Design Wall Monday - March 30, 2026

 Good Morning Quilters!

Things are moving very slowly here.  The instructions for my new project, a replica of Jane Austen’s coverlet,  call for starching all the fabrics before cutting anything out,  How far did I get on this project?  I bought the starch………so there is no news on this project.   I bought two kinds, Best Press and a brand that the local quilt store recommended.  I will let you know which one I like the best.

A new project:  I am making a baby quilt for a close friend’s baby shower.  She is having her first baby (a girl) and I bought fabric for that project.  Their nursery has a Winnie The Pooh theme, so I found some fabric that will be appropriate, and plan on cutting squares for a simple blocked baby quilt, pairing this print with a solid square of similar color to the creamy background in the print.   But nothing to show you on the quilt so far, except the fabric:

In other news today, it is Penny Lane’s birthday!  She is eight years old today, and we are treating her like the spoiled dog that she is.  Here is a collage of favorite pictures of the birthday girl:

What is happening at your house this week?   I know a lot of you will be celebrating Easter with family and friends.  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us a picture and a link to your blog.  Thanks for participating.  Please provide a link somewhere in your blog to this blog.  I appreciate you.  

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Design Wall Monday - September 16, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

This week has been semi-productive, so I haven't much to show you.  Plenty to tell you though.  

Remember back in the spring, when I showed you the start of a first quilt a friend of mine worked on while at my house?  I blogged about Elise (Here)  She has since moved from Grand Rapids to Muskegon, and I haven't seen her for a while.  But here is the picture and text that I received from Elise today: 

    "Finally done! Finished the binding by hand last night.  Wanted to say thank you so, so much for all the help and all the tools to get me started!  I'm hooked!"

I am so pleased that she's 'hooked'.  Here is her finished quilt, made for her daughter's bed:

Also this week, Joan Brink's beautiful quilt that I blogged about (Here) won another award at another quilt show.  Best Traditional Quilt in the AQS Lancaster, PA quilt show!  I am so happy for her.  Another picture of her quilt:

One friend, in the group that I go to Shipshewana with, had an email request for a contribution of two blocks for a Quilt of Valor.  I followed the directions to make a red, white and blue 12 inch block........and made the block.  Then I measured it.  It was just exactly 12 inches square.......not 12.5 inches as it should be as an unfinished block.  Sooooo, I took it all apart and made it again, this time using a "scant"  1/4 inch seam, and it is now the correct size, 12.5 inches.    They asked for two blocks of the same fabric, so the second block is now made correctly,  and they are ready to take with me when the retreat happens in November.  

 Also, the baby quilt of last week's post is in the mail, and should arrive at the baby's house today.  All in all a good report week.

I hope you have had a good week too.  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us what you have made.  Thanks to all who participate.  I so enjoy reading your blogs and looking at all the pretty pictures.  You are appreciated!

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Design Wall Monday - September 9, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

The baby quilt is quilted, and ready to send off to the new baby.  I cheated:  instead of quilting it myself and dealing with the stretchy flannel back, I took it to a friend and she did a wonderful job!  Much better than I would have done!  

And it is finished.  Here are a few pictures:

First, the complete quilt.

Second, a square up close, the turtle:

The back side showing the butterfly quilting.  So cute!

My next UFO that has been pulled out is a quilt kit.  Pictured below:

It is part of the Marcus “Collection for a Cause” series.  The collection series are mostly reproductions of vintage quilts, and I liked the fabrics in this repro kit.  I started it, but was challenged by cutting angles and having block edges on the bias.  But now I am attempting it again, and have started making the “four patch” diamond blocks.  There are about 100 of them, and I am just starting - 12 made so far.  

The weather here in Michigan has been hinting fall….cooler nights and sunny 70s in the daytime.  I hope it lasts for a while.  

What is on your design wall?  Mine is empty right now, but will soon have the UFO diamonds. up there.   We are looking forward to seeing what you are working on.  Thank you for faithfully linking up with our Design Wall Monday Linky Party each week.  You are a blessing to me.

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Design Wall Monday - August 5, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

The 3-in-1 Bowtie UFO box progress:

(1) I finished sewing all the creamy white backgrounds/vintage fabric bow ties into blocks, and am now deciding if I want to set them with an alternate square, or just sew them together as they are.  Thinking on this.  I saw a bowtie quilt with a dark alternate square that I liked….but am still undecided.

(2) My former skirt fabric and solid red bowtie blocks are all sewn together into a quilt top.  The blocks finish at 5 inches, and it is 9x9, so it is 45” by 45”.  

Here it is, on the left half of my design wall:

It will be sent out to my longarmer to be quilted.  

(3) The doll quilt top of vintage bowties has batting and a backing now with it, plus binding cut and pressed. I will be machine quilting it myself.  Hopefully this little cutie will be a finished doll quilt next week.  I forgot to take a picture of it yesterday.

So with these 3-in-1 bowtie UFOs progressing nicely, I pulled out another UFO!  This one is a baby quilt and the blocks were embroidered a long time ago by my friend Dee. She wasn’t happy with the quality of the white background fabric of this kit (I don’t know the original purchase info) and gave them to me to do something with.    She also thought they would look good with a “Twist ‘n Turn” setting that was from a book I had by that name, by Sharyn Squier Craig. 

So I read the book instructions, and made the frames for each block.  Here is my progress on this baby quilt which is on the right side of my design wall today:

Aren’t they cute?  Close-up pictures of two of them:

With the fabric “twist ‘n turn” frames, each block now measures 11 inches square before sewing them together.  So the baby quilt will be roughly 30” by 40” when finished.  I think I might put a satiny binding on it, as babies like that so much.  

What are you up to?  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  It is so much fun to see what everyone is making.  Thanks for participating.

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Design Wall Monday - September 5, 2022

Good Morning Quilters!

Another baby quilt is this week’s project.  I have several baby quilts that are finished except for the final binding.  I chose this one to finish for a special baby - my first great grandson!  My Granddaughter Alexis and her husband Blake are expecting a baby boy in November.  The baby shower will be next Sunday afternoon.  

Here is a picture of the front side, with the binding yet to be hand sewn to the back:

I love the old time pictures of little children on the featured fabric.  I used some fabrics that have been in my stash for quite a while, and made a pattern to fit the size of the children pictures.  The finished baby quilt will measure 30” by 40”.

I ran out of the fabric I was going to bind it with, and found another fabric in my stash that was similar and used both.  I don’t think the baby will mind that there are two different fabrics (both red with white polka dots) used in the binding!  He will like the bright colors of this quilt.  Here is a closeup of the binding.

The binding attachment is always a gamble that a binding seam might occur exactly on a corner, and there is a seam very near the corner……..but not right on it.  See?

While taking a picture of the seam-corner situation to show you, I noticed something else.  Look at how well the polka-dots matched up on the join!  I couldn’t have done that any better if I had been trying.  In quilting, sometimes things just work out well, don’t they?  I’m sure my brilliant great grandson will notice my fine workmanship.  hehehe

The quilting my long-armer (Tammy Oberlin) designed is so cute - it is hobby horses, cowboy boots, stars, and cowboy hats.  She is very talented.

It’s your turn now.  Please join in the Design Wall Mondays Linky Party below and show us your project (or projects) for this week.   Thank you to all who link back to this blog post and mention Design Wall Mondays in your post.  I appreciate you.

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Design Wall Monday - August 24, 2020

 Hi everybody!  Here’s the final pictures of the gingham baby quilt.  It is bound and ready for a baby. The quilt rail fence pieces finish at 2.25” by 6.75” and when sewn together they make a block that finishes at 6.75” by 6.75”.  There are 4 across and 6 down, making a finished size of about 28” by 40”.  

Someone asked with all the seams in the binding, did any seam wind up at a corner....almost, but not quite, and all is well that ends well.  You can see that some seams came close:

The quilter put A,B,Cs and crayons in the quilting.  Cute!

Another fun fabric project happened this week because Bonnie Stapleton sent me a ziplock baggie full of her civil war scraps.  Bonnie (In Stitches With Bonnie) is one of our regular Monday linkers.  https://institcheswithbonnie.blogspot.com

First, let me say PLEASE don’t anyone else do this.  I have enough fabric in my stash to last until I’m 150 years old.  Bonnie said she had a few civil war fabrics and would I give them a home.  In a weak moment I said yes.....and I have had such fun with them today!  Bonnie I love them, and they are now ready to join my stash. I’m posting to show how I add to my “controlled” scraps.  First, I put each scrap on my little Omnigrid pad, and figure out how to get the most squares out of the scrap.  Once I cut all the squares, I cut any 1” or 1.5” short strips from the remainder of the scrap. For a future tiny log cabin.  Here’s a typical example.  Scrap before it is cut:

What was cut from it:

Here is the stack of squares to take to my shoeboxes of different size squares:

,

And what I put in the trash:

Two other fun serendipities from the gift:

#1. One long strip a little over 2 yards long that I think I could use as binding on a doll quilt.  What do you think?  It is being rolled up and put in my binding fabric drawer.

#2.  Some of the scraps were already sewn into cute little half square triangles that will finish at 1.5”.  I put them aside, added more scraps, and a tiny little quilt is appearing:

So thank you, thank you, thank you Bonnie!  It was a lot of fun.

Our company has all gone home, but I wanted to share one more adorable picture of the two little girls who were visiting us with their parents recently.  They had such fun playing with my log cabin doll house, and having tea parties with my dolls. 

What are you doing?  Please link up below and share with us.  I thank all of you who are so faithful in sending your pictures.  As usual, I only request that you mention Design Wall Mondays in your blog and provide a link to this post.

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Design Wall Monday - August 17, 2020

 I am starting on binding one of the four quilts I’ve gotten back from the long arm quilter.  This one is the gingham check baby quilt.  After so much company, I’m starting with the smallest quilt.  

When I looked for something to bind it with, I saw these extra parts from the rail fence front of the quilt, sewed them all together, and there was just enough to use for the binding.  It has a lot of seams, but the gingham fabric is so thin that the seams are not a problem.  

Trimmed the binding to 2.5 inches wide:

Pressing it to make it double fold:

Here is a picture of the start of the final hand sewing.  I will send a picture of the completed quilt next week.

 

 I hope to look at everyone’s blog this week and catch up with you all.  Thanks for being so understanding while I was entertaining.  It was a great week.

Please link your blog below and show us what you are creating.  As always, I ask that you link back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your post, and mention Design Wall Mondays in your post.  Have a great day!

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Design Wall Monday - January 13, 2020

The UFO for January is on the Design Wall now.  I am excited to get this one moving along.  It’s a cheddar baskets quilt that I am still undecided about the border.  I thought it was finished, but now I am thinking of adding hsts around the edge.  I last posted about it (Here)

While I am pondering it, one idea came to me to combine two UFOs into one, and add embroidered baskets that were intended to be a quilt on their own to the white empty squares of this quilt.  Downside would be:  Since I only have one and one/half baskets embroidered, it would set this project back into the UFOs for quite some time.

PROGRESS REPORT on last week's projects:

1) Machine quilting on the quilt I was working on last week.  The machine quilting is about 3/4 finished, so I’m on the home stretch.  I am getting a teeny-tiny bit confident with the process.  Progress and practice is a good thing.

The baby quilt binding job is completed, and I am storing this one away for a future great grandchild.  This one is completed, except for a label to be added at the time it is gifted.

It was a kit I bought and I love the bright colors and old fashioned “Dick and Jane” look.  

The long arm quilter did a great job with alphabet letters, balloons, and crayons, etc.

The needlepoint angel project is moving right along.  I am looking at other tree topper angels to see how they are constructed.  And deciding what I will use for the back and sides of the angel......fabric from my stash probably, but haven't looked yet.  I didn't do any hand quilting, as the angel kept me busy with hand work.

What progress can you report  this week?  Thanks so much for linking up and showing us your beautiful projects.  As usual, my only request is that you link back to this specific blog post somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - January 6, 2020

I am trying to stay "whelmed" in 2020......not underwhelmed.......not overwhelmed........just in the middle....whelmed.  I think of it as being happy with the progress I am making.  To be encouraged by the work finished each month in 2020.

I have now documented all of my UFOs per my last post of 2019.  My plan is to finish one each month.  The UFO for January is a quilt that needs the outer borders added, and then it will be ready to send to the long arm quilter.  But before I start on it, I have worked on five smaller projects:

(1) While doing the inventory of UFOs, I found a needlepoint angel project from long ago, that I had planned to make into a Christmas tree topper.  She was put into timeout because I ran out of the yarn for the background around her.  Last week I went to Michael's and found some yarn that was close to the color of the background, and am using 1/6 of that yarn to equal the smaller yarn from the original project.   Meaning I cut a piece of yarn and separate the twisted pieces into six separate pieces, much like embroidery floss.   Here are two pictures:

   
You can see the straight line on the right side separating the original background and my replacement background.  When it is finished and made into a Christmas tree topper, it won't be noticeable.

So the reason it was stopped has been solved, and I am moving forward with it.  Very satisfying.  

(2) In December I was working on the binding for a baby quilt that will be for a future great grandchild.  I have two side finished, and am slowly finishing it up.

I will post more pictures of it when it is finished.

(3)  In preparation for putting some quilts in the Churn Dashers of Tidewater Virginia group display this spring, I am finishing the last of my entries.  I am not a machine quilter, but am attempting to machine quilt baptist fans on this small quilt.  Here is my progress so far:

Not fun for me because I'm not very good at it, but the only way to get better is to practice.  It is about 29 inches square, so it is a good practice piece.

(4)  While in Shipshewana at a retreat, I asked Gretchen to show me how she hand quilts.  She is a regular linker to this blog (Here), and does beautiful hand quilting.  While doing the inventory of the UFOs, I found this small square that I had started hand quilting a long time ago.  It is out now, and I am working on my hand quilting skills......or lack of skills right now.  But as with machine quilting, only practice will get me to be better at it.  

As you can see, it's a start, and I feel like I know what to do after talking to Gretchen.  Thank you Gretchen!  Now it's practice, practice, practice.

(5) My favorite project this week is a doll quilt!  You know how much I like to make them.  This one went together very fast and is a simple design.  While I had the Needlepoint Angel project out, the extra pink yarn from that project gave me the idea to use it to "tie" this quilt.   Here are some pictures of it on the little doll bed.  I had enough of the fat quarter used for the borders to make a little doll pillow.  Also, I found a piece of leftover binding that was just the right amount.  Great fun!

Also a closeup to show you the birds decal on the old doll bed.  

I hope you share what you are starting and finishing this new year.  My design wall is still empty, but progress is being made here in organizing the sewing room and the UFOs.  I'm feeling whelmed!

If you link up with Design Wall Monday, please provide a link back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your blog post.  I appreciate it!

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Design Wall Monday - December 2, 2019

December is here!  When I think of all the things I like to do during the Christmas season, it makes me so happy.  I only wish I had a personal assistant to help me with all the details, right?  I hope to have some Christmas decorations up to show you next week, but so far, I have done nothing to get ready for Christmas.

So this week I'm going to continue on with my progress on the baby quilt tops that are now becoming completed quilts.  This is another simple one using three fabrics:  All three fabrics are leftovers from other baby quilts, and my friend quilted it for me with lovely hearts and feathers.  I love it.  My goal is to get the binding on it and get it finished this week.

Here is a picture of the whole quilt (before binding):

It is so "girly".  The blocks are cut at 5 in. square and finish at 4.5 inches square.  And the binding is the same width, so the whole quilt is 36 inches by 40.5 inches.  I will probably used the pale pink backing for the binding, because there is enough of it, and it will be simple.

Here's a couple more pictures of it:

I am excited to get most of the baby quilt tops finished into quilts.  I have 10 for charity this Christmas season, and one for a relative, and a few to put binding on for future family babies.  Woot!  Woot!  

Very pale, feminine pink backing:

I wonder how many of you are participating in Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt this year?  I have in past years, but not this year.  I am concentrating on finishing the many quilts that are in my stash that are partially finished.  I am copying the weekly instructions, in case I decide later to make the quilt.  But the fun is in making it along with everyone else and wondering what the final quilt will look like.

Please link up with Design Wall Mondays, below, and show us what you are working on this week.  As usual, I please ask that you refer back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks!

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