Quilting Linda: A Quilting Blog by Linda West

Apr

20

2015 Snapshots BOM

Posted Thursday, April 20th, 2017 in Quilting | Read More

I was working on this Block of the Month in 2015 but didn’t keep up with it at the end of the year. It then became a UFO until this spring. I lost interest because of all the flippy corners. ( A method of putting triangles on the corners of rectangles, etc..) When I bought a new specialty ruler for another project, I found that it worked well for making the flippy corners without having to  draw a line, sew, and cut. I made the last three blocks for each quilt and completed both the large and small quilt tops.

The large quilt is 66 1/2″ X 88 1/2″ and the smaller version is 38 1/2 X 49 1/2″. I used my 1930s fabrics that I had been collecting for years. I had Fat Quarters and Jolly Bars (5″ X 10″) cuts of fabric.

Here is the larger quilt….

..and this is the mini version.

This shows them together to compare the sizes.

The larger quilt was much easier to make than the smaller version but they both went together very well. I did have to make a few adjustments on a couple of the blocks in the mini quilt to make the first round of sashing fit. The seam allowances caused a lot of bulk in the smaller blocks.

The pattern for the large quilt is available free at The Jolly Jabber, the blog at the Fat Quarter Shop. Sondra Davidson of the blog, Out of the Blue, made a smaller version of the Snapshots quilt.  The measurements for cutting a smaller quilt are available on her blog.

Sep

25

Be My Neighbor Quilt Along

Posted Sunday, September 25th, 2016 in QAL | Read More

I have always wanted to make a “house” quilt. I am excited to join the Moda Be My Neighbor quilt-along to make a house quilt.  There are several online quilt shops that are participating. The shops that I have visited for the patterns are Wool Felt Central and Bear Creek Quilting Company. Beginning on September 6, a new block will be added each Monday through December 19th.

I am printing them out each week. Here is my first block.

I am using fabric from a fat quarter bundle that I received for Christmas last year. I have used some of the bundle for another project so I am hoping that I will have enough to make all 16 blocks. I may have to go shopping if I run out. Wouldn’t that be terrible!

Oct

25

August, September,October – Quilt Doodle Doodles BOM

Posted Saturday, October 25th, 2014 in Quilting, Scrap Quilts | Read More

I have been making the blocks each month, but since the move, did not post them on the blog. Here are the last three blocks/rows.

I am making this quilt  entirely from my stash. As I was finishing up the last row, I ran out of the background fabric so I mixed in another fabric that I used in another block. That is the beauty of scrap quilts, you do not have to panic when you run out of a certain fabric.

The background in the pattern used 2 1/2 inch squares but I cut larger pieces rather than piecing all the squares. I did this with all the blocks and rows. It not only saves a bit of fabric, but it takes less time to sew.

August – Sweet Tooth (ten peppermint candies)

September – Evergreen Tree

October – String of Lights

This is the last row of blocks. I have enjoyed making these blocks/rows. Thank you to “Quilt Doodle Doodles” for the free patterns.

Jul

2

Quilt Doodle Doodles BOM 2014

Posted Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014 in Quilting | Read More

With a big move coming soon, I got busy and made the rows for June and July this week. I don’t know when I will have time to sew for a while and don’t want to get too far behind.

The June block is a row of hockey skates. The blades are appliqued but the rest of the blocks are pieced. The July block is a row of mugs with steam rising above. Again, the handles of the mugs and the steam are appliqued.I chose to use a different fabric for each mug and have switched to a white background for these two rows. The reason for the change in background fabric is because I am running out of the blue. The white is also from my stash and has white on white snowflakes and stars with a bit of blue.

Feb

1

BOM 2014 – February- Cozy Cabin

Posted Saturday, February 1st, 2014 in Quilting | Read More

I am trying to stay on top of the blocks of the month this year, but it’s only February. I hope I can keep it up all year. The pattern for the February block has been posted and mine is finished!

Again, I did not follow the directions completely. I cut the pieces that were supposed to be the same color in rectangles rather than 2 1/2 inch squares. My blocks don’t have the scrappy look but I’m fine with that. I am using fabrics from my scrap bag so the quilt will have a scrappy look when all the blocks are finished.

I’m loving the simplicity of the blocks in this BOM.  You can find the pattern here until the end of February.

Jan

25

BOM 2014 – January -Chilly Silly Snowmen

Posted Saturday, January 25th, 2014 in Accuquilt Go cutter, Fabric Stash | Read More

Here we go again! I found a cute, free, BOM that I just had to make.  I made a few changes to the construction of the blocks but not the appearance. For Christmas, Bob gave me a Snowball die for my Accuquilt Go Cutter that is the same size as the snowman face. Rather than cut lots of two inch squares and sew them back together, I used the die to cut the white fabric. It also cut the blue fabric for the corners on the white squares. I cut strips for the side pieces of the block rather then piece them. The eyes are 3/4 inch black buttons. I sewed the buttons onto the faces before I joined the blocks together.

The pattern is from Quilt Doodle Doodles. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. I think I have found a new favorite blog to follow!

Apr

12

Hello Moon – Blocks 3 & 4

Posted Friday, April 12th, 2013 in Hello Moon Block of the Month, Quilting | Read More

These are fun to make! The patterns can be found at Making Ends Meet. There is a tutorial for the raw edge free motion applique here.

Feb

9

Hello Moon BOM

Posted Saturday, February 9th, 2013 in Quilting | Read More

April Mae Designs has started a new free Block of the Month. I enjoyed following and making the Hello Sun BOM last  year and have started the new Hello Moon BOM.

I made this block using fabrics from my stash. The gray fabrics are scraps from an Ohio State quilt I made for a friend and the background fabric was in my stash. I am excited to start this quilt and have already started planning how to set the blocks together.

I invite everyone interested in making this BOM to click on the above link and join me in making a Hello Moon quilt.

Jan

5

Happy New Year 2013

Posted Saturday, January 5th, 2013 in Quilting | Read More

After resting a bit from making the Christmas quilts, I am ready to sew again! I want to finish some projects that I started last year. I made the “Hello Sun” boms each month until November. I was too busy working on the Christmas quilts to do them in November and December. So, my project this week has been to catch up with my blocks of the month.

November

December

To set all the blocks together, I am making Variable Star blocks, using the Hello Sun squares as the center of the star. Stay tuned for the finished quilt.

Jul

12

Hello Sun BOM in July

Posted Thursday, July 12th, 2012 in Fabric Stash, Patterns | Read More

This month the Block of the Month pattern did not have a picture of the finished block. I usually follow the suggested colors in the block but had to use my imagination this time. Since the sun is setting, I changed the background from the white fabric used in the previous blocks to an orange/yellow to resemble the sky at sunset. The post the gull is perched on is cut from a stripe in a  fat quarter of African fabric. It was the only piece in my stash that resembled  wood grain.

Jun

13

June “Hello Sun”

Posted Wednesday, June 13th, 2012 in Hello Sun Block of the Month, Quilting | Read More

I finished the June block today. I started it the first week of June but due to problems with the foot pedal on my machine, did not finish the top stitching. I ordered a new pedal which arrived in the mail today. It works!

May

3

May “Hello Sun”

Posted Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 in Hello Sun Block of the Month, Quilting | Read More

I’m on a roll this month! I completed the May block this morning.

I am enjoying these happy little blocks so much! I did change the grassy area because the first piece I cut was a bit short after I had pressed it to the background piece. I didn’t notice that the pattern was not reversed when I traced the flower and had to redo the flower and stem before applying it to the background.

It’s not too late to join this free BOM! Each block is fun and easy. You can find the patterns here.

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.

Mar

23

Craftsy BOM update

Posted Friday, March 23rd, 2012 in Amy Butler, Quilting | Read More

This has been a busy month for me. I am just finishing my March BOM from Craftsy. This is the first time I have made this type block. I got lots of exercise running to the ironing board. If I made a lot of these blocks I would set up an ironing station beside my sewing machine.

I cut about 30 different size strips from my fat quarters to make both blocks. The Craftsy site used a different colorway for each block. I had enough left when I made the first block that I decided to use the leftovers for the second. I had a few pieces left after finishing the both blocks.

Mar

8

Hello Sun – March

Posted Thursday, March 8th, 2012 in Hello Sun Block of the Month | Read More

This is the third block in the Hello Sun BOM at http://www.april-makingendsmeet.blogspot.com/ . I changed it up a bit by moving the sun to the corner and using a half rainbow. Actually the design change was drawn by my daughter. I told her I wanted to change it a bit and she grabbed a piece of scrap paper and sketched it for me. I love her version. Thank you Jennifer!

Feb

24

Hello Sun

Posted Friday, February 24th, 2012 in Hello Sun Block of the Month, My Projects | Read More

My friend Kris introduced me to this free Block of the Month at http://www.april-makingendsmeet.blogspot.com/ . I made the strata of yellow strips and put it away while I worked on another quilting project. Yesterday I got it out again and made the blocks for January and February. Doesn’t this just make you feel happy? I love working with the yellow fabrics.

I did all the appliques by machine by setting the stitch length to 1.5 straight stitch and using black thread. I made a few modifications to the pattern so that I would not have to do any hand work. I like that it looks like a child drew it.

January Hello Sun Block

February Hello Sun Block

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.

May

31

Block of the Month -June 2010

Posted Monday, May 31st, 2010 in Fabric Stash, Fabrics, My Projects, Patterns, Quilt Guilds | Read More

I made two blocks  for the block of the month at the Appleseed Quilters Guild meeting on June 1. This block is called Bridal Path with one change. The center 9 patch is changed to 9 solid squares rather then pieced squares in the corners. Here are the blocks I made.

The colors we were asked to use were black and white with jewel tone colors for the star points. These were fabrics from my stash.

An update: I took the blocks to quilt guild last night and won the Block of the Month blocks.The blocks below are the four that I won in addition to my two blocks shown above.

I plan to use five of the blocks to make a table topper.