Yearly Archives: 2023

Sunday Stash

I remember I used to write lots of these posts. There was a link up at Mollie Sparkle’s blog and people would share the newest fabrics they were working with. Mine were usually fabrics I had thrifted. Once I had the shop those posts ended for obvious reasons. Even now that the shop has closed, I have sooooo much (too much) fabric so I rarely buy any.

But, there is always a but, yesterday I was at a tiny quilt show with my friend Annette. It was held in a church and the quilts were displayed by laying them over the pews. It was quaint but I can’t say I am a huge fan of this sort of display. For one thing, the viewer cannot step back and see the whole quilt. So many quilts look best from a few feet back. Because the church was small, many of the quilts were folded and then draped over the pew. This meant we only saw half of the quilt. This doesn’t allow for looking at secondary patterns or the effect of the outer quilt on the center. It was sort of frustrating. Anyway, it was fun because you know….. a quilt show is always fun. Plus they had a little table of home baked treats and a great shopping section. Annette and I found a number of things we liked.

There were loads of books for $1.00 each. I picked up two that are different from most in my library of quilt books. But they have some really cute projects in them. The Remembering Adelia book contains journal entries from a young woman during the Civil War. I love this sort of thing. Life is so easy now. Women worked all day, every day back then. The journal entries sucked me in and I enjoyed reading most of it yesterday when I got home.

The Folk Art Quilts book has some really fun projects. I love the whimsical critters on these two pages and plan to make something with them. This is way out of what normally appeals to me but I am looking forward to this.

The same book also maps out how to make the letters of the alphabet which will come in handy some day. I know this isn’t rocket science but it is nice to have it mapped out visually and then just adjust the size of the squares to get the correct size letter block.

I also picked up two containers for thread. I have had my thread hanging on a wooden rack but it is poorly placed in my sewing space and I was constantly knocking thread off the pegs. I sorted thread and put what I could fit in these bins. The left bin contains the shiny Sulky threads as well as my hand stitching threads. On the right is a large portion of my standard threads.

Unfortunately my some spools are too big for these bins. Since I was in the mood, I reorganized some of the drawers in a bin under my sewing table. This allowed me to put the Glide spools and the Connecting Thread spools in a drawer. I still have a small number of Aurifil threads that I haven’t found a good space for but I am sure it will work out.

It is much easier to see what I have now. This exercise forced me to look at all of the thread I have. Is it too much? Yes, yes it is. How I acquired all of this is a wonder!

This little stack of fabric is the extent of fabric purchased. I really wanted that little cheddar yellow check because it will work in some of those silly animal blocks I want to make. The others look good with it and should work with the project.

Quilt shows are the best. It always makes me itch to get back home and head to the sewing room! (Which is exactly what I did)!

My sweet girls have been on vacation with their parents all week. We are dog sitting in their absence. From what I have heard and the pictures seen, they are having a wonderful time. It is a great finale to their summer. We get to see them next weekend for some family time. Happy Sunday all of you!!

Positivity QAL 2023 Finished Quilts

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Hi Everyone! I am a bit late in posting this link up. We have been busy the past few days helping Julia move into her new apartment. She has been living with my son and his wife for a couple of months while she looked for a rental she liked, could afford and was close to her work. She found a great complex and is happily unpacking her things.

It was a family effort, helping her move her things and set up her apartment. Of course some of us worked harder than others!

Her complex has so many cool features. It has lovely courtyards with fire pits and pretty plants. Apartment dwellers need their outdoor space too and this gives them a nice place to sit outside, gather around a fire pit, read, whatever! Also, there is a roof top area that can be used for the same sort of thing. This area includes a gas grill and a small kitchen area so people can cook a meal and enjoy the view.

I love the view from the roof top!

Now, on to the business at hand. Do I have a finished quilt to show you? Umm, no not really.

My quilt top is still at the finished only phase. . I did get the backing pieced as well. You might remember I was whining about my dislike of pin basting my quilts.

Many comments were made singing the praises of spray basting. While I am still apprehensive about making a mess, I ordered a can and plan to give it a try. Crossing my fingers it is easier than I am imagining. I would love a better way to baste a quilt.

OK – here is the link up for you. Please link up a post about your finished Positivity Blooms or Positivity Grows quilt. As always, Preeti and I thank you for joining in and making a quilt for Mercy Hospital (or the organization of your choice). We will pick names for prizes after over Labor Day weekend. Good luck!!

If you have issues with completing the link up, let me know. I can easily post a picture of your finish right here!

This pretty quilt was made by Erica, @skynme. Thank you so much!!!!

Many thanks to Danielle in California for this beauty. She has been a loyal donor of Mercyful Quilts and we are grateful!!

Procrastination Situation

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Whenever there is a post on social media asking for a quilters most favorite or least favorite part of quilting, the answer for my least favorite is immediate and passionate. I really dislike basting quilts. There is so much riding on it. The need for a perfectly flat backing, a well prepped quilt top, the perfect amount of pins (I haven’t yet tried spray basting), no secret folds or wrinkles – ugh! It is more than I can stand. This is where I start to procrastinate. I know I am not alone. This is clear by the fact that the majority of quilters have any number of quilt tops that are unfinished, waiting to be basted and quilted. I don’t mind the quilting process and I usually enjoy binding a quilt. It is just the basting.

This is why I found myself in my sewing room this week starting a new project. Because really I should be basting and quilting my 2023 Positivity quilt. The top is finished and it is adorable (if I do say so myself). But I need to fuss around and create a backing and then…… baste it. I would venture a guess that someone could make a successful side gig offering to baste quilts for people like me. There are loads of us. Off I went to make something else, anything else, so I wouldn’t have to baste the quilt.

Last week while wandering the local quilt show (where I enjoyed that Sinbonnet Sue quilt) I spent more than a few minutes checking out the country store portion of the show. I love looking through the fabrics and other items quilters are selling. There was a bundle of charm squares that had been put together by a quilter. It was from a variety of lines and looked like leftovers from charm packs they had used. I liked the colors and knew it would be cute to make something with them. (I am proud to say this is the only purchase I made! I dug deep and restrained myself from buying anything else).

On Sunday I found myself in the sewing room looking for something to work on, anything that didn’t require basting. There were those cute charm squares sitting there, calling to me. “Choose us, choose us. You’ll have days of fun before any basting is required.” Sounded like a grand idea to me. I poked around on my Pinterest boards and decided to make a quilt similar to one I had pinned some time ago.

I looked through the solid green fabrics on the shelf and chose one to put on one corner of each charm square. Then I stitched them into a four patch. Because of my limited number of charms, I put a black border on them using the same green for cornerstones. (True confession time – I didn’t keep the little triangles from the stitch/flip on the corners. I know I should have, it was reckless of me, but I tossed them. Mia culpa.)

With the twelve blocks and the sashing, the quilt was fairly small. First I added another narrow border of the green (using almost all I had of this fabric) and then added a wider black border with green cornerstones. But it was still too small.

Last night I put out an alert – all the way from Washington state to Minnesota. Isn’t technology the best?? Texting Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts, I asked for some ideas. After sending pictures of a variety of fabrics to her, it was agreed that a narrow border of this denim blue dotted fabric would be cute with another black border. I used cornerstones again for consistency.

TaDaa! Another quilt top is finished. Another quilt top is whispering ‘finish me, baste me, don’t let me sit here forever.’ This puts me at four quilt tops needing to be basted and one that is in the midst of being quilted yet no where near finished. It is a vicious, never-ending cycle. Help!!! Help me!!!

Local Quilt Show Fun

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Over the weekend I enjoyed wandering through a quilt show hosted by the local guild, West Sound Quilters. This is the second time I have gone to their show. This show is fairly small and non-juried. The people are really warm and welcoming. Like many shows, there is the opportunity to vote for the Viewer’s Choice award. As my friend Annette and I looked at quilts, we talked about which one would be our choice for this.

About half way through the quilts, one quilt caught our eye. We took a second look to figure out what exactly we were seeing. Then we started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. Don’t worry. We weren’t being rude. This quilt was hysterical. The title was Sinbonnet Sue II. Does this give you a hint as to why we chuckled so much?

The artist, Georgia Overstrud, designed a quilt of slightly irreverent Sunbonnet Sue blocks. Just my sort of humor! I took some pictures of my favorites.

Pickpocket Sue is going for Sam’s wallet here.

Here she is seen leaving the tattoo parlor, again!

I cannot decide which of these I like better, Pole Dancer Sue or White Lightening Sue. Both of them are so much fun. I wish I had taken a closer look at how Georgia created the paper money being tossed up to Sue.

Oh Sue – Couldn’t you have wiped your hands off before sneakily touching the quilt?? I love the Hershey fabric. The squares on the 1st place patchwork were so tiny and Georgia did an excellent job with the ‘melted chocolate’. 🙂

Finally, my favorite – Sue cannot help herself and peaks under the kilt of this bag piper!

This was the favorite and my friend and I both voted for it as our Viewer’s Choice. It is the second Sinbonnet Sue quilt made by Ms. Overstrud. The last one took Viewer’s Choice in 2006. Wonder if she will win again. The guild hasn’t announced the winner yet, but judging by people’s responses to the quilt, I think she has a good chance of winning.

Fortunately my friend Annette thought to take a picture of the whole quilt. There are so many cute details to look at. I know you will enjoy this!

Also, this might be of interest to you if you once used Bloglovin as your blog reading tool. I always did and suddenly it was broken. It just didn’t work at all and no one seemed to know why. Yesterday, after months and months of nothing, I received a Bloglovin summary email and was surprised to see when I clicked through, the site seems to work again. So, if this was your preferred method, it seems they have fixed it. So strange!

Reminder – how are the Positivity Quilts coming along? Are you quilting yours? Maybe even binding it? I am looking forward to the link up over Labor Day weekend. Hopefully yours will be done and ready to share!! Thank you so much for making a quilt and donating it to your organization or to Mercy Hospital.

Two Cute Doll Quilts

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Several weeks ago I read a post over at From My Carolina Home where Carole shared a community project shared between woodworkers and quilters in her area. The woodworking group makes lovely toys and then quilts and stuffed bears are added to them as gifts for local children in their area. She mentioned they could use more of the 18″ quilts if any of us would like to make some.

I love this sort of feel-good project. An 18″ quilt is an easy way to spend a bit of time and use some fun fabric. The first small quilt was made with a leftover piece of a whole cloth quilt I made some years ago. The original quilt was used to display the fabric when I worked as a vendor at a few quilt shows. After this, I cut it into two projects donated to A Doll Like Me.

This left me with one more piece. I squared it to 18″ and bound it with this chartreuse solid. I am happy to use the last bit. This panda print is so cute and I am a tad bit sad it is all used up.

Next I took a box of 3 1/2″ squares and quickly sorted for juvenile prints. Then I cut a scrap of bright green polka dot fabric into squares the same size. Alternating them made a fun, cheerful quilt.

Of course, this larger scale green polka dot makes the perfect backing for the quilt. Finishing it off with a dark purple binding frames the whole thing nicely.

I did a machine stitched binding, which looks cute on the front and not so great on the back. I thought the stitch should extend beyond the edge of the binding on the front but that means it doesn’t lay on the binding on the back. So, lesson learned. I should have stitched the binding closer to the outer edge so the back would have a neater appearance.

Thank you Carole for sharing this fun opportunity to help out with your holiday project. I am so impressed by the wooden toys donated by the woodworking group. They are so sweet and what child wouldn’t want to play with wagons and strollers. Gifts like these will spark the imagination of the child fortunate enough to receive them!

Linking to Finished or Not Friday at AlyciaQuilts

Sharing this just for fun – H is taking a gymnastics day camp this week. But somehow someone brought in parrots to show the kids. She had the opportunity to hold one and went for it. She is an adventurous kiddo.

The Past Weeks in Pictures

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Summer has been going full force around here. This is a picture heavy post as I thought it would be a fun way to share the shenanigans going on in our family!

About two weeks ago Ray and I spent a few days at my son’s house. Andrew needed some help building a swing set for the girls. Ray’s helped with the building and I helped distract the kids from “helping”.

The chief supervisors of the swing set project sat in the ‘spiderweb swing’ and made sure all was going according to their plan.

While we were over there, we celebrated Ray’s birthday. I made an apple honey bread pudding. The cool thing was much of what was in the cake was grown by Andrew and Naomi. The eggs came from their chicken coop, apples from the trees, honey from their beehives and the challah bread was made by Naomi the day before. Delicious!

One day the kids wanted to have a picnic outside. H grabbed a quilt and headed out.

It was adorable to see the kids on that quilt three years later. Look at this round little face three years ago when I first gave it to the girls. (Sure look like they need a bigger picnic quilt now).

Part of my ‘duties’ while the swing set was under construction was to take the girls to swim lessons. This photo makes me smile; H is quietly picking blue glitter out of her little sister’s hair. Apparently at dance lessons the day before, the dance teacher sprinkled ‘fairy dust’ over the girls’ hair and I am certain it will be a while before all of it is washed out of A’s curls.

The girls came to our home the following week for a three night sleep over. Andrew has been wanting to try a mountain bike/camping trip. He biked over trails for 25 miles, camped for a night and then rode back out. He got a much deserved break and we got to enjoy the girls. (Unfortunately, Naomi was working – she has had a really rough schedule this summer).

One day we did a fun paint project and I thought it good enough to share for the other grammy’s out there. Cover the work space (this gets a little messy) and put a piece of paper down. The girls chose six colors and I put a generous dot of each one at the bottom of the page (toward the artist). Then I laid a sheet of plastic wrap over the paper and paint. They used a small rolling pin (made for them by PePaw) and rolled the paint out. This was a good challenge for them. The rolling pin had to have some pressure to really move the paint. But they absolutely loved the process. So much so, each girl very happily waited for their turn since we only have one rolling pin. The idea came from Crafty Morning. The only thing I would change for the next time is to have better paper on hand. I used regular printer paper which was a bit thin. Card stock would be better. I am sure there will be a next time – it would be fun to do seasonal colors for fall or Christmas, etc.

Time in the sewing room is also a favorite thing with these girls. However when I have both of them, it is a challenge. The attention span of a six year old is much greater than a three year old. So when little sister was napping, we snuck in some time to make a project. H designed a drawstring bag. She chose black dotted minky and adorned it with pink pom-poms and gathered lace. I think she achieved a bit of a victorian vibe here. She was thrilled but not ready to stop making things. She pulled out bits of animal print minky and asked what we could make. I suggested head bands. I wasn’t really sure how that would be received because the girls don’t generally wear head bands. But they really liked them. It was so cute to see their faces with their hair pulled back. If you want to make stretch knit headbands for kids or yourself, this is the tutorial I would suggest. They are super easy to make.

Beautiful weather called us to the beach one afternoon. These girls made themselves right at home. It was low tide so the water was very far out and there was too much muck to climb through to get to it. But they had no problem keeping amused on the shore.

Sand castles were constructed.

We had to walk this little trail a few times to scoop up water for the moat. How many kids have endlessly filled a sand castle moat only to see the walk drain down and then need more? Countless times.

At one point H called out to me, Grammy, this thing is alive. Not a good phrase to hear, I walked over and they were looking at sea anemones. Touching each one to watch it shrink up. This fascinated the kids and I was pleased to see they were really gentle about it.

After beach time, we went to Dairy Queen for a treat. Much to A’s joy, there was an ambulance in the parking lot. She often tells us she wants to be an ambulance driver when she grows up. They EMT’s were having a snack inside so when it looked like they were finished, I took the girls over and introduced them. These EMT’s were amazing. They talked and talked to the kids and even let them go in the ambulance. It was really a special time for them. H chatted with them and A became shy and hardly said a word. But I think she enjoyed it.

It was a fantastic (and tiring!) two weeks to be sure. School will begin at the start of September and then it won’t be as easy to spend this much time with our grand daughters. Life gets so busy! The house is quiet again and I am back into the regular routine. I am ready to baste my Positivity Quilt and (hopefully) will have it quilted soon!

All I Had to Do is Ask!

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Wow! My last post put out a request for little hospital doll gowns for A Doll Like Me. What a fantastic response! In all honesty, I am not surprised, just grateful. Here are a few pictures of the gowns made so far.

These cuties were made by my sister, Tina! She used soft flannel. Don’t you love the prints she chose.

Check these out! Twelve tiny hospital gowns were donated by Jean. This collection is so sweet; Jean used a variety of fun prints and colors.

Dawn made six gowns and also created six whole cloth quilts. These are super cute and much appreciated! Thanks Dawn.

If I am counting correctly, Pat made NINETEEN gowns for Amy. That is amazing. What a fantastic donation for A Doll Like Me.

In total thus far, one little post garnered forty doll size hospital gowns. This should keep Amy supplied for a good while! Of course there were seventeen responses asking for the mailing information and offering gowns. This means more are in the works. I say it all the time, but the generosity of this community never fails to amaze me! The need for these little gowns is ongoing so if you just feel like you want to make something simple, use up a few bits of fabric, make a charitable gift, feel free. These are always welcome!

I was asked how to fit the pattern pieces on a fat quarter. It can be a bit of a trick. I took a picture that might help.

If I am using a fat quarter to make a doll gown, I fold one length over just wide enough to lay out the front piece on the fold and pin it down. Then I fold the other side down for the back piece, which isn’t cut on the fold (because it needs to open in the back). It will lay end to end with the front piece and will look like it is over lapping. but it isn’t. I hope this helps. Does it make sense? Some fat quarters might be a tight squeeze but it does work. The size of the doll gown is flexible and if it is just a wee bit narrower, it will still work. Just in case you need it, here is the link to the free pattern.

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone!

Calling Out for Doll Size Hospital Gowns

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Much time has passed since I last made anything for A Doll Like Me. You might remember back in 2018 I held a Spread the Love Campaign asking quilters to make doll quilts for Amy to include with the dolls she makes for children with limb or other physical differences. The campaign was an overwhelming success. Amy continues to receive doll quilts from people who heard about the need. The knowledge of A Doll Like Me has grown tremendously in the past five years or so. Amy’s work has been featured on many news sites, social media sites and popular magazines. All of this is important as the main goal for Amy is to increase awareness of the need for children with physical differences to be able to have true representation in the world. She wants each child to see themselves as enough, to see their own physicality represented in toys and dolls, and to feel accepted.

This sweet girl brought her doll dressed in a hospital gown to the hospital with her. (From Amy’s Facebook page).

A few months ago, I chatted with Amy on-line just to check in with her. I wanted to see how she was doing. It is tough building a non-profit, raising three active kids and making doll after doll. But she is one driven person! Anyway, she and I visited a bit. Toward the end of the conversation I asked her if she needed anything from the quilting community. Her response was…. ‘well, now that you mention it….. I could use more hospital doll gowns.” She is always so grateful for whatever we provide and doesn’t want to impose on people.

Hospital Gowns for Dolls made in February 2018

Do any of you remember making these? Above is a picture of the first few I made.

The gowns we make and donate to Amy are given to children who have one of these dolls and are facing a hospital stay. There is a very therapeutic aspect in playing with their doll. Being able to dress up the doll in a hospital gown is one more way to deal with possible fear or anxiety around the upcoming stay. Many of Amy’s children bring their doll with them when in the hospital and it is beneficial to have the hospital gown on the doll. This somewhat familiarizes the hospital process for the child.

Looking back at blog posts and pictures, I learned it has been a very long time since I made anything for Amy. Time to sew up some sweet gowns for her dolls! In the pictures above, I put the gowns on dolls smaller than what Amy makes. But it is fun to see them as they are used. Princesses, Pooh Bear and baby dinosaurs as well as a fun blue print were chosen for this round. Of course all were made from the stacks of fabric I have stashed away. Fortunately I also have a large selection of (thrifted) bias tapes which makes things really easy.

Six gowns ready to be mailed to Wisconsin. How about you? Would you be able to make a few of these and send them to A Doll Like Me? They are easy to make and require very little fabric. Use just one fat quarter and some bias tape to make one gown! Here is the tutorial for you. Amy would be grateful for any gown(s) you feel comfortable making and sending to her. If you are interested that would be just wonderful! Many of you already have her mailing information. However, if you need it, let me know in the comments and I will email it to you privately.

OK – that is it for now! I am working on my Positivity Quilt. Yesterday I made a little butterfly using Dresden pieces. It is adorable and I think the quilt needs a few more! We have an abundance of Swallowtail butterflies in the yard this year and they seem to really enjoy our flowers.

Positivity Quilt Along Link Up #2

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Hi All! Crazy busy here over on the western side of Washington state these days. There has been so much happening. Julia moved up here just a few weeks ago. My mom and dad were successful in selling their California house and just moved up here as well. The family has been working on helping them with unpacking which means no sewing time.

I did get some progress made on my quilt top before all of this began however. I am very happy with it. My plan is to use the Dresdens I made some time ago, as well as a few new ones, for the flowers. This is a time saver for me which is so helpful. Time is just not plentiful these days!!

I am experimenting with the placement of the Dresdens. They won’t be sitting right on top of the stem. If you look up on the left side, you’ll see a partial Dresden. I want to put a cone shape center at the top so it looks like a partial bloom. (Does that make sense)? I am loving how this is coming together. I borrowed some bias tape makers from my sister and will make stems with it. I want them to be narrower than the stems I made for the leaves. I may use a few slightly different fabrics to add some variety to the flowers.

These are sunflowers Ray and I planted in our backyard this year. They are blooming profusely. My favorite flowers by far are sunflowers and peonies. Anyway, see the pale yellow, partially open blossom? That is what I am trying for with the small, partial Dresden. In another week or so I should have the Dresden’s finished and will be able to baste the quilt.

OK – time to see some quilt tops!! Remember we will be giving away a number of quilt patterns for entrants in this week’s link up. If you don’t know how to link up or just want me to share a photo of your quilt top, please email it to me. Can’t wait to see what the quilts are looking like at this point! Thanks so much for participating in the 2023 Positivity QAL!!!

Linking up with Oh Scrap!

2023 Positivity QAL – Link Up

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Hello Everyone!! I hope you have stopped by this morning to link up your progress on the 2023 Positivity Quilt! Preeti and I are really excited to see the variation in colors and fabrics you are using this year. Remember, the pattern can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Last time I posted about my work on this quilt, I explained my determination to use scraps I have on hand for the green portion (my leaves). This has been a challenge and my leaves will be different sizes but with some work on the background piecing, it will work out.

Because I have been traveling a lot over the past six weeks, my progress has been slow. Like the non-existent sort of slow…. But I am home and have no plans to go anywhere. After all the driving over the last week, Ray and I both have no inclination to get in the car for any reason all week! This means I should be able to catch up. I plan to assemble the leaves I have made into vines. I am super excited to make some flower blocks too.

This picture is from the tutorial on Sew Preeti Quilts. Click here to find it. I think the flower is adorable and doesn’t look terribly fussy to piece for this non-fussy quilter!

Not everyone will choose to make blooms – some quilters might choose to do a quilt of leafy vines and finish it that way. Not all vines bloom, right?? In the above quilt, Preeti didn’t make the flower blocks. I love the look of this lush green quilt. Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the win!

OK – lets take a look at some progress pictures! It’s ok if you are behind – I certainly understand. Show us your fabric choices or just a few blocks. We love to share the fun around here. The link up will be open all week. If you aren’t a blogger, feel free to email a progress shot to me. I would love to add it to this post so people can share in your quilting fun. Just click on ‘contact me’ at the top of this page and send me a picture.

Updated to add the above progress photo from @Justanaveragequilter. Danielle quilted along with us last year too. So happy to have her sewing along again with us this year.

Updated to add another quilt update. Made by @skynme, she did link up below but it won’t show the thumbnail so I put it here as well. Love the solids! Looks really different like this. She says she had all of these in her solids scrap bin. Yahoo!

The next link up will be on July 16th. This time we will be sharing quilt tops and there are patterns to be won! I am determined to have a finished top to share by then. (I think I can, I think I can…..)