Betty's (dudes22) 2022 Quilt Fest

Hi – I’m Betty and I live in Rhode Island.

As I looked at my goals for 2021, I realized that I didn’t accomplish many. Always looking at something new to start. I never got a Christmas tree skirt made. My red/white quilt is still on my design wall only partly put together. I only worked on my hand quilting project sporadically. The pair of wedding quilts I was making have the tops done, but I need to feel more confident using my new machine before I put them together. The quilt that was at the top in 2021 is still pinned and waiting to be quilted. And I’m determined to finish my July 4th quilt before July.

In 2022, I continue to hope that I’ll make a lot of progress with my UFOs, but know that there will be many new ideas and fabrics that will call to me. (You don't want to know how many ideas I have "pinned" on Pintrest) I’ll still be making pillowcases for our charity group at church. I’m also going to be working on some scrap blocks to use for charity quilts. I stole this idea from Lois after seeing one of her quilts in 2020. I really need to reduce my stash. And I need to make a pair of baby quilts for twins who are coming in Apr. (I'm thinking of using panels for these.)

When I started this, we were still planning to go to Florida for a couple of months, but the person we were going to housesit for changed her plans and with the new covid variations, I think staying home is best. (Not sure my husband is going to agree.)

I think my first project will be to do some organizing in my sewing room. Things have gotten a little bit out of hand.
I’m going to try and keep track of what I finish in this first message.

Pillowcases: Jan -5
Pillowcase dresses bodies: 25

UFOs Finished:
Wedding Lap Quilts: 2

New Projects:
Christmas Tops: 1
Memory Quilts: 2
Wolf Quilt

Rosettes finished:

Great early 2022 post, Betty. I'll be here as audience, fan, friend and fellow crafter to follow your projects (ah, but we do want to know how many pins you have on Pintrest!).

New year - lots of projects. I think I mentioned over on my 2021 thread that one of my "resolutions" for this year is to do some sewing every day. So far, so good. I haven't gotten my sewing room cleaned up yet (just took all the Christmas stuff down this weekend), but I've been working on my hand sewing project. I changed my picture in post #1 to the block I'm working on.

Nice new photo, Betty. Those are cute owls.

>4 lauralkeet: - I think that's one of my favorite rosettes of the ones that I've made so far.

Adorable owls!

Good start! May we all reduce our UFOs this year.

>3 dudes22: How's the sewing-each-day plan going? I think I might be burnt out from the renovations, plus holidays; can't seem to focus on just one thing.

>8 avaland: - So far so good although I admit focus and burn-out are affecting me too. I haven't gotten to cleaning my sewing area yet, so I'm working on the hand-sewing project from a couple of years ago. I missed one day but did extra the next day. I'm fairly close to finishing one of the rosettes and should be able to post a pic in a couple of days.

I'm planning to spend a little bit of time in my sewing room in the basement today. I have a plan for the baby quilts that I need to work on but need to practice one of the blocks for the border to see how they will fit before I decide on the size of the center. And pick out some fabrics.

I changed the plan for the baby quilts. I'm starting with two panels and I was going to try to use some migrating geese for the borders to make it interesting. But I was having trouble with the math so I decided instead to make some crazy blocks for the borders. That's where you stack your fabric blocks, make a series of cuts, shuffle the fabrics (1 goes to the bottom, then 1&2 go to the bottom, etc) and then you sew them back together and trim them. I got up super early today to take our friends to the airport (they're headed to AZ for the next 5 months) and it's very cold for here, (0 F with wind chill) so I'm probably not going anywhere and can spend today quilting and reading.

I had a productive day. I have 30 crazy blocks ready to trim down for one quilt and the blocks cut and stacked to put together tomorrow for the other one.

Wow!

Sounds like a productive few days, Betty! I can't seem to get going.

>12 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura - I post a pic later of what I did.

>13 avaland: - Don't feel bad, Lois - I've had those periods myself. You'll get it back.

I don't know if you guys remember this project, but it's a hand quilting project I started when we went to Fla for a couple of months back in 2019. Believe it or not - I didn't pick it up at all during 2020 when we were stuck at home with covid. Did a little bit last year after I found a different layout for the quilt which used less blocks. When I "resolved" this year to do some quilting every day, I started with this as I needed to clean my sewing room and set up my secondary space in the guest room. This is the first rosette that I've "finished". The empty place in the outside row is where another rosette will intersect with it.

>15 dudes22: Oh, wow! That looks incredibly complicated to make. I highly doubt I'd have the patience to do it so I applaud you!

Very nice, Betty. I also love the idea of resurrecting a dormant project. We were just talking about that in my knitting group yesterday. It seems to be a common problem ...

>16 PawsforThought: - I was probably a little "crazy" when I decided to try this. I had never done any hand-piecing before. So it's slow going. My real fear is that, once I take all the cardboards out from the back, it won't lie flat. And it's a good thing you can't see a close up of where all those points meet because they don't.

17 - Oh the number of projects I could resurrect!

>15 dudes22: That's great handwork, Betty...and such a pretty rosette! The cool thing about handwork is that you can do it anywhere.

I've finished the top for the first baby quilt. I need to check to see if I have enough batting and what colors of flannel I have for the back.

That's lovely, Betty!

>20 dudes22: Oh, that’s so sweet! I love the colours, I prefer stronger colours for babies.

>20 dudes22: ooh, I like that very much.

Thanks guys. As I was making the border blocks, I was considering that they would make a good scrap quilt pattern for larger scraps.

Paws- I tend to like brighter colors for baby quilts too.

>20 dudes22: So cute, Betty!

>25 avaland: - Thanks, Lois.

And here's the second panel quilt. Now to get my sewing area cleaned out so I can quilt them.

Also very cute!

Adorable!

>27 dudes22: Love it!

Thanks all. I think this is a great way to do a quick baby quilt for someone you don't know very well. Either something was wrong with my calculations or I needed more blocks to distribute all the colors I wanted to use, but I have 3 blocks left over from the first quilt and 12 from the second. I'm going to look at a couple of other panels I have to see if I can use them (color and size) or maybe just around a piece of fabric or make more blocks and make a quilt from just the blocks. Or some combination of all those.

I went to church this morning for our charity sewing group. It's the first time I've been since covid started. Mostly I've been working on things at home (like the pillowcases last fall.). The woman that runs it has it well set up for distancing and everybody wore a mask even tho we were all shot up. Today we worked on some pillowcase dresses for the mission in Malawi that my brother started. They haven't been in a few years (obviously) and they are thinking of planning a trip this spring if they can.

>32 dudes22: Our church has a sewing group that makes those pillowcase dresses. I wish I sewed better than I do. I really need to upgrade my machine. Mine is a cheap one that really doesn't have enough functionality.

>32 dudes22: That's nice you could get together, Betty.

Let's try this again:



Here is the 2nd rosette finished. These first two were the quickest to finish because part of the triangle row was already done. The others I've started only have the first three rows done.

So may projects, so little time...

While I was watching the Eagle Cam on YouTube the other day, I saw a video for a stash buster quilt and thought "hey - let's take a look". Needless to say, I loved the quilt and thought it would be a good way to use up some of my stash. Then while I was driving yesterday, I thought maybe I could use that pattern to make a dent in my piles (yes - there's an "s" there) of Christmas fabric. I thought maybe I could make Christmas quilts for my 15 great-nieces and -nephews. Not by this Christmas but maybe next. And now I want to go start picking and cutting fabric even though I have many projects that need working on first.

>37 dudes22: That sounds like a great long-term project, Betty. Even if you already have projects piling up (at least you're in good company!)

>37 dudes22: Oh yeah, I've had those runaway project planning sessions. I feel your pain!

Sounds like a plan; hope it works better for you than it does for me. I don't think my fabric 'stash' every really goes down.

And my favorite quilt shop and hour north of here is have a 20% off everything beginning tomorrow (big storm coming Saturday, Betty)

>38 PawsforThought: - I think I need less sleep.

>39 lauralkeet: - Thank you. I think almost every crafter has the same problem.

>40 avaland: - Did I tell you that 3 sisters bought Ricos? Not the same name - now it's called Blackstone Quilting Co. They had the grand opening on Sat, but I didn't feel like driving up there after the church group sewing. Maybe I'll go sometime in the next couple of weeks. I want to check out the quilting services and I'm wondering if some of the old staff are there. Yes - I heard this morning that there might be a big storm on Sat. No predictions of amounts yet. Ok with me - I have nothing on my agenda. Maybe I'll get all the ingredients so my husband can make his Venus de Milo soup. Venus de Milo was an event restaurant and if you got invited to a wedding there, there was only one menu - soup, pasta, salad, and a chicken half. They went out of business a few years ago now. But the recipe for their soup is around.

>41 dudes22: Of course, I had to go check out the quilt shop's website! Looks like a nice place (and only 71 miles due south from here--1 1/2 hours). It seemed familiar so perhaps you mentioned it before.

re: Storm. It is nice to occasionally have one day a bit different from the others. It will be a good day to sit and read with a quilt across one's lap and a nice stew in the slow-cooker.

I need opinions please - For those two baby quilt panel quilts - do you think I could straight line quilt them on the diagonal or do they need an all-over meander stitch? I'm not very good at meander - getting it even, etc.

Are you referring to the one in #27? If so, I think might the diagonal might clash a bit with that lovely border (which is all about angles, isn't it:-)

Yeah - #27 and #20. So you think a meander?

>45 dudes22: Yes, I vote for a curvy meander. It's a great quilt.

OK - I really thought that was what I should do. I saw an idea for using a clear shower curtain to put over your quilt and draw your pattern on. I'll go to the dollar store tomorrow to pick one up. Something to do during the snowstorm Sat. I washed the flannel today and I think I've got enough batting.

>47 dudes22: Well, a shower curtain would be interesting. Seems it would be bulky. Plain paper can work also. I forget where I got my big roll of plain white paper. Otherwise, I use a white, blue or some other color marking pencil.

>48 avaland: - Yeah - I thought so too. If I find one in the Dollar store, I might try it.

January Recap:

My New Year’s resolution is going good. I’ve only missed one day this month where I wasn’t sewing, cutting, or organizing.

I’ve completed 2 rosettes on my La Passacglia hand quilt. (that’s the pattern name)

I’ve completed only 5 pillowcases but I don’t need them until Nov so I hope to make a little progress each month.

The two baby quilts are almost done.

I’ve got 13 dress bodies done for the church charity group. They still need elastic and arm bindings, but I think I’ll wait and bring them to the next meeting.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time cutting up smaller pieces of fabric into pieces that are usable for scrap projects I have planned. I have a shelf where I’ve had pieces of fabric that are less than fat quarter (18x22) and I decided to work on that shelf first. Funny, but there are a lot of fabrics that I don’t remember how I used them previously. And I've found a few pieces that can be used for the pillowcase dresses.

>50 dudes22: Your January sounds like it went well. You have certainly been productive. (I have been mostly reading....)

>51 avaland: - It's funny, but I just haven't been into reading this month and usually January is one of my best months. I have 5 books going and am not that into any of them although they are good. So I'm reading in fits and starts.

>52 dudes22: Whatever works, right!?

Your colors are so bright and cheerful.

>54 mnleona: - Thanks, Leona.

All this talk of cross-stitch has me ordering this picture to take if we go away next winter for a couple of months. I figure it's easier than trying to take quilting with me.

>56 dudes22: That is gorgeous. Wow!

>56 dudes22: I love that!

>56 dudes22: That's a gorgeous pattern, Betty!

Wow, I love that pattern! It looks like it would be really fun to stitch too.

>57 PawsforThought: - >58 SandDune: - >59 MickyFine: - >60 melannen: - Thanks all. I'm really drawn to the geometric shapes and it reminds me of quilt patterns.

I have to admit I'm now tempted to try this pattern myself. You know, next year or the year after when I finish my tree skirt. 🤣

>56 dudes22: I like how it will break down easily into small sections to stitch. This will be a fun project for travel.

That's gorgeous, Betty. A perfect travel project.

>62 MickyFine: - I hope I'm not breaking any LT rules here, but I found it on Etsy. PM me if you want the link.

>63 beebeereads: - Yes - and it only takes 10 colors so also easy.

>64 lauralkeet: - I've tried bringing quilting with me (including a machine one year) and this will take up less room for sure.

>56 dudes22: It is a nice colorful project. I have so many things in my stash that I don't need to purchase another cross stitch project. Of course, we all know "need" has nothing to do about it. I'll have plenty of things to work on in retirement!

>66 thornton37814: - I got rid of all my cross-stitch stuff when we moved a few years ago. I'm not planning to start again, but this really appealed to me.

>67 dudes22: Well, your quilts are lovely, so you do have an excuse. There are a couple of FlossTubers who stitch and quilt. "Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch" is one of those. She had her sister on this week's episode, and her sister showed a beautiful quilt she had done with interesting fabrics.

>65 dudes22: I did a reverse image search and found it. :) Thanks for the offer!

Wow, that is gorgeous! I’d consider taking up cross stitch again….(probably not)

>70 avaland: - I know, Lois - I couldn't resist.

Those rosettes look amazing! I am fascinated to see how the project progresses.

>72 minervasbooks: - Thanks. It's not a fast project, and I tend to put it down (I haven't touched it in about 3 weeks now), but eventually I'll be posting more pictures.

My neighbor's twin granddaughters were born Tues. The due date was actually Apr, but you know twins come early. I'm still working on the quilting of the two quilts I'm making. I'm sure they will be in the hospital for a few weeks, so I have a little extra time.

Twins on Twos-day! That's just a delightful confluence of events.

Twins on Twos-day — I love it!

>56 dudes22: That is so pretty. I have not seen a pattern like it.

I mentioned in a post above that I'm going to try and use up some Christmas fabric from my stash. This is the first quilt top. It's one of those 3-yard quilt patterns. 1 yard of three different fabrics to make the top and binding. It makes a lap size quilt @ 45"x63". I should have read the pattern more carefully because in order to get it in 3 yards, you can only make a single-fold binding and I prefer a double fold binding. I think I have enough of the bird fabric to make a new binding from that. (those greens didn't photograph well.)



(I'm going to leave them as just tops until next year some time.)

>78 dudes22: Beautiful work, Betty!

>78 dudes22: I really like the strong contrasting diagonals in the way you executed your pattern. I can see it in all kinds of colourways.

>78 dudes22: This is really beautiful — the pattern and the fabrics mesh wonderfully, Betty.

>78 dudes22: That's lovely!

>79 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky. I've been enjoying your projects, too.

>80 SassyLassy: - I actually bought a book that had this pattern and 7(?) others. This was the one that appealed to me most, but I might try a couple of others.

>81 rosalita: - Thanks, Julia.

>82 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura.

It flows very nice. Love it.

I like it, Betty! You might think about quilting it using metallic thread for a little zing.

>85 avaland: - I've got some time to think about it.

I've decided to put a pieced section on the back of a quilt and am trying to decide whether to put it in the middle or off to one side a little. I saw the back that lesmel did in post #55 and thought maybe to the side. Thoughts?

>87 dudes22: I'm biased for offset pieced backs. :)

I love the quilt, but I don't know enough about quilting to give advice.

>88 lesmel: - Your quilt was where I got the idea. I'm leaning toward that.

>89 thornton37814: - That's ok.

This is another top I made from my Christmas fabrics. I don't expect to actually quilt it until next year but I thought I'd post a picture of the top. The diamonds are a gold metallic fabric but didn't give me as much contrast as I was hoping for. It's made from 2.5" strips. Some were left over from other projects and a few I cut from fabric I had. I saw this on a Youtube video.

>91 dudes22: That's really lovely, Betty!

>91 dudes22: That's really nice!

>92 MickyFine: - >93 thornton37814: - Thanks.

That quilt top is so festive. How do you decide when to do the actual quilting? I was intrigued by your comment that you don't expect to quilt this one until next year.

>95 lauralkeet: - I decided, Laura, to use up my Christmas fabric stash by making a Christmas quilt for each of my grand-niece/nephews. So I need 15. Probably not doable this year so I'm hoping to get them done for Christmas 2023. (or maybe 2024) Since it's easier to store just the tops for now, I'll wait til next year to get the batting and quilt them. This top is #2.

>96 dudes22: oh, I see. I didn't realize you were making so many. I thought the timing had something to do with the quilting process itself. Thanks for the explanation!

>96 dudes22: Wow! That's a lot of quilts. I just counted--and I have 17 with one on the way that fall in that category. I guess 6 are technically steps.

Holy moly! So many quilts!

>99 thornton37814: - >100 PawsforThought: - I'm trying to pick patterns that I think will work up quickly.

>91 dudes22: Very interesting, Betty! You always have some interesting patterns.

I've finished the two quilts that I was making as a wedding gift and I have an appointment for a week from Tues to bring them to my quilter. Finishing a project always gives me a push to get going on more stuff.

I've decided to take on a quilting project which will have me making my own pattern. My sister-in-law's sister passed away a couple of years ago in the midst of the covid crisis (although not of covid). She was a wonderful person and only 58 when she died. She was born with cerebral palsy but never let that interfere with her life. Because of her CP, she had her clothes made and after she passed away, I asked my sister-in-law if I could use some of them to make a memory quilt for her mother. (They're cotton so that's good) I also got a panel of sayings about daughters that I want to incorporate and I'm going to try and print a photo onto fabric. My first task is to decide on a size. If I make it 40x50, that would give me 20 10" blocks to work with. Does that sound like a good size?

>104 dudes22: That's a good size. What size is the panel?

>105 lesmel: - I said that wrong. It's one piece of fabric with multiple blocks that can be cut apart. Some are 3.5"x3.5" and some are 6.5"x6.5". And there's one that is rectangular and says, "Dear Daughter" that I think I'm going to put on the back.

>106 dudes22: You probably want to either make the blocks a factor of 3 OR add sashing to make the blocks fit a factor of 3. So, instead of 10" blocks, make them 12 or add 2" sashing strips to the 10" blocks.

>107 lesmel: - I was thinking of that as I was driving home from church today and wondering if I should make them 12" blocks. Not only a factor of 3, but the ones I don't put a quote in I could use 2, 4 or even 8" pieces of fabric. It's going to be kind of scrappy anyway. With 10" blocks, I'd be limited. But making the blocks 12" would mean either a quilt 48x60, and I'm not sure I want it that big. I'll have to tape it out on the floor and see what I think. I suppose I could go 36"x48" (but that's only 12 blocks) and then add some kind of pieced border. I'll have to see what kind of 10" blocks I can find where I could put a quote in it. Like a sawtooth star block. There's a web site I like - Quilter's Cache - which has tons of blocks and you can sort them by size, so I'll probably look there for inspiration.

>108 dudes22: I like Quilter's Cache!

>109 lesmel: - I looked through some blocks last night and found a few that I think I can use.

>110 dudes22: Have you spent any time on QuiltTherapy? The blocks aren't the easiest to find/sort through; but there are dozens!

>111 lesmel: - No - I haven't heard of that one. I'll check it out later. I started a couple of blocks today for the quilt. I started a board on Pinterest to keep track of blocks I think might be interesting. I think I'm going to make at least a couple of sawtooth star blocks and put a quote in the center square.

ETA: I just took a quick look, but there seem to be quite a few I could use.

I found a quilt layout on Pinterest that I thought would be a good size for this memory quilt - 42x54. The various size blocks are multiples of 3 which works with the size of the blocks that have quotes - lesmel was right - that's the way to go. And she's right that I can make a 10" block into a 12" easy enough. In looking at the clothing that I'm working with, it's mostly a palette of blues and purples with some pinks and a couple of oddball colors. They're mostly prints and I was surprised that even though I didn't think some of them looked good next to each other, when I cut them down into smaller pieces, they work well together. I'm working with mostly the bodices of dresses, so I've assumed that the straight of grain is down the middle of the front and back. But I'm sure my cuts are not exactly straight. I've incorporated a few blenders from my stash as most of the clothes are prints and I hope the straight of grain in them will help tame some of the blocks. But I think when I get done, I'll take out my pressing mat with the grids on it and pin, starch, and iron them into submission before I put the blocks together. I'm really very happy with how it's coming out so far. Although I made up one block and had to take it apart 3 times before I got the size right - and now I've decided not to use it.

ETA: And I'm using a cream-colored small dot for a background color.

>113 dudes22: Have you encountered any washing problems with a mix of used and new fabrics? I'm often tempted to use both in the same piece, but was cautioned against it. I would like to disregard that caution!

>114 SassyLassy: - To be honest - this is the first time I'm trying it so I have no idea. I know that the new fabric could shrink some if it's washed. I'm starching all the fabric although it's probably only the used fabric that needs it. But some of the pieces are small so I thought - why not just do it all? I don't expect that this will be washed much (if at all). I'm thinking it will be a wall hanging. And I'm planning to wash the fabric for the back so hopefully there won't be much shrinkage.

I hadn't thought of using them together in a wall hanging - good idea. I also like the starching idea.

I think the used/new depends on if the fabric is clothing vs quilting. Commercial clothing that has been worn will have most of the shrinkage gone from wash & wear cycles.

Fabric that is used for handmade clothing will have been washed at least once prior to be made into clothing (at least that is how I was taught to sew).

Quilting cottons usually aren't washed prior to being put on the bolt...so that will depend on personal preference. I rarely ever wash before cutting my quilting fabrics.

I've made two quilts that combine fabric & clothing. Neither has suffered from weird shrinkage or even minor shrinkage problems.

Honestly, I have seen very little shrinkage in modern quilting cottons. Then again, I like the crinkle effect when there is some shrinkage. That's part of why I wash quilts in hot water & dry on high heat.

>117 lesmel: - I've never tried combining them before but I'm thinking like you are. Plus, I doubt it will be washed much. I do know that it's recommended to pre-wash 108" fabric because it does shrink (I think I read 8%). I just finished two quilts that I'm taking to my quilter this week where I decided to buy 108" fabric and it did shrink when I washed it.

>104 dudes22:, >108 dudes22: How wonderful, Betty! I look forward to seeing your project! I'm a bit late to help with any of the creative thinking (been out cleaning out way too many gardens).

>108 dudes22: A long time ago I bought Jinny Beyer's The Quilters Album of Patchwork Patterns (claims to have more than 4000 pieced blocks) and that's mostly were I get my patterns. One has to be able to visualize a quilt from the block patter or combination of blocks (I usually use just one block) I have allowed myself to mark on the pages and have all manner of sticky notes and book marks in it. I also find the book, with all its possibilities, a comfort to go through when I just need some comfort:-)

>117 lesmel: I agree with Lesmel's assessment.

I got the two quilts back from my quilter so I just need to add the bindings. Pictures will be posted. I'm also still working on the memory quilt and am making good progress. I picked up The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt at the library to get some more ideas for blocks. They are all 6" blocks but a lot of them are based on a nine-patch so I might be able to downsize to a 3"block. Most of the 3" blocks will be used just to fill in between larger blocks so they will mostly be just solid blocks of fabric, but I might put a pieced one here or there. I've been delaying trying to print the picture I want to include onto fabric, but I need to attempt this soon so I can make progress on color arrangement. I also thought that I might include the back of the remembrance card from the funeral services beside the picture. Nice? or morbid?

>120 dudes22: Glad you are keeping busy!

I don't know what to say about the remembrance card; I'd be tempted to note some kind of remembrance in a separate card and just note: 'made with love' or something personal on the quilt.

>121 avaland: - There was a very touching message on the back of the remembrance card we got at the memorial service which was what I was thinking of including next to the picture. Maybe I'll ask my sister what she thinks.

ETA: I'm not sure if remembrance card is the correct term. It's the little card one receives at the funeral home or service with a picture on the front and a poem or Bible verse on the back with the person's date of birth and death.

I've finished the two lap quilts that I'm giving as a wedding gift. The pattern I used was one that was in McCall's magazine years ago called "Chopped".

This is the first one:



And this is the second one:



The first one is all vegetables and the second one is all fruit. I got the idea for the back of the vegetable quilt from a quilt that lesmel did and she also helped me figure out the diagonal on the fruit quilt. The couple I'm giving this to is hoping to buy a small farm someday which gave me the idea for the quilts. It's hard to see in the pictures; the sashing on the vegetable quilt is coffee beans and the sashing on the fruit quilt is watermelon seeds. I think I might be seeing them on Father's Day and will give them the quilts then.

They are wonderful, Betty! And I love knowing there was a bit of collaboration from this group involved in the making.

>123 dudes22: These are amazing. I've been collecting fruit and vegetable fabrics for years, still not very many though as they are hard to find. A pattern called "Chopped" is perfect.

>123 dudes22: The quilts are so cute! I love them!!

>124 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura. It's nice to be able to get help here when I need some.

>125 SassyLassy: - This pattern only takes 8 fat quarters plus sashing and borders. There was a line of fruits and vegetable fabrics out called "Farmer John" and I think you can still find it around.

>126 lesmel: - Thanks. And thanks for the help.

>123 dudes22: Fabulous! The pattern reminds me of books!

>123 dudes22: Those are beautiful. What a special gift.

>129 mnleona: - Thank you.

>123 dudes22: I thought I'd commented on this, but I either failed to post or posted to a different thread. I like the design. Are those made from what they call "Jelly Rolls" or did you cut your own fabric down? I've seen several cross stitch FlossTubers who also quilt show off some "Jelly Rolls" they've purchased.

>131 thornton37814: - No - Those aren't made from Jelly Rolls - I cut my own fabric. But the pattern calls for fat quarters (18" x22") plus additional yardage for sashing and borders. Plus - some of the pieces are cut 3" wide and jelly rolls are only 2.5" wide.

Oh, the wedding gift quilts look great!

Well - here we are, half-way through the year, and my goal to sew every day has fallen by the wayside. I went to sew with the charity sewing group at church in Jun and realized my machine was still packed up from the month before. My plan to print a picture to include in the memory quilt didn't go well and I've finally given up on that idea. I've found a couple more blocks that I want to include in the quilt and I'm going to try and work on it tomorrow when it's supposed to rain. Too many nice days for sitting on the porch and reading.

It's hard to sew/stitch every day. Sometimes you just need a little break!

>134 dudes22: I hear ya!

Too bad about having to drop the photo idea

How goes it, Betty. Busy with family and the beach this summer?

>137 avaland: - Thanks for checking in. Right now, I'm busy getting ready for Vacation Bible School next week at church. I've been spending my time reading on the porch rather than quilting this summer so not much to report here. I'm starting to put the memory quilt together and hope to have that done soon.

(we could use some rain here)

>138 dudes22: Hubby and I like to sit on the front porch, and do sew some bindings while sitting out there (the view is trees, more trees, some of the gardens and the hummingbird feeder). The deck out back is too hot and sunny.

We had a knock out storm come through about 4:15 pm yesterday. Scary wind and lightning and 3/4 of an inch of rain in 15 minutes. We are in a very wooded area, surrounded by trees, but amazingly nothing came down. \

I haven't been on my own thread in over a month, so I thought I'd check in. I haven't been doing a lot of sewing this summer as the weather has been so nice that I've been reading on the porch a lot. I did finish the quilt top I'm making for my sister-in-law's mother, and I decided I had enough fabric left to make a similar one for my sister-in-law. I've been cutting fabric for it and hope to get it finished and take them to the quilter I use soon.

I managed to catch covid the week we had Vacation Bible school. Actually, everyone who was working in the kitchen caught it. (except for my sister for some reason.). I blame myself. I've had my two shots but only one booster because I thought I'd wait til closer to the fall. Had I been thinking, I would have gotten it a few weeks before VBS. Not too sick with it - mostly a nagging, chesty cough.

So that's all that's been going on here. Hopefully I'll have pictures of my 2 quilts soon,

I've been bad about posting updates the last month or so. Hopefully I will post some progress photos Sunday. I took a photo of the "lunch break" project before I left work Friday. I'll see what kind of progress I make today before uploading photos either tonight or tomorrow.

One of our student workers has COVID and is quarantined through Wednesday. I was around her Monday night when I was training her on a project they are working on. I hope I don't come down with it. I wasn't really close to her that long, so we'll see. The student working with her had been trained so I just took her to show her where she'd be retrieving things because someone came up with a not-so-brilliant arrangement plan a few years back that has been a headache ever since. Then I stood at a distance over her shoulder as she worked on making the volume information uniform and adding barcodes to items not barcoded--close enough I could see what she was entering but far enough that I wasn't in her way. I stayed less time with her because the other student had done really well with the project and could help. I'll wear a mask to choir and the cross stitch shop today just in case.

The funny thing is that the Wed morning of VBS I said "I think I'll test just because" and I was negative. Right after lunch, one of the guys said, "These kids wearing me down. I think I'll go home and take a nap". MY sister called Wed night to say he had tested positive so I did another test and mine was positive.

>142 dudes22: Sorry to hear you caught COVID, Betty, but I'm glad it's been on the mild side.

Looking forward to pictures of your quilts.

Hope you get well very soon.

>143 MickyFine: -144 - I should have said - it was the last week in Jul - all better,

Sorry to hear you caught the bug, Betty but glad you are all better now.

We were notified last Friday right before we left work that one of our student employees had COVID. I decided to wear my mask as a precaution as I went out and about. Sunday morning I awakened with a horrible headache. I feared I'd come down with it. I knew I wasn't going to church with that one because the light and noise would bother me. I decided to put off the COVID test until the afternoon so it would have a little more time to be more accurate. I tested negative. Of course, I tested 24-48 hours later. The headache appears to have been a regular sinus headache, but it scared me a bit.

>147 thornton37814: - It's hard to know when to panic or not.

I've been spending a little time in my sewing room downstairs where my stash is located trying to pick out fabrics to make pillowcases and cuffs. (one of our church group sewing projects). And I have to say that as I look at some of the fabrics in my stash I wonder what I was thinking when I bought them.

I was at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday and saw many beautiful quilts. I always go into the Creative Arts buiding. So much talent.

There is an estate sale in this area on Monday. Photos were posted. One room is jam-packed with quilting fabric. I'm talking floor to ceiling packed. There may have been other quilting supplies in places, but there was more fabric in that room than at Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's.

>150 thornton37814: - Thank goodness you're not within easy driving distance. 😂

You won't believe it - I threw my favorite rotary cutter away the other day with a bunch of scraps. Not sure how. You would have thought it would be heavy enough that I would have noticed. And the trash people came this morning before I discovered it. I have two others, but I don't like them as much. One of the fabric places I like is having a jelly roll sale this Sat so I may look through my jelly roll patterns and go up. And get a new rotary cutter.

>152 dudes22: oh no! What a bummer but also a good excuse to visit a fabric shop.

>152 dudes22: Waaaaaaahhhh!!!! Nooooooo! I think I'd have to hold a funeral if I lost my rotary cutter. It's the rotary cutter I have been using since 1996. In fact, just maybe, I would need to go into mourning. I have a two more; but I by far prefer my grey Fiskars.

>154 lesmel: - I'm currently using my original one, but it has a straight handle which is a worse angle for my wrist. It was a Dritz. The one I lost was a Fiskar and I loved it (but mine was yellow.)

>151 dudes22: This week's sale by that company appears to have lots of already made quilts.

>140 dudes22: Just catching up, Betty. Sorry to hear you caught Covid. We have not had it yet, but sooner or later I'm expecting it despite the boosters and precautions. I was at the hospital the other day for some tests and, you know, I don't think they will ever go back to the unmasked era pre Covid.

>152 dudes22: Treat yourself to a new cutter, Betty! (yeah, I still have one straight one but I don't use it. I have two of curved ones now - this ensures I can always find at least one of them!) I believe mine are curved-handle OLFA's in yellow. I've had them a long time. (seems I remember that we talked about cutters earlier in our history here....)

>156 thornton37814: - Even that would be interesting.

>157 avaland: - I'm expecting my new cutter today. We may have talked about this before.

One of the things I intended to do this year (although I didn't mention it), was to do 10 pillowcases each month so I would be prepared when we started to prepare for the Christmas charity at church. I did 5 in Jan and then got sidetracked. I've been pulling fabrics out of my stash to see what I can make up. I did 22 this week and I've got some more fabric pulled, but my sewing area is becoming a disaster.

I've got 30 pillowcases to take to sewing group this morning and I pulled more fabric from my shelves yesterday to do more. I usually cut 27" for the case and 11"for the cuff, but a lot of my fabrics are only 1/2 yd cuts so only good for the cuff.

Here's what I don't understand - if each case uses 1 yd of fabric and I did 30 cases (so 30 yds of fabric) - why don't my shelves look like there's less fabric on them? Must be because I have too much for it to make a difference. And now there's a huge stack of leftover pieces to be cut into smaller pieces instead of going back on the shelf.

>159 dudes22: It multiplies in the dark. Maybe you got it wet like a Mogwai? Just make sure you don't feed it after midnight.

>160 lesmel: - Good advice.

>159 dudes22: why don't my shelves look like there's less fabric on them?

Maybe that fabric spreads out into the new free space, the way people do when someone gets off the chesterfield!

>162 SassyLassy: - Could be!

>158 dudes22: et al... You are a VERY busy and industrious woman, Betty. New stuff is wonderful for those of us who have been sewing for decades!

I attempted to get ahead with my charity quilts, but here it is nearly October and I have 6 of the 10 I usually do.

"...why don't my shelves look like there's less fabric on them? ..." Same phenomenon happens here (and if there is a bit of open space and I feel the compulsion to fill them!) I like everyone's theories, though.

I took the two memory quilts I've been making off to the long-arm quilter and hope to have them back soon. Now to clean up my sewing room a little and make a few more pillowcases.

>165 dudes22: Excellent, Betty! My studio is chaos currently. It looks like a tribe of kindergarteners have taken up residence.

.166 - Are you still looking for some greens? I could look and see what I could send you. I meant to offer when you mentioned it.

I think I have enough of the colors now, thanks. Still working on putting together the squares.

>168 avaland: - Ok - you can always ask.

Thanks, Betty.

Haven't been here for a couple of weeks, so a quick update on things.

Lois and her husband came down to Ct and RI for a couple of days and we managed to get together for dinner one night. Lots of good food and nobody thought to take a picture. Ooops!

I've gotten the two memory quilts back from my long-arm quilter and I've sewn the binding on one of them but still need to hand-sew to the back. But ...

Pete and I are on a driving vacation. We're in Washington, DC today. Pete wants to go to the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Arpt, so that's the plan for tomorrow. Then we leave for Charlotte for just one night to see our granddaughter. Then on to Savannah for a few days before we head up the coast to Hilton Head to stay a few days and visit with a classmate of my husbands.

... I'll have to finish them when I get back. One is for my sister-in-law and her birthday is Nov 8 but I think I can make it. The other one is for her mother and I'd like to have the binding on that one too at the same time. Pictures of these will be taken.

>171 dudes22: Hand-sewing binding would seem like a great travel project until you factor in the size and weight of the quilt. I watched a lecture about small hand-sewing projects for travel. She uses the prep and the hand-sewing to mitigate her generalized anxiety disorder.

>172 lesmel: - Yeah - I thought of that, but dismissed it. And, although I can read in a car, I think sewing would be too hard to do.

>172 lesmel: >173 dudes22: I was surprised to find I had no problems stitching on the plane as long as there was no turbulence. I think stitching in the car would depend on whether or not the road was smooth or bumpy.

>171 dudes22: photo? btw, now I can visualize you working away down in the basement or in that guest room! Glad Pete is going to see the exhibit of the "big" stuff he wants to see. Sounds like a great road trip. Betty. Enjoy!

We are going down to Fruitlands.n MA tomorrow. It's where we got married and we go every few years (it's not too far)

https://thetrustees.org/place/fruitlands-museum/

>175 avaland: - We're in Savannah now - looks like good weather while we're here.

I can't believe I haven't heard of Fruitlands - it's not that far away. I'll have to check out the website when I get a minute. Hope you have a good time.

>176 dudes22: Savannah is such an interesting city!

>176 dudes22: Savannah makes me think of my Girl Scout days (Juliet Gordon Low was born there, yes?) We didn't make it to Fruitlands that day but we went yesterday. Gorgeous weather for it, too.

>178 avaland: - Yes, we did. We took a trolley tour and they mentioned it as we drove by the house where either she was born or started the Girl Scouts. I remember seeing a plaque on one of the buildings too as we were walking.

We had a great time in Savannah and a good time with our friends in Hilton Head, too. Now I need to get going and finish sewing the binding on the quilt I'm making for my SIL. Her birthday is next Tues and I'd like to give it to her then. I'm pretty sure I'll finish - it's not that big. Pics when I'm done.

Well - I managed to finish the bindings on both the memory quilts. And just in time - my SIL's birthday is tomorrow. Besides the fabric from Meg's dresses, I've tried to incorporate blocks with things that were important to her. So, there's a block with yarn and needles because she was a knitter. And a church in one block. Some hearts. She loved music and sang in a local community chorus so I've included music note blocks and fabrics that have music notes here and there. And, although it's hard to see, the quilter and I picked a quilting motif that includes musical notes and clefs, etc. If you look in the block of the lady at the bottom right, you might see a musical note. There are a few differences between the two. I included a block on my SIL's quilt of an African lady to represent the African mission that she and my brother started and Meg supported.

That's lovely, Betty. She'll love it. The music backing is great!

Wow Betty. Those quilts are beautiful, and so thoughtfully designed.

Those are lovely and so meaningful. What a lot of thought went into them.
Also, as avaland says, great backing.

>180 dudes22: I like those too!

>181 avaland: - >182 lauralkeet: - >183 SassyLassy: - >184 thornton37814: - Thank you all so much! I delivered both quilts to my SIL yesterday (her birthday) and she opened hers and a few tears were shed as we remembered her sister Meg. She took the other one to her mother later in the day and I had a nice message from her on my phone when we got back last night from a local event.

The next project I need to work on is a binding for a quilt that's been sitting in my sewing room for almost a year. I'd like it for the bed this winter. And then a small quilt for a friend's daughter for Christmas.

>185 dudes22: It's so nice when someone really appreciates our craftiness!

>185 dudes22: Awwww. Glad she loved it.

As if I don't have enough projects I want to do.... My sister's best friend's mother passed away recently and when they cleaned out her stuff, my sister's friend sent me some material (luckily not very much) and some yo-yos that she had made as well as a number of circles. I was thinking I might do a couple of small pillows of yo-yo's for my sister's friend and her sister, but I've never worked with them before. I have a yo-yo quilt that my husband's grandmother made, so I see how you have to stitch them together, but how should I attach them to some background material? And should I use something a little heavier for the background? Maybe something woven? This is definitely a next-year project but I thought since it's mostly hand work, I could do it while I watch TV.

I have SO many ideas floating around in my head for quilts I want to make. When will I get the time?

Random internet:
"How do you put together a yoyo quilt?
Image result for sewing a yo-yos together
Sew Yo-Yos Together to Make a Yo-Yo Quilt

Align two yo-yos, gathered sides together.
Take several whipstitches along one side, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam to help secure it. Make a knot if you'd like.
Repeat, adding more yo-yos to finish the row.
Attach rows together in the same way."

>190 avaland: - Thanks, but I knew that part. I was more interested in how to attach them to a background to make a pillow. I did look on-line and saw some ideas.

>191 dudes22: Sorry, my mistake. I'm sure you will find a suitable way.

btw, every now and again I remember your downstairs fabric lair and it makes me smile :-)

>180 dudes22: These are so special and creative. Beautiful.

>193 mnleona: - Thank you.

I took advantage of a few of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales to buy some fabric for a couple of projects I'm planning for next year. I've been thinking that I might do some rearranging of my fabric area after the holidays. While making the pillowcases for our church charity (oh - by the way - our church filled 152 shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse), I realized that I need some way to know which fabrics are at least 27". So, I might go through some of my novelty prints and put all the ones that are at least 27" in one pile and the 1/2 yards in another (the cuff is 11", so that will give me cuffs +). Makes me want to start now, but I have cookies to make and presents to wrap.

>195 dudes22: Betty, you are an industrious saint!

Thanks, Betty for the fabric you sent. I did use some pieces in the "Summer" quilt. Let me know if I can ever reciprocate.

>197 avaland: - You're welcome. Who knows what else I might find in my after-holiday clean-up.

Christmas project finished! Made for a friend's daughter who is into wolves. Top pic is front and bottom pic is back. (Sorry about the shadow. It's a gray day here.)

I do have a quilt that just needs the binding which I'll probably work on between Christmas and New Years. Today I'm trying to finish my cookies.

>199 dudes22: Those are nice!

Lovely quilt, Betty.

>200 thornton37814: - >201 lauralkeet: - Thanks. The little girl is only 8/9 (?) and very interested in wolves. So just a quick, easily doable pattern.

>199 dudes22: I love that! That's a nice pattern and I like the arrangement on the back, too. She'll love it!

>203 avaland: - Thanks, Lois. I thought I'd try to use up the fabric left from the front so less to go back into the stash.

Ah, the stash. Mine never seems to go down...despite my efforts.

To all my crafting friends:

Merry Christmas, Betty!

You also, Betty!

Not quite ready to post a 2023 thread yet - I still have hopes of finishing one more project. ha ha... But I have started thinking about next year and planning a few projects. I'm going to try to use the "leaders and enders" idea to hopefully get more done. I have one idea that I think that will work well, I think, and I'm planning how many squares of each color to cut out and put in a bag so it's at least organized. And I have some already cut up fabric for charity quilt blocks that I could use. And I'm hoping to get into my sewing area this week and do some clean-up and organizing.

ETA: I got a gift card from my daughter-in-law for Etsy which I plan to use for fabric or patterns.

I thank you again for your gift of scraps towards that summer quilt. It's hard to see them in the photo but some of them are in there; and I know they are there (I love putting pieces in which has a story. Beside some of your pieces, there is a piece of a fabric from the 60s (a dress my mother made for herself) and a piece of very early 80s calico that I made a dress for my oldest daughter when she was 3? (she's 43 now!). Again, thanks and if I can reciprocate, just ask! See you over in 2023!

Hmm, I haven't thought of Etsy for fabric.

>210 avaland: -You know that I'm always willing to send you scraps. Although I think I'll get into that "crumb" style scrap blocks, my head just doesn't go that way. I can't believe you still have fabric that old. Although for a long time I had some bark cloth curtains I found in my mother's cedar chest after she died that I wanted to make a jacket from. It might still be in a bin but I might have gotten rid of it in the last move.

Speaking of moving - I've decided that last project (binding on a quilt) probably won't get done this weekend. So, I'm moving over to my 2023 thread.

>211 dudes22: some bark cloth curtains I found in my mother's cedar chest after she died that I wanted to make a jacket from.

That's interesting, Betty. My daughter is on the hunt for a quilt that she can use in a similar fashion. She found a pattern (on Etsy, I believe) but has yet to find a quilt that doesn't cost a fortune. We visited some thrift shops around here at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but didn't have any luck. I get the feeling the search is half the fun, though.

>212 lauralkeet: - Interesting. I've seen a few coats on Pinterest that are from a quilt - well sort-of. I think the ones I looked at were more like you made each section like a quilt. I was debating making one but then I decided no.

Yeah, this one is more like find a quilt and lay out the pattern pieces on it, as you would if you were sewing a garment with store-bought fabric. So you need a rather large quilt. It also seems to me if your quilt had a distinctive pattern (like log cabin, or a star), that it could be challenging to place it "just so" on the garment.

>214 lauralkeet: - Probably. You could also look for 2 that are similar in style but it might be hard to find them at the same time. Sometimes estate sales or yard sales can be a little cheaper.

Estate/yard sales are a good idea. I'll mention it. Kate lives in Brooklyn where thrift shops are trendy (therefore expensive), so she thought she might have luck here in the hinterlands. I'm not sure how estate or yard sales work in her area (no yards to speak of), but I'm sure there's something similar.

>216 lauralkeet: Sometimes estate sale companies have Facebook pages where they show previews of what will be for sale. I've seen a couple that looked like there were tons of quilting fabrics. (One of my good friends owns such a company.) I purchased a nice button stash at an estate sale this fall.