swaps and linus tops

I've been checking some small things off my list. My color blocks for the color blocks swap are done ... it was fun to make sets in lots of different colors and I look forward to seeing what fun fabrics I get back.






I finished the next round of the spring fling round robin and I'll show just a peek of my sawtooth border.

I finished two 8" nautical blocks for a swap group we organized in our guild. Each of the 12 members gets to choose a block or a theme for their month. I only needed to make 1, but I couldn't decide which I liked best, so I'm letting the recipient decide.


I also finished a few tops for my Project Linus group. I'm trying to clean out some fabrics (I loved those tropical birds in another project, but only had 8 left), and I can combine my stash with things from the Linus stash attic for tops. I haven't been inspired to tackle any complicated projects, so I'm getting satisfaction from some simple shapes and bright colors.

Mid-May Progress

Finishing a top for AHQ has been on my to-do list for months (note my sidebar.) Well, I finally put that pile of fabrics on my cutting board and made this top. It's an easy combination of 9-patches and rail blocks that I had saved a blog picture years ago. I can't give credit to the blogger or the designer, but thanks!


Here are my Judy Niemeyer star centers, still no closer to completion, but soon the may get top priority.

Months ago I was playing with my repro scraps and made some blocks. I had them stitched together and put them on the dresser in my sewing room (aka guest room) but it wasn't the right size. Wanting to finally quilt and finish it, I slashed it in half, sewed it end-to-end and practiced feathers using my friend's Gammill. It is now just the right size for the dresser top and I really like how it turned out!


This zig-zag quilt is a bright tutorial from the Purl Bee - it is for a new baby boy to be born in our extended family next month. I have a cute blue letter fabric to use on the back and will do the simple zig-zag quilting suggested in the turorial.

Stitching in Silence

Happy mother's day to all the moms out there - my kids gave me some wonderful cards and poems!

I'm still stitching this and that, but haven't had anything very exciting to post. A few charity tops and the rest of my Judy Niemeyer quarter circles are done, but I won't have my table runner completed to share at tomorrow's guild meeting. Here are a few charity tops - 2 use Mary's quick strippy pattern - really a fun way to feature a kid print!





I was very excited to visit a friend who let me shop her stash for the perfect 1800 repro fabrics to add to the next round of the spring fling round robin. I didn't have anything that looked good, but she had a fabulous selection. So nice to be able to share with friends!! Now I just need to start stitching the ideas in my head.

I have been having fun helping my daughter make some new clothes for her doll - she runs out of steam if I leave her on her own, but she has made some great outfits when I help out here and there. We've been inspired by the photos and patterns in the book Dressing Dolls with Rosemarie Ionker - a great book to make doll clothes in many sizes.

starts and finishes

The kids were home on spring break last week, so we filled our days with fun activities and day trips. However, I have managed to finish a few things over the past few weeks. The Bits of Washington quilt is quilted and bound ... just simple swirls, but I love how it turned out. I used a scrappy green binding to match the scrappy trees for the evergreen state. Each block makes me think about something special in my home state.



I also finished binding the grandmother's flower garden for my mom. The quilting is loose and loopy so I didn't add any puckers. Then I gently curved the binding rather than following each hexagon. The edges were a bit frayed from it's many years being stored wherever it was stored. It would be so fun to know the story of who made this quilt and how many places it has lived. It is now on its way to my mom for her to enjoy and use.

Judy Niemeyer visited our guild this month and taught 2 great workshops. Her presentation and trunk show were wonderful - what an amazing collection of quilts and an amazing number of paper pieced stars! I took the half-day One For All Seasons table runner workshop and have now finished 74 of the 120 spiky points for the three circles of the runner. Picture to follow soon.

I sewed like mad!

Our retreat was great fun ... in a hotel that we had not stayed in before. They put out tons of wonderful snacks all day long, both healthy and not-so-healthy. We really didn't need to go out for dinner, but we did anyway. Lots of sewing, lots of laughter and great to see what everyone was working on. I made great progress on my Washington State swap blocks. It's all together in a top, with wonky tress and free-pieced letters to tie together the assorted blocks about WA state (where I grew up). I really like how it turned out, although it's quite a bit bigger than I thought it would be!

I also mostly finished the scalloped binding on the grandmother's flower garden quilt (lots of easing of puckers in that binding!) and a simple charity top. Now I'm working on some cushion covers for my brother ... he choose black duck cloth, so it's not a very exciting project, but they will be well used an appreciated. Hope to get those done soon so I can get to finishing my WA quilt.

Finishing This and That

Next week is our guild's annual close-to-home retreat. We bring whatever we wish to work on, stay 3 days, laugh much and sew lots. Last year was my first ever quilting retreat, and I had a wonderful time and made some good new friends. Although I'll miss my family, I'm looking forward to a girls sewing get-away. Here are my piles of potential projects to bring with me ... I have so many things I'd love to finish, I'm not sure what I'll work on.


One thing I should be able to finish is putting a scalloped binding on this flower garden quilt. My mom found the top at a flea market, and it only needed a few repairs. I did a gentle, curving machine quilting meander. Hand quilting would have been ideal, but that would have taken me years and this quilt needs to be used and enjoyed, not stored away for another 50 years. The vintage fabrics are great, but the top was pretty lumpy, so tight machine quilting would have been a puckery nightmare. I have yellow to match the flower centers for the binding, and I hope to send it back to my mom for her April birthday.



I've finished a few charity items ... this Chinese coins top is sandwiched and ready for quilting, and these QAYG blocks are for the Heartstrings special project for Australia. Great to use up some strings and batting scraps in those blocks.


Finally, I received my SFRR-3 center this week and was immediately inspired for the first border. These little 1/4 square blocks will surround the center and pick up lots of the colors used by the center block quilter. This will be done way before the deadline!

LIttle Steps

Although I have no major completions this week, I have found some time to work on this and that. I spent a few hours using my friend's longarm and got my daughter's "sewing room bits" top quilted. I have the binding sewn on the front, now I just need to hand stitch it to the back. I also quilted a small comfort quilt and have the binding stitched on for our next guild meeting. This bordered blocks quilt with a school print in the centers was a comfort quilt I finished last month. The bordered blocks is my current favorite comfort quilt pattern - it works up quickly and is a nice showcase for fun kid prints.


This pieced top was formerly a small travel pillow in my grandmother's car. She usually didn't do fancy patterns, but just rectangles of varied sizes nicely arranged. In her later years, she was always making small lap quilts or kids pajamas to donate to the local hospital. My father had used the pillow in his car for a number of years, but he gave it to me last year to fix up. There were several rectangles which were only shreads, and all of the fabrics are very faded from sitting in the back seat of the car. Some fabrics on the back side are still rather vivid. I found some old fabrics which blended well and replaced the worn out patches. I decided I would do some simple hand quilting and make this into a doll quilt / table topper. The remaining fabrics are a bit frail to be used in a pillow. The old patterns and designs make me think of my grandmother and I'd to have it in my sewing room.