Under My Needle Today

 It looks like chaos, but I do have a method!

I keep telling myself to make smaller quilts, but I don't listen very well. 🙉

Slow Progress Report

I'm still here!

Work has had me so busy this semester, that I haven't taken the time to post. I'm working on a few projects--mainly some donation quilts that  I'd like to have done and taken to the agency for distribution  before the busy Holiday season. I'll catch up with pictures and posts eventually. For now, here's proof of life.

Straight-line quilting on simple squares

Any one else out there have a day job that cuts into your quilting time? 😀

Kaffe Fassett and QSTs

I combined large blocks of Kaffe Fassett fabrics with very subtle Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) in this quilt for my stepdaughter. I didn't have a pattern for this one--I just made alternate blocks that I thought would be complementary to the prints.

The KF fabrics reminded me of vintage sheet prints.

Since the prints are quite bold, I toned them down a bit by using QSTs as alternate blocks.

The color difference is very subtle (almost too subtle, I think), but the QSTs are white and creme.




I used a small print for the backing and a purple blender for the binding. Many of the fabric prints contained some purple, so I think the color combination worked well.

The quilt finished at 82" x 82". I quilted it on my DSM with a simple meandering pattern.

I told my husband that the prints reminded me of vintage sheets. He said he had never thought of sheets as vintage before, but that he really liked the sheets we had on the bed now. I told him that since I got them new in the 1970s and have used them ever since, they certainly qualify as vintage!

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 133 at the Quilting Room with Mel.

My Leader and Ender Projects

Each year Bonnie Hunter has a Leader and Ender challenge. This year, her project is a Checkerboard Rail Fence. 


While I may make her project down the line, right now I'm focusing on my own Rail Fence version. I'm doing a two-rail block (color + neutral) with 2"x 3.5"rectangles. These simple units stack up quickly alongside the other projects I'm working on. My goal is to see how many donation quilts I can make with the year's challenge.

So far, I have two finished tops.

They look very much the same even though the mix of scraps is different in each.

They do have different backing/binding fabrics, so I can keep track of how many of them I wind up with!

I also tried different techniques of quilting to see if one was preferable. One has a stairstep pattern of quilting, whereas the other has a simple SITD around the squares.


I have one more stairstep top that I think I will FMQ. I also have a completed windmill top (same units, just set differently) to finish.


I'm thinking I might mix it up a bit when I cut my next pieces--perhaps all bright solids with black? We'll see--right now, I'm having fun with these.

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 129 at The Quilting Room with Mel .

Holiday Family 2015--Finished Quilt

I finished the nine-patch for the family my department adopts for the holidays. My first blog post about it is here: Holiday Family 2015 Project



It is a simple nine-patch pattern with a large, nine-patch pieced back.

66" x 84"

Pieced Back

Detail of Fabrics

Assembly was fast--I made strip sets of threes:

Subcut into blocks:

Then sewed them together.

My helper is keeping an eye on the quality of the work.

I pieced the back to echo the nine-patch on the front and did a diagonal quilting pattern. Bound with black, the quilt is done.



This is a very traditional quilt, but, I think, an attractive one suitable for a family.


I'm linking to The Quilting Room with Mel: Fiber Tuesday 33.

Quilting the Monster

I'm quilting my Bowtie quilt today. It's 90" x 90", so it takes some effort to wrangle it!

From owls and outhouses

to Pink felines and flaming dogs.

My conversations with myself are a bit odd:

"Right between the fire ants and the lobsters," and "Start to the left of the nachos." :)