Sunday Stash: My Newest Squee!

It's a little late in the day, but my computer crashed this morning and would not respond to any commands. Including the (colorful) verbal kind!

Thanks to the DH, we're back up and running -- and I can show you the photos of the latest quilt kit at Ruth's Stitchery. It's "Fancy Forest" by Elizabeth Hartman and Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

I am just so excited about this collection, I arranged all 40 fat quarters on my cutting table so I could admire and photograph them. I love that EH designed the prints to complement Kona Cotton solids.

Here's the background fabric , Robert Kaufman's Essex yarn-dyed linen blend.

I love that texture for the background!

Here is a photo of the completed quilt:

I can't wait to start on this lovely! Maybe if it snows enough tomorrow, the schools (and hence, the shop!) will be closed!

Come back tomorrow for the February 1 UFO parade. See challengers' "Favorite UFOs!"

From the desk of your

Friday Finish

This Jelly Roll Party quilt was a big hit with Ruth's Stitchery customers. Five "jelly rollers" made their quilt with the same fabrics as the sample!

The fabrics are "Cold Spell" by Laundry Basket Quilts. I love this collection particularly, because it has both batiks and cottons. For years, we quilters thought we shouldn't mix cottons and batiks. Edyta Sitar proved that rule to be wrong wrong wrong!

The pattern is "Winter Solstice" from Cozy Quilts. The only change I made to the pattern was using my favorite "Corner Clipper" ruler rather than sew and flip triangles for the star points.

Oh -- and the white "patches" in the border are class information signs for the shop!

Big snow predicted for Colorado this weekend. It's a "sew-day!"

From the desk of your

WIP Wednesday

The  January UFO "number" is "pick your favorite." My favorite UFO is "Ryokan."

Ryokan means "Japanese Inn." The pattern is from ThimbleCreek Quilts, designed by Joe Wood. I started this quilt at a Block Party at Ruth's Stitchery in 2013.  I had the twelve blocks in the pattern finished when My Little Sailor announced, "You know I have a full-size bed now, Mom!"

So I added eight more blocks. Each of the blocks I added means something to Jacob. The bottom two rows are the blocks I added.

From left to right, starting with the second row from the bottom:
Jacob's Ladder, Port and Starboard, Blacks and Tans (summer Navy uniform), One More Block (because I needed a 20th block!), Centennial Star (Colorado is the Centennial State), Martha Washington Star (his Mom's name is Martha, and he was born in Washington), Chinook

(the wind that blows down the mountains), Waves of the Sea.

The sashing is a Daiwabo fabric (from Japan!). It is an ombre design, going from dark to light to dark across the width of the fabric. It's cut into 1½" squares and set in a checkerboard design. I think the sashing looks like cobblestone streets. Because the pattern only has 12 blocks, I didn't buy enough to sash all 20 blocks. Friend Cathy to the rescue, she donated 1/2 yard of her sashing fabric so I could have the same sashing throughout! I have four more borders to add, then it will be ready for the quilter.  My plan is to take it to Japan with me in August when My Little Sailor re-enlists in the US Navy.

What is your favorite UFO?

From the desk of your

Sunday Stash

I'm learning what my co-workers mean about spending one's paycheck before it is earned! Seeing the new stuff come into the shop every day makes it hard to resist!

Although this post will look like I've done nothing but shop this month, most of the "stash enhancement" is from Christmas.

I have so many photos to share, I think I'll only show the fabric this week. Next Sunday, I'll show off the patterns.

One of my Christmas-prezzies-to-myself was this fat quarter bundle from Minnick & Simpson, "Crazy for Red." I bought it thinking I would use some of it for my "A Quilt Block a Day" challenge. But it's so pretty, I can't bear to untie the ribbon!

Remember how I added the Tula Pink mystery to my 2016 UFO list? I was thrilled to find this Tula wide back in coral and pink. I love it so much, I've left it on the cutting table to admire!

My family home is in Melba, Idaho. Emma Jean Jansen designed the "Melba" collection for ella blue.

Emma Jean is an Australian designer, but we have these black-and-white Magpies in Idaho, too!

On my return from the last post-holiday airport run, I stopped off at Sew-Ciety in Castle Rock. It was hard, but I limited myself to this "Canyon" by Kate Spain charm pack:

and Amy Ellis's "Chic Neutrals" layer cake. Dona at Ruth's Stitchery made a sample quilt this month using the "City Blocks" pattern. I think it will be perfect for this layer cake!

Included in my Andover fabric for Lovebug Studios' "Dear Laura" mystery, I scored this "Fresh Cut" charm pack from BasicGrey. My favorite line of blenders! Westwood Acres Fabric offered a "mystery charm pack," so I didn't resist!

Today is "Staff Sew-in Day" at the shop. I'm determined to finish my January UFO! What are you sewing today?


From the desk of your

First Friday Finish

of 2016!

This is the "No Measure Bargello" pattern from Cozy Quilts. It was the January Jelly Roll Party at Ruth's Stitchery. We're beginning our fourth year of Jelly Roll Parties!

I used the "Lakeside Gatherings" jelly roll and yardage. The pattern calls for two identical strips of each fabric, but my jelly roll didn't have duplicate strips. So I used strips that were similar in color and pattern.

Also, the pattern calls for copying the dimensions for the cross-cuts to butcher paper, then pressing it onto the background before cutting. Since my printer wouldn't print on the butcher paper, I just measured the width of each cross-cut and used my 24" ruler to make the cuts.

I think it turned out just fine -- and so did My Little Sailor, who is waiting for this quilt to be shipped to him in Japan!

Big weekend UFO-busting plans here, how about you?




From the desk of your

WIP Wednesday: The Plan Unfolds

Hmm, my last post outlined my "plan" for 2016. So far, I'm keeping up with the Blocks of the Month -- but then, it's only January!

I swore to myself I would only join one "block party" at Ruth's Stitchery this year.

The one I chose is "Park Bench." Pattern from Jaybird Quilts, and the fabric I'm using is "Botanics" by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman. I bought the kit last winter in Laramie at Quilt Essentials when I was in Wyoming for the Downton Abbey Retreat with Around the Block Quilts. Julie Herman's directions are so clear, the blocks go together in a snap!

Today is the 30th day of winter -- how are your 9-patch "A Quilt Block a Day" blocks coming along? You should have 30 made today! I have them on the design wall to inspire me to stitch a 9-patch every day.

They won't be sewn together in this arrangement (I have a secret plan for them!) but it's fun to see the rows grow day-by-day.

The best-laid resolutions -- when I read that Ebony of LoveBug Studios was hosting a "Dear Laura" QAL, I caved. The mystery quilt features the "Little House on the Prairie" fabrics from Andover (I bought mine at Ruth's Stitchery, of course -- they have the complete collection). Since it's a mystery, I'm only showing you the corners of the blocks!

It's not too late to join the mystery, go here for details.

Today is a "stay in the house and sew" kind of day, so I'm working on my January UFO. It's "Vintage Memories," a BoM from several years (!) ago.

How is your Jaunary UFO progressing? Remember to email me a photo of your finish for the February 1 UFO Parade!



From the desk of your

2016: The Plan

I've never been much of one for planning what quilts to make. But now that I have a "real" job, I realize I will need to schedule my sewing time!

So here's what I've done. First, I pulled out the UFOs I want to finish this year. I listed them on my whiteboard:

more or less in the order I intend to finish them.

I arranged them on the cutting table and took a photo:

UFOs are projects that have been actually started -- not just cut, not put together as a "kit," but actually partially sewn. Sometimes mostly sewn.

Then, I pulled out the "kits" I want to sew this year.

Starting in the upper left, clockwise, are:

1. Jen Kingwell's "Gene Pool." A belated 25th Anniversary prezzie for my nephew and his wife.
   
2. Another Jen Kingwell pattern, "Stardust." Donna at Ruth's Stitchery cut a half-yard of the entire JK line for me, so I'd better sew it up!
   
3. Carolyn Friedlander fabric to make "Meter Maid" from Abbey Lane Quilts.
   
4. Tula Pink "Fox Field" mystery from 2011. I forgot I had this until I went stash-diving, looking for quilt backs.
   
5. Denyse Schmidt pattern. Included here to remind me that I have an enormous stash of DS fabrics, and I want to make something with it!
   
6. Fab Five kit of an early Sweetwater fabric line, "Sunkissed." My favorite Sweetwater collection. Plus, Abbey Lane introduced a new ruler to make the Fab Five quilt even easier.

Not included in the photo, but scheduled for 2016:

1. Kansas Connections by Mary Ellen Hopkins. A really old kit (it's been in the UFO Challenge bin for at least three years!)
   
2. Batik "Run With Rectangles" kit from Granny's Attic in McCall, Idaho. I love Lori's kits, because they're already cut and ready to sew!
   
3. Two "Lover's Lane" by Villa Rosa Designs lap quilt kits. three fabrics, one afternoon, and they're done!

Plus three more kits to select at a later date from my extensive collection of kits!

Because so many Blocks of the Month (BoMs) wind up in the UFO bin, I'm only allowing myself to start one (1, that's ONE!) BoM this year. It will be "Park Bench" by Jaybird Quilts. The fabric in the kit is "Botanics" by Carolyn Friedlander. This quilt will also be Second WEdnesday block party at Ruth's Stitchery.

I have two other BoMs still on the BoM list, Jackie Robinson's "3D Patchwork" and Marti Michell's "Bordered Rows."

Add to this the twelve Jelly Roll Party samples, and I have scheduled 36 quilts for 2016! I'll share the Jelly Roll pattern list on Friday, January 8, when I share the first JRP sample of the year.

No pressure!

From the desk of your