My Lone Star

     In October my oldest son requested a quilt for Christmas.  I managed to get it done, quilting and all.  Below is my working drawing of the quilt.  I did take a picture of it, but I can't download it from the disc in my camera and I can't find the USB cord.  Maybe I can take it somewhere and have a disc made.    My computer is causing me all sorts of problems and I will have to come up with the money to either fix it or buy a new one. I did fix my last computer, and it only works sporadically so I suppose a new one is in my future.  Anyway, here's the quilt.

 

 

     For the most part I'm pleased with the results even though the final quilt is not exactly like the picture.  I did the quilt in three stages, the center, the inner border and stars, then the outer border. The central star went together quickly and easily using strip piecing methods. 

 

     Instead of batting and backing, I backed the quilt with fleece.  This was a dream to work with as it stayed flat and didn't form any wrinkles.  I centered the center star on the fleece and quilted that first. I discovered the quilting foot while doing this section.  I lost my walking foot somewhere so decided I'd try this.  It works beautifully as it rides on top of the quilt without pressing into it.  Unfortunately, it does take practice since it is free motion in operation.  As I have mentioned numerous times, my quilting is not the best so a lot of the lines were kind of wobbly.  To solve this problem, after I finished the initial quilting of the design, I selected a decorative stitch and went over the lines to hide the wobbles.  It turned out pretty good.

 

     My next step was to make the eight 10" star blocks around the outside edge.  Then I added a 3" strip to the outer edge of the center star, then placed the eight stars around that.  Since I didn't have a lot of time, to figure out how to set the stars in a circular pattern, I arranged them at the centers and corners on each side.  I don't think it looks as good but it got the job done.  To finish I added an 8" border to the top and bottom and a 6" border to the sides.  I actually finished it two days before Christmas.  Even though I'm not entirely happy with it, my son loves it and that's what counts.

 

     As soon as I can figure out how to get the picture out of my camera, I will post it for you to see.

 

                           Have a great New Year!



Clearing the Decks

     I'm getting up in years and have decided it's time to clear out all the stuff I know my kids won't want.  I started with trying to use up all the fabric I have.  That has resulted in 14 completed quilt tops this year.  I still need to start the quilting process.

     My second project is compiling all my family's favorite recipes for my kids.  I get frequent calls asking how to make such and such a dish.  When  I mentioned  that  that I should just make up a cookbook, they all loved the idea and I am still getting reminders of  dishes to include.  I'm going to get notebooks and decorate them for each person and I think I will place the pages in plastic sheets to protect them.

    Along the same lines, I want to compile photo albums for each child, along with certificates and other things important to each of them. 

     Another thing my youngest son has requested is an autobiography from my husband and myself.  We were talking one day about various relatives that he knew nothing about, things that we had done or had happen to us, and he wanted to know more.  I thought about it and decided he had a good idea.  Not only would he have information on his heritage, but also an eyewitness history of the times by the people who have lived through them.  With my husband and myself he would get opposing views of various events since he is and always has been a liberal and I grew up a conservative.  I've decided to take it by decades, my personal story as well as what was happening in the world at the time and my reactions to those events. 

     I tried to talk my mother into doing this because I knew so few of our relatives. Unfortunately she wasn't interested.  My great grandfather came to this country from Italy and at Ellis Island they changed his name.  I still don't know the original family name and since she died several years ago, I will never know. 

     Just something to think about.

1/2 Square Triangles

     I don't remember if I discussed this before, but if I did, I think it bears repeating since so many patterns utilize 1/2 square triangles.

     Rather than cut out individual triangles, you can speed the process up by sewing the triangles first then cutting them apart.

There are two ways to do this:  You can work with a 1/2 yard or a yard length of fabric.  Measure off the piece into appropriate sized squares.  Divide each square in half on the diagonal.  Lay your ruler
the width of the seam allowance along each side of the center and mark.  Stack the marked fabric on top of the contrasting fabric.

 

Sew along each seam line shown by the dashed lines.  Cut along the solid lines.  Each square equals two completed triangle squares.

 

     If I don't need a large number of  same color triangles  I stack the two fabrics together and cut strips the appropriate width.  Mark squares down the length of the strip.  Mark center diagonal, then add allowance to each side.  

 

 

 Cut the squares apart, then cut the center diagonal line.

 

Combination Pattens

I was watching Fons and Porter a couple weeks ago and they showed this quilt.

 

 

I found it quite striking especially when they revealed it was a combination of two patterns, Shoofly and 54-40 or Fight.  The blocks are all straight lines, no curves at all.

 

 

The only thing that kept me from starting it immediately was that triangular block in the middle of the 54-40 or fight block.

Traditional piecing methods make it quite time consuming and subject to error.  I kept wracking my brain trying to come up with an easier way to piece that section.  I did it.  I figured out how to strip piece this section.

 

Cut out the triangles.  Cut strip of white 3-1/2" wide.  Lay the edge of the triangle along he edge of the strip and sew in place.  Repeat with other triangles until you run out of strip.

 

 

 

Press seam toward colored triangle.  Sew another strip to other side of triangles.  Cut apart and square up the block to measure 4" plus seam allowance.  It really works and none of that pesky trying to match the points properly.  Try it out.

 

 

 



 

 

     The original quilt had scraps in the small squares running throughout the blocks.  I thought it would be more orderly to make the small 2" squares all the same color.  What do you think?

 

 

The blocks are 12" and I figured it to measure 84" x 118" for a total of 63 blocks.  Of course, you can adjust it to any size you want.

 

                                               54-40 or Fight                  Shoofly



 

Santa Tree Skirt and TableTopper

 

My Christmas decorations lean heavily toward Santa Claus.  During an experimental sessions I came up with this design and just loved it.  Most kids who visit during the holidays love it too.

 



 

The design is pretty easy to sew and can be completed in a few hours.  I thought some of you might like it too, so I have made up a pattern for the design that you can order through paypal.  Hope you like it as much as I do.

 

 

 

Diamond blocks are among the most popular patterns in the quilting world.  What makes them so challenging are the set-in corners and center triangle.

 

 

 

I admit to having difficulty with set-in pieces.  For me they are time consuming and I usually have to do them a couple of times before they fit properly.  Of course, I had to come up with a more efficient way to accomplish the goal.

 

My solution was to divide the corners into half square triangles and to split the center triangle in half.   For the corner squares, trace around your pattern and cut it in half on the diagonal.  Trace around this piece and add seam allowances all around.  Cut the center triangle in half from the center point to the outer edge.  Trace around this and add seam allowances.  Yes, this technique requires more fabric, but you have converted these set in pieces into straight line sewing.

 

 

Sew the half square triangles to the sides of the diamonds as shown.  Sew the center half square triangles to the opposite side the  diamond.  Now join the eight diamonds in straight seams.

 

 



Ooops

Well, I thought it was Saturday.  Not until I went to the grocery store did I realize it's Friday.  This is how my month has gone.  But whatever day it is, I still think my complaint about the lack of craft shows on TV is valid.

My vacation

     My daughter surprised me with a plane ticket to sunny California.  I arrived on her birthday and met my youngest grandson for the fist time.  Three days later my sinuses were clogged and I couldn't hear.  I waited five days and went to the doctor.  Bronchitis and ear and sinus infections.  I ran through a regimen of antibiotics and when I got home I called my own doctor.  Another course of antibiotics.  I just did not want to do anything but sleep.  Finally, I seem to be getting over it.  My ears still clog up some days, but I am definitely feeling better.

     A few times I tried to write this blog, but I was having trouble with my computer.  It kept locking up on me an wouldn't let me into my e-mail , my bank account, my blog or just about anything else.

     Did I mention that I have an amazing son-in-law?  He was so nice to me during my visit, even though I was miserable company.  He is also a computer expert and he went into my computer and fixed a lot of the program for me.  It seemed that every program I wanted to access had downloads that I had to download.  But they didn't do anything but add junk to my computer that they wanted me to pay for.  I didn't want it to begin with.   My e-mail is with AOL and they said I had to download their new program.  I did it and got all kinds of junk with it and still couldn't log in. I put in a call to customer service last Wednesday and still haven't heard back from them.  Okay, I'm almost done whining. 

     It is Saturday morning and I woke up early enough to watch the only quilting show available locally.  I live in Akron, Ohio.  Guess what?  It wasn't on.  Neither was Sewing with Nancy or the Spotted Canary.  Once upon a time there were all kinds of craft and\
needlework shows on and now I can't find any. Are people no longer interested in program of this type on TV?  HGTV used to have a nice selection of craft programs, but now all you get is home decorating.  How many times can I redecorate my house or buy a new one? 

      I know just about anything you want is on-line somewhere, but I hate searching for it.  I can waste hours seeking a certain bit of information, being run in all kinds of circles and still not find what I want.  I don't think I'm the only one with this complaint.  How can we get craft and needlework program back on television?

     I'm done complaining.  Have a good Memorial weekend.

Spools

I finished one of the quilts.   Only 10 more to go.  Unfortunately, I keep going back to the scraps and coming up with new quilts to make. 

Here is a picture of one I finished several years ago using the Spool pattern.  It doesn't show up too well in black and white.  I gave it an Amish feel by using black for the background and bright pastels for the cross pieces.

 



Looking at it in black and white I realized that I should have used more care in selecting the colors so that all of the colored sections would stand out.  The drawing below shows it better than the photo.

Below is the block pattern.  An 8" square is a good size, although you can make it any size you want.

The gray is the background color and the white is the color of the cross pieces.  If making an 8" block cut strips of background fabric 4" wide and add seam allowance.  Cut 4" wide plus seam allowance from colored fabrics.  Sew strips together.  Make a triangle template and place on seamed strips.  Mark and cut out the triangles.  Cut background triangles from the same template.  Sew four triangles together to form the block.  Be sure to plan out your colors first, because each cross design is made up of four blocks. 

April Garden To Do

• Finish up any tasks not completed last month
• Divide summer and fall blooming perennials
• Remove mulch from beds and shrubs.  Apply mulch where needed
• Add amendments and fertilizer as needed
• For succession plans, continue sowing seeds indoors or in cold frame
• Harden off and transplant cool season vegetables and flowers
• Plant and transplant trees, shrubs, ground covers and perennials
• Start sweet potatoes for slips
• Pot summer bulbs for transplanting in May
• Dig and divide Sprig bulbs if necessary as foliage dies back
• Sow seeds of those plants needing four weeks to transplant size

Intensive Planting:   Rather than sow seed as directed on the seed packet, seeds are sown according to their ultimate spacing.  If the packet says thin seedlings to stand six inches apart, sow the seeds six inches apart in all directions.  This eliminates thinning and will inhibit weed growth due to the close spacing.

Interplanting:  This is the practice of growing two crops in the space of one.  Select a main crop, such as tomatoes.  Plant them the proper distance apart, then plant a quick growing crop, such as leaf lettuce or radishes in the surrounding space.  The lettuce or radishes will be harvested before the tomatoes need the space.

Companion planting:  this is the practice of growing two or more mutually beneficial plants in close proximity.  For example, grow corn and pole beans in the same area.  The corn benefits from the nitrogen fixing aspects of the beans and the corn provides a pole for the beans to climb on.  Another reason for companion plants is to protect crops from insects.  Many insects find the scent of marigolds offensive, so planting marigolds here and there throughout the garden will offer some protection from insect attacks.

Spring Cleaning

I've spent the past moth going through years of accumulated patterns, fabric and ufos.  My first goal was to use up all the odds and ends of fabric on hand.  This has resulted in 11 quilt tops, including three ufs finished.  I did manage to quilt 3/4s of one top.

Now I'm moving on to all the blocks I have.  What to do with them.  I came up with a few things.

 

 

For some of the larger blocks, shopping bags seemed like a good idea.  You can use two blocks for these bags, front and back.  I sewed a border around each block and quilted them.  Then I quilted a strip to form the sides and bottom of the bag and sewed it around.  I made a lining for the bag to hide the seams.  After inserting the lining, I finished the top edge by inserting a handle on both sides of the bag and finishing it off with  matching strip of fabric.  It's a pretty easy project.

 

Pillows are also a great project for using up odd blocks.  Again, you can use two blocks making the pillow reversible.  Quilt two blocks and sew them together.  Insert a pillow form or fill with batting.  Close the opening.

 

 

 

I used a different technique for this pillow.  Reverse applique.  For this method select fabric for the top of the pillow and cut to size desired.  Trace your design onto the square.  Select fabrics in your choice of color and stack them under the top in the order of use.  Cut the fabric to roughly the shape of the pattern area. Number the layers as you add them.  My first  layer was turquoise for the upper wing area.  Layer 2 was the turquoise for the bottom area.  3 was the center turquoise color.  Then I add yellow as 4, orange as 5 and red as 6.   When you have placed all the fabrics. satin stitch around all the lines of the pattern using a matching or contrasting thread.  When the stitching is finished. using a very sharp pair of scissors, cut through the top to layer 1, cutting close to the stitching but not through it.  Now cut through the top layer and layer 1 to layer 2.  Cut around layer 2 as before.  Continue in this manner, cutting each layer to the deeper layer below it.  When all the layers have been cut out, your design emerges.  Finish as you would any pillow.



 

March Garden To Dos

Date of Last Frost:  May 15
Weeks to Last Frost:  10

Things to Do This Month

     Prepare ground when possible
     Continue pruning and pest control applications
     Remove mulches from early bulbs
     Clean up winter debris
     Plant or divide rhubarb
     Plant asparagus, strawberries, fruit trees and berry bushes
     Sow seeds of plants requiring 8 weeks to transplant size
     If not planted in the fall, plant garlic as soon as you can work the soil.

My Spring Planting Guide tells  me that I can set out boccoli, brusels sprouts, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, onion seeda, gaarden peas, shallots and turnips, 4 to 6 weeks before last frost date.  This means that I want to plant them indoors 4-6 weeks before their set out date to have plants large enough for transplant. 

I use jiffy pellets to sow the seeds, then place them inside a lidded plastic container.  These containers are used to package produce, cheese, meals, and my favorite is the one my supermarket uses for rotissorie chicken.  Once planted, I place them on top of the refrigerator, I get germination within five days. 

Sawtooth

     I finished all the tops I had in progress and now have 9 tops to quilt.  Oh fun.  As I have mentioned before, I hate the quilting part, but it isn't a quilt until it's quilted.

      I looked at the Sawtooth pattern and saw this huge 12" center square that needs to be filled with quilting.  This is a great space for those of you who love the quiltng part and you can use some of those oversize designs you have.  But I kept trying to think of a way to shrink that square to something not quite so time consuming.

     My daughter put in a request for a quilt some time ago, and I though, aha!  I can run off pictures of her dogs and fill the square with those.  I could then get by with minimal quilting in the square.  I ran the idea by her and we both agreed that this particular quilt was better suited to pictures of children, because of the bright, scrappy colors.

 

 

     We agreed that for her dogs the half square triangles should be in shades of brown and black. 

 



       This is still a little bright, but the colors in my graphics program are pretty vivid.  You could adapt this idea to feature family members, using their favorite colors to form the half square triangle frames.

     Another treatment for this square would be embroidery or red work.  The redwork would be truly stunning.  It doesn't show up well in the photo above, but I quilted  each of the squares using a different design in blue thread.  It looked really good.

February Garden To Do

Things To Do This Month

     Order seeds and plants if not alredy done
     Clean up winter debris
     Continue dormant pruning
     Aply dormant pest controls to fruit trees
     Take cuttings of geraniums
     Sow indoors seeds reuiring up to 12 weeks to transplnt

     Every seed packet tells you in which zones you can plant their particular seed.  For example on my packet of chives it tells me that the plants will grow in zones 3-9.  Also on the seed packet is a map of the US divided into 10 zones  

 

 

 

 

                                                                  

                                                                     Date of Last Spring       Date of First Fall

                                                                                Frost                         Frost

                                                                      Zone

                                                                     

                                                                         1      Junw 15                August 1

                                                                         2      June 10                 August 20

                                                                         3      May 30                 September 25

                                                                         4      May 20                 October 1

                                                                         5      May 10                  October 10

                                                                         6      April 30                October 20

                                                                         7      March 30              November 10

                                                                         8      March 10              November 20

                                                                         9      January 30             December 10

                                                                      10      No frost                 No frost 

 

     To use this information, I live in Zone 5.  I would count back 12 weeks from May 10, which would be about February 10 to sow seeds indoors for any seed requiring 12 weeks to transplant size.

 

       To determine fall planting dates you must take into account that the days are getting shorter and extra time will be needed for plants to reach maturity than when planted in the spring.  This is known as the short day factor and amounts to about 14 days.  In other words, if the packet lists 50 days to maturity, you would add 5 days for germination, plus the 14 short day factor, for a total of 69 days from date of first frost.





 

Autumn Tints

     I am getting  sick of half square triangles, so when I came across this picture I decided to take a break from then.  I made this quilt several years ago for a book called Christmas Scrapcrafts.   I sent all the projects to New York to be photographed  and someone walked off with all of them.  The only thing I got back was a few photos. 

     This is a super easy, quick quilt that you could probably finish in a weekend.  I used fabric I had on hand but you can use any colors you want.  You will need 3  yards for the large squares and 3 yards for the light squares, plus assorted amounts of 12 colors for the small squares.

     Cut dark fabric into 7" squares.  Cut light fabric into 4: wide strips.  Cut colored fabrics into 4" strips.  Sew a light and colored fabric together, then cut apart every 4".  Sew two such squares together to form a checkerboard. 

     Working across, start with a plain square, then alternate with a pieced square, end with a plain square.
You will need 12 print #1, 10 print #2, 8 print #3, 6 print #4, 4 print #5 and 2 print#6.
For the second row, start with print #7 then follow the same sequence as the first row.  The left side will start with a new print, then follow the sequence as before.   You will need 12 print #7, 10 print #8, 8 print #9, 6 print # 10, 4 print #11 and 2 print #12.

It's Garden Time

       Next to quilting, gardening is my second passion.   I know it's January and at least here in Ohio there is snow on the ground, but now is the time to start planning the garden.   Several years ago I wrote a book called "Garden Diary".  It's broken down into months and each section begins with "Things To Do This Month."  Here is
the one for January.

1.   Plan this year's garden.
2.   Prune fruit trees, summer blooming trees and shrubs as weather   permits.
3.   Fertilize spring blooming shrubs.
4.   Keep snow build up off evergreen brances to prevent breaking.
5.   Force rhubarb.
6.   Force chichons.
7.   Force bulbs.
8.   Clean and sharpen tools.
9.   Comparison shop the seed companies and decide what you will plant this year.
10.  Assemble flats and soil for next month's indoor planting.

     Hope this gets you in the mood.