I'm Back!

Happy 2020!  I'm so happy to be back blogging.  

Last summer I started having trouble updating my blog.  Things limped along until November when I was finally unable to do anything at all with my blog.  I thought this would be a good time to just stop blogging, so many quilters have.  But then, on a whim around the first of the year, I looked back on the quilts I made during the last decade, and enjoyed reliving all the ups and downs of each finish and realized I enjoyed documenting my quilting journey, even if I was the only one reading it.  So I hired some professionals who fixed the behind the scenes issues and I sprung for a facelift while they were at it. 

Everything seems to be working great now, and I have some finishes to catch up on, but I thought I would kick off my first post of 2020 with my latest finish.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 274

I've named it Sweet and Swell Mr. Snowman.

It finished at 53" x 53"

The fabric is Sweet Christmas and Swell Christmas by Urban Chiks for Moda

It has approximately 770 pieces. 

 The whole project got started when I saw this pillow kit by Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric.  I loved the green stripe fabric with the snowman.  So I ordered the kit.

I did't really need another Christmas pillow so I ordered more snowman and green stripe fabric.

And made this.

It took me a couple days of looking at my design wall before I decided to add the geese and the outer border.  I had a limited amount of Swell and Sweet fabric, scraps really, to work with, but in the end I think that forced me to create a simpler top, which I'm really happy with.

I don't really have many winter themed quilts, I look forward to having this one hanging in my sewing room next January.

And finally, I have always used Designer Blogs for my blog needs, I am not very savvy when it comes to the workings of my blog, if you're in the need for some blog work I highly recommend them.  There is a link to their website at the bottom of my blog.  This is not a paid endorsement.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope this is the first of many more blog posts this year.

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October Themed Finishes

To say I'm a little bit behind on documenting my finishes on my blog is a gross understatement, but here are some October themed finishes, a start on getting caught up.   I like to piece a Halloween themed project each year, this year I'll be adding 3 new finishes to my collection.

This is Lifetime Quilt  #262

The pattern and fabric is All Hallow's Eve by Fig Tree

It finished at 72" x 72", my favorite size

It has approximately 977 pieces

This quilt pattern reminds of Toulouse by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co, LQ# 55, that I finished in February of 2010, always loved, but only get to see once a year, because it's a Christmas quilt.

This is Lifetime Quilt #263 

I've named it Ghoulie Girls 

The pattern is Boo by The Pattern Basket

I used miscellaneous fabric from my stash, some Halloween themed some not.

It finished at 54" x 64"

It has approximately 721 pieces 

The ghosts in the floral prints are my favorite.   I studied this pattern for weeks before attempting a ghost block, there are around 40 pieces in each ghost!  It took me an entire afternoon to piece my first ghost, but once I understood how all the pieces fit together my speed improved.  It's a very clever pattern, don't let the details scare you off, just follow the step by step instructions and pay attention to the illustrations and you'll get it.

This is Lifetime Quilt # 269

It's just a mini version of the Boo quilt I pieced above.

It finished at 45" x 50"

It has approximately 414 pieces.

When my daughter saw my finished Boo quilt she ordered a smaller version.  She also requested a white ghost with a black background. I hadn't thought of reversing the fabric but I think it was a very clever idea.

This is Lifetime Quilt #264

The pattern is Happy Harvest by Primrose Cottage Quilts

The fabric is All Hallow's Eve by Fig Tree for Moda

It finished at 34" x34"

It has approximately 173 pieces

I whipped this table topper together in an afternoon using scraps from my All Hallow's Eve medallion kit.  I've heard Moda is reprinting this family of fabric and I'm thrilled with the news.  I've seen several finishes using All Hallow's Eve that I love, I've started my October 2020 to do list already.

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A Little Fabric Play . . . . .

Earlier this summer Gerri Robinson asked me if I would be interested in playing with a new fabric line she had designed.  Gerri said she would send the fabric my way and I could make anything I liked.  Who would turn down that offer?  Plus I had pieced several patterns designed by Gerri in the past so I felt good about liking the fabric she would send.

The fabric is Gem Stones by Planted Seeds Designs for Riley Blake.  There are 30 different pieces with this line.  The design is a gradient strip with a small diamond design in an alternate color.

There's a variety of color schemes, like  lovely neutrals  that run dark to light or dark to light to dark, in the same color.

 

Bold gradient colors in the same color way, 

and other pieces that changed gradient and color.

My favorite piece is named Multi Blue Raspberry.  

I decided a pattern that would show off the different pieces and the gradients would be the best use of the fabric.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 255

The pattern is Make It Modern by Coriander Quilts

The fabric is Gem Stones by Gerri Robinson for Riley Blake

The top finished at 55" x 73"

It has approximately 269 pieces.

Here are a couple of closeup pics to give you a better look at the fabric detail.

The fabric is very rich looking and has a wonderful feel.

This is the type of fabric that does all the work, this is a very simple pattern that really comes to life using this fabric.  I don't think this fabric could make an ugly quilt.

To get a better look at all the pieces in this line click here.

Gerri has designed a sampler quilt and 4 other quilts using this line of fabric, click here to view.

This fabric is available in the usual precuts and yardage now.  Look for it at your favorite quilt shop or online.

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Ho Ho Ho, My First Christmas in July Finish . . . . .

I'm off to a great start on my Christmas in July sewing.  

I've had a quilt with nothing but Santa hats floating around in my head ever since I pieced Bonnie's Christmas Cheer quilt pattern.  (LTQ # 235). 

I didn't have a good idea of what I was going for when I started, so I just pieced Santa hats and threw them on my design wall until inspiration hit.

I thought the hats needed some separation so I added the "Ho Ho Ho" and thought I was done.  I liked the nice clean look, but the size bothered me.  It was too long for the width for my taste.  And I thought adding a hat to create rows of 5 hats would overpower the Ho Ho Ho.

So I decided to add some little presents to each side to increase the width.  

And thought it would be fun if the presents danced.  I pieced enough presents to dance down both sides, but decided I liked the look of just the presents on the left, and called it done.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 254

I've named it Ho Ho Ho

It finished at 62 1/2" x 75 1/2"

It has approximately 546 pieces

The red fabric is Sno by Northern Quilts for Moda

The silver stripe fabric is Bonnie and Camille Vintage Holiday for Moda

The Santa hat pattern is by Bonnie at Cotton Way

The present pattern is a freebie from Moda Bake Shop called "Christmas Present" designed by Kristina Brinkerhoff.

The "H' is 11" x 7", the "o" is 6" x 5".  It's just a font I copied from my computer.  

Feel free to copy my idea and make your own Ho Ho Ho quilt, you'll just need Bonnie's pattern for the Santa hat block. 

I'm really motivated to piece as many Christmas tops as possible this month, the more I make the more I have to giveaway.  I have a long list of family and friends waiting for a Christmas quilt, but I'm keeping this one!

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Latest Finish

I've had this pattern in my to do pile for ages.  It's by Emma Coutancier and the pattern was in the Simply Modern magazine.

The pattern used templates and was in centimeters so I substituted 3" x 5 1/2" fit to be geese and it all worked out fine.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 253

It finished at 54" x 60"

It has approximately 593 pieces

The pattern is from Simply Modern and is by Emma Coutancier

I didn't see a name on the pattern so I'm going with "Geese a Go Go"

The fabric is by V and Co for Moda

A nice start to my summer sewing.

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