Category Archives: 2021 Finishes

Happy Holidays

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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas filled with family, good food and maybe a little quilting time.

Yesterday I finished the final truck wallhanging – Fire Truck.

I really did not want this last truck wallhanging to roll over into 2022, so it moved up on my “got-to-get-it-done” list.

Dashing is now a completed quilt top.  I like how the secondary design forms around the churn dash blocks.  Hopefully I will find time soon to load this on the frame.

One applique border has been completed on the LBQ’s 2021 mystery – Michigan.  I really wanted to have this done by the end of December, but it is just not going to happen.

The applique is going slow since it is not my favorite thing, however I love how it finishes the quilt.  This is one of my favorite quits and will definitely be living at my house.

Marlene

December Stars & Christmas Gift

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Tessellating Star is now a finished quilt.  My biggest challenge was the fabric/color change of the binding at the corners.

I think that it looks pretty good for a first attempt.  I used the instructions in Mim Dietrich’s book Happy Endings for this binding technique.  Of course right after the binding was sewn down, I found this Shabby Fabrics tutorial on You-tube.  If a future quilt needs this sort of binding, I think I will try the Shabby Fabrics way.

Since there is a seam in the corner to change colors for both methods, it is a bit bulky.  I probably should have made a sample first, but – as usual – I dived straight in.

Here is a close-up of one of the corners.

I promised a grandson that the quilt Swing Your Partner would be his Christmas gift this year.  Recycled shirt quilts are a favorite with the grandsons.

After loading the quilt and machine stitching 4 rows, I discovered that the bottom tension was bad – really, really bad.   Sorry, no pictures of the horrible tension – I was in “get this done by Christmas mode”.

I spent several nights after work ripping it out and trying to figure out what had gone wrong.  I think that the batik backing was the issue, so a trip to JoAnn’s for new backing happened.  The new backing quilted much better, the binding is on and it will be headed to its new home tomorrow.

Happy Holidays,

Marlene

Juggling Quilting Projects

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There are so many quilting projects that I am trying to get finished by the end of the year, sometimes I don’t know up from down.  However some small progress has been made – the quilt top Avignon has been machine quilted and gifted, so one down.

This quilt top was made in 2013 and measures 64″ square.  My usual choice of batting is Hobbs 80/20, however for Avignon I tested out Pellon 80/20.  It seems to me that it is a bit thicker than the Hobbs which gives it a wonderful texture from the machine quilting.

My second finish is Dump Truck – the third in the truck series.

As the other truck wallhangings, Dump Truck is 12 1/2″ square and the pattern is from The Whole Country Caboodle.  I had enough gravel fabric for the binding – isn’t that perfect?

The Tessellating Star top was loaded on the machine and quilted.

I plan to do a binding with a mitered color change at the two corners which will be a first for me.  The binding is a goal for this Thanksgiving weekend.  Wish me success!

Juggling ball one – the applique for the border of my Michigan (LBQ mystery) is ready to be attached.

I was surprised at how much fabric was actually needed to get all the applique shapes.  This is – hopefully- another goal for this four day weekend.

There was enough scraps from the mystery quilt to make the blocks for Dashing.

The pattern for Dashing is in the July/August 2017 edition of Quiltmania and designed by Corey Yoder.  I like the way the two blocks flow into each other.

Do you like my quilter’s shorthand to show what colors will be made into which block?  I all makes sense to me, so that is good enough.  Of course once all the blocks are completed, it will be time to play “block/color swap” for the final layout.

The big ball – and project for this weekend – is to get this monster top quilted as a Christmas gift.

Swing Your Partner is my second largest quilt top – missing the top billing by 1/2″.  This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern and measures 83 1/2″ x 83 1/2″.  I have backing fabric and thread, the only big decision left is the panto-graph.  There isn’t much time to decide, so I had better get busy.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Marlene

Black, White & Gold Finish

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Yeah! Another finish – Black, White & Gold quilt coming off the frame.

The Black, White & Gold quilt top was completed in 2016.  I can remember being surprised at how many packages of rick-rack I needed to buy and how much they cost even with a coupon.  However that little detail adds interest to the quilt, so it was worth the time and money.

it took me awhile to decide on the panto-graph pattern, but Daydream was the winner.  The open airy design gives great tecxture to the quilt.

Daydream - Pantograph

And the completed quilt –

Black, White & Gold will be going to a new home this Saturday – it feels good to have it finished ahead of time instead of rushing at the last minute.

Which top should I machine quilt next?  Hmmm

Have a good day,

Marlene

Off the Frame Reveal – Multi-Print Strata

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The red carpet reveal of Mult-Print Strata –

The panto-graph used was Duet by Urban Elementz.  I wanted something fairly dense to hold all those seams together and this worked great.

Duet - Pantograph

I found a piece of black/gray stripe for the binding which finished the edge nicely.

It isn’t a fancy quilt, however it did clear out my 1 1/2″ multi-print bin, so I am taking that as a win.

For the backing I used this fabric that I found in the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby. I thought it added a fun element to the quilt.

Have a quilty Saturday,

Marlene

Baby Quilt, Growth Chart & Unicorns

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The end of September/beginning of October are the busiest time at work, however I did manage to get the baby quilt & growth chart completed and mailed.

I didn’t have quite enough length of fabric for the growth chart, so I added some coordinating fabric and appliqued a couple of alphabet animals from scraps.  Isn’t it cute?

The growth chart pattern is from the Quiltmaker’s All Time Favorite Patterns 2005.

My youngest granddaughter is unicorn crazy and a couple of weeks during a sleepover, she drew me a picture.

In school she learned that periods come after words which is why there is a period after the word unicorns and her name.  And in case there is any doubt, the arrow lets everone know that the picture is of a unicorn.  We had so much fun together.

The end of the year is coming fast, so I had better make good use of my time between now and then to get some projects completed.  Next up is machine quilting Mult-Color Strata which will be a charity quilt.

What will you be working on this week?

Marlene

My Flower Garden & Smokey River

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I finished the hand-quilting on My Flower Garden – isn’t it cute?

There is still a bit of lumpiness, however it isn’t that obvious when looking at it straight on.  I am very happy with this little wall-hanging, especially with all the new techniques learned.

I just realized that I didn’t post any progress pictures of Smokey River (Whirligig Designs).  Well, too late now since the quilt top was completed last weekend.  In fact this was the only thing I did last weekend.

The pattern was copyrighted in 2010, so I am guessing that this UFO dates back to 2010/2011.  It is not my oldest UFO, but definitely a goldie oldie.  I need to start thinking about quilting designs since – YEAH – it will fit on my new frame when it arrives.

That is all the quilty news from last weekend, so what have I been working on this weekend?  The second in the truck series – Market Truck – was completed today.

The truck wall-hangings are 12 1/2″ square which makes for a fast quick finish.  The applique pieces were button-holed stitched down yesterday morning while the afternoon was spent machine stitching the straight lines.  This morning the binding was completed and Market Truck was done.

While I was working on Market Truck, I was also deciding on my next piecing project.  I say piecing because I can’t say machine quilting since the new frame has not yet arrived.  Grrr

Anyway the next project is the 2021 Laundry Basket Quilt Mystery Michigan with this fat quarter bundle and background.  I am so excited to begin a new project.

Wishing you the happiness of beginnings and endings,

Marlene

Behind – Again

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Well I am behind – again – in my posting, so there is a lot of stuff to get caught up on.  First up is the Honey Bee top is now a finished quilt.  The top was completed in August 2017.

The first thing that I did was remove the bottom row to balance the quilt before machine quilting the top.  The pantograph Daydream by Urban Elementz contained elements that highlighted the block design and was fun to machine quilt.

Daydream - Pantograph

Those blocks from the bottom row – they ended up on the back of the quilt.

And now a look at the front of the quilt –

I think that the black & white striped binding was the perfect finishing touch and I am so happy with the final result.

The next project was a birthday quilt that needed to move from top to finished quilt quickly.  I had been procrastinating because of the size – 72″ x 78″ – but there was a deadline so I needed to get busy.  After making the quilt sandwich, I stitched in the ditch around the blocks and the borders on my Bernina.  Then I hooped the top on my frame, machine quilted on the long arm and then attached the binding by machine.  From sandwich to finished top, it took me 4 1/2 days – good thing that I had take the week off work.

However it was all worth it because granddaughter loved it.  The end result of this story is that a Studio 2 frame was ordered so that I can machine quilt my larger tops without all the hassle.  My plan is to set it up as an 8′ frame which will handle an 84″ quilt.  My largest unquilted top is 84″ – isn’t that just perfect?

It is so satisfying to look through my patterns, look at the size and think to myself “I will be able to finish that quilt with no problems”.  Right now I am just waiting on a call from the store letting me know that it has arrived.

Have a quilty weekend,

Marlene

A Week of Finishes and a New Start

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I don’t think that I have ever had three finishes in one week, but that is what happened this last week.

First up – Batik Mexican Star (41″ x 41″), a wall-hanging from a Sew Batik kit.  This is the first Mexican Star that I made.

Just for fun I used cat fabric for the sleeve, although being stared at me while stitching was a bit creepy.

The second and third finishes are months 4 & 5 of the Whatnots Club by Kim Diehl.

Laugh Yourself Silly (15″ x 18″)

and Kick the Can (18 1/2″ x 18 1/2″)

It was great to get these two completed since yesterday I received an email that the month 6 kit has shipped.

My Bernina was calling to me, so I pulled out UFO bin #2 that contains parts for Smokey River and spent some time just pushing fabric through the machine.

Sometime in 2011 or 2012 I cut these pieces from a jelly roll and made 4 blocks.  Everything was then stuffed in a bin and it has been sitting on the shelf ever since.  It is time to piece this quilt top.

Have a good quilty week,

Marlene

Simon the Hedgehog

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This last week has been a mess – everything I touched on Monday & Tuesday went wrong and then Wednesday & Thursday was spent fixing all the messes.  Thank goodness that is history and now I can take a deep breath and move forward.

But before everything went crazy, I finished a small gift pillow featuring Simon the Hedgehog.

The hedgehog & flower is a laser cut applique kit from The Whole Country Caboodle.  The pillow was personalized with the name Simon to honor a beloved pet.

The Whatnots Club Month 5 – Laugh Yourself Silly – was received and quickly became a mini quilt top.

I have really enjoyed receiving the kits and making these mini wall-hanging.  Three have been completed out of five kits received, so I guess I had better get busy on the other two.

My leader & enders project has been growing slowly – extremely slowly.

The layout plan is for a 5 x 6 layout, so I am just over half done.  I like how the black diagonal lines through the blocks adds an additional layer of interest.

I was having tension issues with the long-arm, but finally figured out the issue.  After changing needles, rethreading the machine and fussing with both the upper and lower tension multiple times, I discover it was the bobbin.  To be technically accurate, it wasn’t the actual bobbin but how the thread was wound on the bobbin.  After putting in a prewound bobbin, the tension was perfect and Batik Mexican Star was quickly machine quilted.  Here it is coming off the machine.

Can you see Laugh Yourself Silly hanging in the background?  It will be the next one loaded on the frame.

The quilting-to-do list for this weekend include binding Batik Mexican Star, machine quilting/binding Laugh Yourself Silly and several other small applique wall-hangings.

Have a great quilty weekend,

Marlene