Friday, January 31, 2020

2019 Temperatures

I finally got the final set of stitches in my 2019 Temperature Quilt!



(Please ignore the obvious need to press this quilt top!)

The best part about this project is the chance to compare the two years.  Both had a large blob of orange and red representing our very hot NC summers.   Although 2019 did have that one 100 degree day in October and what fun I had adding that color!

2019 saw a warmer November and December with a bunch of 70 degree days as we counted down the year.



I've been on the fence on what to do for 2020 which means, so far, I've done nothing!  Seeing these two quilts together is a strong incentive to get started on a new one.  What I will likely do, since I've got plenty of fabric, is stick with the same colors but likely machine piece this one.

Here is a mapping of the colors to temperatures -



Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, January 27, 2020

Left Right Geese Tutorial

Remember my Left Right quilt I shared last week?  The basic pattern is available for free from Fat Quarter Shop (get yours here!).   As drafted. the blocks have a plain rectangle surrounded by fabric strips.


I love the flying geese block so decided to include some inside my blocks - several people asked for the quilt math  and a brief tutorial so I decided to put one together!


The center of the block - the rectangle - finishes at 9 ½'' x 4 ½'' which means we need to make flying geese units that finish at 2 ¼'' x 4 ½''.


Here is what you will need:


  • 3 print rectangles, 2 ¾'' x 5'' (A)
  • 6 background squares, 2 ¾'' x 2 ¾ '' (B)
  • 1 background rectangle, 2''x 5'' (C)
  • 1 background rectangle,  1 ¾ x 5" (D)


On wrong side of piece B, draw a diagonal line.  Place B on A, sew, press and trim.  Repeat with second B unit.   Your flying geese unit will measure 2 ¾'' x 5''.  Make 3 in total.


Assemble block center following diagram.  I varied where pieces C and D were placed so that the geese were in different places in the block.   Block center will now measure 10'' x 5'' unfinished (which is, of course, is 9 ½'' x 4 ½'' finished.)

You could also cut two C pieces, sew them to either side of the 3 flying geese and then trim to block center measurements for lots of variety in geese placement.


Please tag me if you share a quilt with this center variation.  I'd love to see it!


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Saturday, January 25, 2020

One Monthly Goal January Finish Link-up

Ready to link up your January finishes?
Don't panic - this link-up is open until January 31 at 11:55 pm ET.


Did you see the big sponsor announcement for One Monthly Goal 2020?  Check it out!  I enjoy running the link-up and happy to host the event again next year.

My goal for January was to create a baby size quilt with a pre-cut and yardage I got from Fat Quarter Shop.  I call my quilt Left Right.  You can find the tutorial (minus the geese I added to customize) here.


Now its your turn to link-up.

There will be three winners this month Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate,  Aurifil is offering a thread pack and Quiltfolk is offering a copy of the latest issue (January) plus a year's subscription.



Congratulations to Suzanne, Florence and Sherry - our lucky winners for January.  (Winners have been notified by email.)  updated 2/3
Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month. (January
 Goal Setting Link-up.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter




 Joining the link-up from Instagram -see the tutorial.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Left Right - my latest finish


Fat Quarter Shop has a wonderful series on their Jolly Jabber blog called Shortcut Quilts - patterns that use pre-cuts and produce fun quilts that go together quickly.    They asked me to participate in their new Jelly Belly Bar quilt - free pattern and tutorials are available!

I love fun quick projects so I promptly ordered my fabric - choosing this wonderful Jolly Bar Walkabout by Sherri & Chelsi.   Jolly Bars are a pre-cut rectangles which are 10'' x 5''.  


The block itself is simple and consists of a rectangle surrounded by four fabric strips.  The pattern suggests the rectangle come from the Jolly Bar and the fabric strips from a Jelly Roll.

I had some fabric from the same designer in my stash plus some leftover geese from another project so I decided to frame my blocks with strips cut from the Jolly Bar (and my stash) and then fill the block centers with geese.



Why geese?  Mainly because I love geese and I can never resist customizing a pattern a bit.


The geese fly across the quilt in different directions.  I chose a meander loop design for my quilting - this is really my fall back FMQ motif.  I enjoy it and it is very forgiving!


The binding is a combination of a green solid plus one strip of a green print.

The quilt finishes 42'' square - all ready to be gifted to a baby!


This quilt is my 2nd finish for 2020!  Make one yourself - see the tutorial!   Want to add some geese - here is the geese math!



Have a wonderful day! Patty

Thursday, January 16, 2020

My Active WIP list

Nothing beats having a visual list of the quilts I hope to finish soon.  I've had to put these 4 projects aside to work on a quilt with a deadline but I hope to get back to them soon!

First up is my downsized version of Cheryl's Mosaic Mystery QAL.  I moved it from the floor to the design wall and thinking about how big I want the final quilt to be before I start sewing things together.



My Kinship flimsy awaits quilting.


My faux needleturned applique project needs to be soaked in water overnight to soften the foundation papers before I can base and quilt.


My (downsized) version of Modern Handcraft's snowflake just needs a binding.


I think I'll tackle adding the binding to the snowflake quilt first since it would be nice to have that done while winter is still here!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, January 13, 2020

A QAL Teaser



Some exciting news to share!  Kristin @ Simple Handmade Everyday and I have been planning a new Hand Pieced QAL which will launch in March!

For everyone who participated in our Hand Pieced QAL, our new QAL will include some new skills to keep you challenged as well as practicing the skills we covered last year.

The format of the QAL will be a bit different this time - stay tuned for more details.  We are still sewing our own version as fast as we can and are really enjoying this year's fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics!


Until then, check out our QAL from 2019 - all the tutorials are there waiting for you!  You can find all those listed

Tutorials:

Blocks:

4 PatchHalf-Square TriangleFlying Geese
Block TutorialBlock TutorialBlock Tutorial
Stitch & Flip Tutorial
Quarter Square TriangleDorothyFlorence
Block TutorialBlock TutorialBlock Tutorial
EulaBessEmmeline
Block TutorialBlock TutorialBlock Tutorial 9


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

2019 Finishes

We are more than a week into 2020 so I wanted to take a minute to capture all my 2019 finishes in one blog post.


First up are my larger quilt finishes (except for a charity quilt not pictured.)  6 of these quilts were gifted -   Maui to my sister in celebration of her new home,  Linked to my nephew and his bride to celebrate their wedding,  My Dad's Quilt to my dad to provide comfort during his cancer battle, Special to celebrate a decade birthday for another sister, Bunny as a gift for a friend's new grandchild, and finally Her Favorite Things to celebrate the birthday of my daughter's friend.

Dizzy and Briar Rose were MQG challenge quilts which had to be made with specific fabric.  Linked and Briar Rose were published in a magazine!



Top row:  MauiLinkedThe Happiness Tree
Middle row: Dizzy My Dad's QuiltSpecial


I made several mini quilt in response to challenges - SpinVases or FacesMinimalist improvA Favorite Block, and Family Friendly plus Curves (not pictured). The house was gifted as a thanks to a friend of a friend who let me stay in her house at QuiltCon!


Top Row: Vases or FacesTeapotSpin

In addition to all of these there were some pillows (always love making pillows), a table runner with leftover geese and the finish of my 2018 Temperature quilt.




Such fun to look over a year's worth of finishes.  Almost all of them were made start to finish in 2019! 


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, January 6, 2020

Succulents Mini Quilt

Happy New Year!


My first quilt finish for 2020!  And, in fact, the entire quilt from start to finish was this year - this project jumping in front of the line.

The Succulents quilt finishes at 14'' square and used scraps.  In fact, the green cactus on the right was made from a random single jelly roll strip of ombre fabric.   The pattern is Greenhouse by Elizabeth Hartman (affliate link).  The blocks went together quickly!


I briefly considered doing quilting unique to each piece and matching color but my favorite straight line quilting finish won out.  It is (relatively) fast, no threads to bury and I just love the way it looks.

This mini is actually a very late Christmas gift.  I decided a happy surprise in the mail will make up for the Christmas season miss.

Happy New Year!


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

One Monthly Goal January Link-up

Happy New Year!!!!  Welcome to our very first One Monthly Goal of 2020.


New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  To join, share a photo of your project, some words about what you want to accomplish in a blog post, an Instagram post (tutorial) or a post on Flickr and add that photo to the link-up.  Return at the end of the month and share your results.  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.

We have wonderful sponsors this month - three (3) winners will be randomly chosen from those that link up in both the goal and the finish event! 


Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun.  Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.

Aurifil is home to a beautiful rainbow of thread in all weights, perfect for any of your sewing and quilting needs.  My favorite product is the designer collection boxes which coordinate with various fabric lines!  Aurifil will be mailing a thread pack to one lucky winner!

Quiltfolk is the magazine for quilters, by quilters, with about 180 pages of inspirational stories and stunning photography. Featuring four new locations each year, it’s like taking a vacation with your favorite quilt friends without ever leaving home!  One lucky winner will win a copy of the latest issue (January) plus a years subscription! 


Aren't these just terrific sponsors?

For January, my goal is to turn this Jolly Bar  and some of these fabrics into a baby quilt as part of a QAL sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop - one of our OMG sponsors!  (The cutting mat in the photo is by ecopeco - another OMG sponsor!  You can read my review of the cutting mat here.)

Now it is your turn to link up - what is your goal for this month?  (A goal could be to finish a quilt but it could also be to attach a binding.  Whatever it takes to help you move forward and make progress on your projects!  And as long as the project involves making something with a needle and/or fabric, you can link up!)

Make sure you visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 
 Your blog post (or Flickr post) must contain a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and a link back to Elm Street Quilts.  Your Instagram post must include a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and the tag #onemonthlygoal.  (Entries which don't contain the required information may be disqualified.)

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.   (The One Monthly Goal accomplishment linkup will be available on January 25.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can find the OMG link-up from your blog.  Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post: 
 






You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter



Thanks for linking up!

Have a wonderful day! Patty