Monday, November 10, 2008

Behind door #2,

we have my soon to be guest bath shower curtain ready to be pinned. The backing fabric is from my stash, a nice solid bronze color. As you may recall, this quilt was inspired by Finn last year when she showed us what was on her bed.


And for those of you asking about the hourglass quilt in the background, those squares are 2-1/2" finished. I gave a tutorial for making that block here.

It's been a very long day work-wise so I'll say goodnight for now and . . .

Until then, keep stitchin'

Friday, November 7, 2008

Warp speed or weft?

I've been trying to set up my pinning table since July. As usual, I'm running at weft speed. I'll be attempting to quilt this using the baptist fan pattern. It's one of the more difficult ones in machine quilting, but I wanted a specific all-over design, something to soften the straight lines of color. Wish me luck!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . .

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Found treasures

There are indeed challenges in decorating when most of your seasonal items remain packed in storage in another state. However, I unearthed this piece of plaid wool and decided to use it as a tablecloth. It was purchased years ago to make a skirt. Luckily, by thinking outside the box, I was able to move on to plan B.

The 50 cent silver tray holding my Autumn scented candle is from the thrift store. It was dust gray when I brought it home, but I followed the web information on tarnish removal, then used some additional silver polish with a bit of elbow grease to make it shiny new. It's so much fun using found treasures.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Friday, October 31, 2008

Now I know why they invented frozen pizza . . .

. . . so there would be more time to quilt of course.

I love the way the 2" border squares add so much punch to the project.


If you decide to use animal prints, stripes, or one way prints, be sure to turn them in different directions to add interest.

Until then, keep stitchin . . .

Thursday, October 30, 2008

It's together . . .

. . . except for the borders.

American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, August 2003 publication. Page 30. Original pattern by Darlene Zimmerman.

My version is a bit smaller than the original, making it the perfect size for covering a lil' darlin' in a car seat or stroller on a chilly day.

Begin with 64 large 4" squares, 49 small 2" squares, and 11 strips cut 2" wide x width of fabric of a solid color.

Be certain to starch the large squares well before trimming down to 3-1/2". Heavily starch and press about 3/4 yard of solid fabric prior to trimming in to strips. Believe me, it makes a big difference in the long run.

If you have any grandchildren coming to visit for the holidays, you may want to prepare 2 sets of pieces. This is a good project for kids as everything lines up so easily. Starching also helps small fingers get a good grip.

Border ideas are in progress so stay tuned and until then, keep stitchin' . . .