Adam and the kids weren’t able to come this weekend as planned so I had some time to sew. The Split 9 Patch blocks are coming along ….
We also decided to meet Chris for dinner … he lives about an hour and 15 minutes from us and we often meet in between for dinner. It’s one of the things I love about living closer.
We all missed seeing Adam, Caleb, and Bree but Adam sent me a photo of Caleb at his new drawing desk. I love that Adam encourages his creative side!!
This is one of the 5 quilts I was going to bind in Maine and since I didn’t make it to Maine, it’s time to get them bound … 2 are done and there are 3 left to bind now. Pieced by Suzanne and quilted and bound by me. Per Suzanne it’s a Bonnie Hunter pattern called Santa Fe Star and I found it online in Bonnie’s String Fling book.
I also made progress on the pink and brown Split 9 patch … I’ve got more cutting to do but couldn’t resist making a few blocks. I think I’m going to like it!
I finished up the little Autumn Squares doll top today. I’ll probably hand quilt this one in the big stitch style. I love hand quilting but don’t allow much time for it so these doll quilts are the perfect project.
I always get questions about where I donate these and what size I make them. I don’t currently have a place to donate them so they’re piling up a little but they don’t take much space and I’m going to check to see if one of the places I donate small quilts and afghans can use them. I remember Chris telling me that they give stuffed animals to the kids that come through their organization. If not, I might just buy some dolls at Christmas time and donate them each with a quilt to a local organization that works with kids in need.
As far as what size I make them … it really depends on how much leftover fabric I have. In this case it’s 24 x 28. The smallest I usually go is about 20 x 24 and some of them are about 30 inches square.
I also started cutting the pink and brown leftover quilt – it’s always best to use the leftovers right away otherwise they might never become the quilt I intended them for.
I’m cutting a scrappy background for this one and it’s going to take a while! I’ve got a bin full of small odd shaped pieces and some of them are pretty small.
Luckily, it won’t take as long to cut the brown and pink pieces from the leftover fat quarters.
I debated on blocks size for this one … 7.5 inches finished versus 9 inches finished and went with the 9 inch block. I can make 48 blocks and have a quilt that is 54 x 72 without a border which is a good size for donation.
The Autumn Windmills top is done. Thanks for the input on the border … most of you seemed to feel like I did that the darker one was a better frame for these blocks.
And since I just can’t waste the leftover bits of the strip sets, there’s a doll quilt too. I’ve got the pieces sewn together already and I’ll put a small border on it tomorrow.
I’ve set aside the other leaf print with a green and a neutral fabric and will probably use it for one of the 3 fabric quilts using the leaf as the focus fabric.
I know sharing my quilts on the internet leaves me open to people using them for their own purposes but imagine my surprise when I was on Pinterest and this popped up … yes, that’s my quilt and photo with my website clearly stamped on it.
When I clicked the link, I find it on sale at this website. They claim to work with designers but I’m assuming they just steal the ideas they want to use. I’ve written and asked them to remove it immediately. Let’s see if they respond.
I finished the windmill blocks today and I’ll look at them on and off over the next day or so and move some around but the big question is which border fabric to use.
The one on the right is my favorite but as I was making the blocks I felt the darker one on the left looked better with the blocks … I’m still leaning that way but I’m waffling a little. What do you think?
Keith took me to get my haircut this morning and then he ran in and did the grocery shopping … I’m so lucky he not only doesn’t mind but actually likes doing it because I don’t like to grocery shop at ALL.
This afternoon I sewed an hour before the kids came for a short visit and for dinner … and sewed an hour afterwards. I’m making progress on the Windmills quilt and expect I’ll finish up the blocks tomorrow.
I felt very happy to see my girls two days in a row! With Chris and Becky working full time and the girls both in softball they stay very busy. I’m not complaining … we get to see them a lot more than we did when we were in Tampa and that’s one of the reasons we moved up here full time.
Adam and the kids are coming to visit next weekend and they’ll come back and have dinner with us all while Adam is here.
I had a busy day so didn’t sew but a few hours today, making a start on my Windmills quilt for National Sew a Jelly Roll Day. I’ve got 24 blocks made and some others in progress and will sew a little on it tomorrow night.
So what was I doing the rest of the day? We went to watch one of Rae’s softball games. It was great to get outside and to see my girls!
Mo sat and chatted with me.
And Rae posed for a photo with us in between the game we watched … which her team won … and the next game they had. We only stayed for the one game which left a little time for sewing before dinner.
The Monkey Wrench top is done and I love how it turned out. I will write this one up for the website within the next week or so.
Did you know tomorrow is National Sew a Jelly Roll day? Stephanie from my HeartStrings group shared that nugget so my plans changed a bit today. Instead of doing some assembly AND binding, I’m trying to get the Monkey Wrench blocks together so I can sew along this weekend.
I knew I had some Autumn Jelly Rolls from Connecting Threads in a bin somewhere … and bonus … look at the border fabrics I found with them.
I don’t usually use a border on my Windmill quilts but I will on this one. I quickly drew it out this afternoon. Of course the blocks will be scrappier than shown … Not sure which border I’ll choose yet. I’ll make the blocks first and then decide.
So all I needed to get ready to sew this weekend was a background fabric …. Yep, the ones I wanted to choose from were in the bottom two bins but Keith came downstairs and moved the bins around so I could look through them.
Are YOU going to sew a Jelly Roll quilt this weekend?
