Let It Snow

No, I'm not really ready for snow yet, but I am ready to get back to my Let It Snow quilt.  Let It Snow was the second of my two Christmas in July projects and now I have everything I need to finish it (hopefully before Christmas).

On Friday, I machine appliqued all the orange wool "carrot" noses and a few sets of black wool eyes (I'll be using buttons for the eyes in the remaining blocks, but they go on after quilting). 

Next step was marking.  I used the set of concentric circles I bought at the last weekend's quilt show to mark circles on each snowman block.  I'll do something yet-to-be-finalized in the borders.

Then I used my huge supply of safety pins to pin the backing, batting, and top together, a process that is a bit tough on the fingertips.

I've started quilting,  Three faces down, nine to go, plus borders.  Yes, it can be done by Christmas!

Friday Find - Fabulous Ironing Board Cover

We quilters spend a lot of time with our irons and our ironing board covers tend to show it.  I just gave myself the gift of a new cover.  It is so cheery and bright, in a beautiful print from one of Amy butler's fabric collections. I got it from City Chic Country Mouse; you can find their Etsy store here.

City Chic Country Mouse is a mother-daughter business.  Their service was excellent; the cover arrived three days after I placed my order.  They tucked their business card inside, along with a hand-written Thank You on a paper doily - nice touch!  Now I''m looking forward to some ironing.

When Projects Go Bad

My project with the Hoffman cardinal fabric and the Moda jelly roll is not turning out quite as I envisioned.  the photo above shows a few blocks.  It looks way too busy to me and the prints with the aqua background don't mix well.  What do you think?

I stopped working on it while I figure out what to do.  At this point, I'm leaning toward taking all the cardinal sqaures I cut from the Hoffman print and reserving them for a future project, maybe more like this design from Lake House Fabrics, except using red and green with the neutrals..

Then I could use the jelly roll pieces in another jelly roll project. 

In the meantime, I  think I'll go back to my snowman project and get that one finished up, now that I have everything I need for it.

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XVII - Part 2, aka "The Loot"

Yesterday, I told you about the "show" part of the quilt show.  Today is reserved for the vendors.  I shopped with a list, to help ensure I get what I need for upcoming projects.  And focusing on the list helps keep me from getting carried away by sudden enthusiasms.  I say "helps" because a few unexpected things always manage to land in my shopping bag!

At the top of my list was a set of concentric circle templates.  I need these to finish my snowman quilt.  I will use them to mark the quilting.

I was looking for Kaffe Fassett prints in the aqua/turquoise/green colors I've chosen for a still-in-the-dreaming-stage project.  These go very well with the 15 or so others I have in a large ziplock bag.

By October, 2011, this fabric grouping will become a Halloween wall hanging.  These fabrics were on my list and I actually have a plan - meaning I know exactly what I plan to do.  I probably won't start this quilt until next winter or spring though.

Not on my list but I am a pushover for Fig Tree fabrics and patterns in general so when you combine the two, I just can't say "no."  This pattern, Paper Roses, actually calls for a charm pack but the layer cake (Mill House Inn) was such a good deal.

I tend to come home from these shows with several new patterns.  Even if I live to 100, I will not be able to make all the patterns I have.  Snap Happy makes a little bag that closes securely without a zipper.  I think it will be good for a few little Christmas gifts.

This was a little gift for myself.  The vendor had patterns and kits for making these little pumpkin pincushions but was also selling her samples.  I decided to go with the finished article.

It was a fun day!  I hope you have an annual quilt show in your area that you can get to.  They are a great source of inspiration and of supplies.

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XVII

On Saturday, I visited the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza show, held outside Philadelphia.  I don't have much eye candy for you because I neglected to take many pictures.  I enjoyed the show, though many of the quilts in the show were not to my taste.  Here are a few that did catch my attention.

This is Ring Around the Posy, by Elizabeth T. Miller of Charlotte, NC.  It is hand appliqued and hand quilted.  I especially like the border treatment. 

This is Midsummer's Heat, by Shirley Malia of Olney, MD.  It is beautifully quilted, which unfortunately you cannot tell from the photo.  I like the use of color.  I'd like to try something using this diamond shape.

The show included a number of quilts from Kaffe Fassett's various books.  This quilt uses the bowtie block, and I like the way the color is reversed for the border.  I'm considering this pattern for my own collection of "Kaffes."

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you my loot from the vendors at the show!

 

For Sale

About six weeks ago, my husband and I had our bedroom repainted for a fresher, updated look.  I decided to have the inside of the closets painted while we at it, which meant taking everything out of the closets.  You don't know how much you have until you have to empty your closets completely!  While I found a few forgotten treasures hiding in the back, I also found a number of things I no longer wanted.  Several bags went to our local thrift shop.  But a few things seemed eBay-worthy and I just listed them - designer handbags for the most part.  If you are curious, you can see all the listings here.

I decided to try one listing of quilt fabric.  It is a kit for a quilt top using Poetry Collection by April Cornell for Moda.  I bought this a few years ago but never made it and don't see myself getting to it now.  If you are interested, the eBay listing is here.

I know I'll be having a fun day tomorrow!  My quilty friend Sue and I are going to the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza show in PA.  I'll report back!

Fussy Cutting

My next project is another jelly roll project but it involves some fussy cutting.  The fabric is above, Winter Impressions by Hoffman.  I bought a couple of yards a few years ago in the post Christmas fabric sale, without a plan in mind.  I liked it and figured something would come to me someday.  Has this ever happened to you?

Well, "someday" arrived.  I've been cutting 4.5" squares using my fussy cut ruler.  The fussy cut squares will be the center of the final blocks.

The idea for this quilt design flashed into my brain when I saw a fabric collection by Moda called Woodland Holiday at The Old Country Store, one of the quilt shops I visited on my Gettysburg family vacation.  I saw this fabric and knew right away what I was meant to make with it.  And it came in jelly rolls, which was the perfect way to get the variety I needed for the plan I had in mind.  It is really amazing how well this Moda collection coordinates with the older Hoffman fabric.  The backgrounds are even the same mottled ecru color.

I've made a start with the fussy cutting part and can cut into the jelly rolls in the evenings later this week.  Come back to check on my progress.