Winter Stars lap quilt

A quick little project I finished up a few weeks ago, my own design. Next time, I would put a narrow border around the star border. No matter how careful I am with the final trim, some of the star points inevitably get cut off when I attach the binding. 

The final measurement is 60"x 60" and fabrics are mostly Ruby Star Society with a little bit of Charley Harper by Birch for the very light blue.

Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM

I completed the quilting on this piece a couple of weeks ago. I do love how it turned out, I only wish I had gotten around to quilting sooner! This is from one of Fat Quarter Shop's Designer Mystery Block-of-the-Month programs from a few years back, using a Bonnie and Camille fabric line. I quilted it on my domestic Janome MC 6600 with Superior Threads poly. It's about twin size.

 

Bow Tie Leaders and Enders

 Lots of scraps, 484 bow ties, 88" x 88".

Strawberry Garden Block-of-the-Month

 

Fig Tree Farmhouse: Mystery Block-of-the-Month 2019

 I am very late with this finish, but it's done. Pieced, quilted, bound. And I love it.

This is Fig Tree's Mystery Sampler Block-of-the-Month from 2019! Of course, it's now 2021.

This was a relatively challenging program -- interestingly enough, the block that I had the most trouble on was the pitcher-and-flower block on the bottom left of the quilt. For some reason, I could just not get some of the pitcher pieces to line up correctly. And I made one other mistake, but not going to dwell on it (too much). 

I loved the cherries and barns, and of course churn dashes and Dutchman's puzzles are a couple of my all-time favorites. I quilted on my domestic sewing machine (a Janome MC6600) with a standard all-over stipple. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

Red & White Star Sampler is done!

I finished the Red & White Star Sampler quilt a few weeks ago, but I wanted to complete the piecing instructions for the last block (Castle Garden) before posting about the quilt. So, drumroll please:

I quilted this on my Janome, and it did take me some time to finish, mostly because I spent so much time marking the heck out of it. Here are some close-ups of the quilting details:

Moda Block Heads 2 Sampler - Finished!

With so much anxiety in the world right now, it becomes even more important to seek out activities that bring peace and joy.

Quilting on a domestic machine (after deciding the beloved longarm was indeed too great an extravagance) is an arduous process, but so satisfying when it is done. This is just a simple all-over stipple, but it still took me a couple of weekends.

The quilt now hangs behind my desk, now that I've been working from home for about eight weeks. Here are some of my favorite blocks, in no particular order:

Blocks 7 through 10, done! (Red & White Star Sampler)

Oh my gosh, I've been on a roll since the beginning of the year. I finished piecing and writing instructions for five more blocks, four of which are posted here with downloadable instructions when you click on the picture. With lots of fanfare and such, here they are:

Block 7, Federal Square

Block 8, Golden Samovar

Block 9, Gold Rush

Block 10, Corner Star

Block 6, Eight Hands Around (Red & White Star Sampler)

Eight Hands Around is a nice block to get in some practice for flying geese. The instructions given are for the no-waste flying geese method, which I love. But this method only works if you need four flying geese for the block, otherwise you will have some extra.

As always, click on the image above for a PDF of the cutting and piecing instructions. The rest of the blocks can be found here, or under the tab above for Red & White Star Sampler.

Block 6 Sneak Peak: Eight Hands Around

Next up is Eight Hands Around. I have the first draft of the instructions done but need to piece the block.

In the meantime, I was also playing around with some settings for a baby quilt (my nephew and his wife are due May 18th!). I still have some time to plan and execute, so more to come!

Block 5, Christmas Star (Red & White Star Sampler)

It's a few days past Christmas, but let's consider this a head start for 2020! Details are on the instruction sheet, which you can download here: Christmas Star.

You can get the rest of the blocks on this series by clicking here, Red & White Star Sampler, or on the tab above. Happy Holidays!

Block 4, Minnesota Maze Variation (Red & White Star Sampler)

I completed this block quite a while ago but only just got around to writing up the instructions. I wanted to get this block posted before moving to the next, and hopefully this will inspire me to return to the cutting table and sewing machine.

As with the previous three blocks in this series, the unfinished block is 12.5 inches, and piecing instructions can be downloaded by clicking on the image below.  All the blocks can be found by clicking on the Red & White Star Sampler tab above. Enjoy!

Block 4, Minnesota Maze Variation

Basic Lavender Peppermint Soap

This was my first effort at cold-process from back in July. But it's been curing for almost six weeks now, and I spent a little time cutting off spots to make it pretty enough for pictures.

This batch almost immediately formed quite a bit of ash. These are two palm-sized bars cut from a larger bar, and stamped. Appearance aside, I actually really like how it feels and smells. It is a hard soap that produces a nice lather. I scented with peppermint and lavender essential oils, and these scents come through fairly well after drying.

Here is the recipe for a 1-pound (weight of oils) batch: