Crossroads To Jericho: On My Own

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And now a few words from the Design Wall… 😀

Last time you saw me, I was hanging around with three of my good UFO’s friends. I am on the top right and my name, so I am told, is Crossroads to Jericho.

I was little three weeks ago, only six blocks.

But look at me now!! Happy to report, I am big enough to require my own space. I am 8 rows wide and 8 rows long. Each block is 9 1/4″.

Nothing much to do so I will just hang here until my owner decides to stitch all 64 of my parts together. She might even decide to make me wider and longer. I am told there is a process called quilting. Hmmm. Wonder what that is? 😀 I will probably get folded, all nice and neatly. And stored away somewhere.

Well, so long for now. Maybe I will see you again around November. Take care.

“I’m Done.. I’m Going To Read One Of These!!”

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Don’t you just love that commercial where the mom finishes dusting and she announces she is going to read a book. A book her daughter has obviously already read and her daughter proceeds to tell her, “can you believe the twin did it!!” I smile every time. The look on the mom’s face is priceless, as she tosses the book over her shoulder.

So.. what does that have to do with me? With anything, you ask.

Nothing. I just like that commercial. 😀

But I do have something I can say I’m DONE!!

After working on these string circle blocks for so long (over two months), I still Love Them. I wasn’t sure if the seams would line up at the cross sections. I think I did OK. I need to get better at making sure my 1 1/2″ strips actually ARE 1 1/2″ strips. A few look wider when sewn together.

My only regret. That I didn’t foresee yellow as a “stickouter.” (I just made up a word.) Up on my design wall, they seemed to blend well enough.

BUT with the borders and sewn to the other blocks, they stick out like a sore thumb. Oh well. It is what it is. (I love that saying.) It is what it is.

Now I have to decide on which fabric to use for the back. I have been auditioning several and narrowed it down to three. One is a WILD print. I will probably use it. I like wild!!

Quilt top measures 75″ by 76″. I added an extra row on the right and also on the bottom. Seven blocks across and seven blocks down for a total of 49. It is going to be a challenge getting it quilted on my “little throat” Janome. I wish I had a sewing machine with a wider/longer throat. Not looking forward to the game called Pushing and Shoving. But I AM looking forward to seeing a finished quilt.

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Speaking of Pushing And Shoving, did you go out to mingle with the masses on Black Friday? Or did you do your shopping on-line on Cyber Monday? I did a little of both. Got some nice bargains on fabric. Got a few things at Office Depot and Best Buy. Bought two new pairs of shoes at DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse). Love one pair. Had them on yesterday while running errands. Very comfortable.

Well, that does it for me.

Are you a Black Friday Shopper or a Cyber Monday Shopper? What all did you buy? Do tell.

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Linking to…

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/11/we-did-it-wednesday_27.html

http://www.conniekresin.com/2012/11/linky-party-tuesday_27.html

Today Is Quilting Day

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Well, it had to happen some time, right?

I cleared off one banquet table and got started. Or so I thought. I FORGOT TO MAKE A BACK!! Silly me. Had to put the sewing machine back on the table. Had to piece the material for the backing since it was only 45″ wide. Duh…

I guess that is what happens when you haven’t quilted any large projects for a LONG time. You forget what to do.

Anyhoo… back taped to the table, basting spray and pins in hand.

Whew!! I am plum tuckered out just from all that. BUT I will start quilting this quilt top TODAY. I thought about straight lines but I think I am going to stipple it with medium sized puzzle pieces.

OH. Forgot to tell you. I added the 28 additional blocks several days ago. Quilt top now measures 62″ by 62″. 14 blocks across and 14 blocks down. 196 total.

I slowly sewed along the diagonal lines and the white strips in the center matched up much better this time.

I know I can still do better so I am figuring out how best to make the next ones. I am not trying for 100% perfection. Just trying to better my percentage.

I have been working on some other things, too. Will show you in a few days.

Hope you are staying busy with your projects. Working on anything for Fall?

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Go here for the tutorial to make your own Hugs and Kisses quilt.

http://www.littlemissshabby.com/2011/11/hugs-kisses-quilt-block-tutorial/

Guessing Game Winner Is… Fran.

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Drumroll please…

I cut a total of 945 squares (751 – 2 1/2″ squares and 194 – 5″ squares)

The winner of my guessing game is Fran. She guessed 857. Her guess was the closest without going over.

Fran said:
August 23, 2012 at 11:38 am
I am going to say you cut a total of 857.

Congrats, Fran, please send me your name and address so I can get something pretty mailed off to you.

And a special thank you to everyone who left a comment. I enjoyed reading each one.

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Many of you commented you wanted to see what I was making. I am making a quilt called Hugs and Kisses. I saw it at Little Miss Shabby’s site (link at bottom of post) and really loved it. It seemed easy enough for me to make. Scraps I have. Tons of them. This quilt is tailor-made for me.

So far I have 40 blocks finished. Can you see the X’s and O’s? 😀

Each block measures 5″ square. I will probably make 100 more. As I finish more blocks, I will rearrange them to mix the colors up well. And I’ll do a post in a couple days so you can see how I am making mine. I am doing two things different from the tutorial.

Hopefully mine will be as pretty as hers.

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Go here for Little Miss Shabby’s tutorial. (Hope it’s OK. I borrowed this photo from her site.)

http://www.littlemissshabby.com/2011/11/hugs-kisses-quilt-block-tutorial/

Weekend Cutting Marathon

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(Update: 8-24-12 09:45am
Guessing game is now closed. Fran is the winner. She guessed 857 squares. I cut 945 squares. Thanks so much, everyone, for submitting a guess.)

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All weekend was spent with my rotary cutter glued to my right hand. Standing over my cutting table. Shifting from my right foot to my left foot. Sighing about every hour. 😀 I even missed a couple of meals. I wanted to get my squares cut and over with.

You see, I saw this quilt on the net that I love and want to make. It takes 2 1/2″ and 5″ scrappy squares. Plus 3″ white squares which I cut from my stash. The scrappy squares took forever. I AGAIN went through all of my scraps.

This is what I ended up with.

Guess the total number of 2 1/2″ and 5″ squares I cut, without going over.. and I will mail you one of my handcrafted items. I will select something pretty for you.

So.. let the guessing begin.

Leave your guess in comments. Guesses submitted via e-mail will not count. Must be posted here on this post. You have between now and Thursday, August 23 midnight EST to enter. Good luck and thanks for entering my contest.

I will ship international. Everyone welcome.

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Linking up to…

http://www.conniekresin.com/2012/08/linky-party-tuesday_21.html

Umbrella Quilt Top Is Finished… Yay!!

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I finished my umbrella quilt top last night. I think I made the left and right side borders too wide so I am going to cut them down from 8″ to 4 1/2″. Right now quilt top measures 86″ by 62″.

I didn’t want the rick-rack to curl when washed so I hand stitched the edges down. This took forever.

I was watching Flashpoint Season 2 on DVD. I went through four episodes. I HATE hand sewing!!

There is still more work to be done. The back to make. Not sure what I want. I would LOVE to make one or two huge umbrella blocks but do not think I have enough purple prints to pull it off.

One other idea I have swirling around in my brain is to do really wide strips of the dark purple with the purple fabrics I have left. What to do??

And the binding. At first I didn’t think these would work. These three batik Fat Quarters. I want a scrappy look so I am seriously thinking about using them.

I like my binding to be 3-3 1/2″ wide so if I cut 3″ strips, I can get seven from each FQ. Don’t think I will need that many. I’ll do a test run all around the quilt first before cutting. I could even use the batik leftovers for the back.

I am dying to start a new project… but I will keep plugging away at this until it is completely finished. Or at least until all the sewing is done. Then I will think about how to quilt it. I am thinking echo around the umbrella strips, straight lines in the sashing and stippling in the borders.

Got lots of new fabric, new books and a new ruler to show you. Later on. 😀

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Linking to…

http://sewhappygeek.co.uk/index.php/2012/07/23/manic-monday-linky-party-44/

http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/2012/07/party-time-craftomaniac-monday.html

Umbrella Blocks: I Think I Need More Borders

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My four purple umbrella blocks are finished.

There are three borders.

• strip of 1 1/2″ squares
• 2″ purple border
• 3″ purple/white border

The blocks are up on my design wall (think closet doors, 😀 ), pinned to a small piece of purple fabric.

All have the same dimensions. 19 1/2″ by 21 1/2″. I have never measured anything as much as I measured these. Every step of the way. I didn’t want to make the mistake of over trimming only to have to retrim the others. So slow going it was.

Now… what to do? Add more borders? Add sashing?

I think I will add a border of white and then a second dark purple border or sashing. I have enough of the purple/white border fabric for two more umbrella blocks. That will move the size from wall hanging to lap quilt.

For the back, I was thinking of one GIANT umbrella. Wonder how that would look.

One thing I have to revisit is how I attached the rick-rack. I am going to go back over the handles with handstitching. Just to make sure it doesn’t curl when washed. So I will do that before the sandwich stage.

Hubby came into the room as I was taking photos. He said, “that is pretty, Donna.”

So with that… the Stamp of Hubby Approval… off I go to try to make it even prettier. 😀

Have a safe 4th of July!! Enjoy your holiday.

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Linking to…

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/07/we-did-it-wednesday.html

How Would You Quilt This?

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Whew!! Finished!!

Took a week of..

• planning

• cutting

• designing

• taking photos

• changing

• sewing

• pressing

• taking photos

But finally, the quilt top is completed and now hangs on my design wall.

It measures approximately 66″ by 76″. In case your monitor displays my “pop” color as red, it is orange. Tangerine.

In the above photo I have the quilt turned on its side just to get it all in for the photo.

This is what it looked like before adding the borders.

After adding the borders. The bottom is the top. Sorry you have to twist your head a bit. 😀

I love this corner. The top right side. (Yes, I know. Another head twister. 😀 )

Some areas could have been arranged differently. Even could have used full blocks instead of half ones in a few spaces. But hindsight just helps me on the next one. I am satisfied with how it looks.

Now I have to decide the best way to quilt it.

I could outline each square. Would take forever!! I could do straight lines inside each vertical column. One to the right of the seam and one to the left of the seam. Or I could outline each zig-zag section. Following up, down, all around. Or even diagonal lines, corner to corner?

After spending a week making the quilt top, I don’t really want to spend another week quilting it. I am so itching to get started on my next project.

Question to all you quilters out there….

How would you quilt my quilt top?

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You can read my other posts about this quilt here.

https://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/starting-the-new-year-with-black-and-white-and-stripes/

https://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/sneak-peek-striped-zig-zag-quilt/

And another… 😀

https://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/ok-i-approve-ready-to-sew/

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I am linking this post to “Finish It Up Friday” over at CrazyMomQuilts. Go check them all out.

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/finish-it-up-friday-week-11.html

OK, I Approve, Ready To Sew

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Organized Chaos.

This arrangement is more to my liking. Tamed somewhat. It is still “busy” but I knew it would be before I started.

The look I am going for is white/black zig zag, black/white zig zag, white/black zig zag, and so forth.

I already started sewing the half blocks together. You can see some of them up on my design wall. Tomorrow I start sewing the long strips together. And then I have to decide on the border fabric and how many. I am thinking two.

While working on this layout, several others popped up. They are now in my Idea Journal for future consideration.

Starting The New Year With Black and White and Stripes

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I have decided this will be my first quilted item for 2012. Something old combined with something new. The strips were sewn around June last year. My plan was to make pillow covers. But couldn’t decide on two large, four small or one large/two small.

So, rather than cut into it until I made up my mind, I just enjoyed folding it different ways and taking photos.

So now it has been rescued from the Round-To-It Pile. And guess what? It won’t be pillow covers after all!! It is going to be a quilt. I “think” I want to make Half Square Triangles. Half stripes. Half black and white. And since I have been accumulating black and white fabric for a year, I should have more than enough to get started.

And I think I will work in the new color for 2012. Tangerine. (Read all about it below.)

So… that’s what I am working on. What are you working on? Have you made your first 2012 crafty item yet?

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2012 Color of the Year

http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/new-year-new-color-pantones-2012-pick-tangerine-tango

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr.aspx?pg=20910&ca=4