A little bit different slow stitching today:
I am working on my paper pieced log cabin blocks on the deck with one of my hand crank machines. This is a a singer Model 99 and it dates to the 1930’s. Here is my first block of the day.
Back to work!
Where does time go? It whizzes by impossibly fast. Here it is already time to take a look at what I accomplished (or didn’t) this past month. My April goals:
1. First off is to finish the last QOV top that I have at home. I hope to have this one done this week. DONE! And I quilted 7 more tops for the Stitching Sisters group. Here they are all in one place for my own records. Scroll on by since you have already seen them!
2. I want to make 6 more Sawtooth Star blocks. This feels like a winter quilt to me so I may end up putting it away instead! Done! And I did put it away for a while after that!
3. 25 more City Sampler blocks. Done! Actually, I only made 23 more blocks but I finished the entire quilt!
4. 13 4″ paper pieced blocks. Ideally, I would like to have this pieced, quilted, and finished. But I will settle for just having the blocks done. Not done. I made a few. 
5. I have a lovely FQ bundle of Betty Dear fabrics given to me by Daughter #1 for Christmas. They just say spring to me! And I have a couple ideas of how I want to use them. First, for my plan to work, I need to find coordinating solids. So for this month, I really just want to get the fabric in hand and pieces cut. This will be a large quilt. Not done. I have the red and white that I need but not the yellow or blue and no cutting has been done.
6. Quilt the Metropolitan Fair Churn Dash quilt. I have been putting this on my list forever. It is time to just make a decision on the quilting and get it done already! Still not done.
So what else did I get done this month?
A small quilt for my coffee table.
A small quilt made from vintage fabrics.
The April challenge quilt for the Small Quilt Talk group.
And now some goals for May.
1. The SQT group challenge for the Month is to make a Log Cabin quilt. I think that makes it a perfect time to finally finish these 4″ blocks and make the quilt already!
2. I also signed up for the small quilt swap being hosted by Lori over at Humble Quilts so I need to get something made for that. I have been toying with a few ideas and made a few HSTs before work yesterday morning.
3. I want to get this Quilt of Valor completely finished. I have a recipient in mind and time is of the essence!
3. I would like to make a baby quilt for a gift from this fabric. If I run out of time, I have another baby quilt already made that I can give.
4. In pondering the SQT Log Cabin challenge, I remembered this vintage top that Mr. Wonderful gave me for Christmas in 2013. I would love to quilt this up this month as well.
5. I also have these lovely Amy Butler strips patiently waiting to be pieced into blocks.
6. I signed up to do a Pay It Forward gift on Instagram. I would like to get those packages together and sent this month as well.
Instagram is a fun way to follow quilters. It takes less time than reading blogs as you are just scrolling through pictures with only a line or two of text to go with them. Daughter #2 suggested to me last summer to have a separate IG account just for quilting and it was a fabulous idea! Until then, I really only used it for family and I keep that IG account private. But my quilting IG account is public and I have found so much inspiration there. My user name there is katyquilts if you would like to follow me. I try not to post the exact same things on both my blog and IG. IG shows more “in progress” quilts.
Linking up with Lily’s Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day and Sew Can She for Show Off Saturday.
I have two Quilt of Valor finishes to share today. These were both pieced by members of the Stitching Sisters QOV group. They will go back to them for binding, labeling, and presenting. This lovely star quilt was made by Susan.
I used a panto on this called All That Jazz.
This next one was a group effort.
This one was custom quilted with ruler work, templates and freehand quilting. It took almost three times longer to quilt than the star quilt done with a pantograph but I think for a medallion quilt, it was the right way to go.
I have one more QOV that I finished a few weeks back and had forgotten to share here.
This was quilted with a panto called Cool Beans.
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
I’ve been working away on Quilts of Valor this week and will share a couple of those finishes tomorrow. Today I will share a couple quilts made before my blogging days. The first one is hand quilted so you know it’s old!
And yes, that one patch was intentional. I usually hang this so it is in one of the bottom corners. I get a twisted pleasure out of watching people when they notice it, somewhat afraid to ask if I realize I did that or not.
This next one was mostly hand appliquéd. It was machine quilted on my 1955 Singer Model 201.
You can see here why I stay away from applique!
My piecing skills are better.
I like to think of this as folk art :).
Have a great day! Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation.
I finally finished the last few hourglass blocks needed for this QOV top. They are not sewn together yet.
I also got the next QOV top loaded into the frame.
I would love to get this one done before I hand off my stack of finished ones tomorrow but it isn’t looking likely.
I signed up for the small quilt swap over at Humble Quilts. I have had a look through these two well loved books and I think I know what I want to do.
Time to get something done before work today. Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Sew Fresh Quilts.
I spent time arranging my oldest quilts on my ladder yesterday. Our foyer is two stories tall and has the stairway in it. I was able to tilt the ten foot ladder towards the first landing to place the quilts in the top rungs. It is difficult to get good pictures in this tight space but here goes.
I covered each rung with old cotton dish towels so the quilts would not be in direct contact with the wood. It took longer than I thought to arrange and fold to size each quilt but I am so pleased with how it turned out!
Linking up with Free Motion by the River.
I had a lovely weekend with the family that lives here in town. And yesterday I got a bit of sewing done as well. Have you seen the One Hour Baskets everyone seems to be making? KelbySews has offered a free tutorial and you can find all the details here. It is a great pattern, very easy to follow. Here is my version.
This will be part of a gift. The pattern called for fusible fleece but I didn’t have any so I quilted the outer layer using Warm and White batting. So mine took a bit longer than an hour. I am trying to figure out how to modify this pattern to make bigger baskets. I used canvas for the exterior and the lining.
In other non-news, I have the same QOV on my design wall this week.
I’m hoping I can at least finish the hourglass blocks for this today. I am also trying to decide how to quilt this next QOV. Isn’t it lovely?
Saturday we went to a bunch of area garage sales. I found something I have wanted for a long time, a vintage ladder to hang quilts on for the princely sum of $5!
It is ten feet long and this looks like the only place it will fit without cutting it down! I am loathe to do that. I will cover the rungs with muslin to keep the quilts from direct contact with the wood. I love that it has the makers name stenciled on the side.
It is in a good place to keep the quilts out of direct sunlight.
I have an extra day of work this week and am planning a trip home to visit my parents next week. That means I have a lot to get done today so I best get to it. Hope your week starts out wonderfully!
Linking up with Patchwork Times.
Last night, I finished quilting another Quilt of Valor. This top was made by Terri of the Stitching Sisters QOV group.
I quilted this one with a panto called Amaze Me from Urban Elementz. The next one is loaded on the frame but have another project to finish before I quilt it.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
I am so excited to share my finished City Sampler with you! As you may recall, Daughter #1 gave me Tula Pink’s City Sampler book for my birthday. I started making blocks on March 18th. I finished the hand sewing of the binding on April 21st. Here is the book:
And here is my finished quilt!
I ended up making only 48 blocks. I would like to hang this in my office at work so it couldn’t get too big. I really had fun with the quilting. I used 9 different colors of thread, all ️Glide from FIL-Tec. Here are some detail shots:
I used some rulers and templates but most of this is freehand.
Before I take it to work, I am going to enjoy it in my sewing room for a while.
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Lizzie Leonard.
Since I don’t have any new interesting pictures, I thought I would share a few older quilts for a TBT post. This first album quilt was made from blocks I received as part of a friendship swap on AOL way back in 1995. Were any of you active on the quilting forums way back then? A few weeks ago as I was cuddled up on the couch with it, I thought I would do a search to see if I could again locate any of the people I had swapped with online. I found one lady on Instagram! I hand quilted this quilt so you know its old!
This next quilt is still one of my very favorites. I pieced, appliqued, and quilted this by hand in the late 1990’s.
It has been hanging in this same spot since we moved into this house in 2000! And I still love it there so I have no plans to move it.
This sampler quilt was started with some leftover Dear Jane block patterns from the local guild’s raffle quilt one year. A lady that had been involved in organizing it offered them to me and I started making blocks. I soon started making some of my own design and others that were not in the original Dear Jane book. Have I mentioned that I sometimes have a hard time following directions? LOL! I won a ribbon in a local show with it one year. I still love it. The M & K block is for my husband and I. The other block with letters represents my kids.
I hope you are enjoying a lovely spring day. Winter has come back to Michigan and I woke up to snow AGAIN!
