2019 Quilts

I started this post back in January of 2020...but then we all know what happened to 2020..

So I figured that I would post these quilts that I completed in 2019..and I will get something up about what I did in 2020......

I finally got serious about getting some of the backlog of quilts completed this year. I made this cat quilt top about 4 years ago and it sat on the unfinished project pile till just December of 2019.

I was happy to complete this quilt and put a label on the back. It's a small quilt about 40x50. The backing is a sheet that is really soft.

I was lucky enough to take a class with Katie Pedersen in August. It was called Double Trouble because you make half square triangles and add an extra little piece of fabric to the opposite side of the triangle. I worked with red & blue triangles for in the class and was not sure where this one would go.

 I finished it in late November and I really like the color. It's a bright mix of red and blue. Again this is a smaller quilt about 60x70.

I found this pattern on line at Missouri Quilting Company (I think). I stated to make it and was getting a little frustrated as the red polka dots were too distracting for me. But I kept on and finished the top. It's just not my favorite. I also made a chevron strip for the back of the quilt but as I was really unhappy with this quilt it went on the pile unfinished tops. I think I will take a look at it again in a couple of months. It may hit me as something to complete. 

I made a jelly roll quilt that the internet said would only take an hour. Well if you speed sew yes it will. But I'm not a speed sewer and this took about 5 hours. It was all from scraps that I had in my large scrap bin. I cut 2 1/2" strips, separated the prints and the solids into bags. I would then take a solid and sew it to a print and then back to a solid. It was all kind of an improv type of project to get me moving with our thinking and to just see if this was something I wanted to complete.

I completed this one for a friend. She had cut and sewn all the blocks together I just finished the strips. Now to get it quilted. I have a fun backing for this top...when I get to the long arm machine.

Another quilt from a class, this one with Anna Marie Horner. The class was called Folk Flower. It's an appliqué quilt which I don't usually do, but this one was so easy. I had dyed the blue fabric that is the foreground of the blocks and then picked really bright fabric for the center of the flowers. This is quilted with a heavy knit fabric on the back of the quilt.

Blocks from another class I took this year. This class was with MJ Kinman, who makes beautiful jewel type quilts. These are the only two blocks that I completed but I want to make an entire quilt with this type of block.

This quilt is a called the disappearing 9 patch I made this quilt about 6 years ago and it sat in my studio waiting to be quilted. I made it for my sister and her wife when they got married and finally gave it to her for Christmas of 2018. I just wanted to show it because it took me so long to get it finished.

This little fella was a gift for a friend that was having a baby. I wanted to play with 2" precuts that I had and this is what came out. It's bright and fun for a new baby.  It's also very small, only 36x36. 

Quilt, Cats, Tools, Zipper Pouch & Bricks

After I finished the scrap quilt last week, I left it on the wall to just look at it and see what I thought. Everytime I looked at it, it always looked too busy. I think it needed a visual break. I had been to Scrap moving sale & got 18 yards of some cotton ecru fabric that was only 12 " wide.  It was $2 a bag for fabric scrap and I picked up a lot of upholstery samples, 18 Yds of 12" wide cotton ecru fabric as well as a lot of other fun pieces of fabric, I came home with about 10 lbs of fabric for $2. Anyway....The quilt top looked too busy. I wanted a border but I didn't want the squares to look too separate...I wanted the squares to blend together some way. I think splitting the sashing in half and adding a colored piece of fabric helps cut up the light border and connects all the square. It's still quite busy but it has some visual resting spots that help move the eye through the quilt. I want to use this to practice my long arm quilting. I'm taking another class on how to use the long arm quilting machine at Modern Domestic next week and I want to use this quilt to practice. They have a new machine and so I have to take the class again. I don't mind as I'm sure I will learn something I don't already know. Arty likes the quilt...she posed for several photos. 

I talked last time about my job at the Tool Library, this is what I see when I walk into work in the morning  It's in the basement of the Historical Kenton Firehouse. It's kind of cool going to work at a historical firehouse. More on the library later.

 I made another triangle zipper pouch using Melody Miller fabric again. I like the heavier cotton that she uses in her fabric line. The fabric line is Ruby Star Rising. I'm trying to clean up the inside of the pouch. Instead of just stitching or serging the ends inside the pouch I attached bias tape.  Bias tape coves the raw edges inside but I think it's still just as nice if I  serge the raw edges. The bias tape also makes the pouch a little stiffer along the two seam lines. It's also difficult to find a 4" zippers in town. I have found a few on line but nothing at my local fabric shop. I can get 10 red 4" zippers for $5 from a woman in California or 25 different colors for $10 from Amazon. I will have to do a little more research on zippers. So far I have been using the zippers I have at home and cutting them to size. I really like making these little pouches. 

 CLEAN BRICKS!!! A friend took out his chimney and had a lot of brick in his driveway. Friends kept telling him that they wanted the brick and would pick some up but them be discouraged at how hard it is to clean the brick. He delivered some brick last week and I spent about 4 hours cleaning this brick. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. It's just time consuming and if you don't set up a table to put the brick on while you hit it...your arms will get sore. Holding on to a 5 or 6 lb brick while you it it with a hammer is hard on your arms. Believe me...I know. I learned the hard way...set up a small piece of wood with a lip all around, that will keep the brick in place as you hit it with a hammer. It's messy so alway set out a tarp under your table. Our friend was very happy to deliver some more brick this afternoon and I hope to clean the rest next week. I need to complete a small walk way behind my garage this summer.