Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid

What’s On My Design Wall

May 22, 2023 12:25 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

It’s been two weeks since my last post and I’ve been busy working through the projects that I had going at the beginning of the month.

  1. Christmas Star Swap – quilted and needs to be bound
  2. Squedge 18 degree table runner – needs to be quilted.
  3. Community Quilt – quilted and delivered, so not pictured
  4. Auction Quilt – quilted and delivered, so not pictured
  5. Postage Stamp Leader/Ender – dormant, but I’ve added 1 1/2″ squares to the basket
  6. Pink, Green, & Purple Quilted Sweatshirt- no progress
  7. Sheet to make body pillowcase – no progress
  8. Fairy Frost Sunset pillowcase – done
  9. Christmas Star Swap pillowcase – no progress
  10. HST for Rivanna – nearly 2 batches stitched (that’s 120 HSTs!) I have another 120 ready to go.
  11. Kimberly from Stripology 3 – squares cut and ready for class
  12. Tara from Stripology 3 – ready to trim and bind
  13. Crystal from Stripology 3 – cut out and first column assembled

Here’s where I started from:

Take note of the fabric in the bottom left corner of this picture. All that is left is this:

After I get the 3 quilts bound, I think I’ll have enough to make a pillowcase. As for the rest of the fabric, I haven’t decided if it will go in the stash or if I’ll squeeze one more project out of it.

Posted in: Uncategorized

What’s on My Design Wall

May 7, 2023 11:43 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

This is a photo I took Saturday afternoon.  Friday night I was cutting fabric for a couple of new quilts and cut something wrong, so I decided I needed to focus.

Clockwise, starting on the long arm

  1. Christmas Star Swap on the long arm
  2. Squedge 18 degree tablerunner on the design wall
  3. Community Quilt for Brandon Quilters (brown bag on floor by design wall)
  4. Auction Quilt from Brandon Quilters (butterfly bag on floor by design wall)
  5. Postage Stamp Leader/Ender because I need to cut more HST for Rivanna (brown bin)
  6. Pink, Green, & Purple Quilted Sweatshirt
  7. An old sheet to make some body pillow cases
  8. Fairy Frost Sunset pillowcase and remaining fabric to process
  9. Christmas Star Swap pillowcases & binding fabric
  10. HSTs for Rivanna
  11. Kimberly from Stripology 3
  12. Tara from Stripology 3
  13. Crystal from Stripology 3

So this is the progress I made over the weekend.  I’ve left the numbers the same, but obviously stuff has been moved around.

  1.  Christmas Star Swap is off the frame and trimmed.  Not only that, I have the binding cut (it’s on the far side of the sewing machine) and most the trimmings have been processed.
  2.  Squedge 18 table runner is now a top. There is a pile of fabric on the corner of the ironing board that is for the backing and binding.  I counted wrong and have some extra wedge pieces, so I may end up making either a square table topper or a pillow.
  3. The Community Quilt is still waiting to be quilted.
  4. The Auction Quilt will be up next on the longarm.
  5. Postage Stamp Leader/Ender. It’s put away.  I only sew use the 1-1/2″ squares as my L/E when I don’t have another L/E project going on.
  6. Pink, Green, and Purple Quilted Sweatshirt is still waiting to be finished — I don’t need it until September, so I have some time.
  7. An old sheet to make some body pillow cases – I’ll work on it after I get the Christmas quilt bound while the longarm is running.
  8. Fairy Frost Sunset pillowcase is pinned to the design wall.  The extra fabric is processed and put away.
  9. Christmas Star Swap pillowcase and extra binding if I need it. I won’t make it until after the quilt is bound in case I need more fabric for the binding.
  10. HST for Rivanna.  I trimmed the 60+ HST which were sewn, then cut another 240, which should keep me going for a while.
  11. Kimberly from Stripology 3 – 4 of the 14 fabrics are cut
  12. Tara from Stripology 3 – 4 of the 14 fabrics are cut
  13. Crystal from Stripology 3 – I’ll the fabric for this quilt after I get the rest of the fabric cut.

 

As I was recording my most recent purchases I realized I missed the April Stash Report.

Posted in: Christmas Star Swap, Crystal, Fairy Frost Sunset, GE Designs, Kimberly, Leaders & Enders, Moms Sweatshirt, Pillowcases, Rivanna, Rulers, Squedge 18, Stash Busting Report, table runner, Tara

Fairy Frost Sunset

May 7, 2023 11:40 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I have a new finish. This is Fairy Frost Sunset. Fairy Frost because all the colored fabric is Michael Millers Fairy Frost and Sunset as that’s the name of the pattern.  I bought this fabric years ago – January 2009 to be specific, but then didn’t work on the quilt until September 2010.  Well, I finally got it quilted and bound. It’s on my Brandon Quilters 2023 UFO list.

The quilt is roughly 56 x 79.  I used Glide 40wt in Mercury.  I used Kraker Quilting & Design’s Swirls & Feather Border Corner and Border on the outer border.  I simply stitched 1/4″ from the seams on the inner border. For the center I enlarged the Swirls & Feather #3 Block to fit the blocks.

 

I bought the fabric for the top at Heritage Fine Fabrics in Belton, MO back in January 2009. The quilt top was made in September 2010. I found the backing at Hobby Lobby. I loaded it on the long arm last month, finishing the binding on 4/29/23.

 

There was extra border and backing fabric, so I made a matching pillowcase.

 

Posted in: 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO, Fairy Frost Sunset, pillowcase

Progress

April 29, 2023 10:45 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I finally got my Fairy Frost Sunset quilted. It’s been hanging around since September 2010. It’s been bound, but needs to be washed. Hopefully next week I’ll get that post written.

The Christmas Star Swap from April 2019 is now a top.  I’ve pieced the backing from some vintage Christmas stash and cleaned out a project box.  I hope to get this loaded on the frame in the morning.

Both of these quilts are on my Brandon Quilters UFO list.

Posted in: 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO, Christmas Star Swap, Fairy Frost Sunset

A Whirlwind Trip

April 16, 2023 10:09 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

Last Thursday morning my SIL and I headed off to the Kansas City metro area.  The occasion?  The start of Hunter Quilt Marts Customer Appreciation sale where everything in the store is 25% off. (I’m not sure is that is true for sewing machines and longarms).  I was in need of quilt batting.  I’m down to about 9 yards on my king roll and maybe 9 yards on my queen roll.

After 12 hours switching off the driving every few hours we arrived at my brother’s just outside of Ottawa (KS).  We visited that evening and Friday morning. We then headed toward the city where I visited with a friend from my previous guild for a few minutes — she was holding some quilt books for me (will do a post on those books) and we did another small task that I cannot do here in Mississippi. Then we kept driving north to St Joseph (MO) where we visited with my sister who had quilts I had purchased from a guild members estate via proxy. We spent the night, heading to bed early so we could get to Hunters Quilt Mart in Centerview (MO).

The goal was to get there by 10:15 or so because we wanted to leave by Noon so we could get to another shop before they closed.  We got there at 10:45.  Oops.

We both had lists.  Ruby started with her notions and notions she remembered from my list.  I headed to the thread.

All of these are Glide 40wt thread which stitches beautifully with no tension issues.  Cool Gray 7, Mercury, Biscotti, Magic Mint, Grape, Salmon, Strawberry Blonde, and Yellow Whisper. All of these are replacement cones except for Salmon and Yellow Whisper.

As for the notions, I picked up needles for the longarm, an 8″ rotating mat, a Hot Ruler, a tube of bobbins, 2 backlash springs for my bobbin case, a new ruler and small snips.  The small snips were not on my list.  They did not have the Brother bobbins for my sewing machine in stock, but now I know exactly what I’m looking for.

That just left backings – not that any of these quilts are finished (or started in some cases).  At the top left is the backing for my Quartered Squared quilt which I haven’t started. In the middle is the backing for Cascade which clearly hasn’t been started.  At the top right is the backing for my Rivanna which is my current leader/ender project. I have just over half of the HST made for it.   That’s the left over FQs sitting on top of it.  At the bottom is the backing for Star Studded, a BOM I started in 2019.  It turns out I only have to made the center star and assemble it.

Although the batiks were calling to me, I remained strong and stopped shopping.  We checked out, stopped by the batting and told them what we bought and headed to the car to unload it so we could load the batting.  A Honda CRV has more cargo room than my Nissan Cube.  The same amount of batting was brought home, but I had plenty of leg room this year and there were 2 us in the car!

Where we went next later this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: books, Cascade, Longarm, notions, Rivanna, shopping, Star Studded

Design Wall Monday

April 10, 2023 10:47 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

On this Design Wall Monday I first have a finish.  Last week I made the Midi Bag. This past weekend I made the larger Mondo Bag.   I think this will make a great reusable shopping bag.

Here are the two of them together for size comparison.

After the bag was finished, I pulled out my Christmas Star Swap blocks from April 2019.  I made the 6 alternate squares, now I need to do the setting triangles.

 

Posted in: Christmas Star Swap, designwall, Mondo

Chilhowie Pillowcases

April 5, 2023 11:52 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

When I was gathering fabric for Chilhowie, I didn’t think about pillowcases.  As I was cleaning up my space a few weeks ago, I found 3 lengths of fabric left over from the wedding quilt I made a couple of years ago.  I had thought about pillow cases for that quilt, but didn’t make any as the quilt was big enough for a pillow tuck. You can see that quilt HERE.

Anyway, I opted to go with the seafoam and lavender fabrics, reversing the cuff and case as I only had a yard of each fabric. All I need to do now is clear out the bed room and set up the bed.

I’m closer to setting up the bed than I was last week.  The electricians came today and started installing lights in the den. They’ll be back in the morning, then I can call my contractor back to do install the rest of the trim and touch up the paint. Once that is done, I can begin moving the stuff out of the bedroom.

I looked for Gracie this morning in the closet. When she wasn’t there I assumed she was under the bed (I didn’t look). Turns out she took refuge in a record cabinet in the living room. I found her when I was looking for the doorbell that will be installed tomorrow.  I was able to coax her out, but she beat me to the bedroom and seeing the door closed hid in my office closet. I finally got her into the bedroom where she hid in the closet.  She does not like strangers.

Posted in: Gracie, House, Pillowcases

Quiltsmart Midi Bag

April 5, 2023 7:38 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I’ve finished my Quiltsmart Midi Bag. I bought the jelly roll — Ladies’ Legacy by Barbara Brackman for Moda — last summer.  For that matter the pattern and lining fabric was also bought on that trip. I pulled it out a couple of weekends ago and promptly cut the through one of the handle pieces when separating the 2 pieces of interfacing.   When it came time to work on the handles, I quit for the day.

Last weekend I started working on the bag again.  But apparently I was distracted.   I made two beautiful straps.

It wasn’t until I attached them to the bag that I realized I made a mistake.    So I regrouped and pulled 4 strips to make the handles.

It has a pocket!

  • Started 3/25/23
  • Finished 4/4/23

 

Posted in: Bags, Mondo Midi

Twisting Star Magnolia

April 1, 2023 7:40 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

 

I’ve finished the Twisting Star Magnolia. Years ago, I made another one of these for my mother. The fabric was found on the road trip to Iowa – 3 days and 3 nights, 13 shops. We left Friday after everyone got off from work and spent the night at a hotel on the interstate closest to our first shop.  Shopped all day Saturday. Managed to hit a few shops which were open on Sunday. Stayed another night and hit a few more stores before heading back to Kansas City.  Anyway, I think it was the shop in Ames, Iowa which had this on display and I had to make it for my mother as she was decorating her new home with magnolias. This was my mom’s. I now have it.

 

 

A few years later my friends and I shop hopped our way to St. Louis so I could meet my first great-nephew and I spotted the magnolia fabric in one of the stores.  I bought enough to make 4 more toppers, 1 for each of my husband’s sisters, my aunt, and myself. I did not have the dragonfly fabric, and got 3 of the 4 made.

 

Somewhere along the way I found more the dragonfly fabric in the original wall hanging, but after my mom passed, it came back to me, to the fabric for my quilt has been sitting in my stash as a PIG. I started to send the whole mess to my sister, but decided I’d just make another one to give her. Now that it is done, I’ve put the rest of the fabric back in the stash. It’s off my PIGs list and on my DONE list. Now I just have to remember to take it with me when I travel to Kansas City in a few weeks.

Oh, it’s the first of the month, so I need to do my stash report.

Posted in: Magnolia Wall Hanging, PIGS, Stash Busting Report

Teahouse Garden

March 24, 2023 10:40 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Last week I started cleaning up my the flat surfaces in the Quilt Studio, starting with the cut off backing and batting from the past 6 months of quilts. Among the finds was a length of Teahouse Garden which was long enough and wide enough to make 18 5″ finished 4-patch kaleidoscope blocks.

In addition to the cut off scraps, I dug around for the rest of the fabric and discovered I had just enough fabric  to make a total of 48 blocks — half cut as 4-patches and half cut as hour-glass units.  I had more more yard left so, it became the backing of this unplanned quilt.

Thursday afternoon I loaded it on the longarm and started quilting.  With just 2 half motifs left to quilt, my phone rang and I paused the machine so I could hear.

It was a now retired co-worker with devastating news. She has Stage 4 Lung Cancer and the prognosis is grim.

After getting off the phone I did what quilters do – looked for a quilt to send her. Nothing seemed right in my stack of recently finished quilts, so I went back to finish up Teahouse Gardens and realized I had been working on Anne’s quilt for the past week. Anne loves Bonsai.  In my mind I had just found Anne’s quilt.

It’s packed up to ship out in the morning and I totally forgot to get the final measurements.  But here are the rest of the stats.

  • Started 3/16/2023
  • Finished 3/24/2023
  • Size before washing: 47 x 59
  • Thread: Glide 40wt in Biscotti – 2 bobbins 12 SPI
  • Quilting Motif: Flowers Spirals.  Lengthened to 18″ with a -3 Row Gap
  • Batting: Legacy 80/20
Posted in: Teahouse Gardens