Lifetime Quilt Number 200 - Due South

So once I had the perfect combination and placement of my geese, sewing them together was a breeze.  I sometimes struggle with setting triangles but this pattern has you cut them large then trim the sides to size, thank you Miss Rosie!

The next step is to add the outer border of geese.

This is the print I used to piece my star blocks.  I used the cityscapes for the stars leaving the city name print intact.  I struggled with how to use what I had leftover and finally decided to add the city name print between the center of the quilt and the outer border.

Once it was on I liked it, but I had to think it over for a day or two, probably just because it's different from the pattern.

But now I feel like those geese are heading to interesting and exotic locals, not just up and away.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 200

It finished at 77" x 86"

The fabric is by Cotton + Steel and Rifle Paper Co

The pattern is Due South by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co and is in her latest book, Farmhouse Favorites.

It has approximately 839 pieces.

Here's the pattern pic.

Here's a closeup of my additional border.

I fretted a little over my fabric choice for this quilt, after all it's my 200th finish, something special, plus I've had this pattern on my to-do list for years, and I didn't want to wait all that time to mess up the pattern with a poor fabric selection.   But now that it's done I could not be happier with the overall look.

Did you have a View Master?  Do you even know what a View Master is, lol?  I had one, and the majority of my viewing disks were travel related, I particularly remember a disk about Holland with beautiful colorful pictures of tulips, windmills, ladies in blue dresses with white aprons and white pointy hats, and wooden shoes.  So it was an easy choice to use this view master print for the back of my travel themed Due South.


So I may be the first person to have a finish for the Miss Rosie Year of Thelma Sew Along, but I think there are several more in the works. I'll be sure to share pictures when I get them, and remember, you have all year to finish your entry for the parade.

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Due South - A Start, and A Re-Start

So I've started on Due South, by Carrie Nelson for Miss Rosie's Quilt Co, a pattern that's been on my to-do list for years, literally, years.

This is Carrie's Due South, mine will be very similar, except for that noticeably scrappy background, that's just not me.  My background will be scrappy but unnoticeable.

I think one of the things I've always liked about this pattern is the movement of the geese.  I also like  the name, Due South, like these geese have some place to go, sort of a traveling theme.

Rifle Paper Co has produced this canvas fabric that has a nice travel theme.  I'm sure it's supposed to be for bags and pillows, but I decided to chop it up for my Due South, to keep with that travel feel and theme.

I decided to start with the stars, I only needed 11.

So I fussy cut my center and points, made my inspiration/ test block, declared it a success and proceeded to piece the rest of the blocks.

TA DA!  What a glorious start.

Until it dawned on me that the star blocks were set on point, and I had just fussy cut all my centers wrong, making blocks that now looked like this. I knew I could not live with these sideways blocks so I took them all apart, cut new centers, and then,

TA DA!

Not such a glorious start, but I love them all the same.

 I like the heavy look and feel of the canvas and hope it makes the stars pop when set against the cotton geese, 212 geese.   Gee I hope I don't have to make them all twice.  

Don't forget, we're celebrating "The Year of Thelma" by everyone piecing a Miss Rosie's Quilt Co quilt pattern with me, ending with a parade in December to wrap up my year, I hope you join in.

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What's been happening in my world

There's not been much sewing going on at my house.

I tagged along with my husband on a business trip, which I would do more often if his business destinations were in great places, like this trip, on the beach.   Most of the time his travels are less scenic, and the weather not much better than where I am.

While sitting on the beach I studied this book,  Long Time Gone by Jen Kingwell.

I studied this book so hard the staples came out and all the pages came loose.  There's a whole lot of sewing going on in this quilt.

So much sewing that I've decided to spread the fun out over this entire year, making this my special Year of Thelma quilt.

The pattern is broken down into 6 sections.  I think I'm going to start with Section 2, it looks the easiest and least time consuming.  Section 5 will probably take me all summer.

Now I just need to decide on some fabric and get going.

Another task that I completed that was quilty related but not sewing related was my quarterly quilt refold.  If the quilt is folded outside I switch it to inside, folded lengthwise becomes widthwise, and so on.  I enjoy looking at all my quilts, organizing them again, usually by season, and putting them neatly back on my quilt racks and shelves.  They were a mess after my Pride of Prairie Trunk Show.  It normally doesn't take all that long, but my arms sure are tired when I'm done.

And finally, this is back out on my design wall, Zipper by Camille Roskelley for Thimbleblossoms.  When I blogged about losing my loving feeling for this top I got some great comments.  One quilter suggested making it a table runner, which I thought was a good idea, but making a bed runner an even better idea, and initially my plan.  Someone else pointed out that this quilt top was too pretty not to finish.  Well when I got this project back out I discovered I had more completed than I remembered, and it was too long and too narrow for a bed runner for my kingsize bed.

So now I've decided it is too pretty not to finish, I only need to add around 15 more rows.  I also now remember why I put this project in a project box.  I started the project using Little Black Dress, then decided to jazz it up by adding  Black Tie Affair,  both by Basic Grey for Moda.  To get the two fabrics to blend together I needed to un-sew a few rows, add some Black Tie Affair, then sew them back together.  That's where I am right now, separating what's already combined, then I'll sew some new rows.  The pieces are  all cut and ready, they just need to be sewn together, easy peasy.  And I'm not stopping until it's done!

And finally, thanks so much for the great response on Miss Rosie's Quilt Co's new book, Farmhouse Favorites, and joining me on a sew along.  There was such an enthusiastic response Carrie donated two books and I'm donating one.   The winners are Peggy in NJ, Debra from MD and Nancy Lewis from PA.  Nancy and Peggy, I sent you an email, I need your mailing address please. 

As far as the sew along goes, it's going to be very simple. Start when you want, do any Miss Rosie's Quilt Co pattern and finish by the end of 2017.  A nice way to wrap up the Year of Thelma.  I plan to start Due South the end of March.  Send me updates and pictures as you progress, I'll blog about any updates on Fridays throughout the year.  If you have a blog send a link and I'll add you to my blog roll call list.  And at the end of the year we'll have a parade of all the finishes.  I can hardly wait to see what you make, Due South so far seems to be the most popular pattern choice, I love nothing better than seeing the same pattern made with different fabric.  

Whew, I think that's it! Just one blog post this week, but a long one, I hope you made it to the end!

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How About a Sew-Along?

There's a new book out by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co., Miss Rosie's Farmhouse Favorites.  It's a compilation of some of Carrie Nelson's favorite quilts.  As luck would have it, they're my favorites too.  

The cover quilt is Birdseye, I made this quilt in 2011, it's Lifetime Quilt Number 77.  (Link Here). I get my Birdseye out in the fall, but it's made with Civil War Reproduction fabric, I sure would like a new one, maybe made using some of Corey Yoder's cheery Sundrops fabric.

The book has 12 patterns, and two of the patterns feature other MRQC patterns that I made.

One is Three Barns, Lifetime Quilt Number 102 (link here) using French General fabric.  I made this quilt back in 2013.  When it's not on the farm being photographed with sheep it's in my office.  I toyed around with changing up this pattern while I was piecing it but in the end stuck with the original pattern, a good call on my part.  I still love those fussy cut medallion centers in the cornerstones.

Lucy also made the book, Lifetime Quilt Number 142 (link here), which I made in the fall of 2014.

I love the quilt, particularly the quilting, those cobwebs quilted in the center of those background blocks became the standard pattern for most of the Lucy quilts I've seen pieced.   That quilt does not live with me, it has a wonderful and loving home in California, but I've already earmarked my calendar to make another one, for me, this fall.

So of the 12 projects included in this book, I've only made 3, something I plan to remedy.

I think first up for me will be Due South.

This pattern has been on my To Do list for too long, but not for much longer.  I think this Rifle Paper Company fabric would make an amazing Due South.

Out of all of the Carrie favorites listed in this book I'm sure there is at least one pattern that's been on your To Do list for too long.  Wouldn't you like to pick a pattern, some fabric, and sew along with me?

To make it easier for one person to sew along, Carrie is providing a book for a giveaway.  To enter  leave a comment on this blog post with your favorite Miss Rosie's Quilt Co pattern, one you've made or dream of making.  You have until end of day Friday, February 17th.  I'll announce the winner next week.

MRQC patterns are hard to come by these days, how nice to have a collection of them available again.

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