Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid

Author Archives: Pam

I made my first quilted item as a visual aid for a math project in 7th grade. Over the next 25 years quilting was hit or miss, but quilting took over all the other crafts I've done in 2003.

Let the Trimming Begin

February 9, 2022 12:49 pm ⋅

Late Monday night my brother arrived to help me on the trim work and to bring me the dining room furniture.

Tuesday he unloaded his tools from the trailer into the Quilt Studio. Then we spent a good part of day figuring out what we needed from Home Depot and Lowe’s.

The Home Depot trip was mainly bits and pieces and I didn’t get a picture. We came home, I took a work call, then we were off to Lowe’s.  The baseboard for everywhere that needs baseboard, a bit of quarter round where we didn’t replace the baseboard, door casing and trim and window trim for the living room and dining room.  They didn’t have everything we needed at the first store, so we had to make a second stop.  There is at a minimum one more run, as we don’t have the crown molding or the stuff for the Quilt Studio windows.  We questioned our notes and figured we had enough to begin the process.

Tom set up a saw horses to paint the trim in the backyard. Then he discovered the trim paint I have is oil based (the painters bought it for what they are doing), so he’s off to get paint.

The reason for the huge trailer is the furniture.  It was great to haul the trim in as well. After the trim in the backyard dries, we’ll do more.  Tom also brought me a gas grill.

Yesterday also brought the fabric for the rest of the chairs.  My design choices are causing a division.  People either love or hate the stripe.

 

It’s right up there with this lamp I’m considering hanging in the living room over the piano.  I need to go back to the consignment shop with a piece of the chair fabric to see if it ‘matches’ and take measurements.  Then I’ll have to decide how much I’m willing to pay since it will need rewiring as a swag lamp. That way if I eventually decide it’s not right over the piano I can use it somewhere else.

Posted in: House

Is It Too Early?

February 6, 2022 11:33 pm ⋅

In late April I’m going to a quilt retreat.  Among the activities is a “Challenge Block” and a “Swap Block”.  This year the Challenge or Lotto block is the 10″  from Quilters Cache.  Any shade of blue with white on white background. I’ve made 2 so my name will be tossed into the bucket twice to win all of the blocks.  One year I think there were enough to make 3 quilts, so 3 people took blocks home.

This year’s Swap Block is Friendship Scrap Block, also from Quilters Cache.  The ‘ring’ is supposed to be a cream with a small print (this photo is slightly overexposed)  with medium darks with subtle print or solid of my choice. Since the sign up is still open, I don’t know how many blocks I’ll need to make.  My plan is to make at least a dozen blocks between now and when the final count is released.  If I have more blocks than I need they’ll be tossed into the box to be used later. If I need more blocks, I’ll be well on the way to having them done.

So, why am I working on these blocks 10 weeks before I need them?  Well the next two weeks will be devoted to working on the house.  My brother will get in tomorrow night and we’ll hit the ground running on Tuesday. First up — plywood to make a platform for the antique brass bed and getting a mattress.  I sent the rails out to get lengthened and didn’t know when I’d get them back, so didn’t want to buy a mattress until I had a place for it. I’ll eventually need to get or make a bed skirt, but I’ll worry about that later.

Posted in: Friendship Scrap Quilt, swaps

Athena Is Kitted

February 4, 2022 9:47 am ⋅

The fabric for my interpretation of Athena is cut and ready to stitch. I’m happy to report that with the exception of the 4 pieces I bought before I started, all fabric came from my stash.  I will need to purchase the border, backing and binding fabric.  At the moment, all the pieces are gathered up and in a bag to be worked on later.  My brother will be here next week and there will be no sewing for me – except maybe hemming the sheers for my windows.

Posted in: Athena

Food, Fabric, Fog, and Finishes

February 3, 2022 12:21 am ⋅

Food.  I made something new earlier this week. Beef Stir Fry. There was a package of beef in the freezer pre-cut into stir fry strips.  I’ve not been successful with making Chinese food, but thought I’d give it a go.  I used the Easy Beef Stir Fry recipe from Spend with Pennies and served it over rice noodles and garnished with sesame seed and the scallion tops.  My vegetables were mushrooms, red bell pepper, broccoli, snap peas, onion and carrots. I will be making this again. I didn’t think to take a picture of the meal, but Sherbert was ready to eat.

Fabric. First up the fabric for my version of Athena by GE Designs.  I’ve pulled all but 4 of the fabrics from my stash.  Of course, I haven’t cut the purple, so I don’t know if each piece is big enough for what I need.  I can work from strips since all my star points will be purple and I’m using the yellow as the accent.

Fabric Part 2 I will be recovering dining room chairs in the near future. I’ve purchased this stripe fabric for the two arm chairs from a local shop.

This purple will be for the side chairs. This was a special order at the local shop (15 yards!) and I only need 2 yards. After searching on line I found an on-line source where I could by it by the yard and sent for a swatch.  I don’t know if it’s the exact fabric, but I like it, so have ordered it.

On the way home fog was rolling in.

Finishes is used for the alliteration, but it’s really Window/Floor Trim that is needed to Finish my front rooms.  The windows are only about 10″ off the floor.  This is the combination I’m considering in the living room and dining room.  My brother will be here for 2 weeks starting Monday to help me with the trim work in the house, so I need to hurry up and make a decision.

Posted in: Athena, House

New Floor, New Quilt

January 27, 2022 9:39 pm ⋅

Tuesday the flooring guys were back.  The hall, office, and front 2 bedrooms now have flooring.  Now to get the baseboards in so the painters can come back.

 

 

Saturday I went to the local quilt shop for their ‘Sew What’s New’ event.  They had class samples and sale prices. I had no intention of buying anything and came home with Stripology Mixology 2 and the Creative Grids Flying Geese ruler. I went back and bought the Stripology XL Ruler, and now I have started my interpretation of Athena.

 

It looks like I have it figured out.

Posted in: Athena, GE Designs, House

Design Wall Monday – 1/24/22

January 24, 2022 12:41 am ⋅

This is the first Design Wall Monday post I’ve done in a while. These are the fabrics I’ve picked for the mystery quilt Brandon Quilters are doing this year.  I’ve got my small flying geese made and have the pieces cut for the next bit of piecing. I was able to pull all but the darkest green from my stash.  It’s time to use some of my fabric that I’ve been saving. I love this paisley. It’s been sitting in my stash for 14 years.

This past weekend I played a bit with my Accuquilt Go! Big.  It came with the 8″ Qube. I pulled out the Quarter Square Triangle to see what I could make. This is a block for my orphan box.

I’m currently stitching in a make-shift environment.  The sewing machine is on a folding table behind my recliner in the den.  The Go! and my cutting board are in the Quilt Studio on the other side of the plastic.  The plastic won’t come down until the doors go up and the doors won’t go up until the floor is done in the den.  That will be after my bedroom and bathroom is done.

 

 

Posted in: Accuquilt, Starflower

A UFO Finish!

January 23, 2022 8:50 am ⋅

Way back in 2005 I took a hand quilting class in preparation to hand quilt my Double Wedding Ring (DWR) quilt. I got the grid work done and maybe one of the swirls and set it aside – possibly because I spilled tea or Diet Dr Pepper on it.  Anyway I went on to quilt the DWR as well as the pieced blocks in my nephews quilt and this sat in the bottom of the box of UFOs and on the top of my UFO list since it was my oldest ‘top’.

The back of the pillow is this sweet vintage print from my stash. I watched this video to make the pillow cover.  Oh – it is a 16″ pillow form that my SIL gave me.

 

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, hand quilting, UFOs, vintage fabric

Quilting and Remodeling

January 19, 2022 9:23 pm ⋅

There’s so much going on it’s hard to know where to start.  Q comes before R so we’ll start with Quilting.  One of my quilt guilds is doing a Pizza Box Quilt/Challenge/Round Robin. Whatever it’s called, I’ve put 2 yards of the multi-colored print as my focus fabric, 2 yards of the black as my background fabric and a fat half-yard of each of the other fabrics into a Pizza Box, along with this block.  I brought home someone else’s box and will make a block with their fabric and take it back next month.  We’ll keep swapping until there are 12 blocks in the box when we will get to see what everyone made.  This will be a quilt on next year’s UFO list.

Speaking of UFOs, I pulled out this whitework square that I started in 2005. I’ve been working on it all week. The spots are either tea or Diet Dr Pepper. I didn’t wash them out because it would have washed the quilting design out. My goal is for this to be my first finish of the year and the first UFO I cross off the list.  We’ll see.

The last bit of quilting is this new to me Accuquilt Go!Big.  I’ve had a bit of tennis/golf elbow and thought this will save some wear and tear on my joints.  It came with 9 dies and an 8″ Mix and Match Qube.  At the moment it is sitting on my folding cutting table which is open in the doorway between the Den and Quilting Studio.  I’ll need to figure out a more permanent solution.  Which I suppose is a good segue into the Remodeling portion of this post – if you are still reading.

The painters have been here all week. They’ll be here again on Thursday to put up the final coat of wall paint. This is the corner room. I had the shelves pulled out and between the light paint and the removal of the shelves this room feels so much bigger.

I pulled down the shelf on the far wall of this room as well. It just seemed to be too high on the wall. Another coat of paint is needed here as well. The paint in the two bedrooms is Crisp Linen.

This is the office which will be painted White Lilac – the same color as the Living Room and Dining Room.

With the paint done, the floor will get put down in these 3 rooms and the bedroom hallway next week.  Which means it’s time to get serious about the master bedroom and bath.

The paint is Crisp Linen, except for the window wall.  It will be Sherwin-Williams Danube.

I’ve picked this Akua mosaic tile for the accent, the white tile is the shower surround and the vanity counter and shower seat will be Snowflake granite. That’s the sum total of my planning, but need to get on the ball as by this rate I’ll be ready to start by the first of the month – not that any of the rooms will be finished – well maybe the front bedroom.

 

 

 

Posted in: BOM, House, Pizza Box

A Quilting Challenge – Really?!!

January 10, 2022 10:24 pm ⋅

I’m living in a house which has NO room completed, so naturally, I’m going to participate in my quilt guild’s UFO Challenge.  I’ve picked 12 quilts which need to be completed and shown by December 5th, 2022.

1- Hand Quilted White Work. This is my oldest quilt “top” from sometime in 2005.  I took a hand quilting class in preparation to quilt my DWR.

2 – QIAD Green & Cream Swap from the fall of 2006. It’s my 3rd oldest UFO.

3 – Johnny’s Strip Twist.  I started this at a quilt retreat in 2016. I had problems with my 1/4″ seam, so started over. I have enough sections to make at least 2 quilts.

4 – Pink & Black Auction Crazy Strings. I bought the blocks at an auction in 2018. This will be the 3rd quilt I’ve made from them. I pulled the fabrics when I thought I was going to a Sit-n-Sew in December so I’m counting it.

5 – Christmas Wall Hanging. My SIL and I purchased the fabric for this quilt at the same time — July 2018.  Hers is finished, I have part of 1 block done.

6 – Frolic the 2019 Quiltville Mystery Quilt. This looks like it just needs to be quilted.  But I need to make the backing bigger, so I’ll be making more blocks.

7 – Baubles ‘N Beads – I made this top in August 2020 and just need to quilt it.

8 – Shimmer – I’m using the leftover fabric from Bauble ‘N Beads and Atomic Starburst to make this quilt. I started it  August 2020.

9 – Atomic Starburst – the top was completed in March 2021, which is why it’s listed after Shimmer.

10 – MQA BOM – I finished the quilt top the end of September 2021 – so it is possible to piece with the house torn apart.

11 – Ruby’s Sampler – I started this the New Year’s Eve 2020. I still need to write up the patterns for the blocks and of course finish making the top.  I need to make 4 more blocks.

12 – SQG BOM – The first block came out February 2021. I made 3 blocks before I stopped sewing last year to start packing.  I didn’t get a picture of the 3rd block.

In addition to the above I’m participating in a Pizza Box Challenge – one block a month with one of my guilds & I’m considering a mystery quilt with the other guild.  The retreat usually has a lotto block – I’ll try to make one; a swap block – I’ll probably skip this time; and a mystery quilt – which I may not do either.

My goal is to not start anything new, but now that I think about it, there’s a pot holder and possibly a sweatshirt jacket in my future.

 

 

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, Atomic Star Burst, Bauble 'n Beads, Christmas Cardinals, Cream & Green Swap Sampler, Dancing Strings, Frolic, hand quilting, MQA BOM 2020, Ruby's Sampler, Shimmer, SQG 2021 BOM, Strip Twist, UFOs, Uncategorized

More Lighting

January 3, 2022 6:16 pm ⋅

I’ve been debating the dining room light since I took down the old fixture and realized “doing it over” wasn’t really going to work.  I spotted this one at the lighting store before Christmas, but wasn’t sold on it.  I decided I need to get my table first. Then a chance remark at the quilt shop about antiques had me reaching out to my sister in regards to my parents dining room set. When I asked her if she thought if she would ever have a space for it, she said not in the foreseeable future and if I want it I can have it as long as it stays in the family.  So, I now know I will have a traditional cherry wood finish dining table, buffet and serving cart.  That sealed the deal and I raced to the store last Thursday to buy the light.  Even better news, is they were selling the display and it was 40% off.  I brought it home this afternoon.  I’ll get it hung after the table gets here.

The electricians were also called back.  My bathroom lights went out Wednesday sometime between 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM.  I thought maybe a bad breaker, but it turns out it was a break in the wiring.  While the electrician was here, we discussed the ceiling outlets in the Quilt Studio and the 3 phantom switches by the den door going into the Quilt Studio.  I think I can safely call the guys in to put the insulation in the ceiling over the Quilt Studio and Sunroom.

 

Posted in: House