Quilting in 2019

The year is coming to a close.  I have a list of unfinished projects that I intended to complete in 2019.  I got eight out of ten done! 1) Four-patch Star baby quilt; 2) Teresa's B&W Mostly quilt; 3) my B&W Mostly quilt; 4) Random Chickens; 5) Waltz (3-D) quilt; 6) RV wall hanging; 7) "D" Stack N Whack; and 8) Duree's Musical Seamstress Fairy/Angels wall-hanging.  I did not get Teresa's and my Artsy wall-hangings completed, but they are on my list for 2020, including a dozen others. I will be posting a list of objectives in January for 2020. I have to admit I am excited about getting those projects done.  I have to remember that I, also, need to take time to help "the girls" with their quilting and I want to do a couple art quilts this coming year.  I have written my visions down in the wonderful little planning book Teresa got me.  It looks like a McCalls pattern.  I call it my McCalls Planning Guide.

The girls have been very busy this year, too.  Check out their blog by clicking on the link, on the left side of the screen:  Gluten Free Doll Quilts.  They are amazing and getting more amazing.  Someone must be crazy!! 

Here is something you should try in 2020:  use some scraps to make something (zipper bags are perfect for scraps and doll quilts, naturally!); use some rick rack in something you create (preferably some you found in your grandma's old sewing machine or picked up at the thrift shop).

Well, darn if it isn't past midnight!  Happy 2020!

Another UFO finished and a Road Trip!

I have been going through and taking a bit of an inventory of my UFOs.  I have a list that I intend to complete in 2020, however, I found one that looked like I could whip it right up!  I don't do many panels, but I saw these musical sewing angel things and thought my fabulous cousin, Duree, would just love a wall hanging!  I will have to go over and build an additional wall for her just to hang it on. I have collected some wonderful musical instrument fabrics over the years, mainly for my Peace, Love, and Baroque quilt, which has not happened yet.  My friend, A, says that if you have not started a project yet, it is not a UFO.  Well, that took the PL and Baroque right off the list!  I still have intentions!  Meanwhile, I have this lovely lute fabric, I decided it time to quit storing it and use it.  I cut the blocks out of the panel, then used the lute fabric for sashing/borders.  I used a remnant of high-loft batting and got it all quilted and bound in next to no time at all.  It is done.  I will be delivering it this week to one surprised cousin.  I say 'surprised' because I am pretty sure she does not follow my blog.

     I stitched it in the ditch, then did some stippling in the borders with black thread, meandering between the instruments.
     Then last week, Thursday to be exact, A and I went on a road trip to Rupert, Idaho.  What is the big attraction, you may ask?  The Gathering Place quilt shop has the biggest selection of the most fabulous quilt fabrics in the entire state of Idaho.  We reached Twin Falls at noon, so we stopped at Five Guys, where A bought us lunch.  We had little hamburgers and fries.  YUM!  Then we traveled on.  We went around the block because I turned one light too soon, to get to the center of town.  We parked at the town square right across the street from the quilt shop.  I opened the pick-up door . . . Christmas music filled the air!  It was enchanting.  I paused to listen for a few seconds before the call of tons of fabric drew me back to reality and into the quilt shop.  As soon as we stepped in the double-doors, reminiscent of the old JC Penney stores, a woman at the counter was asking, "Is one of you ladies Carol Z.?"  We both froze, as we knew the answer was, YES!  "Yes." I replied.  So naturally we had to go straight to the counter and not look at all the fabric between it and the door.  The lady said someone had called and paid for a $25.00 gift certificate for me.  What? What a sweet and thoughtful husband I have; I was nearly in tears.  How special!  What an awesome day!  A and I did our thorough and careful searching for the needed fabrics.  I brought three samples of projects to get fabrics to go with.  Oh, sweet success!  Then a little browsing for some other fabrics to go with committed projects that have not been started yet (unUFOs).  A was good and paid for her yardage and said, "That is it."  As I was still shopping I heard groaning from down the aisle, because she found more fabric she really wanted to buy.  She was a real trooper.  I decided I had better quit, as we were also planning to go to Mill Ends, in Burley, for some synthetic fabric that A needed.  Strangely, it was not difficult to find, and the prices there were jaw-dropping amazing.  I had to be a trooper and not buy anymore fabric.  I was.  Then we headed home. We stopped north of Twin to gas up and then were back in the rain.  We got back around 6:15 p.m., just in time to watch Death In Paradise.  What a wonderful day!  I thanked my thoughtful husband profusely, while he told me it was not him that called in the gift certificate.  I appreciated his honesty, but I was really disappointed that it was not him.  

     This is most of the fabric I bought. It does not include the three fabrics for my Elvis quilt or the two fabrics for AK's quilt.  AK's quilt is next on the list!!!!  So much fabric, so little time.

Donated Quilt for Veteran's Day

One of the quilt groups, I belong to, donates red, white, and blue quilts on Veteran's Day each year.  We were a little short on turned in blocks this year, so I went into my RWB scrap stash and put together a quick, decent sized, quilt to be donated to a veteran.  I stitched in the ditch on my Husky and got it done in a week.  Go me!  At our Oct 6 meeting, I donated it.  There were three quilts donated to veterans through our contact with the school district.  It is nice to have the school kids do the donating.

Kitty Kondos Quilt Completed in 21 Days

I started this quilt on Oct 30.  My previous post, Nov 3, has a photo of the quilt layout.  I am placing it here, as well, so you can see the metamorphosis from bare bones to completed.  It is now in the happy hands of it's new owner.  

How it looked on Nov 3, on the design wall.  Scroll down.

All finished!   What a difference!

I used a flat flannel sheet, I purchased from LL Bean.  You can buy just one sheet from them, instead of a whole set, and it is high quality flannel.  I used 505 to spray baste the layers together, then I stitched in the ditch. Then between all the ditches, I stippled the rest. As I was working on piecing it together, the boxes appeared to have windows, and the blocks looked like condominiums.  Thus the name Kitty Kondos!

What's On The Design Wall in November?

I have not posted a "What's On The Wall" in quite awhile.  I have two quilts out for quilting and one packaged up for continuation at a later date.  I am growing a flannel quilt for my husband.  I started it last Wednesday, October 30.  I sent my fully flannel kitty quilt, that I made for myself several years back, with him when he and our daughter went on a cross-country RV adventure at the end of September.  When he got back, he said he wanted a nice warm flannel quilt like that.  We went into my flannel stash and picked out some fabrics that would go together and a package of 6" squares with cats on it to get started.  I believe this one is going to be another wonderful flannel cat quilt!  I home machine-quilt my flannel quilts.  Here is what is on the design wall so far.  I have two yellow flannels that I will be using in between the blocks you see here:

I am using fabric I have on hand.  If I use enough of my flannel, I will be able to make room for something else.  Looking at my stash, I would say I have a few children's quilts to whip up, to make more room.  I can donate the kids quilts and make someone smile!  I have more of those 6" cat squares; I bought three packages off of E-Bay years ago and never used them.  Well, time to use those up!

Baby Grande Quilt

I work with some fabulous people.  I have been invited to a baby shower for a 'couple' of people that I work with.  When I started this post, Little Vinnie was not here yet.  He is now exactly one week old.  Happy Birthday to Vinnie!  Anyway, when I heard we were having a baby shower for C and JP, due to the impending arrival of their new family member, I whipped up this fun baby quilt from fabrics in my "Juvenile Fabrics" stash.  It is good to not have to go shopping for more fabric when you just want to whip something up!   Plus, I had stacked some odd fabric bits on top of that bin, so I went through them and cleaned up part of my stash cabinet.  After I sewed the top together, sandwiched, and basted it, I stitched in the ditch on my Husky, then stippled and loopy-de-looped on my Necchi.

Doing loop-de-loops!

I had more of the yellow elephant fabric, so that is what I used for the binding.  The backing fabric is from Wittlich, Germany. I bought it at Das Nah Haus in August 2018.  It was just waiting for such an occasion!  Love that bright blue with polka dots fabric.  It goes with everything!

Showing off backing fabric.  (the eggie pillow is from SK)

Teresa's Black and White Mostly Quilt

Teresa died last October.  I got her blocks that she had sewn together into rows, and I completed her quilt top.  I got it long-arm quilted in January, but only just got the binding put on about two weeks ago.  I am pleased that it is finally done.  It does look amazing in this photo.  I believe she would be happy with the borders I added.

Thank you, A, for holding it for a photo.