Happy Spots

A long time ago, one of my friends commented that a quilt I made her "just made her happy".  If she was having a bad day, all she had to do was get a glimpse of that quilt, and her outlook was better.  She asked me if any spots in my house made me happy.  Well, up until that point I hadn't really thought about it.  But now, for your visual enjoyment, are three new happy spots...

The first one is on our mantle.  It takes me sooooo long to finish something.  Often people comment on how much I do.  If they only knew how long it all takes...case in point are these letter blocks.  I looked high and low on the internet and at craft stores to see how to make my own.  Ended up just winging it.  I had a fence post cut into squares (3-1/2" square--big chunky things).  Then I asked Isaac to sand them, paint them black, then paint them cream.  Once the blocks were ready, I printed the letters I wanted on regular paper.  I cut them out ever so carefully and used Mod Podge to put them on the blocks.  I also made letters to spell out "welcome" and "Parker".  There are little imperfections all over the blocks...places where the black shows through a little, a crack or chip here or there.  But I like it.  Now if they get messed up, it will blend right in.  It's so hard to keep things perfect.

I want to sand down the edges of the blocks a little more as well as possibly spatter them with black, but that will be down the road.  In the meantime, I like our Easter tidings.  I thought the blocks were too big, but they DO get the message across.  I would like to find some silk dogwood branches to artistically place around them.

A closer view of the blocks...

Next, let me welcome you to my newly painted and hardwared treadle sewing machine table and antique cheesebox filled with rag balls in the foyer.  There is a 25-watt light bulb in the lamp.  After dusk I like to keep it on till we all go to bed.  It is just enough light to make a warm glow in the hall.  A nice welcome for those who work late.

Last, but not least, is my world traveler table runner.  This pattern is called Honeycomb Stars.  It was hand-pieced and quilted by me, mostly in Ohio and Florida, and the states in between last summer on our road trips.  Beats a souvenier shot glass! 

I am usually not so concerned about being matchy-matchy, but I hung some navy blue candles that Susie gave me to complement the blue in the runner.

And a close-up.  Notice the Lego guys in front of the plant shoots I'm rooting...just keepin' it real!

I had several ladies write to tell me how much they like my RED kitchen after this post.  I still love the color.  Picked it without thinking about it much, but it was a good choice.  Emily is painting her kitchen a similar hue.

TTFN,
Joan

Making a Hand Quilting Stencil

I was doing some more hand quilting on this little runner and realized it would be neat to use the shape of the six-pointed star in the center of the "rings" and in the edges. It was easy to make a stencil template to trace around. I got a plastic file folder and set it on the block, then traced with a Sharpie marker. I put it where I wanted on the quilt to see how it would fit. I cut it out with scissors inside the marker lines. Perfect! and FREE!! The perfect price.

I just realized that on the next picture, I would need to rotate the shape a little to get it to form the diamond where the pieced star falls.

~Joan

Design Wall Monday

Saturday Susanna and I did some major rearranging in our sewing room. When you bring home 560 yards of fabric, that is necessary. Miraculously enough, we made it all fit...quite nicely. We were fairly quickly struck with the realization that we will never live long enough to sew all of this fabric. We intend to sell a lot of it come this fall. Fat quarter sets, yardage, kits...half of it must go!!

Here is what is on my design wall today. I think this block is soooo cute. It was one of nine. It's made of all wool. The flowers in the sheep's mouth and on the ground are tiny buttons. In a not-terribly-sane moment, I threw away the parts for the other eight blocks. A cutting error on the backing fabric (the goldish cream) ruined the project for me. Now I wish I hadn't thrown the rest of them away, but what is done is done. I think I'll make this into a pillow for our living room.

I sorted through a large box of what my sister told me were "scraps". Didn't she know I am the scrap queen? There were pieces as small as 4" square. I sorted them into colors, ironed some, and pieced some into blocks for my Nine-Patch One-Patch quilt. The sorting and ironing took so long that I was only able to piece a few blocks, but I am really liking it so far...

And, lastly, but not leastly, is my Honeycomb Stars. I finished the piecing just as the sun was setting on our way back from Ohio this past Friday. I need to trim it, baste it, quilt it, and bind it. But the longest part is already finished...it is pieced! Susanna likes it so much that she requested a queen-sized quilt from this pattern. Hahahahohohoheeheehee...never!! The tiny diamonds just twinkle.

Off for a chiropractic visit (whoopee!!) and a grocery store run. My neck has felt like a paper-clip shape since the first night of sleeping in Ohio. Had a horrific headache and backache for the past few days, but that let up a little last night, praise the Lord. Hopefully the chiropractor can straighten me up.

~Joan

Honeycomb Stars with 2-1/2 Rings

One of my daughters had out-patient gum surgery today. I went with her so I could drive home. That meant an hour of hand-sewing time for me. All appears to have gone well with her surgery. She is quite uncomfortable, but she is resting well and being plied with cold nutritious beverages. She has the next couple of days off from work, so she will be doing plenty of resting.

Here is my Honeycomb Stars so far. I cropped out the extra fabric in the picture. It will eventually be trimmed and then a border put on of the same blue. I like it so much so far. A great car project. I'll probably start another after I finish one for me. I can think of several people who might like one!

~Joan

Honeycomb Stars

I worked on the Honeycomb Stars a little tonight. I added a couple colors for variety, so I HAD to see how it looked (that's how most of my quilts start...I'll just make a block...then two...then...).

This measures about 9" square so far. I am thinking I'll need at least five "rings" as opposed to the three in the original photo. With a table for 10, one needs to be ready to expand!

I just noticed in the picture that the bottom right corner has an unfinished seam. The blue hexagon is not sewn down on the bottom short side. That's because I start on the long seam and continue up one short side, then go back and do the other. Must have gotten interrupted before finishing that one off. Will be corrected soon.

~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