Friendship Quilt

I seem to have been in a blogging slump as in not much blogging but lots of things accomplished in the sewing room. This has been a great quilt to work on with all these grey days nearing the end of winter. This was a Round Robin project with quilting friends from a couple moves ago. We each chose a theme and color/fabric palate, then passed our projects around and each added a block to each quilters project  and we didn't see our own until the projects had made the full circle of participants. My fabrics are Cabbage Rose from the 1990's so you can guess how long this project has been unfinished.Many of the blocks are from Nancy Odem's Rosewood Cottage series.  I tried lots of different free motion quilting designs with my new machine, 16 inches of throat space is marvelous.--Ann--

Sewing room arranged Let's Play

 I managed to find a happy place for everyone in my sewing room. Sweet 16 is where Elna used to sit, I took the leaf out of the table to make a new spot for her. Now the Bernina drawers do double duty for both machines. It is easier to move chairs around than machines because my first thought was to put Elna in the Bernina table when I wanted to use her. I think this arrangement will work very nicely.

The new challenge in the sewing room is to keep this table for writing and sketching instead of a catch all. In the process of making room and tidying up I found all kinds dumb thing I unwittingly collect.......shopping bags especially if they have an interesting logo....I might use it for a project bag......small plastic containers, small glass jars and little cardboard boxes which are all very handy for little things in the sewing room, and postage stamps!?! why? because they are pretty and my mother did.
New Rules for the sewing room
1. I can't put anything new in the closets unless I get rid of something of equal size or greater. The key word there is new. Old stuff can go in and out.
2. Stop collecting bags, jars, boxes and small plastic containers unless it is really really unique or I know exactly what to put in it.
3. Buy fabric only for specific current projects or I absolutely can't live without it. I've never stopped breathing or had heart palpitations after leaving a fabric store with a small bag rather than a large bag.

I have been practicing with my Sweet 16. She sews so smooth and nice and all the space!!!!!! I have just been trying a variety of things on this quilt; echo quilting, grids, loops, arcs, and outlining and unfortunately the pastel thread does not show up on a pastel quilt. Let me sew, let me sew, let me sew and if it snows that's ok too.--Ann--

brighter days

The colors of this quilt sing spring.  Our days are noticeably longer but spring flowers are well over a month away. The sky is frequently gray as is the shrinking snow which is interspersed with patches of  bare ground. The pattern is Hummingbird by Darlene Zimmerman, I used her 30 degree tool to cut the kite shapes and side triangles. It is sashed with cornerstones.  Most of the fabrics are from the Cabbage Rose collection from the late 1990's. I like my fabric well aged just like wine and good cheese.


The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.  ~Bern Williams

Cheers,
Ann

Puddle Ducks

This quilt was inspired by the Goose Tracks  in October 31 post. I had been working on projects using mostly Cabbage Rose fabrics and had just gotten the Goose Tracks quilt back from Kay Peterson, the long arm quilter. I thought instead of plain half square triangles with the 4 patches why not use the goose track and since it was April and our world was still a muddy mess from melting snow I thought to add the duck and duckling or hen and chicks block depending on your preference in barnyard fowl. (that's a really long run on sentence but then most of my thoughts are really run on too)

this is the goose track block

This is the block used in constructing this quilt, a variation of the Jacob's ladder or jewel box block which would have 2 equal sized triangles with sashing and cornerstones between each block.

Sashing and cornerstones pull the goose tracks and duck and ducklings together.

Dudk and duckling block, the large triangle with small triangles

The entire quilt was planned on my design wall before the 4 patches and duck units were sewn together, then the blocks were put back on the wall before the sashing and cornerstones were added. Everything thing had to be kept in order or I would have a ducks foot stepping on or kicking a duckling.

Puddle Ducks

The finished quilt is 54" x 74" I free motion quilted it on my Bernina with a variegated thread in a concentric tear drop pattern.

Happy Quilting,
Ann

Quilt Basting Day

I had a quilt basting day last week. I always wait until I have four or five quilt tops sewn then I set up my Grandma's quilting frame. It is rickety and I have thought about making a new one with markings in the center of each board and carefully measuring and drilling holes from the center so it is absolutely square but it is a very tangible connection to my grandparents. It must be 80 years old because she made quilts in the 1930's. She tacked strips of Grandpa's worn out overalls to the boards to pin the quilt. So I set it up, drop the nails through the holes and measure across at the corners and diagonally and sometimes drill new holes to make it square.


These quilts started as I assembled a round robin quilt from several years ago. A group of quilting friends each passed around a project and each of us added a block to her project. Some made blocks from the Nancy Odem patterns I included in my project others deviated from the patterns but kept with the theme.








The colors were so cheerful and my stash so plentiful of Cabbage Rose fabrics that it lead to the Hummingbird pattern by Darlene Zimmerman using her 30 degree angle. Works great!!

so I made another

Then cut more strips for Puddle Ducks which is a combination of the goose track block also called ducks foot and the duck and ducklings block also called hen and chicks block. However they were sewn together as a Jacob's Ladder block sometimes called a jewel box with sashing and corner stones to make the ducks foot and duck and duckling blocks. I had to plan the layout so the ducks foot and the duck and duckling block intersected with the cornerstones.

Red and Butter a pattern by Barbara Brandenburg. I just love red and yellow together and I just happened to have some in my stash. Sometimes I just have to sew something easy to get back in the swing of quilting. This quilt has a bamboo and cotton blend batting. I had to try it because I have some bamboo fiber socks that are instantly warm to wear with slacks and dress shoes. Ladies you all know what I mean we wear thin socks with dress shoes and our feet are cold and clammy.  I'll let you know how warm it is when I get to the binding.

my Bernina awaits

Happy quilting,
Ann