A Few Last minute Christmas Gifts

Little Houses and Trees Wallhanging

Christmas Present Wall hanging with Merry Christmas to You! embroidery

Christmas-y Potholders and I made quite a few more but in the rush to deliver, didn't take photos.

Starry, Starry Night Quilt Completed

Quilt made for my friend's, daughter for graduation, in celebration of the Starry, Starry Night painting by Vincent Van Gogh, which she loves.

 Quilted with asterisk stars and swirls.

Center Lone Star

 
This quilt was started early in 2017 and finally finished a week ago in time to send for Christmas.  At the time I made some notes here on cutting instructions for future reference.

This is a graduation gift but it will be late.

I sorted through tons of quilt ideas with the Starry Starry Night painting in mind and found this sparkly free quilt pattern that I just adore!

This Blueberry Ice Quilt adapted from a quilt designed by Gerri Robinson is perfect except the colors need to be reversed.  If you click on the link, you can download your own instructions.

Since I'm doing my own adaptation, I'm including some cutting instructions for myself for future reference.

For each block you will need:
(8) 4 patches {each square is 2 1/2", but I strip sewed (2) 2 1/2 x a long strip together and then cut off 2 1/2" sections and sewed 2 of them together to get a 4 1/2" square 4 patch.}

(8) Sparkle rectangles

(4) 2 1/2" squares

(4) Star leg sections (sew 2 HSTs together -- see below for making the HSTs)

(1) Pinwheel block (made from 4 HST's)

HSTs for the pinwheel center of the star

Cut (2) 4 1/8" squares in the colors of your star.  Sew together around the perimeter and slice diagonally twice.  Press open and trim to 2 1/2" square.  Sew into a pinwheel for the star center.

HSTs for the star legs:  Cut (2) 4 1/8" squares (one the color of the star legs and one the background color).  Sew around the perimeter and then slice diagonally twice to yield 4 HSTs.  Do this twice since you need 8 HST's

For my no waste version of this sparkle rectangle, cut (8) 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" fabric and cut a 4 1/8" square and then cut that square diagonally twice.  Take a triangle and lay it as shown so that the bottom of the triangle is at the 2 1/2" mark on the ruler.  Remember these sparkle triangles have direction.

Stitch 1/4" seam along the diagonal then trim off the excess and fold back and press.

I decided to add a lone star block to the center and found a tutorial here. You make strip sets of 5 fabrics (1 1/2" wide) and then slice them at 45 degree angles and then sew them together.  She has you sew the background using a Y seam but I just decided to have a seam so cut the corner 5 1/2" squares in half diagonally once and for the centers I cut a 6 3/4" square diagonally twice.  When you sew each of the 4 corners together, you trim to 8" and then sew all together and you get a 15 1/2" square unfinished.

  Linked up with Connie Kresin's Linky Tuesday

Princess Baby Quilt

My coworker's baby girl is due next month.  She requested pink with purple.  I pulled together pinks and lavenders.  One of the fabrics has a princess theme with princesses, castles and even little green frogs!

I arranged all the charm squares into rows on point.  (Cutting instructions at the end).  The border is charm squares sewn together and then cut in half, which creates four borders out of two strips.

After sewing the long border strip on all sides, I took this little glass bowl and drew a line to make my scallops.

Before Quilting

I placed the right sides of the front and back together and then placed the batting on the back of the front and sewed 1/4" seam around each scallop and then turned right sides out.  I thought I was going to save a lot of time because no binding to apply, but it turned out that sewing around each curve wasn't that easy and there were a few spots that I needed to resew because when I turned it right sides out, there were small holes.  Not sure if I would use this method again.

Having placed right sides together and sewing around the scallops and then turning it out through the seam on the back, which I'd sewn partially with large stitches, I was worried the fabric would end up bunching up and it did, but just a tiny bit.

Here are some cutting instructions.

Cutting instructions:
Corner square triangles:  5 7/8" square cut diagonally twice
Setting triangles:  7 5/8" squares cut diagonally twice
Patchwork:  5" squares
Borders:  5" squares sewn together and then cut in half lengthwise to create two borders.  Make two.  Cut the edge with scallop design if desired.

Mary Engelbreit Quilt

Another Retirement Quilt for someone who loves Mary!

You may be able to guess, it was a Costume Retirement Party

Every Quilt needs a label

Made with Mary Engelbreit fabrics.  Six inch squares with 2 inch sashing and cornerstones (unfinished measurements).  The plan was to quilt this on my Sunshine 16 but I could do nothing to get the tension right!  

I only had that night and the next day to complete it and every time I sewed 4 or 5 inches of free motion stitching, I had to pick it out.  You can imagine my frustration.  I fiddled with the tension endlessly!  As a last resort, I took apart the tension control and with irritation was pulling on the little wire thing and it sprang.  What did I do!   I had no hope of completing it on time for the party.  I would have to take the quilt to Idaho, where I have another quilting machine, and it would just have to be late.

 The situation was hopeless and I went to bed.  That night as I said my prayers, I included prayers for my machine and the tension control.  The next morning I got up and prayed some more and started puttering with the machine again, without much hope.  Lo and behold, it began to sew wonderfully and miraculously, the thread didn't break!

The stitching was so fine on front AND back!  I gave great thanks!

Darling Princess coworkers, Snow White, Cinderella, Moana, Pocahontus, Belle, and Jasmine.

Linked up with Connie Kresin's Linky Tuesday

Pretty in Pink baby Quilt and Star Instructions

My granddaughter's hour glass block quilt with pink borders and stars in the corners.

Quilted with Stars and swirls

Twenty-five hour glass blocks set on point

4 1/2" (finished) Audrey Star Instructions

Cut:

(2) 2 7/8" white (for the star legs) (cut twice diagonally as shown)
(1) 2 7/8" pink for the background (cut twice diagonally as shown)
(note you could cut a 2" square diagonally once)
(4) 2" pink corner squares
(1) 2 1/2" white middle square

1.  Sew triangles to two sides of square as shown to create star leg units.  Make 4.

2.  Sew two star leg units to the 2 1/2" center square as shown.
3.  Sew pink triangles to to each side of two star leg units.
4.  sew the 3 units together and square up to 5 inches (will be 4 1/2" after sewn into project).

Two August projects: Forest Animals Baby Quilt and Wedding Veil

My niece had a baby shower on September 1st and requested a forest animal quilt.  Of course I was happy to do it!

I found a cute panel with the animal blocks and since there were 4 (actually 8, but each had a duplicate) I thought a 9 patch would be the way to go.  I was in a rush (as usual) and my mind was whirring and thinking what to create??  While it's horrible to have the pressure of a deadline, it seems I need that pressure to stimulate my creativity!

You can barely see the panel above and this is coordinating fabric, which I didn't end up using so still need to make an accessory with it.

When I went into the quilt store (Quilt Expressions, Boise, ID) I asked for ideas and the clerk gave me this pattern called The 5 minute quilt block (or something like that).  It really would've been a pretty quick quilt had I used that coordinating fabric for these blocks but instead wanted to make some forest blocks, each with their own forest animal.  Here is an owl.

I made a block with the lighter color blue sky but it really needed a dark sky to contrast with the moon, so I remade it with a dark sky, even though it sort of doesn't match the other blocks.

Here we have a braying deer behind a pine tree and a frolicking bunny.

I love the little fox cubs in the den.  And you can see I made the trees with the upside down flying geese, like the ones in the coordinating fabric.

And a bear over on the mountain.  

The blocks all sewn together.

And all quilted.  you can't really tell but I quilted a pine tree, moose, deer, bear pantograph that looks pretty neat.

Here you can see some details of the pantograph.

All complete laying by the pool at my niece's in laws lovely home, where they had the shower.  My niece said her husband loved this gift best of all!

Here is the free pattern I got at Quilt Expressions in Boise

My coworker, Jen had been preparing for her wedding for a year.  A couple months before the day, I asked about her dress and veil.  She said she wasn't going to have a veil because they were expensive and she couldn't find one she liked anyway.

  I told her I could make one for her.  She picked a very simple style, just a big circle of tulle and I sewed a trim along the bottom to finish it off.  She looks beautiful!

Linked up with Connie Kresin's Linky Tuesday