Family Pride Finished

Just washed and dried "Family Pride". It is the most crinkly quilt I've ever made. The quilting screams!!

I plan to give it to my friend soon. I hope she likes it. Below is a close-up of the star. I used navy thread for the quilting around that part (red in the reds), quilting it 1/4" then 1/2" more away.

The star was machine blanket-stitched with navy thread.

~Joan

Another New Project

This is a gift for a family friend whose son recently graduated from Marine boot camp. The quilt is called Family Pride. You can get the free pattern here.

I originally saw this on Ruth's blog. It is on the left side of her blog. Isn't hers beautiful? I love the cabinet behind it.

Here is mine thus far. It only takes a short time to piece. I am hand quilting it. An "X" in each of the red squares with red thread. The line inside the star and the two outside are done in navy blue thread. The three "fireworks" lines besides those are going to be done in cream. I am nearly finished quilting the center already. This will be a quickie!

There is a second one pieced. I am visiting my sister and parents later this summer. I wonder if they would like one, too? My sister's husband is in the process of re-enlisting in the Army. That would be an appropriate quilt for them, no??

Long may she wave!

~Joan

In Love With New Project

I sewed these pieces together tonight. To quote the Taco Bell chihauhau, "I think I'm in love." Isn't this just the cutest? I wanted to make sure the pieces would all fit. I didn't mark any seam allowance...just wingin' it. I cut out a lot of pieces, but now I see I need some different reds added in, and a few other colors.

The edges of those little diamonds do, indeed, measure an inch.

Do I have the self control to only work on this on the road?? Help me, Rhonda.

~Joan

PS: I've had several ask, and NO--this is not paper pieced. It is rotary cut and eye-balled-sewn for the seam allowance. That is why I am so shocked that it all FITS!! My son was with me after all the little diamonds in the above piece were sewn together (before adding the hexagon). He looked at it and said, "That hexagon is W-A-Y too big to fit in there." I agreed. I thought my eye-balled seam allowances were too large. But. it. fit. perfectly.

The pattern is from the June 2010 American Patchwork & Quilting, which I actually bought for the cover pattern.

Sunday Craziness

Right after church Sunday I drove my oldest son to the airport (after a quick detour through the Hardee's drive through for lunch). He was home for a little over a week, and has now returned to his summer full-time job at the college he attends. It was a great visit.

In getting there, I had to drive through my former home town, and also the home town of Mary Jo's Cloth World. I had some time to kill, so I stopped there. They. were. closed.

Plan B: I went to a Bernina store in the same town that sells fabric. You see, I have a brown and pink scrap quilt in my future for which I need a border. I walked up to the door, and there was a sign that said "Come Back". What?? They were closed, too?? Since fabric stores are few and far between around here, I couldn't leave w/o a peek. I love the sample items they have in the store. So after I had my nose smashed to the windows of the store for several minutes with my hand shading my eyes, ten years came off my life. The door flew open and a woman stuck her head out. "Would you like to come in?" she asked. "We aren't open, but I'm here, and so are you." Well, yea!!

I proceeded to buy a charm pack of a new Moda fabric. There are several strange things about this purchase...I never have bought Moda fabric. I've never bought a charm pack.

Several months ago I bought a set of Twister rulers. To use them, you sew squares (either 5" or 10"--there are two sizes of rulers) into a rectangle, then use the rulers to cut pinwheel shapes out and resew them. Now I need to get some border fabrics. This is a Christmas line, and the yardage won't be in for a couple weeks. I think I'll save this for our next all-night sew. It would be a snap to sew, iron, cut and press them. The line is called "Adoring". Very cute colors. The turquoise is a neat twist. I think I'll get the funky stripe in the center for a border. I plan to replace that square with one that doesn't stand out too much. There were 42 prints in the pack, and I wanted to see what a potential layout would look like.

I also started a new hand-piecing project today. My son and I had appointments at the eye doctor. He is a good doc, but notorious for taking a very l-o-n-g time. We were there 2-1/2 hours. Good thing I went prepared. I wanted an in-the-car handwork project that wasn't queen-sized!! I am going to make the runner using my own colors (Thimbleberries) naturally. Here is a pic of the magazine spread. Not a stellar picture.

A close-up of one block. The little diamonds finish with one-inch-long sides. They are so fast. I sewed up nearly all the tiny pieces I had cut before I went back for my exam. The time-consuming part is cutting all the little diamonds. I taped the template to the back of my ruler. Zip, zip!!

The pattern as a runner. I'll probably add more blocks to accommodate our table for ten.

~Joan

Grill Makeover

Ta-da!! Here is the after pic of our grill. What you can't see is the inside, which is thoroughly cleaned, and the fact that all the nuts and bolts are tight, so it doesn't complain and wobble when it is rolled from place to place! Very pleased mama here.

Right above the grill on the left side is my little can of magic...exterior paint!

~Joan