Purple Selvage Quilt for Mary

My cousin, Mary, was in the studio a couple weeks ago while I was piecing these blocks together....and I know she likes purple. she was admiring it, so I decided to gift it to her. I finished the binding on it today and it will go to her tomorrow. It's just under 90" square.

It is so hard to come up with a new pattern for these blocks. i finally decided to make a huge 4 patch ....with 4 patches. haha   it wasn't quite large enough, so i made a scrappy border. That used up just about all of my purple fabrics and purple selvages. I was determined to use all those purple selvages, so i just kept making blocks until i ran out. Even the binding was scrappy bits...in fact, i had to piece a part of the binding to have it wide enough.

There was not enough of the same purple fabric for the sashings, so they got scrappy, too.

I just happened to have a piece of muslin that was just about the right size. There were a few blocks left over, so they increased the length of the muslin and I was good to go.

The panto is called Contour. that is a pretty dense panto and took a few days to finish this. i had to talk myself into quilting on it after the first row. haha  I told myself I had to quilt 2 rows before I could turn that embroidery machine on. 

Top thread was Glide Orchid; bobbin was Bottom Line Statue.

Tomorrow, when Mary gets this, I'll be her favorite cousin. hahahaha

Reflecting Pools

Another scrappy one....this one using up some blues. i need to put a camera in my studio....no matter how much i use up, nothing seems to go away. the piles don't get noticeably smaller. someone is sneaking in and adding fabrics.

This pattern is by Bev Getschel and was in the Sept/Oct issue of McCalls Quilting magazine. see those little stickies at the top of the magazine....there are 3 more quilts in this issue that i want to make. usually, i'm happy to find 1 pattern that i like in a magazine. this was a bonanza.

It is about 72" square. Bev made strip sets, but i hardly ever have enough fabrics to do that. i'm pulling bits and pieces of scraps....usually under a FQ. So, I just count up how many strips I need and start cutting. haha

strips inside the white bordered blocks are cut 6 1/2 x 2 1/2

Strips in the other blocks are cut 9 1/2 x 2 1/2. it was just a matter of sewing all those strips together.

Mrs. Bobbins

If you are a quilter, you probably know of Mrs. Bobbins. I found a panel a couple weeks ago and couldn't resist. She has those bright green glasses, so i had to use some green selvages.

Here's a closer look

And some of my favorite cartoons.

This one cracks me up

Now it will await its turn for quilting.

Strip Blocks with Maroon Borders

A good start to November....I finished piecing something. haha  I've been working on these blocks for several weeks and now they are a quilt top.

It's about 80x98.  Blocks are 8" finished.

I alternated 2 different blocks. One has a border...

One does not.

I set the bordered blocks vertically and the plain blocks horizontally. I was using 1 1/2" strips. I had a whole box of them and there are still plenty left. some are cut crooked and some are fatter than others....but average 1 1/2"

Now it will marinate in the to-be-quilted cabinet for a bit until it gets quilted. would be nice to get a lot more finished this month....we'll see.

UFO Challenges for October

Another month has come and gone....and here it is November already. I'm not ready....it's all too fast. October was pretty much a wash for me challenge wise. I didn't do too well.

I did get the quilt finished....Baltimore Brides quilt. the background is black flannel...it's pretty but every little thread sticks to it.

I did get a few more things quilted...

Barb's Birds

A spider pillow top for my cousin

And Welcome to the North Pole. this one has lots of embellishments...that took me forever to finish.

My piecing project was the purple selvages. I did get it pieced and it is on the frame to be quilted. i only have an in progress pic at this point.

And i have the Pumpkins Gone Wild about 3/4 finished.

On the embroidery challenge, the Hola Mola blocks are still being worked on...

The lighthouse blocks got taken off the display wall and put back in a box for another time.

I did get a new CD called Funky Fish and made all 20 blocks. here are some of them. only the blocks are made so far.....on flannel background. i want some kind of water or fish fabric for the sashings and border.

I have been doing a lot of yard work....still....cleaning out brush and sticker bushes....and cleaning around dead trees so they can be taken down. right now we are on our 3rd day of rain, with a couple more days to go, so no yard work is getting done, either.

Hopefully, November will be better.

Welcome to the North Pole

I finished quilting this some time ago, but I don't think I have shared it. It has sat by my chair for months...waiting for me to finish adding embellishments. I finally talked myself into doing the last 3 blocks. haha   lots of beads and buttons and rhinestones. pretty shiny.

This is the book that the pattern was in. I think I found it at a book sale.

I tried to make mine as close to the pattern as I could.

There are beads, ribbons and buttons everywhere.

I discovered it is really had to sew a line of beads in a straight line. haha

The little ice cream cone is actually an eraser.

The part of a copper bracelet on the roofline was leftovers from something that I cut from it. 

Santa has a pretty spiffy sleigh.

Santa forgot his belt....hope his pants don't fall down. haha

Don't know what I will do with this one....it was just fun to make.

Pumpkins Gone Wild

Someone on MQR just the other day showed a jelly roll quilt with a white zigzag in the middle. (i don't have my note with me now to see who it was....i think Deb). anyway, i got a jelly roll on monday from the fabric line Pumpkins Gone Wild and i had to start one. 

So far, I have 9 rows finished. now i have to zigzag in the other direction. I started the cut of the jelly strip at 4" and increased it 2" every time till i got to 20". 

I cut the insert pieces in the middle 10 1/2", so it is 50" wide. I'll probably go to about 60 or 65" and then stop. 

There are some really cool prints in this line. and there is no waste, just cut a strip and insert a section....and done. i like simple.