Dark Solstice - June Mini

I thought it would be nice to make something with flowers for my June mini. I have boxes full of little hexie flowers that were already stitched, so this would be easy peasy. 

I found myself pulling out these dark fabrics and realized it was reflective of our dark and dreary Spring! I just stitched them together, popped out the oaktag papers and appliqued it onto this gray fabric. I punch a hole in the center of my templates for easy removal with tweezers and they are reusable.

I searched for the darkest fabric in my stash for the border and voila! 

I felt if I used a bright yellow floral for the back, the sun might finally come out.

Let me tell you, it worked! Just as I finished the binding, the sun came out and we had two lovely days of sunshine in a row! The mold is beginning to recede!

Click on the links to my fellow mini makers to see their delightful creations.

Quilting Babcia - (Amity Quilter) 

Randy -  (Barrister’s Block)
Barb - (Fun with Barb) 
Sandy - (My Material Creations) 
Barbara - (Quilts, Gravestones and Other Elusive Ancestors) 
Janet - (Rogue Quilter)

I just returned from the Vermont Quilt Festival where I met up with Randy (Barrister's Block) and Barb (Fun with Barb). What a ball! I will post more later, but you will want to check out Barb and Randy's blogs as they are much better photographers! I've been pretty bad about reading and commenting in Blogland this week. I do hope to catch up next week! 

Happy Summer to all!

C1880 9-patch blocks

It has been the worst Spring ever for me! Dark, dreary weather and a few other not so nice surprises. So… it was very nice to find these wonderful little blocks (and label for the back of my quilt) from Pam Buda in my mailbox.

I am so thankful that Pam asked me to participate in the swap of these little gems.

I have had so much fun making these, but I am not very good about posting! Now on to piecing the rows.

Do check out Pam’s Blog (here) and Facebook page (here) join in the fun!

I am off to the Vermont QuiltFestival for a few days of Q & R (quilts and relaxation). Hope to see you there! And, I hope when things settle down, I will be a better Blogger!

Vintage Patchwork - June project

This month’s project from PamBuda’s Vintage Patchwork is called “Little Women”. It is a sweet one for sure. I did simple machine quilting in the ditch as I wanted to get it done in time to send it off as soon as I finished it.

I sent 8 of my monthly mini quilts (posted previously on my blog) to the Hopes and Dreams quilt challenge for ALS.

I have lost two friends to this dreaded disease in the past few years and I want to do all I can to help this project. I found out about it in a pamphlet in a package of Quilters Dream wool batting. You can make a quilt for an ALS patient or send a mini quilt to be sold to raise funds. The information is on their website (here). Count each day as a blessing. 

Monthly mini/indigo challenge

This month’s mini is a “twofer”! It is my monthly mini, but also a challenge proposed by Sandy (My Material Creations). 

When Sandy posted that she had acquired some wonderful antique indigo fabrics (here) I admit I was green with envy. All I could think of was how I hoped I could stumble onto a treasure trove like that someday. And just like that, my dream came true.

Sandy asked me if I would like to be part of a 4 person [Sandy (My Material Creations), Janet (RogueQuilter), Barbara (Quilts Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors) and me] challenge to make a little quilt utilizing these fabulous fabrics. Would I? Oh yes!!

I was overwhelmed when my package of “scraps” arrived in the mail. A gallon sized bag of 17 different antique (c1890) indigo prints. Wow! I couldn’t wait to start. Sandy had already given us a taste of her little blue and white 9-patch (here) – gorgeous! Janet’s post of her little cheddar and blue gem (here) really got the juices flowing!

So, what if I could make one using my favorite colors. I went to my antique bin to see if I could find enough color to suit me. I’m happy with how the center came out. 

I was able to find a border print (c1880) that I rescued from a mouse eaten quilt top years ago. I hand quilted it using a split wool batting.

Normally I make oversized blocks and just lop off edges as I work along. I am much more careful with these antique pieces, giving them the respect they deserve. I wonder if 100 years from now, someone will find my stash of fabrics and be as thrilled with them as I am with these.

Just look at the gorgeous creations our team came up with!
Sandy (My Material Creations)

Janet (Rogue Quilter)

Barbara (Quilts Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Thanks Sandy, for the fabrics and the challenge!

 And, here are a few non-indigo monthly minis:
Barb (Fun with Barb) made a marvelous modern mini (here)
Sandy (My Material Creations) made a second mini just for the monthly challenge (here) wow!
Pat (Taylor's Outback) made an adorable mini from Pam Buda's Vintage Patchwork this month. Check it out (here) is is so sweet!

Great job everyone!

Hospital Sketches #4 Coxcomb and Currants

This 4^th block in Barbara Brackman’s “Hospital Sketches” sew-a-long was right up my alley! I love appliqueing little circles. I could do this all day long! 

This one is wild and scrappy just like me! Check out all the renditions of this block on the Facebook page (here). 

We finally had a day with sun and I was able to get a photo that better captures the green of my background.

I hope all of you are finally experiencing Spring. It’s been slow coming to Maine, but we finally hit above 60 degrees yesterday. Back to September weather today, but I’m sure Spring will be back soon. Enjoy the day!

Humble Quilts mini swap

Debby asked me to post the quilt I sent her since she doesn't have a blog. I thought the best way would be do it in a separate post, so here is the little quilt I made for Debby in Washington. This year's swap was the best one yet! Thanks again Lori!!

Noah and Matilda go to Lancaster

Welcome to the “overthinker’s club”! After choosing the perfect fabric for the border of my second Noah andMatilda quilt at Busy Thimble, I came home and dug out a few more – “just in case”. Of course, I went right back to my original choice. Do you do that too? 

I have already started to hand quilt it, so if you preferred one of the other choices for the border – please don’t let me know! Wink! 

I like to split my wool batts in half for a lower loft. I am using my preferred “Quilters Dream” for this one. It is easy to do in the potholder method as the pieces are so much smaller. This one was a bear. I ended up with a much thicker batt than I would normally use. I have found that battings do vary even from the same company. Some are very easy to split into even layers and others present a challenge. This one just wanted to be “fat”! The silver lining is that I now have lots of “shreds” for stuffing.

You can see lots of Noah andMatilda variations on the Facebook page (here). Such creativity!! 

You can get the pattern for this fabulous quilt from Dawn (Collector with a Needle). I had so much fun with the first one I had to do it again!