Bag Lady Week and a Free Tutorial from Me!

When my friend Kristie from OCD: Obsessive Crafting Disorder asked me to be a bag lady, I wasn't sure that was a title I wanted to take on. After careful consideration, I jumped in with both feet. Check out her blog today and you will find a free pattern for my newly designed Scalloped Dresden Bag!

This will be my new bag for fall. Would you like to make one? Full instructions are on her blog today. I will add a link to my tutorial list in the sidebar soon as well. For today, you have to go visit Kristie. You will also have a chance to win a free Ruched Happy Bag pattern and free Hexiecase pattern!

Basic Grey Giveaway!

Basic Grey giveaway day is here! How would you like to receive an inspiring package like this one in your mailbox? Basic Grey will send one winner a canvas sampler with assorted notions. They are willing to ship internationally as well.

You can have fun experimenting with your blank canvas and making it your own.

Then you can brighten up your sewing space!
I completely enjoyed designing my Basic Grey Sampler. If you missed it, check it out here.
To enter, simply leave a comment! I will draw a winner sometime on Friday, Sept. 2. Good luck!

A Challenge

Lauree invited me to join my first ever quilting bee, Cocorico {a patchwork bee}. This bee is a copy cat bee for those of us who love to oooh and aaah over the Ringo Pie bee blocks. I have a hard time saying no to challenges because I really love them but yikes, this bee is going to stress me out. I am very new at paper piecing. I have made 4 blocks from paper pieced patterns and designed one of my own till now.
Lauree loves to cook and loves all things kitcheny. She asked us to make blocks with no size restrictions reflecting some of her favorites as shown in her inspirational mosaic. I asked Lauree if there was something she hoped to see in a block that no one was making yet and one of the ideas she suggested was a Dutch Oven. This is my attempt at a Dutch Oven, made in Lauree's favorite colors (orange and aqua). I placed the Dutch Oven on some wood grain material for the counter or shelf. I noticed some hanging mugs in one of her inspirational pictures so I drafted a simple mug pattern and made one in Kona Mustard and the other in Kona Aqua.
My block seems very simplistic compared to the others so far which has me a little bit worried. I think that I will improve with practice both in designing these blocks and in their execution!
(Oh, and the shelf doesn't sag in the middle, that just happened when I hung the block to photograph it!)

DQS 11 Received

I received this beautiful little doll quilt from Kristina who blogs at Sew Domestic. She did such a good job researching my likes and dislikes! She has been reading my blog all summer picking up on little clues and looking through my Flickr favorites and I didn't even know! She designed a cute little spool block because I had a couple of spool quilts in my DQS 11 mosaic. She used one of my favorite fabrics for the binding. She fussy cut flowers for the center, that's a two for one...I love flowers and I love fussy cuts.

On the back, she fussy cut the word "Minnesota" along the right edge because that's where she is from. She used more of my favorite Annies Farmstand Fabric on the back and a selvage (also seen in my mosaic.)
She also included some amazing goodies. There is a nice piece of Ruby Star Rising, measuring tape twill tape, Aurifil thread (my new love) and Thangles to piece HST.
Thank you so much Kristina!
Keep tuned for the Basic Grey giveaway. I am thinking that Monday is the day!

Basic Grey Canvas Sampler

A couple of months ago, Basic Grey asked me if I would like to try out one of their new canvas display board samplers. Ummm, yes! That wasn't a hard decision! The sampler looked like a lot of fun to me. I was so excited when this package arrived in the mail recently.

I received the "Rook" sampler that measures 11" x 14" and an assortment of beautiful buttons and felt flowers. I couldn't wait to dig in but I had to come up with a plan first. I knew that I wanted my sampler to be three dimensional and have lots of texture. My inspiration came when my friend Kristie posted her Cheater Cathedral Windows tutorial. I took her basic idea, to convert a circle into a single Cathedral Windows block, and adapted it to my purpose.

I decided to use my aqua scraps for one side of all the circles. For the other side, I chose fabrics that were black and white, spring green, yellow/mustard, aqua and red. I fused together one scrap of aqua with one scrap of a print using Steam a Seam fusible web. Then I cut each fused sandwich into a circle with a 2" diameter.

With the print side up, I centered a 1 1/4" square of cardboard on the circle and folded in the four sides, pressing them with a hot iron. Then I flipped the unit over and sprayed a little starch onto it and pressed it again. I did this because I opted not to glue the edges down (which was my initial thought). I tried that but I lost the 3D look I was going for. The starch helps add a bit more body to the "Cathedral Window" and keeps the edges creased and folded inward.

I attached the windows with embroidery floss ties in the center. I secured a couple of them with a small button stitched through the center. In the bottom right hand corner, I had fussy cut a bird and I didn't want to put a tie through it so I stitched with thread within the folds of the window.

A few blocks were left open and coordinating buttons sewn in place. I didn't end up using the notions sent by Basic Grey because they didn't work with the color scheme that I chose. However, I can't wait to use some on small bags and pouches. How much fun will that be?

I really enjoyed this project. It was so much fun to create a miniature little textile and button composition. Would you like to try one too? I thought so! The generous folks at Basic Grey are allowing me to host a giveaway so that a lucky During Quiet Time reader can give one a try as well. I will be back with the giveaway soon.

Bathroom Renovation Complete!

If you have been following our home renovation project from the summer, you will know that we are renovating our upstairs bathroom. It was very much Brady Bunch style. I am happy to report that it is no longer! The sink, shower and toilet are all now in and fully functional.

We no longer have to go to my Mom's house to give the girls' their baths.

I mentioned in my last update that the white vanity that we ordered ended up being very not white in my opinion. It was a yellowish ivory color. It was clear that we were going to have to paint it and since that was a given, I decided to opt for a light grey to match the lines in the marble top.

The single most exciting thing about the bathroom according to my husband and children is this...we have a bubbler. Oh, the glee. I haven't used it yet and probably never will but I am so glad that I will no longer have to yell at the kids for hanging on the side of the sink trying to drink from the faucet after brushing their teeth.
There are just a few finishing touches left. I have to sew the shower curtain and the curtain for the window. And I spray painted a wire rack that used to hang in our kitchen and will be hanging it above the toilet.
For those who are sad to see this project come to a close, don't you worry. We need to turn the old downstairs bathroom (ahem, closet really) into a laundry closet now so that the washer and dryer are no longer in the kitchen. We will jump into that project in the New Year.

Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder Sampler Complete!

I finished my husband's quilt, a sampler featuring fussy cut Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder in blue. If you are interested in reading more about the fabrics or blocks, please see the last several posts.



As you can see, I completely changed my mind about using Kona Bone for the sashing with scrappy setting blocks. Instead, I used 100% black slub linen. I absolutely think it was the right choice and love the way that it looks but it really made basting and quilting a challenge. The slub linen is much finer than regular linen and terribly shifty. It also ravels easily. It was really a nightmare to work with for a quilt.



I used the Word Play Cream Lines print (my background fabric) for the setting blocks and the binding. I pieced a section of the aqua linen textured fabric into the binding, matching it up perfectly with the length of one block.



I made a big push to complete the quilt because there is a beautiful field full of sunflowers nearby that are about to pass by. I thought that it would be great to photograph the quilt in the field. Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate all that well. We fit in a picture before the rain but there is no blue sky.



My husband took this picture as we left the field.



Here is the obligatory quilt roll shot.



The back is pieced. I used a strip of black slub linen followed by a row of scrappy squares, a strip of Kona Bone, a 1/4 yard section of the mustard print and then more slub linen. In the Kona Bone strip, I stamped my label. It reads "To Mark I enjoyed the creative process you enjoy the quilt Love Amy." The finished dimensions are about 44" x 58." I quilted with straight lines 1/4" to the inside edges of the sashing and with diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines through each block.



I hope Mark will enjoy using this quilt while watching movies this fall/winter. He has a big white canvas stretched across one end of the second story in our barn. He sets up the projector and shows movies in there for our family and friends. We had to abandon barn movies for the summer because it was way too hot up there but it's about time to resume our schedule. It will quickly become too chilly up there and he will want this quilt!

Genius Redo of the Double Necktie

Early on in my Sampler Quilt process, I made this Double Necktie Block and I wasn't quite happy with it. It looked blah compared to the fussy cut blocks. Recently, I decided that my quilt would have fussy cuts in each block but that some would be offset, not in the center. My dear friend Liz emailed me before she headed off to work this morning to suggest that I rework that block and use my Viewfinder fussy cuts for the square blocks that make up the bow. Genius I say!

So, I did and am very pleased. It's now one of my favorite blocks.

Here are 12 blocks. I am still playing with the layout and considering sashing. I think that my plan is Kona Bone for sashing with scrappy cornerstones.
I haven't mentioned it yet but this quilt is for my husband. It will be his own very special movie watching quilt. I will not comment whenever he reaches for it, even if he came from the barn and is covered with sawdust or just came home from running. It is his and all his to dirty as he will. I will repeat this over and over to myself and try to stand by it!

Two More Sampler Blocks

I decided that it was time to lay out my blocks and decide what I needed from the last three blocks. I wanted one more block where the fussy cut was off center. I also wanted one more block using the navy, one more using the Heath, and one more with the yellow dot that I added yesterday.

I started with this block, #342 Broken Windows found on page 33 of 5,500 Quilt Block Designs.

In this block, I incorporated all three mustard prints used elsewhere on the quilt.

Then I decided on #560 Chicago Geese, illustrated on page 48, for my last block with an off center fussy cut. I replaced one of the geese with my fussy cut square, then I followed the block design but rotated it 180 degrees.

As it turns out, I couldn't help myself from introducing one more fabric. I added the Anna Maria Horner print. I had been trying to find a use for it all along and this block seemed just right. I wanted a sort of gradation in blue. It gave me a chance to use the navy again and the other blue prints already used in the quilt.
My last block will be sure to use the Heath print. Beyond that, I don't know yet!

Nine Sampler Blocks

I am up to nine blocks now for my sampler quilt. I am aiming for 12. Yesterday I worked on block #237 Honeymoon found on page 26 of 5,500 Quilt Block Designs.


I added another new fabric to the mix, Metro Living Circles in Turquoise."

I also made another simply designed block to work on maintaining that balance I am going for. This block is found on page 16 and is called #88 Patience Corners.

I used two fussy cut squares this time. I have finally stopped debating fussy cuts or not. I have decided that each block will have a fussy cut piece in it, or more than one, but that they may vary in location. I just like the way that print unifies the others and find that using it in the blocks makes me happier. So, that's it!

This time I added one last print, Art Gallery Oval Elements Golden. The darker mustard dot is a good match to the Kona Mustard. I do not plan to introduce any new materials in the last three blocks. I just wanted to make sure that there was variety because I find scrappy quilts so much more interesting!

More Sampler Blocks

I haven't let my indecision stop my progress. I am carrying along and will make decisions as I go. I just HAD to make this block when I saw it.

This is block #405 Winged Square found on page 37 of 5,500 Quilt Block Designs. I added two new fabrics into the mix in this block, DS Quilts Fairgrounds Modern Texture Yellow and some Anna Maria Horner.

I felt like I should make a couple less complicated blocks to balance the quilt design so I made this one from page 15, #71 Zig Zag Pat.

I like how the navy Kona appears to be holding the viewfinder fabric. I also introduced Metro Living Circles in this block.

For another simply constructed block, I chose #53 Old Bear's Paw from page 14. I decided to live dangerously here and move the fussy cut to the lower right and mix things up a little. I used Kona Mustard for the claws and Heath in Tomato by Alexander Henry for the paw. I'm not in love with this block so it will likely find it's way to a pieced backing. I do, however, like the fabric combinations so I will use them on another block asap.

Bathroom Renovation Update

Just popping in with a quick bathroom renovation update. Over the weekend, we painted the ceiling, the trim and the walls. The trim is just Benjamin Moore pure white and the walls are Old World Romance. I swear that the room lights up. Every time I passed the bathroom for the past day or two, I have stopped because I thought that someone left the lights on. Of course, that is impossible because the light hasn't been installed yet! But the room was so dark before that it is unusual to see brightness! Last night, my husband finished grouting the tiles around the tub. Tonight we are carrying in the vanity that was in the barn being painted.

We have some scraping of paint to do on the glass panes of the window and have to remove the painter's tape on the side of the beam. The plumber returns on Thursday to hook everything up. I will post more pictures then.

Sampler Progress and Aurifil Winners

Meet #477, Prairie Flower found on page 42 of 5,500 Quilt Block Designs. As I mentioned in my last post, I am in the beginning stages of a sampler quilt based on some of the many quilt blocks that I would like to try from this book. Many people have expressed interest in the book after my last post so I want to mention that the book is a series of illustrations of quilt blocks in grid format. There are no directions for block construction. It involves a little thought but figuring out different ways to construct the blocks is also fun problem solving! It keeps things interesting.



For this block, I used some flying geese units, squares, rectangles, and I did some foundation piecing as well. The materials used here are: Cream Lines from Word Play, Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder in Blue, Linen Texture in Aqua, Scarlett Cross Weave and Basket Weave in Sky from Dazzle.


I made a fourth block called Mrs. Fay's Favorite Friendship Block, #417 on page 38. I think this block might be my favorite of the four that I have made so far. I just love the fabric choices with the block design. For this block, I used the same Cream Lines from Word Play, and Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder in Blue. I added Kona Mustard and
I find that my creative process works best when I plan as I go. I start with an overarching idea. In this case, I wanted to try some new to me blocks in the form of a sampler quilt. My colors are inspired by the Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder print. And I wanted to see if I could use the Cream Lines by Word Play as my background/neutral. I started with two blocks that featured the Ruby Star Rising Viewfinder as a fussy cut center. I didn't plan to do that with all the blocks. I thought that I might do that with about half and the others would be something like this Double Necktie from page 43, #484.

I have been wanting to make a bowtie quilt for awhile so that's why I picked this block. But I just feel iffy about it. I am really drawn to the blocks with the fussy cut centers. I like how they almost look like a flower in thumbnail views but more architectural when you see the full view. I am wondering, could making all the blocks with a fussy cut center add a bit of cohesiveness to the sampler quilt? Should I stick with the original plan and have only about half fussy cut centers blocks and my fabric choices will make the quilt cohesive? Thoughts?

And now for the lucky winners of the Aurifil thread. I will be emailing you. Here goes:

11 Stephanie said...
I've seen this out in blogland recently and I'm super eager to try it out. What a nice giveaway!

93 Bellgirl said...
I've heard lots about Aurifil thread, I'd love to test the difference! I haven't been that happy with Gutermann lately, I'm finding the thread breaks a lot

103 Deb said...
Yes, I would love to be part of your give away! I must admit, a bit embarassedly, when I initially ready the title of your post, I thought it said "Awful Thread Give Away" and I thought "What?!!" Then I re-read the title and went "duh"!!

112 Elena said...
Wow it looks great! Is it open to international readers? If so count me in please, I would like to try those thread for my next project :)
Thanks for this chance to win

30 gatheredthreads said...
Thank you for the opportunity!