Design Wall Monday

I was able to work on my Pineapple Nine Patch quilt last week.  I now have all the block units made.  Now comes the fun part, piecing the blocks.  To see pictures of my progress, click link above.

My craft guild at work met on Friday.  I usually baste quilts or cut projects.  In July I purchased the 2009 Collective Reds FQ bundle that includes 20 Kaffe Fassett FQs.  When they arrived, they were not at all what I had in mind so they sat in a corner for a while.  Needing something to work on Friday, I decided to cut the material into various size squares and rectangles.  It appeared a little too busy so I then added a few Kona Cotton solids thus giving the eye a place to rest.  These are all the units pieced (some of them are stacks as I ran out of space on the design wall.)  I still needed to add spacers to get them all to fit.

I actually got the blocks and spacer units organized as best I could to space out the fabrics (remember, this was not planned ahead of time).  SURPRISE, SURPRISE!  As I played with the layout, I fell in love with it!  Here is a final picture of the top (photo sideways as blogger sometimes does.  The lime green print is the top left corner.)  When I started working on this quilt I was all ready to gift it.  Now, I'll have to rethink the plan; maybe, maybe not.  This is my first quilt top using Fassett fabric predominately throughout the quilt.  I have some more fabric that will arrive tomorrow so I'll plan another one and see which one I like best.

To view more design walls, visit Patchwork Times.

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Type-u-later,

Tea in MO

http://www.teaquilts.com/

I want to thank those who commented on my site the last 2 weeks.  I've been so busy that I just haven't had time to respond to each comment as I usually do.  I don't have access to my personal email when away from home; can view blogs but e-mail sites are blocked.  When I am home (which is very limited) I prefer to sew instead of  being on the computer.  My sewing time has suffered greatly since I started line dancing exercise classes (which I also enjoy.)  Please know that I read each comment; just not able to respond to all of them.

Design Wall Monday

Shamefully, I don't have anything to show on my design wall today.  I bet you thought you'd never see a post from me starting with the previous line, huh.

I went to Atlanta, Georgia to attend my cousin's wedding.  I even go time to spend a few hours with a friends who lives there.  I had so much fun that I didn't even think about finding a quilt shop.  It shocked me when I finally realized that it was way too late.  I enjoy the wedding and seeing family that I hadn't seen in years.  We're in the process of planning a family reunion next year so it's not so long between visits.  I did take my sewing machine and managed about 2 hours of sewing on my Pineapple Nine Patch quilt.  However, the iron in the hotel room was not cooperating so I couldn't press the units; no need to take a picture of that yet.

I'll leave you with a picture of my cousin and his new bride. 

 
To see more design walls, visit Patchwork Times.
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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com/

Design Wall Monday

This week went by way too fast!  I played chauffeur for my sister three days during the week and assisted her with her job hunt.  I helped her create a resume and then showed her how to upload it to various websites specializing in job listings.  The great news is that she acquired four contacts in two days and has her first interview tomorrow.  That was definitely more important than quilting.

I did manage to quilt for a hour or so on Friday evening and completed the border units needed for my Star Burst quilt.  Next I need to make a decision for the spacer border.  I have pulled a few fabrics from my stash and hopefully one of them will work.

Saturday was my Scrap Quilting Club meeting.  We are working on string, crumb and/or mile-a-minute quilts this month.  I started my string blocks but will not post a picture until next month's meeting.  I have lots of show and tell that I'll post later this week when I get the photos edited.  Here is a picture of my Pineapple Nine Patch quilt in progress.  We are working on completing unit 2.  This quilt is really getting exciting now as we have another simple unit to complete then we can starting piecing the units into blocks.

As I was working on the other projects, I got another Mountain Top block completed.  I seem to use a lot of blue in my bindings and that color was taking over the blocks.  So, I decided to make one block that's color controlled.  I still need to trim it but I think I like it and will make a few more to balance out the quilt.  This block is not as accurate either as I was tried sewing without pins at the intersections.  These pieces are so tiny that the pins causes big lumps making it difficult to sew.  I will go back to the pins as the blocks line up much better.

And while I'm here, I might as well show the completed Loving My ABC's quilt for documentation.  I just need to hand sew the binding and this made a great project to take to work for entertainment during my lunch hour.

Go here for mor design walls.

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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com/

Design Wall Monday

I finished a couple of quilts on Sunday.  You can see the completed Red Cross Quilt and one of the ABC quilts that I started last week by going to this post.

In addition, I quilted another ABC quilt but need to hand sew the binding to the back.  I forgot to take a picture of the 3rd ABC quilt in which I sewed the rows together.  Here is a photo of the one that's almost done.  I had a perfect Kona Cotton in green for the binding.

I got a little bored with the baby quilts and did not feel like working on my pineapple nine patch quilt so I pulled out my Star Burst quilt.  I needed 1/4 of the inside pieces so I sewed those together.  I'm now working on the missing border pieces and they are almost completed.  After working on this all day Saturday, I started to feel guilty about ignoring the baby quilts.  Weird how the brain works, huh?

To see more design walls, visit Patchwork Times.
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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com

Finishes

Just a quick post to document a couple of finishes.

I've been quilting a little this week.  I finished my Red Cross Quilt and then found the perfect red binding fabric in my stash.  You can read more about how these blocks were made by going to a prior post regarding scrappy rail fence blocks.

Then I got this ABC finished that I started last week.  It had the binding finished and even has a label on the back.

That's it for now as I must prepare my Design Wall Monday post.

-------------------------- Type-u-later, Tea in MO http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

Quilts for Children...

This week I spent my time working on quilts for children.  And first up is the quilt top Debra and I made for Quilts of Valor on Saturday.  Yes, the military personnel are children to all of us as they protect our beautiful country.  To read more and to see how you can help, visit my post from yesterday.

Then I got stuck saying my "ABC's" and just couldn't stop.  I've heard of that being called an ear worm.  My niece is expecting her third son in October and my new boss (recently promoted co-worker) is expecting her first grandchild in November.  What better to celebrate than to make baby quilts.  So my design wall is filled with ABCs.

First up is the quilt for my great nephew to be.  It's an Andover Fabrics 2004 quilt panel from the "Children of the Inner Light" line.  I didn't want the traditional look of adding a red border and then a scrappy black and white 2nd border.  Instead, I see this quilt with lots of color so I cut lots of 4.5 squares.  I used animal prints, mostly cats and dogs with a few frogs and hippos thrown in.  Right now I don't think I'll add another border.  Now how do I see additional color being added you say?  When I finish this quilt I plan to gift it with Crayola crayons and freezer paper.  Don't you think a kid would love coloring in the images?  Very non-traditional indeed!

The next quilt is for my boss' first grandchild which will be a girl.  I saw this ABC panel from Moda that was designed to be made into a book.  You can see the book on Moda Bake Shop site.  However, I don't need a book, I need a quilt.  So I made this darling quilt top instead.  I have enough of the border fabric for the backing.  Now I need to figure out the binding.

Since I was making ABC quilts, I decided to use the last panel I had in my stash.  This quilt just so happens to be in the American Patchwork & Quilting October 2010 issue.  However, I purchased the panel before all that and saw a similar pattern on All People Quilt that I'd plan to use.  This one is my favorite and I'm not quite sure that I'll be able to give it away without crying.  I need to square up the square in the square blocks before continuing.  I don't think I'll be adding that rick-rack either or at least I don't think so at this stage.

More design walls are waiting for your perusal at Patchwork Times.
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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com

Quilts of Valor

I had so much fun yesterday!  I got to quilt, be with friends, enjoy snacks and lunch all while donating to a worthy cause.  You see, I sewed in a Quilts of Valor Marathon.  The goal is to make 100 quilts in basically 6 days of group work.  When I left, they had 115 quilt tops sewn with most of them having backs and binding made.  In addition, volunteers were also making pillow cases that the quilts will be donated in.  It was so well organized.  Thanks Joy and Susie for all the prep work to make this such a successful event.  Here I am playing working on the quilt.

This is the quilt top that me and my friend Debra made.  We also made the backing and binding.  With precutting of the fabrics, we were able to finish the work in about 5 hours.  Please consider donating a quilt to such a worthy organization.

Next week, Thursday through Saturday, the long armers are going to Gammill headquarters in West Plains, MO.  If you'd like to volunteer to quilt quilts, visit Amazing Graceful Stitches.

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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

I worked most of this week on my Pineapple Nine Patch quilt along.  We need to make over 150 tri recs units.  I got them completed.  Since I met with a group Friday night and needed a quick project to take with me, I continue cutting on the next two steps.  I sewed a few of the upcoming steps so I could see how the design would look.

Then, I started putting away supplies around the house as I host Labor Day for my family and friends.  Over 6 months ago, I cut three fat quarters to make HSTs with an accent strip using Sharon Schamber's method.  My mistake was that I cut 1.5" strips for 1" finished HSTs, not thinking how tiny that would be with an accent strip.  So, after sewing just a few, I quickly lost interest.  Had I cut them at least 2.5" it would have been doable.  I like the end result though and will try the method when I actually have a project in mind.  I wanted to get these strips off my storage room floor so I sewed them together.  I have lost some of the strips since I cut them and this is what I ended up with.  I'll store these and make HSTs if needed for a future project.  Or, maybe I'll cut them into strips and use them in a quilt border; or maybe cut some designs from one of my Go! Cutter dies.  Well see...

To view more design walls, go to Patchwork Times.

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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com

Design Wall Monday

I had Scrap Quilting Club meeting on Saturday.  We had a lot of show and tell.  To see those quilts, click the link.

My week was spent prepping for the Saturday class.  Remember those scrappy rail fence blocks I made last month?  Of course not, here is a photo.

Well, I made two quilt tops with them.  The left side blocks made this Red Cross Quilt.  I purposely used ugly fabrics that did not necessarily match.  I was pleasantly surprised with the end result.  The center was a little dark so I added a bright border.

And here are the blocks on the right side.  I cut both sets of blocks the same way, but sewed them back together a little differently.  The end result looks like wrenches to me without the handle.  So, I named this one From Rails to Wrenches.  I set these blocks side by side for a different variation.

Very interesting, huh?  I plan to use these in my scrap quilt lectures.

To see more design walls, visit Patchwork Times.

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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com

Scrap Quilting Club

We had a great time at scrap quilting club yesterday!  I got to meet Dorothy and her daughter Tristen (not sure about spelling).  Dorothy and I have been e-mail for a little while and talked on the telephone twice.  Our schedules had not allowed us to get together until Saturday.  She and I live just a few miles of each other.

We had  a lot of show and tell this month.  I'll group them in like quilt categories so you can see the difference fabric choice can make.  If you want to see more variations, search my blog for the pattern names.  You will find links (if available) of the quilts.  Most of them are free patterns available on the web and the links have been posted in previous posts.  Also, you can click any picture to get a bigger photo for a better look; click again and you get a full size photo.  Enjoy!

1st up is Strip Tease.  Amazing how they look so different.  And how about that miniature quilt made with 1" strips finishing at 1/2".

Next up are a couple of Staycation quilts.  There are other quilts on my blog and more to come.

This was our first project and quilts are still coming in for show and tell.  There are other quilts on my blog.

Ta-da!  More work is being done on the Cathedral Stars tops.  One almost done and another participant just started 4-patches.  There are two other quilts on my blog.

And finally, here is an updated photo of the Bento Box quilt we are making to donate to the church where we meet.  They are having an auction in October.  We just need to get the binding sewed to the back side.  I've also included a picture of the back which was started with the leftover blocks.  There are more of these quilts on my blog.

Thanks for viewing the show and come back next month for more quilts.

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Type-u-later,
Tea in MO
http://www.teaquilts.com