's good to have a plan, right?

Hope your home is warm and tight as we all buckle down for winter here in the U.S. I think it's finally coming.

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

Glitter Blocks Week 5: Christmas Vacation

Glitter Blocks Week 5: Christmas Vacation

I checked the weather forecast days before leaving for a break before Christmas. I had cut just under 50 blocks thinking I would have a back up in case there was bad weather, and thankful I was! It didn’t just rain—it poured! It looked like a movie set when you looked up at the streetlights. More like tropical storm strength than just a shower! There were spots of sunshine a few days, but still cool so much of my time was spent at the machine listening to podcasts. Here I had finished 25 blocks the first 3 days.

Glitter Progress Week 4: 91 Blocks & Counting

Glitter Progress Week 4: 91 Blocks & Counting

Fun stuff, right? I told you in another post what fun I'd been having pairing up fabrics I might not have used in another quilt, and these couple are good examples. It's just a fun quilt, and I'm trying out lots of combinations. I love the fabrics whether old or new, and am getting a kick out of some of them. 

This week's progress report is slower than other weeks. I'd say it's Christmas preparations, but it's actually been extra time spent cutting blocks to have ready over the Christmas to New Year's week. Hours. I will reiterate, I'm glad I have templates, though I'm only using those for the background and cones. 

Glitter Progress Week 3

Glitter Progress Week 3: 83 Blocks and Counting

I had so much help taking a photo today, but the light was great! How's that for a week's work? I went from 56 to 83, and that's averaging slightly higher than my 25 block a week goal! Honestly it was a lot of sewing, and I'm not sure I'll hit that every week, but I'm about halfway now. 

Glitter Quilt Progress Week 2

Glitter Quilt Progress Week 2

Sixteen blocks last week became 36 in a short while, then 18 more, and 20+ cut out, and ready to sew this weekend! See, I told you this was going to be a quilt to hold my attention!

I keep finding little short cuts that make this go faster, and I'm glad because I'm altering the quilt dimensions to suit my needs. I'll be making it slightly narrower, and a row longer. I thought that would reduce the number of blocks, but actually it adds 10 more.  I need to keep after it so I get it done on time, and don't burn out. Making the same block repeatedly isn't my strong suit so it needs to get done fast!

I'll have more pictures next week, but it's darn hard squeezing life in during daylight hours. We need that good light for pictures, don't we? Hope you are finding the holiday peaceful enough to have a good quilting project of your own. 

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

Glitter Progress and an Organizational Work Plan

Glitter Quilt Progress and Plan

Ooooh, I like this quilt, and so far so good! This is a fun project to get me actively into my scrap bins, and I love how it allows me to mix those fabrics in novel ways. Our scraps are an amalgamation of everything we've created whether modern, vintage, or traditional, and mine reflect that diverse work. These blocks do too. We can get stuck with thinking a certain fabric can only go with other fabrics in the same line, or ones we've used them with before. It's hard to shake off what goes together. It's like when you wear an outfit. Those jeans go with that shirt and these shoes. This is shaking it all up for me.

Some of the vintage feeling fabrics are truly old, and others are remakes. Some are old shirts. A few were definitely the last bits of favorite prints that I even pieced the very end parts together to get one last square. I'm loving the using-it-up mentality in this work!

Glitter Blocks Machine Sewn

Glitter Blocks Machine Sewn

For months I've looked for a good project that would hold my interest, and I think I've found one. It's Glitter by Jen Kingwell, with the pattern found in Quilt Lovely. Years ago I loaned out my copy, and it disappeared unfortunately. I had already made several projects from the book and convinced myself I didn't need it, but this quilt was still nagging me to make it. I had the templates purchased, and though it's a straightforward pattern, I repurchased the book. I really enjoy looking at Kingwell's fabric pairings in the photos, and it feeds me ideas.

Measuring Oversized Blocks Accurately

"You Can Never Have Too Much Purple"

You are either a purple lover or you're not. I can tell you I have one purple shirt in my closet so I fall in the "maybe not" category. I don't dislike it, but I'm not drawn to it. Never the less, I was given most of these blocks in a bag of charity fabrics, and I thought it would be a quick finish. It actually wasn't too bad, and I learned a few things along the way. Let me share one on how to accurately measure oversized blocks.

Fall Table Topper Flimsy

Fall Table Topper Flimsy Finish

It feels like a Friday, and definitely like fall. My sewing goal is complete, though, admittedly, it's a carry-over from weeks before. I have another underway already. A simple Christmas door hanging for my mom will brighten the hallway. I'll show you soon. 

The weeks of dreading the garden tear out are over since we had our first freeze projected for Sunday night last. I spent the day making hard decisions on what went where. This is my first winter with a greenhouse, and figuring out what will work. The last fall vegetables are in the house, mainly tomatoes and peppers, and the winter hardy things are going strong. Lettuces, kale, and many herbs will be good for another month or so, and some will be brought into the greenhouse yet to winter over there. It's no wonder I feel relief. 

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkin Season

This pattern was purchased some time in the past, and I've wanted to make it, but could never find the time. (I have a lot of patterns in that category!) It's called Pumpkin Season by The Pattern Basket. My mom lives in a small apartment now, and I wanted something quilty to hang on her door for the season. That was a good reason to carve out the time this weekend, and it's entirely ready to hang in just a couple days or so.

I do want to make one comment in defense of the wavy edge look in the photo. The tiny gingham check is causing that visual wave more than anything, though it's curved up over my counter to hold it for the photo. It lays flat when it's on the table, but I may still give it a steam from the backside to make sure it lays very flat before hanging it. Lesson noted and learned using a check fabric for binding. 

Easy Drunkard's Path Block Method

An Easy Method to an Accurate Drunkard's Path Block

1 Drunkard's Path Block

Let's start by setting the record straight. The single block above is called Drunkard's Path. Several of these blocks can be assembled into a larger block then called by another name, or to be more confusing, Drunkard's Path.

From left to right starting at the top:

Row 1: Dots, Drunkard's Path, Drunkard's Path Variation, Drunkard's Pinwheel

Row 2: Baseball, Steeplechase, Millwheel, Peace Dove

Row 3: Cleopatra's Puzzle, Around the World, Dove, Over the Bridge

Row 4: Indiana Puzzle, Falling Timbers, Fool's Puzzle, Around the World (not an error, but a second with the same name)

Also, the Turtle, requiring additional piecing...

...and my favorite, I Wish You Well.

I've done curved piecing in the past, and it's doable in larger pieces. These individual pieces would finish at 2.5", and I just couldn't do it. I had to come up with a method that worked for me, was accurate, and didn't involve inset piecing. 

Fall Coffee Table Quilt

Fall Quilt for 2023

There is such a smell of fall in the air already! It makes me want to pause, and feel the last days of a warm sun. It says rest to me. That the time for pushing hard is over soon, and I can get back to quilting. I'll be caught up. I hope so.

Every year I reach the same point when houses are displaying fall decorations, there's a mum in every pot, and I'm still trying to keep my chin above water from summer. I feel perpetually behind. So this year I started planning a fall project in July! I worked on EQ8, and planned a specific piece to cover our coffee table. I sewed in the foggy early hours, and often in the dark of the night. It's not done, but the hard parts are sorted. Want a peek at some fun blocks?

Diversion Into a Wool Embroidery Sampler

Diversion Into a Sue Spargo Sampler 

I am lucky enough to live within driving distance of Sue Spargo's Ohio store. I whole-heartedly recommend visiting if you are ever in the northeastern Ohio area. It's as much a museum of her wool art as it is an enticing store. There are rooms full of threads, fabrics, and projects. It does not disappoint.

Star Upon Stars #5

Star Upon Stars #5

Hands down, the best part of making this quilt has been the surprise of what each star will look like! I've become a bit of a kid in wanting to see it as soon as the first star point has been sewn, too. The magic folding mirror is amazing! How did I ever live without it? You can see the original fabric pull for this block in my post, First Side Setting Block for Star Upon Stars.

I love the heavy, dark ring of blue and brown. The 2 green-blue diamonds show nicely against the background too. 

Ocean Waves: The In-Between Times

Ocean Waves Quilted

This pattern was always on my bucket list. It was often found among Amish and Mennonite quilts shown in vintage quilt books, but rarely have I seen it in person. I've mentioned it was a Craftsy kit from way back, but I really loved how the fabrics were good replicas. I'm tickled how subtle the pinwheels show, but it's just enough to think it would make a good Christmas quilt, too.

First Side Setting Block for Star Upon Stars

1st Side Setting Block 

Using the leftover strips from the last block I made, I flipped the points around to see if I could give it a different look. I really love the red squiggles in the outer points in the block above! The background is more cream than white, and the turquoise stars are solids instead of a mix of fabrics. It works for me, and was a great use of leftover strips so a super short cut!