DWMonday ~ Minecraft

Posted on September 3, 2018 by katyquilts

Have you ever played the game of Minecraft? I haven’t, but my grandson, Big L loves it. It is a video game about finding and building things. I wanted to make a quilt for him for Christmas and my son suggested a Minecraft quilt. It turns out that many people have made quilts on this theme! I found free patterns on this blog: Seriously….It Needs Stitches. I finally broke open this FQ bundle to get the solids I needed.

The patterns are written for 12 inch blocks. I’m making mine 16 inches finished. This one is called Creeper.

These blocks are based on an 8 by 8 grid. I’m using my 2 1/2 inch square, 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch rectangle, and my 2 1/2 inch strip dies from Accuquilt a lot for this quilt.

So far, I have these four done. I plan to make a total of 12.

They are fun and easy to piece. If you would like to make a Minecraft quilt but don’t have a good selection of solid scraps, Fat Quarter Shop has a Minecraft Fat Quarter bundle of solids . Just click the link and then search for a Minecraft Fat Quarter Bundle.

BTW, you can get free shipping on purchases over $25 from Accuquilt using this link .

Have a great day!

This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Affiliates, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Off Road Training

Posted on September 2, 2018 by katyquilts

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a full day, hands on workshop presented by Charlene Bower, founder of the Ladies Off Road Network. This is her Jeep, Frankie.

I learned so much and had a blast. We learned a variety of recovery techniques and safe use of equipment.

That little girl to my right was only 9, but she did everything us big girls did! Her daddy brought her. He said she is already learning to weld!

We had a great group and I met the most wonderful people.

This is Mary Jo’s Jeep.

And here is Laura’s.

I loved this old CJ.

The training was held about an hour and twenty minutes from me. I decided to use a Google maps for GPS and this is what came up.

I think I’ll go back to Apple maps from now on.

Have a great day!

Posted in Life, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

August/September Goals

Posted on September 1, 2018 by katyquilts

Summer has flown by. It seems to go faster every year! Here are the goals I set for my self this month.

1. I would like to get the cutting done for a Snow Ball quilt. Done for now. I may cut more later on.

2. I’d like to get started on a bed quilt for Daughter #3 and SIL. Not done. But I ordered the fabric!

3. I’d like to finish my tie challenge piece. Not done. But progress has been made in a totally new direction.

4. I want to finish my QOV blocks and get them into a top. Done!

What else did I do this month?

I made a cowboy quilt.

I quilted a quilt for my friend, Zenia.

I finished a baby quilt.

Actually, two.

I made a couple minis.

And I made a pillow.

Not bad for a month in summer. A bit every day really adds up!

September is upon us; here are my goals.

1. I want to get the blocks made for a Christmas quilt for Big L.

2. I want to have a plan for a Christmas quilt for Little L.

3. I want to quilt QOVs for the Stitching Sisters group.

4. I want to get started on the bed quilt for Daughter #3 and dear SIL.

5. I want to get that tie quilt done!

Hubby has at least one business trip this month so I plan on getting a lot done while he is gone.

Have a great day!

Posted in Finishes, Goals | 6 Comments

Finish It Up Friday ~ Checkers

Posted on August 31, 2018 by katyquilts

This was such a fun quilt to make!

Sometimes things just seem to fall into place. It all started with this old pack of samples given to me by a friend.

I send all but two pieces to make this.

I had great fun with the freehand quilting on this.

Still working on my machine binding. I’m still not satisfied, but it is getting better.

I could have used pretty much anything on the back, but I do like the yellow.

I love the texture! This kind of quilting is actually quite forgiving. There is so much going on that it is easy to hide mistakes.

This one might be hard to part with.

I think it will hang here in the sewing room for a while.

Have a great day!

Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts , Confessions of a Fabric Addict , Crazy Mom Quilts , Anja Quilts

Posted in Baby Quilts, Finishes, Free Motion Quilting, HQ Forte, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Progress!

Posted on August 30, 2018 by katyquilts

This baby quilt is on the frame and quilting has begun.

I’m going with freehand work in the gray and continuous curves on the squares.

This is what I plan on using for the binding.

This should be finished up today!

Have a good one!

Posted in Baby Quilts, Free Motion Quilting, HQ Forte | 8 Comments

Yesterday’s Blocks are Doing Hard Time!

Posted on August 29, 2018 by katyquilts

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions yesterday. I got so frustrated that I grabbed a small bag of brightly colored squares to work with instead.

I cut an equal number of white squares and pieced them all together into a strip.

I added the gray Kona and in no time at all, I had a baby quilt top that I love.

Take that you naughty old blocks. Enjoy your time in solitary!

Have a great day!

Posted in Baby Quilts, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Oops!

Posted on August 28, 2018 by katyquilts

Apparently I need help with my counting skills….I did have enough pieces cut for 12 blocks, just not 12 identical blocks. So I made two different blocks thinking I could surely come up with a good setting for them…..um….

Nope.

Not so much….

Better, but then I would have leftover blocks….

Same issue here.

No, just no.

Sigh…..these may end up in time out.

Have a good day!

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

DWMonday ~ Another UFO

Posted on August 27, 2018 by katyquilts

While looking through my stash trying to find some purples for a friend, I came across this little box. I’d completely forgotten about this project!

I do remember now that these were some of the very first pieces I cut with my Accuquilt Studio Cutter. So why didn’t I finish this? Probably because I was so enthralled with my cutter that I couldn’t focus on finishing. I just wanted to cut all the stash!

This is the die set I used to cut the triangle in a square blocks.

These were the pieces I found.

And I think this is what I intended to do.

I made up a few of the blocks. I have no idea what this white fabric is, so not much hope of matching it. The colors are some of my hand dyed fabrics. I was really big into hand dyeing I once upon a time.

I think I intended the small squares to be cornerstones.

I have enough bits to make 12 blocks so this will make a great baby quilt.

Have a great day!

This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Accuquilt, Affiliates, Baby Quilts, Hand Dyed Fabric, UFOs, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday ~ Hand Quilting Tools

Posted on August 26, 2018 by katyquilts

Progress is being made on hand quilting this lovely Seven Sisters Top.

Once again, I’m using my fan stencil from Fun with Barb. I also decided to try out a new hand quilting thread.

For the most part, I like it. But I have come across too many of these bits for my taste.

I’ll finish with this thread before I make a final judgement. I picked this stand hoop up at a sale this summer. It looks to be a Hinterberg Homestead hoop that is no longer available. I figured for $7.50, it was worth trying. So far, I’m really liking it. I used to love using a floor frame and this is a little like that, but I’m able to rotate the hoop to quilt in different directions. I figure I need to do whatever I can to relieve stress on my shoulders, hands , and arms.

This is my new favorite batting for hand quilting. If you are goi g to spend the time to hand quilt, get a batting you love or you may never finish!

I’m so happy to be hand quilting again, even if it is slow going.my fingers have not gone numb even once since my surgery. My hand/wrist do get sore so I’m still trying to pace myself.

Have a great day!

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts

Posted in Hand quilting, Uncategorized | 19 Comments

Something New ~ Fat Quarter Shop

Posted on August 25, 2018 by katyquilts

As my regulars readers know, I am an affiliate for Accuquilt and Urban Elementz . What this means is that if you click on a link from my blog to either of these two places and then purchase something, I get a very small commission from that sale. It does not change the price you pay. I’m not a fan of blogs that are all advertising and I would not recommend anything that I don’t use myself. I don’t intend to become a selling blog. However, as my storage usage for the blog increases, so do my costs. Becoming an affiliate has helped to offset the cost of the blog and allows me to keep on blogging without deleting years of past posts.

So today I’m announcing my newest affiliate relationship, The Fat Quarter Shop!

I have been well pleased with every purchase I have made from them. Their selection is wonderful and their customer service is second to none. They offer daily Flash Sales. Here is an example of a recent one.

They also offer a Book of the Month. Here is the one for August.

Are there drawbacks to ordering from them? Yep! Flash sales can get you into trouble! And their packaging is so nicely done, that it can be hard to open!

I have waxed on long enough. If you ever need anything from any of the affiliate shops, you will find links on my sidebar under Affiliate Links. I promise not to do a full on commercial on a regular basis! I will continue to share links that I feel would be of interest within posts.

Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!

Posted in Affiliates | 5 Comments