Moira - Various Projects

Lots of work going on various projects.


Made these two Quilted postcards for two different friends who had milestone birthdays last week.  .

Finished this little outfit for my great-niece in Indiana.   It should go in the mail today.

Made a lot of progress on my snail quilt.  It is about 86" square right now.   I'm currently putting together the final 15" high band for it.

This is the left side of the quilt

And right side of the quilt at this point.

Once the top is assembled, then I'll add a final scrappy green border using 4.5" cut squares to finish it off.

I'm hoping to have this ready to send to the quilter by the end of the month.
















And I've pulled out all the washcloths that I'd purchased yrs ago to make into baby bibs (and then never did....sigh) to get them made up and actually ready for gifts when needed. 

I've finished 21 of them, have 11 more in process and about another 20+ yet to actually work on.

Moira: Bits and Pieces

Made some progress on making blocks for my snail quilt.

Orphan block shells on these three, top two are dark purple and dark green moda marbles for the shells.










Strip sets leftover from something made the block for the topmost snail in this pic.

And most of the fabrics in the shell of the bottom snail are the final leftovers from a raffle quilt that I made years ago from blocks made by group members of an internet quilting group that I've been a part of for about 22 yrs now.   We used to get together in person once a year.   And the year that these were from the GT was in Sacramento CA.   The gal who won was a good friend and always a blast to be with.   She passed away maybe 10 yrs ago and is still missed.   Good memories in this block.

Made some ornaments for the gal whose commission I've been working on over the last couple of months.  These balls filled with denim strips and bits that were too small to be used for anything other than thrown in the trash.

 6 tree ornaments were made from denim scraps too small to use for a stocking.  Trunks are little pieces from one of the seams on the overalls.

Moira - lots going on

These 7 stockings have been completed for the commission I'm working on - top left is pieced from the larger scraps of the denim overalls, the others have a base front from a t-shirt, and then have either pockets, the top section of the front bib or scraps appliqued onto the knit.  6 more stockings are in progress today, and 5 more are cut out waiting to be started.

Made this quilted postcard for a commission.  Flowers were an orphan block someone had given to me.

These 4 quilted postcards were made with orphan string-pieced bits of fabric.  The sun bonnet sue girls were reclaimed from a tissue box cover that I found several yrs ago in a thrift store.

And I've started pondering how to finish off my improv blocks.  I've rearranged them since taking this pic, but it at least shows them all together.

And I finished up this little bit of cross-stitch while in the infusion center for chemo last week.  This week I'll be on to my next cross-stitch UFO while back for the next infusion

Moira - I'm back!

The holidays were a wonderful time with friends and family out in sunny Phoenix.  And a time of rest as well.   I stayed in an AirBnB suite this time that was basically a mini apartment.   So was able to sew in my downtime.

While there I was able to get two UFO's quilted.  Bear hugs now has binding sewn onto it but not down.

Also quilted was my London Tea Towel quilt.  I'm still auditioning fabric for binding on it at this point.  Debating between a darker tan like in some of the blocks, or a scrappy cream binding that would blend with the background.

I finished off the December F2F swap blocks that I needed to get into the mail.

 And before I left on vacation I started working on using up a whole mess of batik strings.  These 9 blocks using up most of the orange strings were finished up.  Next up will be using the remaining few oranges and the reds, then cycling into the pinks.

And at the last minute I also finished this commission of sewing this needlepoint stocking together for a lady in the office where I work.

Moira: This and That

Started a new scrappy quilt over the weekend using red & blue squares that I had trimmed down from scraps at least 4 moves ago........(dont'cha like my time measurement there?), and string COC squares that I'd made even longer ago.

I've added one more row on the right side since this pic.   And have two rows to add to the other three sides still.












And I braved the horrendous rain that was going thru my area on Saturday morning to head out to the anniversary sale for my 'local' quilt store (local being only an hour away from me).   Every year they giveaway of something with the quantity being equal to the number of years the store has been open.   This year it was for 22 quilts.

I was fortunate to win two quilts.   The first one being this Christmas quilt.    It is a lap quilt size.   And even more fun, it has miniature lights as part of it.   It'll be a fun one to display at Christmas since I don't have a tree anymore.

And the second one that I selected was this wallhanging.   I need to do a wee bit of stitching on it because the "in progress" words are only ironed on and they aren't holding well.  But that is a minor thing.   Need to find a place to hang it as well.

Moira - finishes and new starts

Lots going on around here thanks to having my quilt frame up and the long-arm working.  This UFO has been finished up, and just needs a label.   It will go in the mail to it's new home sometime this week.



I did get the binding on one of the other quilts that has been quilted as well but will show it later.   And the Row-by-row quilt was finished up and turned in on Saturday.  I'm headed back to the store today to pick up my prize for submitting it (most of the stock was at a quilt show on Saturday so nothing to choose from).



The next UFO that has been loaded onto my quilt frame is this one.  I don't remember how long I've had the top made, but I do remember that the blocks are from a long ago swap.  It will be a baby gift for my niece who is pregnant with their first child.  Nursery is being done in sunflowers and bees.

And I was the winner of this panel (well what was left of it) on a blog.   I've cut the bears apart and there 10 of them total.  I'll use 9 of them in a quilt top which will be a donation.




















I'm using my scraps to take and add to them in a wonky log cabin style.  I'll add enough to them to make them 15" after trimming to size (largest ruler size that I have).   And will twist & turn as I trim them to size.  =)

Moira - I remembered to post!

The biggest thing accomplished this past   week was getting my quilt frame set up correctly.   I'm so happy to have it back up and usable for the first time in 3 years.   And even happier that my machine is behaving nicely.  I was able to get two small quilts quilted over the weekend.

First one was made with blocks from a swap that was back in 2014.  I meandered and stippled this one.

Second quilt on the frame was this UFO quilt top.  Quilted in a meander thread, this one has been sold.   This one was the second on emade from bonus HST's from a queen-sized quilt that I made as a wedding present.

I also put together three snack mats, all of which still need to be quilted.  The first used a UFO piece of cross-stitch for a focal point.   Green fabric and the lime green pleated trims were both scraps and worked perfectly for this.

Another piece of cross-stitch formed the start of this snack mat.  The cross-stitch was done on my road trip taken back in 2016 and started about the point where I visited my friend Susan.   I have a piece of hand-dyed aida from her to make another on using this pattern.  The green fabric was a remnant picked up this year, and the cream fabric with the dandelions on it was bought back in 2016 when I was row-hopping.

This snack mat started with some UFO HST's.   And even tho the pic makes it look wonky, it really is straighter than the pic shoes.

All three snack mats will be listed for sale when they are finished.

I also managed to design and then finished the four spool blocks that I need for the setting I've designed for my Quilting Bears mini-BOM this year.  I plan to release the setting at the same time as I release the August BOM.   There will be one more quilting bear to come in September and then this series will be done.   I'm thinking though that I may redo the blocks because i'm not sure the scale is right to work with the bear blocks.

Moira - Row-by-Row Quilt Top Finished

This years Row-by-Row quilt top is finished.    Finished size is 46" wide by 70" long.  Most likely will be donated.

Bottom half of the quilt.  4 row's in it.

Quilt stats -

Materials:
       -- Scraps
       -- Remnants (backgrounds)
       -- Orphan block components (HST's used in the filler blocks).


Completed Top here -


Fabric Count -
       -- 137 different fabrics were used in the construction of this top.

Row Count -
       -- Rows from 9 different Quilt Shops are in the quilt
       -- 5 different filler rows were used to space things out

Techniques Used -
       -- Paper-piecing
       -- "Regular" piecing
       -- Fusible applique with buttonhole and satin stitching in various blocks
       -- "Twister" block method for doing the "floor" of the upper left most row.   A method I won't use again because I didn't like dealing with all of the bias edges and I don't have the specialty ruler for it.

Embellishments -
        -- 3/8's inch button for the eye of the topmost bird
        -- 5/8's inch buttons for the center of the records.

Moira - Wolf Quilt

I finished off the wolf quilt top this weekend...woohoo.......  It now goes in the to be quilted pile that will be worked on once I'm in the house and have my quilt frame set up.

Stats on the quilt top -

Pattern used -

Free cross-stitch pattern found on the internet of a wolf (altho I've had one person tell me it looks like a malamute dog they used to have)

50 rows in the quilt, with 33 squares in each, for 1650 total squares.  2" finished squares were used to make the quilt.

Over 110 different fabrics used in the quilt in various shades of black, grey and creams.  Fabrics were from scraps, FQ's in my stash, and long-third yardage that I bought to get enough different fabrics for the quilt.

Finished size - 66" wide by 100" long

And I closed on my house yesterday afternoon.   Full move in will be on June 9th.

Moira - Running Late

First up was the wolf quilt I'm working on.   I finished 12 more rows completed on it and added to the rest.   That makes 28 rows completed out of 50 rows in the quilt.  

It is now complete through the eyes and the design is starting to be clearer now.   I'm now starting on the forehead of the wolf and will soon be working on the ears.   At this rate I may get this together before the move happens.

At the rate I'm using the squares I've got cut out I have a feeling that I'll have to cut more to finish off this quilt because there are probably close to 300 black pieces in the top 14 rows alone and I doubt I have enough cut to get it finished.   I figure though that any extra ones will give me a head start on what I'll need to cut for the next scrap quilt which will be a panda - lots of black and white in that one!

Next I worked on using the remaining strips and strings of green that were pulled and made 9 more blocks to go with these 3.   Still to be done is add flowers to them and trim them to 10.5" in size.

Packing was also done.   I close on the house on the 21st, and move in on June 9th.

Moira: Stress equals new projects

So this house buying process has been a wee bit stressful as we waited for the appraisal to come in on the house and for all doc's to go in and be accepted.   

With all this going on, guess who started a new project?   Yup, me...........never mind the fact that I've got umpteen projects going now and at least 3 commissions (totally ignoring the scrub tops as well) that I need to work on.  Technically it isn't totally new because I had already cut what seemed like a bazillion 2.5" squares for it.

I just started sewing them together over the weekend after having cut the first round of squares 6 + weeks ago.  I cut more black squares last night because at only 10 rows together I've used almost half of the black squares that i had cut.    I'm debating on whether to go get more blacks (I'm lacking on black tonals in my stash) or just to have a bunch more dup's of the fabrics I've been using already.  I'm sure that I'll have to cut more squares before this top is finished.

8 rows are sewn together in the top, and I have two more ready to be sewn to the others now.   Looking at what is sewn together I can see where I flipped the layout on 4 squares (well I can see it when I compare it to the graph), but I probably won't go back and take them out so that I can flip them.  I'm happy with how the shading is working out in the quilt top so far.

I also hemmed a pair of pants for a friend at church and made a quiver to hold arrows for his son this past weekend, but forgot to take a pic of the quiver.

And I forgot to take pics of the wonderful journal that Angela made for me from an old calendar. I love how it turned out.......and will post pics next week if she doesn't post them before!

Moira: Finishs

Finished the scrappy sampler this evening.    It finished at 60" wide by 72" long.  No border going onto this one.

It will be shipped off to American Heroes sometime this week with the quilt top shown below that I finished last year and never shipped off.

 Also finished this flannel quilt that will be donated to Little Lambs in Utah. 
















Backing for the flannel was from my stash and was a 60" wide flannel I'd picked up about 2011 or so while working at Joann's in Lafayette during my grad school days.

Currently am working on passport wallets that will be listed for sale on Etsy.  And waiting to hear about the house I'm putting an offer in on today (multiple offer situation).

Moira - Finished Wedding Quilt

Spent the weekend in Indiana visiting cousins and attending the wedding of my sweet niece and her new husband.   Had a wonderful time not withstanding the snow on Sunday night that I had to scrape off the rental car at 6 am Monday morning!

Finally have a pic of the entire wedding quilt and the recipients.   Quilt finished at 85" square and fits on a queen-sized bed.  There are approximately 230 different fabrics in the finished quilt.

Next up - it'll be back to the passport wallets that have been ordered, and several others that I've got fabric for so that I can start getting some made up for sale.  Also need to get quilts already finished up listed for sale...........oh and still need to find a house....lol.

Moira: finishes

A couple of finishes and a start-

the first commissioned passport wallet has been finished and delivered via the mail to my friend.

 Wedding quilt was finished early instead of the night before I leave for the wedding...lol.

 The right side of the quilt














Corners got appliqued hearts after the binding was done in order to repair some damage that  didn't see until I got it back from the quilter (not her fault!).

I also got the skirt for the wedding this coming weekend made, but did not get a pic of it.  Used a charcoal grey heathered knit for it and put an elastic waist in it.





And the next commission in progress.  Binding currently being pinned down for final stitching.  However having said that I'm thinking of taking the black off and replacing it with the same Mickey print already in it.   Strap will be out of the black.

Next one after this is cut out it will be worked on next week.  Frogs and polka dots will be fabrics in it.