Zombie blocks

So I was wide awake this morning at 4 am and decided to get up and have a cup of tea and finish these half blocks! These will go on either side of another set of blocks for the final pieced border on the Saturday Sampler.

I am feeling like a zombie right now.  Too early mornings will do that to a girl.

Sample quilt

I'm facilitating the Cozy Mysteries book club at my LQS and this is a sample based on the Karen Montgomery pattern for the book we are currently reading.  I can't decide if I want to add blocks or just a border.  This would be a cute baby quilt someday.

ETA: The pink is Andover Century Solids in Bubblegum!  I decided I need to pick up some more incase I decide to make the quilt larger.

FFO

 This cross-stitch pattern is from Kate Stitcher.  I really love it and I made this for my aunt who loves fall as much as I do!  This is my very first flatfold and I really like how it looks.  I  have a lunchbox full of embroidery and cross-stitches that need to be finished so I plan to do more flatfolds in the future.  The FQS youtube video was very helpful when I made this.

August

 

A mess of sharks

 I absolutely love this shark fabric from Dear Stella.  When it arrived it told me it wanted grey and red fabrics to be used with it.  I found this hand-dyed grey fabric at the LQS.  It was perfect because of all of the color variation.  The red is from French General.   The first "fins" I made had a thicker red stripe and they looked like a sports logo!  So I resewed and recut to get these fins.   I used my 4 1/2 inch equilateral triangle die from Accuquilt.  I trimmed down the triangles to square off and added 2.5 inch borders.  The binding is a faux flange.  I used 1.75 inches of the red and 1.5 inches of the grey.

 

Hello there

 

More sharks

 I feel the need for more sharks, and since Chocolatier is finished,  I get to play.

This is just getting started. It will be all in triangles to suggest shark's teeth. The red is too thick in this sample so I'm going to try again.  I'm using an accuquilt equilateral triangle die for cutting but I may need to use a ruler for the red/Grey triangles. 

Shark!

 I also needed to make a mat for this awesome shark planted my sister gave me. I used the leftover fabric from my mother's quilt.  

Here it is with the shark:

Chocolatier!

 At long last, it's a top!

I started this in 2017 but got bogged down by some of the complicated blocks.  I made and remade the arrowhead block repeatedly.  I was also intimidated by the paperpiecing and the applique blocks. The solid fabric is Kona cotton and it is fairly thick to sew with. It was a challenge toy accuracy.  Then I didn't feel up to cutting the background fabric. I finally got all the blocks done and laboriously sewed the blocks into rows and rows into sections and, finally, sections into a top.  I would really like to have this custom quilted. 

Catching up on Saturday Sampler blocks

 All of these blocks are for the Saturday Sampler at my LQS, Fabrics Etcetera.  They are 6.5 inches.

 These are the July blocks.

These are from June.

And these are the May blocks.

I've started on the finishing kit-maybe I'll start sewing these into rows after I finish Chocolatier.

Show and Tell

I showed these for Show and Tell at the Saturday Sampler group.  This first quilt is the 2023 Greater Houston Shop Hop blocks.  I added the stars in the sashing.  This fabric was so soft and silky! 

This quilt is a bigtime squirrel.  My Quilty BFF gave me a baggie of squares and the pattern from her late MIL's stash.  I thought this would be a great leaders 'n enders project but it ended up taking over my sewing area and my brain.  I had to add more squares-I used leftover jelly roll strips-and even had to tea dye the white jelly rolls to knock back the brightness.  I'm really pleased with it.  Quilty BFF told me it would look nice as a tabletopper in my office and go with the Patriotic Pineapples quilt I have hanging there.  And then we laughed and laughed because who knows when I will ever get it quilted!

 

Double Wedding Ring sample

My LQS put their Accuquilt dies on sale-they may stop carrying them.  I got a really good deal on the DWR dies (it's a two die set) and then I went back and got Hattie's Choice.  I only let myself buy dies if they are on my wishlist so I don't go crazy. LOL.  Accuquilt recommends you make a test block of each new die to make sure the die is working fine so I started with the DWR.  I'm sorry I used the white fabric in the melon-I may remove it.

 

April blocks

 I didn't get a lot of sewing done in the latter part of April-a dreadful cold descended upon my family-so I was knocking out these Saturday Sampler blocks the night before they were due!  I wish these were Civil War prints as I think this would have been a great quilt for my brother.

Cabinet and yellow mini

Here is where I am on my Cabinet of Curiosities.  I'm hoping to finish it soon because I'm ready to move on to another project!

 And here is my yellow 30s basket quilt.  It's a  mini that turned out larger than I expected!  I'll use this to practice my rulerwork.

The Purple Menace

 I finished The Purple Menace book pillow for my niece SoSo.  Her parents report that she loves it and promptly took it to her room. I fussy cut the handle so it reads Purple!

More blocks and purple

Last shop hop block.  This fabric is Northcott Canvas for the nearly solids, Colorworks Premium Solid Ultra Black & Benartex Creation for the focus fabric.   

Dry fit for the Purple Menace

Blocks for the Saturday Sampler

 

More Hop Blocks

More shop hop blocks.  I enjoyed these but I hope this mania leaves me soon!

 This block is an ooops.  I had difficulty understanding the pattern (how's that for being nice?) and I made this instead.  It's 9.5 inches so I will use it for something else and get more teal fabric to make the correct block.  I need to remake two blocks and then I can get to setting these and borders!

Shop Hop Blocks

 So QuiltyBFF and I got a little obsessed with the shop hop last week. We even took vacation time so we could hop during the week. This weekend I devoted myself to shop hop blocks. Here are Saturday's blocks:

I made the second block with the red flying geese too small-it's a perfect 8.5 inch block and was supposed to be 12.5 inches!  I think 8.5 is my default!

Plaids

 Over Spring Break I visited the Fabric Carousel.  I didn't plan to buy anything but these plaids were together on the shelf and are just screaming to be a Sparkle Plenty quilt.  I'm looking for one more black plaid and the background of the quilt will be black. 

The Purple Menace continues

 One of my goals for Spring Break was to get all of these stars finished.  These will form the outside pocket of the reading pillow I'm making for my niece.  Thatsalottapurple!  

yellow baskets

 Finished up these blocks last night but will set them aside temporarily as I need to work on the purple menace for my niece.

purpley stuff

 I'm just pulling together my purpleness to start on the reading pillow for my niece SoSo. All she wanted was purple so this is basically a purple vomit pillow.  I'm trying to figure it out.

 

Easter China Hutch

I really need an Easter appropriate teapot for my china hutch.  I felt like I needed something taller right there in the middle behind or instead of the butter dish.  (I always put colored tulle in it so it will be more visible.) I made this little 30s mini quilt a few months ago so I put that in there. My bossy sister says I need something yellow there instead of green so I pulled out my 4 inch Qube and got to work yesterday.  

I'm currently planning to make nine total of these little baskets and then . . . maybe a one inch sash with tiny cornerstones? Tiny yellow border?  It will be fun to see! (I haven't forgotten my Cynthia England project but when my sister bosses me. . .)

 

Vintage Housewife sampler update

 

Still slugging along on my Vintage Housewife sampler.  I really do love this but it takes me longer to stitch on 25 count evenweave.  It is so cute so I will keep stitching until it is finished.  I took this picture at the Urgent Care yesterday-had to take my nephew in so I grabbed this on my way out the door.

Still piecing

So I am still working on this Picture Piecing from Cynthia England.  It is taking FOREVER.  I was getting discouraged last evening but I realized I was doing the very complicated bit of fence shown in the middle of the picture.  I think after I finish all of the fence bits it will go faster.  I've re-watched Cynthia's youtube videos many times to pick up tips.  Honestly, I am usually very fast when I am piecing regular quilt blocks.  To have to go slow and rip out constantly (I keep sewing over the paper) is a new thing for me!

I've finished sections A thru F and tonight I'm doing Section G which I think is the last bit of fence.  I do think I'm getting better at the piecing which is a relief!  One thing for sure, this is a humbling experience!

 

Cabinet update

 Here's an in-progress picture of my Cabinet of Curiosities.  This was my Stitch Only At Work on My Breaks project but I've taken it home on the weekends a couple of times.  I love it so much.  Today on my morning break I started stitching a disected frog.

Cynthia England projects

I've taken two classes with Cynthia England.  The first was at Painted Pony N Quilts way back in 2010 and the pattern she taught was Life's a Beach.  I enjoyed the class-she's a fabulous teacher.  And I had brought my Featherweight with me and kept burning my hand on the lightbulb cover.  She had brought things to sell-sticks for pressing strips, LED lightbulbs, Karen Kay Buckley scissors etc.  Well after I burned myself for the THIRD time I jumped up and bought myself a new LED bulb.  It is great-much brighter than what I had and it never gets hot.  But back to the pattern, I still didn't feel confident with paper piecing-in any style.

So a few years later, and now a few years ago, QuiltyBFF and I took a class with her at HQF.  Again, she's a wonderful teacher but afterwards I didn't get back to this project either.  I even loaded up my Featherweight trolley with both kits, mini iron etc.  Nope.  Still intimidated.  So last night I unpacked my trolley.  I set up my sewing machine and mini iron and pulled out the Beach pattern and kit.  I decided to start on a bit of the beach as it was all sandy fabrics and it wouldn't matter if I messed up.  I studied the pattern and even cut out two pieces of fabric and ironed on the pattern pieces.  I'm hoping tonight I will actually sew them together. 

 

I'm keen to get these done because I also have the kit and pattern for this beautiful heron. Herons are among my favorite  birds, if not my favorite.  I would love to make this one and hang it in a prominent place.