October Monthly Mini

 

Aptly named, “Pumpkin Patch”, this month’s mini was a joy to make. I added a bit of extra batting to the pumpkins and hand stitched the curves to simulate the real thing.

I used this whimsical Halloween print on the back. 

Who doesn’t love pumpkins? They are cute, colorful and they taste delicious. 

Cruise through my fellow mini maker’s pumpkin patches to see what they have created this month.

 

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

 Happy Halloween!

Sew-along updates: Cassandra's Circle and Fig Leaf and Flower

 

I am very thankful for the sew-a-longs I have been involved with this year. They have (for the most part) truly saved me from overthinking (I’ve actually done very little thinking at all in 2020) my quilting endeavors.

 I finished our 3-way (Barrister’s Block, Fun With Barb and me) medallion challenge fairly quickly because we kept it simple. We were all experiencing Covid brain! Now I just need to quilt it.

 Barbara Brackman’s (Civil WarQuilts) Cassandra’s Circle has kept me entertained with the wonderful stories that go along with each block. Here is my most recent block, Molly’s Cotton Boll. 

 My Sew-a-long with Dawn (Collector with a Needle) this year is with her new pattern, “Fig Leaf and Flower”. Dawn and her daughter create wonderful patterns of antique quilts in Dawn’s collection.

 One of the first things Dawn states is to “read the instructions thoroughly before cutting”. Makes perfect sense to me. Of course, if I had done that, I would not be in the predicament I am now. I backbasted and appliqued the stems, leaves, flowers and 183 of the 213 petals before I discovered that I had oriented my swirly vine in the wrong direction!  

I borrowed Dawn's image so I could show you what I mean. The pattern is supposed to orient like this on the center square: 

Funny, normally I would have wadded it up and put it in a drawer until my tears dried. But in all that has happened lately, this seemed so petty. I literally laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh, in fact I couldn’t stop! 

 So… I have to “start thinking” and come up with a clever way to salvage this center. At this point I think I will make this into a smaller quilt and go shopping for background fabric for round #2! See, there is a silver lining after all.

 Stay tuned for the next episode of “sewing in the fog”!

Winner - Lucky #7

I laughed when I pulled the lucky number “7” out the mask and was delighted to find out that the commenter was Janet (RogueQuilts). Janet has made nearly 500 masks!! She is a super participant in our monthly mini’s. I’m sure she will make something fantastic with these little charm squares.

 

And after all the mask making, I hope she takes a few moments to enjoy the latest issues of “Primitive Quilts and Projects” and Quiltmania’s “Simply Vintage”.

 I would like to say that each and every commenter is a winner. You have all done your part in helping others survive the struggles we are facing right now. Kudos to all of you! Quilters are the best!

Mask Production 101 with a little giveaway

 

After the 50^th mask came off my machine, I thought – “enough”! But the requests kept coming and so another 50 marched through and then out the door. I ran out of elastic weeks ago and resorted to cutting up old t-shirts. They are actually more comfortable than the elastic! I’m sure we are all sick of making masks and gowns and caps, but as quilters we cannot say no to those in need and so… here is 101!

 

My mind has turned to mush during these crazy times and I feel like my quilting has suffered. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. If you have been in production, what was “your” breaking point?

 Simply leave me a comment on or before October 10 for a chance to win a little surprise package. This includes my overseas friends as well, just realize that if you win, it may take a bit longer to reach you.

 I will number each response and choose a winner by drawing a number out of a mask!

September Monthly Mini

September is a busy month in the boatyard. It is hard to believe that we have already begun decommissioning boats to be hauled out for the winter. There are still a few who, like me, realize that September offers some of the best cruising of the year. I just love watching boats sail in through the gut just before sunset. 

This month’s (very simple) mini, “September Sunset” reminds me of the wonderful colors on the horizon this time of year.

 Further your quilting horizons by visiting my fellow mini makers (alphabetically):

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Vicki (From the Button Box)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Medallion Challenge and a New Baby Quilt

 

Barb (Fun with Barb) and Randy (Barrister’s Block) and I wanted to do some sort of challenge that was simple with very few rules. We decided on a medallion quilt where each of us would choose a border. Sort of a “Round Robin” where the bird never leaves the roost. We started with a center applique (or in my case this lovely cheater panel!) and then chose the next 3 borders (in any order we pleased) – flying geese, four patch, and half square triangles with stars as an added bonus if we could work them in.

 

I finally finished mine over the weekend. I use my favorite “eccentric” print from Marcus Fabrics and just pulled scraps out of my bins. We had a lot of fun!

 

It is amazing how different the three of them are. Visit Barb’s (here) and Randy’s (here).

 

I also finished a baby quilt top for my niece who is due in November. I made baby quilts for each of my 10 nieces and nephews when they were born and I have made one for each of their children (14 thus far).

 

Diana’s nursery “theme” is based on her love for the artist, Dahlov Ipcar. The giraffe and simple tree shape along with the little flowers in the corner blocks were inspired by Dahlov’s “Calico Jungle” book. I ordered a cute jungle print from Hancock’s but when it arrived, I discovered it was a heavy indoor/outdoor fabric (no attention to detail these days!), so I had to re-group. I looked around “Alewives Fabrics” website and found this adorable print with little girls climbing trees and the color was perfect!

 

Dahlov made only one quilt (for her son) in the 1940’s, but she did make the most elaborate and colorful soft sculptures. I wish I could have shared this quilt with her. She would have loved it. She always told me she had no patience for quilting, but she loved to look at them. She passed away in 2017 just shy of her 100^th birthday.

 

Hope you all get some quilty time this week!

Spread a little kindess

 In Janet’s (Rogue Quilter) post of her monthly mini on Monday she asked us to do something kind for our neighbor. Lori’s (Humble Quilts) post today asked us to start a movement of kindness posting. If we can all post a message of peace and kindness and maybe even a little joy, perhaps we can lift the spirits of someone in need.

 Keeping it quilty, this is a little quilt I made a few years ago for the Quilt Index auction. I called it “Earth on Piece”. 

I am sending all my positive vibes to everyone on this planet. Everyone! Whether I agree with you or not, we all deserve a little human kindness. 

Peace be with you all.