Moda Sampler Shuffle Week 6

Week 6 of the Moda Sampler Shuffle included a block that required appliqué.  As much as I enjoy looking at and admiring appliqué, I do not enjoy doing it, so I resort to the lazy form of appliqué called "raw edge".  Appliqué usually involves tedious hand work of folding down edges of fabric, stitching it to the base fabric. Instead I use a Fusable product that is ironed between the 2 pieces of fabric, then I tightly zig zag with my machine, the edges.  It doesn't look as pretty as traditional appliqué, but that's me, a little bit lazy!
I'm not afraid of handwork.  People who enjoy doing appliqué always tell me, "Don't be afraid of the hand work," and I'm not.  I've been doing embroidery for decades, winning about 15 blue ribbons at the Los Angeles County Fair, San Bernardino County Fair, and the Alameda County Fair over the past 25 years.  My stitches of embroidery are tiny and precise, and over the years I've improved how the back of my project looks, almost as good as the front of the project. So handwork is not something I'm afraid of.  I just don't enjoy appliqué, and avoid it when ever I can.
Thankfully the other two blocks this week were very easy and traditionally pieced blocks.  I'm eager to finish the 30 blocks and get this quilt going!!!!!!!

Week 4 of the Moda Sampler Shuffle

For some reason a very nice quilting blog website posted the blocks for week #4 very early.  Usually this nice website posts the new blocks on Friday, but for some reason they posted on Wednesday. It worked out perfectly for me because now I had something to do on a holiday when there are few stores and restaurants open.
This week's blocks were easier.  But I think that my fabric choices for the railroad prints were too busy to combine. Oh well, it's staying that way!
I did enjoy the bright colors I had on hand for these blocks.  I've always enjoyed working with bright colors. Something about them is positive and happy!  Right now I need that.
Now back to work making more "flying geese" for the border.  There are 132 total flying geese for the border, according to the completed quilt instructions.  I have about 50 finished.  There's a very easy "no waste" method for flying geese, and this method allows you to make 4 at a time!  Once you get the hang of it the process goes very quickly.
So if anyone is counting, there are 15 out of 30 completed blocks so far. Half way there!!  This "challenge" goes through the first part of January in which all 30 sampler blocks should be completed.  Then the challenge will be putting the quilt top together!

Moda Sampler Shuffle Week 3 and 4

This is week 3 and 4of the Moda Sampler Shuffle.  I wanted to have a little bit of fun with color and polka dots with this week.  It's a good thing I have lots of both!!

Each square is 6 1/2", and over the 10 week period there will be a total of 30 blocks released.  I'm excited to see what it will look like when it's put together.  

Sampler Shuffle

The Moda Sampler Shuffle. What is it? Moda is a brand of fabric very popular among quilters. It is a challenge offered by my local quilt store here in Livermore, In Between Stitches.  On their blog is posted 2 or 3 new squares each week with instructions to finish.  It's a 10 week challenge, and at the end of the 10 weeks you have enough sampler squares to complete a quilt top.
These 3 squares are the assignment for week 1.  I also finished week 2, using some of the fabric my sister Frances bought for me in a grab bag.  Thanks Frances!!
Each square is 6 1/2", and yes, I'm making it scrappy, but in brights, not pastels.  I'm going to try to include black and white in each square. Some squares require 3 colors, in that case I will add color.
This is really fun, helps me learn new techniques.
I'll keep posting as I finish more squares......that is if I can keep up!

Scrap Bag

A quilter's scrap bag/box is very valuable.  You never know when you'll need a 2" piece of green (or yellow or orange or red, etc) fabric for some project.  Don't get me wrong, I also have several plastic storage bins of large pieces of fabric (some several yards long), two small plastic storage boxes of small pieces of fabric, mostly Fat-Quarter cuts. And I have two smaller boxes that hold my precut 5"x5" charm squares.  But the scrap bag is always an adventure.  There are some pieces of fabric in my bag that date back about 15 years!  Accumulated from different sewing and quilt projects over the years.

Above are two scrap projects I completed, both of them were experiments.  Both turned out pretty good, one was good enough to keep and display on my kitchen table, the other was good enough to give as a gift to my mother-in-law.

The top project is very unconventional because it also has a scrap binding, which I've never seen done.  I still can't decide if I like the scrap binding, but like I said, it was an experiment anyway. I may do it again the the future, I haven't decided.

These two projects are proof that something can be created by using bits and pieces of fabric that other people might have thrown away. You can almost call it recycling!!

"Fiona's Dollies Need A Quilt Too"

About a six months ago I made a quilt for a young friend of mine named Fiona. Even though she is 7-years old and I am 50-something years old, we made a strong connection.  I call her my "Kindred Spirit", like Ann of Green Gables referred to her friend Diana, or as the dictionary defines Kindred: Associated by origin, nature, qualities, etc.  Funny thing is, she loves all animals, especially dogs, but I do not enjoy the company of dogs.  She like bugs and other crawly things, I do not.  But we do have a special connection.  Apparently her mother told me that she listens to everything I say and takes my word as "gospel", so I really need to be careful what I say around her.
One day I Fiona and I had a conversation about her dollies and stuffed animals, and she said that she had a small dolly crib for her special "babies".  I started thinking about the fact that I had some extra fabric left over from her quilt, so I told her that I think that her babies needed a quilt too, and she agreed.
Below is a picture of Fiona's quilt, her quilt label, and the "Fiona's Dollies Need A Quilt Too" quilt.  It's small enough that I can quilt it on my machine, and since it's for her dolls and stuffed animals, I don't think that they will mind if there's a mistake or two in the quilting.

UFO's in Quilting and any Crafting


What are UFO's?   Every quilter has them.  If you are a quilter that doesn't have at least one UFO, then you have OCD!!!

UFO:  UnFinished Object (projects).  It really should be UFP, UnFinished Projects, but you get the picture, UnFinished.  I think my Tia Cata is the exception to the rule, she probably doesn't have too many UFO's, but most quilters have many.  I have many.  I have about 6 or 7 projects in different stages of completion, and about 10 more that I have fabric set aside to start in the future.

It's a sickness, for sure.  Why do we have UFO's?  Sometimes I get bored with a project.  Sometimes I get stuck, then frustrated.  So instead of throwing the whole thing away in a fit of rage, I put it away for a future time.  Sometimes it's a class I started, but never completed.  The picture below is exactly that.  I started the class, attended about 7 sessions, then got busy and didn't attend the last two classes.  But I did think ahead enough to buy the last two kits for the last two squares.  And I kept it very organized in a notebook WITH the templates that I used for these squares. If any of you know me well, I'm usually NOT organized!!   And I remember why I stopped this project.  The first two are the most common reasons why quilters have UFO's.

1. It was hard and I was frustrated with it.
2. I started working and was too busy.
3. We moved to Livermore and it was hard to motivate myself to start sewing again.
4. I became depressed (for a couple different reasons), but I started to come out of my dark hole and quilting got me motivated to find fulfillment by completing projects.

Attached is the 9 squares for this project.  There are still several other appliquéd squares that go with this quilt, so it is by no means close to being finished.  But all the pieced squares are finished. I'll post pictures of this quilt as I get closer to competing it.

These are 6 rows, all from the Row by Row Experience 2015, different shops, some from California, one from Ohio, can't remember all of them from where.  I'm thinking of bordering the whole thing in lavender or a deep green.  

It was fun putting together the rows.  I learned some new techniques, was able to reduce some of my fabric "stash".  Most of the rows were from my scrap bag.  The turtle is because my sister Kathy found a permanent home for 2 turtles she was fostering.  She was sad to let them go, but when I saw this row with the turtle, I had to make it.

I've been so busy sewing quilts and other crafts that I thought I would have one place to see all my creations.  I'm not an expert seamstress.  I am very skilled at embroidery, having won about one dozen blue ribbons at 3 different county fairs (including Los Angeles).
My quilts always have flaws because I tend to be a lazy quilter.  But I love trying new techniques, I love learning easier ways to get from point A to point G.  I really admire people like Eleanor Burns or Jenny Doan.  They take a task that has been done the same way for a couple centuries and find a short cut.  I love that.
Right now Jenny Doan and Vanessa Vargas Wilson "The Crafty Gemini", are my favorite YouTube video tutorials to watch.  They make clear, easy to understand videos.  Period.  That's all you need, someone to explain it to you and demonstrate it quickly and easily.
I added a few of my projects I've completed.  Some quilts, other projects are embroidery, some little projects like coasters and pillows.