American Jane

Posted on April 12, 2017 by katyquilts

I was feeling the need for a quick finish. So I pulled this small top off my “to be quilted” pile.  I had originally planned to add borders, but if I left them off, the border fabric was big enough to use as backing. So I went ahead and loaded it up!

I decided to use this panto. I love the texture it gives.

I used white Glide thread. 

I planned to just start it, but it went so quickly, before I knew it, the quilting was done! I even got the binding made!

Nothing like a quick finish!

Have a great day.

Linking up with Quilt Fabrication

Posted in Baby Quilts, Finishes, Long Arm Quilting, Pantographs | 8 Comments

Piecemaker’s Quilt Show ~ Part 2

Posted on April 11, 2017 by katyquilts

Here are some more quilts from my local guild’s recent show. The lighting made getting good pics difficult.

Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

DWMonday ~ Still working on the Eagle Quilt

Posted on April 10, 2017 by katyquilts

I have gotten a little farther on the eagle quilt.


I didn’t want this to end up square so I thought I better do something  to add length sooner rather than later. At this point, it is 36 inches wide by 54 inches long.  I’m playing with border ideas now. 


Someone suggested using this Star fabric rather than the flags for cornerstones and I’m liking this much better. But I’m considering other options as well. Those stripes might be a bit overwhelming.

Thank you all for the last very comments over the weekend. With Daughter #2 home and a trip to see my parents, I’m once again very far behind in responding.

Have a great day!

Linking up with Patchwork Times, Love Laugh Quilt, Cooking Up Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Slow Stitching Sunday ~ Binding Again

Posted on April 9, 2017 by katyquilts

I finished quilting my Scrappy Fence Rail last week. I’m getting better at lining up the rows when doing the Baptist Fans.


Now I’m hand sewing binding. It is a great project to work on in the car on a road trip.


I just love this binding fabric. I almost didn’t use it because I don’t have much left of it. But that’s just silly! I will be on the lookout for something similar though.

Have a great day!

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Finish It Up Friday ~ My Vintage Top

Posted on April 7, 2017 by katyquilts

The weather here has not been conducive to taking pictures of quilts, but I managed a few so I can finally share with you my finished vintage quilt top! 

The top is not perfectly square and straight, but I was loathe to trim it to square it up. I am so pleased with the texture the Baptist Fans gave to this top!

I used some vintage fabric from my stash to bind this quilt. If anyone knows the name of this block pattern, I’d love to know!

And a simple bleached muslin  for the back.



 I loved finishing this top! I do wonder about the woman that made it. I hope she would be pleased with my efforts to finish her masterpiece.

Have a great day!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts, Busy Hands Quilts, The Carpenter’s Daughter Who Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Making a Rope Bowl

Posted on April 6, 2017 by katyquilts

Have you seen the rope bowls people have been making? I’ve wanted to try one for a while. I unexpectedly had a bit of extra time yesterday (yes, I went to the airport 12 hours early!) and thought I’d give it a try. I bought the rope for this a year ago!


I watched a few YouTube videos to get some ideas on how to do this. Starting is a bit tricky.


I also realized I had to stop and flip my piece over if I wanted to make a bowl instead of a mat. I also had to switch from my walking foot to my all purpose foot.


Getting the sides to turn was a bit tricky as well. 

But I’m actually pretty happy with how it turned out! It is 11 inches across at the top, 7 inches wide at the bottom, and 7 inches tall. Honestly, I the size was determined by how much rope I had. I used all of it. It is just regular clothesline rope. Here is a look at the bottom.


And no, I have no earthly idea what I will use this for. But it was a fun little experiment!


Have a great day!

Posted in Crafty Things | 12 Comments

WIP Wednesday ~ Scrappy Fence Rail!

Posted on April 5, 2017 by katyquilts

I’ve been waiting a long time to get this quilt on the frame!


I knew when I started working on the top that I wanted to quilt this with Baptist Fans.


I’m using my pattern boards to quilt this. In case you don’t know, this is what they look like.


It’s a bit like using the laser light to follow a pantograph, but instead of a light, there is a stylus that fits in the grooves of the boards.  I have four of the fan boards and that was just enough to do this quilt.


This is where the stylus ended up when I got to the edge of the quilt! That was close! It is a bit tricky to line up each row since there are bits of stitching that should perfectly overlap. Close enough has to be good enough on these areas! Once it is washed, it shouldn’t be very noticeable. See what I mean?


Oh well, finished is better than perfect! 

Have a great day!

Linking up with Quilt Fabrication

Posted in Bed Quilts, Civil War Repro Quilts, Long Arm Quilting, Longarm Quilting | 12 Comments

Woo hoo!

Posted on April 4, 2017 by katyquilts

The hand quilting is done and I’m moving on to the binding!



Now, I need to get things done. Daughter #2 is coming home tomorrow for a visit and we will be taking a road trip over the weekend.

Have a great day!

Linking up with The Quilting Room with Mel

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

DWMonday ~ The Eagle

Posted on April 3, 2017 by katyquilts

I finished the appliqué work on the eagle. It is fused with Heat and Bond Light and I topstitched the edges.

Here’s a closeup.

And the back.

Time to figure out what happens next. I definitely want to frame this.

I want to keep the eagle as the focus so maybe keeping things simple is the way to go. I do like this red stripe. I originally thought it would be the binding, but I think it could make a good border for the medallion.

But I only have a yard of it. Maybe large cornerstones?

Nope, not liking that. Back to the design wall!

Have a great day!

Linking up with Patchwork Times, Love Laugh Quilt, Cooking Up Quilts

Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilt of Valor, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Slow Stitching ~ Forgetting and Remembering

Posted on April 2, 2017 by katyquilts

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy had quilting. It is the most wonderful stress reliever! Apparently it has been a stressful month because I’ve gotten a lot farther on this than I ever expected when I started it.

I have one whole side border and half of another one to go.

I think this picture shows better what I have left to do.

I’m really glad I decided to use this stencil from Barb at Fun with Barb. My hand quilting has not noticeably improved, but the texture from this design is amazing. 

As I work on this, I’m also reminded of the biggest reason that I quit hand quilting. My fingers sometimes go numb and my wrist hurts. It doesn’t help that I binge quilt! This also happened:


That lovely callous means that the Touch ID on my phone is not working anymore! 

Have a lovely day!

Linking up with Kathy’s Quilts

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments