TODAY'S NEWS........

Hello readers,

I just wanted to let you know that I am slowly going to be moving to a different platform that will fit my current needs better.

My plan is simply to rewrite and improve some of the posts - which will move to my new blog site.  I will also be adding new content based on questions or comments I get from other quilters. Other posts I will leave here as is. Enjoy the photos and content.

Feel free to contact me directly with questions, to show off your finished quilts, or other quilt related comments at Indianaquilter40@gmail.com

I love to quilt - and we are talking any of the steps from buying the fabric through the last stitch in the binding or tag. I have had this blog for many years simply as a way to keep a basic journal of what I am doing or have done in quilts and quilt related activities.

I am hoping to write better posts on the new site and be a better mentor and encouragement to the quilters out there who are looking for new ideas, helpful tips, and just "you can do it" attitude.  Quilters are great people who share and help each other.

My new address is: www.indianaquilter40.com

Come visit soon.

STRIP QUILT TOP (or how to make a really fast quilt top)

STRIP QUILT TOP (or how to make a really fast quilt top)

So I am back from vacation, and looked ahead at the calendar for October - well shucks, I need a smaller quilt top to do a hand quilting demo the very first Saturday of October.  Now what??  I guess this is one reason I have so much fabric stored.......

Anyway, I went thru all the interesting fabrics or fabric panels to see if anything I had on hand would work for a historical demonstration (1820 ish) and found a border print that if left intact would work as a strip quilt.

After ironing the fabric, I trimmed off enough to make a section that was 42" wide x 54" long.

I found a solid blue cotton that matches the blue that is in the paisley strips and cut enough 1.5" strips of it to make a narrow inside border all the way around.

The outside border is a dark red (with a very small white print) that makes a nice frame for the top.  I cut 4" strips of this fabric and added to the top.

 I ironed it and the top is now 50" x 60". Now to baste and hand quilt.

RETURNED FROM TRIP AND READY TO GO AGAIN

In my previous blog post, I was leaving for two weeks to see family and go to Maine for a quilt retreat.  Had a great time - it was hard to return to the traffic and noise of real life.  I did not get nearly as much quilting done as I hoped and planned for - I guess I just needed to stop and really relax.  Read a couple books just for fun (gasp !!) and walked a lot in the beautiful nature I was surrounded with.

I was planning on doing mostly applique during this time - it's easy to stop and start, and picking up where I left off allowed me time to walk, visit, and look at the scenery. I even did some more of a counted cross stitch project I started last year while in Maine. I work hard for 50 weeks a year to have these two precious weeks a year to totally relax and do only what I enjoy (phone and internet connection was not reliable so even technology was put away).

I can't decide if I want leaves or not.....

So combining 3 sections of small tumblers and 2 sections of flowers with solid colored borders between - still a work in progress. 

It has been years since I heard loons, but they were a constant on this lake.  Wonderful, eerie call that they make just made the time at the lake even better.

This trip was a good reminder to take some real time off - from work, stress, technology, day to day life, and really just relax.  I woke rested and ready to take on each day - not because I had to, but because I wanted to.  I am not a movie/TV watcher normally, but as a group we watched "chick flicks" each evening (usually something with Sandra Bullock) and it felt so good just to laugh and joke. Wow, didn't even feel guilty for not doing anything while just sitting there.....

So, here is a few photos of the scenery around the cabin deep in the Maine woods. It was rustic, fun, and stress free.

Early evening - the loons are calling, but too far away to get a good photo

Mid day view from the picnic table

Beautiful fall color

On the outhouse door - there was a tin can inside for $$

This photo might inspire me to try a landscape quilt

See post on new blog: https://indianaquilter40.com/flowers-tumblers-or-scraps-are-taking-over-my-world-part-1/

OFF TO A QUILT RETREAT

Happy Fall

View from Haystack Mountain in northern Maine 9/1998

Peace and calm in northern Maine - 9/1998

Well, it is September again and it is time to endure flying (I remember when it was fun to fly.....) so I can see family in Lancaster, PA for a few days before heading up to northern rural Maine for the annual quilt retreat. We decided to rent a cabin deep in the woods on a lake this year instead of meeting at SB's home.  We have been sewing together for over 20 years and started back when Loring AFB was still up and active - about half of the group are local ladies and the other half of us were Air Force wives. We did all kinds of sewing projects together and have just continued the tradition once a year when we can all get together.

However, the internet connection is very undependable there so I may not be posting anything until I return in two weeks.  In the meantime, I will take lots of photos and hopefully even get one or two of the four projects I am taking along completed - wow, wouldn't that be something.....

So the three projects I am taking are:

1. English paper piecing hexagons in two sizes to work on "flowers" to applique to "vines" for part of  a scrap quilt.  I have the background fabric cut and the vines already sewn down so just need to add the flowers.

The bigger size hexies - scraps being put to beautiful use.

2. Pumpkin Spice - this wall hanging needs the pumpkins appliqued down and something done about an outside border and it will be ready to quilt.

3. A strip quilt trying to use up the leftovers from several log cabin quilts.  This one is more an idea at this point so I guess we will see how it works out - sorry, no photos yet.

In the meantime, please read older posts you haven't gotten to yet, and just have a great time quilting.  The time will fly by fast and I will be back to show off the projects and give some basic directions before you know it.

Another place for quilting ideas is my Pintrest account: https://www.pinterest.com/morrfamily0476/

                                                         

PUMPKIN SPICE

I love fall - the brilliant leaf colors, the blue sky, the farmers working in the fields harvesting crops, the lower temps that I find much more comfortable, putting the garden to bed for the year, cozy wood fires in the cool evenings, kicking through the dry fallen leaves........

Source:   https://www.pexels.com

Fall/Autumn is really the season I decorate for.  I put out fall themed quilts, pumpkins, corn stalks, artificial leaves and ceramic small pumpkins, candles in crocks, and photos of barns in the fall.  What can I say except that fall is my favorite season.

I saw this pattern in the magazine Primitive Quilts and Projects - Fall 2013 and just had to make it.

Primitive Quilts & Projects Magazine - Fall 2013 - Page 52-55

However, I tend to start with a pattern and then go off in my own direction based on what materials I have, my mood at the time, and what I want to do with the finished project.

In this case, I wanted something longer and a few inches wider to fill a particular quilt hanger in my dining room. These are the sizes I cut:

• 3" squares for the nine patch blocks
• 7.5" alternate blocks
• 6" border
• Purchased .5" green bias tape (I machine sewed mine down - I'm in a hurry to get hand appliqueing the pumpkins) 

Please remember that I use my sewing machine foot as my sewing line guide and it is just a bit bigger than a quarter inch, so I would encourage you to make a nine patch block and measure it before you cut out the size I did for alternate blocks.

My top went together quick and I am now ready to do the hand applique of the pumpkins.  I will probably add an outside border but at this point I don't know what fabric or size.

Before the border

After the adding the border - 32" x 46"

JUST DO IT (or encouragement to quilt)

The saying "Just do it" sounds so simple but there are days that it is not.  Our lives are busy and full, and sometimes quilting falls by the wayside for a bit.  That is ok !

I am passionate about quilting and it is important to me, but I learned many years ago that I am not Super Woman and some days there just are not enough hours or enough energy to do what I want.

If you are reading this blog, then you are interested in quilting. But being interested and actually doing an activity are not the same.  I am interested in instrumental music and I listen to a lot of it, but I don't play an instrument and have no intention of learning how to play an one. Quilting is not a spectator activity - it is an activity that requires a person to be involved and doing if the quilts you want to make are going to get made. Each quilt a person makes teaches something that can be used somehow in another quilt.

I have many great quilting books and magazines and I get all kinds of ideas, encouragement, and inspiration from them. When I first started quilting, I would look at a quilt or a photo of a quilt, shake my head sadly and think that there was no way I could do whatever the pattern was. However, as I got braver and realized that if I messed up a quilt the world would not end over it, and no one would die - it freed me to try those different patterns.

Successfully completing each step of the quilt process gives confidence to go to the next step. Before you know it, the top is complete and then when it is tied, or quilted it is so exciting that getting the binding on and a tag made is just ...... well, exciting.

Woo hoo..........I made a quilt !!!!

Even now, after so many quilts, I still get excited to complete a quilt - and I don't care what size it is.

Don't be discouraged because the quilt is not large, or some expert pattern.  Every completed quilt represents hours of your precious time, probably some money, definitely some frustration, something new learned and an object you should be proud to have done. With each completed quilt, you will become more confident in your quilt making skills.

People ask me how I have time to quilt.  I don't have time - I make time for quilting because of willful choices I make each day:

•  I set my timer and cram in 10 or 15 minutes most mornings before I head to work, which starts out my day with a good attitude because I feel like I accomplished something already. Yes, that means I get up a few minutes earlier but those few minutes of some quilt related activity also is a reward for laying out my clothing the night before, packing my lunch and having it ready in the fridge, and having all the personal stuff I need for the day all together and ready to leave as soon as the timer goes off.
• Being healthy and active helps the body, which also helps quilting activities.  I try to walk at least a mile every day - even if I have to do in a mall or hotel hallways.  I don't snack, drink coffee, or eat if I am not hungry.  I do drink a lot of water every day, take my vitamins,  eat what I like but with smaller servings, and reward myself with one soda a day (I love cherry coke). 
• Get enough good sleep and rest.
• I am basically a home body and when I am done with work for the day, I am happy to return home to "my castle" for the quiet and peace it brings to my stressed and tired body and mind. Even a hotel room can be relaxing if I have a project to work on each evening. 
•  I do not live on the computer.  Please understand that I work on the computer all day long - and yes, this blog is done on the computer.  However, I choose not to waste time on social media (it is a spectator sport), computer games, or just "surfing" the web.  I want to actually be doing something and have something to show for my time. 
• I also don't live on my phone. I choose to not make or receive calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. My phone spends a lot of time face down and on "Do not disturb" mode. I am picky about who I spend time on the phone with.  Think of time as money - there is only so much available and needs to be used wisely.

My day is winding down and I will soon be headed to bed. but let me just encourage you again to fit some quilting activity into your busy day each and every day.  There is just a good feeling to see the progress you make each day on something you really want to have. Quilting is good for the mind and soul.

                                                    Happy Quilting to one and all

SMILES FOR TODAY

For the quilters out there who just need a smile today:

Source: all found on Pintrest today

HOW DID I START QUILTING?? IT'S BEEN A JOURNEY.

So the question comes up frequently when I am talking quilting with someone else - "how did you start quilting ?" Sometimes I think other people assume I was born knowing how to quilt.  Let me tell you - that is a big NO.  Learning how to quilt has been fun and I sure am glad I decided to learn. 

Please let me encourage those of you who are reading this post and thinking that there is no way "I can learn this" and please believe me when I say that you can.  My advice is simply to determine that you will make a quilt, and believe in yourself - you can make a quilt from start to finish and have something wonderful to show for all those hours.

So you are a beginner??  Don't get discouraged by all those gorgeous quilts you see at quilt shows or the local quilt guild. Every one of those quilters has a first (or more) quilt that they are hiding away somewhere because it is not "perfect". The only way you will get started on the journey to doing quilting is to start.

I personally would start with something small or at least simple because the process and finishing it will encourage you on to the next project. See if another quilter has scraps you can have for a first project, or if your budget will do it - buy a few quarter yard pieced of good quality cotton.  Borrow books from the library or buy a quilting magazine that has a simple pattern you can do.

Please understand that I grew up around quilts that were made by other family members, but my mom did not sew - period - for any reason.  During my childhood, she owned two different sewing machines and used neither.  She viewed sewing as something people did who were too poor to buy needed clothes or do repairs on said clothes.  My grandma sewed constantly (which explains why the sewing machine was in a corner of the kitchen always ready to use). Grandma taught me to sew on buttons, mend socks, and do basic hemming.

I basically taught myself how to piece a quilt top from watching my grandma sew.  I learned how to hand quilt from going to quilting bees and watching and practicing.  The nice thing about sloppy stitches in hand quilting is that they are easy to take out and fix or try again.

My first quilt was 4" squares and most of the fabric was aprons or shirts I bought at yard sales.  Rotary cutters where not around yet, so I cut 4" cardboard squares from cereal boxes to use for my pattern and cut every single one of them with scissors one by one.  I discovered that the cardboard pattern wore out quick and for accuracy I had to use a new pattern after just a few squares. I arranged the scraps with some solid blue and solid red so that it formed "stripes". I used mom's old Singer to sew the blocks together and my seams were certainly not exact quarter inch.

First quilt on bed

The "batting" was an old blanket, and grandma gave me a big piece of pink printed flannel for the backing.  Once the top was done, I tied the quilt sandwich together with white yarn.  Um.....now how to complete the edge?? I did not want my grandma to do the binding, but I really did not understand her directions for doing it.  So, I lied to her, told her it was complete and used it for many years unbound and the edge ragged(https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/08/one-patch.html ) ......... Let's face it - 15 year olds are not the smartest of creatures on the earth.

But the huge thing for a very shy country girl who was an outcast at school because of my "smart" grades was that I figured out how to do this and it was on my bed and being used!! I determined to make another and better one. So the journey began.....

So you are a beginner, the only way to get started is to take the first steps in quilting.  Unless you are willing to buy all the quilts in your home, you are going to have to decide to learn the quilt making process.  You have got this - set a daily goal (decide on a pattern, get fabric, cut fabric, iron, etc) and go for it.  Will you make mistakes - yes and yes......Learn from them and move on.  This is fabric, not brain surgery - no one is going to die if something isn't done just right.




Suggestion: Use good quality supplies.  You will be much happier and satisfied with the process and end result if your supplies and tools are good quality.

COLONIAL TIMES 2

COLONIAL TIMES 2:

I pieced the English paper pieced sections from Jan. 2013 to May 2016. It's pleasurable and there was no hurry. I alternated dark and light blues from my scrap bin. The strips of hexagons are appliqued to plain unbleached muslin.  I hand appliqued the middle 5 strips and machine appliqued the 2 outside strips just to be creative. Here is the link to the discussion on the paper piecing:  https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2014/01/english-paper-piecing.html

Here is a photo of the finished top.  Made of cottons.  Size is 86" x 94".

I like the choice of fabrics and the look of this top.  It does look historical and might end up being a quilt to hand quilt at a demonstration.

DOUBLE WEDDING RING

I hand quilted this double size Double Wedding Ring for a customer (KD of Esperance,NY) with 450 yards of stitches.  The owner wanted it heavily quilted so each square was outlined stitched, the arcs were stitched on both sides, the pieces inside the arcs were quilted, and the large blank area inside the arcs was quilted in interlocking rings.  I used the top of a drinking glass as the pattern for the interlocking rings. The rest of the quilting was eye balled a quarter inch.

The top was what appeared to be 1930's and 1940's cotton fabric with muslin. The batting was some sort of poly mix and the backing was muslin to match the front.  I did not bind the quilt.

Quilted Oct. 1995 - Jan. 1996 in Laurel, MT.

In my scrapbook, this is quilt #156.

ENGLISH PAPER PIECED GRANDMA'S FLOWER GARDEN (or a take along project made from scraps)

I have been gone to a family reunion over the long weekend.  I opted to not take my sewing machine and just take some small project that could be hand done while visiting.  Plus there are many interruptions so I wanted to be able to put down the project and pick it back up as time allowed.  I didn't get much done (sewing wise - had a great time visiting), but here are the "flowers" I did complete.

I pre-cut the fabric into manageable squares and used "re-purposed" paper (already printed on one side) for the stabilizer to sew the fabric too. All the cutting was done at home prior to the trip. I picked a spool of thread that I had on hand and just baste the fabric to the paper as the paper will come out once the "flower" is appliqued to a background block.

"Flower" from front - basted to paper and petals are whip stitched together

Flower block reverse

This is another way to use up the scraps I seem to collect  by just putting two pieces of fabric is a dark corner or box together.  I am pretty sure that my scraps multiply without any help from me :)  When I have enough flowers to make a quilt, I will applique the flowers down to a background fabric and then cut away the back enough so that I can get the paper out after pulling out the basting stitches.

These are easy to make and really good for a project that you just want to take along and do as time allows.  These are large petals (about 3" each) - I have seen them in everything from dime size to about 5" each. Find a pattern that works for your comfort and desired project size.

Fabric hexagons to baste fabric to for making petals.

I like to do English paper piecing - here is a link to a previous project:   https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2014/01/english-paper-piecing.html 

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT (or how to tips for recycling and reusing in your sewing room)

The current movement to recycle, re-use, and re-purpose items is not new to me.  I grew up in a poor home and we just did not have anything to waste so we learned early to re-use items somehow if it was possible. I still follow this premise - I would rather give away or sell something I am no longer using, or somehow re-purpose it.

Fast forward to now........I have a budget for quilting and I rarely go over that monthly amount.  In fact, I usually do not spend it all so that gets saved for something big that I might want for quilting (I usually save it toward my trip to the quilt show in Paducah, KY each spring).  That being said, I do not want to spend money on organizing or storage for my sewing room - I would rather use items I can get free or second hand or already have.  I want to spend money on fabric, patterns, or quilting.

I was given this big old wooden desk if I would just take it away. I should have refinished it first but I was excited to have all the drawers and space to sew. I got it because I saw it sitting outside of a house and asked if I could take it.  The owner was thrilled. It isn't pretty but it sure is functional and other than being scratched up nothing was wrong with it.  My husband says it is from the 1950's.  Lesson: Ask, the worst you can be told is "no".

I have UFOs (unfinished objects) that I have started and for whatever reason end up needing a place to be stored.  I like to keep the pieces, directions, and fabric all together.  For many years, I would save the shoe box when I got new shoes and use those those for UFOs. Gradually I am replacing them with plastic boxes as I find them at yard sales or Goodwill.  I like the plastic boxes better simply because I can see what is in them while they are stacked on a shelf.  I always forgot to mark the shoe  boxes and then I had to look in each one to find the project I was after. Lesson: being frugal is not bad.  Spend the $$ where you really want to spend it, not on things you can get for free or almost free.

Then - real shoe boxes

Now - gradually moving to plastic boxes as I find them second hand

Jars are great for storing needles, thread, buttons, pins, pencils or markers, etc.  I have lots of canning jars to use, but sometimes I find pretty jars for almost nothing.  I found a dozen of these nice looking decorative jars for 50 cents a piece at Goodwill. Tip: check out second hand sources for storage or organizing items - think outside the box.  How can you re-purpose items for your own use??

Peg boards are great items for storing sewing tools. This one was given to me along with all the pegs. It is wonderful for so many items I use frequently while sewing.  The items each have a peg and are ready when I need them.

Rulers, stencils, scissors, rotary cutters all have a home now

When I bought new fancy shower curtain hooks, I re-purposed the old hooks for holding my quilting stencils.  Each hook holds a theme of stencils such as narrow borders, wide borders, blocks by size, all over design, etc.  No more stencils getting bent or sliding behind the fabric.

When a friend got rid of her gardening magazines, I saved her throwing out these cardboard magazine organizers by bringing them home and using for quilting magazines. The binders for my quilting scrap books are from Goodwill at 50 cents to $1 each.

So as any quilter can tell you, there are tiny scraps of fabric and batting that really are too small to use and so end up in the trash.  Where I live the Humane Shelter always needs rags and stuff that can be used for bedding for the animals.  Years ago I started making a bag from left over fleece (sew 3 sides like a pillow case) and keeping it on the cutting table. As I have tiny scraps they go into the bag. When it is 2/3 full I sew the top shut and there is a soft animal bed that is completely washable and machine dryable. The shelter can't get enough of them and any size is appreciated.

Soon to be an animal bed for the Humane Shelter

People donate all kinds of fabric to me for the donation quilts I make.  What I can use is organized in a closet (separate from my own fabric) and what I cannot use is given to others, or the Humane Shelter.

I make it a game to figure out how to re-use or re-purpose items.We throw away very little each week.  Look around your sewing area or house.  How can you re-use items instead of throwing them away?  Don't hoard but do re-purpose items.  Save money and the environment in one swoop.

DRESDEN PLATE AND FLOWER GARDEN QUILT #2

This is the second quilt I have hand quilted for a customer (PB of Brazil, IN) who made this very unusual quilt from a mix of Dresden Plate blocks and Flower Gardens blocks that she had on hand. It is similar to the first one that I did earlier in 2019. You can see the first one in a previous post at https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2019/05/dresden-plate-and-flower-garden-quilt.html

Final stitch went in on June 29, 2019

For the Flower Garden blocks she did an added dimension of appliqueing a block under the flower garden block and between the solid color block. The sashing is only vertical between each strip of 3 blocks. I don't know what the story of the actual blocks are but I am very certain the prints are real 1930's feed sacking and fabrics due to the feel, colors and designs.

Size: 65" x 76".

Materials: 100% cotton top and backing, and a poly/cotton batting.  The batting had enough poly to make it fairly easy to quilt.

Hand quilting: The customer had no real idea what she wanted quilting-wise, and left the choices to me. I debated about an all over design, but finally opted for quilting around and in the blocks themselves as it really made the design of the blocks stand out. There are 164 yards of quilting in this quilt. Instead of a rope design in the sashing like in the first one, for this one I simply did straight lines every 3".  This way the quilts (who are going to her daughters) are not quilted exactly alike - similar but different.

Here it is still in the frame with only one row to quilt.........

AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE........(BOOK)

Published in 1993, this book is still a great one to keep in your personal quilt book library.  So much info packed into 270 pages.  Great photos. The topics include basic settings and borders, finishing the quilt, quick cutting, hand applique, exhibiting your quilts, caring for quilts, and so much more.

The website for Fons & Porter is here: https://www.quiltingcompany.com/

They also have a wonderful quilt magazine (Love of Quilting) that is one of the few quilt magazines I have subscribed to for many years - fun patterns and projects from beginner to expert.  See that here: https://www.quiltingcompany.com/store/love-of-quilting-1-year-subscription

SHIPS (another panel quilt)

Distant cousin and wife accepting quilt

Here is another example of what can be done with panels.  I had 2 yards of this sailing ship panel, which alone was not big enough to make a quilt for a double bed.  I carefully cut the panels out using the border on the the panels as a guide then added another fabric block between the ships. It was machine quilted in 1995 by BE of Joliet, MT.  Rather than spend my time binding it, I paid KL to do the binding.

My distant cousin and his wife owned a sailboat and when we visited them back in the 1980's we also got to go out on it - what fun. They loved to be out on their sailboat, including a sailing trip to Greece from northern Germany where they live. When they visited us in the fall of 1995, I had this ready for them.  This quilt resides in Germany with them. An American quilt in Germany is apparently a big deal !

In my scrapbook this is quilt #152.