Tag Archives: quilts

A Little Quilt

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This little top will be quilted and, with any luck, the binding on this weekend. Working with these repro fabrics in the small star blocks was fun. I may add a small border before I baste and quilt it.  As it is now, it finishes at 13.5″. I used the free Inklingo collection to print the shapes and the blocks went together in no time at all.

There’s enough of the striped fabric I showed yesterday for the binding on the Ferris Wheels quilt. Now I really can’t wait to finish the quilting and get to the binding. There’s still a lot of quilting to be done on Ferris Wheels, but I hope to get the majority, if not all, of it finished this weekend and get the binding on it.

I’ve changed my blog theme yet again. This time it was because I only realized yesterday that the widgets in the sidebar weren’t appearing on individual posts, but only on the home page with the theme I was using. I think this will be it for changes for a while.

Baxter seems to approve of the little quilt. As soon as we’re setting up to take a photo of anything to do with quilts or fabric, he’s right there to inspect.

Earlier in the day, we got this shot of him. His paws are getting bigger every day.

Fabric Choices

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The weekend plan includes making some blocks using these fabrics. There’s an idea for a small quilt that’s begging to be made so last night I pulled some batik and hand-dyed fabrics that will be in the 12 blocks I plan on making. I’m planning to stitch them on the machine and am hoping that I can get all 12 done quickly and then put the little top together. There are a lot of tiny HSTs (half-inch ones, actually) in each block. I may decide to use a black fabric instead of the white.

My plans for the long weekend are almost all quilt-related. Along with the blocks mentioned above, there’s one quilt I want to get quilted (machine quilting), a top I want to finish and perhaps get basted, a top I want to baste and perhaps start the quilting of and a few design ideas I’m dying to play with.

While putting the fabrics out on the board to photograph, a little helper arrived to investigate.

Baxter seems to prefer to sleep with his front paws up around his ears. Makes us laugh every time.

Summer Plates

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The centre of the Summer Plates top is together. The corner blocks for the border are done. With any luck, the entire top will be finished this weekend. That is one of my goals for the long weekend. The picture isn’t great as I was holding it up out of kitty reach. Baxter has decided that fabric is something he absolutely has to bite, which is making stitching of any sort rather challenging.

Another Dresden Plate variation is definitely in my future. The fabrics for it are tentatively picked out and I think I know which blades I want to use. Having all the variations that are available in the Fancy Pieced Dresden Plate Collection makes it impossible to resist making a third one.

Last night I was working on the red and white stars and ended up unstitching almost as much as I had stitched. Trying to keep things out of kitty reach and watching the baseball game at the same time as I was stitching wasn’t working out too well.

After a few attempts at getting at the red and white stars, Baxter was crashed on the pink chair.

And a photo of him from the day before when he had claimed Mr. Q.O.’s computer chair as his and was awake. Getting photos of him awake is a bit of a challenge as he is usually dashing around, which would make for nothing but a very blurry photo.

Thank you to everyone who offered ideas on the bobbin-winding problem. I think the problem is solved now.

Sunflower Fabrics & A Question

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Mr. Q.O. started picking out fabrics last night for sunflower blocks. So far these are the fabrics he likes, although the specific combinations aren’t settled on yet. These are going to be very vibrant sunflowers. There’s a stack of other fabrics that he’s still considering, so this group is bound to grow.

I’m getting ready to do some machine piecing this weekend, as well as some machine quilting. Yes, I said I’m going to do some machine piecing. I went through the Jinny Beyer Album of Patchwork Patterns and found a few blocks that will be quick (I hope) to make by machine.

Which brings me to the question. When I started to wind a couple of bobbins, this happened. It isn’t the first time that thread has wound on to a bobbin like this. Last spring when I went to Creativ Festival, I talked to one of the vendors in the Pfaff booth about it and she suggested that I hook the thread under the thread guide as it fed to the bobbin while winding. That clearly didn’t work for me. Does anybody have a solution to this? I have a Pfaff 1472.

Two Baxter photos today. A few minutes before this photo was taken, he was tearing around playing with toys, leaping on furniture and then, all of a sudden, he was sound asleep on the kitty scratcher which is also being used as something to chew. I don’t think it’s going to be long before it has to be replaced.

Earlier in the day, I got this shot of him in Mr. Q.O.’s computer chair.

Corner Plates

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The main body of the Summer Plates top is put together. Now I’m working on the border, which will include corner plates like this one. It’s going to be a small rectangular quilt, perfect for a teddy bear picnic.

The back took only a second to press.

As soon as Mr. Q.O. picks out some fabrics for sunflower blocks, I’ll post a photo of his choices. I’m really curious to see what he does choose.

When we were setting up to take the pictures, Baxter decided to investigate. Shortly after this was taken, he was trying to attack the block.

Circles and Squares

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A quilt of circles and squares is, I think, in my future. For fun, I laid out a few circles and squares and that really did it! The ideas really started flying around after that.

It was unbelievably hot Monday. Today is supposed to be a bit milder and then we really hit the high, high heat and humidity. I’ve had a migraine since last night which I hope lessens as the day goes on.

The changes in Baxter are becoming more evident each day. Yesterday a couple of friends came to meet him and immediately fell under his spell.

A Top Finished, One Started & A Question

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The pink and cream star quilt top is finished. Has been, in fact, for a while but we had to wait for a day that wasn’t too windy to get a good shot on the roof garden. It’s approximately 60″ by 80″.

The start is the red and white stars quilt that will be the same as the quilt in my blog header. I learned last week that cutting out fabric with scissors is a huge kitten attraction. So Friday I got all the pieces for the top cut by rotary cutter. Otherwise, it would probably have taken me a month to try to cut out all the pieces. Having all the pieces cut and ready to stitch is very tempting.

That said, I’m working on the Summer Dresden Plates almost exclusively. It’s going to be a pretty, summery quilt and I want to finish it before the summer is over so that I can get a good shot of it out on the roof garden. The blocks for the centre are done. Today the blocks will be up on the design wall so I can arrange and rearrange them and get them sewn together. The first border is already planned out.

The question? In conversations with a friend lately, the question came up about what was the preferred size of quilts to make. I seem to prefer making lap quilts for the most part. That may be because we use a duvet rather than quilts on the bed. What size quilts do you prefer to make? When you look at patterns, are you more attracted to those that give you the instructions for various sizes?

It’s very hot and humid here. I don’t think we’ve got smog alerts yet, but with this kind of weather they’re sure to happen. It almost feels like you’re walking into a wall of heat when you go outside. I’m not complaining, as this is by far preferable to winter temperatures.

Last week was not a good one as far as replying to comments goes. If you left me a comment last week, thank you!  I promise I will try to do better this week

Baxter discovered the windowsill on the weekend.

Summer Plates Update

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Four more blocks to go and the centre of the Summer Plates will be done. I’ve got 2 of the 4 finished but for their floral frames. The remaining 2 will be done quickly. The first pieced border will be added and then the final border. I’m hoping to have the top finished before the end of the month. That assumes that I get enough stitching time. Baxter seems to think fabric is a toy, so stitching is somewhat challenging.

As I type try to type this, there’s a very inquisitive kitty perched on my shoulder purring in my ear. Hmm, now he’s heading for the keyboard. ttttyryoy6b — that was Baxter’s contribution to the post. No idea what he’s telling us, but …

And just because a couple of friends asked, here’s a full shot of Baxter’s preferred sleeping position.

Floral Blocks

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On the weekend, I was cleaning out a small container in which I found floss, needles and these appliqued and embroidered blocks. I barely remember making the blocks and have no idea how long they’ve been sitting in there.

They finish at 6″ and, as there are about 20 of them, I think I can make a small summer wall quilt with them by adding a floral border.

Stitching with Baxter is an adventure.  He has decided that helping is something he needs to do and so he bats at the fabric when I’m piecing. He loves to help Mr. Q.O. with his cryptic crosswords by batting at his pen. We both happily put down what we’re doing to play with him.

He’s growing and getting more adventurous every day. On Monday he started to talk more in the classic tiny Maine Coon meow and silent meows. I’ve noticed the past couple of days that his whiskers seem to be getting longer, which I think you can see in this picture.

Red and White Stars

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There was a fair bit of printing and cutting going on here over the weekend. All the 1″ hexagons are printed, about one-fifth of the 2″ hexagons are ready and 88 of the star points printed and cut. There’s something about having all these pieces ready to stitch that I find irresistible.

The blue and white quilt that’s in my blog header has always been a favourite and one that I wanted to make again. I’ve started it in red and white and am contemplating making a third one with every star in a different colour, although the multi-coloured one will likely be made with smaller shapes.

It’s a fast stitch as the stars go together in just a couple of minutes. One of the things I love about this design is that when I finish adding the stars to one another, the top is done. No blocks to join into rows or rows into the top. And there are tons of continuous stitching opportunities.

Baxter is an absolute delight. He has two speeds; asleep and racing around. Getting a picture of him awake is going to be a challenge as, when he’s awake, he’s on the move and at lightning speed. I love this shot of him as it really shows the colour of his eyes.