Finished Or Not Friday: The Cotton Harvest Is Finally Done!!

I have fantastic news to share for this week's Finished Or Not Friday over at Alycia's Quilty Girl blog:

I have finally finished my "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" Quiltville mystery quilt!

This was Bonnie Hunter's 2010 Quiltville Mystery Season quilt.  After the mystery was over it was published in her book "String Fling: Scrappy, Happy and Loving It" (and a preview of the quilts in that  book can be seen here).  Although I followed and downloaded Bonnie's mysteries from when she began offering them in 2008, I didn't get up the nerve and organization to actually try to make one until 2016.  This particular quilt was started in 2018.  Yes, it was a looonnng harvest!!

Bonnie is known for designing scrappy quilts.  She gets her fabric for them from her prodigiously collected scrap bins that are organized using her "Scrap Users System".  Bonnie's quilt designs may have a definite color scheme but the fabrics in them will run the gamut of print style and time.  She is famous for finding and using millennium fabrics from the year 2000!  

While I have gone fabric shopping for some of the Bonnie projects I have made, with the exception of the inner border, backing and binding, this is one that is made all from scraps.  This project got started when I realized that I had fabric leftovers from three projects that used the colors that could get this one started.  

Double Delight, On Ringo Lake and Emeralds contributed.

Ironically the two projects on the left are also Bonnie designs!  The holiday quilts that I started for Christmas 2022 contributed more....

Leftovers were taken from Temecula's 12 Days of Xmas, Jelly-ish Snowflake, The Last Dash and Cherry Crunch (another Bonnie design).

The strings all came from cut offs of neutral/background fabrics and were collected over the years.

These....

...were turned into these!

Each time I mined scraps, I would complete one step of the mystery.   In 2019 when MODA Fabrics and Lori DeJarnett of Humble Quilts ran string piecing challenges, I began to focus on trying to get the string blocks for this project done but I found those blocks to be hard to leader/ender (a piecing concept popularized by Bonnie) with regular blocks.  So it wasn't until the holiday season in 2022 when I embarked on making "Cherry Crunch" which also called for string blocks, that I made significant progress on those. 

"Cherry Crunch" strings on the left, "Cotton Boll" strings on the right.

Working those together in tandem helped me focus on getting this last part of the puzzle done so I could proceed to finish all the blocks and then the top.

This was also a great project for pulling inspiration from multiple sources.  Right after I decided to get this project in gear, I saw some cotton themed prints on sale that I knew had to be the backing.

Then I saw an old episode of Georgia Bonesteel's "Lap Quilting" show from the 80's and knew that had to be on my label when I made my backing!

BTW:  If you are a fan of Georgia Bonesteel and a member of the Quilt Alliance, her "Birthday BOM" block and interview are up on their site now (and Bonnie made a block and interview for this BOM too)!

That's not to say a big project like this didn't have its challenges....  

Like that block on the end...

I didn't discover this one until after it had been quilted in!

When I had finished the basting, I realized I had a few pleats pinned in on one side of the backing.  I thought I had worked them out before the quilting.  Nope!

There are a couple more like this.  

As a result, I think they caused the back to be a little short of the width on that side.  On the plus side, to make it stretch I had to include a little of the selvedge in the back which I think adds to the charm and history of it! 

At this point, I think a little of "Bonnie's Collected Wisdoms" are in order:  

Back in September when I displayed my quilts in a show that my community garden held, someone said to me that my quilts showed I have "patience".  I countered that I saw it as a sign of persistence.  Let's face it, there were plenty of people who finished their "Boll" quilt right away during the mystery season so these can be run up quickly with the right amount of focus on them.  

However, I could have also given up on it at any point in the five years (!) it has taken me to get it to this point.  It was really (no, REALLY) wanting to have this one as a finished quilt that has kept me going and kept it always near the top of the "To Do" list.  Even better, it is the one thing I was able to completely cross off this year's UFO Challenge list even though it took all year to do it!

If you've hung on with me this long, you'll agree that this project has been a "long and winding road" for sure!

Now join me in heading back over to Alycia's to check out what other people have finished (or not!) this week.  This will be the last look at all the creative work for 2023 before we all start anew for 2024!!

Finished Or Not Friday: Two Fall Finishes

 This week I have a pair of finishes to add to the viewing queue at Quilty Girl Alycia's for: 

First up is a wall hanging that was supposed to have been a "quick make" for decorating last year.  As always, better late than never!  

This is my interpretation of Pat Sloan's "Thankful" quilt (scroll down to #85 on her 2022 gallery section) that you can find in her book "Holiday Hoopla" which was published by the dearly departed and missed Martingale and Company.   

When Pat showed her quilt last year when her book quilts were returned to her by the publisher,  my Fall Fabrics stash had been on my mind.  I had recently gone through it looking for things for two other projects that I wanted to do at the time.  When I saw her quilt, I knew I had enough in house to make it and still not deplete that stash of fabrics so I could also do the other projects as well.  

As I said, I figured it would be quick to make so got right to it.  I did finish the center of the top in a short time but debated about adding additional borders to make it larger.  

Then I moved on to working on holiday quilts and figured with the top mostly done, this would be a quick finish this year.  After I settled the border debate (adding one inch finished borders), then I couldn't decide how to quilt it.  

Pat (or Pat's long-armer) had done straight horizontal and vertical cross hatching on hers but I had initially envisioned Feather Wreaths in the setting triangles.  I tried sketching those out but it wasn't clicking and I wasn't sure what to do for the trees along with that.  Cross hatching kept popping up as the best option and then I got a brainstorm:  I've always wanted to try free-motion curved cross hatching with a ruler.  I sketched that out and decided it was the way to go!  

I combined that with diagonal cross hatching on the trees and now this one is finally up for display! 

The second one is another top from last year that is just now getting the finishing treatment.  This was a Fall-themed "3 Yard Quilt" kit that I picked up during the "All Carolinas Shop Hop" last year.  

3 Yard Quilt kit, backing and thread.

My MIL lives in North Carolina and I learned about the Hop that premiered in 2021 while visiting her.  We usually plan at least one of my husband's vacations each year to coincide with the Hop since my MIL is also a quilter so it adds to the "mini quilt retreat" I have with her when we visit.  

This is the second of the three kits I have purchased (one each year) from the Quilt Lizzy shop in Wake Forest, NC.  They always have a great selection of beautifully coordinated kits and just like when you purchase them from Fabric Cafe, you can pick up a free pattern to go with it.  I had seen a pretty Fall-themed kit in one of the Fabric Cafe videos shortly before the Hop and was thrilled when Quilt Lizzy had just what I was looking for!  Even better, I got the backing as a freebie from my MIL who had picked the fabric up from her guild's "fabric exchange" table.  I made up the top around this same time last year.

When I returned to it this year and even though this is one of the simpler Fabric Cafe designs,  once again I was not sure how to quilt it.  Again, cross hatching was the first idea and seemed fine for the Checkerboard rows but I wondered if I should do something "a little more" for the Pumpkin fabric rows.  When deciding on the quilting, it's always a matter of trying to balance the desired design with your skills and the time you have to work on it.  I really wanted to do something that would be relatively quick.  

Eventually I realized that maybe along the lines of cross hatching, I could use the Checkerboard piecing as the "dot to dot" starting point for a very simple "Zig Zag" motif!  I loved the idea since I could just do that right across the width of the top so wouldn't have to quilt the borders separately.  

I stitched the lines on my DSM with a walking foot and did have to do some marking of the "pivot points" in the Pumpkin sections in order to keep the pattern spacing even.  All in all, it only took about four hours to stitch up the whole thing.  Perfect and now also finished!

Front

Back

With these two done, now I can start putting out the rest of the Fall quilts!  Additionally, I am also still working on a Thanksgiving-themed cross stitch piece that I want to hang on the wall next to the "Thankful" quilt.

 This has been a daily stitch for the last week.  I am not sure I'll get it finished before Thanksgiving but my goal is to continue working on it and "fully finish" it this year so it is ready to be promptly hung up next year.  So I am thankful for my fabric stash and thankful for my crafts!

Edited 11/20/23 To Add:

And thankful to now have a cozy Fall stitching spot!

Let's also be thankful for Alycia continuing to host these "Finished Or Not Fridays" so we get to see what bountiful creative pieces crafters from all over the world enjoy making!  

Finished Or Not Friday: Better Late Than Never!

It's been a while since I've had something to check in over at Quilty Girl Alycia's with another:

That's because I've FINALLY finished the last of the quilts I had set out to make for Christmas decorating in 2022, "Christmas Ribbons":

Every quilt has a story and this one started out as my interpretation of Sally Schneider's design using her "Painless Borders" technique from the cover of her 1992 book (published by the already dearly missed Martingale Publishing).

Her design technique is to piece blocks that when set into the edge of the quilt layout (usually on point), create the look of a "border" around the outer edge.  

I modified the piecing instructions for the four blocks needed to complete the design so I could cut most of them with my Accuquilt dies.  In particular, I changed her original tree blocks so I could use my Log Cabin die to cut the strips for the "branches".  I made the "tree trunks" using a Signature block die and trimmed it down to 4-1/2" to create an 8" finished block.  

First time using MODA "Grunge"!

Ironically, I had worked up my layout in EQ8 but didn't notice until after I finished piecing the top, that I had completely overlooked the fact that in Sally's design the tree blocks "float" because they have background strips pieced around them.  Oops!  However, since it hadn't bothered me when I drafted and colored in the layout, I decided to leave my blocks "snuggled together", LOL!!   

I also decided that a line of ribbon needed to be finished with a bow and fortunately I also (to quote Accuquilt’s Cutting Expert Pam Heller) "have a die for that"! 

The back is made with one of my favorite kinds of fabric:  flannels!!  

I did the backing the same way I had done my "Indigo Weave" quilt finished back in 2021.  A couple of extra star blocks were used to create a label area.  

One thing I had managed to finish in time for Christmas was to sew pieces of the two flannel fabrics together to make a tree skirt wrap for the Christmas tree I had put up.

I had a very helpful push for getting this done now:  my community garden is doing an Art Show exhibit of things made by our members who are artists/crafters.  I'm going to do a Red and White quilts display so need all the ones made for last Christmas as they are the only R&W quilts I have.  I do have one more quilt (that's not a Christmas quilt) to also finish for the display which I hope (no, have to!) to get done in the next week or so since the show is at the end of the month.  

Now that I'm done here, I can go over to Quilty Girl Alycia's to link up and get to see what everyone else finished up this week!  Meet you there!

May is Done and so is Cross Stitch May-nia!

The last day of May means my May-nia journey has come to a close!  Participating in this really helped focus my work and resulted in getting a lot done.  This was my May-nia list and what I got accomplished on it.

The New Start

The month started off with a new start.  I had two incentives for making this one:  it not only represented a May-nia start but it commemorated a historic event.

It was a small piece so was easy to get done during the week before the coronation.   I also employed and got to practice a new technique for me:  "gridding" my fabric with a blue water soluble ink marker to aid in placing the design elements correctly.   I stitched on a WIP during the next week so didn't get to the finishing of this and the little mug rug I made until this week.  

Front

Back

I originally had an idea to try to finish it as a sort of thick tuffet with gold tassel trim.  However, when that didn't work out, I finished it as a simple pin keep/pillow.  It is backed with a purple panne velvet that I stabilized with t-shirt quilt interfacing and I embellished the edge with a gold rope trim.  It's a little rough but it is also my very first pillow finish.  In this case, I definitely feel that finished is better than perfect!

Oh, and I also bound the little crown mug rug that I made along with it!

The WIP

I had started this project last Fall as a companion to an earlier finish.  This is the first project I've done that required extensive color changes within a single motif and for this newbie CS-er it was definitely a real challenge!  There were many rip outs and re-starts and the finish as stitched is definitely off from the pattern in a few places.  This time, I was only semi-successful at using the gridding method again.  I guess I need more practice but at least it's also now done!

I managed to find the perfect fabric to finish the backing in the hoop frame I had purchased to display it in.  Having done this kind of finish before, it was fairly easy to complete. 

Now it hangs with its companion, ready to be enjoyed!

The "Fully Finished(s)"

The stitching for the next two projects had been finished prior to May-nia and now just needed to be "Fully Finished".  The first is another piece honoring a highlight of 2023:  this celebrates the "Year of the Rabbit" on the Chinese New Year calendar.

Front

Back

I have a stash of Asian-style prints so I was able to "shop the stash" for finishing this one.  Originally, I had in mind that I wanted to finish this like a Hands On Design pillow finish I saw at the start of the Spring.  However, the two prints that I picked to use didn't work so well combined together on the front.  So once again, I went simple and just used one print on the front and one on the back.  

I then decided to add some additional embellishment using tassels to sort of replicate a similar motif stitched into the piece.  Of course it was only after buying them that I remembered that I had looked up tutorials for making my own.  Oh well, next time!!

The last "fully finish" on the list was my "Memento of Maine" aka Helen D.'s freebie "Blueberries and Black Bears".  I'm still working on the finishing for this one:

The animals print will be the backing.

A lot of changes went into this project:  It was patterned to be stitched on 14 count Aida but I chose to use some Lori Holt 10 count Aida I had on hand because the color of it went better with the finishing fabrics I eventually found for it.  I picked up those fabrics at Fabricate during our trip last year so didn't make the final CS fabric choice until that happened.  

Although I kitted up the "called for" threads, when shopping for them I fell in love with a variegated DMC green (#4045) that I decided to add to the mix.  Then I changed where the patterned colors were used in the stitching which brought a better balance to my eye on the darker background fabric I was using.  

Also while in Maine, I had purchased the little buoy ornament with plans to use it to embellish the final piece.  I had also planned to copy an image of a lobster from a lobster bib from a restaurant we ate at, print it onto fabric and then applique it onto the piece.  

However, as I become more CS obsessed,  I am often looking around for designs of interest and happened on a cute little lobster CS piece that I figured might be an even better embellishment!  THEN I saw a little miniature lobster trap and thought "oh how cool to combine the two?!?".  This meant figuring out how to render the trap in fabrics.  So far it has proved to be a bit more challenging than expected so I am still trying to see if I can make that work.

So all in all, not bad for my first stab at May-nia!  Then tomorrow starts a new month that is bringing even more stitchy fun....

A Saturday "Finished Or Not Friday" Report For Another "Christmas" Finish

 Yesterday a finish got done just under the wire so now I can send it over to join those gathering at Quilty Girl Alycia's for some finished project review!

This week I've finally got my first finished (although not the first I ever started) string quilt: "Cherry Crunch", woo hoo!

This quilt design is by Bonnie Hunter, the queen of string (and scrappy) quilts who you can find at her Quiltville website.  It was a fun romp through the neutral Strings stash and a chance to use up more of the red fabric scraps from the stash I had gathered for holiday sewing projects. 

This is also another of the projects I started last Fall with the intention of using it for decorating at Christmas and is the next to last of those projects that I needed to finish.  The theme for the holidays was Red & White and the projects were planned to be spread around the house for that.  I clearly didn't start them soon enough because I am still working on them, LOL!!  

In addition to this being a project for the holidays, I had also worked on the string piecing part of this along with another of Bonnie's string quilt designs.  Both of those kept me busy during her annual "Mystery Quilt Season" between the day after Thanksgiving and New Year's while the new "Chilhowie" mystery was being revealed.  The other project I worked on was "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" which is one of her old mysteries that now can be found in her book "String Fling".  

Last month I finished the string blocks for that one but I am still working on these pieced blocks to complete that project.  I sewed those up as leader/enders as I worked to finish the top for "Cherry Crunch".  Unfortunately, that piecing was interrupted once I got "Crunch" layered and ready for quilting!

For the backing,  I used up the rest of the same wide back print I had used for another of the holiday decorating projects:  the "9 Fat Quarter Disappearing Nine Patch" quilt that I finished up just after New Year's.

Even though I had made my top a little smaller than patterned, I still needed to extend what I had of the backing fabric a bit.  So as I usually do, I pieced in a label area using more of the leftover strings and some of the light inner border fabric to give me areas to write in the label information.  

In this design both the light portions of the blocks and the red "piano key" outer border are foundation pieced using old phone book paper to stitch up the strings.  I caught a few selvedges among the strings and left some in for fun:

A reminder of the benefits of "harvesting" your string scraps!

I did consider doing a scrappy binding using more of the strings but figured this quilt was busy enough!  So instead this was finished with, appropriately enough, Cherry Grunge for the binding which I had purchased during a shop hop back in the Fall.  This holiday season was the first time I've used Grunge and now it's in this quilt and in the tree trunks of the blocks in another of the holiday quilts (and which will be the last of the holiday quilts I need to complete).  

I also tried a new binding width based on a new-to-me technique I saw demonstrated by one of my favorite designers, Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts.  For binding, I normally do the traditional double fold method using 2-1/4" cut strips.  Her method starts off like the traditional single fold method, stitched to the front using 1-3/4" cut strips.  Then the strips are pressed to the seam allowance and that folded edge gets turned to the back creating a double fold binding effect!  

While she then hand stitches her binding down in the back, I prefer to machine bind my quilts.  I glue basted mine and tacked it down by stitching in the ditch from the front.  It worked well for the most part with only a few missed spots that still needed to be hand tacked afterwards.   

Because of the busyness, I stuck to doing simple quilting for it:  free-motion stippling in the center and just straight-line stitching to frame the borders.  

I had expected to have finished this a little sooner since I thought the simple quilting would allow me to quilt it up quickly.  All but one of the other Red & White quilts completed have remained out in honor of  Valentine's Day this month.  I had another quilt that was not one of the holiday quilts but does have a lot of red in it so I decided to layer it up along with "Crunch" and try to get it done this month too.  

Inside this tidy bundle is my version of Pat Sloan's Block-A-Day design "String Beans" which is now also ready for quilting.  However, now I'm not sure I'll get it quilted before the month ends.  No matter, it was stitched during last year's quilt along and Pat will be starting this year's QAL on March 1.  So if I can get it done at some point in March, I will be happy that I got it moved along to facilitate that!

So that's it for today's late report!  Once this is posted, I will be headed back over to Alycia's to drool over the other finishes this month and you should too!