Ribbon Blocks

I've made nine of the twenty blocks needed for my Ruby's Ribbon Box quilt.  Eleven to go!  I'm enjoying putting the different combinations of three fabrics together for each block.

Candy Canes

I made a dash to my LQS and look what I found.   This fabric is from the line Holly Jolly Christmas by Mary Lake-Thompson for Robert Kaufman.  It looks just like candy cane sticks against a black background.  I'm planning to use it for binding on a future Christmas quilt.  Into the stash with you!

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes - Oh My!

So earlier in the week, we had an earthquake, followed by a hurricane and a tornado yesterday/today.  Kind of hard to quilt in these conditions, LOL!

a photo of the downtown area of our little town, Hightstown, NJ, taken 8/28/2011, borrowed from weather.com

We knew Hurricane Irene was coming and battened down the hatches.  We had very heavy rain then shortly before 10 pm Saturday we lost power.  I read by light of a flashlight for about an hour then went to bed.  About 2:30 am, I was woken by lights as the power came back on.  This was followed by an automated phone call from our borough office telling us not to drink the tap water.  Mr. Main Street turned on the tv to see what was happening, only to find out a tornado had been sighted in our area.  So we woke up Miss Main Street and went down in the basement for about 45 minutes until the warning was over. 

Currently, we have a little water in our basement (not unusual as the house is nearly 100 years old and we tend to get a little dampness in the basement in any heavy rain) and a completely water logged back yard.  But we can't use the running water out of the tap.  Otherwise, no major damage, just some small tree branches that came down. 

However, two blocks down the street it is not so good (see photo above).    I think Peddie Lake must have flooded its banks. 

Hopefully, we will be back to normal around here soon.

Friday Find - The American Heiress

Are you a fan of Downton Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs?  Then I have a book for you!  It is The American Heiress, by Daisy Goodwin.

The book is a fictional account of a wealthy American girl (heiress to a flour fortune) who goes to England in the 1890's to snag an aristocratic husband.  She could almost be the mother in Downton Abbey; her name is even Cora.  Anyway, she gets her man (a duke), then more drama unfolds.  It has kept me entertained for several evenings. 

Next Project

I'm starting another Christmas quilt.  I intended to wait until December, to have a holiday project to work on during the holidays, but "fell in love" when I saw the pattern and after that, there was no question of waiting.

I'm using fabrics from my stash.  I had to purchase some background and will neet to buy the backing.  I am using a lot of the same fabrics I used in my Christmas Stars quilt.  Really, I have a huge stash of Christmas fabrics and they seem to multiply when I'm not looking.

The pattern I'm using is called Ruby's Ribbon Box, from Little Louise Designs.  It makes a crib or throw size quilt, although you could easily add more blocks to yield a bed size quilt.  I'm going with the throw, 52" by 63", and although I'm using scraps that were formerly fat quarters and half-yard cuts, the pattern is designed for layer cakes or fat eighth bundles. 

This pattern designer is new to me.  I bought the pattern as a computer download from the Fat Quarter Shop but it is also available in conventional, hard-copy format.  I've started the cutting and some of the piecing and so far, so good.

Another Finish

I have another finish to show you!  Unveiling...Stargazing!

I made this quilt with a Miss Rosie Quilts Co. pattern called Ginger Belle.  It is a variation on Double Irish Chain, with a star added to the open blocks. 

I sent the finished top to Linda Hrcka of The Quilted Pineapple.  Linda did a fabulous job with the quilting.  Her work really brought this quilt to life; a good example of how much the quilting adds to the beauty of a quilt!  Linda quilted feather wreaths in the open space around each star and a simpler motif along the chains. 

I used a solid flannel for the back but you can see the quilting in this photo.

The fabrics in Stargazing are from the Rural Jardin line by French General for Moda.  I had a fat quarter bundle which supplied the scrappy look, and I used one of the small-scale red prints for the binding.  the finished quilt is 82" square, a good size for a full-size bed.  Miss Main Street likes the quilt very much so it may be going on her bed after she leaves for college. 

Originally, I was searching for a French name for this quilt, something that would incorporate the word "belle" from the pattern name and the Frenchiness of the fabric.  I was toying with belle etoile (beautiful star) and etoile brillante (shining star) but was never entirely comfortable with either.  Then Stargazing just came to me.  One of the dictionary definitions for stargazing is "to indulge in dreamy thought" and I thought it was perfect. 

Ta-Da!

Frequent Flyer is finished!  I finished sewing the binding on this afternoon and took a photo outside in our backyard.  We've had a lot of rain since Saturday but the sun peaked out from the clouds long enough to get a nice picture of the quilt thrown over our picket fence.  A nice change from my usual spread it out on the floor and take a picture from the stairs.

I love this quilt and it was a great stash buster.  The only fabric I bought was the backing.  I could have pieced the backing out of my stash but didn't want to spend time doing that.  I used a beige tone-on-tone for the back.  If you are looking for a stash buster, I highly recommend this pattern, from the April 2011 edition of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  You can change the colors to match your decor; mine is a little different from the magazine version because I used more green and I used dark brown for the sashing (instead of black).  I think it would be fabulous in red-white-and-blue, with a navy mini-print or tone-on-tone for the sashing. 

Must run.  I have another quilt to bind!

Frequent Flyer Returns To The Nest

Do you remember Frequent Flyer?  You're forgiven if you can't recall; I finished the flimsy back in April then sent it to be quilted. 

I saw the quilt on the cover of American Patchwork & Quilting and had to make my own version.  I had the fabric for it in my stash so could get to work right away.

The finished quilt was waiting for me when I returned home from my trip with Miss Main Street. Longarmer Kari Smith-Ruedisale did a fantastic job!

Kari quilted a feather wreath in each square and a triangular feather motif in each light triangle. 

The inner border contains a diamond-shaped cable.  I am so pleased with the way it turned out.  Time to bind! 

Making Up For Lost Time

After nearly two weeks of very limited quilting activity, I made up for it over the weekend.

First, I got the border on the Christmas Stars flimsy (I used the background fabric for the border and will use the red tonal to bind it) and pieced the backing.  Now it is ready to be quilted.

I received two of my quilts back from the professional longarmers I outsourced to.  That means time for binding!  I made 350 inches of this brown binding...

...and 320 inches of this red binding.  I need some good junk tv to bind by.  When is "Say Yes To The Dress" on?

Recovering From Vacation

Have you ever arrived home after a vacation and been so overwhelmed by all there is to do to get you and your family back into the normal routine that you haven't had any time to read your favorite blogs let alone write a post for your own blog?  No?  It hasn't happened to me either, I was just wondering.

LOL, the past two weeks have been crazy but I think I am back to normal now.  Miss Main Street is away at camp, which I used as an opportunity to gave her pigsty bedroom a good cleanout and reorganize her closet.  If the urge to clean and reorganize lingers, I may tackle the fabric closet. 

But before I go there, I have a number of quilt projects to finish up.  Come back and vist because I will have several "finishes" to show you over the next few weeks.  Yes, real finished quilts!  Yahoo!

Wooly Wreath

I finished the little wooly pieces for the wreath and have them fused to the black wool background, ready for final stitching. 

My version is not quite as layered as the original in the magazine but I like it that way. 

I can finish this up over the next few weeks when I watch tv and then get it framed, ready for Christmas decorating.