UFO FINISHED

I always have more plans for Holiday gift giving than I ever get finished.  This year was no different.  I had planned to have these Wall Hangings done for Christmas 2015.  Did not happen.

They are now finished and I will pass them on to the lucky(?) recipient by Christmas 2016 so they may be used in the Holiday festivities.

I fell in love with this pattern when a friend of mine shared it with me.  I decided that it would be gorgeous done in Batiks.  Making three separate pieces seemed to be a better plan than making one large piece.  I thought this allowed the pieces to be displayed in more ways.

This is raw-edge applique with organic straight line quilting.  These are very contemporary pieces and I decided less was more.

           FAITH is actually done in purple, the color of power

HOPE is done in green, the color of abundance

LOVE is done in red, the color of strength

HOPE, LOVE, FAITH

Pattern by J. Michelle Watts

-sandi

JUST A LITTLE KNITTING

I have these bags and bags of scraps.  One of the bags had a lot of batiks that were strings that are too narrow for piecing but I couldn't throw them out.  What can I do with these?  Ooohhhh, maybe make a scarf??  Knit or Crochet?? 

So they have been sorted into color families and put into plastic bags.

I chose some Size 8 US needles and started by casting on 16 stitches.  I think I will just knit every row and see what happens.

Here is the pile of red/pinks.
So I have started here and I have been knitting for about 30 minutes and this is what I have.

Getting started was a little tedious with the thickness of the strings but as the piece grew it became easier.  

It became just too difficult to knit with this size needle so I took it apart and started over with a larger needle (Size 10 US).  This is much better!

Now I will continue to knit until I run out of strings.  I just like the act of knitting, I usually do not have a real pattern.  When this is finished I will decide what kind of project I will use it for.
Something about winter makes me want to pick up my knitting needles.  Wish I were talented enough to finish my socks or the sweater I started two winters ago....

                             -sandi

LIL BIT GETS A NEW QUILT!

LilBit likes to share the love seat with me when she has a snack or a treat bone.  Well, being the spoiled princess that she is, allows her the privilege of doing just that.  I put a quilt on the love seat to try to protect it from her food mess.  

This is a quilt I made using some of my step-out blocks from Snail's Trail Class that I taught a couple of years ago.

I decided that she needed a new quilt with a fall theme.  I had a bunch of strips left over from another project.  Imagine that!

I decided to play "What if . . ." and make improv blocks.  I started out making some wonky log cabin blocks.

What if...

I decided to use up more strips and make some strata blocks that I then cut to size to go with the wonky log cabins.

What if ...
I make a center block of dark strips.  Then cut these in half twice on the diagonal and re-sew into one 12 inch block.

Now what if....
I put these together into a 9-patch design???

I am not so sure the center block was effective, but it will remain.
What if I add a border,,, or not??

NOT!!!  This quilt did not need a border!  It was more interesting on its own.

Now for the quilting. . .

I love straight-line quilting.  On this quilt I chose to use simple flannel as my batting with a cotton backing so the quilt would launder and dry quickly and easily.  When I do straight-line quilting with regular batting I get a stronger texture than I got on this piece.

In two of the corners I chose to do rays.

I learned that it would have been better to originate my base on the opposite corner because the collection of threads in that upper right corner was tedious to say the least.  It was quite a build up and burying that many threads was a chore!

In the other two corners I chose to go back to working the stair step pattern.  I really like this pattern because a secondary texture usually develops at the intersection.

The secondary texture is not as evident here because of so many lines on the logs.

The strata blocks were quilted in sets of lines with a very organic feel to them.

And in the center I chose to do a spiral.  Again, lesson learned here was those blocks were way too busy for that design to show much.
Using all of these batiks made the pieces very busy and less clean looking.  I think this is still an example of a quilt with a modern aesthetic, but it would have been more interesting with less busy patterns on the fabrics.

This was a really fun practice piece and has turned into a cute little quilt for LilBit to snuggle into on the love seat.  It measures 36" square.

Here is a look at the quilt hanging up.

The indoor shot gives you a better perspective of size with it hanging over our fireplace.  The outdoor piece appears larger.

"Hey Mom, I love my new quilt.  Thanks", says LilBit.


                                                        -sandi

LEFTOVERS

I lived in the country when I was a girl and my mom was a stay-at- home mom.  She was also a great cook!!!  Even when our income was meager, she still managed to put together meals for us from leftovers.  Sometimes the leftovers were much better the second time around when she had added other ingredients to them and changed what they looked like the day before.

I have talked about the "drawer" in my sewing room that contains lots of leftovers.  Sometimes it is blocks, sometimes it is components of blocks, and sometimes it is simply scrap strips.

Here is what I found in the "drawer" the other day.

This is a leftover split 9-patch block made using batiks.

I looked around until I found a bin of leftover batik strips.

Then the fun began.

I decided to make a place mat with this block placed on point.

I could build it out by Quilt As You Go and Flip and Stitch.

The first thing I did was quilt this block.

Here is the way it looks on the back.

I thought this was pretty cool!!

Then I started adding strips to the four sides of the diamond.  I decided to reverse the value of the strips to the block.  Light against dark and dark against light.

Since I was using Stitch and Flip Method here, I did not need to add any more quilting.

I really like how it looks.  And on the back it looks pretty neat too.

I pulled some strips out of the bin and made the binding.

I decided to complete the binding on the machine to make it sturdier because this place mat will get a lot of washing.

Of course, there is only one of these, but I don't mind that every one's place mat is different at my house!!  After all, this was a practice piece for trying some straight-line quilting and using up some leftovers.

                                                     -sandi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN DECEMBER

Another quilt finished for one of my sweet friends.  Her birthday is in December.

This is an Eleanor Burns pattern and I used all Batiks.  I like the clear, crisp lines it has.  It is called "Hole in the Wall" designed by Sue Bouchard of Quilt in a Day.

I changed the cornerstones to a fabric that was similar to the block centers for added interest.  In the original pattern, the cornerstones were the same fabric as the sashing.

This is the back of the quilt using up most of the scraps.

I really like this label that I am using.  It is simple and basic.

A personal size quilt for a special person!  Happy Birthday, Phyllis!!

                                              -sandi

IT'S PLAYTIME

I have huge baskets, boxes and bags of scraps.  Some have been sorted into color families; some by style; and some by type of fabric.

I picked up the bag of batiks and started Playtime the other day.  I just wanted to "make something".  I don't have a plan in mind other than to be creative and go at it in an Improv style.

So what happens next??

Put several of these together.

Hmmm, well, I don't know.  Let's just put all of them on the design wall and see what it says.

I think it says, "Need more blocks or some strips".

Okay, will take it from here.  Stay tuned!

                                               -sandi

EASY STREET PROGRESS

My last post about the Easy Street Mystery Quilt Project by Bonnie Hunter was without pictures.  I now have the capability to add some pictures.

Here are my fabrics and a few of my Step One Four-Patch blocks.

I exchanged my oranges for the Teal/Turquoise Blues and included some periwinkle in my purples.

I will be doing some blocks of each step in the beginning because of time restraints.  I will finish this after the first of the year.

Step Two was making Flying Geese with the Purples and Black/White background fabrics.

I used the EZ Angle Ruler and the Companion Ruler that Bonnie suggested.  I was very happy with my results.  There was minimum sliver trimming.

I think this is going to be another fun adventure.


                                      -sandi