This gigantic baby billboard can be seen along a highway in the West Valley area of Phoenix. It always makes me smile! You can read the story behind it here.
My guy picks up trash everywhere we go. I love him.
Speaking of gigantic, this framed latch hook picture must have taken ages! I saw it at Goodwill. It was nearly as tall as me! I have to admire that commitment.
This:
Winslow loves to sit in this spot under our kitchen table.
Have a great day!
How can it be February already? Here are my January finishes.
Have a great day!
I ended up spending way too much time with my seam ripper while working on this quilt. But at least it is done.
This is the pantograph I used.
I didn’t like this enough to finish the binding by hand.
One of the problems I have with machine binding, is that I often end up with this “ruffled” edge. I circled the problem areas below.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
Have a great day!
I finally started working on my blocks. I cut out four to work on. I would like to make four a month, but I may only make one. 😂
This is the layout I decided on.
I piece these four sections.
Then stitch it all together.
I used my AccuQuilt GO! Tree of Life Die. They still had some in their clearance section the last time I checked. They also have a lot of other things at very low prices there until January 31.
Are you surprised that my block looks so different than those on the package? There is a myriad of variations you can make with this die. I had fun playing around with ideas.
Have a great day!
This post contains affiliate links.
I’ve been asked which AccuQuilt Block on Board, or BOB dies, are the most versatile. Such a great question! When I buy a die, I’m not usually interested in a one trick pony. They have their place, but I want something that will do many things. So here are my top picks.
First of all is this 12” GO! Big Churn Dash die. Obviously, you can use it to make churn dashes, but with these basic shapes, you can do so much more.
Here are a few examples:
The AccuQuilt Storm at Sea BOB is another great block! This one has infinite possibilities!
This shows sizes of sections of the block. You can see that you can make two different sizes of Economy blocks and Diamond in a rectangle blocks.
Here are some examples.
But there is so much more! check out 5he individual finished sizes.
So now you can see that you can make 1 1/2” by 3” finished flying geese blocks using shapes E and G. You can make 1 1/2” HSTs using Shape E or 3” HSTs using Shape H.
You could use Shape B to make something like this:
You could use shapes C and F to make a four patch like this:
Here is another one that can be very useful.
Let’s break it down.
Shapes C and D can be used to make Lemoyne Stars like this:
Shapes A, B, and D can be used o make star blocks like this:
You could use Shapes B and D to make a border or a row quilt like this.
This would be fun to do with scraps.
I hope this post was helpful. It may at least give you some insight into how I look at dies.
AccuQuilt has been having some great deals on Overstocks lately. Click the link to check out all their deals.
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As always, if you make a purchase after clicking through from one of my links, I make a small commission. It is greatly appreciated and goes to offset the costs of hosting this blog.
Have a great day!
Remember Craftsy 1.0? I loved it back then. When they changed to Bluprint, I bought some things on clearance. This FQ bundle of Tailor’s Tack was a favorite.
I finally decided to make a flying geese quilt from it. I used these AccuQuilt Studio dies. If you have an AccuQuilt GO!, these are equivalent to Shapes 4 and 5 from the 12” Qube.
I even went ahead and cut my scraps to squares.
I used these dies for that. These are equivalent to Shape 2 from the 4” Qube and Shape 2 from the 6” Qube.
I don’t know if I’ll start this right away or save it for sewing in the RV next summer.
It did feel good to use every single bit of that FQ bundle! I had nothing left, but slivers.
Have a great day!
I really wanted to get this top done and off the UFO list. As soon as I got the columns sewn, I knew I could not live with this.
Those brown/orange pieces had to go.
So I cut more pieces. I have very few light batiks left.
This is better, but that blue sticks out like a sore thumb.
This is even better, but I need to tweak the layout again.
This is what I’ll be doing tonight.
Have a great day!
Can you believe I’m STILL sorting and finding homes for everything in the sewing room! Combining two large spaces is not for the faint of heart. There are many things I still cannot find. But I spent a whole day last week working on it, so I decided to share. This is the sitting area at the top of the stairs. Ignore the dog bones.
If you turn around, you see the main sewing area. The door on the far right leads to a bathroom.
The tall wooden cabinet with drawers holds most of my thread.
The layout is mostly the same.
I have sorted and combined my scraps that were cut to specific sizes. I had bins in both Michigan and Arizona for many common sizes.
And cleaned up under my ironing table.
This was the corner of shame, but it is now much improved! The laundry bin on wheels holds mostly scrap batting pieces, fiberfill, and a couple quilt tops that need to be moved elsewhere.
The scrapbooking bins on the shelf hold WIPs.
I do love my design wall.
I have felt a decided lack of creativity lately. Usually cleaning the sewing room helps.
After sewing in a basement for many years, I sure love having windows! And this is my view. There are mountains in the distance.
Now, I think I’ll go mess this place up! Have a great day!
When Oscar gets home looking like this, you know you had a good day!
BTW, I was asked if you can collect rocks in parks. That depends. We collect on BLM land and you can legally collect up to 25 pounds of rock per person per day. You should never collect rocks without being sure you have permission. You have to do your homework.
I finished a couple puzzles.
Mr. Wonderful found this Charley Harper puzzle for me. I love it!
We may not have snow in Arizona, but this could still apply.
Silly Willy is a Momma’s boy.
I’ll never not be amazed at roses in January!
Have a great day!
It’s true that an ugly quilt can keep one just as warm as a pretty one. This one maybe isn’t ugly so much as it is boring.
I thought the jelly roll I used would make a nice, masculine quilt. It’s okay.
I did find a great binding fabric in my stash.
The quilting looks good on the back.
At least it is done and no longer mocking me from the shelf.
Have a great day!
KatyQuilts 