TGIFF: Jelly Roll Party

Because I've been in Texas, I've missed a few Jelly Roll Parties at Ruth's Stitchery. I'm excited to see my stripper friends this afternoon!

The latest "Jelly Roll Finish" is "No-Measure Bargello" from Cozy Quilts.

I used a Moda jelly roll, "Lakeside Gatherings" and yardage to make my version. The only modification I made was to make a narrow third border rather than the flange called for in the pattern. I knew a loose flange would annoy my long-armer, as it would require stopping and starting the quilting so as not to stitch down the flange. We must keep our long-armer happy!

CJ quilted a lovely loose paisley design. 

I used the dark anchors yardage for the backing, and inserted a leftover bargello strip to add a little interest:

The methodology for this pattern makes cutting the bargello strips a lot easier. But fair warning: there is a LOT of stitching required for this one!

Today we choose patterns for the 2016 Jelly Roll Party. What's your favorite jelly roll pattern?

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Thursdays are for Knitting: Hats for Sailors Send-off

My knitting goal for 2015 was to knit 52 Hats for Sailors.

So what exactly is "Hats for Sailors?"

The Hat for Sailors' mission is to provide deployed Sailors of the US Navy and the Coast Guard with handmade 100% washable wool hats made by loving volunteers from around the world. These beautiful hats are delivered in time for the December holidays, a bit of warm love and thanks to those who unselfishly take time away from their families to serve our Country.

Each year we select one or more ships to receive the hats we've knit that year. In 2014, we knit more than 500 hats! 

Well, I did it!

On Monday, I mailed 55 hats (52 knit by me and 3 by friend CJ) to Sandra to forward to the ship selected to receive hats this year.

I printed a little label on business card stock to attach to each hat. It reads:

Thank you  for your service to our country.

You are remembered and appreciated

by someone in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Here are close-ups of the last few hats I made:

This one is modeled by my friend who just returned from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. Yes, I knit a hat for her, too!

And just in case you're thinking I've used up all my yarn knitting all those hats -- here is the haul I collected on the "Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas" last month:

If you're a knitter or crocheter, I hope you'll consider making a hat for a Sailor. Go here for the details. If you're on Ravelry, my user name is AuntMarti. You can read the pattern and yarn info on my project page.

Fair winds and following seas, Sailors!




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Design Wall Monday: Block a Day

This season's "A Quilt Block a Day" is "Flying Birds." The tutorial is here.

November 1 was the 40th day  of Autumn. I thought I was caught up, but when I placed the blocks on my design wall, I realised I am short eight blocks.

It only took two hours to make eight blocks, so I should be caught up by tomorrow!

Post your "Block a Day" blocks on the Facebook page, "A Quilt Block a Day."



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November UFO Parade: Just One More!

It's time for the second-to-last UFO Parade of 2015. We've enjoyed some great "finishes" this year, and October was no exception.

But first, the number to work on during November:

And, just in case you're planning ahead, the last number of 2015 is:

And now for the parade!

I am in love with this gorgeous "Lady of the Lake" by Sandi. I'll let her tell you about it:

My October #8 UFO is complete (as are all of the remaining 2015 UFOs).  So here's the story on Krystal Kreek.  It is a Bonnie Hunter design called Lady of Lake Erie that was published by Quiltmaker Magazine in the May /June 2011 issue.  I made mine a smaller version.  My sister coined the quilt's name; it is a good one being bright crisp blue fabrics that one could just feel from a rippling creek.  

Go to Sandi's blog, KwiltnKats, to read more. Sandi, that would make a great "A Quilt Block a Day" project!

Thanks also to Sandi who did the needleturn applique' on this lovely sea turtle for Debra of Quilting Pretty Quilts:

My first finish is a Karen Brow, Java House Quilts, Newly Hatched Quilt. It is a wall quilt and I am giving it to my daughter who has a water theme in her house. Sandi Delman (thank you, thank you, thank you) did the needle-turn applique on the baby and I did freezer-turn applique on the mom. I am really happy with the "finished" little wall quilt.

Debra also finished this quilt, using a tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company:

I really have enjoyed the quilt tutorials by Missouri Quilt Company and the quilt photo is of a disappearing Hunter's Star. Youtube has a wonderful tutorial on how to make the quilt. The finished size that I made is 51 x 71.5 - enough to wrap around yourself and tuck under your feet. This top is being donated to Rosie's Calico Cupboard Camp Reach for the Sky (http://www.rosiescalicocupboard.com/). It is an excellent organization!!! Woot! Woot!

Debra has really made up for lost time this month! Here is finish number three:

The attached photo is of a quilt I found in Primarily Quilts by Di Ford. The quilt is called Oak Alley and measures 65 x 65. I enjoyed every moment in making this quilt. I loved the fabrics, I loved the pattern and I love the way it came together very easily. I have marked quite a few other quilts from the Primarily Quilts book that I hope to make in the very near future. This is my third entry this month. I guess you could say I am making up for lost time. Thanks Aunt Marti for all you do.

And, if you can believe it, here is finish number four!

This will be it for me for the month. My fourth UFO. This is just a fun little quilt I had cut and finally decided to make it into a quilt.  This quilt will be donated to Rosie's Calico Cupboard's Camp Reach for the Sky. The finished size is 45 1/2 x 63 1/2.

Kerry is also a multiple-finisher this month. Here is Bonnie Hunter's "Lady of Lake Erie" in a different colorway. Now I can't decide which one I like best!

Bonnie’s original was made in blue and Cream, I chose to make mine in red and cream. This quilt will be for my mom, once I get the quilting and binding done!

The second one is for one of our grandkids and is from a Planes panel. I pieced all the blocks around it. The pattern came from Aretoy Quilt shop and was designed by Julie Calvario.

Pam has really outdone herself this month. I love her story!

This month there were several finishes. What can I say, mid-August myhusband and I came up my 'Crazy Challenge II" which was to finish 13 quiltbefore the end of the year. As with Crazy Challenge I from several yearsago, the list has expanded.

First up is Diamond Links. This was started as a mystery quilt back in 2007.The top was completely quickly - it was the quilting which took forever.Technically a September finish, I pulled it out of the dryer too late tophotograph it for last month's parade. Yes, that's Susie's Magic Binding.http://pamela.avaraarts.com/diamond-links-3/

My first official finish for October is my Sylvia Bridal Sampler Blue &Brown Swap. The "pieced" blocks were swapped back in 2009 and it took meuntil 2012 to decide on a setting, make the chain blocks and finally get theborder on the quilt. Then it sat. I didn't know how I wanted to quilt it anddidn't know where the quilt was headed. In mid-September this quilt wasadded to the Crazy Challenge II list. I then had to decide how to quilt it.Several thoughts went through my mind, but in the end 'done is better thanperfect' kicked in and I opted for crosshatching. Another quilt with Susie'sMagic Binding. As quick as they are to stitch down (30 minutes on thisquilt) I plan on doing more of these bindings when at all possible.http://pamela.avaraarts.com/sylvias-bridal-sampler-swap-quilt-is-done/

Next up is the 2013 Aiming for Accuracy. The top was finished timely, but it took 2 years for it to float to the top of the To-Be-Quilted pile. Not having enough yardage to piece the backing from a single fabric, I pulled blocks from my orphan block box to create the backing. In some ways I like the back better than the front!  Yes, Susie's Magic Binding was used. http://pamela.avaraarts.com/aiming-for-accuracy-is-finished/

Here is another finish from Pam in KC, taking time out from watching the Royals in the World Series to finish up a quilt (or four! or five!)

Well, the pic is not the best – but it’s supposed to be wet all day so I just have the quilt pinned to the shelves which always distorts the quilt. This is Orange Crush – the Bonnie Hunter Mystery from 2008. I hope to have a better picture on my blog next week.

And here is the fifth finish from Pam:

. . . got distracted by the World Series. This is the 2nd of the 3 Disappearing 9-Patches I'm making for my nephews. One more to go.

Sue writes, "I can't understand where the year is disappearing to!" My sympathies, Sue, I have the same feeling!

But she managed to put together this clever quilt with string blocks:

I've have blogged about it here. http://quiltybitsandbobs.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/a-ufo-update.html
I'm beginning to think this year will be a write off from here and start over again in the new year, I can't understand where the year is disappearing to!

It seems to me that I'm not the only "BOM" addict. Nancy finished this pretty BOM, "Wishes" from Fat Quarter Quilts,  She blogs about it at Fabric-Addiction.

Mary J sent in a fun "Black and White and Red All Over" quilt. 

My biggest October finish is attached, and I'll blog about it tomorrow. I'm calling it  "Black and white and red all over". Remember that old joke?  The pattern is "Lemon Pepper" by Madison Cottage Design.  I rarely use patterns, but this one was quick and fun! 

Mary, I have a kit to make that quilt in the original black and white and lemon yellow -- guess I'll add it to the queue for 2016!

And another multi-finisher! Heather sent photos of three finishes -- you're all making me feel like a real slacker!

Heather's first two quilts are both made using directions in Pat Spaeth's book, Nickle Quilts. I urge you to go to Heather's blog, Peachy Pages, for details on "Labor Day Madness." 

Would you believe this quilt is made at the same time? Heather persuaded a friend to make the same quilt, using different fabrics. Then they swapped the duplicate/reverse blocks to have a completely different quilt, "Pinwheel!"

Elizabeth's Prairie Garden is part of the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle. That's a lot of hexies, Heather!

Sixteen finishes is darned impressive! 

Looking back at my "2015 UFO Challenge" list, I see that I missed awarding a Parade prize a few times. So this month, there are four winners! Heather, Sandi, Kerry, and Sue -- please send me your mailing addresses. I have a prize for you!

Only one more parade in 2015 -- let's get finishing!

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TGIFF: Jelly Roll Party Sample

When the outdoor temperature remains in the 90sF, it's hard to work on quilts! So I haven't done much quilting the past six months!

However, I did manage to finish piecing the sample for the December Jelly Roll Party. It needs to go on display at Ruth's Stitchery November 6, so must go off to Cornelia for quilting today.

It's hard to take a photo of a 78" X 93" quilt on the bed -- but this photos gives you the idea. The pattern is from Cozy Quilts, "No Measure Bargello." The fabric is Lakeside Gatherings for Moda. I'll warn you: Bargello quilts take a lot of stitching! Although the pattern calls for two matching strips of each fabric, I used one jelly roll and matched the fabrics as best I could. In the photo, it's almost impossible to tell that every other strip is a different fabric.

I thought I was sewing the lap size, but it came out big enough for a full-sized bed. Since the colors are those of Pacific Lutheran University, I guess it will go to the Elder Son for his college dorm!

My favorite weather forecaster promises temps in the 80s next week -- I hope he's right!


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Design Wall Monday and Leaders & Enders

By special request, today's "Design Wall Monday" also includes a bit of a tutorial on using Leaders & Enders.

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com popularized this clever method of making a second quilt while chain piecing. Many quilters stitch off onto a scrap of fabric, sometimes called a "spider," to avoid having to hold the threads at the beginning of the next row of stitching. Bonnie took the idea and made it productive -- why not use pre-cut squares, rather than a scrap of fabric that you will throw away?

She calls her method "Leaders & Enders." Leaders, because you sew from the small squares onto your quilt piece. Enders, because you stitch from the quilt piece onto the smaller square.

And the Leaders & Enders don't have to be squares. Each summer, Bonnie proposes a different quilt block design as the year's "Leaders & Enders" challenge. This year, it's tumblers. I cut up a lot of scraps into light and dark tumblers and stacked them in a plastic shoe box:

The note on the side of the box reminds me how many tumblers I need to make each row, and how many rows to make a lap-size quilt. 

Each morning when I sit down to sew, I stitch a light and dark tumbler piece together. 

When I've stitched across the tumbler, I place the first block of the day's project under the presser foot, and off I sew! 

It is amazing how quickly these little "Leaders & Enders" become a whole quilt! Storm is lurking in the doorway, nervous because she knows I don't like dogs in the bedroom!

I'm also using the cut-off triangles from a Flying Geese project to make tiny half square triangles.  When I get them all stitched, I'll square them up using my littlest Bloc-Loc ruler to make 1" HSTs. Then I'll stitch them together to make a little bag.

I just a week, I've collected quite a few HSTs!

The "A Quilt Block a Day" Facebook group is making "Birds in Flight" blocks this season. October 2 was the 10th day of Autumn, so I'm right on target with my block count. I haven't decided which layout I like better -- but it's early days, yet!

This diagonal set will require setting triangles, but it will also make a larger quilt.

Which layout do you like?

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October UFO Parade

Ready for the last two months of the 2015 UFO Challenge: The project number for October is:

#8

And now, on to the finishes for September!

Friend Martha got her finishes to me early in the month (thank you for that, Martha!). This darling pinwheel quilt is for a friend's new baby.

Martha and her husband formerly served in the Peace Corps. They went to a Peace Corps reunion in San Francisco last month, and Martha made this quilt for a fundraiser auction. I bet it was a big hit with the attendees!

Pam in KC has made up for lost time with three finishes for September! I'll let Pam tell the story of "Out of the Blue."

The name means so many things in the case of this quilt. First out of the blue I decided I needed to do something to get my orphan quilt block box closed and pulled all the blocks and strip sets with a black background and came up with this quilt. I'm out of the blue fabric that I used for the border. Based on those two things my husband and I came up with the quilt name. Then out of the blue, a couple of weeks ago I was asked if I had something I could quickly quilt for a 7-year-old girl. Finally it will be out of the blue when the package arrives next week and the girl receives this quilt as it is not her birthday and too early to be a Christmas present. All the statistics on the quilt can be found in this blog post:  http://pamela.avaraarts.com/out-of-the-blue/

I love that story, Pam! 

Pam's second finish is "Orange is the Ultimate Favorite Color." Details on her blog, here.

And third, a Bonnie Hunter pattern, "Nifty Thrifty." This really is a thrifty quilt, Pam made it entirely from recycled clothes -- front, back, and binding. And the batting is a "frankenbatt" pieced together from batting scraps of Hobb's Tuscany 100% cotton -- Pam reports between the cotton batting and the recycled shirts, this quilt is "soft like an antique quilt." Details at Pam's blog, here.

Mary J finished a second quilt made from her pattern "Group Dynamics." Mary's pattern is featured in the May issue of Modern Quilts magazine! You can read all about it on her blog, Zippy Quilts, here.

Another Bonnie Hunter finish by Sandi this month. Sandi, you are right -- Bonnie's designs are gorgeous, but they can take a lot of time. Sandi calls this one "Korners." Read all about it at KwiltnKats, here.

Donna made this great quilt for her twin sister, Debbie. She calls it "Fraternal Twin Quilt," since the Bonnie Hunter pattern makes two blocks of the same fabric, but different ratios. So the blocks aren't identical twins, but fraternal twins -- just like Debbie and Donna!

Nancy is toiling away on her "Hoop Sisters" quilt. This is quite the project -- learn all about it on Nancy's blog, My Love of Fabric, here.

And just for fun, Nancy finished this little cutie to take to the beach. I love it, Nancy!

Becky finished up two Project Linus quilts -- and used up some poly batting -- or her UFO this month. I love the rainbows, Becky!

I think that's a pretty good parade for the end of summer! This month's UFO Parade winner is Martha.  Send me your mailing address so I can send you some goodies!

I'm going on the "Fall Frolic" shop hop here in the Texas Hill Country today. Report on Sunday!


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