Over the past year my friend Sophia and I have been trying to work on some older projects. We have done a decent job of it and gotten a few things finished up. I have another one to share with you today! This one came about because I had to take my Bernina to the shop. Fortunately I have a back up machine for these times. It is an older Kenmore and works well. However, I don’t have a 1/4″ foot for it. I wanted to work on something where precision wasn’t key.
My unfinished Ring Me quilt was the ticket. This pattern has no points to match making the piecing very simple. This project was started back in early 2017. I took part in a blog hop to announce the release of No Scrap Left Behind, written by Amanda Jean Nyberg (aka Crazy Mom Quilts). I love this book! Amanda has written two quilt books, Sunday Morning Quilts and No Scrap Left Behind. I have both of them in my library. She had an incredibly popular quilt blog but chose to stop blogging at the end of 2018 after a ten year run. Fortunately, she left the blog up so we can all still access her amazing ideas, tutorials and quilt patterns. She is definitely the queen of scrap quilting!
Back to the quilt now. When I was due to publish the project for the blog hop, I was really in the early stages of making the quilt top. I posted progress pictures (see above) and that was as far as it got.
In a relatively short time, I was able to complete the quilt top. With a charcoal gray background, the solid ‘rings’ add vibrant color. To make the rings, I gathered solid fabric strips and trimmed them to about 1 1/2″ or 2″ wide. After making strips sets I cut strips that were 1 1/2″ wide. These were combined with 1 1/2″ corner stones of the gray and stitched to squares.
I encourage you to find a copy of the book if you don’t already have it. The book has many patterns made with scraps with the projects categorized by shape of scrap (eg squares, triangles, strips). Before I knew it, I had my top completed and sewing without the 1/4″ foot was a non-issue.
Yesterday the sun was shining through a window in my bedroom and I knew it would light up the quilt top. Isn’t this stunning? I love the way it looks with the light pouring through.
Stained glass, right?? The seams on the back side of the flimsy look like black framing around the color and the sashing strips. Such a cool effect. This is as far as I took the project though. I wanted my Bernina back for quilting it.
Today I was able to go pick up my machine. I have one quilt in process where the quilting is nearly finished (I was working on it when the Bernina decided to get stuck). Once that quilt is done, I will baste this one and get going on it. Can’t wait!
This week has been a bit of a drudge as I have had a cold. While I can’t prove it, I am guessing I caught it when I was babysitting the girls last week. Who knows? Historically, my sweet grand daughters have been very generous in sharing any germs they might be harboring. We went home on Thursday, Friday the 3 year old started running a fever and on Sunday I started to feel sick. Oh well. They are worth it. We had so much fun with them. My son and his wife took a well deserved trip to Hawaii. Ray and I had the pleasure of spending loads of time with the grands. Here are some pictures of the fun we had:
Playing in puddles.
So much dancing, wrestling and gymnastics happens with these two. They love to perform for an audience.
This silly girl was having some dessert and watching a show on the iPad. I had to laugh when I walked by and saw her sitting like this. Ouch.
We did a number of art projects with the kids. This one was fun. I put blue painters tape down and told them to paint the sections however they wanted to. It was a challenge to peel up the painters tape though. I should have used heavier paper (or even cardboard). The tape was pulling on the paper a lot so I had to go super slow. The results were great though.
Aren’t these pretty??
We went shopping one day and H (age 6) saw this make up kit that said ages 5 years and up. I was very hesitant to buy it so I texted the parents a picture of it to see if they approved. She was overjoyed when Mom and Dad gave the go ahead. Oh my gosh, the glitter and color these two had all over their faces for the remainder of our time together. It was so funny.
The girls love their grandpa and he enjoyed lots of snuggle time.
Overall, the week went well. We came home exhausted and happy. These two kids were one of the reasons we wanted to move up to Washington. Ray and I grew up with grand parents who were actively involved in our lives. It is so special to have a close relationship with the girls.
It is time to go plug in the Bernina and get it set up. I have missed this machine and am anxious to have her back up and running! If I don’t post again, I wish all of the US folks out there a Happy Thanksgiving next week!!
Linking up with Alycia at Finished or Not Friday
Bernie your quilt is beautiful! Stained glass indeed! I have both of Amanda’s books also, and I love to just thumb through them. I miss her blog, but I enjoy seeing her occasional post on Instagram. I admire her for stepping back. Your quilt is a keeper – will you keep it?
I’m not surprised you have a cold after your babysitting adventure, and oh that looks like it was so much fun! I caught some kind of bug from “Laney-Lou” (my nickname for Delaney) back in 2019 and ended up with pneumonia! They are little germ machines aren’t they, but so worth the time with them.
Thank you Linda. I am thinking I will give the quilt to someone. I have a stack of quilts so I am in the gifting mode lately.
Hope you get to spend Thanksgiving with your family next week. Are you cooking? We are going to my son’s but bringing a few dishes for the meal. Either way, Happy Thanksgiving.
Yes our son and family with the older grands are coming, and our daughter and husband will also be here. The Littles will be with their Dad, so we will miss them, but it will be nice to have an “adult” time together! Yes I am cooking – it is my favorite meal to do! Hope you and your family have a wonderful day!
Bernie i love this post! Time with your grands is certainly special. I love how you keep them occupied and do art projects to get their creative juices going. i’m waiting to see the day you get them sewing and then… oh boy will you all go to infinity and beyond!!! I love amanda’s book and it’s always been such an inspiration for me. She really did keep us all in our scrap piles having fun! I will never ever give that book away or lend it out!! I adore your quilt and it’s great to see you getting it closer to the finish line. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Xoxox
That is exactly how I feel about my Crazy Mom books. I love to just look at them for ideas.
Both girls seem to love crafts and projects so I am looking forward to teaching them to sew. My daughter never really took to sewing though she is very artistic so who knows? We like what we like, right?
Have a great holiday this week. I know you are so grateful your son got home safely. Will the boys be with you for Thanksgiving?
Thank you for sharing your lovely quilt with us. I’m working on a scrappy too. Hope you feel better quickly. Your Grands are so precious. You do a great job of capturing the joy. See you soon!
Thank you Annette. I am determined to feel better by tomorrow (tho my voice sounds very froggy today) so we can go to the show. See you soon!
So fun to see the photos of your time spent with the girls – they are growing so fast! Sorry about the cold, though, I think you’ve had enough germs now so you should be off the hook as far as colds for the remainder of the. year. I’ve taken a class with Amanda, and she is a sweetie. I have both of those books!
I remember when you got to go to a class by Amanda. I was/am jealous!!
The cold is annoying but it won’t be the only one this year. I don’t know why but I seem to catch everything they throw at me. Such is life. They are growing so fast which is why I want to spend time with them. It is speeding by!!
I love this quilt you are working on. I do miss that blog, it was always fun to see what she was up to. Sorry about the Bernina and the cold, but as you say, it is worth it to spend time with the grands! They are so big and so funny. I am still imaging sitting in that position at any point in my life – nope.
Me too Kathleen. My legs don’t do that – never did either! I get why Amanda stopped blogging. It is time consuming and the use of blogs has declined but I have to say, I miss reading her posts. Today will be a quiet day of sewing now that I have my machine back. I want to go to a quilt show tomorrow so I REALLY want to feel better!! Take care and stay healthy.
What a fun time you had with your granddaughters! Making memories with them is the best. I too hope that they are bitten with the quilt fever. Love your Ring Me top. . .what a terrific way to use scraps!
Thank you Terry. The quilt is super pretty – can’t say it used tons of scraps tho. Those solid bits aren’t huge!!
Looking forward to seeing family next week. Hope you will be doing the same!
Oh whT fun with your girls! You did all the things to make lasting memories!
And congrats on finishing up an UFO! that’s a huge accomplishment. It’s great 👍
Well, the quilt top is finished and that feels good but there is still the other half to go!! I knew this was going to be a pretty one so I am quite happy to have made some progress on it.
I hope you are doing well Barb. Take care.
Ooh, I remember when you started this one. So fun to see it again. I’m glad your sewing machine is all better, and I hope you feel better soon, too. Have fun quilting, And Happy Thanksgiving!
I love having my machine back. It is just humming along. Now I am making a tree skirt for Julia. She is so excited to decorate her apartment this year and got a smaller artificial tree. Hoping to get it finished up this weekend so I can bring it to her on Thanksgiving. Take care Janine. Hope you will be with some of your kids and grands over the holiday next week!
It looks great, Bernie! How can you not love such a colorful quilt? I miss Amanda’s blog. I made a couple of her quilts, and the blog was always fun to see every week. And she was so good at photography! Speaking of which. . .great pictures of the girls! I love little A’s braids. What a great art project, too. They are adorable little germ vectors. I hope you are feeling better soon and ready for another round with those cuties. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Yes – her photography is wonderful. It made the blog such a pleasure to read. I actually still go back to it and read the older posts because I only got to know her well into her blogging time. My little germ vectors – that is such a perfect way to describe them. Hahaha. Take care Mari.
Love the scrappy stained glass quilt! Turned out brilliantly. Hope the quilting on it has gone well. Your grandkids are adorable. She cracked me up sitting like that and the dancing/wrestling/makeup. That art work is so cool I think I will borrow that idea!
The art project was not difficult Bernie. Like I mentioned, I used a paper that was too light weight. (It was from a pad of easel paper that the girls had). I think it would be better on something heavier. But they loved doing this. As usual, it was all about the process more so than the final product.
I haven’t yet started to quilt the stained glass quilt. I think it will wait until after the holidays. I have a few other projects to finish up first. Have a lovely week!!
Loving your ring me quilt! I miss her blog and luckily have the book. Your grands are adorable 🥰
Thanks Pam!
I know I’m late to getting to read your post, but how fun to get Ring Me finished and I love the stained glass photograph. I hope your Bernina is set back up and working very well for you again. And I can see so much love in the photos you share of your granddaughters! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving, Bernie!
Hi there! My machine is set up and back to sewing wonderfully! They couldn’t figure out why but the thread cutting mechanism had jammed and that wasn’t something we could fix at home. Sometimes I think those thread cutters aren’t worth it. On my previous machine (a Janome) I had constant adjustment issues with the thread cutter. Oh well. I am back to normal (in the sewing room anyway)!! Enjoy the holiday Yvonne!
Your Ring Me quilt top is a burst of color and creativity! The charcoal gray background makes the vibrant rings pop, and the stained glass effect with sunlight is stunning. Your quilting journey, from using a backup machine to sharing precious moments with your granddaughters, adds a heartwarming touch. Wishing you a speedy recovery from your cold and a joyous Thanksgiving ahead!
RIng me is so great! Love that grey charcoal how it makes the other colors sing!