No Diamonds In The Sky

I finished the final border on this today. The rest has been done for months but when it comes to borders I just don't like doing them very much so I put it off. It's so large, 95" x 95" I think, that I couldn't get it all in the frame while hanging up.

International Round Robin 2

The first row has been added to my center and it's wonderful! The colors match up so well and I love how she has each color going around the corners.

The one I put the first round on is ready to send out tomorrow too.

Layer Cake and Jelly Roll Quilt

This is made with one layer cake and one jelly roll of Fig & Plum by Fig Tree. I love these colors, especially the blue that looks like Tiffany Blue. This is a very, very easy quilt to make. I used the method of placing two layer cake squares right sides together, sew a seam 1/4" from both sides of a middle line. Cut them apart on the line, press, and you now have two half-square blocks. Place these together with opposite fabrics together and again sew up both sides of the middle line (opposite corners of the first seam). Cut them apart on the line and press. You get two finished blocks. The sashing is jelly roll strips and I used the darkest jelly roll for the sashing posts.

I have some yardage of 3 of these fabrics but I haven't decided if I will do more borders on this one. I have another jelly roll of this fabric and I might need the other fabric with it to make a good sized quilt.

Fall quilt top done

This was a very easy and quick project. I used an Electric Quilt 6 layout and added the leaf motifs. The fabric is Hearth & Home from Connecting Threads. All of the pieces are 5 1/2" and 10 1/2" cuts (unfinished size). The border is 3" strips sewn together and cut into 5" sections. I found a flannel in green with acorns on it for the backing at Thousands of Bolts online. It's for my family room to snuggle on the couch with.

Got my IRR center mailed off today

After fussing with the corner pieces facing outwards I just turned them around. With them turned facing inwards I thought it looked better to have the dark and light of the same color being the opening of the stars instead of the points. It's not exactly what I wanted but, it will do.

I'll post the ones that I receive along the way with the borders that I add onto them.

Dear Jane

I'm going to do a Dear Jane quilt. Every quilter knows that this is a major project to take on and it's going to take years. There is a group of people on the Quilter's Message Board that are going to do it together and we're starting in January. I will try and figure out how to do a sidebar on this blog that will just contain the DJ updates and pictures of blocks so it's not buried in other posts.


I got the Dear Jane software and found Civil War Reproduction fabric bundles on eBay specifically put together for Dear Jane. The fabric is 200 different 9" x 11" cuts from seller 40yearhoarder on eBay. I got sets #9, #10, #11, and #12.

I also got an entire bolt, 15 yards, of Kona Cotton in Ivory for the background. The Kona was only $3.79 per yard at Fabric Direct but you do have to buy it by the bolt. That's a great price and I have found it to be from $6 to $10 per yard at other online retailers. Nice resourse for the staples in a fabric stash or if you want to go in together with friends and buy bolts.

Not all about quilting

Life isn't all about quilting... sometimes ;-) I have hardly stepped into my sewing room for the last month and one reason is that, after 30 years, I quit smoking. It will be 4 weeks on Monday since I quit. It sounds that doing something productive would be a help in quitting but I found that I needed to change my pattern (no pun intended) and do other things. I'm ready to go back into the sewing room and yesterday I worked on my IRR center. I did two of the center star points and, wouldn't you know it, I messed up on one of them and put the colors on the wrong sides. I'm going to try and finish it today. There are so many other designs that I want to work on which I won't do until I get this done!

IRR center in progress

I started on this 3 nights ago, it's taking me one evening to do a block. It's not hard, just time consuming with sewing and ironing every piece. It's coming out OK but the hard part is going to be the wedges of two colored points that are going between these and the star points.

Completed the basket quilt top

This one is for my eldest daughter, she chose the fabric. Since it was cherries, apples, chickens, egg beaters and stuff, I decided on a basket block. It took me awhile to get the borders done because they are pieced and I needed to match up the apples.

I have a white-on-white backing and will send it to a LAQ for quilting.

Next Project?

After doing the patriotic quilt I will probably do something quick and simple. I got the FQ set of Hearth & Home at Connecting Threads and used an EQ6 layout to do this design.

The design is 52"x62" as it is here so it's a lap size and the colors will go great in my familyroom with the browns, oranges and greens. EQ6 over estimates the fabric requirements, in my opinion, so if there is enough I could do a piano key border.

Patriotic quilt top is done

I just finished the borders this morning. The fabric is from the Coverlet II collection by Windham. It's 94" x 94" with forty nine 12" blocks and 5" borders. I used the solid patterned fabrics in the blocks forming the diamond shape around the center medalion, the less solid to frame it, then the solid again in the corners. The center medalion is hand applique'd as are the stars in the corner flag blocks.

IRR with sample borders

I put the required size and number of borders around this center to see what it would look like, the first border is black. I really like this, the colors are vibrant and the black makes the center glow.

IRR #3

I have nine floral applique patterns from Distinctive Pieces and I set one of them on a round background with a frame. I need to look through my stash and compare the applique patterns/colors with what background fabrics to decide which pattern to use.

International Round Robin 2

Modified the first design a little bit. I thought that the corners looked a little disconnected so I turned them around. Also changed the center block, the other looked like the pieces in the center didn't belong. The edges don't line up in the picture but they will if I do this one.

International Round Robin

I joined the IRR on a quilter's message board. I am so nervous!! I know a lot of people feel that way too. When you screw up on your own stuff you can always fudge it, live with it, or fix it. I don't do perfect, not even sure if I do square when the quilt gets too big to measure easily.


I need to make a center between 12" and 24". I've been working on a few designs but not sure yet what I'll do. I did this one last night, trying to come up with something to use a rainbow of hand dyed fabric I have. This might be the one and it will give people who work on my quilt a lot of color choices and don't have to try and match a floral. I do also love a Jacobean print I have in bright, bright colors.


These are 8" blocks, 24" square. I think this will need to be paper pieced.

My version of a Carpenter's Wheel

I recently got a collection of fabric for a red and white quilt and I've been trying different designs. I really like the Carpenter's Wheel but I don't like doing diamonds. Playing around with it in Electric Quilt 6, I came up with this. I don't know if it is an original design but I don't remember seeing it anywhere. It looks like a flower to me, the white petals, but it was a large blank area so I added the dahlias. I'm also working on another version that has bouquets of different flowers, all in reds, in each petal.



I have some other ideas that came to mind when I was doing this one that I'll have to flesh out.

Borders almost done

I have the first border done on the No Diamonds quilt. I must say that this came out to be a striking quilt with this fabric. The indigo and dark yellow are great colors together. The last border is an indigo with tiny circles that make up stripes. It's a little time consuming to do them with lining up the stripes but in the end it is worth it.

Center Medallion for the Patriotic Quilt

Been working on this for a couple of weeks, still have 6 flowers to do. This is appliqued by hand so it takes awhile. I found a tote bag to put my supplies in so that I can take it to work with me and work on it at lunch. I get tired of doing the same thing for too long of a time so I did the 4 flag blocks for the corners of the quilt and I got one of the houses done.

Another little quickie

I've had a Charming Jelly Cake of the Aviary collection for awhile and couldn't decide what to do with it. I finally found a pattern that uses that combination of cuts and it was simple and quick so... This is my first time trying fusible applique. It's alright for small things like this but I don't really like the "stuck on" look so I wouldn't use it on something more elaborate. I changed the flower that was on the pattern to one from a Piece O' Cake pattern. I will probably give this to my granddaughter and maybe I can try machine quilting on this one too.

I don't know why there is a dark pink patch in it, you never notice these things until you see it in a picture. I have other patches of the lighter ones so it's not like I ran out. I have 2 sides of the dark pink done for a small border around this and then start using the light pieces of the layer cake cut in half for the next round.

Jelly Roll Quilt part 2

Since I had two jelly rolls of Nature's of Chorus I did another quilt from the Jelly Roll Quilts book. This one is even more simple than the first and took about 3 days to make. I really love using the jelly rolls as it cuts out a lot of cutting.

I also made pillows to go with the second quilt.

I sewed two jelly roll strips together to make the continuous prairie points. I've never done it before and I didn't know until I looked it up later that when doing the continuous points that they are nestled into each other instead of two seperate rows like I did.

Revised Patriotic Quilt

I've been going over and over the design for this quilt. I didn't quite like the teddy bear as the center block and I've kind of decided on this one.

I am waiting for a different background fabric that I ordered. I didn't quite like the wavy beige when I saw it in person. I can use it for the back if I piece it with other fabrics from the quilt.

It's Spring

After all the dark colored quilts I've been working on I wanted something light and bright. I had two jelly rolls of Nature's Chorus and one Moda Sugar that I was going to do a log cabin with. I decided to use them in something else and made a quick and easy quilt from the book Jelly Roll Quilts.

This took less than a week to make and it was easy! Sometimes I want a quick project to get something done while working on more involved ones. After completing the top I used what was left of the JR strips and some of the border fabric to make a pillow top. I still need to get the pillow form for it and I was pleasantly surprised that not having planned how big it was going to be that it is exactly right for one of the standard form sizes like the ones in my guest bedroom.

Half Timbered?

I have two jelly rolls and eight 1/2 yd cuts of fabric in the Harvest Home collection. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, I just liked the fabric. I was playing last night with a design to use them and came up with this. I love doing the log cabin with a jelly roll because it is so quick and easy and there is no cutting fabric into strips. It's a simple design but I think if the fabric placement is done right that it can have an interesting look.


The 1/2 yd cuts are of two beiges, two browns, two reds, and two blues. Of course, the jelly roll is 40 different fabrics.

Almost done

After one week of work on the latest quilt I am almost done with the top. I have one row to do on the far side and then the two borders. This was a really simple quilt though it looks quite complicated. I quite like it though the second fabric from the center is one I would have changed to another I have of the collection that is a more solid gold. There is blue background thread on that fabric that gives it a green look with the yellow.

Started on the next quilt

I am not sure about these colors yet. I got them for a man, masculine and not flowery, but it may just look dull and muddy instead.

This pattern is in a previous post about Indigo, Pewter and Honey.

Incredibly adorable quilt blocks

On a quilting message board I belong to someone posted pictures of these great blocks of boy and girl clothing. Everyone went crazy over them and asked for more pictures and where did they come from? The original poster never came back with a reply!! What I find surprising is that no one who has commented has ever seen the block before. There are many, many years of knowledge and experience on the board so this is very unusual. Lots of people posted that they have been searching the net trying to find the pattern with no success.

Not being able to find a pattern of it I created one in Electric Quilt 6. Another member converted the EQ6 file to PDF. These are my first tries of making the blocks.

Asian Fabrics

This is the first time that I got Asian fabrics. They are absolutely beautiful! I ordered 40 FQs, 10 in each color-way. I've been playing with some designs and I seem to be stuck on it. I don't know much about Asian motifs or designs and this one will have to simmer for awhile.

The fans are from http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/ There are also some darling little dolls there that I will probably do and some BOMs that I have been getting each month's block.

The center of this design is a parasol that will show the beautiful prints to advantage in large pieces. I have some beige woodgrain fabric left over from the Twiggy collection used in the feathered star and I plan to applique the spines of the parasol in it. I will also applique a circle of woodgrain over the center of the parasol where the spines will radiate from.

This picture isn't exactly what I have in mind but I found that EQ6 won't let me rotate a picture block. At least, not that I have found yet. I also have in mind to use real tassels on the fans. I am undecided about whether it needs something more or not.

Born In The USA

This one is my own design using EQ6. I wanted to do a patriotic quilt and I ordered 17 yards of fabric from the Coverlet II collection. It's gone through a couple of design changes in the last few weeks but I'm pretty happy with it. I've gone back and forth about the teddy bear in the middle. I browsed other patriotic things and nothing else has grabbed me. To me it says Born In The USA.

Indigo, Pewter and Honey

I got this pattern called No Diamonds In The Sky. It's all done with HSTs but looks like diamonds. I don't get along well with diamonds, they just never seem to come together right for me.

The fabric is Indigo, Pewter and Honey. It's so beautiful with the indigo blue and the dark yellows. There are tiny motifs in it related to honey like little honey baskets on the darkest yellow fabric.

Baskets quilt top almost done

All that is left is to sew on the borders. I need to piece them since I cut crossways so that the apples would be in rows. It looked funny with the apples all off-set from each other if I had done it lengthwise.

This is a fun and funky quilt. It sure is busy too! My daughter says she loves it but, what else is she going to say? She picked out the fabric.

Wow... didn't realize it's been so long

Been busy with work and getting as much sewing and quilting time in as I can. It's easy living alone. Not much housework to do, not much cooking to do either.

The feathered star quilt top is done. I am glad that I took a break from doing the little 6" stars and did the 6" log cabins for the border. By the time I got the body all sewn together I don't know if I would have wanted to face doing 52 log cabin blocks too! I am very happy with how it all came together after going over my measurements several times. I didn't use any kind of quilt software to design it, just used MS Paint to draw it. I did get EQ6 a few weeks ago and I've done a couple of designs with it.

I ordered at least a dozen different quilting stencils, lots of different stars in two sizes. I haven't decided which one(s) to use yet. I have time since the Log Cabin quilt is still in the frame being quilted. My quilting can't keep up with making the tops.

Completed the quilt for my brother

I finished the tying early yesterday then spent most of the rest of the day machine sewing the binding on the front and hand sewing it on the back. It took me a week to do the tying though I didn't work on it two of those days because I ran out of perle cotton.

The backing is in one piece and the color is not quite that bright blue in person, it's a steel blue. I spoke to my brother today and he will be by some day this week.

Hands are the exit of spirit

When the spirit flows from the hands, it is called "labor." From nothing, the hands start to create wonderful works of art. The hands are the exit of the spirit. The movement of the hands embodies human longings and human beings are formed by the work of the hands. The hands create forms that never existed before, and this art of creation is uniquely human. That is, human hands carve an image of the individual out of vacant space. Humans recognize the level of their own spirit by looking at what they have created with their hands. That is, the hands enable the spirit to emerge as works of art, and it will reflect what is in your heart. As a result, what is in your heart shows in your work, and the hands will reflect what level you are, sometimes joyfully, sometimes sadly.

Modified Starred and Feathered

After making 8 of the 6" star blocks I am SOOOOOO done with little triangles already. I modified the next row of stars to be a little more simple, though it still has triangles.

I received the jelly roll of this fabric collection the other day for the log cabin blocks. I'll need to cut them in half to 1 1/4" strips. The log cabin blocks are only 6" so I'll use thin stips.

Pepper Metro Market

Monaluna for Robert Kaufman Fabrics has a collection called Pepper Metro Market that my eldest daughter really likes. She also liked a basket quilt she saw so, I've combined the two.

I don't know the size of the apple graphic on the black background it has but I hope it will fit an apple in each of the black sashing posts. The cherries and apples on white will be around the blocks.

I think I will call this one Baskets of Wishes. The borders around the baskets are in a pattern called Warm Wishes.

Design for Feathered Star

I got one of the feathered stars completed yesterday and it's pretty big, 27". It is quite a bit of work to do just one of them and I planned on four of them?!? I decided to use it as a center medallion instead and this is the design that came to me at work today. I call it Starred and Feathered.

One quilt ready for the frame

I got the borders sewn on last night on the quilt for my brother. It's a time consuming task but careful work now makes it worth it in the end. Isn't that the way in many things, like painting? They say it's all in the prep work.

There are many examples of wavy borders to be found on the net and it's most likely caused by sewing a border onto the edges just by matching the border length to the edge. That's almost guaranteed to make a border that isn't flat. Most instructions I see say to measure across the center of the quilt to get the length of the borders. I don't know about anyone else but when I'm working by myself it's awfully hard to measure across 5 or 6 feet and to make sure that my tape is exactly on one end while I read the measurement on the other end.

After squaring up one side of the border strip I pin it to the center of the quilt that I have carefully laid out, making sure it is square. Pin it to the quilt, matching the edges. Pinning straight down into the carpet helps to keep everything in place while you do the other side if you can.

Very carefully lay the border across the center of the quilt, not pulling or stretching, and gently smooth it. Pin the other side just back from the edge. Either slide a mat under the edge and rotary cut it using or mark the line square with a ruler and use scissors.

Unpin the border and use it to make another one the same length. I fold the border in half and pinch a small crease at the center mark. Do this on the quilt too. Match up the ends and the center and pin the border to the quilt. There will likely be a little fullness to ease in so don't panic if you find that the border is shorter that the quilt edge. Pin them even on the edges and the middle and ease the quilt edge to the same size as the border.

Do the same with the other two sides after sewing on one set of borders and ironing them well.

Feathered Stars

Working on the first of 4 stars for my daughter's quilt. I am so glad there are only 4 of them! These puppies are time intensive and I don't know if I could get one star done in a weekend even. I have all the pieces cut out for the 4 stars except for the feathers, there are 48 pairs per star.

Feathered Star Designs

I've been thinking more about the strips between the stars and having to piece them into 28" strips because the FQs are 22". I thought if I'm going to piece them, then try piecing them with the beige.

I'm about to cut out a few more pieces to do the first star. Heck of a lot of little pieces to do.