{Post 1,028} 24 Floral String Blocks

A friend came over to make a Twister runner today.  I let her use my sewing machine, so I did not sew as much as I might have otherwise.  I didn't want to run my HandiQuilter while she was there because it's so noisy.  


So after I cleaned up the whole house just for her arrival, I sewed floral strings until she was ready to use my sewing machine.  While she sewed I ripped paper off the blocks that were already finished and trimmed.  Now I just need to sew about 1/3 of 12 more blocks to have them all finished. This is indeed a beautiful quilt.  I am sewing all 12, adding one strip to each one, in a row.  

At first I thought I should have made the black strips wider, and out of something with more interest than the solid black I used.  Now I'm lovin' it!

My husband and 3 of my children will be home tomorrow.  They have a very long drive ahead of them.  Left Wisconsin (northern WI) at 5 this evening.  Meant to get off earlier, but something must have held them up.

Good night!

~Joan

{Post 1,027} A Surprise Started

There is a dear elderly widow in my church that loves flowers.  She has given me several of my favorite plants in our natural area out front.  


I have been machine quilting last night and this AM and have learned the hard way that I can't keep doing that like the Energizer bunny, or I'll pay for it in back and shoulder pain the next day (s).  Only this much more to go on my wreath quilt (about 3 more feet of batting showing, so I must be close to the end!):

So as I took a break from machine quilting today, I started a set of 8" string blocks for my friend, Mrs. H.  I used widely-colored strings from my watercolor quilt stash.  The same fabrics that I used for my Florabunda quilt.  


Here are my flocks so far.  In this photo, the paper is still on the backs, so they don't stick flat to the design wall.

My son, Luke, saw them and said they look like stained glass.  I suppose they do from a distance.  I used a 1" cut black strip for the center diagonally of each block.  I love the ease and mindlessness of sewing strings.

~Joan

{Post 1,026} Braving It

Last night I started quilting my scrappy wreath quilt.  I meandered in the large outer border and alternate blocks.  The print is sooo busy that not much quilting would show anyway.  I did a loop-de-loop in the green squares and a wiggly zigzag in the red borders.  I also stippled in the cream around the wreaths.  Then I took the plunge and did this:

I am very pleased for a first-time effort.  There are only 12 of these blocks on the quilt, so how bad could it be??  I was prepared to unsew it, but I think it's good enough to stay put.

~Joan

{Post 1,025} Scrappy Wreath Top Center

Here is my Scrappy Wreath top w/o the final single-fabric border.  It will have the same fabric for an outer border as the alternate blocks on the top.  This is the top that had the horrible circumstance.  Looks better now!  I ordered curtains that are red and camel/cream striped, so they will be good with most of my bed quilts.  I was thrilled to see that this top actually matches my bed skirt, so no making one of those any time soon.  I do have a plan (after searching in vain) for pillow shams.  I think I'll quilt some cream Thimbleberries and just make my own.  Like these, but all cream.  


I am hoping I have enough of the Christmas print to add a 12" border on all sides.  *crossing fingers*


Here it is:

I'm just weird like this, but I added another row of 3-1/2" green squares and 2" of red at the top.  I didn't want a big expanse of just border fabric, but didn't want to make another row of wreath blocks for a pillow tuck either.  Hence the need for pillow shams.  

~Joan

{Post 1,024} Squares Surrounded Center Pieced!

Here is Squares Surrounded, with the entire center pieced.  I am nearly out of the brightish blue I am using for the alternate squares.  What I'd like to do at this point is plan out the blue for an inner border, using every last inch most likely.  Then I'll put on a pieced border of some type out of shirts.  I might make it a string border.  I love sewing strings.  My string box keeps filling as I trim my shirts down anyway.  I am going to make pillow shams out of strings as well.  

This measures 72" x 86" now.  My two design walls are not the same height, so it looks like part of the left side of the quilt is missing.  It just fell down behind the edge of the wall.  I'm grateful for what I have!

How is it possible to love every quilt one makes more than the one before??  I was making this quilt just to use up some of the small pieces of shirting fabrics I have, but I like it so much that I'm going to make it into a bed quilt to use for our bedroom.

My sewing time is going to be slowing down here soon.  I think it would be best to finish the fall and Christmas quilts I already have under way before I work on this one any more.  I'll fold it up and tuck it away (meanwhile sewing strings onto foundations as leader/enders).  

Here's a picture of the top right corner and the upper border, as they are now.  I'm thinking a thin (1-1/2" or less) inner border of the same blue and a string-pieced outer border.

The blue has a faint stripe running through the background.  Just so you know, my OCD kicked in, and all the stripes are running the same direction.

~Joan, who prefers CDO (alphabetical, as it should be!)

{Post #1,023} Unusual Irish Chain

I got this picture from Piece 'N Quilt blog.  Anyone know where I could get a pattern?  I could graph it and figure it out, but that would be awfully time consuming.  How about a pattern name?  I know it's an Irish Chain spin-off.

{Post 1,022} Secret Project Finished

Head on over to my secret blog to see some amazing (to me anyway) machine quilting.

I want to thank those of you who are my b-friends (blog friends) and post on a regular basis.  It's like visiting in your sewing room.  There are those of you whose blog name in bold on my reader list just makes me smile.  That means you have a new post.  There are several, and I'd hate to miss anyone, but Natasha, Sam, Ruth, "Elaine", "Bonnie", Mary, Leeanne, Bonnie, Michelle, Julie, and others.  What a great way to keep up with b-friends!

~Joan