Mystery Quilt Class

Sew N Save is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year so to commemorate the year there's a mystery quilt project box filled with lots of goodies. Included in the box is a 40% off coupon for every month of the year. It was worth the purchase just for the coupons. 

I really didn't like the fabrics in the kit but I wanted to be a team player so I went to the class to make the quilt. It went together very quickly. By the end of the 4-hour class I had all the blocks made. I could have taken the time to put the quilt together while I was there but I really wanted to use my design board and make sure I arranged them in a pleasing way. 

Once I had the blocks sewn together. I added the border. Unfortunately, I picked out the border fabric before the quilt was put together.  I sewed the border on and I hated them. So on my next trip to the quilt shop I took the sewn blocks and picked out something that was a better match. It's funny how even though the original border matched the fabrics in the kit, when the blocks were done, it was a very different story.

I longarmed the quilt with a nice swirl to complement the straight strips. It went together quickly and I'm glad I finished it but it's just not my style. I plan on listing it for sale on Etsy. It really is a cool looking quilt with all the little gold specks in the fabrics.

Gingersnap Quilt

A line of fabric called My Red Wagon by Henry Glass hit the clearance section at the quilt shop last year and I picked some up. It had some pretty prints and some I just didn't understand. The colors didn't really seem to go together, I wonder if that's why most of it was in clearance. In an effort to use up what I have, I found that this fabric line would be good with the Gingersnap quilt pattern by Villa Rosa. It seems I can't get enough of those Villa Rosa pattern cards lately.

The Gingersnap pattern uses large chunks of fabric so I thought I could easily place the border print where a large print would go. I also had so much of one of the prints that it would easily make the backing and enough was left over for the center block. The patchwork used up some fat quarters and another larger piece made the borders. As you can see from the finished quilt, none of it coordinates. 

This was a good experiment in putting colors together that I normally wouldn't. I don't care for the results but I'm glad I followed through and finished it. 

I will send this quilt off to Quilts for Kids. The little wagons are very cute and some of the fabrics are quite charming. I do love the backing fabric.

I pieced the backing in order to use up all the leftover fabrics. It felt good to use up more of my stash. 

Villa Rosa Pattern Cards

Last year I purchased a large bundle of Villa Rosa pattern cards at a quilt show.  I spent a little time recently going through the patterns and found some I had forgotten about. I matched a few up with some fabrics from my stash.

The directions are well written and easy to follow. Within a week I had finished two quilts!

I used the Grand Prize pattern to make this spaceship themed quilt. It was a great way to frame the panel. The backing fabric glows in the dark. 

I had a small bundle of some nice modern prints I wanted to use with the Asagail pattern.  It turned out there wasn't enough fabric as required on the pattern card but I did get enough blocks to make a smaller version. Then wouldn't you know it! I was digging through more of my stash and discovered a large chunk of the same fabric line. Of course I found it after I put the borders on. So I did the next best thing, I used it for the back. I chose variegated thread in the quilting which really looks great in the white background. It still turned out to be a decent size for a kid's quilt.

Split Bars Quilt with Kimberbell Scraps

I'm trying to use up old cute fabrics so they aren't sitting around anymore. And I have a stack of Kimberbell fabrics that have been around for a very long time. While paging through my many Missouri Star Magazines I came across a pattern called Split Bars. Since the Kimberbell pile contains many jelly roll sized strips, I thought I could make it work. I did some strip sorting and counting and discovered I was going to be able to make it happen. 

I longarmed the quilt with some pretty pink thread.

Luckily, I had a piece large enough to make the backing. My plan to use up lots of fabrics worked out pretty well. 

In Memory of a Friend

Sue and Jim Middlestead are one of the first couples we met when we joined the Legion Riders back in 2003. They were warm and welcoming and we liked riding to Veterans' charity events with them. Over the the many years we spent together, we always enjoyed each other's company. In fall Jim passed away after a long spell of illness. I told Sue at the funeral that I would be happy to make a quilt for her out of his shirts. In January, she took me up on my offer and brought me the shirts.

I cut everything out and started to put things together. This quilt is different because she added some souvenir tea towels. After moving blocks around, I decided the best thing to do is applique them over the top of the quilt.

I picked out some neutral background and backing fabrics and put it all together.  I absolutely love the Best Grandpa Hands Down block. It's so heartwarming.

It's all ready to be delivered to Sue next month when I see her. It feels good to help someone with a keepsake they will love. 

A Charity Quilt for A Veterans' Event

Our Legion Post does an event called "Souper Sunday" where we serve a lunch of soups, rolls and dessert. Everyone pays per bowl and the event raises money for veterans. 

I made a triple batch of French Onion soup for the event. It was an all-day project just cooking the onions but I was glad to help.

I also made a red, white and blue themed quilt to raffle off. I did't use a pattern, I just made two sizes of star blocks and a nine-patch to go in-between the stars. 

I longarmed the quilt with stars to add to the patriotic look.

Once completed, it was kitty approved!

A Patriotic Quilt Marathon

I was gifted 18 yards of red, white and blue fabrics. They were vintage bundles still in the packaging. I broke them all open to discover all half-yard cuts. I proceeded to wash all the fabrics, sort by color and press them. It was an all-day project. While pressing, I had to come up with a way to use up all the fabrics. Since they were half-yard cuts, there's a lot I could do. 

I chose three Villa Rosa patterns, making cutting easy and consistent since all these patterns requires thick strips to be cut. I liked the Olympiad pattern so much I made two quilts with it. They went together so quickly that it was an easy decision.

Using the scraps left over from the first two quilts I chose to use the Phoebe pattern next. It used up the ends of the strips from the first two quilts along with more of the half-yard cuts. At this point I was looking forward to doing a project that was not red, white and blue!

Once I completed the Phoebe there was still a bunch of fabric left. That's where the Daybreak pattern came in. It uses the same 5-inch square measurement as the Phoebe so I used up leftovers from that quilt along with more half-yard cuts. 

Of course, I had a helper. Jordy just loves to nap on quilts loaded on the longarmer. I'm sure it has the feel of a hammock and I know how much I love a good nap in a hammock so I don't blame him.

After all that, there was still fabrics left so I used it to piece the backs for two of the quilts. 

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to buy a single piece of fabric for 40% off. That's a big deal at the quilt shop so I purchased enough 108" wide backing fabric to complete 4 quilt tops. With 108" wide, I can get 4 quilts on the longarm with just 3 yards of fabric. What a bargain!

It didn't hurt that we're in a deep freeze here in Wisconsin so I wasn't going anywhere so I might as well get quiltinq!

What a fun adventure it was making all these. I'm sure these will become raffle quilts for events at our Legion Post or I will end up donating them to an individual as needed. 

I'm very happy to have given these old fabric bundles a new life.

The January Deep Freeze

Between the snow storms and the below zero temperatures, we knew we would be packing it in at home for a while. We loaded up on groceries before the weather came. I love the feeling of being home, safe, warm and secure. And it's so pretty after it snows. The backyard looks so serene. With temps around 8 below zero, I don't think we will be traipsing around on the patio for a while.

I'm planning on getting some charity quilts started this week. I'm going to take this fat quarter bundle of children's fabrics apart and cut a few quilt kits out of it. There's so many fat quarters that I think I should be able to get at least 3 quilt tops out of it. 

Jeff's favorite college football team, the Michigan Wolverines won the National Championship last night. He is so very excited that they finally won the whole thing! And here he is in his 1997 Championship t-shirt. I was happy to see it still fit - haha!