FINISHED QUILT: Autumn's Paintbrush WARNING: Picture-heavy post !

Hooray for another finish.......praise the LORD

   As I mentioned in this previous post, the inspiration for this quilt came from two sources:

1.  While browsing quilting blogs, I ran across a quilt that used assorted solid-colored fabrics as the background for some star blocks.
2.   I had this little pieced tree block stuck up on my design board staring down at me, and inviting me to enlarge upon it's design.
   

So, I purchased what I considered 'autumnish colors' from the selection of Waverly solid-colored fabrics at our local Walmart, and figured out how to redo that little tree block in a 12-inch size.  After making a rough sketch on my graph pad, I had my design that should finish around my standard favorite size or 60 x 80 inches.

For the trees themselves, I used mostly charm squares that I had, occasionally cutting out a piece from my stash when needed.

When the top was completed, I started putting together a pieced backing, and I wound up with a whole separate design.  So, technically, this is a fully reversible quilt.

When it came time to bind this quilt, I felt that the tree side needed a wider binding due to the lack of a border.   I cut strips between 3 and 3 1/4 inches, winding up with about a 3/4" wide binding.  I chose a solid-colored fabric that was NOT in the top, but went with the Fall colors on both sides.

I had hoped to use organic wavy lines for the quilting, but because of the solids in light and dark hues, the quilting just did not look good.  So, I went back to my old stand-by, meandering, keeping the design a bit bigger than I usually do.

This is the second quilt that I have made with the Pellon 80% cotton/20% polyester batting (with scrim) that I bought in a 9-yard roll from Walmart.com.  I have laundered both quilts, and am totally satisfied with the performance of the batting.

Truthfully, I am OVER-THE-MOON happy about the outcome of this quilt. 

 I still don't know who I am going to gift it to, if that's what I do with it, so I didn't put a label on it yet.

The wind was not cooperating with me when it came time to take outdoor photos !

The porch photos came after trying (rather unsuccessfully) to get photos of the quilt while it hung on the clothesline.  (I wanted to be  able to see the trees in the woodline for a background.  Turns out, they're not color-changed enough yet anyway.) 

 I'm glad that I changed locations.....I love these shots.

Two more final steps and I'm done....

The binding is on !

I've named it "AUTUMN'S PAINTBRUSH".

I need to put a label on it and launder it.

Then.....

decide WHO gets it !!!!!

Closing in on a finish !

I can't believe it, but I quilted that leaf quilt TREE QUILT , last night, starting around 6:30 p.m.  I meant to just sit down and do a couple of organic wavy-line rows across the quilt.  But I didn't like the looks of that, so I thought that I would just do a sample of meandering across one or two of the blocks.

Well, it's hard to stop at that.  So I kept going, but boy did I HATE quilting the most interior blocks of the quilt.  But I prayed, and stayed at it, and , I can't believe it, .......I FINISHED THE ENTIRE QUILT.  Praise be to GOD, because I was so frustrated and jumpy from all the tugging and pulling and trying not to run over a stitching line or make them too far apart......and I promised I'd give HIM the glory if it came out well..............and I think that it is going to FOR SURE !

I'm not ready to post

lots of photos yet, as I haven't found my binding fabric, but I hope to finish early next week, and I just wanted to note my progress here.

Of course you were right, commenter, A Maiden Hair Fern !

I washed the Heart Strings quilt today, and was blessed with a wonderfully , crinkly goodness, warm from the dryer.  There was definitely no disappointment.
















                                                                                                                                                     
     I updated it's 'before laundering' measurements in the stats of the former post to read 61 1/2 inches by 80 inches.
The 'after laundering' measurements are 59 by 76 1/2 inches.  I washed it in cold water, and dried it on a perma-press setting in my dryer.
So I lost 2 1/2 inches in the width, and 3 1/2 inches in the length.  Not too bad, but something that I should definitely factor into the finished size of the quilts that I am piecing.    60 x 80 is about my standard go-to size now, but I want ALL OF THAT, after shrinkage.

Still, this is my most favorite quilt that I have made in YEARS, and I find no fault with it.

Today, I basted another quilt, this time going back to doing it under the carport.   It took me most of 4 hours from beginning to end, but I basted it in a grid 4 inches apart widthwise and lengthwise.  I find that anything farther apart than this allows too much movement of the layers when quilting on my standard size, old model 15 Singer sewing machine.

Here are the legs to my basting frame, set in place (my husband made my legs for me, probably 30 or more years ago.)

  This photo shows me putting the top onto the pinned on backing that is topped by the batting.  The wind started to get up at this point (it was around 11 a.m.), and I  prayed for it to ease off.  AND IT DID.  Praise God, He cares about the little things that are important to us, as well as the big ones.

Here, the quilt layers are all ready .  At this point,  I use a fairly long straight needle to baste around the perimeter of the quilt layers, scooting my office chair underneath me as I go.  Then, using a curved needle, I stand and STRE-T-C-H to baste each row, reaching just to the center and basting toward me when I get to the middle rows of the quilt.  I do a back-stitch about every 9th stitch, incase the basting stitches get cut during the quilting.  That way the whole row doesn't come unbasted.

And here is a happily-tired baster/quilter with a fully-basted quilt.  I always wonder how much the 'sway' in the middle of the quilt affects how square the quilt will turn out, but thus far I haven't noticed any particular problems.  I've never had success trying to baste a quilt layed out flat on the floor.

I don't know who this quilt will be for.  I've already changed my mind twice, so I'll just concentrate on completing it, and I'm sure I'll know by then.

P.S. For Maggie, who calls herself a novice quilter, this is the entire basis for making the Heart Strings quilt....

I glued a one-inch strip of white diagonally on these 10-inch square papers from Missouri Star Quilt Company, and started sewing strips to each side of the white strip, and pressing them outwards.  When the paper was covered, I trimmed it to 9 1/2 inches. There are many possibilites for designs when laying out all the squares, but all of the squares are made the exact same way.  After putting the whole top together, I went back and removed the papers.

Heart Strings -- photos

HEART STRINGS
Stats:  Finished measurements 61 1/2 inches wide by 80 inches long, unwashed
Fabrics:  Strips of 1 1/4 - 2 1/2  inch wide fabrics from my extensive stash.  Backing from a 5 yard      length of a fabric bought on clearance at Walmart.....rose print, name unknown.
Batting:  Pellon brand, 80% cotton, 20% polyester, with scrim; 96 inch wide, by the roll, 9 yard roll, from Walmart                ($29.00)
Machine-pieced on 10 inch-square papers from Missouri Star Quilt Company.
Machine-quilted in the ditch of each seam, on my Singer Model 15 sewing machine.


Updating yesterday's pre-finish photos,
I took a few shots today.

I haven't washed the quilt yet.  Normally, I CAN NOT WAIT to wash and dry the quilt, and see the crinkly shrunken goodness of a new quilt.  But this time, I like it so much, I don't want anything to change.

And yet, this is a new batting for me, and I want, NEED, to see the final results, lookswise, as well as how it feels to the touch.

Time.

I need time.

Linking up  with crazy mom's finish-it-up-Friday

Heart Strings is FINISHED !

I don't have final pictures, but I took a photo today while the light was good. The top and bottom borders were still waiting to be bound, but I knew that I'd finish late and I wouldn't be able to get a decent photo.

So these

will have to suffice for now.

I JUST  NOW decided to name it HEART STRINGS.  It doesn't have heart shapes to the string-piecing, but when I 'pet' it, I see SO MANY fabrics from years and years of quilting love, and it just does my old heart good to see the beauty of so many colors and designs.

Got to get up bright and early tomorrow to take hubby to have a PET scan.  He's not feeling so great right now, and I'm not the most loving and patient wife.  I think I'm actually a bit mad at him for getting Cancer.  The LORD and I need to have a little talk about that.....I think I might have some repenting to do.

"I LOVE QUILTING

A few days ago, I got the idea that it would be easy to baste a quilt INSIDE in two sessions......basting one half stretched on my basting frame, and then unpinning, repositioning, and basting the second half.  I thought that this would be much better than experiencing the heat outside under the semi-protection of my carport.

WRONG.  I set up the frame in my small front bedroom, which was cramped with just HALF of a 63" x 81" quilt top stretched out upon it.  After basting the first half, it was a NIGHTMARE getting the second half properly stretched in place.  I do believe it actually took me atleast a third again longer than the traditional basting time.

ANYWAY, I finally DID finish that chore late that afternoon, and my hubby was perplexed at how crippled up I was walking and how worn out I was.  He said, "you don't really have to do that, do you?"

Sigh...........I said, "honey, after your being in the hospital for five days, and then ending up with a diagnosis of Lymphoma, I have just been WAITING, HOPING, LONGING to get back to some semblance of normalcy."    And for me, a day spent doing anything connected with quilting spells normalcy.

To misquote a long-ago-spotted bumper sticker, even a physically depleting day spent quilting beats the best day spent beside a hospital bed !

So, the point I was going for is, I GOT IT BASTED, and yesterday I spent a wonderful day machine-quilting in the peace and comfort of my pretty newly-painted aqua bedroom.

And I fell in LOVE with this quilt .  I felt "ho-hum" about it before, disappointed that the setting of it wound up being assymetrical, which drives my sensibilities bonkers.  But, crazily, I am taking the time to use my walking foot and quilt in the ditch of EVERY strip, and even go down the center of the widest strips.  And I LOVE how it is looking already.

Another lovely bonus is the back of the quilt.  I had forgotten that I bought this 5-yard piece of fabric at some ridiculously low price at our local WalMart.  I found it stuck away in a drawer of my quilt-fabric chest of drawers, and I will share a photo or two of it also ,  .......soon, hopefully.

As far as news of my husband, today he underwent his first hour of chemo, and he goes back tomorrow morning, EARLY, Lord willing, for a 4-hour session.  He's feeling just fine tonight, with a good appetite, and I am feeling very thankful.  Praise God, we couldn't make it without His provision, mercy, and loving compassion. The hospital chaplain that he met today is a motorcycle enthusiast, as is James, so he enjoyed their talk and asked him to visit again tomorrow !

HUBBY'S HEALTH

I don't want to write much right now, as I am going through all kinds of emotions.

My husband was just diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, which is an aggressive form of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. 

Chemotherapy is being scheduled.......so the journey begins.  Thank GOD, we do not have to traverse this valley alone.

Improv

This isn't much to share today, but for my own records, I want to remember this project.

I ordered a 9-yard bolt of 80% cotton/20% polyester batting (with scrim) from Walmart.com, and I am supposed to be able to pick it up on Friday, September 9th.  I have never used batting with scrim, but the reviews made it sound good, so at $29.00, I decided to give it a try.

So, wanting to be ready to baste something right away when it arrives, I started searching for something to use as a backing for the recently finished Fall quilt-top.  Having little successs, I instead starting trying to clean up the mess of fabrics left on the cutting table from the top's piecing.

Then it occurred to me that I could PIECE a back FROM, rather than PUT UP, all this fabric.  I mean, I piece backs all the time, but usually out of  big lengths of fabric that are just not wide enough or long enough by themselves to do a ONE-piece big back.

But these are anywhere from one yard (rare), to 1/2 yard pieces, to PIECES, literally.  But it's been interesting........maybe the MOST interesting fact has been that it's taking so much more thought and time than the original top did.

Here's a photo of my progress thus far.  It doesn't look like much here, but it is actually quite striking in person.  I especially love the horses !  The piece is more green than it appears here (I also have it in rust).  I've had that piece in my stash for years and never found a place for it.   I think I'll enjoy it here !  Did you notice the little log-cabin-surrounded tree, too?  That was my original inspiration block, remember?  So fitting that it gets to ride along on the other side.  I may just quit calling it a BACK.......in fact, the piecing at the upper right looks like a number '2', so I'm thinking of this as 'side two' !

This is fun !

♪ ♫ An-ti-ci-paaaaaaaaa-tion ♪ ♫

September has arrived, and along with it we received a COLD morning on this second day of the new month.  I was able to turn off the central airconditioning unit last night for the first time in atleast a week, and open  my bedroom  window.  I turned my little room fan on high and went off to La-la Land.  In the middle of the night, I woke up cold, and I had to close my window !   Then this morning, my husband wanted me to join him for coffee on the front porch, but I weenied out, saying it was too chilly !   Kindof made me dread seeing the end of Summer, but that's silly, since I've spent most of it hiding inside under the air-con.

Anyway, the anticipation of Autumn found me designing a new quilt.   I thought that it was for my husband, but now I have someone totally different in mind.  The funny thing to me is where my inspiration came from, and how different the top became from what I first loved.

My two inspirations were  THIS QUILT

StashStars by Quilt Expressions (blog)

And, this little block that I made once while playing with leftover triangles and scraps (it's a 4" sq)

This is all I can  show right now, but I hope to finish it soon.

T

Cool weather prep...

...also known as 'making hay while the sun shines' !

This week I decided that it's prudent that I get some things basted up to be worked on over the cooler months (even though the hubby insists on running the heat so high that I hardly know that the seasons have changed except that I am stuck INSIDE.)

So, I resurrected this quilt top that I pieced last year, I think.

I started out basting it under cover of the carport, but as the day's heat and humidity increased, I got the idea of moving the frame inside.  I knew that I didn't have room to put the frame back onto it's legs, but I could stand it on it's edge.

I pieced a back for this top shortly after I made it.  It was so nice to have everything ready to go when the mood struck to baste.

 I had done about 1/3 of the basting, and was able to take my time UNDER THE COMFORT OF AIRCONDITIONING to finish the rest.

My biggest problem now is that everytime I see the basted quilt lying around, I have a huge impetuous urge to QUILT IT NOW !

So, today I pulled out some scraps and this little tree block that I've been staring at daily (it has been on my design wall), and I pieced some 12-inch tree blocks.

 My idea is to buy several Autumn-hued solid-colored fabrics to use as all of the different backgrounds, and then use my scraps as the tree fabrics. I hope to mix the size of the blocks also, but I'll just let it develop as I go along.  For now it is a good diversion from THE BASTED TOP !

Tonight we had a real BOOMER of a thunderstorm, putting off my mowing once again, but the power outage has been corrected.  I still hear rumbles out there, so I guess we're not quite through it yet.

Ribbons and Redo

Well, a week has passed since I entered my quilts in our local county fair.  I was excited to go to the fair on the first night and find out if I had won anything.

THEN............I had mixed feelings.  Walking into the exhibit room, I was THRILLED to see ribbons on my quilts.........but disappointed to see that there were only TWO other quilts, a wallhanging, and 2 sets of placemats entered into the competition.

But, hey, it's a start, and hopefully word will get out that our fair is doing this once again after many years of NOT having home exhibits,.........and hopefully next year, there will be LOTS of beautiful handwork to admire !

In the meantime, here are my awards.....

I asked a young man who was standing in the room to take my photo,....it's a bit blurred, but better than not having one at all.

the GardenWalkQuilt won first place in quilt, pieced, hand-quilted.

the TropicTriStarQuilt won second place in quilt, machine-quilted

and then the Best in Show Ribbon was awarded to me for the Green Garden Walk Quilt !

When I went to pick up the quilts on Sunday, they gave me a check for $30.  $10 was for a first  place ribbon, and $20 was for Best in Show.  Not bad return for the $5 entry fee !

But, in the meantime, I've been busy changing my bedroom into a bedroom/sewing room combination.  Now, I know that I may regret this change when the room becomes a wreck while I am in the throes of a magnificent quilt-making revelation/machination !  But, for now, it allows me to make the other room into a sitting/late night can't sleep room.   We'll give it a try and see how it works out.  With it being just the two of us here for most of the year, we can make changes whenever I'M up to the work of it.

Here are photos of the newly painted room.

I also painted my old wooden chest of drawers to go with the white bedframe.  Having lived with it the other way for over 30 years, I am happy to see this new look.

I now refer to this as my 'princess and the pea' bed, as I have taken an extra mattress that I was storing, and added it underneath my memory foam mattress, so that I no longer have to take up room with it in a corner of the room.  It's actually quite enjoyable being up so high.  Lottie and I FEEL like princesses !  

Fair-entry day !

While living in Oklahoma for over 30 years, I learned how to make quilts.  A fun part of many years was spent preparing entries for the county fair.  I always hoped to someday move back to my little hometown and get to enter quilts here.

Well, when I moved back, I found that they had discontinued the wonderful room full of exhibits that I remembered from my childhood.  I was SO disappointed !

But this year, the fair board has decided to bring back the old tradition, and I am going out today to enter 2 quilts.  They have started out small, wanting to re-learn how to do this, and have even mentioned that I might be able to suggest ways to improve things in the coming years.

Right now the two categories for quilts are "quilt, pieced, hand-quilted", and"quilt, machine-quilted".

So I entered my Garden Walk quilt,

and this one that I can't remember the name of.  This is the one I made when I won the new Melody BabyLock sewing machine in the Blogger's Quilt Festival drawing.

Here's hoping that the next time I see these quilts, one of them has SOME KIND of ribbon on it.

It's been YEARS since I won one.

Short (visit),but sweet

I got to see my daughter and her family a couple of days ago.

She was headed to Oklahoma for her 20 year high school reunion, which I think I mentioned in a post in the last couple of weeks.

It's such a long drive for them now, starting in Virginia, stopping over with us in Tennessee, and she suffers terribly with pain in her hips and back when she has to sit for that long a time.  In fact, she can't sit in one position long enough to do much of the driving, so Tim blessed her by taking over that chore.

They stayed overnight, and drove on for the other half of the trip the next morning.

My grandbabies are growing  up.  Zoe is nearly as tall as me (she's 12 1/2), Seth (7) is nearly as tall as Tim, jr., who is 9.

I gave the kids my bedroom, but Seth wanted Nana to sleep on the living room floor with him instead of on the couch or in the recliner.  So I lay down with him there until he went to sleep, and we enjoyed a good long chat of this and that.  So fun to finally 'connect' with my youngest grandchild.
















Tim, jr., and I bonded over coaxing Lottie dah out from under my bed, where she inevitably winds up spending any time that the kids, and especially Sophie, the Westie, are in the house.  She's declawed and knows it, so she hisses and scats when she sees what she perceives as a threat.

They should be driving back this way on the 3rd of August, heading home to start the new school year, with my daughter Kelley starting her new position as third grade teacher.  They've said that they'll spent TWO nights with us this time !

Finished all 63 string blocks

I put a rush on the final blocks, because my daughter and family are coming over the weekend, and I need the sewing space for sleeping. 

No photo yet, I'm still in the process of removing the papers from the back side now that the entire thing is pieced.  I even stay-stitched around the perimeter so that I can add borders without stretching out the bias edges of these blocks.

No one told me what a labor it is to maneuver the top through the machine as you're sewing the last of the long seams with all that  paper still attached.  I'm kind of enjoying removing it, though.

It now measures approximately 63 inches by 81 inches, so I'll probably try to bring it up to atleast full-size, 72 .x 90.

61 blocks made ! String Quilt

Was thinking of making 63 blocks.  I've trimmed these down to 9 1/2 inches, from the 10 square papers I started out with.  7 blocks by 9 blocks would give me a top measuring 63 x 81 inches before adding borders to make it fit a twin/full bed.

Not happy with the selection of strips I'm down to new, so I don't know that making more blocks would be a good idea.  Then, again, I don't really want to be left with a bunch of strips...........unless I want to make a piano-key border.

String quilt update

No photo tonight.............but I have string-pieced 29 more blocks.  That brings today's total up to 45 !

But the basket of strips is waning fast !  So, I don't think I'm going to get to make this top as big as I had hoped...........unless I enlarge it some other way than with string blocks.

Another note.........I basted the I SPY + quilt last weekend.  It  is just waiting on an opportune time to quilt it by machine.  I'll probably take it to quilting day and work on it there.  I backed it with flannel AND used a cotton batting, so it's fairly heavy for a baby-sized quilt.

Just a quickie..............

..............before collapsing into bed !

I've begun a new project.

After cutting strips for DAYS, I starting sewing strips onto these 10-inch foundation papers that I purchased from Missouri Quilt Company.  It is slow going, mainly because I am having trouble with the strips that are cut widthwise of the fabric, you know, from selvedge to selvedge.  They want to lump up, stretching ahead of the presser foot, and  a walking foot didn't seem to help.

MAJOR TIP:  Cut your strips on the lengthwise grain !   Why haven't I read this anywhere lately while doing my string quilt research?

Anyway, it's a GOOD START.  I'm dying to stitch together the 16 squares that I finished today, but I'm afraid that I will run out of these colors and have to add in a bunch of new fabrics, and then the next part of the quilt would be noticeably different.  So, I really need to wait until I've pieced ALL the blocks, and THEN put them together.  YUCK !

But, it's looking so good to me, that I really DO want to make it some kind of BED-SIZE.

So.............PATIENCE is called for. Praise the LORD, this is fun, though !

Well, I also mowed the yard today and cut the hubby's hair, so I'm done.

Night all !

I SPY + baby quilt top

I put together a small yard sale two weeks ago, and was disappointed that my fabrics and quilts and tops didn't sell.  My prices were RIDICULOUSLY low because I was desperately trying to free up some room in my sewing room and shed. 

I personally made a total of $68. at the sale, and some of that was not quilting-related.  This past Tuesday, I went to the senior center to quilt with the local gals, and I took my leftover yardsale goodies.  The girls were TICKLED PINK to get to purchase quilt stuff, and I came home with $76 !  And, even at that, I had slashed prices even further.

But, I still have quite a few leftovers from what I had gathered up to sell, so I spent the morning at the center cutting out pieces for a plus quilt.

I started out cutting kiddy prints, and without a specified size in mind, I wound up stopping at babyquilt size.  Because I have to lay out the whole design before piecing it, I always wind up stopping at that size.  I SO admire people who follow through all the way to making a BED-SIZED plus quilt !  But, that ain't going to happen as long as I don't have a wall or some other place where I could lay out something that big and be able to leave it until it was totally pieced. 

After finishing this one, I realize that it is way too bright and busy for my current taste anyway, so I am glad that it didn't grow any bigger.  SOMEDAY, I would like to make one in softer, low contrast colors.

Back to the fabrics.........
....I still have much more to go !  So I'm studying what shape to cut next, hoping to make better choices as I go !

In preparation for my quilting day with the gals, I finally bound this little quilt that I made from the piecing I bought at the Food Bank for $1.00.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, but I hung it on the quilt rack in the living room to admire it, SO NATURALLY, I WENT OFF TO THE SENIOR CENTER WITHOUT IT !   Duh !

That's my Lottie - dah .....and the back of the quilt.