And The Second One is Finished, Too

The binding is now finished on Brown Stars as well and it turned out beautifully. I thought that I loved it before the binding was added but that gingham just took everything to another level.

I've said it before but I think that it bears repeating - that cinnamon pansy fabric combined with the gingham just made this quilt. Those pansies were stretched to the very limit as I had only a small piece so it required getting as creative as possible with how to use it.

I was flying by the seat of my pants with this one so I was very generous with it when I made the first block.

But you can see where just those tiny cornerstones in the star centre work well too.

It came through in lots of ways and that variety works so well to make the quilt cohesive. The scrappy creams worked nicely too.

Roberta quilted it with rows and rows of feathers that give it such a wonderful traditional feel.

And that backing - just wonderful. It reminds me of Italian glass.

I won't lie - this one is going to be hard to let go of. But it's not about me. Time to remember why I made it, package it up and send it off for someone to use in their healing journey....M

 

Never Underestimate a Quilt

As I was sewing down the binding for Kaleidoscope I got to thinking about how much I like this quilt and how much I really didn't care for many of the fabrics that I started with. They fell into the 'use it up' category and I just felt that I was trying a little too hard to make things work.

But as the fabric pull got under way the colours and patterns needed to bring the so-so fabrics to life evolved. The addition of the green and white polka dot and the light aqua really took it up a notch.

And as each block started to emerge and the colours were distributed across the flimsy, it really started to shine.

The end result is just lovely.

That beautiful 'grunge-ish' backing scattered with daisies that Roberta provided was the finishing touch, bringing everything together oh so nicely. I liked it so much that it's what I used for my binding.

Her generous offer to quilt this as her contribution to the cause meant that we would be shipping a finished quilt instead of a flimsy and the playful panto ties in so nicely with the floral backing. 

So, all that is needed when it lands in the Quilts for Survivors studio is for a label to be attached, the quilt to be smudged and parceled up with a note and sent off to its forever home. I hope it brings joy to the recipient; I know it has brought much joy to me....M

Binding Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is one of two quilts that I need to bind before our Quilts for Survivors boxes are bundled up for delivery. I've been dragging my feet on making the binding but finally tackled it this week, and got it sewn on. 

I forget how quickly the binding goes on these quilts. They are lap-sized and considerably smaller than the quilts I usually make so I started the hand stitching yesterday and it looks like it will be wrapped up today.

Despite trying to store my Wonder Clips in the same place all the time I do tend to lose track of them periodically, and last night was one of those times, so I resorted to pinning. 

It's fine, but I've gotten so accustomed to the clips that I find myself really leery of stabbing myself now if I use pins so I was thrilled when I remembered where the clips were. 

It's now all clipped and ready to be finished. No point in shedding a little blood on the quilt at this stage in the game, is there?

Loving the backing that I got from Roberta; I don't think that it could have been more perfect.

Next up will be the Brown Stars (creative name, isn't it?) which is trimmed and ready to go. Think this one will get a gingham binding....M

It Feels Almost Like Cheating

In my mind's eye, the Holly Bazaar sewing was going to happen in August. When it didn't, I reset my sights on the first week of September. Well, the universe had other plans. Friday I finally dug in. I cut the bits for both an autumn and a Christmas runner and with a little bit of sewing here and there and the Christmas runner is ready to quilt (YAY!), all I needed to do was nail down a binding. So the digging began.

You know when you pull a thread and you're not quite sure if it's just a stray or if it's actually connected to something? Well, I sort of had that happen to me, only with projects. Digging through my infamous chair which houses many of my WIPs I spied a bit of fabric that might work. Turns out its a pair of placemats that I had stitched while wrapping up last year's sewing, they just need to be quilted. Surprise, surprise!

And what was that just beneath it? Another potential runner. It's a long strip of surplus hourglass blocks from Snippets which was finished up in 2021. It will be the perfect starting point for a runner, maybe two. Or is it to be placemats?

I tested two florals for borders. Either one will work but I think that the mauve will be the winner. But it needs a little something extra.

How about a narrow strip of this tiny floral print? Nah.

But this green is perfect, so I'll play a little. 

These two/three newfound projects plus the two that I was working on, and possibly a yellow braid runner/placemats, and suddenly I'm well on my way. Oh happy day! Time to press a few things and see where they take me. (Did I mention that I love that chair?)....M

Second Hand Clothes is Finished

My Second Hand Clothes flimsy is finished - another flimsy to add to the Quilts for Survivors shipment! Yay!! 

I have to say that I'm a little taken aback at how quickly it came together, but in a very good way.

The hand-pieced blocks were a relaxing project to pick up with my morning coffee, and 20 came together really quickly. I just love the variety in it. 

This sweet little cherry print has been hanging around forever and now it's finally found a good home.

The brown border fabric is what started it all. I'd pulled it from the shelves while looking for something else and was determined to find a use for it. After finding the inspiration quilt everything seemed to fall into place. It's a VIP print, so that gives you a sense of just how old it is; something tells me that it might have come from mom's stash.

When I opened it up to cut the borders I discovered a flaw running the length of the piece about four inches in along one edge. Thankfully I have just over three metres so I was able to trim without stressing too much.

I don't know that I would have come up with the red setting triangles and brown border myself (I had imagined using blue, green and brown with it), but I do love the look.

There's lots of brown left so, while everything is still out I'm going to cut a second (and possibly third) set of border strips along with the other pieces that I need and it will be a good hand sewing project for the winter. Hopefully the next one comes together as quickly as this one did....M

Movin' Right Along

No sooner had I posted about working on Second Hand Clothes than I enjoyed a visit with my sister Frances so I put her to work helping me cut the 6.5" squares that I needed for between the pieced blocks.

Before you know it, we were throwing blocks up on the design wall and patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.

It's such a hodgepodge of fabrics but they all seem to work.

Love this blue and black plaid; I think it's the only plaid in the quilt, but a nice bit of additional interest.

Needless to say, I spent all night wishing I were sewing blocks together rather than sleeping, so in the morning downstairs I went. Only one small glitch when I discovered a flaw in this brown block. It was too deep into the block so I just cut another to replace it with.

In just over two hours, I had the flimsy together, minus the outer border. The red setting triangles are just so great at giving everything a lift.

Now on to the border. I'm keen to wrap this project up quickly because it's time to buckle down and make a few items for the Holly Bazaar craft table so that I can get them quilted and bound in plenty of time. I've got ideas for a couple of toppers/runners but it always helps to have a firm list to work with (you know, because those quilting squirrels like Christmas too!)....M

 

A Combo

Happy September 1! GAH!!! How did that happen?!

I picked up a second hand stitching project when we were away but only had time to stitch about two blocks. It's another flimsy for QFS called Second Hand Clothes, so very scrappy. I've also seen the pattern referred to as Soldier's Dream.

It's the result of yet another Pinterest browsing session and it's from the Doodlebugs and Rosebuds blog. There are a variety of versions of all over the net but I particularly liked the way Ramona used the red setting triangles. 

This is the first block that came together; I believe that it is called Puss in the Corner.

It should come together fairly quickly as every alternate block is a solid square rather than a pieced block and because the QFS tops are lap-sized, I have downsized it so that there are only 20 pieced blocks needed. I'll sew the flimsy together by machine. The combination of hand stitching and machine sewing will move things along nicely.

All 20 blocks are pieced so now it's time to cut about 30 squares. Not sure if the red in the first image will be for all of the setting triangles or if I make them scrappy. Time will tell....M

Two For You, One For Me

I've been baking this week. More specifically, baking squares for a funeral. And while I am more than happy to help, I feel as though I'm always showing up with the same old stuff, in part because I tend to bake cookies and cakes more than squares and/or muffins, so my recipe collection is a little wanting. And, just to complicate things a little more, we're asked to bring a pan that measures 9" x 13"; most of mine suit an 8" x 8" pan. Woe is me. Time for a Pinterest search.

It's a little tricky trying a recipe that you haven't made before but I started early and knew that I could bake something else if they didn't work out.

First up were these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies. Oh my! The texture is so lovely, even to the very edge of the pan, and there's no frosting required. They easily received the seal of approval from the Official Cookie Tester because he is a pumpkin aficionado so they will definitely go into the rotation.

I've been baking a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for years but these are so much faster.

The second batch were these Coconut Butter Bars (photo: Cookies & Cups) and believe me, they aren't fibbing about the 'butter'. I added a few extra tablespoons of flour to the crust because it just looked too saturated and I'm happy that I did. That said, they are very tasty too and also received the OCT seal of approval. I didn't get a pic before they hit the freezer so I am sharing the one that she has on her site.

The third batch (I know, I was only supposed to bake two) was a bonus for me. While hunting through mom's recipe book I found this. Anyone who grew up in our household will recognize the type. It's a page from The Baptist Church Cookbook. This was a go-to recipe book in our house, with fantastic recipes from ladies in our community and growing up I loved these squares. 

It was interesting to see how much less sugar they took when compared to the two recipes that I had just made, particularly the base. It's the crust that I always think of - might be the inclusion of the egg that makes it just a little different. And well, in my book you just can't go wrong with pineapple and coconut. in my book.

When they came out of the oven I was almost giddy.

There might have been a little taste testing at breakfast the next day.

It's only a 8" pan so they get to stay with me. Such a delicious walk down memory lane....M

Maples Leaves and Binding by the Pound

Sandy showed up last week with a lovely little bundle for Quilts for Survivors which included these gorgeous maple leaf blocks. She's right on time because, despite what the calendar is saying, we've already seen a few maple trees beginning to turn.

They are done up in a variety of fall fabrics but she just couldn't figure out what she wanted to do with them, in part because she just couldn't get past the little bit of metallic ink that runs through them, so they have been passed along to Betty to work a little magic.

It's the same block that Roberta and I played with last fall - Crystal Manning's Pumpkin Spice Maples - but she's only used two colours/block. Clever girl.

Don't they make you want to start pulling out your sweaters?

And she also brought a huge bag filled with a variety of bias bindings, all neatly prepped and labelled. There are nine in total ranging from 47 to 101 feet in length, for a grand total of 591 feet! That's a LOT of work.

According to my math, that's about 16 metres of binding per metre of fabric.

I couldn't get over how much they weighed so when we got home I put the bag on the kitchen scale; it's over 3.5 pounds!

This is my fave.

The crew at Quilts for Survivors will be thrilled as they are always on the lookout for binding that is ready to go. As a reminder, if you would like to send QFS prepped bindings they are looking to have them cut 2.5", on the bias...M