Quiltpiecer

  No completed quilts this week but I did manage to finish my No Points Halloween Stars quilt top.  I'm not putting borders on it so it is kind of a finish, right?  I won't get to quilting this one until next month, sometime before Halloween. Last week, I posted about my work-in-progress on this Dia De Los Muertos quilt top, and it's now on the frame to be quilted.   I have not been 100% happy with this top since I saw it on my design wall.  I think the printed squares are too small and now I noticed a couple of boo-boos.  They're  not very obvious because the printed squares look scattered but there is a planned design.  There are 2 printed squares on the upper right side that are turned upside down and touching 2 other printed squares.  They were not this way on the design wall which means I didn't pay attention when I was sewing the blocks together.  Oh, well, just don't tell the quilting police! Linking up with: Brag About Your...

  I've been waiting for days for this cutter and I knew it'd be here on Wednesday.  Yesterday morning I got up as excited as a child on Christmas day and sat by the window waiting for that FedEx truck.  Ok, I didn't exactly wait by the window but my sewing room has plenty of windows facing the street.  I spent the morning cleaning and re-arranging my sewing room so the cutter would have a dedicated space. Finally, it arrived in the early afternoon.  I immediately set it up, imagining myself spending the rest of the day just "playing" with the cutter.  I decided my first test cut would be 2.5" squares using a die from the 8" Qube set.  Greenlight, ready, set, go...and voila!  I had accurate 2.5" squares.  I was happy. But that happiness was short-lived because soon afterward that green light turned to red.  Ugh!  A steady red light means there is a jam and the machine is set on manual reverse.  What?  There is no die jam so...

  Fall is my favorite season.  I'm so glad it's here with it's cooler temperatures although here in Southern California, the Inland Empire specifically, it's still in the 90s this week. It's time to make a fall quilt and I think I'd better get on it right away!  I've been looking at patterns for fall quilts and thought I'd make the Morning Glory Star Quilt.  But, then, Bonnie Hunter released her Appalachian Autumn quilt pattern and I love it! I also love these Maple Leaf quilts and I want one! I just can't decide which one I should make but I do know I have to decide soon or else fall will be over before I know it! Decisions, decisions, decisions! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

When I saw this Halloween quilt by Lauri Springer on IG, I knew I had to make one.  The pattern is No Point Stars  and is available for free from Cluck Cluck Sew.  The blocks in the pattern finish at 11"; however, the blocks in Lauri's quilt finish at 8". Following Lauri's measurements, I cut my squares at 2.5" and 3.5" instead of the 3" and 4" in the pattern.  But my unfinished blocks were too big at 9.5" and I thought there was too much background around the stars.  So I squared and trimmed them down to 8.5".  You can see the difference in the top picture. Here is my display wall with all 36 blocks completed so far.  I want to add another row so I need to make 6 more.  I'll sew the blocks together but will wait until next month to quilt it.  I'm anxious to get started on a fall quilt! Here is my little bin with all the squares cut out.  I was tempted to wait for my Go! Cutter to cut these but didn't want to wait to get star...

  The Go! Fabric Cutter finally arrived today!  I had been looking forward to getting it and was so excited to start using it.  However, I have to hold off a bit longer because I'm now waiting for this: Yup, I - we - ordered the Go! Big electric cutter and I should be getting it sometime this week.  It was an unexpected and unplanned purchase. This past week, hubby and I went to our local sewing center to pick up my Mega Quilter (yea!), which had been in the shop for repair and servicing.  As it turns out, this sewing center sells the Accuquilt.  Lo and behold, they had the Go! Big on display, and we asked the sales clerk to demonstrate it for us.  It was never my intention to get the Big; I merely wanted to get an idea of how the cutter and dies work. The following day, hubby called me from work and told me he was impressed with the electric cutter and thought it'd be better for me than the crank one.  That day was also the last day of the $100-o...

  I finally finished my fast and "easy" Halloween wall hanging that  I posted about last week and the grief it gave me.   It's definitely not perfect but I'm happy with it.  I love the stars and colors.  I quilted this on my regular Bernina machine with diagonal straight stitching and stitch-in-the-ditch along the stars and sashing.  The backing is a mish-mash of 2 extra blocks and leftover Halloween fabric.  The batting is pieced from Warm and Natural remnants. And, I attached a sleeve to the top so I can display it next month.  The wall hanging measures 41" x 51". Here is the original quilt I made for DGD#2 which has 20 star-blocks in the front and 6 more on the back.  I started it in 2015 and finally finished it last year.  I say better late than never! I have one more Halloween quilt to make and then I want to make another fall quilt.  I hope I can finish these before Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt starts.  I'd also li...

Happy Halloween Scrappy Stars #2 - 45" x 55" These star blocks were another recent discovery.  I made them way back in 2015 when I started a quilt for DGD#2, which I posted about  here  and her e ; and I finally finished last year.  For some reason, I made 40 blocks but only used 26 for DGD's quilt. Since I already had the star blocks, I thought this top would be a quick and easy finish.  I started it a couple days ago and finished this morning so it was a quick finish -- but not so easy as it gave me some grief. It wasn't until I was sewing the sashing that I realized some of the blocks were 1/4" to 1/2" too small.  (Maybe that's why I put them aside.) I had to get a little creative and used a zigzag stitch to get the 1/4" seam and hopefully ensure the seams won't come apart.  I think the seams will hold as I'm keeping this quilt for a wall hanging; and I know it won't get used a lot or be washed often. After I sewed the sashing, the ...

  The Go Cutter has been around since 2007 but it was never really under my radar.  Comparing the price of a Go Cutter with a rotary cutter and it was a no brainer for me.  Plus I enjoy using my rotary cutter (with a sharp blade, of course) so the Go Cutter seemed like just another expensive "toy" I didn't need. Fast forward 13 years and I'm not only that much older but I'm also wondering why I'm waking up with pain in my right shoulder and my hands.  It finally dawned on me that my pain is caused by all the rotary cutting I've been doing with all my recent quilt projects.   I've joined several Linky Parties and have been reading many quilting posts and that Accuquilt Go Cutter keeps popping up.  Well, that Go Cutter keeps looking better and better! I was still on the fence because of the price but I hopped on over to their website and discovered they were having a sale -- $100 off.  That's a nice chunk of change that was a big incentive to make t...

  I started this quilt back in February and posted about my work in progress here and  here .  I actually started it in 2016 when I planned to make it for DGD#3 who at that time was into Dr. Seuss. I cut out the center squares and made the star blocks, then for whatever reason, I put them away.  I was happy to re-discover them! I did not use a pattern for this layout but it's a very simple design.  The center squares and star blocks are 6" finished.  The sashing and cornerstones finish at 1.5".  The inner/outer border also finishes at 1.5".  I originally planned to add a 3" outer border but didn't have anything in my stash that would work (and I was not going to the fabric store in the middle of a pandemic).  I think it's just fine without it. The quilt measures 47" x 56" and I quilted it on my Bernina with stitch-in-the-ditch, straight stitching, and outline stitching.  The batting is pieced from Warm and Natural remnants. And I say a ...

  This is a kit I bought at a quilt show many years ago and I figured it was time to get 'er done.   The pattern is by Pressed for Time Quiltworks (c) 2007 Mary Hubka, and the kit came complete with all the fabric needed to complete the top.  I love the pink-red-green color combo with the butterfly print and the floral print on the border.    I've finished all the star blocks and four-patch units so I should have the top finished over the weekend.  It's a nice lap size and I'm thinking I may gift this to a special family friend. Linking up to: Needle and Thread Thursday  at My Quilt Infatuation Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication Monday Making  at Love Laugh Quilt Design Wall Monday  at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts So until next time ...  Be happy and keep on quilting! Follow my blog with Bloglovin