Crazy Quilting Saturday

Saturday night we went to my dad's house to pick up firewood for our camping trip this weekend. I luckily got in an hour or so of quilting time. I was able to load two "quilts" at a time, use the same thread and get them done in a quick fashion.
I quilted a panel for hanging in Mikaela & Mathew's room. One says "Why God made Little Boys" the other why He made little girls.



Both were quilted with a cream King Tut & a cream Bottomline

At the same time I quilted this wall hanging for Mathew that is a growth chart. It's super cute and since I could use the same thread it went really fast.

I did a large stipple on both quilts.

The second time I loaded the frame, I put on my bargello placemats. I used a backing that had gold metallic to it. I used scraps of batting, so that is why they are on there funky.

A close up of the quilting.

At the same time I loaded my Amish Rubic Star. I quilted it with the same teal/purple/ lime green thread as the place-mats and got them all done in one fell swoop.

It was so nice to be able to get these quilted and be able to mark a few more projects off my quilting list. I now only have 1 quilt left on my "to be quilted" pile!

Quilty Sunday

This weekend was so nice, after a blizzard day last week and a snow day that was awful, it was nice to see sunshine and warmer temps. I was so excited to be able to get outside and enjoy the weather. It also meant Paul could finally work on the door for my dad's crawl space on his house. A trip to Dad and Ann's ranch means quilting for me!
First up on the agenda was Mikaela's Wanna Be a Cowgirl quilt. She helped me sew it this week and it went together so quickly on Friday night that I was ready to quilt it on Sunday. The front and back are a bit different, but they go together well. The back is minkee. It quilted up very nicely!

Here's the top after quilting. I used a warm and natural batting and pink/brown King Tut with a medium pink Bottomline. The quilt is 60.5"x 72.5". I stretched my limits with the minkee, so a bit of the seam is on the back.

Paul was still working, so I loaded my mom's Loralie quilt. This is the back. I used a dark red King Tut and red Bottomline. The sashing is all red hearts. I need to get my Loralie fabric stash out and figure out what will work for the binding.

This is the front. I loaded it sideways so it was a quick quilt for me to do. It's probably in the 60x70 range as well. I finished it up after lunch while Paul was taking a nap.

Since Paul was still sleeping, I loaded this Giant Starburst quilt top. It's made with Green Bay Packers colors and I'm not sure where it will go, but it will be done. It's backed with a scrap of minkee as well. I love to quilt with minkee as the backing.

Last night I trimmed up this one as well as the Pink one and started working on the binding. I'm so excited to have them done. I am down to only 2 BIG quilts left to quilt on the frame - Scrappy Swoon and Merry Go Round. It's time I got busy working on a few others.

I worked on my Scrappy Trip Around the World on Saturday night, but it was getting late, so only finished one. I have another ready to sew together. I also got partway finished with 3 Winding Ways blocks.


I felt so productive getting that many quilts quilted. I also got the Scrappy Swoon quilt loaded and it is ready to quilt when I get back out there. It's so nice spending time at my dad and his wife's house in the country. The kids get to play outside and spend time with grandpa and grandma, free of mom and dad, and I get to spend some time quilting. We had such an enjoyable time. After I finished quilting I helped them with their ipad and we did some stuff in the yard/garage. Such a fun day. The kids were exhausted and so were Mommy & Daddy.

National Quilting Day & SLSB QAL

The Star Light Star Bright Quilt Along is coming to a close. This turned out to be one of my favorite quilt alongs. It was easy to keep up and with many sizes it was so easy to pick one that worked with my fabric. I simply love Melissa's designs and the way she organizes and follows through with her quilt a longs. They are so much fun and so useful! I made the 16" block as a wall hanging for a co-workers wedding. I initially had it looking like this. After reading through the directions again, I realized it was wrong. One night while Mikaela was reading to me in bed, I tore it out.

Last night I worked on sewing it back together. I actually ended up sewing the sides on wrong again and ripping again. I finally got it figured out and it looks great.

Saturday Paul was going ice fishing, but it rained/snowed/ was super windy, so he came home. We did a bunch of weekend errands and then I went out to my dad's to quilt while the kids and Paul too naps. I finished up Swoon which was on the frame. It turned out AMAZING! I used a wool batting of my moms and a large backing, so no piecing. I also used a brand new spool of Aurifil white thread 2024. I was super excited with how well it blended and doesn't really stand out on the colored sections. I had no tension issues, which always makes me super happy.

A couple different angles. The quilt is 90" square, so it will fit nicely on our bed... after the quilt show. I am determined that this will be my first quilt show entry. Now someone needs to hold me to the deadline.

I had only been at my dad's for an hour and it's an hour each way to drive there, so I decided to load my brother Ed's Crown Royal quilt on the frame. I used another wide back and a purple Aurifil thread. It turned out amazing as well. I didn't have any problems with tension or stretching at all. I used a Hobbs Cotton Batting, again from my mom (the last one) booooo.

I got to the last row of the CR blocks, in the middle of them and RAN OUT OF THREAD!!!! I was out in the middle of nowhere with less than a foot of quilting rows left. I was devastated. I hadn't even thought about my partially used spool not being enough. I contemplated, him hawed, and finally decided to look at my King Tut/Bottomline threads to see if one could possibly work. I finally went with the Dk Purple Bottomline as it was the closest to weight and color. It didn't quilt nearly as well, but it got the job done and I was a happy camper. So today I'll be checking to see if I can get another spool of that thread in town and if not, I'll be ordering one. I have at least one more quilt that NEEDS that color thread. Plus it's my favorite color, so it will not go to waste.

Spending National Quilting Day rejuvenated and invigorated me. I felt so much better after I had spent a few hours quilting. Now I have to spend a lot of time putting on the bindings. I spent most of Sunday working on my papers for my final class of my graduate degree. I wrote a 40 page paper, with 35 references, a 5 page reflection on my graduate school experience, and a PowerPoint overview. I completed all of them and turned them in Sunday night, even though they were not due until Monday night.
I have one week until the end of the term and just have to wait for grades to be posted! Wish me luck as I try to be patient. I'll be doing lots of sewing in the meantime.

What am I work on this Wednesday??

This has been a busy week in the sewing studio! I found my groove and spent quite a bit of time sewing and quilting this week. Saturday I loaded and quilted this Autumn Visitors UFO. It was an unloved UFO the Sarcastic Quilter sent me a couple years ago. I love the fabric, but wasn't sure who it would go to, so it sat untouched. However we are going to a wedding next month and I needed a gift. I'm not sure if this will go to them or not, but that's what I'm planning to use as the gift. I'm just not sure of their tastes, so I'm kind of on the fence. I trimmed it up on Monday night and put the binding on. Last night I stitched it down by machine. Just wasn't feeling like hand sewing it down, too many other handwork projects going on right now.

Saturday late night I loaded this Autumn Star quilt on the frame. I fully intended to quilt it, but the tension was off and I was really struggling, so I put it away and didn't touch it until Monday night when I got home from work. We had leftovers, so I had a chance to quilt it. I ended up adjusting my bobbin tension and then I was able to get it to an acceptable level. My top tension has been running between 1-2 for quite a while and you can only go so low, so I knew I needed to adjust the bobbin. Luckily the adjustments worked. I read online, but it didn't really help me to know which way to go. The backing on this one is pink batik. It's from the same piece I used to back mom's pink ribbon quilt back in 2009. So glad I was able to use up some of my stash.

Here's a close up of the quilting. I used a variegated King Tut and pink Bottomline.

Yesterday I got the email about getting our class samples in for photos next week and I realized I hadn't even made this sample. It's a new class I'm teaching in the next quarter. I just love these purple fabrics. I wish I could find something to make with the whole line. I worked on this for an hour last night and when I was doing more unpicking than necessary I quit. On something so simple I think the seams need to match better than I had them, so I am fixing a couple spots. This one is a bit of a challenge, but I think it will turn out cute in the end. It's made with 4 fat quarters. I just wish one of the many hexie rulers we have in the store would have worked to cut these out. I ended up using 2" hexie EPP's.

Yesterday I finished #18 Ahhhh, Aunt Mollie's Umbrella. My goal for August was to finish 3 Ahhhh's, which I was thinking was really unrealistic considering all the other handwork I have been doing on other projects, but this one went together so fast I started another one.


Today I finished up #12 O' Matt's Lantern. I realize I need some lighter fabrics in these, so I'm going to have to incorporate more next week when cut out a new bunch. I have 3 left to piece before I need to prep more. I started the 3rd one and with a wee bit of luck I should be able to finish it before the end of the month.


We are off for a camping adventure over the long weekend, so I'm planning to take a few EPP projects to work on. If I get the hexie table topper done and quilted I'll have some binding to finish as well. This has been such a productive month. I hope to get as much done in Sept. when I am off school for 3 weeks!

February Quilting Accomplishments

February has been an extremely productive month for me! I feel elated to have finished so much and to have worked on a bunch of tops that will become finishes in the next few months. I spent a couple Sunday afternoons quilting, which really helped get me closer to finishes.
I quilted this Modern Rose Garden quilt for Emilee.

I quilted up my Briar Rose quilt and finished the binding on it, just in time for the trunk show I did on February 16th.

I quilted this Frolic charm square quilt and finished the binding on it on February 18th, just in case I got to see the new baby I made it for. I'm excited to have it done and ready to gift.

I also quilted up this Frolic quilt to have on hand for another baby gift. It's super cute, but I don't have a baby to give it to just yet. It's another one off the UFO list.

I quilted and finished the binding on the Let it Snow batik quilt in time for the trunk show as well.

In addition, I also made this pillowcase for a throw pillow to match.

At the quilt retreat on Feb. 16th, I finished up the blocks for this Unwind baby quilt which uses the lazy angle ruler. I'll get it quilted up next month for another baby gift.

At the retreat I also pieced the top for my challenge quilt for a store sample. I need to get the borders on as it needs to be quilted by the end of March.

I've been basting and sewing Hexies like crazy, so I made some cute little needle books to hold my needles in my hexie bags.

I also quilted a couple quilts for my friend Andrea. This is a flannel baby quilt in Sage King Tut & bottomline

An older flimsy of hers with the same sage combo, which worked very well.

I also quilted this table runner for her with a yellow/green/blue King Tut and blue bottomline.

I made this cute little table topper from the leftover blocks of my Briar Rose quilt. I quilted it up quick one night and put the binding on it. I'm working on the hand sewn binding.

I quilted up this little scrappy beach balls quilt top and sewed the binding on for another UFO finish. It's a doll quilt.

I also quilted and sewed the binding on this flannel Pink Animal Crackers quilt made with leftovers from mom's stash. Another UFO checked off the list!

When I made the pillowcase from the Let it Snow batik, I had a big rectangle left, so I added a zipper and made a little zippered bag.

Another UFO finish was this Farmyard Friends baby quilt for Mathew. I quilted it at the beginning of the month and finished the binding on it this week.

I had some leftover triangles from the 60* table runners I made last month, so I sewed them together and made a table topper. I quilted it up quick the other night and put the binding on and finished the hand sewing on it yesterday.

At the end of retreat and during the last week I have sewn this little baby quilt together from the scraps of the Noah's Ark quilt I made last week. It turned out super cute and I can't wait to quilt it and finish it for my class in the next quarter.

Since February was so productive, I can't wait to see what I accomplish in March. I'm going to shoot for at least 2 UFO finishes and finishing the store challenge quilt.