SCRAPPY ROUNDABOUT

I was cleaning up my sewing room and came across this 

scrappy book full of wonderful patterns.

And when I say...I was cleaning up...

that was summer 2021!

I found a pattern called Roundabout...that uses 2 1/2 x 5" pieces.

That means, to me, get into my charm stash

and scraps and get something made.

Sometimes I just need a simple and fast make!

(Fast is relative...as this was all decided in 2021

and its now 2022)

I have over 70 "hoarded" charm packs!

and....

How about this incredible find!

And Tiddly Winks may have been one of the very

first Charm Packs I ever bought.

I have always loved

Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt

I made a Churn Dash quilt in 2018

and I had bigger scraps left over that could work.

I cut them all into

2 1/2 x 5" pieces

I had white in my stash, so yep

that was used for the pattern as well.

Look at all this fun fabric!

Once all is sewn into units.

I can make this top

just need to decide the layout!

I really need to get to these!

I cut them all when I lost a dear friend in 2021.

He's been gone a year and 

it's time to move on and get them done.

UFO INSANITY!

I thought I was doing sew good!

I had finished 3 UFOs in 3 Weeks!

I had started these patterns all last fall!

Then they waited...

A quilt top from this pattern was finished July 2021!

I just didn't have the courage to applique the very large 

SWELL SANTA onto it!

And this pattern was cut and partially sewn.

I am working on posts for these 3 finishes but

in the meantime...I forgot all about these 3 projects.

I need a small Christmas Charley Harper

wall hanging for my guest bedroom.

I have no idea what these summer Art Gallery prints will become!

BUT I LOVE THEM!

Last, but certainly not least, I found these FQs

by Maude Asbury, in my stash for at least 5 or 6 years.

Thimble Blossoms BEACH HOUSE pattern

(also in my stash forever) will be perfect for them!

Anyone else have a lot of UFOs.

I just love planning...

I have a lot more projects on my to do list. 

Apparently planning is more fun than actually sewing.

LORAINE COUNTY PIECEMAKERS and ME!

Anytime I can talk about my quilting journey

with other quilters...its a good day.

After teaching a Plaidish workshop I was the guest

speaker for The Loraine County Piecemankers Guild!

Its a real treat to show my MODERN makes to an

almost all Traditional makers group!

They seem interested and lots of questions follow.

I was very excited to show the group many makes

that came along with stories and laughter.

Although I have been making quilts for 30 years

I often have to limit my trunk show to a certain time frame.

Picking those 15 or sew quilts is always the hard part.

This was one of my first modern 

Pattern: Wonky Cross Tutorial by Jeni Baker.

Fabric: COMMA by Zen Chic

A Laura Heine collage called Pinkekrton.

I named her my Perry County Flamingo

as the members of Perry County Sewcial Club

donated all the pink and coral fabrics

she is made with.

This is a Ghastlies Halloween Family quilt I fondly

call "Orange you Glad its Done"

There's a great story with this Nested Churn Dash quilt.

Another Halloween favorite is Painted Forest Pattern

by Blue Nichols Studio.

I used all C&S Halloween fabrics for the tree leaves.

GRUNGE for the trunks and pulled black and gray scraps

from my stash for the backing.

I call this one "Don't Go In the Forest"

If you ever need a trunk show for your guild,

I am available.  Contact me for details!

LORAINE COUNTY PIECEMAKERS GO PLAIDISH!

In May, I was invited to provide a workshop for

the Loraine County Piecemakers Guild.

My favorite quilt and an easy all day sew-in would be

The Plaidish Quilt by Erica Jackman. 

I asked  Erica aka Kitchen Table Quilting 

for permission to teach her pattern.

I was staying near Cleveland in Wellington, OH

at a lovely B&B, formerly a Funeral Home.

No haunts were noted and the owners were a lovely retired couple.

Then the workshop (and trunk show) was held

 in a beautiful lodge near Oberlin called

The Lodge of New Russia Township.

I brought both my Plaidish quilts for the participants to see.

They had all their 567 pieces of scraps cut and ready to sew!

There were 19 participants and I was overjoyed!

My partner in quilting crimes, Kathy Guenther,

 attended this workshop with me.

She is NOT a random, let go of control kinda quilter.

BUT she DID and THIS is the result!

It's jut lovely.

Here are some of the lovely guild members

and the beginnings of their Plaidish quilt tops.

I waited, hoping to get some full finish pics...

but those may never come?

As random scraps can be hard but with this one only

needed to sort by value, Dark, Medium and Light.

3 colors choices, Blue is Dark, Green is Medium 

and white is Light...see the pattern?

All solids works as long as you make sure the 

Dark, Medium and Low Volume 

pieces have enough volume contrast.

This participant came in with her entire layout on a 

flannel tablecloth...well that wasn't the point of a

'random quilting experience" but

if it works for you, its ok with me.

Totally scrappy!

Christmas prints.

Another all solids.

These busy florals also worked!

I was totally surprised by this one!

All scraps

A red, white and blue design.

3 color design

An autumn color palate REALLY caught my eye!

All Scraps

Minimal color selections.

Black, White and Gray

Blue, Yellow, White

Everyone seemed happy as they allowed the fabrics

to work the magic. 

This is a free tutorial and you can download it here.

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION

TO THE DESIGN LAYOUT!

If you don't your won't be plaidish or happish!

I am available for trunk shows and workshops.

Contact me for details.

WHEN LITTLE GIRLS QUILT!

When you have someone you can pass on the passion

of quilting...you do just that.

For many, that is a grandchild...

for me, that person is my great niece, GEMMA

My Gemma, is now 11 years old and she finished her

first quilt December 2021 when she was 10.

She immediately wanted to begin another quilt

 and of course we can make that happen.

She found an Alex Anderson Rail Fence pattern

from the Learn to Quilt book by Alex.

She pulled some fabrics from my stash

for a rainbow quilt!

 I decided it was time for Gemma's first visit to 

a real fabric/quilt shop.

The Calico Cupboard, a local brick and mortar shop

was open and having a huge 19th anniversary sale.

We took her first quilt with us.

I knew all the people at the shop

would make a big deal out of her first finished quilt.

And oh me gosh,  DID they!

Gemma was beaming from all the

wonderful compliments and conversations

with all the other quilters.  

It wasn't just Aunt Kathy doding on her and building her confidence.

Perfect strangers just loving it all.

We found some more fabrics

that we could work into the Rain Fence quilt.

She was having such a fun time. (me too)

Back to my house and I cut some pieces.

I need to get her a rotary cutting glove.

She loved pulling the pieces for each block

and using my design wall to put the blocks together.

She just steals my heart every time

I get to share this passion.

I think she likes it too!

\

In the interim we won a 19 FQ bundle from that

quilt shop celebration.  I just picked it up. 

 She hasn't seen these yet, but I can hear her squeal with delight.

I just have to share another photo.

We stopped at The Nutcracker Diner in Pataskala, OH

Her interpretation of the Nutcracker.

NAILED IT!

We have a way to go she just got her hand out of a cast.

Pinkie finger was broken in 2 places due to a horse kicking her

while she was riding at a horse show.