Design Wall Monday - November 26, 2018

At this time each year, I like to watch the mystery quilt unfold at Quiltville.  I am saving the clues and may make it after I see what it looks like in the reveal.  It will be interesting to see how many of our Design Wall Monday bloggers are joining in the fun.  Are you?

Last week at retreat, some friends gave me lots of small triangles that were snipped off blocks they were making.  They know I like to make small quilts, and also large quilts with small pieces, so this is what I've done with them so far.  I sewed on the long side of the triangle for those pieces that had good contrast between the two pieces: 

I've found that if there is not good contrast between the two pieces in a small hsts, the work of sewing two very small pieces together is unnoticed.  Here are some of the triangles that will be sewn with a fat quarter from my stash to provide better contrast:

These hsts will finish at one inch square, and will probably be used in a replica of this quilt, which has lots of broken dishes four patches made of hsts.

There would be over 1,000 hsts in this quilt, if I made it large enough for our bed.  Maybe a miniature quilt will be what I make!   For now, I'm having fun making hsts.  What are you working on today?

I always enjoy seeing your design walls, and I thank you for participating.  You bloggers make my life richer.  Please refer back to this particular post somewhere within your blog post.

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Design Wall Monday - November 19, 2018

Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  

I just returned home from a wonderful retreat in Shipshewana, Indiana.  While at the retreat, I saw a vintage quilt that was made of broken dishes blocks, and it was such an interesting quilt.  Do you like it?

Here are two pictures of the Farmstead Inn, where we stayed.  The first picture shows Christmas lights from a display across the street, with the Farmstead Inn in the background. 

The second picture shows the Farmstead Inn with the lovely snow that came down while we were there.  It was just enough to look pretty, without causing slippery roads when our retreaters were leaving to go home.

The retreat is filled each time with such wonderful quilters, and they are all full of laughter, care, and love.  It fills my heart up.

What fills your heart with joy this Thanksgiving season?  I look forward to hearing from you, and seeing pictures of your design walls.  The instructions are the same each week; Please refer back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  I am thankful for you and your participation each Monday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

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Design Wall Monday - November 12, 2018

Today is Veterans Day in the United States.  There are, according to the History Channel, 16.5 million living veterans who have served in at least one war, and 5.2 million living veterans who have served in times of peace.  Thank you to all of our veterans for your service and sacrifice. 

While visiting our daughter last week, I made replacement oven mitts for some I made for her a few years ago.  I made a bunch of these for Christmas presents back then, and our daughter was my "tester"  for size and padding advice.  Here are the the old ones, which were well worn:

Here are the replacement oven mitts that were finished while I was visiting her:

She is an expert zippered bag maker, and I am afraid of zippers.  Soooo, she helped me make a zippered bag, and showed me several tutorials on the Internet that I can follow to make more of them.  I am now slightly less afraid of zippers, thanks to my dear daughter.  Thank you Christa!  This little "doggy" bag will stay in the car with treats for our dog, so I will not forget to have rewards for Penny on car trips.  I think it is so cute!!! and I put the zipper in by myself!!!

When I returned home, I worked on finishing a little nine patch doll quilt that I had asked you for opinions on a few weeks ago. (in this post)  Most of you liked the on point setting, and the cheddar print for sashing or alternate block.    But I couldn't ever decide on what I wanted for cornerstones, so I tried a different sashing that didn't require cornerstones.  However, I found it does involve many partial seams, and I would like to find an easier way to do this "basket weave" sashing look.   Maybe pressing the sashing edges under, and weaving it first and then sew it to the nine patches by hand.  Anyone tried it, and have any tips?

It measures 12.25 inches square and the nine patches are 1.5 inches finished size.  Sophia Grace and Rosie are very pleased with it.

I do like how it looks, and have bound it without quilting it, as I am not sure what color thread to quilt it with, and where to put the quilting.  Maybe I will leave it without quilting, as it is a small doll quilt.  Too many decisions for my brain this week.

I cut the bias binding at one inch wide, not thinking about what I was doing.  I had planned to only single fold it, but still, one inch is too narrow.  I made a note to myself to use only down to 1.25 inch single fold binding in the future, as my limit to smallness in doll quilt bindings.  Here's a closeup of the binding:

What are you working on this week?  I so enjoy looking at your design walls...so many interesting projects going on.  Thanks for participating.  As usual, I ask please that you refer back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  

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Design Wall Monday - November 5, 2018

November already!  October is in the rear view mirror, and Thanksgiving is ahead!

I hope you all had fun on Halloween.  For those with little ones, who celebrate Trick or Treating, I hope you had fun handing out candy and helping them eat candy.  I didn't even buy any candy because kids don't come to our door on Halloween, and I end up eating all the candy.   We are near the end of a cul-de-sac in a subdivision where the homes are far apart, so the children knock on doors in greener pastures.

Here is a picture of four Halloween pillows on the couch in the living room:

I made the orange pumpkin head pillow, and bought the other three.  I copied the black kitty pillow's smile on my pumpkin pillow.  The ghosts that I call "Kasper and The Mrs. Kasper" were from the Hallmark store years ago, and are very soft fabric and light weight.  I have to make sure that our labrador retriever, Penny Lane, doesn't decide that they are dog toys.  She seems to think everything on earth is for her pleasure.  LOL

The main fall season quilt that I get out each year is called, appropriately "Third Weekend in October", pattern by Ruth Powers:

I know I have blogged about it before.  It is a large quilt that is 85 X 110 inches.  I leave it out until after Thanksgiving and enjoy it every year.  All paper pieced, and I would never do it again, but I did it with a friend who was making her version also, so we cheered each other on.  I am not fond of paper piecing, as I have trouble visualizing where to put the fabric before sewing the pieces.

It is also the only large quilt that I have ever free motion quilted.  I don't even remember how I did it, but at the time, I was in the groove, and quilted "veins" in each leaf, on my domestic machine.

This week we are visiting our daughter and her family in Texas, so I wrote this post before I left town, and scheduled it to post on the morning of November 5th.  I will arrive back home on the evening of November 5th, and I look forward to viewing all of your lovely design walls then.  Thank you everyone who links up with Design Wall Monday.

What have you been working on this week?   When you link, please provide a link back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Thank you for following my request.  

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