It's A FAD

It's a Flag A Day (not a passing fad) for me, this has been a habit that I began last week and it's fun to watch the flags slowly stacking up on the design wall. At a time when it seems like our personal freedoms are being revoked it helps to remember that we are Americans and this won't last for us forever. Our country is blessed to be founded on freedoms and we need to remember that now more than ever. The inconveniences that we're experiencing now are temporary, thanks be to God; we have freedoms and rights unique to us under the Constitution and as Americans with those rights we, as citizens, have a heavy, serious and solemn responsibility to one another right now-- to stay at home and help to slow the spread of this deadly virus!

Quiltkeemosabe gave me this panel a few months ago, I plan to quilt it up and turn it into a sofa pillow for the porch. I had already planned to make some American flag quilts for out there and, suddenly, there's no time like the present! The first one that I've tackled is "Stars and Stripes by Thimble Blossoms.  I'm going to sash mine with a neutral gingham-y fabric from the stash. 

As you can see, I'm doing slightly scrappy version. I've also made another 24" -"Which Way Now?" quilt block. As it is so aptly named, I'm not sure where I'm going with that one-- time will tell, I'm not in any danger of running out of scrappy triangles yet. 

Adapting to an upside down world🙃: A grocery run yesterday was hit or miss; the items missing from the shelves is random (or it appears that way to me). It reminded me of a time in my life (mid 90's) when we lived in Puerto Rico. I was never exactly sure what the grocery store would have, or not have; so, I carried my recipe files with me and would make menu planning adjustments as I shopped! 

Entertainment: We're watching old episodes of "Coach" in the evenings, the sitcom starring Craig T. Nelson from years ago; we have a set of DVDs. It feels good to laugh. 

Prayer request: Please continue to pray for Quiltkeemosabe and her family; her husband remains hospitalized and they cannot be with him. Thank you so much. 

Remember to take care, be kind to yourself, listen to the directives

and wash your hands🧼; this won't last forever.

"For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth."  Psalm 71:5

Life is Good!

Up next: "On The Plus Side"

...Or So I Thought!

With a few of my quiltiest friends I had the opportunity to go on a retreat  the weekend before last; I was eagerly looking forward to this time away. I had accepted a challenge almost a year ago from Quiltkeemosabe and I anticipated this chance to meet that challenge and  achieve my goal of having a new table topper on our kitchen table by Christmas this year!
I had admired this pattern and Quiltkeemosabe gave it to me; the gauntlet had been thrown down. My fabrics were chosen and I was ready for the two-color version as shown on the pattern front.

Anticipating the greatest part of the challenge might be a color bleed I washed the red fabric seven times until Color Catchers faded to pale and scraps of red left overnight in water no longer leached any color. I was ready (or so I thought!). 

Before we left for our retreat destination I had precut all of the strips for the diamond-shaped piecing. One of the first things that I accomplished was piecing 32 diamond blocks as shown above. I stacked them neatly beside the sewing machine for pressing after we returned from dinner on Friday night. Little did I realize that I had misaligned almost every. single. one. of these units when pinning and, on further inspection that evening, I discovered that they needed to be un-sewn, realigned, pinned and stitched all over again. That was accomplished before bedtime (or so I thought!). After a good nights' rest and a bit of breakfast I was ready to begin piecing the large hexagon. Imagine my shock when I noticed that my units were all sewn with the dark (red) diamonds placed on the top and bottom instead of on the left and right! More un-sewing. More re-sewing. It was lunchtime before I was back at square one. 

I stitched like a fiend all afternoon and had the top together by dinnertime on Saturday. Or so I thought.! As you can see, above, two of the units were placed upside down within the pieced top!

Groan. The offending units were removed and replaced. Dinner time came and went.

Yes! Finally done!! I folded up the table topper and put it away in my travel bag, I was eager to try it out on our kitchen table for size once I returned home. It appeared to lie flat (or so I thought!).

A few puckers and wrinkles responded nicely to a "time out" after being misted, squared, and pinned to the carpet to dry undisturbed and, hopefully, flatter.

Finally-- ready for quilting! This challenge was WAY MORE than I ever imagined it would be! I suggested the following epitaph to Quiltkeemosabe, it certainly applies.  

All in all, the pattern is a good one; the directions are clear although maybe not written exactly the way that I think, intuitively. I wouldn't recommend a pattern such as this in a retreat setting where there's lots of other things going on around the room; at least not for me! In the meantime, while I worked on ONE project, the following was happening; Quiltkeemosabe single-handedly happened to finish SIX quilt tops herself!!

And me? I managed to sew a few tumbler strips together to clear my frustrations before I left on Sunday morning for home. But, yes; I rose to the challenge and WILL have a new table-topper on our table this Christmas! I ordered (or so I thought!) a very pretty Garnet-colored quilting thread for the finishing touch. I received only a portion of the order, the bobbins are back-ordered. Sigh. Patience is something that I have plenty of, and one more challenge that I can rise to. And sew I wait...

Life is Good!

Up next: Spreadsheet Required

 

Single Family Household

It's quiet around here again; Chez Goodneedle has gone back to being a single family household. In the uncharacteristic stillness I have loaded "Scarlet Stars" onto Snowbird this morning and begun quilting it.  I sure do miss my little garden helper! Every day after lunch Lynnleigh and I would go out and do the deadheading, watering, or bird feeder filling;  she was always quick to remind me what needed to be done. Now I'm on my own. I know how very happy they all are to be back in their own home and beds once again. They have made some huge improvements to their home, updating and modernizing.

The circa 1964 kitchen was gutted and a new, sleek, modern one exists in its place. Our son and daughter-in-law had some great ideas and vision that transformed this space into one that is uniquely theirs. Our son and Mr. Goodneedle constructed the dining table and built in benches for their eating area.

This island top is a slice of an oak tree that once grew at Virginia International Raceway. Purchased in an auction years ago this slab of wood has resided in our basement until its recent restoration. They also had two bathrooms and their mudroom gutted and remodeled. They now have a new house with the same address as before, we couldn't be happier for them!

Switching gears: I made the recent birthday boy a pillow using Elizabeth Hartman's "Penguin Party" pattern. I believe he liked it, penguins are his favorite animal. 

Naturally, Nana and PawPaw couldn't take birthday gifts to the Capital City without a little something for the birthday boy's sister. I do believe she might just have the best dressed dolls anywhere. 

Last week, during Quilt Camp, I had to construct parts of a tumbler for demonstration purposes. Surprisingly, I discovered at that time that I have misplaced (or completely LOST!) a completed Scrappy Tumbler quilt somewhere along the line. A couple of summers ago I made two out of my charm bins and now can only find one. Where that second one has gotten to is anyone's guess. I will go ahead and finish this one now, leader-ender fashion, to replace the lost one. Maybe, by doing that, the missing one will resurface. Heaven knows, I have enough charms and scraps to keep this up for a very long time!

We picked up a couple of bouquets at Trader Joe's last week to place on the altar at church. They came home with us after worship and have remained vibrant and healthy looking all week. I just love having fresh flowers in the house, the ones that I find there are always nice and very reasonably priced. 

I took this picture yesterday afternoon; our THIRD Bluebird clutch this season! Once before we had two Bluebird families in one season, but never three!! So, maybe there is another family living at our address after all, just when I thought we were down to only the two of us once again. 😉

Life is Good!

On The Plus Side

"Think Positive!" ~ 46" X 56"

Some things are worth the wait, this flimsy is no exception! I began this small quilt over a year ago. Somewhere along the line I got distracted... who, me?... and simply didn't get back to this until a few weeks ago. With a dedicated spirit I worked on it a few hours every day and finally got the borders on it yesterday. I designed this quilt in EQ7 and posted about it late last May, shortly after that I was contacted by them for permission to include this pattern in their "Do You EQ?" blog, I was flattered. At the time I was looking for a way to showcase my vast collection of low volume prints and this scrappy idea fit the bill. Since then my collection has only grown; but, on the plus side, this one is now a full-fledged flimsy! You can access the pattern here. It's easy, and fun! 

Life is Good!

A LITTLE Diversion

I've been hearing rave reviews for a ruler that I don't have. Quiltkeemosabe mentioned the Itty Bitty Eights ruler by Creative Grids, she thought that it might come in handy for our future Bible Study blocks. I usually try to avoid eighths of an inch when it comes to cutting out quilt blocks. I will go to great lengths to overcut and then trim down for accuracy. Yesterday I ran across an online pattern for this two inch Cakestand block. Using my scrap boxes of 1.5" and 2" cut squares I fished out a few and decided to take a closer look at the Itty Bitty Eights ruler and put it to the test. It worked perfectly! I cannot believe that I stitched the first block with such precision. To prove it wasn't a fluke I sat right down and stitched up two more. This has been a completely enjoyable LITTLE diversion after working on those high school graduation quilts with great BIG plain, solid blocks. What am I going to do with these micro quilt blocks?  I don't have any idea. It's just nice to know that I can do this. Of course, I immediately e-mailed a picture of completed itty-bitty block #1 to Quiltkeemosabe. As of this afternoon it looks like we may be headed down this rabbit hole together; one more adventure is underway, and it all began so innocently.

*wink*

Life is Good!

Nothin' Says Lovin'...

... like something from the oven  sewing machine!

As soon as the last morsel of Thanksgiving pies were gone I began making pies again! First, I made a strawberry pie, (my favorite all-time dessert) it was my prototype. There's good news about this type of pie; it won't add one single ounce, it's a hot pad!  During our cross country quilt shop hop  this past summer I discovered this pattern (click here) at Jackman's in St. Louis; I knew immediately it would be perfect for Christmas gift giving.  Isn't it just the cutest thing? I found plenty of dough-colored rick rack there and stocked up on it, expressly for this purpose. I was lucky enough to find some varied fruit fillings too. These hot pads will protect hands and tabletops; they're made with both one layer of batting and a layer of Insulbrite heat-resistant lining material.

Four more pies in the construction stage, two mixed berry and two blueberry; lattice is woven and ready to stitch down before trimming into a 9" circle. I machine stitched a greeting to the bottom of each pie "tin" before layering them together and binding the edges.  The fluted "crust" is added as the final step and hand tacked into place.

Five pies, stacked and ready to go. The best part? No need to even preheat that oven!
Life is Good!

A "Soft" Quilt

Gregory's Soft Quilt ~ 47" X 67"

Gregory's birthday is coming up next month, he'll be four year old. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and his immediate response was this: "I want a soft quilt, one like Mama's, but mine needs to have cowboys and trains and horses and tractors and race cars... oh, and barns too!" My daughter-in-law explained to me later that he was referring to her flannel quilt as the soft one. She received that quilt  from our Quilt Ministry when she was hospitalized with complications following Lynnleigh's birth. She went on to explain that Gregory would likely want his to be tied, not quilted, like hers; so that it would be soft and puffier. Okay, got it. But now, how to corral all those disparate prints into something that didn't look like a mish-mash? I dragged out an old pattern, the Quick Step Quilt * by Carol Britt. This top went together quickly today, I bordered it all around as a means of reining it in and I do think that it does look neat and orderly. Initially, I was really at a loss as to where to find all of these novelty prints in flannel... but wouldn't you know it, there's an online source: flannel world, and yes, they had everything Gregory's soft quilt called for! I washed and dried all the pieces before I set to cutting, each one came out of the dryer soft and fluffy; I was pleased with the quality.

Cowboys, trains, horses, tractors, race cars and barns, all together in one soft quilt; 
made-to-order for one very special little boy!

Here's the biggest surprise of all, the backing fabric is Minkee;
ramping up the soft factor to a whole new level! 

* I have used this pattern many times before, but it's been quite a few years; it is designed to be made in vertical columns, front, back and batting together. The units join together and actually quilt the piece at the same time. On this quilt, though, I was only interested in the layout for the front. I forgot all about the unusual assembly for this quilt and bought the fabric according to the yardage requirements on the pattern... plus the backing fabric. As a result I have enough of all the required flannel prints to make another, identical, quilt... just in case he loves this one to bits!

Life is Good!

What's Underfoot (Paw) and Under The Needle

We have new rugs in the kitchen, the old ones had served their purpose and lasted for ten+ years; Mr. Goodneedle saw these in the LLBean catalog and thought they'd look good, I agreed and the order was placed. We had two of the grandchildren here, napping, when the rugs arrived. We opened the package, unrolled the rugs, and immediately placed them on the floor. Gregory awakened a short time after that and when he came into the kitchen he walked right on this rug, looked down, and asked "what's this"? We told him that Nana and Pawpaw bought new rugs. "Oh", he answered, with a sad voice, "I liked the old ones better". He's a funny little boy. At 3 years of age he has already told us that he "really loved" the old TV in the kitchen after it was replaced with an under-cabinet mounted flat screen and he claims that the old sofa his parents got rid of, in favor of a new sectional, was his favorite sofa! With apologies to his Methodist grandparents, it looks to me, through this mindset of his, as though Gregory is truly Lutheran through and through! There are no complaints on the new rugs from Hannes; they're hooked from 100% wool and are super warm and cushiony underfoot, he loves them... and so do we!

Sundance and have I spent a good amount of time quilting this week, as many hours as we could squeeze in. For some (crazy?) reason I decided to quilt this one with dense background fill stitches; it's coming along, and I do love the results, and yet... it's s-l-o-w going (lots of hours and thread). I've named this one "How Much Is That Doggie?", it measures 52" X 59". The pattern, "Nickel Dogs" (the puppies can all be made up from five inch charm squares), is available from Me and My Sisters. It's a good feeling to get this one out of the to-be-quilted queue.

Life is Good!

Jelly Roll Quilt

Jelly Roll Quilt ~ 60" X 60"   (Finished block size: 8.5")

Here's a diagram of the jelly roll quilt that I recently completed and a quick step-by-step. The pattern that I had used is out of print and no longer available. A few of you have asked for the instructions, I am passing them along here. The cutting directions for each block are below. You will need at least 36 5" squares, a charm pack works perfectly for this. A jelly roll will give you all of the 2.5" strips that you need for framing out the block centers and for constructing the piano key outer border(3.5" cut width). If you aren't using a jelly roll you'll need 40 2.5" strips, width of fabric. The inner, accent, border is cut 1.25 inches (half a jelly roll strip, lengthwise, piece three of these together end to end), this border finishes to .75", use a contrasting fabric for a striking pop of color. Give each block a quarter turn when setting them together within the rows to give it a woven appearance, as in the diagram.

Enjoy~
Life is Good!