FINISHES- (2).... Star Boxes ... and...Aqua Rolling Stones

 I think that this will probably be my final finishes for 2023.  For me, it's been a really good year for quilting.

In the last couple of days, I finished these two quilts......

 

Star Boxes, measuring 53 x 64 inches.

Pattern adapted from Missouri Star Triple Play video

   Diagonally machine-quilted on Jazz 2.  Cotton/Wool batting

  58 inch wide backing from Hancock's of Paducah

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Last finish, Aqua Rolling Stones, finished at approximately 52 x 71 inches. 

Standard Rolling Stone block, original design setting

            Backing purchased at Hobby Lobby, Hobbs 100% cotton batting

  Basic hand-quilting in majority of quilt, BigStitch quilting in Flying Geese borders

 

FINISH (1) Three new (October 2023) pieces in the works, and one earlier, (Spring ?) one being hand-quilted

3 in-progress projects from October of 2023

 One (approximately) 52"x65"  quilt top made from Annies' jellyrolls (Threads that Bind) .  It's called Star Boxes, by Misty Doan of MSQC.  I LOVE THIS TOP.  The colors are so muted and dusty and soft !  I especially love how the sashing fabric that I used blends in softly instead of standing out.

At this point, I'm waiting for just the right backing fabric.

EDIT:(Finished quilting in December of 2023

Then came back and doubled the quilting in April of 2024.)  Look for more recent FINISH blog post.

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Secondly, this little table mat/wall quilt......I do not recall a name for the block, but I'm calling it HALF AND HALF.  I love this design done in solids.  I could see a whole quilt done in it, but quilting it in this way would be a pain.  I still need to get it bound, but am waiting on a special (backordered) foot to arrive. It's a bi-level foot by BabyLock, and I just wanted to see if I like it as well (for the final phase of machine-binding) as the compensating foot that I use on my Juki.

 EDIT: 

I finally got around to putting the binding onto this little quilt.  It now hangs above my p.c., and I have to say.....I really like it !  The Babylock feet that I ordered were not up to what I desired, so they were returned.  The binding foot actually never came ....I had it cancelled as well.

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Thirdly is another little project I made from part of my Annie's order.  Got a couple of these Sunflower-themed charm packs, and just threw this together with some solid brown fabric.  Got it basted but never went further.  Not decided on a quilting design yet.

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UPDATE EDIT:

I named this one Autumn Charm, and I finished it around the 13th of December, 2023, and put if for sale on Facebook the next day.  It sold IMMEDIATELY for the price I asked, to one of my faithful buyers.  She said that it would be perfect for her retro kitchen of Avocado Green !

 

 

I don't generally post items that are still in the 'making' stage, but time gets away from me, and I wanted to document exactly when these were in the works.

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Along with that bi-level foot, I also ordered a Babylock quarter-inch foot with guide, and a Babylock Stitch-in-the-Ditch foot. (These are ALL snap-on feet.)

Interestingly, though, I discovered yesterday that many of my snap-on feet tend to jiggle a bit after being snapped on, causing a seam allowance to vary as you go along.  I always blamed the feet with guide for having a flimsy 'bar' that lets your fabric press it to the right, so that the seam grew, but I've glued that bar so that it can't move, and that's when I discovered that it is the entire foot that can move !!!!!!!!!  

My hope is that these new feet, all being actual Babylock brand, will have a tighter fit where they snap on, thereby canceling the variance.  I do have a couple of snap-on feet that have a nice tight fit and don't wiggle.....not sure what brand (probably Amazon purchases-many of my feet are).

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Almost forgot to mention that I am enjoying some hand-quilting currently.  I got this Rolling Stone quilt thread-basted, probably a couple of months ago, now, but just put it aside, not knowing if I wanted to quilt it by hand or by machine. (So glad that I rolled up and tacked the backing fabric around the edges to contain the extra batting) I finally started some hand-quilting on it a  few days ago, and it is going pretty quickly right now.  I do one stone block per evening, and some of the ditch-quilting on the flying geese borders.  There are 12 stone blocks, and I have done six already, but there are MANY other blocks, as alternates and side/corner setting triangles, plus an  outer plain border.  Looks like this one may be done in stages as my fingers toughen up again.

 

 

 

 

FINISH........Modest Tiles quilt, including update

 These are follow-up photos to my earlier post,  As you can see, I finished this quilt.  I machine-quilted along all of the black strips, using my Babylock Jazz 2 machine.  I switched to doing 'big-stitch' hand-quilting in all of the colorful rectangles.  The curvy quilting in the borders was also done by machine, after the quilt was bound.

  Quilting approved by Marley Jo.....say 'hi' to Marley !

Here's a better look at the hand-quilting.

  I didn't actually measure the finished quilt, being so excited to get it into the mail.  But it measured somewhere around 54 x 88......the next photo shows it covering a twin-sized bed, with a bit of a tuck-under allowance at the foot.  I made it for my grandson, T.J., to use as an extra-long throw, or as a bed cover/topper.  He's now well over 6 feet tall, and he told me that he had outgrown the last throw that I made for him, so Nana had to get it in gear and correct that.

That's my bed.........the quilt is currently on it's way all the way across the United States. 

 100% Hobbs bleached white cotton batting inside....hope I quilted it closely enough for it to withstand the washing machine !

 One last photo.......I had a wider-than-usual piece of flannel that made for a wonderfully snuggly-feeling backing.  I'm hearing that this younger generation no longer feel the need for top sheets..?????... I know, right???  So this one should feel wonderful against the skin.

One more note.....because the batting was shedding while I handled the quilt, I went ahead and sewed on the binding after the machine-quilting was done, but before I did the hand-quilting.  Wonderful results !

And I finished the binding by machine, using a 1/16th" left compensating foot , on my JukiTL2010Q sewing machine.  Game changer !

UPDATE:  Video of T.J. opening the package with his quilt.

A DIFFERENT kind of FINISH (TOTE-BAGS)

 Well, I've taken a bit of a twist on my sewing adventures.  I've made a couple of quilted tote bags. 

The first one, on the left, I made from leftover orphan blocks,  for carrying on days that I go to our Senior Center or our Church,  for playing Bingo.  It's handy for carrying my phone stand, which holds up my Bingo card, and then for toting home my winnings !  With prizes donated from Walmart's returns or clearance items, and sometimes donations from Cracker Barrel, or even other members' own homes, it is handy to have a bag ready.  Our Church makes sure that everyone wins, and the prizes are lots of snack cakes, crackers, and fruit !

After receiving numerous compliments from other players, I decided to make the yellow, black, grey, and navy one to donate for use as a 'Coverall' prize at the senior center.  

 I enjoyed piecing this bit of 3-d illusion patchwork, but sadly it didn't come off nearly as dimensional-looking in the finished bag, after quilting.

FINISH--Table topper with yellow pieced border

 Just wanted to try out an album block, and not caring for it so much, I just made 3 more to be big enough for a table-topper or wall quilt.  I love the border of yellow squares, so I backed it with a piece of yellow gingham.  Very happy with how it turned out, including the free-motion quilting in the borders. Quilted on Jazz 2, bound on JukiTL2010Q.

The duck is a tureen that I won while playing Bingo at our local senior center.

MODEST TILES-- basted and ready to be quilted

 I got this one ready a week ago, but have been slow to post, and slow to start the quilting.  

 I moved the furniture around and basted it in my living room.  It's pretty long, calling for my longest boards for pinning out.

I'm not sure what I want to do, hand-quilt, machine-quilt, or a combination of both.

Whatever I choose will really show up on those solid fabric rectangles/tiles, so I'm still thinking it over.

 This is another quilt based on a catalog/magazine cut-outs that I have saved in an "inspiration folder".

More photos to come, hopefully, when the quilt is finished !

FINISH---Strips-Weave .....all done !

 

Last Monday, September 21st, I finished binding this quilt.  I dug out all of my binding strip leftovers and made it scrappy.  I sewed the strips onto the back and finished them on the front using the new foot I bought, a 1/16th inch left compensating foot.  It's beautiful to see that stitch line so very close to the fold of the binding, but also still possible to veer off once in awhile and miss the edge altogether.  Makes you have to pay CLOSE attention, but surely makes for a quicker job than finishing by hand.

I mentioned this quilt-top in my last post.  This one gave me a perfect opportunity to try out my curvy ruler-quilting ruler.  I made a few oopsies, but finally caught on to using the marks to match things up as I had to move the ruler down the length of the quilt. This ruler was actually intended for use with a longarm machine, being a bit thick for working on a domestic machine like my Jazz 2 from Babylock.

After quilting the wavy design, I still didn't think it was enough, so I quilted down along the ditch of each vertical seam as well.  Now I'm very pleased with the look of it, although I haven't laundered it to see how much it crinkles.  As I've said before, on some of these quilts, I'd prefer that they retain that well-pressed look, but it's not a deal breaker either when they don't.

Keeping to the scrappy theme, I brought out my leftovers binding strips that were already pressed in half.  I lay them out around the perimeter of the quilt to get colors in the places that I wanted, and after stitching them to the quilt, I was well pleased with the final look. One more thing that I need to do is sew a label onto the back.............OH, THAT REMINDS ME...I didn't show you this pretty BACK !  I don't know that   it actually coordinates with the quilt, but I just love it.  It was with some fabrics that were donated to me. It has a coarse texture, and there were six identical pieces that were a bit bigger than fat quarters.  I am very seriously thinking that these were feedsacks, although I can't find the big stitching holes that are usually caused by the thick thread with which they would have been stitched closed. Anyway....have a look.  Marley Jo won't mind.

And, so, we finish here.  This quilt measures approximately 52 x 58 inches, making it a decent throw, or bed-topper.

EDIT: FINISHED.....(see more recent post )Work in progress--Gemstones

 This may be the finished size..........not sure, but this is where I've stopped for now.

Approximately 32 inches square, I worked in some white strings for a change.

Strips-Weave

 Doing a bit of cleaning on my sewing room this week, I noticed that my box which I use to store leftover 2 1/2 inch strips was getting a bit hard to close.  

So I went to the photos of quilts that inspire me....I have a folder-ful on my computer.  And I ran across a photo that really caught my attention.  I basically pieced a scrap version of the quilt on the lower right side.  You wouldn't know it if I hadn't told you.......they look quite different, don't they?  Well, I worked with what I had, only buying a very soft grey for the weaving strips.

 

This is the finished top, measuring approximately 52" x 58".  I don't know when I'll get around to quilting it.......

 

I have another, bigger quilt already basted and ready to quilt, but the timing just hasn't been right.

I spent the month of June piecing this one.  After basting it, I went ahead and rolled the backing around over the batting edges and basted that to the top so that it doesn't shed the cotton batting all over the place while being quilted (or just shuffled around my sewing room while it remains UNQUILTED (insert shamed face photo here......LOL !)

More photos and info when it's finished....optimism there !

Christmas Raffle quilt for 2023 (hopefully)

 Using more of the same strip rolls that I used last year, I pieced and quilted this small quilt .  I hope to offer it as a raffle at John and Deb's Christmas celebration this year, like I did last year.  I pieced a small pillow cover to match as well.

 More photos on a later post maybe.  Perhaps closer to Christmas I will get better shots.

FINISH- Isaiah's toddler quilt

 I  squeezed one more quilt in that was pieced in April, actually, but finished today, May 3.  

Today I actually sewed the binding on TOTALLY by machine.......an unusual thing for me, never done on a quilt even this big (40" x 50" approximately ).

This quilt came about because the boy and girl (a friend and neighbor's great grandkids) for whom I made little quilts when they were small, now have a little brother who is approaching his third birthday in July.  His granny let me know that he has been dragging their little quilts out to use, and she suggested that he needed one of his own.  

So, as soon as I finished the Nine-Patch Squared quilt, shared in my last post,I started designing Isaiah's quilt.  I had all of these fabrics, and after making the quilt top, I found out that he has a July birthday.  Perfect, ......fireworks, stars and stripes, and baseballs for the backing.  How much more Americana can you get????

Isaiah is a beautiful mixed-race little boy, and this fabric is made up of images of children from many races and cultures.  His brother and sister, are both involved in softball games, so he is very accustomed to seeing the use of a bat and ball.  This blue fabric came in very handy for a backing.

Excited that I had gotten it finished, I rushed it up the street to him WITHOUT getting pictures of the finished quilt.  I handed him the quilt, tied up with a long selvedge. He said thank you, and then tossed it onto the bed.    I took the selvedge off, he grabbed it immediately, (THE SELVEDGE STRING) and we started having a tug of war.  He thought that THAT (long string) was just THE greatest gift EVER from his "aunt" Dolly !

Hopefully, one day in the near future I will get a photo of him with his quilt.

His granny did call me later to let me hear him responding MINE when she teased him and said, "that quilt is granny's".

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Quilt finished at approximately 40 x 50 inches, was machine-pieced, quilted, and bound.  

FINISH--Nine-Patch Squared

 Well, I managed to make another quilt, setting a record for me at one per month this year !

Below is the top before being quilted.....

It may be my age, but I have developed a love for a more simplified quilt........I think that it has to do with polyester batting.   With bigger piecing (4 " finished squares in the nine-patches, and 8 inch in the frames),I'm leaving room for the poly batting to 'fluff'.  I think that the crinkly look of cotton batting goes better with smaller piecing and closer quilting.

  And I'm satisfying my desire to do some hand-quilting again, although now I do "big-stitch" rather than going for the most stitches I can squeeze into an inch of quilting, like I did when these hands and eyes were young.

Having said all of that, this is my latest finish.........I call it Nine-Patch Squared, and it is not my own original design.  I ran across it in some pages that I have cut out of magazines and catalogs (sorry, I don't save the info).  I save these pictures as ideas and inspiration for future projects.

Back of quilt......same fabric as center of framed squares on front.

Hopefully for the recipient who takes a closer look, the hand-stitching shows up well around the solid frames.  

Deb let me make her this one to trade back for the last one that she took, when I explained to her that the kitty fabrics and little girls climbing trees might have been too 'juvenile' a choice of fabrics for a quilt that is to be gifted to her daughter-in-law.

Quilt info:  Polyester batting , low-loft, by Fairfield (PolyFil), Thread--Coats Bold Hand-quilting thread in Natural....... finished size, approximately 48" x 60" after laundering.  I made the binding finish at around one-half inch because it matches the framed print, and ties it all together.

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AFTER NOTE:  I delivered this quilt to Deb on May 15, 2023.  She was happy with it.  

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A salt shaker spilled in my raincoat pocket, and not realizing that there was salt in the bottom of the pocket, I put my keys in there while I ran errands in the rain.   Now I can hardly get the key in and out of the ignition.  I think that it got salt in it, and it tarnished something or who knows what.  The key feels rough on the end, and even a second key hesitates within inserting and removing.

It's a Honda, and I only have the one key that does everything....ignition, keyless entry.  My local mechanic thinks he could replace the ignition, but a Honda dealership has to reprogram the key unless you know a locksmith that can perform that task.  The nearest dealership is in Franklin, and I DON'T DRIVE TO FRANKLIN.  A new key was over $250 when I bought the car in 2018....I can only imagine the price now.

Stay tuned for update........for now I'm just going to use the car as sparingly as possible, and PRAY !

FINISH: Actual 3rd Commission quilt--Color Stripes

I did not use that poison green solid for the back.....my daughter voted it down, via text, so I used a Marshall Dry Goods mottled blue from their Tie-dyed solids collection, found at my local fabric store.  No photo of back or finished quilt......sorry !

 That's right.....I've taken the quilts to be approved, and forgetting to take the last one that I posted about, my sister-in-law loved the other three......this one, the scrappy string quilt, and the orange barn star !  She took all three without quibbling about the prices that I asked.  

  I'm happy that she's happy, and I'm ecstatic that this commission is fulfilled. (In fact, I was so thrilled to be finished --with this 3 months of work--that I didn't even get a photo of the last quilt after it was quilted !

Finishing larger than the others, at 50" x 70",  knowing that this quilt had lots of black, and being fresh out of the dryer, I didn't dare lay it on my carpet for a photo (remember, I have two in-house cats!), and these people are not pet people. I used an all cotton batting, and I have to say that with this one, I really loved the flat look of the pieced top MORE than the crinkly look of the laundered quilt.   I'm finding that I now have to choose between cotton battings and polyester ones, dependent on the finished look that I want.  I love the drape of cotton, but I enjoy the puffiness of the polyester sometimes, and the fact that it DOESN'T CRINKLE since I tend to prewash my fabrics.  Of course, since I didn't prewash this batik fabric, being that it WAS cut as a jellyroll, it might have crinkled even with a poly batt.

   As far as the commissioning goes, I don't often take on requests, specifically because of the stress that I feel during the fulfillment of them, and also for the plain reason that I like to make what I feel like making.  Sounds pretty selfish, but I'm not actually selfish with the finished product, just how I spend my time.  She meant to make this commission easy by telling me to just make whatever I wanted since she loves any quilting that I do, but I worried the whole time that it just wouldn't turn out to be what she had in mind originally.

  As far as this quilt goes, I grabbed a batik jelly-roll that I have held onto for quite a few years, and was just going to sew it into strips of color-change.  That went just fine until it came time to trim up the left and right sides to add a  border.  Even though the strips showed no sign of bowing, having sewn alternately from each end of the strip,  somehow it just wouldn't trim up right.  I was forced to come up with another idea, so I resorted to the idea of quilts that I had seen where they had cut the assembled strips into columns, turning the center one upside down.

Turns out that I like the new design much better than the original boring one !  Who knew (probably just about  every quilter ever !)

 Mid-piecing I ran out of the black fabric, and found more yardage from a different manufacturer in my stash.  They looked so very much alike that I really don't think anyone will know the difference.  But with  battling tiny bits of the cotton batting clinging to the black fabric throughout the quilting stage, I hope to NEVER use a solid black fabric again !  I'm not even sure that it won't pill, but I told her to let me know if there's ever any problem.......probably scared her to death !

Anyway...........you might not see another quilt from me for awhile, if Spring opens up where I can stay busy outside.  Hope you've enjoyed this series of quilts !