Blogger’s Quilt Festival — Fall 2015 Edition--Scrappy Quilt

Calico Sunny Lanes

Amy Ellis at AmysCreative Side.com is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival, and this is my entry in the Scrappy Quilts Category.



This quilt measures 86" x 86".

I used a light calico in place of the traditional solid to form the "lanes."

I used a neutral for the backing. It has a fairly large repeat, so using it this way shows off the pattern. A red binding picks up the reds in the top.

I'm linking this with AmysCreativeSide.com in the Scrappy Quilt Category.

Blogger's Quilt Festival--Fall 2015 Edition--Large Quilt

I-Spy Bowtie

Amy Ellis at AmysCreative Side.com is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival, and this is my entry in the Large Quilts Category.




This quilt measures 90" x 90".

The background is a white on white pattern, and the bowties are mostly novelty fabrics.

Everything from Apples to Zebras is included!

 I'm linking this with AmysCreativeSide.com in the Large Quilt Category.

A Wonderful New Book of Ideas

For those of you who love scrappy quilts but are a bit afraid of making them, I'd like to recommend a book that contains patterns for what many quilters term controlled scrappy quilts. I am not receiving compensation for this review; I just love the book!

Dupre, Mickey.  Half-Scrap Quilts: Take and Make Them Yours. Paducah, KY: AQS, 2015.

Author Mickey Dupre has created a beautiful collection of patterns she calls Half-Scrap Quilts: Take and Make Them Yours. While scrappy, these include a few constant fabrics--something that will certainly be welcomed by those who prefer controlled scrappy quilts. The "Make Them Your Own" idea is exemplified by the suggestions the author gives on alternate fabrics and arrangements.

The patterns range from beginner to advanced levels, and the instructions are thorough and clear. The book is beautifully produced: full-color with clearly formatted pages.

Each quilt has a story, and in the introduction, we learn the author's personal story of her journey in this type of quilting.

You can see pictures of the included quilts on Ms. Dupre's website here: Half-Scrap Quilts
This lovely book can be ordered from her website as well.

Her book was also featured on Bonnie Hunter's blog (though the giveaway mentioned on the site is over--sorry!): Half-Scrap Quilts on Quiltville.



Christmas is coming! Someone on your list would probably love a copy of this treasure of beautiful patterns . . . or maybe, you will want to ask Santa for a copy of your own.

I'm linking with Prairie Sewn Studios.

Random Ohio Stars--Basted!

I got the quilt sandwiched and glue basted this week--still working toward the finish.

Backing

Now, how to quilt it? Of all the steps in making a quilt, quilting is my weakest skill. I usually rely on SiTD, and that's what I will likely do here, but I'm still pondering.



  I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Challenge

Holiday Family 2015 Project

Each year my department adopts a holiday family. I made a quilt last year, and I think I'll try to make it an every-year tradition.


I pulled some fabrics this morning:

I'm planning a simple 9-patch--not knowing the family ahead of time, this seems like the safest type of pattern--something traditional.

I plotted it out on EQ7:

I've been counting up what I will need in preparation for cutting. I'll keep you informed of the progress. 

I'm linking with Freemotion by the River and The Quilting Room with Mel: Fiber Tuesday 31. 

And Now For Something Completely Different

Most of my posts are about quilting, but today I thought I'd share a recipe.



Spice Cookies (with surprising spices)

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour

Cream butter and sugars. Mix in everything except the vanilla and flour. When thoroughly mixed, add vanilla. Stir in the flour until incorporated completely. Shape into walnut-sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can add chopped nuts or mini-chocolate chips, if you wish. The recipe makes between 2-3 dozen, depending upon the size you make the balls of dough.

Enjoy!

Christmas Strings Part III

A Green Day

Since I don't have enough of the red fabric I've been using in my triangles to make the whole quilt I have planned, I have decided to use green for half the blocks. The green has a bit of glitter in it which doesn't show up in the photos.

I like the green, but the triangles today seem a bit darker overall, so I think I'll pick up some lighter fabrics to use next time (white or cream backgrounds--still Christmas prints).


Some of today's details:

Doesn't everyone have fabric with flamingos wearing Santa hats?

Nutcracker Men

I'm not sure what berries have to do with Christmas, but they are pretty.

Another beautiful fabric

I haven't decided on a layout yet; I could simply alternate the green and red stars, or I could do an around-the-world arrangement. I'll have to try it out when I have enough to arrange.

Linking up with Creative Goodness and Ella and Nesta's Little Room.

Random Ohio Stars: Part 2

I'm still working to finish up this quilt!


This week I chose and applied borders to my quilt top:

First Border

Second Border

I had a hard time choosing borders. There is so much going on in the quilt top that I didn't want anything too busy, but there are also a lot of neutrals, so I didn't want anything too bland. I didn't want the borders so loud they looked out of place either. I finally went with the combination above, but I'm still not really sure about it!

I had some extra blocks and some trial blocks, so I put them together in these panels which I sewed into the backing--now to keep them straight when I layer this up and baste it.


Speaking of layering and basting, that will be my next step--little by little I'm moving forward.

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction for the Bonnie Hunter Pre-Mystery UFO Challenge.

Christmas Strings Part II

Part II: In which I do a bit of fussy cutting/piecing


I put together some more string triangles today. I love looking at string quilts, and I am always thrilled to see a little surprise that the quiltmaker put in. In some of my triangles, I include fussy-cut strings to give that surprise to anyone looking at the quilt.


Here are four triangles--they won't be put together into one block in the quilt, I will spread them out.

Here are some closeup photos of what these blocks contain:

Napping Santa and Cat

Cat Playing a Bass Fiddle

Poinsettia, Cat, and Santa

Santa and His Reindeer

Of course, a string quilt would be beautiful without this added element, but I find it fun to do--I'm just a kid at heart.

 I'm linking with Freshly Pieced and Sew Fresh Quilts

Christmas Strings

I'm playing with more string quilt blocks. 

I'm using Christmas fabrics, so I think I'll call this one "Wreaths and Stars"--seems more appropriate for the holiday than "Christmas Spiderweb."

I'm not sure I have enough of the red for the stars, so I may make half of the blocks with a green star.

Sorry about the lighting--I wasn't about to carry all of these outside! :)


More to come...

Random Ohio Stars

I put together my Random Ohio Star blocks today.

I like the way they look, but I do plan to use a couple of borders to make it look really finished. Not sure of the colors, yet; I'll audition several. The top in the picture isn't hanging very straight, but you get the idea. :)

This has been a fun project--I'm looking forward to the next step! 

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction for the Bonnie Hunter UFO finish up, with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and with Creative Goodness .

Mystery Solved!

I finished the mystery quilt I wrote about in my last post: It's A Mystery


I'm having a hard time getting a good photo of these fabrics, but here are a couple of tries. The darkest color is maroon--not purple.

The more I look at it, the more I think I should have continued some of the diagonals into the border to create a more finished look--if I do this pattern again, I'll try that.

It is 70" x 82" with the borders and binding. The pattern is pretty simple, and it goes together well.


One fewer unsolved mystery in the world!