I Love My Stash

I rooted around in my stash the other day and came up with this red-violet marbled print to use for the middle border in the Jewel Box quilt. It's exactly the color I wanted, and I think it's perfect. I could have wasted lots of time trying to hunt something down in the quilt shops, so I'm happy I had it in the stash. I've gotten some mileage out of this particular piece of fabric--I used it in the Monticello quilt that I made a few years back too.

The first two borders are sewn on, and the outer border is cut and ready for sewing. I have to mentally psych myself up to cut and sew these border prints because the corners have to be matched precisely and mitered for them to look right, and I'm not really very fond of mitering. I will love this quilt when it's finished though, so it's worth the trouble to get it right.

June Finish

But first, someone left an anonymous comment inquiring whether or not I had finished my pink and brown Neapolitan quilt. No, but funny you should ask, because I had planned to include it on my Power of Ten list, and it will replace the Double Hourglass I just finished.

Even though I wanted to work on some other blocks today, I made myself sit down and finish this quilt, plus I needed a finish for June. Made it just under the wire. It's actually been quilted for several weeks, and all I had left was the binding. I quilted it with the Plumage pantograph from Willow Leaf, which I just love. I probably say that every time I use it, huh?

This is a giftie for one of my son's friends, and I had to have it done in time for her baby shower on July 18. The baby ensemble I've been knitting to go with it is also nearly finished. Still have to sew up the seams on the bonnet and booties, and I have one sleeve left to knit. Thankfully there are no seams to do on the sweater because it was a top down pattern. The sleeves were supposed to be knit flat, but I put them on double pointed needles to knit in the round. The very first project I knit was on DPNs, and I've done mitten thumbs on DPNs; so these little sleeves are a piece of cake.

Jewel Box

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while knows what a terrible procrastinator I am. Oh wait, we did that already. This quilt has been a ufo for at least 12 years. Sad, isn't it? I haven't worked in my Rotation for a while because I've been busy with other things, but this is quilt #5, a quilt called Jewel Box by Jinny Beyer.

I actually made this exact quilt for my niece when she graduated from high school. Back then my younger boy was still in elementary school, and he was crazy over the color purple. He loved this quilt and was heartbroken when I shipped it off to my niece, so I said I'd make another one for him. Poor kid, he's all grown up now and still waiting, but he still loves this quilt.

After I worked on this quilt for a half hour or so, I remembered why it became a ufo. Each of those purple medallions is constructed from four fussy cut pieces; so there is lots of matching and pinning that has to be done, which is very time consuming.

I had all the blocks done before today, so this evening I sewed all the rows together. The center is now complete and ready for the borders. The borders will look like those pieces on the side in the photo, but I have no idea what I'll do for that red violet in the middle. It's perfect for the quilt, but I don't have enough of it to border all the way around. That could prove to be enough of an obstacle that it will wind up back in the ufo pile.

Finished the Hoodie

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while probably knows what a terrible procrastinator I am. So it probably shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that I sewed up most of the seams for this little hoodie weeks ago, then let it sit around waiting for the last sleeve to be set in and for the buttons to be sewn on. My niece had a little boy yesterday on Father's Day, so I figured it was high time to get it finished. It went out in the mail this afternoon!

Yarn: Cotton Kisses, Plymouth Yarn Co.
Pattern: Adorable Baby Hoodie, Creative Knitting Magazine May 2008

Candlemat

I finished this little wool candlemat this morning too. I started it last Wednesday at the Tacoma Lakes Quilters meeting. A number of us bought these kits and had ourselves a workshop.

I was determined not to let this become a ufo, so I worked at it until it was done. I don't normally work in wools, and I don't do buttonhole stitch or any other embroidery, but I found this little mat very appealing. And I did the buttonhole by machine. I wasn't sure how well it would work on wool, but it turned out just fine.

Credit where credit is due: design by Pickering Farms Designs

Hexies #24, #25, and #26

I finished three hexagon blocks this week, so now I'm only behind by about three blocks, I think. I like the addition of the green and gold. My quilt is already not looking much like the original, so no matter. Before I'm through, there's no telling what might wind up in it.

I started two more hexies this morning and hope to get another three finished this week.

Hexies #22 and #23

I am way behind with my hexagon blocks, but I'll get caught up again, like always. I lost a month when I sliced my finger open with the rotary cutter, but I'm thankful it was only a month.

After studying the photo I took of all my blocks together, I thought they would benefit from a little more color, so I'm adding some green and gold. I haven't been able to find very many civil war fabrics in gold, but there must be more out there somewhere. I'll find them!

Star Crazy BOM for June

We had a sew day at Helen's on Friday, and I finished my blocks for June. It feels good to get them done early for a change.

We're halfway there now; and judging from the photos of upcoming months on the Quiltshow website, we're going to be very busy the last six months of the year. We still have to make 34 six-inch border blocks to make, plus 6 irish chain blocks, 12 irish chain half blocks, and a boatload of half square triangle units. Lots of piecing in this quilt.

EQ7 Arrived

Oh, happy day, the UPS man has just delivered my EQ7!



But I have chores to do that must get done today, so playtime will have to wait.

If you EQ, have fun today!