Monday, September 15, 2025

Sew Along Tops Complete!

 Well, the time has come to show off

my two quilt tops from the

 Conquering Mount Scrapmore spring string sew along.

The total project was going to finish 96" square,

 which is a bit large for my liking.

When I halved the larger plan,

I had to make one extra square,

and redesign the border.

My goal was to end up with two rectangular 

quilts instead of one very large square quilt.

I finished off the sides with the 9 1/2" half snowballed rectangles.




This rectangle finishes off the secondary pattern of 

the light background square and 

closes in the second block of the set.

Two rectangular quilts were the goal so I elongated

the ends of the tops with some of the blocks 

produced in the sew along.



The piece diamonds looked good but I 

wanted to finish off a bit of the

Chevron pattern so the hourglass blocks were 

substituted out with a 3 1/2" half square.



All four corners received the solid colored square 

as per the original design.

The outside edge will get a yellow-gold binding or

the 2-in gold strip that I inadvertently cut too soon.

I should always remember never to cut 

the borders until the top is complete .

Final designs are always fluid.



Fall is definitely among us and sitting outside,

I managed to pick up a new lifer for my bird list.

A flock of Greater white fronted geese flew over.

(Stock photo by Derek Rogers NY , USA)




I wasn't quick enough to get a picture 

but they are pretty interesting and

their peeping type honk really gives them away. 

They seem to be a bit farther south than their normal range, 

but with changing weather patterns and an abundance of fires in

northern parts of Canada, it isn't surprising.


Stay Safe and Sew On!

Linking up with :

Monday Musings

Design Wall Monday

SRSPS

Handmade Monday

To Do Tuesday

Wait Loss Wednesday





A Thousand Years

 Wow, I still have trouble waiting!  

It feels like forever when I am looking forward to an event. 

Well, another retreat is around the corner and we 

have an additional Grandson!  Yay us!

I've snagged two more projects for the 

retreat to do list. Both are itsy pieces. 

The first is a border for the " Square Dance"

center I have already  made.  



The center is a good size (79") so the border 

will be a row of 2 1/2" squares with 

a strip of white on either side. 

Last weekend's retreat produced 

a portion of joined squares for the border.


I used the stop and go method to get them sewn. 

One pair at the start and end of another block and 

some piecing done instead of cutting threads! 

Bonus all around! I'll work on more next retreat!

It should finish almost  84" square 

which is my go to size. 

The other project is another border. 

 This one is for a SAL from APAQ 2019


The center is 62 1/2"complete but  

a late night sewing produced a pieced border 

that is 14" too wide, sending the project into

driveway covering size!  

I will make an 8" or 10" border to finish the top at around 84".

Now I have a beautiful, "Border" quilt top to make from 

the too wide border strips! 


 

It will get a mottled-reads as solid-colored vertical sashing, 

to finish about 66" wide for a great twin sized quilt. 

Both of these projects will tag along to the next retreat. 



Looks like I'll have to find some more pins, 

or maybe do some quilting!!!



Retreat and Stash Increase

 Another fantastic retreat!

My first in a hotel and the venue is wonderful.

Lots of room comfy beds and fairly reasonable pricing!

A few things on my list were accomplished,

and a few things that weren't on my list were completed too!

The after retreat pile looked nothing like the one I left with!

Border pieces for the last of the crazy log cabin 

were all stitched up.


Last year's mystery was completed and just needs 

a fancy back.  There are even a back widening

strip made with a few extra blocks!




A cute little owl quilt was made with 

grab bag squares and gifted strips.


The weekend finished up with two more bags of 

wonderful scraps and fabric coming home with me!

I may have to revert to counting the scrap yardage coming in. 

Until  then I've had no movement in the numbers. 

Stay Safe and Sew On!

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Monday, September 8, 2025

Do I Have Enough Pins?

 The pinned pile is getting bigger!

I have to admit it is a great feeling to 

have a nice bunch of layered quilts 

waiting for the needle. Now the 

challenge will be to choose quilting patterns

Continuous patterns make the process 

smoother so I will pull out my two

 favorite reference books to help

in the search. 


I like a vine pattern,

 but I have to be careful because 

they tend to take on a coffee bean shape

toward the end of the top!

A clamshell would be nice on the 

two filmstrip edged quilts and the 

back and forth of the form will keep the 

top moving. 



The thousand pyramids will get 

a diagonal pattern to emphasize the 

beautiful triangle piecing. 


The squares might get a diagonal grid 

for the center section and a stitch in the ditch 

square grid for the colorful border.



Spirals reminiscent of a nautilus shell would 

work on the Sea Glass quilt. I didn't 

realize I had so many options in mind!



The hopscotch & twin 8s & 10s re good for 

an all over design.




Yet another pinned string quilt is hanging on the rack.

There a few pieces left of this style quilt so I'll have to

Have a sewing night to finish it up.

This one might get a different style from the other two quilts.

I'm thinking the Great Big Sea or some gentle ocean waves.

I do love continuous line quilting.


The last on the pinned rack, 

is a row by row from a past sewing group.

It will just get some shadow quilting around

each item in the rows  done by the members. 

It should be a great memento.

Finally, here is a picture of the quilt rack right now.

It looks amazing and so tidy!





I can't wait to get into the quilting!

Stay safe and Sew on!

Linking up with:

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings 

SrSPS

Sew & Tell

To Do Tuesday

Wait Loss Wednesday

Needle & Thread Thursday

Free Motion Mavericks

Put Your Foot Down

Oh Scrap!

Patchwork & Quilting

RSC 2025


Stitching Stuff 

Design Wall Friday

Friday Beauty Pageant


Retreat, Retreat!

 Five days and counting to the first retreat of the season.

This is new to me since this retreat is held in a hotel!

We've got a block of rooms, and one of the larger 

guilds in town  is hosting.  It should be a great time!





My pile of retreat projects is growing, and 

the featherweight is all oiled up,  but a 

few more are needed to keep me occupied!

So far I have 2 childrens quilts to stitch. 




Blue and pink strips will be trimmed 

and surround some colorful owl prints. 

The second project is a garlic knot top. 


Thirty nine blocks are complete and I 

need sixty four to complete a nice sized twin top.

A few more projects will round out the 

bunch. Diagonal string blocks are always 

a good filler project and  we're even 

 playing a game with them!

There are a group of Halloween fabrics

waiting to be sewn into shaded four patches

that would fun and very seasonal. 

I even found a banner to add in!



A mystery from last year is waiting for  

final assembly so that may come along 

to round out my list! 


All my bags are packed (almost)!







It should be a great weekend of fun!

Stay safe and Sew On!


 




Thursday, September 4, 2025

September Goal is Still Rolling!

 Great progress is being made in the sewing room !

Last month, the quilt rack finished up like this!



Now , four days into the month, it is 

looking like this!



Five quilts are pinned and ready 

for stitching!  This month is shaping up 

to be very productive! Lots of fun too!

Bernie is back in the sewing room 

after a healthy bit of work by the 

repairman, and there are a few more

tops to layer before quilting begins!

Here's to forward progress!  Yay!

On the list are:

~Finishing edging and pinning Sea Glass

~Make back and pin Colored Strings

~Border, make back and pin Country Row by Row

~Adjust border, back and pin Many Strings

It is good size list but I have a retreat ahead and 

at least one sew day planned.

Happy Stitching .

Stay Safe and Sew on!


Linking up with :

One Monthly Goal


Monday, September 1, 2025

Rolling Along, Another Finish!

 I am on a roll!

Two finishes in as many weeks,

might I say wowser!


This quilt finishing, 63" by 67",

was a bit of a challenge for me in the piecing.

I'm not a big fan of curves and this one was loaded with them.

I did use the Quick Curve ruler

to make cutting the curves easier,

but surprisingly it didn't help with the stitching!



I do love the look though.

The most rewarding part of this quilt,

was spending time in my fabric stash

 choosing pairs of colors that dazzled.

The pairs of fabrics provide lots of interest,

and each block is a joy in itself.


A multitude of squares and blocks of squares, 

were enlisted to make the colorful border. 

The quilting was not too complex,

 shadow quilting on the inside of the curved block edges,

and an almost stitch in the ditch outline of the curves.

This quilted so nicely and my machine ran smoothly.

The next quilt underneath the needle was not so fortunate,

and my big Bernina went in for

 an expensive fix but now works fabulously!

It is actually two for two on needle threading,

which is a real difficulty for the totally 

automatic style of this machine.


This finish, a nice twin size,

also precipitates a change in my stash numbers!

50.5  YTD Purchased

8.5m Jan- Jun

Used  5 m donated, 3 m ( baby quilt)

6m ( twin) 6m ( twin)

30.5 total meterage added YTD

Woot, woot! 

There are also two waiting on the stairs

for a ride to longarm quilter, so 

more finishes are coming!



Stay Safe and Sew on!

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Take Me With You!

Retreat season is nearly here,

and I thought it would be a good time to inventory

the little work drawer in my featherweight!

I can get almost all I need for a weekend away sewing

in the little drawer or the machine box.


There are lots of extras I take to retreats;

larger cutting boards, bigger rotary cutters,

long rulers, but I have sewn for a whole weekend

with just what I had in my featherweight box!

Here's a quick list. 

                                            Spare bobbins

Needle threader

snips

Sewer's ease

Chain piecing Cutter

Two small rulers

Emery board 

Machine brush

reading glasses

Bag of clips

Machine feet

Band-Aid

Screwdriver

Angled tweezers

Pencil

Pen

Pins

Straight tweezers

Small scissors

Chapstick

Spare needles

Magnifying glasses

Many of the projects I take are 

cut out at home so I don't have to 

worry about the activities are retreat 

distracting me from measurements!

The machine power foot goes into the 

main box instead of the drawer to make 

room for my supplies. 

The retreat pile is growing daily!

Happy retreating!

Stay safe and sew on !






August One Monthly Goal - Great Progress

The goal of working on my quilt rack backlog and 

getting some charity quilting done was a success!

The last of the charity quilts were quilted,

actually only one.



This big beauty proved more than enough 

for my domestic machine.

I graciously bowed out of doing the second 

that was measuring  97"x 97".

The  use of various sizes, widths and changes in direction,

give this quilt a unique eclectic look.

Another success for the charity group!


Two items are off the ladder and on their way  

to the long arm quilter.


One will probably be a keeper for my cozy collection,

and the other is a gift for my DD

 to warm her bed in the winter.

Another cheery twin size quilt,

Hopscotch, is on the table and ready to be pinned.

The top did require an extra bit of work,

as you can see one of the blocks was turned.


I rectified this problem by first 

taking out a block that was correct!


Then I went on to take out the errant block.

Restitching everything and giving it a a press

got it back on the pinning table in a timely fashion.


Two others were finished up

using my favorite quilt binding workhorse machine.


The curved 9 patch was trimmed and bound,

and the last of the Irish chains

was quilted, trimmed and bound.






On to the next challenge! 

Stay Safe and Sew on!