Design Wall Monday - November 25, 2024

 Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Here is a picture of my design wall:  

I have only three more diagonal seams to sew and the top will be finished.  

Also, I put the binding on two lap sized quilts.  Here they are:

The binding is not the most interest grabbing part of quilting, but when possible, I challenge myself to match the pattern on the fabric on binding pieces.  Can you see the seam on this binding join?

So even when quilters are doing mundane things, we can find ways to amuse ourselves, can’t we?

Hoping you in America have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.  I think our Canadian bloggers have already celebrated it in October.  As I am 81 years old now, I go to one of my children’s home for the feast.  I am bringing a pie.  I enjoy being a guest now and leave the main preparations to my capable children.  

What are you making this week?  Pies, turkey, and/or quilts?  I see Bonnie Hunter’s annual mystery quilt has started, but I am watching from the sidelines this year.  Are you participating?

Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and let us know what you are thankful for this week.  I am thankful for all of you.  You are a blessing to me each week of the year.  Thank you!

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Design Wall Monday - October 21, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

This week was a beautiful and busy fall week here in Grand Rapids.  We were blessed by a visit of good friends from Virginia.  We visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Friday.  Here are some pictures from there:

My favorite pumpkin? or gourd?

My friend Dean (from VA) with me

My friend Amy (college student here in GR)

The Design Wall Monday Linky Party begins again this morning.  Woot! Woot! Please join in and tell us about your week.  What are you working on?  What is on your design wall?  Mine is filled with bowtie blocks that are waiting for me to sew them together.  See?

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Design Wall Monday - September 30, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

This is the last day in September, and there are only three more months in this year.  There are so many UFOs that I want to work on this year that I’m inspired to spend more time in my quilt studio.  Working on three projects this week

.  #1  The third quilt from the box of bowtie blocks.   Here is the proposed finish now on the design wall.   The green solid has a calming feel for me, and reminds me of the 30’s “nile green” color:

  #2. A project that I’m bring to a retreat in November, and will be working on it there with a friend who has the same project.  It is part of the Marcus “Collection for a Cause” kits.  I’m  making part of the blocks ahead of time to take with me.   24 of these four-patch diamonds are yet to be finished.   Here is a progress picture:

  #3. Cousin’s Walk, the bird quilt UFO is out again.   Several friends are making this quilt at the same time, and when we gather together later this year, I would like to have four more bird blocks completed (by November).  I use freezer paper pattern parts.  Ihave 10 more bird blocks to make.  Here is a progress picture of the bird block I’m working on this week:

Lots of good quilts being made and shown on our Design Wall Linky Party last Monday.  I enjoyed my tour of your blogs.  Thanks for participating!  Below is the link for today:

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Design Wall Monday - August 19, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

This week I worked on getting the little doll quilt of bowties finished.  The backing and batting are now quilted to the front, and triangle corners added to the back, to enable it to be hung on a wall.  Here are pictures of it - front and back. 

The.binding should be all sewn down by the end of the day.  A lovely task after binding the king sized Splendid Sampler quilt last week.  

The baby quilt is ready to be quilted now.  All blocks sewn together, batting added and backing picked out.  The next job is pinning it before I quilt it.  But I am suffering with a sore back this week, and it will have to wait until my back feels better.  Rght now I can’t get down on the floor to get the quilt pinned.    Here is the project as it is today:  

I really like this baby quilt so far, but often have trouble with a flannel backing (getting  no wrinkles in it).  It will be good for me to practice on another one to see if I can pin it together without wrinkles.  Wish me luck.

What are you working on this week?  We had so many interesting linkups last week.  I am looking forward to seeing this week’s posts.  Just join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and show us what you are doing,  I appreciate all of you so much.

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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 - July 29, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

I’m still working on Bowtie blocks, and am making good progress.  Here is a  progress picture:  

The time it takes me to sew these blocks is greater than I anticipated.  The good news is that whenever I finish a block, I look at it while I’m pressing it, and say, “Well, aren’t you cute!”  So they are still amusing me.

The Paris Olympics has just started, and I am looking forward to watching some of the competitions.  I like to watch all sports.  I like the ones I know a lot about so I can watch my favotite players…., and the ones I know nothing about because I always learn something new.  Are you watching any special olympic sport as you quilt?

Please join our Non-Competitive Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  Everyone who joins in is a winner.  Thanks for participating each week.  

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Design Wall Monday - July 22, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

I am making progress  on my bowtie blocks UFOs.  Here is the design wall with my yellow skirt fabric and the solid red bows.  It will finish at 45 inches square.

The method of construction I used is the old fashioned method of five pieces of fabric in a block.   I sewed the middle square to the long inside part of two background fabrics.  Then I sewed the other two sides of the middle bow piece to the long inside edge of two red outside bow pieces.  What was next was sewing the four short seams to connect the red bow pieces to their corresponding background pieces.  I am not good at Y seams, needle down and swiveling way, and this method was easier for me than doing that.  Hope this makes sense to you.

The next set of  bowtie block pieces in this UFO box, (that I asked you for background advice about) have been waiting for their turn.  I have decided to use solid color off white (muslin color) as I have lots of it in my stash.  Thanks for all of your advice.  It helped.  

These guys are next and they will also finish at 5 inches square:

What is on your design wall this week?  It is always a treat to read your blogs and see your project pictures.  Remember, you don’t technically need a design wall to participate.  Just show us what you are working on.  Thanks for participating!

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Design Wall Monday - July 15, 2024

Good Morning Quilters!

A sad time in America..  Violence is never the answer in political differences.   I want to vote for my favorite candidates and also respect my friends who disagree with me, and vote for their favorite candidates.  

Here in our quilting world though, all is at peace……or at least it is on my design wall.  Remember last week I said there were 3 different bowtie projects in the UFO box I got out?  Last week I talked about the 1st one - skirt material and solid red 5 inch bowties.  This is the rest of the story of what was also in the UFO box.  

There were some thirties print fabric bowtie blocks with thirties print backgrounds behind the bowties.  In other words, there was a lot going on, and no place for the eye to rest. I think someone gave them to me a long time ago.  I cut them all apart, (not seam ripping) and made each part a smaller size.  And I used a more neutral background, and they are now the start of a little doll quilt, plus some more that didn’t want to be in the doll quilt, so I made them into groups of four blocks.  I am unsure of what I will make with the sets of four…….maybe hot pads or to decorate the end of dish towels….what do you suggest?

Here is the doll quilt, with the proposed pink binding near it.  Blocks are 3” square, and doll quilt will be about 17” square.

And the extra 3 sets of four blocks:   (and three individual lone blocks). These blocks below are mostly from the original “background” fabric, so you can see just how busy the Blocks were originally.  

The 3rd bowtie project was fabric cut for bowties and no background fabrics,  Here is a picture of the cut bowtie pieces:

They will finish at 5 inches square.  What do you suggest for a background color?  I am leaning toward just plain white, but could be persuaded to use a solid color.  What do you think?  There are 92 on them.

What peaceful (pieceful) project is on your design wall?

Thank you so much for participating in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  Click below to join and we can see your pictures and read your blog post.  

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Design Wall Monday - July 8, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

My enthusiasm for quilting was high this week.  I finished sewing together all the hourglass blocks for the final border of the quilt that has been on the design wall for weeks.  The quilt top measures 80” x 80”, with blocks that are 2” finished size.  Here it is, and I will use the dark navy from the quilt as a binding, to repeat the color again at the edge:

Next, I pulled out a UFO box and looked at what was in it.  All of my UFO’s have sentimental stories it seems, and this one does.  The box was filled with three bowtie blocks projects and some of the fabric to complete the same.  The first one involved a bright gold/red leaf print that used to be a skirt that my Mother made for me in Junior High.  I picked out the fabric before it was made.  And my memory of it includes a fabulous mending job that my Mom did to fix it after I tore a big gash in the skirt.  (I was a tomboy and was busy trying to do all that my older brother did). I was very impressed with her mending skills.  Here is the fabric, very typical of the mid 1950s:

When first starting quilting, I cut the skirt fabric into bowtie block pieces, but my sewing skills were not there, and I stopped working on it.   There were 14 completed blocks and lots of pieces cut for more.  Here are those 14 on my design wall:

There were some other blocks made where the gold/red leaf fabric was paired with another print.  I decided this week that these were too busy for my taste now, and took them apart.  My plan is to complete all of the blocks with the solid red alternating fabric, for a bright quilt.  I have fabric for about 50 more blocks.  It was fun going down memory lane about my skirt, and I like the plan of completing this UFO.  

The other 2 bowtie projects in the box are another story, and I will save that for another day.  What are you working on this week?  I hope your enthusiasm is high this week too.  I really appreciate your participation in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party, and I hope you will join in again this week.  

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