Quilting Linda: A Quilting Blog by Linda West

Feb

24

Eli’s Rocking Chair

Posted Monday, February 24th, 2014 in Fabrics | Read More

When Bob and I saw our grandson Eli  sitting on an upside down colander to watch TV, we decided to buy him a chair for Christmas.

We found a small green rocking chair that is just the right size for him. The back and seat are made of slates with a small space between each slat. We gave him the chair for Chrismas. The first time he sat in the chair, he put a finger between the slats and said “broke” as he jumped out of the chair. He would not sit on it unless we put a blanket on the seat. Of course grandma knew just what to do…make a chair pad for him.

He loves tractors and I had a few scraps of John Deere fabric left over from his tractor quilt.  I made a pad for the back and the seat with leftover quilt batting for padding. I did not have the chair available when I made the pads but I had taken measurements before giving it to him.  I also had a limited amount of John Deere fabric and was hoping it would be large enough to cover the seat. It turned out to be just the right size.

Here it is with our precious grandson and his teddy bear.

Jun

2

Mini Quilts

Posted Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 in Fabric Stash, Fabrics, Quilting | Read More

Last month I refolded all the fabric in my armoire and found two kits for small wall hanging quilts. I ordered them both from Connecting Threads several years ago. I worked on both of them over Memorial Day weekend.

This quilt kit was called “I Love to Quilt Spools” and included the pattern and fat quarters of fabric.

This second quilt is called “Flowers from the Scrapbag”. It also included a pattern and fat quarters. When I completed the top I had enough fabric leftover to piece together for the backing.

I fused the flowers to the quilt and machine blanket stitched in matching thread around each applique. The stems are pieced into the background fabric.

May

23

Organizing the Fabric Stash

Posted Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 in Fabrics | Read More

Several years ago my family bought me a Sauder armoire for fabric storage. I filled it with my stash, folding  and organizing by color. As I pulled out and added fabric to it, it became very messy. Last week I couldn’t stand it anymore! I took all the fabric out and refolded it. I wrapped each piece around my 6 X 24 inch ruler and then folded the piece in half. If a piece was under a half yard, it went into the scrap basket.

I am hoping that my stash will stay neatly folded and organized. I can now pull out a stack of fabric without the rest of it falling out of the cabinet. I am planning several scrappy quilts to use the large collection of scrap fabrics.

BEFORE

AFTER

Apr

29

April Craftsy BOM

Posted Sunday, April 29th, 2012 in Amy Butler, Fabrics, Heather Bailey | Read More

Again I am just finishing the April blocks by the ‘skin of my teeth’! I have had the first block finished for a while but couldn’t decide what to do for the second block.  To tell the truth, I did enjoy making the second block (flowers) more than the first. I’m not a big fan of doing hand work but this was fun. I used my machine to applique the hand pieced hexagons to the background fabric.

I won a drawing for a book and three packs of hexagons from Amy Gibson at Stitchery Dickory Dock. Amy is the instructor at the Craftsy Free Block of the Month.

Jan

30

2012 Craftsy Free BOM

Posted Monday, January 30th, 2012 in Amy Butler, Fabrics, Heather Bailey | Read More

I am making the free block of the month quilt offered at craftsy.com this year. There will be two patterns available each month. The picture  shows the blocks I made for January and February. I am using  Amy Butler and Heather Bailey fabrics that I bought at Fabrics and Friends quilt shop in Roanoke, IN.

Three friends and I went to Roanoke together and we each bought one yard of seven different fabrics. We took it home and cut it into fat quarters. We then exchanged FQs to each have 28 different fabrics.

I am enjoying these fabrics. They are not the patterns and colors that I normally use in my quilts.

Jun

25

Quilting Queens Row Robin Quilt

Posted Saturday, June 25th, 2011 in Fabrics, Quilt Blocks, Wall Hanging | Read More

I have been participating in a Row/Round Robin with an online quilt group this year. I have received my original row and all the rows made for me by the other participants. We each chose to make a row or center for a quilt and mailed it to to next person on the list. We each included instructions on what we would like to see in our quilts and whether we wanted to make a row quilt or have borders added to the center.

I chose a row quilt in traditional blocks and darker colors. My original row has Thimbleberries type blocks,  houses, trees, and friendship stars. I ask them not to join the rows as I want to make sashing to put between the rows. I plan to make four-patch squares for the sashing.

Row # 1 My original row.

Row # 2- Kay in PA

Row # 3- Annesew

Row # 4- Odessa

Row # 5- k8orlando

Row # 6-Wynative

Row #7- Kay in Pa  (These are made from leftover “scrap corners” from the spools.)

The above names are our online names in the quilt group.  I thank everyone for all the work and great rows you created for my quilt.

Jun

22

“Pin Up” Quiltlets – A quilt pin display

Posted Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 in Fabric Stash, Fabrics, Quilting | Read More

Bob and I drove to Gahanna on June 16 to visit Jennifer and Tristan. Jennifer and I went to the 42nd Annual NQA quilt show at the Greater Columbus Convention Center the next morning. We took lots of pictures of quilts and bought lots of neat quilting items. The item that really caught my attention was a pattern by Quiltricks, a trio of quiltlets to display a quilt pin collection. They are displayed on a tabletop quilt rack.

Bob and I returned home on Saturday evening. The next afternoon I went through my scraps and cut out the pieces for the quiltlets and pieced and quilted the tops. On Monday after work I completed the binding, hand stitching it to the backs of the quilts.

May

1

Sauder Quilt Show – 2011

Posted Sunday, May 1st, 2011 in baby quilt, Fabrics, Quilt Shows, Quilting | Read More

On Saturday, six of my friends and I went to the quilt show at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. There were about 400 quilts on display and a few demonstrations.

The featured guest quilter was Nancy Prince of Orlando, Florida. Her quilts were wonderful thread painted landscapes.

Nancy Prince Quilts

We shopped at Threads of Tradition after viewing the quilts. I purchased fabric to make the “Dr. Seuss on the Loose”  quilt  shown in the June 2011 issue of Quilter’s World.

Mar

27

…and now the place mats

Posted Sunday, March 27th, 2011 in Fabrics, My Projects, place mat, Quilting | Read More

I had four squares left from the panel I used for the table runner. I also had leftover triangles from the Essence quilt I made in 2009. By combining the triangles with background fabric I bought for the table runner and the four squares, I was able to make four place mats. They were too short so I added a 2 inch strip to the top and bottom of each mat. I rounded the corners using a small sauce dish for the pattern.

Close up of mats:

Mar

12

Little Twister

Posted Saturday, March 12th, 2011 in Fabric Stash, Fabrics, Quilting | Read More

Last week I made a  Twister quilt from ten inch squares of fabric. When the blocks are cut, there is leftover fabric between each square.   I decided to use this fabric to make a small Twister quilt.

Twister quilts are made by first sewing squares of fabric together and adding a border. I took the leftovers and squared them up and sewed them together. I added a 3 inch border. The next step was to cut the pinwheel squares. Place the template  on the quilt (with the lines on the intersecting seams) and cut around it. Continue cutting each row until all the squares are cut across the top.

The next step is to sew the blocks back together in the same order they were cut. This creates  the Twister pattern. The final step is to add a border to the quilt. This is  necessary to stabilize the quilt because all the edges of the blocks are on the bias.

The finished size of the small Twister is 25 1/2 inches.

Mar

5

Getting an early start…

Posted Saturday, March 5th, 2011 in baby quilt, Fabric Stash, Fabrics, My Projects, Quilt Blocks, Quilt Guilds | Read More

Each year my small quilt group, Piecemakers, makes a baby quilt for the first baby born in the new year at CMH (Community Memorial Hospital). We decided we wanted to get started early this year  so there is not a rush at the end of the year to get it quilted. I appreciate this since I am usually the person doing the quilting.

Carol and I went to a quilt shop in Roanoke, IN the last week in December, 2010, and found a nice panel to use for the center of the quilt. We decided to make a border of four-patch blocks using the colors found in the panel. The quilt group looked through our stash at the church and found colors to match. I cut the fabric into strips and they were taken home by several members.

Last Thursday the group arranged the four-patches around the panel and Kris and I sewed them into borders at the meeting. I brought them home and added them to the panel today.

As soon as I find fabric for the backing, I will load it on my quilt frame and do the quilting.

Jan

30

Accuquilt Go Cutter- Tumbler Blocks

Posted Sunday, January 30th, 2011 in Christmas gift, Fabric Stash, Fabrics, Quilting | Read More

Bob bought me an Accuquilt Go fabric cutter for Christmas. On Christmas day, I cut over 100 squares using the die that came with the cutter. They were just the right size for the monthly table runners that I made last year. ( You can see them in the post about the November and December runners.)

I bought the 6 1/2 inch tumbler die and have been using it to cut up fabrics from my stash. I had a case with lots of fat quarters that I bought when I first began quilting. I sorted out the green, red, and blue fabrics for the dark  blocks. For the light blocks, I cut up the cream and tan fabrics that were left from all the table runners.

I am going to alternate the dark and light blocks and sew them into rows.

Jan

30

Quilt Guild Garage Sale

Posted Sunday, January 30th, 2011 in baby quilt, Fabric Stash, Fabrics, Quilt Guilds, Quilting | Read More

At the Appleseed Guild meeting in January, the program was a garage sale. About ten people rented tables and sold unwanted quilting supplies. There was a nice variety of items available for purchase. My “find” was this lunch box filled with ‘Funky Monkey’ fabrics. I measured it when I got home and found I have over five yards of fabric. One piece has one square cut out but all the other pieces are uncut. I plan to make a  quilt and maybe include a sock monkey in the lunch box for a baby gift.

Jan

21

November and December Table Runners

Posted Friday, January 21st, 2011 in Fabrics, My Projects, table runner | Read More

I didn’t have time to work on the last two runners until after the  Christmas holidays.  Bob gave me an Accuquilt Go cutter for Christmas and the die that came with it has a 4 1/2  inch square. That is the size I use for the blocks in the center and borders of the runners. I still have to stitch the appliques and quilt them but here are pictures of the unfinished table runners.

Aug

15

Edyta Sitar Quilt Class

Posted Sunday, August 15th, 2010 in Fabrics, My Projects, Patterns, Quilt Guilds, Quilt Shows, Quilting | Read More

Edyta Sitar was the featured artist at the Appleseed Quilt Show at the Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana  last week. She taught a workshop called Hannah’s  Sugar Baskets which I attended. The cost of the class included a kit of fabric. She gave us enough fabric to make the 12 baskets plus extra,  triangle paper for 700 HSTs, recipe cards with the patterns, a folder with quilt layout sheets, and her 2011 calendar that includes 3 patterns. The fabric for the class was cut into strips and ready to make half square triangles using the triangle paper.

She had each of us (21 students)  sew five sheets of HST (half square triangles), cut them apart and share with the class. We kept 7 HSTs from each sheet  and put the rest into 21 piles. When everyone was finished sewing and cutting, we each received one of the piles of HSTs.  This created a very nice variety of fabrics and colors that all coordinated.

After lunch we removed the paper from the HSTs and trimmed the ‘dog ears’ from the squares. She then demonstrated how the basket blocks were assembled, giving us hints on color placement. She also gave us tips on choosing fabric patterns. She told us to choose five prints,small, medium, and large size, dots, and stripes. We then assembled blocks until the end of the class.

During the class, Edyta displayed many of her finished quilts, showing them as she taught the class.

I attended this class with two of my very good friends, Cheryl and Kris. During the two hour lunch break, we visited the vendors and viewed some of the quilts displayed in the quilt show.

I returned to the Coliseum the next day to meet another good quilting friend,Sharon.  I met her on an online quilting forum a few years ago.

Below are the baskets I made with the HSTs from the class.

Jul

17

“Peekaboo Monkeys” part 2

Posted Saturday, July 17th, 2010 in Fabrics, Family, My Projects, Patterns, Quilting | Read More

The quilt is finished! I bought the book and fabric kit in December and it sat on my sewing table while I worked on lots of other quilts this year. I decided to work on it while on vacation last week. The applique is the reason for the delay. Applique is NOT my favorite thing to do! It went together very quickly and was fun, even doing the applique! I used a straight utility stitch on my Viking Quilt Designer for the embroidery on the faces rather than hand work. It isn’t perfect but as a friend says, “Finished is better than perfect.”

Jul

9

Winter Scene Wall Hanging

Posted Friday, July 9th, 2010 in Fabric Stash, Fabrics, My Projects, Quilting, Wall Hanging | Read More

I first saw this quilt at The Door Mouse in Bettsville, OH when my friend Elsie and I visited the shop in 2008. I purchased the center panel  but they did not have all the other fabrics in stock. When I went to The Door Mouse last year (2009) they had them in stock again and I purchased the rest of the fabrics and finished the top. It then went into my pile of unquilted tops.

In June 2010, I  put it in the frame and quilted it.  The finished size is 50″ X 50″. I plan to hang it on the wall behind my quilt frame during the winter months.

The pattern can be found at

http://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/MMF/DownLoad.cfm?Gid=1220

It is located near the bottom of the page and is named “Snow Chateau”.

Jul

4

July 2010 Table Runner

Posted Sunday, July 4th, 2010 in Fabrics, My Projects, Patterns, Quilting, table runner | Read More

This is the July table runner from the Calendar Table Runners pattern that I have been using all year. This month I followed the pattern suggestions for all the colors and appliques. I have a piece of fabric for the backing that has red and blue stars on a white background.

Jun

19

Columbus, Ohio quilt show

Posted Saturday, June 19th, 2010 in Fabrics, Moda charm pack, Patterns, Quilt Shows, Quilting, Websites | Read More

My daughter and I went to the National Quilt Show on Thursday, June 17. Jennifer lives just a few minutes from the Convention Center where the show is held.  We arrived at the show about 10:30 AM and shopped at the vendors and admired quilts until about 4:00 PM. Here are some of the items we bought.

These are the patterns and kit that Jennifer bought for herself. She insisted on buying me most of the items that I chose as a belated Mother’s Day gift as well as buying my ticket , lunch, and some wonderful ice cream when we left the show.

I met Marie Bostwick, the author of  this book. I told her I was her friend on facebook and she gave me a hug. She asked if we had a camera. Jennifer used her cell phone to take a picture of us together. http://mariebostwick.com/

We also met Rebecca Barker, the artist of Quiltscapes. Here is a link to her art.  http://www.barkerquiltscapes.com/

I bought a new  Quiltscapes mouse pad for my desk at home. I have the “spools” mouse pad on my desk at work.

I had a wonderful time with my daughter and thoroughly enjoyed  the quilt show. We plan to make this an annual event.

Jun

9

Bridal Path + 9 to 4

Posted Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 in Fabrics, Patterns, Quilt Blocks, Quilt Guilds, Quilting | Read More

I won six Bridal Path blocks at the Appleseed Quilters Guild meeting on June 1. I bought white fabric with black polka dots  to use as plain blocks between the pieced blocks and I purchased black with mini  dots to use for binding. When I got home I realized I didn’t have enough of the white to make four 12 1/2 inch squares. Not wanting to wait until I could go shopping again, I decided to use the fabric I had and made four pieced (9 to 4) blocks instead of the plain squares. By cutting the binding a bit smaller than usual, I had just enough to make the binding.