Thursday update

After Carla's (Creatin' in the Sticks) post about her bag kits being available again on Bluprint, I ordered one. It uses a package of 10" squares. There is a pocket on the outside on each side.

This bag is HUGE and will hold a lot of stuff--a good travel bag, I'm thinking.

I used the scrap triangles cut off the sides and bottoms and made 3 additional inside pockets. It was hard to get a photo, but you can see one of them. I put 2 on one side and 1 on the other.

Here is the pattern. My version is the Rhapsody. The blue one has a different name.

Thanks, Carla!! I enjoyed making this bag--there will probably be another one in the future.

I've made a flock (?) of owls, pattern from Caroline of Sew Can She. The little ones are filled with crushed walnut shells for pincushions. The larger ones are stuff with polyfill. They still could be pincushions, I guess.

I think they're pretty cute. Used some of my larger scraps and a few of the gazillion buttons I have.

Another set of placemats using the Take Four pattern--a combo of versions one and two.

Pillow and mug rug I made to go with the wall hanging in my previous post. Don't know why the photo is sideways--you get the idea.

I seriously need to get after quilting some of the 6 or 7 unquilted tops I have ready... having too much fun just putting things together. Later...

Some finishes

Somebody please tell me where time goes! It's been over a month since I posted???

The below wall hanging is one I made for our District of Illinois & Wisconsin Church of the Brethren Conference. I made something every year, usually a wall hanging to be auctioned off. After much struggle with design, I finally figured out how to put together pieces of this panel and some lovely matching fabric that, amazingly, I had in my stash. This would be great on a door, about 22 x 55".

I was pleased that it sold for $285 and even more pleased that it was bought to give to our Moderator.

The October lesson I gave for our Cerro Gordo Quilters was a Christmas stocking. I tried one with pre-quilted fabric (the one on the left), but I don't like it at all. Maybe if I used 2 layers of that fabric, it would be ok. The 2nd one I made longer and used a fuzzy lining, not minky, but soft. I also used fusible fleece on the outer fabric to give the stocking more substance. The pattern had not called for any batting I forgot to quilt the stocking, but it looks ok anyway.

I was hoping to put on a picture of the owls I made, but that picture on my phone did not show up for me to post. That means another post after it does...

In the meantime, Kathy, Jo, and I did a shop hop a few weeks ago, covering 7 shops in a day. This photo op was at one of the shops. The theme was Quiltstock, so a lot of peace and love, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Kathy and i are in this pic.

Happy Sewing!

Finished

All finished with Denice's quilt. Binding is on, sleeve is on, and it is delivered to the person who will take it to her next month. 

Here's some of the quilting from the back. I like how it turned out. Those l's and e's on the border were fun and quick and look good, if I do say so myself.

I'd love to be there when she opens it up, but will rely on Jo for a report on her reaction.

Jelly Roll Day--Not!

I knew yesterday was National Jelly Roll Day, but when I sat down to my machine, I was on a mission: to quilt this wall hanging for Denice, our quilter friend who moved away from our midst. I quilted flowers here and there over the surface and quilted around each heart.

Then I quilted loops in the borders. I had never tried that before, but I think it was simple and effective. Now I need to label and bind it, and it will be ready to go to Denice when Jo visits her next month.

My next quilting project is "Oh, My Stars," a pattern from Pat Sloan. It is now sandwiched and ready to put under my needle, as soon as I figure out how I want to quilt it.

I have spent a lot of time at my husband's 50th HS class reunion this weekend, and we're not done yet. They are gathering yet today. It has been fun. (I know most of them from living here for 45 years now, but I met a few new ones.)

Frond Designs

I am in love with Frond Designs' fabrics. This is a panel that Stephanie Brandenburg (owner & designer) created. I used her fabrics in the borders too, cutting the big leaves from a large leaf print.

I used several different colored threads and did different FMQ, depending on what I was quilting--thread painting on the white flowers, leaf shapes around the little leaves and in that area, straight lines in the background. 

I didn't take a close up of the outer border, but I used Lori Kennedy's rose FMQ for it.

Even though it's really too big for me to use as a wall hanging, I will hang it somewhere in the spring.

Thanks, Stephanie, for your lovely fabrics!

Strings

Our last Cerro Gordo Quilters lesson was string piecing. I taught the lesson using 5" squares for the background and adding strings on each side. Four squares make a "star."

For my sample, I also made the back by string piecing. Takes awhile but uses some strings...

the problem is, I can't tell any got used! And that's with some of the quilters taking strings too.

Anyway, these are fun projects! Try it sometime!

Accidental Landscapes

The picture needs cropped, I know, but it took me long enough to find it, let alone edit it. :) Anyway, last year I did this desert scene, thanks to Karen Eckmeier and her book Accidental Landscapes. Also thanks to the now closed 3 Dudes Quilt Shop for the fabrics. (Ok, so it was a year after I got the fabrics before I made the landscape...)

I decided to teach an accidental landscape lesson to our quilt group, Cerro Gordo Quilters, so I needed to make another, and here is the mountain scene that resulted.

In order to have a work in process, I started this beach one for our lesson night. 

It's finished now. I didn't realize this photo was so dark until just now...

Last week was the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. Congregations are asked to send in quilt blocks and the wall hanging tops are put together prior to conference and hand quilted AT conference. Then they are auctioned off with the proceeds going to hunger relief. These are the 5 lovely wall hangings for 2019.

I love the sunblock in this one--from Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren in Scottsdale, AZ. 

I made the purple violets for our congregation in Cerro Gordo, IL. I make the same one every year.

I really like the star in the upper left corner, but I forget which congregation it is from. 

The tulip in the upper left corner of this green one is gorgeous. Again, I forget where it is from. 

And there's an accidental landscape in this wall hanging!

Two of these were purchased and donated back twice--that means they were sold 3 times. Almost all of them brought good prices and over $7400 was raised.

Many, many congregations did not send a block--this needs to be promoted more, and I'll be doing that in Illinois for 2020!