Small projects, basket strings quilts, health issues

Sue made this little quilt (above) and asked me to send it to the collection point, Hugs and Stitches.   I looked at it and LOVED it immediately only to hear that it was ME who started it long ago and then in my fit of cleaning out UFOs, she picked it up and finished it!  Yeahhhh, that's what friends are for!  Sue has been a fresh, excited, participating addition to our quilting community.   We are heartbroken to see her move but understand that moving near family is of primary importance.

Below is a silly kids quilt for same donation as the above quilt, made from a box of scraps from Joan (NC).  Mostly, I was playing and still don't have the right balance or ????  We continue to learn, don't we?   

I saw Bonnie Hunter's Basket Weave Strings  (free pattern on her blog, quiltville.com,) and made #6 quilt from "that box of scraps"given to me by Pat's Creative Stitchery, our LQS.  Carol liked the idea and made the center quilt, and then Sue (named above) made the one on the right!

 We showed all 3 at one time at January Guild for Show and Tell.  That's me on left of above photo.  For whatever reason, we each set the blocks on point.  I sewed my blocks to paper, but don't remember what method the others used.  The suggestion was to alternate lights and darks on each block, but all the blocks are interesting, and the BEST at using scraps.

My blog title includes says "health issues".  Half of November and most of December were punctuated by my husband's health issues.  There were no holidays for us.  Between 911, Ambulance, hospital and nursing home care, he's finally back home.  Months ago, Ms. Victoria of http://victoria-carroll-parkhill.blogspot.com/ made a blog post suggesting "take more photos of your loved ones" .  I'm thankful I had followed her advice, as it originally appeared DH may not get back home.   The crisis was averted for now, medical procedures administered and he's home.  Positive factors are that the hospital and nursing home are both within blocks of my home, and helpful friends and neighbors stepped in during frantic running back and forth during those terrible weeks.  Negative factors were icy and snowy weather, snowblowing, power outages that meant that garage door didn't open, phone and cell service nil for brief times, and no computer, all adding to mayhem and fears.

More learning to absorb.  👎👎

My suggestion:  When faced with medical crisis, if possible take a friend to take notes, to help listen or suggest, correct what one remembers, and mostly, to hold your hand.  At one point, having heard what sounded like the worst possible news, I went kinda bonkers, and I believe the hospital was considering calling for Security -- for usually-perfectly-proper me! 

"I Spy" quilt, thank you Joan

Blogger, Joan, said she wanted to reduce her too-large stash of novelties and offered them to me.  I guess you can surmise my answer.  This is one just completed,  about 46 x 48 inches.  Wow, there are so many different fabrics/squares, many were already cut at 2.5 in., and now sewn together, most of them are situated in the same direction.  I added the white for breathing space.  This will be a donation for Hugs and Stitches, sponsored by our LQS.

There has been little machine quilting at my home and I feared I'd lost my touch,  but as soon as I sat down and got moving, this big swirly design designed itself and was finished in about an hour.  (I MQ on my DSM.)

Row x Row, kid's quilt

After receiving a box of scrap novelty fabrics, (yes, another!) I made this little Row x Row kids quilt.  The rows were just plain fun to make up, but organizing them in a visually pleasing order was a whole 'nuther thing!  And they didn't end up the way I had planned, nor in the "right" way,  but ... some child will love it.  Those are cats in the dark row, and birds in the 2 wide light rows.    In the center are little 2 inch, fussy cut cat squares.  (BTW, 2 in. is toooo small - don't go there.)

After eternally messing about with an almost-cohesively laid out order, I will give a LOT more credit to those designers who make BEAUTIFUL, balanced,  Row x Row quilts. 

Here is the back, also gifted fabric, all printed with holiday and season-type motifs, even a quilt block - CUTE!  This will be donated to Hugs and Stitches Quilts, sponsored by my LQS. 

Long time - no see!

This has been the longest time between posting!   There have been Quilt Shows, quilt display, quilt gathering, and even quilt making!  Here is a Scrappy Bargello, ala Quiltville/Bonnie Hunter project.  This will be a donated "Hugs and Stitches".  The orange fabric is Lucy and Linus going Trick or Treating! Each of the blocks used the same 6 fabric combination.  There is an extra checkerboard row at top and bottom to making it rectangular, about 54" x 64".  The appendages belong to DH, about 6'4".

I vowed to use stash for the backing.  That second and 4th pieces are little foxes.

And, finally .... ta dahhhh, my LQS gave me a generous box of quality scraps.  I've looked at those scraps for almost a year and finally decided to do SOMETHING, and cut them ALL into 1 1/2 inch strips.  I saw Bonnie Hunter's "Garden Party" on Youtube and decided that was the exactly the right project. 

These blocks are small (5 in. finished) !  This project uses only 1 1/2 in. strips, and is featured in her book "Addicted to Scraps".  It took me 5-6 blocks to get into a rhythm and then they went faster.  I only finger pressed during construction - saved time.  Here are 24 blocks - 2-3 days worth.   My goal was to use up the fabrics, and I did NOT stress over what colors did or didn't "go" together.  Goodness  - you could spend days just trying to make decisions and matches - just get on with it!!  In the end, they all seem to "go together"!  I've not decided on colors for the second block with cornerstones - was planning to use greens but somehow, RED seems a better choice.  Thank you Bonnie for another great design!

(My New York Beauty block are all done, but not together in rows.  )

Hugs and Stitches

For someone who has been busy, I don't see anything I've actually DONE, except this little project. (I think "LIFE" had something to do with it. )

4 patches at the top and bottom to will make it rectangular, then another border will be added.  It ends up being a generous size.  That orange fabric is Peanuts and Snoopy Halloween characters. 

Several of us played with this project and I'm happy that some of the quilters in my group learned how to make this easy and fast quilt.  Thank you to Bonnie Hunter at www.quiltville.com.  She calls it Scrappy Bargello in her Free Patterns.  Our local collection point calls them "Hugs and Stitches."

Fabric needed:  I used 6 consistent fabrics, and calculated that I needed 20 inches of each fabric.  That was too much.  You get 2 blocks from each WOF strata, but, there is some extra at the end of each strip.  While I cut 8 strips for 16 blocks, I actually only used 6 WOF strata strips for the 16 blocks.  I will make up the extra blocks for the back or perhaps a pillow.   Bonnie suggests using shorter pieces of fabric, not WOF.  In that case a person might use all 8 strata strips.  (Clear as mud?)