Stories to go with the H2H quilts shown on an earlier post

Sometimes I have a time trying to tell one quilt from the close-ups of it shown on other blogs... So on this blog I am sharing the stories of the quilts that I'm giving to the Hands to Help Comfort quilts challenge. I'll show the quilts again and the sordid truths about them. LOL

This one started out as a Squirrel Quilt...

You know how squirrel quilts can be... so exciting to start, so tedious to finish. I liked the color scheme from an ad in a magazine, and I love the white and muslin background pieces on other quilts I have seen, but just not the way I did it. 

This red and muslin quilt is Cherry Pie - my third quilt, and it's been in the UFO pile since the 90s.  It's huge, and I just don't feel like finishing it. There are a few blocks cut that I will send with to Victoria's in Canada... in case she needs to add to the part she cuts off of this one.

The next two may need to be sewn together to be big enough, but that should be easy. These are "made" fabric pieces I made a couple of summers ago. There are orphan blocks and paper pieced blocks included in each. Close up photos show those blocks.

 

 

And here is the baby quilt for Jack's Basket.  Some of my favorite multicolored fabrics with two sided "frames".  It's an easy quilt to make, and I made it for a friend to give to a grandchild.  I asked and asked for an address, but none was offered.  I have two other quilts for the other grandkids that aren't as yet finished. They will be donated somewhere when they are finished, too.

Don't you just love the spacey blue on the left and the rainbow "flames" next to it?  In honor of my nephew, Brandon, this one goes to Jack's Basket.

Stories and close-up photos as promised. Shipping these tomorrow.

Hugs,

Terri

H2H Prize Donation

Five fat quarters donated to H2H as a prize...  2 of them have interesting salvage edges, the one in the middle is a hand dyed fabric I bought at a quilt show.  Good Luck

Hugs,

Terri

A New Start and a Flimsy

Oh yeah! On the same post a start on the Snowball and 9 Patch Sew Along. I've made Snowball quilts for 5 of the grandkids. I wanted to make one with white snowballs... go figure. This is about springtime snowballs. You in the Eastern U.S. of A. know about those.  Do they make you think of flowers and green grass?

------------  AND  ------------

here is the Good Night Irene sewn together but needs ironing before sandwiching. (It's the kind of witching I'm best at.) It all takes a while on that tiny ironing board. This one is for the Sweet 16 QAL and ultimately for the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge 2015.

Linking up with the Sweet 16 QAL and the Snowballs and 9 Patches Sew Along - see the buttons on the side bar. Probably going to use the start on Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times tomorrow.

Have a lovely sewing week.

Hugs,

Terri

Almost a Flimsy

I've got a few more blocks in the works. I want one more column. You know how quilts shrink once you sew the blocks together... all that pesky seam allowance.  Here is how the design wall looks now.

Showing this at Sweet 16 headquarters today and tomorrow on Design Wall Monday, go to Patchwork Times by Judy L. I thought she had a button, but NO.

 

Have a lovely, quilty week.

Hugs,

Terri

 

 

Design Walls Monday

I'm missing my design wall... had to come down to sell the house. So I'm using a couple of panels of foam core board for the interim. Today I'm working on two quilts... who isn't.

Remember these? Two, count them - 2 gallon bags full of strips from my pal, Val. We swapped fabric a while back. I sent her some uncut I Spy fabrics and she sent me strips! So while we are packing I'm making....

some strip blocks. I got my hubby to cut me some 8.5" squares of paper - first I had to teach him how, but he does love to do homework for me on the quilts. Next I'm going to get him to cut off the excess fabric. (Tried this last night... Ouch! He cut off a corner. At least it was an easy fix. Some men are just not atuned to sewing. I was wise to prevent him from cutting out the Drunkard's Path pieces. They are cut on the line but not on the curves - and tracing they need seam allowances on the curves to be cut 1/4" away from the line... Oh well, we'll keep the homework simple for him so he feels like he's helping... afterall, his name goes on the quilt, so he should help.)

I'm just putting lights and darks next to each other. (Most blocks are going to be monochromatic.)

I have these done, so far. I'm thinking it will be called "You and Me" and if I can get it done in time I'll use it for a donation to H2H - Sarah Craig's Charity... see the side panel.

Below is a close up.

Oops - I've a basting thread showing....

+++++++++++++++

 

 

Now for the other quilt... the next Grandgirl Wedding quilt will be made of these Drunkard Path blocks but set in the Love Ring variation.

These are the most recent.

 

 

Haven't got enough made yet to finish one block of Love Ring ... but I love it already. Don't you?

Here are more settings of Drunkard's Path - one shows the Love Ring.

Out my window...

you might not see the lovely group of orange butterflies in my yard... centered above the Passionflower Vine on my fence. It grows from my neighbor's yard into mine. I think these butterflies rode in on those plants - they are very like a Julia butterfly, which only rows in Florida and Texas. I can't show you the picture in the book, it's packed - who knows where. We have maybe a dozen. I'm sure they helped us sell this place. My buyer is getting the best deal, buying my house... which after signing this morning, belongs to her now. (Sniff) We are renting for free until the truck comes on the 4th of November. (Crying)

 

I have to go now - take more pictures. I have to figure out how to have butterflies at my new house.

 

Have a lovely week.

Hugs,

Terri

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday makes me think of Val... did you see her linky party today? Edges and English Paper Piecing are the themes. Her link is in my side bar - have a look, link up, it's fun.

Today I'm showing the star I made for Astronaut Rhianna Griffin for her Star Block Challenge.
If you want to make a 9-1/2" unfinished star for her send it to:
Star Block Challenge
Attn: Rhiana Griffin
7660 Woodway, Ste. 550
Houston, TX 77063

Edit: She wants you to add your name, city and state to the front. Sorry I forgot to add that part earlier.

They are due August 1, 2014

Here's mine: Paper pieced, of course, from a free pattern at Sewhooked . Lots of free patterns for paper piecing there.

Hope she likes it.

 

Hugs,

Terri

Design Wall Monday

I have a new Design Wall.
You remember that I'm trying to sell my house, and the design wall my hubby made was foam core nailed - with huge nails - to the wall. Well, that come down this week and the holes were patched and the whole thing painted... by my hubby, seen here hamming it up.

He did a wonderful job, you can't see the nail holes even when you know where they were!
I'd buy this house!

But, please don't think I have no place to design... (Oops! double negative...)

Foam core leaning with some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks from several years back.

I've shown them before...

Some patterns for the next paper piecing project. I'm making potholders for some of my peeps.

 

Above is a new "I love you" hand in the works.

 

Oh, and this occurred this week. A hole. I picked the flowers for a backing on a H2H quilt, and had to add some extra fabric... did not notice that there was a big dip cut out of the middle edge of the flower fabric. Noticed that while sewing together. What to do?

 

See the hole is quite big.

 

To the rescue.... a little paper pieced apple core, fray checked and zig zag stitch and now it's a whole.

 

 

 All for the backing to this....

 This is the quilt with the apple core on the back. I pin basted on my dining room table. It was easier on my back than putting it up on the design wall (now nonexistent) and stitching the basting. Since then I've done some straight line stitch in the ditch, but I don't like it... Gotta do the yellow with yellow, and redo the blue, too. So there is some ripping out in my future. You know I'm putting that off.
Sew that's what I'm up to... How about you? What project occupies your mind this week? Our neighborhood has a parade of school kids on the 4th...
Oh, and Shay (in Australia) of  Quilting in my Pyjamas and I are having a giveaway and showing off our ineptness at FMQ on posts from Thursday through the Fourth... You will want to come back and see that.

Sew Hugs to you all - especially if you got this far down in the reading.

Terri

22Tw

So since they updated something on my computer, I can't access the title field! I hope the publish and save buttons work.
Anywho, I made 2 pink blocks for a charity for breast cancer (bugger doesn't deserve capital letters) that Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict mentioned on her blog. Since it's a cause close to my heart (not me!!!) I like to join in whenever I can.  Here are the two blocks I'm sending.

 

Hubby took some flower pictures from our yard, too. Here's a little Spring from CA

 

 These are Pineapple Guava (a bush) - aren't they pretty and unusual. The fruit isn't that good, and you've gotta be Johnny on the Spot to make any use of them, so we don't. The possum gets them all.

Tiger Lilies from my #1 Son and DIL years ago. They're still good in a bigger pot, and I'm hoping to plant them out at my next house - where ever that is.  The pot is clustered with a tangerine (I started from seed) and the pomegranate I bought at the grocery... it needs repotting, but I wanted to wait until we are at the next house... There is also a variegated holly plant that I bought at Lamb's - a grocery in the NW... I've had it a couple of years now, and it's gotten berries on it. Right now they are light colored. Maybe I can start a new one from the seeds???? Anyway there are other plants in those pots, too; an orange rose that I started from a cut stem in a bouquet, and a little single white rose that I started from seeds that my hubby gifted to me 20 years ago. There are a couple of Buckeyes from seeds and a couple of other trees that the squirrel or birds planted. It's a nursery in the making.

(Now I can't see the enlarge button for the pictures either...)

 

Happy Spring!

Hugs,

Terri

 

Flimsy #2 for H2H

It's a Flimsy! A second flimsy for H2H. I'm good at getting to this point...(especially since I used blocks found in my stash!) the basting keeps me at bay... but not this time. The last few quilts I have pin basted, and that is lots more palatable than thread basting. (What's your favorite method?)

Here's the official portrait:

It isn't ironed yet, and I didn't stretch it out - thus the scalloped look at the bottom. Any ideas for quick quilting this one? I probably will just make diagonal lines through the blocks.

 

That's my Whoop Whoop! for this week. Come see me and other Whoop Whoops at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. She's having a giveaway today, too.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Terri

Coming soon to a blog you may know

Sunday - the one coming soon - March 16 is the start to Hand to Help - see the (square) button on the side. Sarah has the "rules" written up - go here to see - It's my favorite QAL.  There are sponsors and prizes, tutorials, and Linky parties are planned. This year there are 3 different charities waiting for donations!

Last year I made these 2 quilts to go to the Happy Chemo:

Jazzy Snowballs - 2013 entry for H2H Challenge

 

 

California Earth Tones - 2013 entry for H2H Challenge

 

I used two of my UFOs for the H2H Challenge. I'm not a fast worker, so this works out for me. This year I have two more UFOs that I'll finish for the H2H Challenge. It might be just the thing for your collection of UFOs. 

Hugs,

Terri

 

One block for therapy and charity

You know I've been cleaning and packing... Well, my doctor, Cheryl of Cheryl's Teapots 2 Quilts, told me to keep on quilting - for my health!  She's a wise doctor! or is that wise acre? Anyway, this little block for Margaret's Hope Chest was just what the doctor ordered. Make some and you see if you don't feel better fast.

This time it's log cabin squares - monochromatic and for a woman - no kid stuff. Make them like Crazy Mom Quilts made hers here. 

 

 

Use these directions and address listed at Margaret's Hope Chest.

 

Hugs,

Terri

 

P.S. This is what happens to the cutting mat when you make a quick block.

 

 

It's Friday!

I guess Friday's are the day of reckoning for me. I did stuff again today!

I made 5 blocks for the QOV Big Blowout Block Drive over at Alycia Quilts. You make 5 blocks and send them in and you are registered in the drawing for lots of prizes! Every 5 blocks is a chance to win... Hop on over there  to see what's what.  I enjoyed making these - based on a foundation piece. There are two other kinds of blocks requested.

 

 

In other news: I've almost finished the new grandguy's first birthday present - the I Spy quilt I've been working on for longer than he has been alive! Putting on a hanging sleeve this afternoon, as I am hoping that it will be used as a game rather than dragged in the dirt, or used as a dog bed. I'll take pictures to show off. Come on back to see.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Terri

Flimsy done & Backing Chosen

 

 

F

Hands 2 Help flimsy sewn. It's going to the cancer charity... you know why.

Backing washed and ironed (and since has been sewn)... that may be the quilting thread for the bottom. Still thinking about the top thread. Black or White?

 

Edited: I used orange to quilt. The above fabric has a  metallic thread that runs through, and it's not soft. I decided to use a soft fabric for someone who has cancer. They sure don't need any more of life's little irritations. The backing is light blue with white polka dots, and it much softer.

 

Starting tonight with the basting.

Go over to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to see all the quilts made for the H2H charity challenge.

 

Hugs

Terri

On the Wall and a Tip

Jazzy Snowballs ready to sew. Actually this is from the weekend. I do have the rows all done and about half of them sewn together, too. But this is the picture of the arrangement. 

(shown sideways - left bottom is left top, and needs to be turned right sides out... Hubby helped.)

Sorry about the resolution on this photo, but it just shows that I pin a seam for each block in a row and then take the row to the sewing machine. (Last week someone I follow used the stacking method to get things off the wall, and that would drive me crazy.) Until I figured out to pin them in place - just roughly - I got into all kinds of trouble stacking. Once I get to the machine I take out the pin and align the pieces so they are matching and right sides together... then I know where to sew.

 

Shows my pinned row almost off the wall. (The second last row.)

 

Sew I hope you have a wonderful weekend (sewing).

Hugs,

Terri