Radiance Star Quilt Completed

You may remember that I posted about this quilt on September 3 and 5.  It was finished in October, but I was unable to photograph it until this week.  I found the perfect barn, in Canyon County, to use as a back-drop (actually hold it up while I take the photo).

I have made another Radiance Star quilt, which is at my long-arm quilter's for quilting.  It will have the same swirling pattern on it as the one pictured here.  I took a photo of the quilt top while it hung on my design wall.  Radiance II is for my cousin, who likes jewel-tone fabrics.  I used a fat-quarter bundle and three pieces of yardage to make her quilt top, below:

Radiance I is completed and laying on my table, as I took a photo of Radiance II on my design wall.  It makes for a nice reflection.  Don't mind the crap stacked on the hat tree to the right.

Typically, I don't buy patterns to make quilts, and typically, I don't make two of the same.  The bonus of using this pattern is it has instructions on how to make four identical flying geese blocks without wasting any fabric.  It rather blew my mind, when I first did that process.  Now I have a new skill in my set.  The one on the wall does not have the outer border on it yet.  I added tulip corner treatments to it in the aqua color that is in the center star.  The background fabric has dragon flies on it.  I am excited that it will be completed pretty soon.

Quilting Retreat in Cascade

On October 27, A and I drove up to Cascade with our sewing machines, rotary cutters, and our projects.  We had not been to this location before.  It was at Trinity Pines camp.  They sure had plenty of room!  They had a lovely view and it was snowing when we arrived.  I got to sit next to A and across from a couple other quilters that I knew.  We met some folks we had sewed with last year, when the retreat was at the Ashley Inn.

This photo shows the view of the mountains out our window.  This huge room had windows on three sides!  I shot this over the top of my machine (which is not in the photo).  That is Shannan's embroidery machine in the photo.  I counted 14 embroidery machines at our retreat.  I prefer doing my own thing.

Speaking of "my own thing," above is the beginnings of my shark quilt.  I love those shark fabrics!

This is a view of the great outdoors, from the safety of the covered balcony that wraps around that huge room we were all sewing in.

This is the view from our cabin, as the sun came up on Thursday.  Our cabin has three bedrooms down-stairs and two up-stairs.  Each bedroom has it's own "on-suite."  On-suite means bathroom.  A and I shared a bedroom. 

This view is from up in the balcony, inside that huge room.  We had a gal giving chair massages up there.  She was very good.  Each of has had a six-foot table to spread out on.  My table is the one in the lower left with the empty blue and white swivel chair.  You can see A to my right, working away, and Shannan and Marie across from us. 

After I finished my shark quilt top, I started on my Halloween wall-hanging.  I did not get it finished before our fun time was over.

We drove back to our valley on Sunday, Oct 30.  I did finish my Halloween wall-hanging on November 2nd.  

Tada!  It is done in time for next year!

Idaho Quilt Done!

The Idaho quilt is finished!  304 blocks all sewed together.  The blocks are 5-inch square blocks.  The quilt is 72" across.  I sandwiched it using 505 spray basting and I stitched in-the-ditch on my home sewing machine.  Then I made the binding strips with one of the black fabrics.  

I machine bound it.  It makes it sturdier for one who wishes to use it well.  VO came and got it after I took this photo of it:

I am making a smaller version from some of the scraps.  It will be too big to be a doll quilt.  It will be a wall-hanging!

What is on the Design Wall in October?

At the end of September, we headed out for a week in Oregon.  When someone says a week in Oregon, it does not automatically mean the Oregon coast.  We had a marv time along the Columbia River.  I did not visit a single quilt shop, but I tried to find that huge fabric store that used to be in the Portland area.  I never discovered it, so perhaps COVID brought it to an untimely end.  I did, however, buy three quilt books at Powells in downtown Portland, and we had lunch at the Mad Greek Deli on Burnside. Yay and yum!  I have to mention we went on a wonderful and relaxing sternwheeler ride on the Columbia River.

Now, I have a quilt on the design wall that is all 5-inch square blocks, except for eight half-square triangles.  I am making it for a gal I met at the Western Idaho Fair.  For a simple design, it takes a bit of time to get the color scheme right; you know, planned randomness.  Then there are 304 squares to sew to each other.  

These blocks are not sewed to each other yet.  The blocks on the right are hanging off the edge of my design wall.  I had to resort to pinning them.  I am working on the heart piece, which takes up four blocks and will be located five rows up, on the Idaho, near where Treasure Valley would be located.  It's a big heart, so it covers several towns.  The day before we left for Oregon, my long-arm quilter called and had my Radiant Star quilt finished.  I picked it up, but I have not had time to trim it up and put the binding on.  I will do that after I finish this amazing Idaho quilt for VO.  Happy quilting!

Charity Quilts

 I did take time, over the summer, to make a couple quilts to donate.  One of the gals in my quilt group inspired us all to swap 5" X 5" squares of fabric and make quilts with the variety.  As it turned out, I had a couple of charm packs that my dear friend, Teresa, had given me.  I swapped some of those and used the rest in one of the two quilts I made with five-inch squares.  In August I went to my long-arm quilter's house.  She just happens to have an antique manure spreader in her rear driveway.  She helped me get it on there for a photo.  It turned out pretty good.  

This is the one with the "Woof Woof Meow" fabrics in it.  I know Teresa would be happy that I am donating what I made, with her fabric gift.

Driving back from farm country, I spotted this corrugated make-shift gate, next to a barn, that was next to the road.  I pulled over and pinned up my quilt and shot it, and I was away again in two shakes of a lamb's tail.  But then I decided I liked the one my husband took of it in my quilt room. This is the other donation quilt.  I put a bold floral on the right border, just because I like being wildly eclectic.  I think someone will love this quilt.  Both donation quilts are the same size.  You can click on the photo, and it will enlarge, so you can see the details better.

Finishing Up My Radiance Star Quilt Top

I modified the borders on this quilt, from the pattern.  I put corner tulips on the outer border to cause the eye to bounce back to the central pattern on the quilt top.  I cut some extra 6 inch square blocks and made them into 5.5 inch half-square triangles and some 5.5 inch square corner blocks.

Adding these corners to my border, reduced the number of 5.5 inch WOF border pieces by two.  That is hard to believe, so I believe the instructions had me cut at least one too many.  

This is my completed quilt top.  Now, I need to make the back, which can frequently be a point of procrastination for me.  I am determined to not hold up getting this one competed, so tomorrow I work on the backing.  

What's On The Design Wall in September?

My "Blues Medallion" quilt earned a first-place ribbon at the Western Idaho Fair.  I finished my scrappy log cabin quilt top, and I put it on top of my "to-be-finished" pile.  I plan on quilting it myself on my home machine.  Then I got out my pattern (yes, I actually bought a pattern), and read the instructions.  It is called Radiance, by Material Girl Quilts.  The cutting instructions are good, but you cannot just make four of the center bits and four of the outer bits, without thinking seriously about which directions to press the seams.  A note to that affect would greatly enhance the experience of the quilter.  This quilt does go together rapidly as long as you pay attention to how you press the seams, so they match-up with the center flying geese segments.

I think I can have it done by tomorrow night.  I am going to add border corner treatments to my quilt top.  The border is just plain white in the pattern.   So, go sew something and then share it with someone!