{Post 1,515} I Spy from Charm Pack

Went shopping with a sewing friend last week.  I picked up a charm pack of the fabrics used for the 4-patches above.  After I pieced the top, I decided to add a border of just "I Spy" prints.  That makes the top about 48-1/2" square.  A nice lap size for little people.  

One of my 4-patches is turned the wrong way.  I didn't notice it until I took a picture.  I think that will be my humility block!

This AM I pieced a backing for it.  Now to quilt, bind, label, wash, and dry!

{Post 1,514} Surprise Sewing Day

Above are my original blocks for the Maverick Stars.  I decided the outer frames were too big and cut those 4 down.

This AM I got out of bed and realized I was home alone.  Then my husband texted and asked if he had told me he was going to be out of state all day.  No.  So I sewed for the morning.  

My son got home from work about 11:30.  We did a few things together, then I sewed some more.

This is what I had finished when it was all said and done.  They are 9-1/2" square unfinished.  I am getting the hang of the wonkiness of it all.

{Post 1,513} Maverick Stars Framed

Above are 4 of my Maverick Star blocks, with their frames.  I am trying to reduce scraps here, ladies!!  My center blocks are 5-1/2" square.  I am surrounding them with strips from my 1-1/2" strip bin in scrappy darks or lights.  For the outermost border, I am cutting one width of fabric, selvage to selvage.  I can get two 7-1/2", two 11-1/2", and two 2-1/2" squares (which is the size of the centers and corners of the Maverick Stars) with just a sliver of waste.  Voila!!

That makes these blocks 11-1/2" square.  I like the rest the same-fabric outer borders gives the eyes.

{Post 1,512} Triangle-Pieced Wonky Stars

Bonnie Hunter saves the day again.  On her blog, there is a tutorial for Maverick Stars that uses triangles to piece what I think of as wonky stars.  Click here to see it.  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/maverick-stars.html

Here is the result from yesterday and this AM:

I am a scrappy girl at heart.  My least favorite block is the top left original one.  All the background matches and all points are uniform.  My favorite is the bottom right...pieced center block with all different of everything.

I keep my tiny scraps in a shoebox-sized storage box under my desk.  I just throw the scraps in there when I have them.  These are very small pieces!  I figure I'll cut the 2-1/2" square centers from prints and outer squares from creams as I have them.  If all else fails, I'll cut off a bolt!  What???  Is that even possible, LOL.

{Post 1,511} Alone Again and Still Tumbling

Yesterday I took my grandchildren back home.  It was a bittersweet time, for sure.  Their reunion with their parents was so sweet.  I consider it an honor to have had them.  I will miss the little nippers.  I rarely think to take pictures.  Just not wired that way.

I have been making major inroads in organizing my sewing room.  I found this box of irregularly-shaped triangles.  They are mostly from bindings that are sewn together at right angles.  Lots of them have the selvage fabric on one edge.

I have gone back and forth.  Pitch them?  Save them?  Donate them to someone else?  I just finished my Wild Goose quilt and gave it to my son recently.  That is what I used the other ones for, but I really did not want to make another one of those.

I made up one of these blocks this AM.  It will finish at 5" square.  It involves a LOT of precise cutting, which I would rather skip.  Is there a way to make wonky star blocks with triangles instead of squares or rectangles?  I really like this, but the construction is so time-consuming.  I am putting the box away until I hit upon a faster idea.

Here is a close-up of my tumbler quilt.  I will be adding 4" borders all around next, then piecing a backing and machine quilting this.  It measures 90" x 110" now and has 3,300 tumblers.  I will keep this one to use on one of our guest room beds.  We don't have many that are large enough.  

The close-up shows some of the details of the piecing and the wide genre of fabrics used.  Notice the middle row.  The brown tumbler on the far left is pieced from 2 of the same fabrics.  The one on the farthest right is Tigger in blue toile.  The one next to Tigger is cut down from a 4-patch.  There are Civil War prints, baby prints, I Spys, shirts, and anything one can imagine.

I am helping a friend with her son's rehearsal dinner for tomorrow night.  That means today is making cupcake picks, garlands, etc. as well as taking everything over for baking and cooking tomorrow.   

Praise the Lord for the strength to carry on!

[Post 1,510} Tumbling Along

It has been a long time since I've posted.  Most of you read my blog for the quilty content, so I'll show that first.  Here is the progress so far on my tumbler quilt.  88" x 90", with another 10 rows (20") to go on the top.  I have enough tumblers cut and sewn into strips of 4 for the rest of the rows.

I have realized that we don't have enough BIG quilts.  We have tons of throws.  I have weaned those down some recently.  I need some quilts for our two guest room beds.  I have all the pieces cut for this, just need some sewing time, which will be rare for the next 3 weeks.

I found this little gem while unpacking a long-neglected box into my sewing room.  A Twister ruler runner, with some of my favorite fabrics.  I will machine quilt and then bind it soon.

Why will it be rare, do you ask?  My son-iin-law (who lives in GA) was badly burned at a work accidet last Friday.  My husband and son drove the 3 hours over to bring these two monkeys back here.

My granddaugter turned one on Christmas Eve.  

This is my soon-to-be-3-year-old grandson.

I am doing this to help my daughter and her family.  She just started working full-time in the afternoons/evenings a short time ago.  Her husband has not been able to use his hands due to their burns since the accident.  He is on strong pain relievers that make him a little loopy.  He has frequent doctor's visits, and she changes his dressings every 3 hours.  It would be hard for the kids to be there, seeing him the way he is right now.  My daughter has expressed her thanks many times.  She has said she could not take care of them right now with her other responsibilities.  Their church has been so helpful.  Meals at least once a day have been delivered, several boxes of groceries have come in, men from the church have called to see if Emily needed any repairs or chores done around the house.  In an email she sent a couple days ago, she said "We have seen God's grace on every side, and I coldn't have a breakdown if I tried."  Yet, it is hard, and the healing will take a very long time.  I am exhausted most of the time, but I have a lot of years of practice doing just what I'm doing with the little nippers. I would appreciate your prayers for my SIL, and my sweet daughter.

{Post 1,509} 1,860 Pieces Strong

This is pretty much what we have had all week. It didn't seem Christmas-y, but we had a lot of Christmas spirit at our house.  So busy that I didn't take many photos.

I have become friends with one of my blog readers.  She said she was going to send me a "few scraps" to add to my tumbler quilt.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the box below (and notice the promise inside the lid, which does NOT seem to be working).

I used some time this AM to add a few rows to the top of my tumbler quilt.  Here it is, 31 rows wide.  It now measures about 90" wide by 62" long.  I am shooting for around 108" long, so I am about 2/3 of the way there!

We are off this afternoon for a very quick turnaround of a vacation.  Even though we only have 2 children at home, one is a commuting full-time college student and the other is working 30 hours a week.  Today and tomorrow were the only days all 4 of us could go.  I am looking forward to some car sewing time and a wonderful trip.

Hope your Christmases were bright.  

Isaiah 9:6...For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.