Update on the CW Mini Quilt Finishes

It took a while to get pictures of the finished mini quilts.  Here they are all together:

And here is each separately:

 

 "Reproduction-print Table Topper" from the American Patchwork & Quilting website (approximately 26" square).  This one was quilted with the Baptist Fans stitch pattern using a walking foot because the free-motion stitching plan I originally had was not working out.  Below is just a portion of the back showing that I used the monogramming function on my machine again to do the label information (as was also recently done for this quilt). 

Next up was the quilt Inspired by Judy Rothermel's "Hummingbird" design in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting. March/April 2004 .

 



You can see the quilt stitching (also all done with a walking foot) better from the back. 

  



I did not piece the blocks using the patterned method but did them using the piecing techniques by Sue Bouchard of Quilt In a Day and the Lazy Angle Ruler (and the quilt is approximately 22" square).  I hadn't yet written the label information on the back of the quilt when this picture was taken, it will be added before it is hung for display.

Last but not least is the "One Patch Doll Quilt" from  Kathleen Tracy's  book "The Civil War Sewing Circle" (approximately 25" square).  I admittedly copied this one pretty much "word for word" since I already had a lot of scraps in the same or similar colors to those in the book.  It was quilted with a simple hanging grid pattern (again with a walking foot).  This one also has a fairly light backing so label information was written directly onto the back.

Now that these are done,  I can start mounting  my display in the upstairs staircase with these and the Merrimac Dresdens quilt.  There are CW reproduction quilts already mounted at the top of the entrance stairs.  I still have to quilt the tops for the Kaye England sampler lap quilts and the Civil War Chronicles BOM quilt.  I do have an issue there:  my machine really needs to be brought in for service making it hard to do free motion and why all of these were done with a walking foot.  In the past that has meant being without a machine for a few weeks so we'll see if I can get anything done on the rest before I'm forced to do that. 

Once all the quilting is done, I will be diving into what's left in the stash box because I want to make a cot quilt.  After that we'll see how much of these fabrics (and/or scraps) I still have left and if I can come up with other ideas to use them or whether the remainder of the stash will be mingled with the general stash piles.  However, at this moment I am in the process of finishing up the last block for my Heart & Home Wool BOM and will be trying to bring that project to the flimsie stage before the month ends. 

I hope you enjoyed your National Quilting Day this past weekend and have a bunch of projects (not necessarily quilt related) lined up to continue celebrating March as National Craft Month!  Check here for information about the Craft & Hobby Association's "Crafty Selfie Contest".  Above all, have fun doing what you love!!

Steadily Working.....

I thought I'd have a bunch of finishes to show by the end of last week but as usual it has taken a little longer than planned to complete everything.  The good news is that I am finishing up the last of the quilting on the Civil War mini quilts (you can see the tops here). 

This one should be finished by the end of today and then I will do a big post about them all.  I'm glad to be finally getting the quilting part done but it has also set me back a bit as I had hoped to finish them a lot quicker so I could also quilt the lap quilts (seen here). 

Hopefully, I will get those layered up later this week but first I'll knock out the next block of the wool Heart & Home BOM.  I also want to finish that whole quilt by the end of this month (you can see the last two blocks completed here) and feel I need to knock out those blocks little by little in order to accomplish that.

The biggest casualty in all of this has been my Quilt-As-You-Go project for Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching link up.

I haven't been able to get to it in the last two weeks but admit that mentally, I NEED to get the CW quilts finished for quilty peace of mind!   Looking forward to a productive week!!

FYI: When 'Ya Gotta Rip, Make it Zip!

Just saw this posted on Nancy's Tattered Garden Quilting blog.  I have to agree with her, it's definitely a Du'oh moment watching this!

Simple technique tips that make work short are always welcome!  Also always good to see another left-handed crafter.  Go lefties!!

March BOMs

So far this year, I haven't been getting to the BOM blocks until the end of the month so I decided to get an early start on them this time.  This way I can focus on the rest of the "Get It Done" list (especially the overdue stuff) for the rest of the month.

I was able to get to the store earlier this week for more Daiwabo fabric so finished the borders on last month's "Heart & Home" block:

Before


After

 I only have three more blocks left for this BOM.  The plan for now is to try to finish them all and the whole quilt this month but we'll see how that goes.  I decided to start with the easiest of the remaining blocks so that at the very least a block for this month is also done.

Block #12 on the design wall.



The next stocking for the "Warm Hands & Feet" BOM is also done for the month:

 

 

 

This was another easy one and I was able to get the embroidery details done by machine again which helped speed things up.  I do have another wool project I had hoped to start but I'm going to try to get the quilting done on my Civil War quilts first so I can finally take them off the "To Do" list.  Hopefully there will time left towards the end of the month for the other wool project.   



Project Recap: Vintage Cherries for Valentines

I reported this in my February/March Get It Done Recap but now need to give the full update on my finished Valentine's Day quilt so I can link it to the finish list on the sidebar.  Here's the finished quilt, front...
:

"Vintage Cherries" from the Martingale book "'Tis the Season" by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks

...and back.  I pieced "canning jar" blocks along the sides to fill out the backing.  I bought the precut novelty rectangles of candy and sweets on Ebay.  For a closeup of the blocks see this post.

 

For the label, I tried something new:  about this time last year, I saw a post on Judy's blog Quilt Paradigm where she had stitched her label onto the binding.  When I emailed her about it, she said she originally got the idea from Sharon Pederson's book "Reversible Quilts" and then sometime later I also saw it referenced in a reader letter in the May/June 2008 (back) issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.  It's a simple technique if your machine has a monogramming function.  Only thing is I should have used a higher contrast thread so it may be a little hard to see here. 

So now along with this....

"Warm Heart" table topper

....this one is on the shelf until it can be unfurled next year to display for the Valentine's Day holiday!

Getting It Done in 2015: February Recap/March List

Another month begins and so it's time to look back at the month that passed.  Here's what I had hoped to work on for February:

 

1.  UFOs:  Quilting on the Civil War lap and mini quilts, this time hopefully with finishes. 

STILL NOT DONE.

 

These are the minis.

 

2.  Wool/BOMs: Continued work on the next blocks for the two wool BOMS, finish the Valentine's Table Topper: DONE

 

Although this one needs some additional fabric and finishing.
 

 

 

......and start on a new one:  another topper that will be a kitchen wall hanging NOT DONE

   

3.  Hand Work:  I'll continue or finish the "Slow Sunday Stitching" Redwork. DONE

 

 

 ..... AND if I finish it, I will restart an old Quilt-As-You-Go project. NOT DONE

 

 

4.  Holiday Quilts:  I'll finish the blocks, top and quilting on "Vintage Cherries".

JUST FINISHED TODAY, SO DONE!

 

 

5.  Gift Quilts: I need, need, need to start work on the baby quilt (its now long overdue!!!

NOT DONE

  

So what's on board for March?

1. UFOs:  Quilting on the Civil War lap and mini quilts.  Hopefully the third time on the list will be the charm!
2.  Wool/BOMs: Continue work on the next blocks for the wool Ornament and Heart & Home BOMS.  The plan is to finish the last three Heart & Home blocks and complete the quilt this month as well. 
3.  Hand Work:  I'll continue "Slow Sunday Stitching" restarting work on my old Quilt-As-You-Go project.  I'd also like to mount the finished Lincoln/Obama Redwork from last month onto the quilt it was made to be added to.
4. Gift Quilts: Once again, I need, need, need to start work on the baby quilt (its now long overdue!!!)
5.  New Project/Challenge:  I'm going to cut out two new solids projects because I want to use the leftover stash from them for the FMQ Mystery at Lori's Inbox Jaunt and another solids project down the road.

Onward Quilting Soldier!!