Design Wall Monday

My design wall has looked the same for weeks:

I spent all of last week at the AQS Show in Lancaster, PA and did absolutely no stitching!

For your enjoyment, I took some photos of the quilt on my frame today:

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

For more quilting ideas, check out my quilting videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 8 yards
fabric used this year: 104.75 yards

Stash reduced by: 92.50 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Check out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Friday Finish -- Another Grandbaby Quilt

A couple of years ago, my friend and I took a quilt quilt class. I finally finished the quilt. I'm quick like that.

My son's girlfriend (who is now his wife) really wanted this as a baby quilt for the future. Well, it's the future. I'll put this in the pile with the other baby quilts. I'm ready whenever they are.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

And remember to spend some time checking out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Lucky Charms Quilting, part 4

Thanks for stopping by today. I absolutely can not wait to show you how I quilted the white border on my Lucky Charms quilt!

I knew I wanted to quilt diamonds, so I pounced one-inch lines in the border using a one-inch stencil and a Quilter's Pounce Pad.

The white powder does not show up very well on the white fabric, but I can see the marks on the green and orange fabrics quite well.

I pulled out my roll of Quilter's Preview Paper to see how single diamonds would look on the side border. I drew double diamonds in the top border. I think I like the double diamonds better.

Don't you?

Diamonds don not turn corners very well. Choosing a contrasting design, I drew a sunburst-type design in the corner. I think I like that one, too.

I am ready to quilt!

The quilting, part 4:

The thread:

I decided to be bold and try quilting with a colored thread on the white fabric. I chose Tutti, a 50-weight multi-color cotton from WonderFil, color TU 28 Lime.

Even though the thread has several shades of bright green in it, it looks almost solid against the white fabric. When I look at the quilting closely, though, I can see the richness of color in the thread. Delightful!

InvisiFil in the bobbin

The needle: size 16

I quilted the first pass of the double-diamond pattern:

Then I quilted the second pass of the double-diamond pattern:

Finally, the corner design:

The white border is finished!

Doesn't it look great?

Is anyone trying out these patterns at home? I would love to hear how the patterns are being used! Link to photos if you have them, please!

Sadly, I have to wait until next week to show how to quilt the little green triangles around the black and white rectangles.

Design Wall Monday

My design wall looks like this:

I can't see my design wall right now. I am setting up at the AQS Show in Lancaster, PA! If you possibly can, come and see this show. And come and say hi to me at the Handi Quilter booth.

If you can't come out to the show, you can spend some time checking out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Head on over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 11.25 yards
fabric used this year: 96.75 yards

Stash reduced by: 84.5 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Check out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Friday Finish -- Adam's Quilt

My friend's son Adam graduated from high school last June and I only recently finished his quilt. Oops!

I added the extra blocks to the back of the quilt:

The pattern is Strip Cocktail and the fabric is all scrap! This is at least the third quilt that I've made from that pattern and I am sure I will make more

I added borders to the quilt since Adam is one rather tall young man.

The border and backing fabric were purchased during my trip to The Patchwork Company last fall with my friend John. I felt guilty purchasing so much fabric that day, but I had this quilt in mind. I had a few other quilts in mind as well, but they remain unfinished for now.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Lucky Charms, Part 3

Are you ready to see the fun quilting I added to Lucky Charms this week?

I quilted all of the black and white print rectangles.



Since the prints are so busy, the quilting is not going to show up very much. I decided to quilt a simple X across each rectangle. Once again, I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper to see how it would look.



Once I drew all of the Xs, I noticed that they formed a channel between the rows of rectangles.



I know it is hard to see in the photo, but it will become more clear in a bit.

Never one to leave good enough alone, I decided that I wanted to quilt ribbon candy in each channel. Back to the Quilter's Preview Paper:



It is easier to see if I take the Quilter's Preview Paper off of the fabric.



I love it!

The quilting, part 3:
The thread: Spagetti, a yummy 12-weight cotton from WonderFil, color sp33 Fresh Lime
InvisiFil in the bobbin

The needle: size 20, since this is a very thick thread

I stitched in the diamonds first using the HQ Mini Ruler.



And then I filled in those channels with ribbon candy.

I love the way this quilting turned out, mostly because it was a surprise. I did not realize the Xs would form a channel. I was also surprised that when I quilted the ribbon candy, the diamonds popped off the quilt.

Next week I will tackle the white border. Come back and check it out!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 9.5 yards
fabric used this year: 85.5 yards

Stash reduced by: 73.25 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Friday finish -- Grandbaby Quilt

I have no grandchildren and I need to stress that my son and his wife ARE NOT EXPECTING. I repeat: there are no babies on the way!

Having said that, I can find no reason not to make quilts for my non-existent grandbabies.

I made a new sample of my Too Hip to Be Square pattern using Bear Essentials from P & B Textiles.

Won't this quilt be a perfect floor quilt for when my future grandbabies come to play at my house?

I thought so, too.

Some close-ups of the quilting:

I chose bright orange thread for the entire quilt because, hey, why not?

And in case you weren't paying attention at the beginning of this post, I'll say one more time: I am not expecting to become a grandmother any time soon. No babies. Got it? I don't want to start getting phone calls about this.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Lucky Charms Quilting: part 2

Hurray! Today I get to show you how I quilted the orange borders on my Lucky Charms quilt.



I thought about quilting swirls. Since the border finishes at one inch, I used a one-inch stencil and a Quilter's Pounce Pad to divide the border into one-inch squares.



I thought that it would look nice if I quilted a swirl in each square, but I like to be certain before I start quilting. I pulled out a roll of Quilter's Preview Paper and drew out the design.



Yep, I like it. Ready to quilt?

The quilting, part 2:

The thread: Spotlight from WonderFil, color 7713 Light Rust, InvisiFil in the bobbin
The needle: size 16



Isn't that thread gorgeous?

I quilted all of the orange borders with swirls. Here's a photo of part of the quilt:

Next week, I will quilt the black and white rectangles.

I can not wait!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 13 yards
fabric used this year: 76.0 yards

Stash reduced by: 63.75 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Friday Finish -- Quilt for the Unknown Recipient

If you haven't been to Bonnie Hunter's website, go there immediately!

I just finished her Scrappy Trip Around the World pattern:

In keeping with the scrappy theme, I used a bunch of scraps for the back:

Since the piecing is so busy, I played with the quilting and was quite pleased with how it turned out:

Can you believe that is freehand? And it was easy, too!

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

More love for the toaster oven

Day 13 with no stove. No end in sight. This girl needs cake.

So I made gluten free chocolate cake in the toaster oven.

I had to eat a small piece to make sure it was ok, and it was absolutely delicious!

The main ingredient is: garbanzo beans. I kid you not.

You can find the recipe here.

Lucky Charms Quilting: part 1

Remember this quilt?:

This quilt lived on my design wall for many months last year, and I am so excited to finally quilt it! I thought I would film some of the steps of custom quilting to give you an idea of the process.

First, the details:

Pattern: Lucky Charms by Pat Sloan

Batting: Quilter's Dream cotton, select weight

Quilter's Dream wool

The quilting, part1:

The thread: InvisiFil, 100 weight polyester from WonderFil

The needle: Size 14, because the thread is really fine

After layering the backing, cotton batting, wool batting, and the top, I basted the edges of the quilt and began to stitch-in-the-ditch. On a longarm machine, this involves using a ruler and a ruler base. I chose to use the Handi Quilter Mini Scallop Ruler for the stitch-in-the-ditch because the ruler is a nice size (8x3 inches) and has little stoppers at each end. These stoppers help line the needle up with the ditch and also make sure that I won't quilt off the end of my ruler.

I stabilized the entire quilt by stitching-in-the-ditch around each border and around the edge of the center block.

Next week I can begin to add decorative quilting!

New Directions

I'm in the middle of a long and drawn out disagreement with my the company that carries the warranty on my stove.

On the bright side, I have had eleven days to explore creative ways to cook with small kitchen appliances. (On the not so bright side, I may have many, many more days to continue this creativity).

I have made:

Hot dogs on the George Foreman Grill

Baked potatoes in the microwave

Pot roast in the crock pot

Pea soup in the crock pot

Mushroom dumplings in the rice steamer

Sesame green beans in the electric skillet

Vegetable lo mein in the electric skillet. I even boiled the noodles in that skillet!

Spicy tofu in the electric skillet

Couscous in the electric tea kettle

English muffins on the electric griddle

Veggie burgers in the electric skillet

Chick pea chili in the crock pot

(It may be possible that I have too many kitchen appliances.)

My friends have been following along, asking about the "small kitchen appliance of the day" and suggesting that I start a new blog. I do not have time for another blog, but I figured I could carve out time for one post about my cooking adventures.

Tonight's "kitchen appliance of the day" was the toaster oven. I made deep dish pizza in an 8x8 pan.

If this is something that you might like to make, here are the ingredients. Note: I don't really use recipes, so everything is approximate. Sorry.

1 batch of pizza dough, divided into two 8x8 pans

top with:

olive oil

fresh pressed garlic

fresh chopped tomatoes

fresh chopped onions

a little tomato sauce if you like that

Italian seasonings (basil, oregano, parsley, and whatever else smells good)

shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese

fresh sliced mushrooms

and, if you are lucky like I am, some fresh lamb sausage from the local farm. yum!

Bake at 425*ish for 15 ish minutes.

Enjoy!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 12.25 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 12.25 yards
fabric used this year: 63.0 yards

Stash reduced by: 50.75 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Friday Finish -- Kevin's Quilt

After about 15 years, it's finally happened: my son has claimed a quilt.

Don't get me wrong, he has quilts.

The first quilt I ever made was for him:

And when it wore out, I replaced it with the same quilt made in his college colors:

And when he got married, I made him this:

Technically, I finished it thirteen months after he got married, but in a long marriage, what difference do thirteen short months make?

But this week, he actually claimed a quilt. He saw me binding (by hand!) a new sample of my Dream a Little Dream quilt pattern.

"Mom," he asked, "how long does this quilt have to be a sample before it goes to it's rightful owner?"

"Rightful owner? Like me?" I teased.

"No. You made this for me. Isn't this Dream a Little Dream?" he asked with a huge smile.

It's always the smiles that get me. And the fact that he knows my quilt patterns by name doesn't hurt either.

So, here's the quilt that will belong to my son once it has done it's duty as a sample:

I pieced the back to give it character:

It's warm and yummy and made from very masculine homespun fabrics.

How long should I make him wait for it?

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Design Wall Monday

Since my design wall hasn't changed at all in a month:

I thought I'd show some photos of the border of a quilt I just finished for a customer:

It was a nice white border, just begging for some fun quilting!

Head on over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

_____
Please don't forget to vote:

I entered this quilt in an on-line contest:

Vote here! Pick your favorite, or pick mine (#29)!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0
fabric purchased this year: 0
fabric used this week: 9.5 yards
fabric used this year: 50.75 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

and please don't forget to vote:

I entered this quilt in an on-line contest:

Vote here! Pick your favorite, or pick mine (#29)!

Pick the Winner!

I entered this quilt in an on-line contest:

Vote here! Pick your favorite, or pick mine (#29)!

Friday Finish -- Matthew's Quilt

For once, I am actually ahead of schedule.


Matthew is graduating from high school in 2012. Yes, over a year away. His quilt top has been done for over a year, so I just decided to quilt it up on a recent snowy day. Which snowy day? I cannot remember -- there have been too many!




In case you are experiencing deja vu, I have made several quilts like this.

A close-up of the quilting reveals "Elements":




Let's hope Matthew finishes the 11th and 12th grades, and that I can find the quilt by the time he graduates!

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0
fabric purchased this year: 0
fabric used this week: 9.5 yards
fabric used this year: 41.25 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Friday finish -- Aaron & Kristin's quilt

My husband is one of five cousins, all male. There are about fifteen years between the oldest and the youngest. My husband (and I) got married twenty-some years ago, and another cousin got married about ten years ago. The other three? They all got married in the last eight months.

Aaron and Kristin were the last to marry and I finished their quilt in time for the wedding. I am as shocked as you are.



A close-up of the quilting:



There are five cousins in the next generation (so far). My son is already married. My daughter has the rest of college, grad-school and possibly a PhD before she'll think of marriage (she says). The other three cousins are all under seven years old. I think I have some time before this side of the family requires more wedding quilts. Maybe I can sneak a nap in somewhere?

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Is that a new hat?

No, but there is something new about my blog. I've joined the Quilt Teacher Blog Ring. Since a lot of you are snowed in, grab a cup of tea and click on the link on my sidebar and check out the blogs of other quilt teachers!

Trunk Show Tuesday

Patchwork Posse hosts a trunk show on Tuesdays, and today they showed mine!

Check it out!

And remember, you still have a few hours to add your nomination for MQX Teacher of the Year. Let your voice be heard!