party time

Yesterday, as I mentioned previously was the Bama Belles Christmas luncheon at the Oxford (AL) Olive Garden.  Good group!  Yes a few faces were missing at the table for various reasons but many of us were there.  Some of us went back to the church afterwards for a little show and tell. We also helped Teresa get her ginormous Carpenter's Star quilt that will be her daughter and son-in-laws Christmas present pinned.  Well maybe it wasn't that huge but compared to the donation quilts, it was!  LOL.  pin and shift up the center section, pin  and shift left and then up, then shift right and then up and pin, pin, pin.

I showed you my challenge top last week using the "On the Boardwalk" pattern.  Here is Lois' version using scrappy nine patches to offset  her Debbie Mumm yardage in the snowballs and binding.

 And this is Valera's.sweet quilt.  She has yardage for another quilt or two down the line as her focus is the lightest print used in the triangle wedges.  I don't know that she gave a name for the quilt but she told me she used a trio of Scrap Crazy rulers.  I believe that THIS LINK , if this is the right set, is from Creative Grids.  She can let me know if I am wrong.

Lois had a few more to turn in so I was getting pictures and logging them into my document before I could help pin.  Some of recognize by name, others not.  LOL if you ask Lois she usually says something like "I had lots of scraps to use up" or "I spotted it in a magazine".  Either way they are wonderfully scrappy and quilted in interesting ways.

Here is Shaded or Split Nine Patch.   people.virginia.edu/~rfk2u/shaded_9patch.doc  is one version I found that they had recreated from the old HGTV "Simply Quilts" website.  Billie Lauder was demonstrating the block and its versatility.  Because of its diagonal properties of half light-half dark, it works like any log cabin block or for that matter, faux log cabin blocks to make Lois' Medallion  or Barn Raising version.  Other options would be Streak of Lighting or Sunshine and Shadows sets.  Look at THIS LINK from Big  Horn Quilts for various log cabin sets and you may see other possible sets for this simple but effective block.

 

This one I just called  Rails with alternating blocks.  It was one of two quilts using similar fabrics.

Lois uses this pattern a good bit, probably a go-to version when she has 2 or 2 1/2 inch strips on hand.  You may recognize it as Bonnie Hunter's Many (or Scrappy) Trips Around the World.  She called it both names in her tutorial.

Here is one that Lois couldn't tell me BUT I think it is a version of Disappearing Nine Patch.  Different setting that you may normally see though.  Anne Weins of Quiltwoman calls her version "Scotch Blocks" but they look considerably larger than these blocks.

This pattern I do know as I have made two pro bono quilts with it.  Atkinson Designs "Bridgecreek Blossom"  .  Lois has an embroidery machine and used it to quilt the setting triangles.  Doesn't it look neat?

 

Lastly there is this mystery block quilt.  Yep, she said she saw it in a magazine but didn't know which one.  I spot a pieced in Friendship Star at center. This one intrigues me! Valera and I were both trying to figure out how it was pieced.  Was there partially seaming involved?  Lois said not but I think you do that 4 corner sections and then add sashing with flipping corners that form that star when joined.  Fun cow print at centers and the same color background for the blocks and the stars tie it together.  I am drafting this one up in EQ.  Perhaps someone can tell me the block source???

And there you have it for show and tell.  As I hoped to do, all but Valera's quilt were delivered to Gene on my way home for his Angel Quilt project.  It was a bit short in length so it will be a better option for the younger kids.  I have about 8 or 9 others that fit that bill at the moment.

What is on tap for today?  Judging from the way things are scattered about in my sewing room, I need to do a bit of picking up, paper sorting and so forth.  I had hoped to start the friendship block project but I am awaiting some confirmation on some details before prepping for it--don't want to not conform with the other participants at least on a few points!  DJ's surgery is eminent so my time will not be my own but I have a book and some embroidery to drag along with me to help pass the time.  Knitting too if I chose.  I don't think binding a queen sized quilt or hand quilting would be as good an option though that is all on my to-do list.

Till next time--------

finished to flimsy

On The Boardwalk designed by Anne Wiens, Sweetgrass Creative Designs and published by Quiltwoman dot com.  Most of the sewing was done today and I put the two long side borders on after supper.  The backing is made and the binding seamed.   I did not really follow the designers directions and strip pieced a good bit of this.  It made more "sense" to me to do it that way, but someone else would be fine with the original action plan.  It finished about 45 x 58 inches.

I used just two Debbie Mumm  fabrics in the strips.  and I know this reads as a "tan" print from across our living room.  The green cornerstones and border is also a Debbie Mumm print but some stuff I had leftover from making appliance covers for the kitchen.  The Mumm fabric was donated to my quilt group from an area quilter.  Since there was a good bit of it, I spread it all out at our meeting site and issued the challenge---use it to make a quilt for the kids.

 Here is the stuff up closer.  The yellow, green and pink just sort of blend together in that long shot.

So what to do tomorrow?  I may cut out a version of the other pattern I linked to the other day.  On Parade.  I DO like a combo of fabric that I stumbled upon the other day and think it would be fun to play with.  My pattern shows it with the yellow background version, in the smaller thumbnail.

OR I could do the friendship block (shhhhh) or dig around in the Christmas fabric bin to see what I can find to make a pillow case to put Kristine's tree skirt in.  I did not have time to whip one up before I sent the skirt on earlier this week and told her I "owed" her one.   I am not quite ready to switch out machines again though.  I have 5 machines and do like to rotate using them so this time it was the Kenmore electronic slant- a-matic.  It has a nice stitch even if I do miss a few of the features of the other machines---like being able to change the needle position.  If I am going to make another top, I want to complete it on the same machine.

I'll see how it shakes out in the morning after I read through that pattern, LOL.  For now I will content myself with the fact that I did reach another short term goal and my Belles fabric challenge is completed with a few days to spare.   Can I get a woohoo?  LOL