I’m slowly making progress on the hand quilting of this top. I only have this bit in the center to go.
You can see it better on the back.
I made a binding from vintage fabric and attached it by machine.
So now when I’m done quilting, I can move right to hand stitching the binding.
Have a great day!
I have been greatly remiss in responding to comments this week. The fact is, at the end of every day, I’ve been to tired to think, much less respond coherently! And here is why.
Daughter #2 is here and she is great at DIY projects. She volunteered to help me repaint the family room/kitchen/hallway this week. It was a huge job and I could not have done it without her. Here is a look at the before color:
And here is after.
The color of the side walls is called Revere Pewter by Sherwin Williams. The blue wall is League Blue by Nautica. My theme was inspired by this sign, a gift from Daughter #2.
This will hang above the windows on the side wall of the family room.
It is really difficult to get a good photo of this room.
The kitchen is the same gray as the family room.
We painted the ceiling and trim in these rooms as well. I’m so sore! But now the fun part begins. Decorating!
Have a great weekend!
I finished the quilt for Tiny E!
I took these photos early in the day and the quilting really shows.
I hand dyed these fabrics ages ago. They were perfect for this quilt! I found the backing fabric in my stash.
I quilted the background to look like wind. It can be very windy at times in Arizona!
I also quilted a few other little plants in the ground area. I used the gray for the ground to better tie in with the other nursery decor.
Here is my improv pieced sun!
And I finally remembered to add one of my Nana tags,
After all the time I’ve spent in Arizona, it was really fun to make a quilt reflecting the Southwest. It will always be one of my favorite places in the world.
Here it is in the nursery.
Have a great day!
Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict , Crazy Mom Quilts , Busy Hands Quilts , Dizzy Quilts
I was really big into the repro 30s fabrics a while back. Then I got tired of them and stashed them all away. I dug out this box and had a look through.
I have one of the 5 inch blocks in the upper left hand side of the photo below, 20 of the bow tie blocks, 8 nine patches, and 16 pinwheels. Really not enough of any one thing to make something.
Then I thought maybe I could combine the nine patches and bow ties since they are the same size.
This would make a baby quilt about 42 by 48 if I add alternate blocks. I think I like this combo. I just need to figure out what to use for the plain blocks.
Have a great day!
I was thinking that there had to be a way to use my Accuquilt die cutter to make this block faster. And I came up with one! I started by using this die to cut 9 squares that are 4 1/2 inches unfinished.
Here is my layout. Next step is to sew these into a simple nine patch block. It will be 12 1/2 inches unfinished.
Time to get out this die.
My die for cutting 6 1/2 inch squares is laid out like this. With my studio cutter, I can cut up to ten layers of fabric at a time. If I were just cutting squares, I could cut 40 in a single pass! But I digress, see those marks in the corners? I used a silver sharpie to create those lines extending out exactly from the corners.
Then I place my block on top of the die. If I had a block bigger than the die blades, the registration marks I made would help me to get the block centered. Since this block is smaller, I’m centering it by eye. I could mark it and I may do that for future use, but I was in a hurry!
One pass through the die cutter and my block is neatly sliced into four equal pieces.
I could arrange my pieces like this.
Or like this.
And here it is sewn together. Easy peasy!
I’ll be the first to admit that die cutters are not cheap. But for me, it has been so worth it. And they are not one trick ponies. I really enjoy coming up with new ways to use mine.
If you click on the blue links in this post, you can see all the current deals from Accuquilt .
Have a great day!
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I had this pile of scraps on the cutting table after working on the cactus top. I didn’t feel like putting them away so I decided to make something with them.
I pulled out this die set from Accuquilt .
I used the die with two inch sides and cut these out of the scraps.
I pieced them together like this.
Then I picked a spot and cut it into two pieces.
Then I rearrange my pieces and sew them back together.
I quilted this with the walking foot on my Juki TL2000. I love this machine for piecing, but I haven’t made friends with the walking foot. Anyone have this machine? I’m open to suggestions!
After quilting, I cut it in half again to make two mug rugs.
Here they are after binding.
Time for coffee!
Have a great day!
First of all, I’m glad so many if you enjoyed the little pattern matching tutorial the other day. It isn’t something I’ve tried to do before, but I won’t be afraid to try it again in the future.
I am still turning my tiny squares into two inch four patches as leaders and enders. Here’s a shot of my container as of last week.
Here is my piecing set up.
Can you see what is hiding in my drawer? Yep, my container of squares. When I sit down to piece something, I just open the drawer and my leader/ender bits are ready to go.
I try to always have a set picked out and ready to go.
As I finish and press them, I drop them into this little bin.
When I get a pile of them, I stop and count.
When I get up to 25, I put them in the enamelware pan and add 25 to my post it note inside. This way I don’t have to keep counting the whole mess.
I need at least 800 for the quilt I want to make. I’m making progress!
Have a great day!
