Mask making

I’m late to the mask making party. A mere 2 weeks ago, authorities (at least locally) were saying how plain cotton masks were of no use in protecting against Covid-19. Now that the theory is “any port in a storm”, I am on a mission to create as many as I can. I rarely use batiks, but since the thread count is so high, I dug out the remnants of the 200 napkins I made for my daughter's wedding. Happy to see these pieces will now be used. I sent the first 3 to my children in Florida. Many of my non quilting friends have asked me for them so I don’t think I will have any problem keeping myself busy! I used every spare shoe lace I had in the house and now I have to actually make the strings – time consuming, but manageable.

To keep from going mask crazy, I have alternated my time with more fun sewing. I finally finished my Bea and Cecile quilt-a-long star quilt. I just felt is was blah without the applique. The bird by itself just wasn’t cutting it either so I added a little vine and spring tulip to the bottom. Now I love it! I am calling it "Distelfink". 

The backing was a glorious piece I bought on the sale (I mean real sale - like $1.00 per yard) table in the gift shop of the New England Quilt Museum. So happy to have found a perfect use for it. The close up is a better representation of the color. 

I’ve been working on my little doll quilt for the Humble Quilts swap too. No photos until we all link up, but I am loving it. Hope I can let it go at the end of the month!

Stay strong and quilt on!

March Mini

My local, “Kaleidoscope” quilt group hosted a mystery quilt challenge. I have done 2 mystery quilts in the past with Kevin (Kevin the Quilter). Well, to be honest I did one mystery with Kevin (here) and the second one is still in this stage. 

So, because I am so dedicated (wink), I decided to give it a whirl.

This photo is closer to the true colors

As usual when I try to follow directions I stray and I ended up with an extra block. I simply quartered it and used them as corner blocks and I like the effect. The border fabric is from an older line by my friend, Judy Roche called "Peddler's Pack". It is one of my all time favorites. I just love pink and brown together.

 The first set of directions gave the overall size of the quilt as 48”. I realized that if I simply cut all dimensions in half and the finished size would be 24” (yes, I am a math whiz!) and therefore I would have a “monthly mini” in the end. So, I am calling this one “Two Birds”. 

In these strange and troublesome times, many of us have all taken on new tasks to help those in need and thus may not have had the time to put together a monthly mini. So, I have linked up everyone who has participate in the past (and a few who have simply made some spectacular minis before and I think you will want to visit them) so you can see what they have been up to. Enjoy! Stay safe and healthy.

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Janet (Rogue Quilter)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones& Elusive Ancestors)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)
Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Barb (Fun with Barb)
Grace (City Mouse Quilter)

Pat (Thoughts from Taylors Outback)
Cyndi (Busy Thimble)
Gladi (Gladi Quilts)
Katy (Katy Quilts)
Karen (Log Cabin Quilts)

Trying Times

I feel like I should title this post, “What I did on my Summer Vacation”. I am feeling lucky to be one of the few who can adjust work schedules to stay healthy. I have been going into the office on weekends and early (4:00 a.m.) mornings to get as much as I can done before any humans arrive.

I am actually feeling a tad guilty for all the free time I have had. Well, perhaps just a “tad” as I really have accomplished quite a bit over the past 10 days of sequestered bliss. 

I feel I should have been doing this

 But instead...

The first thing I did was to pack this little quilt I mad for my nephew and niece. Momma is a librarian at Bates College and although this does not fit the theme of her new nursery, I just couldn’t resist! I feel so badly for expectant parents. They are due in 2 weeks and unless things change drastically, my nephew will not be able to attend the birth. This just brings me to tears. 

Love the backing fabric

One of our employees at the boatyard is in the same boat (no pun intended). He stopped working 2 weeks ago and they are due about the same time as my nephew. I made this little baby toy and sent it out to them. 

Our local hospital is in desperate need of quilts for veterans so I made this simple 4-patch and dropped it off with my neighbor who is delivering them. A lot of my friends are making masks, but our local hospital is not taking cotton masks yet. We did deliver a good quantity of N95 masks that we had in the boatshop.  

Love this backing! 

My daughter requested a mat for my 2 year old grandson to help him learn about animal habitats. He has a whole set of wooden animals and now he can place them where they live. There is a river with an island, a jungle, a farm pasture, a desert, a glacier and a strip for the stuffed mountains. Not fancy, but he loves it, and Nana used up a lot of wool that was just sitting in bins! 

I have mentioned before that Maine is celebrating our 200^th anniversary. Our quilt study group is making a quilt to put on a frame at the Maine State Museum for people to try their hand at quilting. We are each making 12 uneven 9-patch and 12 half square triangle blocks. I finished mine and hope we will be able to get together soon to assemble them. 

I finished quilting my Beaand Cecile quilt-a-long star quilt. I thought it looked rather empty so I appliqued a bird. Thinking I might do something in the lower corner too.

I finished block #3 of the Cassandra’s Circle sew-a-long with Barbara Brackman. I felt it needed a bit of spice too so I added the little circles.

I did the same thing after looking at my center block. Much happier now! 

I will be posting the monthly minis on Tuesday and then we shall see what the next 10 days brings. We can all get through this if we follow the guidelines set forth by the scientists. And, now we know “why” we need that gigantic stash! Stay safe and healthy my friends.

Happy 200th Birthday Maine!

Happy birthday Maine. Sorry we won’t be celebrating the way we wanted to just now, but we will get together with all the “Maniacs” soon! 

All my non quilting friends now understand why we stockpile fabric! 

Stay safe and healthy my friends!

Bea and Cecile's Quilt-a-long stars

Once again, I am participating in Bea and Cecile’s sew-a-long. This year the theme is stars. 

I used bright Pennsylvania colors and chose a Lancaster blue as my background. It looks rather dull in the photo. I think it needs a little applique. As Audrey (Quilty Folk) often says, everything is better with applique! They don’t have to be finished until May 31, so I have time to ruminate. 

As I trimmed these little stars, I saved these tiny triangles (less than 1/4") as a joke for my friend Charlotte who makes the most amazing things with small pieces. She will get a chuckle out of it. 

You can visit the Facebook page (here) for more delightful star blocks and tops. Enjoy!

February mini - Life is a Bowl of Cherries

I cannot remember the last time I got chocolates for Valentine’s Day. In fact, it may have only been once when we were young and I was on one of my perpetual diets and I probably gave him the idea that flowers would be better from now on. Anyway, this little mini reminds me of chocolate covered cherries and Valentine’s Day. Perfect for February.

This teal stripe just begged for mitered corners.

For the first time in my life, I managed to match up a stripe only to cover it up with a silly red cherry! Such is life. 

I’m sorry I am posting late! I had intended to post early, but... Please visit all the hard working mini makers to see what they have come up with. And, please let me know if I have missed anyone. I’m so proud of all my mini followers this month as we only had 29 days to make one!

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Janet (Rogue Quilter)
Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Barb (Fun With Barb) 
Kathy (Kathy's Quilts) 
Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones & Elusive Ancestors)
Kyle (Timeless Reflections) 
Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cassandra's Circle Block #1

I enjoyed Barbara Brackman’s (Civil War Quilts), “Hospital Sketches” so much last year that I have decided to participate again. This year’s applique sew-a-long is called Cassandra’s Circle.

My Hospital Sketches background was a beautiful, albeit unusual, shade of green. I thought perhaps I would go softer with this one and started auditioning fabrics. I narrowed it down to these three. 

And then of course ended up with this one.

You just can’t change a leopard’s spots.   

 

Do visit the Facebook page (here) to see all the variations. I am definitely not the only crazy person out there. There are so many creative people in the world!