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.

Stripology 3 Quilt Tops

July 11, 2023 12:04 pm ⋅ Pam

This is Kimberly, the quilt which started my red, white & blue series. In June I signed up to take a class at the Mississippi Quilt Association’s Summer Gathering. The quilt being taught was Kimberly from GE Designs Stripology 3. The yardage information was a bit different than what I’m using to seeing, so I started reading the book from the beginning. Gudrun described taking a stack of 1/2 yard cuts and adding background, accent, and border fabrics to make multiple quilts from the same set of fabrics. My Kimberly measures 64 x 80.

I purchased 14 5/8 yard cuts – 7 red and 7 blue, background fabric, border fabric, an accent and binding. In total 19 3/8 yards of fabric. So far I have 3 quilt tops.

The first thing I did was cut the fabric for Kimberly, seen here tied up as a layer cake. At this point the plan was to make the Kimberly blocks with just the red and blue fabrics. Once I got to class, I was encouraged to add a “light” fabric. Gardensong Fabrics was vending at the event and had a bright white layer cake for sale which I purchased, adding another 3 yards to my bundle (22 3/8 so far). Also pictured is the fabric I cut for Tara.

I finished the top for Tara in May. It’s been quilted, but I need to bind it. It measures 72 x 91

My 3rd quilt is Crystal, which measures 51 x 71.

But I still have fabric left! I didn’t use all of the squares I cut. So, I plan on making another quilt or two. But I need more background fabric. I’ve purchased 4 yards of the same background I started with and 1 1/2 yards of a bright white. I will also say when cutting the fabric for Tara and Kimberly, I miscut, so pulled the fabric from the mix and found a 1 yard piece to fill in. So my fabric total is now at 28 1/4 yards. When I get these bound, I’ll have used 18 3/4 yards. I think this is how stash happens.

Posted in: Crystal, Kimberly, Tara

Red, White, and Blue Quilts

July 4, 2023 9:06 am ⋅ Pam

It’s the 4th of July 2023, so I have gathered all of my red, white, and blue quilts in one place. I was surprised by the number that I’ve made over the years. First up is the first one I started. This one was started in 1995. I did not finish it until 2009. It folds up into a quillow and is quite hot as it had polyester batting.

This is another quillow and my first attempt at longarm quilting. This was also finished in 2009.

These next 2 quilts are the result of a mystery quilt. I didn’t like the final quilt, so I made a couple of baby quilts. The one on the left was finished in 2009 given to my team lead at work. The one on the right was finished in 2011. I don’t remember what child got this quilt.

Chain of Stars was the first retreat mystery quilt I wrote. I finished this quilt in 2010 and it was sold in a silent auction for a friend’s nephew’s medical care.

Playing with Jacks is another Quiltville free pattern. I finished this quilt in 2012 and was sent to fire victims.

This table runner is another of my retreat mystery patterns. I finished this one in 2012.

This 4-Patch Stacked Posies in Kansas Troubled Fabric was given to Lynne Hagmeier in 2013.

I also finished Ladder to the Stars in 2013. This was my first published quilt pattern.

This is another one of my patterns. I finished this one in 2014 and gave it to my college roommate’s daughter.

These two tops are made with blocks from Bonnie K. Hunters, free pattern Star Struck. In 2015 I took my original quilt top and split it into 2 so they met the requirements for Country School Quilters in Virginia.

I also sent them these two sampler tops.

Narragansett Blues, a Bonnie Hunter design was finished in 2020.

2021 I designed Wonky Wishes.

I made this June Tailor Sophie Tote in 2022.

This in May I purchased 14 5/8-yard cuts of red and blue fabric, plus a background, accent and border to make three quilts from Stripology 3 by GE Designs. Tara, Crystal, and Kimberly. I added a bright white layer cake to the mix and purchased more background fabric for a couple more projects to used up the original 5/8-yard cuts.

I started this post saying I was surprised by the number of red, white and blue quilts I’ve made, but as I was writing the post I found a couple I had forgotten about.

Posted in: Uncategorized

What’s On My Design Wall

May 22, 2023 12:25 am ⋅ Pam

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.

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

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

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

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.
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.
The Community Quilt is still waiting to be quilted.
The Auction Quilt will be up next on the longarm.
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.
Pink, Green, and Purple Quilted Sweatshirt is still waiting to be finished — I don’t need it until September, so I have some time.
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.
Fairy Frost Sunset pillowcase is pinned to the design wall. The extra fabric is processed and put away.
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.
HST for Rivanna. I trimmed the 60+ HST which were sewn, then cut another 240, which should keep me going for a while.
Kimberly from Stripology 3 – 4 of the 14 fabrics are cut
Tara from Stripology 3 – 4 of the 14 fabrics are cut
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 ⋅ Pam

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 ⋅ Pam

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 ⋅ Pam

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 ⋅ Pam

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 ⋅ Pam

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 ⋅ Pam

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.