December Summary

Christmas is over and It’s almost a new year.  Things have been really busy but I thought I would take a break  and post a little about my month.

I did get this months block for the Shenandoah Valley quilt stitched.  Not my favorite block from the quilt but not a difficult one.

"Classic Santas" is finally quilted. This is a Sue Garman pattern.  I stitched the blocks years ago when I first started appliquéing.  It’s needle turn which I seldom do anymore.  If you are not familiar with Sue’s blog you should check it out here.  It is just full of wonderful pictures.

Finished up a couple of little Christmas gifts just in time to gift them.

I have also been working on the new Bonnie Hunter mystery “Allietare" from Quiltville.  

The first three clues are stitched but the 4th is waiting until after Christmas.  The fifth came out today so I know what I will be stitching this week.

I am also secretly hoping no one offers a free BOM applique quilt this year because I have no will power and I already have several that need finishing.

Here’s hoping everyone's  Christmas / Holliday was as wonderful and blessed as ours .

Shenandoah Valley Quilt Along Month Two "Blue Flag"

I am late again posting about my block for this month.

My Blue Flag block is not blue as you can see.  I really didn’t want any blue in my quilt but I did want to add something other than red, pink, yellow and green so I chose violet.

My blocks so far.

It’s been fun working with these colorful Kaffe fabrics.

If you have the time and would like  to see all the  beautiful interpretations of the blue flag block go here. 

Now back to cleaning and cooking for Thanksgiving.

Until the next time,

Nancy

Old Voices New Impressions

I haven’t posted an update on my Old Voices New Impressions blocks since July and I am not really sure how many blocks we are supposed to have stitched so I thought I would just post pictures of the ones I have so far.

The blocks stitch up quickly since I have them already prepped .

I  never really cared much for birds in applique until I stitched these but they are so cute who wouldn’t like them.

I am happy with my decision to use batiks for this quilt.  The blocks are turning out so bright and cheery.

All my blocks so far.

Until the next time,

Nancy

Virginia Quilt Museum's Shenandoah Valley Botanical Album Quilt

It's the 15th of October and time to post my first blocks for the Virginia Quilt Museum's Shenandoah Valley Botanical Album Quilt Sew Along.

This month we were to stitch the Pineapple block.

I am making the 16 inch block because most of my fabrics have large prints and will show better on larger applique pieces.

There are three pineapple blocks in the quilt.  I have chosen to make my quilt using Kaffe Fassett fabrics since I have a nice collection of them.

My background is a Moda Bella soft butter color.

I still haven't decided if I will ink the names of the blocks on my background.

 

 As far as what technique I will use well, I am a starch and turn girl so I will stick with this method.

There are so many different ways to do appliqué and we must pick the one that works the best for us.
In my opinion there is no right or wrong way just what works for you.

We have two very talented ladies leading this Sew Along :

Dawn from Collector with a Needle http://collectorwithaneedle.blogspot.com

Doreen from Aunt Reen's Place  http://auntreensplace.blogspot.com

The sales from this lovely pattern are to  benefit the VA Quilt Museum  http://svbotanicalquilt.blogspot.com

There is also a Facebook group you can follow  https://www.facebook.com/shenvalleybotanicalquiltsewalong

It's never too late to join the fun.

Nancy

Log Cabin First

A few months back I sewed a bunch of wonky log cabin blocks to make this quilt.  Not being sure what to do for borders I asked here and got several good suggestions one of which was to add a white border.  So I did, but it still looked like it needed something more so I fused a bunch of free form flowers and leaves here and there.

Not wanting to take the time or effort it would involve to zig zag around them on my sewing machine I decided to just finish the edges with my long arm while I was doing the quilting.

After all the other quilting was finished I went back and sewed the edges of the flowers until I thought they were secure.

I wasn't sure how this would turn out so I washed the quilt a couple of times.  Nothing fell off  and there is only a little fraying around the flowers.

Now don’t look too closely at those feathers because this was my real first attempt at stitching  so many and they are far from perfect. I also needed to stitch them out into the border someway.  Funny how you don’t notice  things until you take a photograph .
I am linking up with A Quilting Readers Garden Wips -be- Gone 

Until the next time,

Nancy

Chester County Criswell

 I started stitching  the Chester  Criswell quilt in 2012 along with Sharon from Two Bits Patches.  Each month we would receive a block pattern from the quilt, along with the history behind the maker of the block.

My version of this quilt is a little different from the original.  I set my blocks on point and used a red crackle fabric for the setting triangles and border.

Each block is stitched on a different cream print fabric.

The original was set straight and has no border.

Most months I would stitch two versions of the block so I have 15 more blocks to make another quilt.  

I haven’t decided how I want to lay out the second one.

I really enjoyed sewing along with Sharon and all the other ladies that stitched this quilt.

It was interesting to learn about Sharon’s family members who had originally stitched the blocks.

There is now an ebook about this quilt that can be found here if you would like to know the history behind the quilt.

Until the next time,

Nancy

Noah & Matilda

I have been spending my time putting together the blocks from quilts I have worked on over the past two years.

Noah and Matilda has been a top for a few weeks but I couldn’t find a place to take a picture that would show the whole quilt until now.

This quilt is full of so many cute little blocks that I had never seen before.  

I tried to pick some of my favorite blocks and came up with six. 

It was really difficult because I like them all.

 

If you decide to make this quilt I hope you won’t skip the borders.  I know there are a lot of little grapes to stitch but the borders really add so much to the quilt.

The pattern for Noah and Matilda can be found here.

Until the next time.
Nancy

"Harrison Rose" and Other Things.

You may or may not have noticed I haven’t been around blog land for a while.  I have spent most of my time trying to discover what else other than quilting I might enjoy doing.
There surely must be something.  It’s not shopping, gardening or cooking that’s for sure.

I did a little knitting.

 I finally sewed in all the ends and blocked this shawl.  Poor thing has been hanging around forever.

Traveling with my grandchildren is on the top of my list.
We had a fun trip to FL until I came down with Strep and had to come home early.  Let me just say stay away from people with Strep because it can be really hard on  elderly people- like me.

Now that I am recovered it’s back to my quilting.

I finished all the blocks for my Harrison Rose quilt and put the top together.  It’s such a lovely pattern and didn’t take too long to complete.  Once the beautiful feathers are quilted in the border I know it will look even better.
I really enjoyed working on Harrison Rose one of Collector with a Needle’s great patterns.  All of Dawn’s beautiful pattern can be found on her Etsy shop here.

Until the next time,
Nancy

Old Voices New Impressions

Karen has started a new sew a long using the book 

Old Voices New Impressions by Jeana Kimball.

The rules are very relaxed.  We try to stitch four blocks a month and post at the end of the month.

I decided to make the Cranberry Album Quilt on the back cover of the book.  The directions say to enlarge  the block patterns 141% to get an 8 inch block and I thought I did but evidently not.  After printing all 25 patterns I got the brilliant idea to actually measure one to see if they were 8 inches.

Guess what they were 7 inches.  So my blocks will be 7 inches because I am not wasting more time, ink and paper to print them over.

I have been sewing with reproduction fabrics for some time now so I thought I would give a new impression to my quilt and use batiks.  Eight 7 inch blocks are prepped and ready to stitch.

The first four blocks are stitched.

It will be fun to stitch along with Karen and everyone else once again.

If you have access to the book feel free to join in.
Sewing with others is always fun.

Until the next time

Nancy

The Months Just Roll Along.

I am always amazed at how fast time is moving in my life.  Why just yesterday it was May and I was at a retreat with some of my most special quilting friends.

We did a lot of sewing and I managed to finish a couple of kits I have had stored away for several years.  The first is a small 45”x45" table topper or wall hanging.  Very Patriotic.  This was a kit I bought on sale from Connecting Threads.

Winterlude is a table runner I made from a free Moda pattern using lots of my christmas fabric scraps.

Southern Hospitality was a kit "Little Quilts" in Atlanta sold back in 2004 when they were featured in Quilt Sampler magazine.

I have also started a new project The 1718 Coverlet.

My blocks so far.  

They are somewhat brighter than in this picture.  The 1718 Coverlet  quilt has some very strange blocks and I am getting to try things I never thought I would.

Until the next time, Happy stitching.

Nancy