Scraps and Squirrels

Through much of June, I hemmed and hawed about what to do about dark blue for Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC19). I have tons of dark blue in my stash, but I wasn't sure I wanted to use it. I had fallen for the candy colored blocks I had already made and thought dark blue might weigh them down. So I did what I always do when I can't make up my mind--avoided the decision. Instead, I went shopping for the background fabric for my butterfly blocks. As is my habit this year, I limited myself to one local shop (saves on time and gasoline, and makes sure I spread the quilty love around the local small businesses). I had a preconceived notion of what the background should be, but there wasn't any of that kind of fabric available that fit my notion (retro floral print). Well there was, but not the colors I needed. So I went with something I wouldn't have thought of: a simple white with random yellow-green dots. 

I busied myself with cutting out all the background I needed for my butterflies, and I even  marked the diagonals to make future piecing this year go faster. I added the backgrounds to the partial blocks I had already made. That was a real sense of accomplishment. 

Without realizing it, I was making a decision while I sewed. I would make blue crumb blocks, and I would make the bottom wings of blue butterflies (the top wings will wait for July, which is light blue).

So, on to the crumb blocks, again with low-ish contrast. They still need to be trimmed to size, but that will come later.

Here they are with some of the other blocks mixed it. Love 'em!

I really wanted to lay out all of the blocks so far, but I was doing this on my deck and it was a gazillion degrees with high humidity and a bajillion mosquitoes, so I only had time for these few blocks. I suffer for my art, but I do have my limits.

I was pumped up about the dark blues and was all ready to make butterfly bits, but then on Wednesday, I was scrolling through some linky parties and came across a post from Carole at From My Carolina Home. It was her annual request for cosmetic bags and sunglass cases for the Safelight Project. These are collected and then used in gift bags along with other personal care items to give to the residents at a shelter for those fleeing domestic violence. I made two bags last year (You can see them here, if you'd like), and recalled that they were easy and fun to make, even for someone who does not enjoy (or is particularly talented at) three-dimensional sewing projects. Well, Squirrel!! I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I had Wonderlust (Paula Naderstern for Benartex) fabric in my "For Donation Quilts" bin that I had won in a giveaway from Sandra (yes, DrEAMi Sandra) last year. I had used the print for one of last year's bags, but had an assortment of marbled solidish fabrics just waiting for the right project. I picked six colors, and because I can't leave a basic pattern alone, made bags with an inserted color strip. I quilted a few lines in each bag with Aurifil threads I won in another giveaway a few years ago (little spools just right for small projects) and in no time, I had two sets of bags for Safelight.

Oh, and here they are again with the linings showing.

Sorry about the wrinkled lining. These were folded close overnight. They look okay in person.

The fabric is so smooth and silky. I just want to pet it. I have bits left over, so I think another set of bags someday will be improv pieced.

So, back to the RSC scrap sewing. I did get those butterfly bits finished last night. 

Eventually there will be light blue upper wings to go with them. And brown bodies, too. Here they are with some of their friends. Only some. Mosquitoes, you know.

I love the little green dots dancing around them.

So my scraps and squirrels are done! (For now, anyway,)

I'm linking up with Sandra at mmm! quilts for DrEAMi (Drop Everything And Make it!). And with Angela at So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday. And (tomorrow) with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap! 

I hope you are having fun with your scraps and squirrels. (And if you have an urge for a fun, quick, caring project, do check out Carole's post to make a few bags for Safelight. There are also some other neat ways to help out)

(I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.) 

Whoop Whoop Indeed!

Just before we left on vacation last week, a package arrived in the mail--my treat from  Sarah and the sponsors of the Hands2Help giveaway. It was a batch of sewing goodies from Clover. I just had to share this one. I immediately popped it into my take-along bag for vacation quilting. A Desk Needle Threader!

How did they know I needed this so much? I've had a really tough time threading needles in the last few years. I bought some of those little wire threaders--you know, the ones with the foil handle--but you have to be able to see the needle eye to use them, which is exactly my problem when trying to thread. I just sort of stab at the needle hoping the thread will go in, and I had to do that with the wire threader, too. Well, this little tool changed all of that! I can't tell you how much more quilting I got done because I wasn't spending all my time stabbing my thread in the general direction of the needle. So a big Whoop Whoop for Sarah and Clover! Thank you so much!

I did make some headway on my hand quilting project. It's been awhile since I shared this ongoing project because I usually only work on it when I'm away from home, but if you want to see more of it, you can click on the Hollyhocks label on the right sidebar or at the end of this post. Now that summer is here, I'll probably work on it more consistently because the lighting is perfect on our deck for hand quilting on summer evenings, and I do want to finish it.  

So that was my quilting for last week, but there is more to share. We vacationed in an adorable little apartment on the coast of Lake Michigan. In the closet were a few extra blankets in case we needed them. We didn't, but something caught my eye--a pretty floral patterned fabric with hand stitches. So of course, I had to snoop and pull it out for a closer look. 

Isn't that sweet? At first I thought it was pieced, but then I realized that those were neatly printed panels, with coordinated sashing and borders added. It was hand quilted with black and off-white threads "in the ditch" so that it truly looked pieced. The batting was thin, which made for a light, airy quilt. 

Isn't it adorable? After one last look, I folded it up and put it back in the closet for someone else to discover.

I later asked our host about the quilt. It was made by her mother, who had made a quilt for each of her (11) children. So sweet!

Our apartment also had a little pieced wall hanging of decorator fabrics and corduroy made by a friend of our hosts.There was just a little quilting on it around the border.

There was also a cute pillow and a crocheted afghan, so I guess you could say I felt quite at home there. 

But wait, there's more. One day, we visited a small town nearby, home of Ann Loveless, winner of Artprize in Grand Rapids in 2013 for her quilt of Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore (You can see my photos of that quilt, which hangs in the Visitor Center at Sleeping Bear, in this post). She and her husband Steve won Artprize again in 2015 with their multi-media project, Northern Awakenings. It's a 60 by 300 inch piece that morphs from photo to quilt across it's surface. It hangs in a restaurant near Steve's photo gallery. Very hard to photograph because of its size, but I gave it a try. It is breathtaking. This end is mostly photo:

This section is mostly quilt (tiny batik and landscape-y snippets of fabric):

 And a close-up:

And a shaky attempt at a panoramic photo. You just have to see this in person. 

The word to describe our vacation is BLISS. So I'll end with a few of my favorite photos of Pure Michigan:

The sweet doe that accompanied us every evening to watch the sunset.

Good night, Sun. Hello, Moon.

Oh, and a couple more because sewing related. This is the historical museum in the town we stayed in (it was not yet open for the season):

But here is what was in that second floor window (the cabinet is the same as mine, I think):

(And one more note--the stained glass insets in the window were made by our vacation host!)

Oh, and for the record, I saw three antique sewing machines in shops. One was not for sale but belonged to the family that owned a gift shop (I was able to date it for her). Two were Singer 99s. One had gorgeous decals. Both needed electrical work. I stayed strong and passed them up, but I hope someone else will give them the love they need.

So Whoop Whoop--for Sarah and H2H, for gadgets from Clover, for quilted discoveries, for lovely vacations, and always for Pure Michigan. I'm linking up today with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I have a Whoop Whoop. Of course!

Ok, back to "regular" life.

TBT: A Tiny Wedding Present

It was June 1995. I had, by that time, ended my tiny quilting career (you can read about that if you click on "my tiny career" on the right sidebar) and returned to my career in the schools. I didn't even try to quilt during the school year, but did sew during vacations. That year, my oldest niece graduated from college, and within a few short weeks, got married. I really, really wanted to make a quilt for her and her new husband for a wedding present. But I was still mired in paperwork. (Oh, and we also were selling our house and packing to move.) What to do. I needed something I could make quickly.

So, after checking with her mother about color preferences (dark greens and reds), I made a very tiny quilt of the sort I had enjoyed making during my tiny career. Bad photo. I know. It's the best I can do. It looks grayish, but those are three shades of green. 

This quilt is a churn dash based on a pattern by Becky Schaefer in her book Working in Miniature. I'm not sure how big it is, but the quilts I quilted for her were about 9 1/2 inches by 12 1/2 inches. This one is probably slightly bigger because of multiple borders--around the blocks and around the central section. I did take time to draw my own hand quilting designs. I outline quilted in the churn dash blocks, and made stylized five-petal flowers in the plain squares and vines in the triangles and outer green borders. Looking at the photo of the back, I see that I used dark green thread for the border. Yikes! That couldn't have been fun. 

Here's what I remember about making this quilt: I managed to get the sleeve on before we left home (the wedding was about 3 1/2 hours away). I also had the foresight to attach the label, and I machine sewed the binding on the front. In addition, I prepped the gift box so I could just pop the quilt in when it was finished. On the way to the wedding, I hand sewed the binding to the back, finishing it shortly before we got to the wedding. I'm not sure if those photos were taken at a rest stop or in the parking lot at the park where the wedding was to take place. Oh my. 

And now for a few laughs. The photos above are cropped. Here's what was really going on. That dress. (You can't see much of the BIG lace trimmed collar and tie.) White tights. Chunky, clunky shoes. Little House on the Prairie, anyone? (And no, my blog name is not based on those books or the TV show.) Oh, and the temperature was close to 90 degrees. What was I thinking?!!

Let's see that again. Giggle, giggle, snort. Those shoes!

Here's an additional tidbit that I just realized: The couple who received this hastily-made quilt soon started a family. In fact, the quilts from my last Throwback Thursday post belong to their three kids.  

Okay, true confession. I was planning to write a more meaty post this month about some other quilts. But once again I am running off-schedule and had to hurry to get this written. I don't even have an excuse as I am long retired (and not moving my household) and should be able to get things done without hurrying at the last minute. At least this is timely as the couple are coming up on their 24th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks.

I'm linking up today with Andrée at Quilting and Learning--What a Combo for Throwback Thursday. (She shares this responsibility with Sandra at mmm! quilts, so thank you, Andrée!)  

I hope you have some oldies to share, too--and maybe some sartorial silliness we can all laugh at. I can only hope I'm not the only one who was (is?) fashion challenged.

                                               

Orange You Happy?

Knock-knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you happy we got to sew with orange during May? (Groan. I know but I couldn't resist. I have grandkids who are crazy about knock-knock jokes.)

I'm squeaking in during the last week again with my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. But. I got them done. 

My crumb blocks were a bit of a challenge this month. I have quite a lot of orange in my stash--but many are pale peachy or browny rust. Since I want lowish contrast blocks, I left those out, which did not leave a lot to work with. There were a few brights (my favorite) and some reddish-orange. I sort of separated them and made three blocks of each color group. There were a few that fit into both categories, so those kind of held everything together. I'm not sure about the pearl bracelet fabrics grabbing attention, but oh well. They kind of echo the dots in the fabric I have for the sashing.

Here they are with their friends. (I chose not to include aqua for these blocks.)

Because I had sorted the colors out for the crumb blocks, making my butterfly blocks this month went faster--brights for the upper wings and red-orange for the lower ones.

And here they are with their friends. (Notice no red with these this year. Maybe later.)

I'm really ready to start looking for background fabric for these so I can finish the blocks. Otherwise there will be a whole lot more sewing at the end of the year. They'll look more uniform with the background triangles and bodies added in. 

Now that my planned Hands2Help quilts from the last few months are done and sent out, I may get my next RSC blocks made before the end of June, and then it will be time to find a new project. Well, maybe finish those butterflies. Hmm.

I'm linking up with Angela at So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

I hope you are having a fun weekend, scrappy or not.

H2H Quilt Party!

This is a week when we all need to set aside a little more time to scroll through all the quilty goodness: the week of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge Party. Oh goody! It's always so heartwarming to see all of the quilts that everyone has made to give others comfort, and to see how the number of quilters and number of quilts grows every year. A big thank you to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for arranging this. I  can't even imagine all the time that goes into that, but our quilt community sure appreciates it. 

I have shared a couple of quilts previously, and I'll include them and their links at the end of this post if you want to take a look, but today I have two more quilts that I made this month. I didn't know if I could make it happen, but it all came together. In fact, as I'm writing this the last one is getting it's bath so it will be all set to send. At the end of this post I'll share where these are all going.

This first quilt is special because it's made from a bundle of fat eighths I received from the generous sponsors of last year's H2H challenge. 

There were 33 cuts in the bundle: Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda. 

Twelve were text prints. I really liked them, but I'm a bit uncomfortable making a quilt with words on it when I don't know who the recipient will be. One print was the alphabet written in tiny script in three colorations. I was okay with that, so I kept those fabrics. So there were 24 cuts in all that I chose for the quilt. I didn't really want to spend a lot of time designing a quilt, so my next step was looking around online for a fat-eighth-friendly pattern. You know what? There aren't many. In fact, I kept finding the same two over and over, and for various reasons, they wouldn't work for this bundle. Then I saw a post from Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts with a quilt block that intrigued me (the purple and white one at the bottom of her post). I wondered if I could size it in a way to make good use of my eighths. After a bit of scribbling, I decided to just look up the pattern. It's Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson, a free pattern here. The quilt is made with 2 1/2 inch wide strips, but as I looked at it, I realized it could also be cut from fat eighths, as the pieces fit perfectly with only a tiny bit of waste  usable scraps along the selvages. I looked at the fabrics in grayscale, matched them up in 12 sets,

and was able to cut 4 blocks from each set for a total of 48 blocks. I sewed them up in a hurry. You can tell I was in a hurry because there are no photos of the process. After I got them laid out 6 by 8, I decided that one more column (8 blocks) would make it a bit more comfortable size--7 by 8 blocks. I dug into my scraps, and (would you believe it?!) found three fabrics that were just big enough to cut out enough pieces. I needed one more fabric, but--no problem--I needed to go to the fabric store to buy the backing I had had my eye on in the sale bin, so why not look for one more black print there. Well, yes, I did find a print that would work not only for a block but (yippee, a stripe!) for the binding. So here are the extra fabrics I added in to make my extra blocks:

I really wanted that binding to pop, and I didn't want it to touch the same fabric in the quilt, so I laid out the quilt so that the darkest fabrics were away from the edge. Other than that I didn't pay too much attention to where fabrics came together, except for the dark/light arrangement of the pattern. If I had, I think I would still be on the floor switching blocks around and around and around--you know how it goes.

There was one little hiccup when it was time to prepare the back. I had figured out yardage for the back before I decided to make an extra row of blocks. I almost had to go back to the store to buy a little extra, but with some creative seaming I was able to make use of what I had. Whew. The mismatch in pattern shows just a tiny bit in the photo of the whole back if you look really closely, but the seaming doesn't show outside of photos. 

I did a loose wavy walking foot line for quilting, based on the sample in the pattern, but with more widely spaced lines and no overlap. A quick wash, and the quilt was as cozy and cuddly as I hoped it would be. 

I really like this combination of colors and patterns. I think it will appeal to most anyone because of the colors and patterns in the fabric. There is a floral on the back, but it's pretty subtle--and it's nature, so what's not to like about that, right? 

Barely visible initials and date going up the side (also a stray thread, sigh)

So quick stats and a couple of glamour photos, and then we'll move on because there is more to see.

Pattern: Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson (and with thanks to Wendy for her post about it!) And now you know, this pattern is perfect for that fat eighth bundle you weren't sure what to do with.
Fabrics:  Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda plus three random scraps from the stash for the front; Chelsea Market Essex Rose in Green by Brenda Walton for Blend for the back; Farm Fresh Strings in Kettle by Gingiber for Moda for top and binding

Batting: Warm and Natural 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Coats cotton hand quilting thread in black for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 64 1/2 by 56 1/2 inches, pieced; 64 1/4 by 55 3/4 inches after quilting; 60 1/2 by 51 3/4 inches after machine washing and drying.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

With our latest yard art from the local art festival

I just had to make one more quilt. Time was short, so it would have to be simple.

A notification for a huge sale at a local store showed up in my inbox, and I had a thought to make a little whole cloth quilt. So I headed on out with the intention of buying a large floral print that I could follow for the quilting. After mulling everything over (did I mention that my husband just happened to be with me doing errands--couldn't dither too long), I suddenly changed my plan. A beautiful little navy/aqua/celery arrow print was calling my name. And just a few bolts away, there was a tiny circle print with the same colors. And a tiny navy dot print. Within two seconds of the first choice, I had a whole quilt's worth of fabric in hand. (It is not a bad thing to have my husband with me--it has a positive effect on the dither factor.) 

Once home, I spent some quality time carefully basting the top and bottom fabrics with white flannel for batting. It was important to me to get the fabric straight since it was quite a directional pattern--in more ways than one! Then I quilted along every other white line to hold it all together. Binding was a cinch, with a relaxing evening to hand stitch it to the back. When I first finished it, I wondered if the quilt was too plain. 

I'm used to piecing blocks. But I know that some people are not really into pieced quilts (really!) and this would be a comfy little blankie for a newborn that might also fit well into a lot of modern nurseries. It's lightweight, so perfect for summertime use, too. 

I think this type of quilt will now be on my list of quick quilt projects to make now and then.

And here are the stats:

Pattern: None! It's an easy peasy wholecloth quilt.

Fabrics:  Front: Dog Gone It Collection Arrows Multi by Jackie Studios for Camelot Fabrics; Back: Mirage Dots by Alex Anderson for RJR Fabrics; Binding: Unknown Navy with tiny "square" white dots.

Batting: White quality flannel 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Treasure in Old Lace for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 37 3/4 inches square, cut to size after quilting (I washed and dried all fabrics before quilting to minimize shrinkage of the flannel); 36 1/2 inches square after washing/drying finished quilt.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

So...here are the other two quilts. Click on the name of the quilt for the link if you'd like to read more.

Butterfly Quilt This quilt will be donated to Emily at Em's Scrap Bag for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. I think its cheerful vibe will brighten someone's day during treatment.

Strip Quilt I guess I never named this one, so Strip Quilt it is. This one is going to Bernie at Needle and Foot for Mercyful Quilts, an end-of-life quilt collection at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. 

The Modern Puzzle Quilt (above) will also go to Bernie for Mercyful Quilts. I like to think these quilts represent the one I didn't have an opportunity to make for my mother-in-law when she moved into a new care facility before she passed away. The Little Wholecloth Quilt (as good a name as any) will go to Jack's Basket, an organization started by Carissa Carroll to celebrate newborns who have Down Syndrome. I'm giving it in honor of my brother-in-law who has his own extra chromosome.

If you don't know about these organizations, be sure to go to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and click on this link to learn more about these organizations. And here is the link to the ultimate linky party to celebrate everyone's finishes this year. 

See you all next year for more H2H fun!!

(I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)