Stitching Along in September (Again)

When I received the reminder email about our upcoming Stitch Along check-in I realized the only stitching I'd done since the last time was on my secret project. I could probably share it here but I don't want to take a chance. So then I mulled over what I'd stitched that I could share. As it turned out, since my return to quilt making there hadn't been any.

I decided to pick up the Sublime Stitching pillow cover to get a little more done on it. After all, this SAL is meant to help us get our projects finished and that one has been stalled for some time. Guess what? I couldn't find it. Anywhere. I'll bet you can relate. I put it away so neatly and safely it completely disappeared from the studio. Or at least that's how it appeared. I did eventually locate it, right where I looked the first time. I just hadn't remembered putting it in the cute little bag it was in!

I believe the last time you saw this project it looked like this:

Now it looks like this!

Those scallops below the foxes kept saying "buttonhole stitches" to me so I gave in to the prompting.

With French knot centers. I tacked down most of the cross stitches with a tiny horizontal stitch. Officially that turns them into some other kind of stitch but I'm too lazy to look it up.

I added some detail to the acorn caps with a few plies and straight stitches too.

A person could really get carried away adding details to this piece. Probably won't be me, but it's a possibility. 😉

We check in every three weeks in this SAL. Here's the list of the others who are participating. We all work on our own projects so there's a variety of needlework to be seen. If you'd like some motivation to get your projects moving along just leave Avis a comment. Enjoy!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, 
Helen, Linda, Heidi ,Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Clare, 
Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon, Susan, Anne

Baby Steps

While I've been waiting for new prints to arrive for more pinwheels for Baby Quilt #2 I've sewn together the blocks and sashing for Baby Quilt #1.

At this point it measures about 48" across and 60" high. I want it wider but not necessarily longer. To that end I picked up this wide border stripe at my local quilt shop.

I'm not sure yet how wide I'll cut those stripes but I doubt all that orange will show. More like this probably:

I was delighted to find all the colors of the blocks and sashing in this stripe. 😊

I've also made a back for the plaid Wrenches quilt top. Had to piece together two different prints totaling five yards.

And I've sewn some of the scraps from that project into 6" blocks. It may become a doll or teddy bear quilt.

There's still a fair amount of one or two of those plaids. Perhaps one of them could become the back for such a small quilt. We shall see!

Scrap Happy in September

Regular readers will be aware that I have supported Covered in Love in the past with contributions to block drives and even a quilt or two. I meant to contribute to the summer block drive of stars but it didn't happen. Thus it makes me very happy to have made four blocks for the current drive, a split 9 Patch design that utilizes scrap patches.

I made these in two sets of two on separate days. I have to tell you, it doesn't do me any good to try to sew after about 5 p.m. most days. I must have made the final block two times over one evening because I kept turning the half-square triangle patch the wrong way or sewed the wrong patch in the wrong place. It looks like such a simple block but there are SO many ways to screw it up! Still, it was a fun way (most of the time) to put my scraps to good use. Because that's what Scrap Happy Day is all about you know. 😉

I finally put the bindings on two very scrappy quilts I built earlier in the year too. I called this first one Syncopated Strings. It was inspired by Sarah's scrap busting efforts over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

75.5" high x 58.5" wide

Just random strips of varying widths but all 8.5" long to make the columns. I didn't buy the border or binding fabric for this one, they were already in my stash, but I did purchase yardage for the back.

Confetti used up old yardage from my stash for the back as well as the front. It began as a Disappearing 9 Patch made entirely out of scrap patches. I had fun fussy cutting old prints to feature in the corners of the original 9 patch blocks.

Here's the end product:

70" high x 57" wide

And here's a portion of the back:

That white corner is a patch I add with the binding for labelling the quilt.

Scrap Happy Day is hosted by Kate and Gun on the 15th of each month. To see what they've been working on and what others have done just click on the links below. 😋

Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline and Sue L.

The Other Baby Quilt

I have two baby quilts in process at the moment. You've just seen the newest one in the last post. While I wait for some fabric I've ordered for that one I've turned my attention back to the first one. You've probably been shown a block or two in the distant past. I began this quilt to use up a couple of prints I've had in my stash for too long.

I started making these stars without a specific destination for the end product. Then I learned of the pregnancy of a niece and decided to dedicate this quilt for her eventual baby. 

When we learned the baby would be male it seemed even more appropriate. 😊But then summer struck and my unplanned hiatus from patchwork began. I also ran out of that white with black print I was using as background for the stars. Of course I couldn't find any more of that print. The closest I could come was the one I used to make the remainder of the 36 blocks.

I had a layout in mind when I first conceived this project but when I looked at my notes the other day - with a headache - they made no sense to me. I've had a couple of pretty good days since then though, and this is what's on my design wall now:

That's a Buzz Lightyear block that's not a star up near the top.
Other, smaller, images from that print are included in the four patch centers of a few of the stars.

I'm wondering whether I can improve on block placement for color balance at this point. It's tempting to just sew it together the way it is but if improvements can be made I want to know now, not later!

When these blocks are sewn with their sashes the flimsy will measure about 58" x 48" (height x width). I have a large scale print to use for borders so it will grow to closer to a 60" square. And the backing fabric is part of that order I'm waiting for. 😉Niece knows not to expect this quilt until Christmas, at which point her new baby will be about five months old. Pretty good timing if I do say so myself!

Getting Back Into Patchwork

We've had a couple of cooler mornings lately. Not cool, per se, but cooler. That has helped to bring my unplanned hiatus from patchwork to a conclusion. I don't believe I've ever been quite so anxious for fall and winter to arrive. That seems to be the case with each passing year as a matter of fact. Hmm.

Also helping to bring the patchwork hiatus to an end was a request for a baby quilt from my daughter for a friend of hers. This will be a departure from the quilts I've made most recently in that I'm trying for a more "modern" look. Large patches, gray background - as opposed to busy scrappiness. After browsing pattern potentials I decided to go with simple 10" pinwheels set side by side.

I'll only need 20 blocks for a 40 x 50" quilt and I'm halfway there already. Mostly I'm using prints from my stash that we think will be appropriate for the family. I do have some fabric on order from eQuilter.com though.

And I shopped locally for some current prints. Any opportunity, right? 😉

During the piecing hiatus I managed to get bindings on a couple of quilts that I will share on Scrap Happy Day (15 Sept.). Because they are scrappy busy!

And then they will be donated through my local guild for children in the foster care system. 😊