Monday, April 28, 2014

Make-A-List Monday - Back From Paducah!

Hi, all!


It’s Monday, and Quilt Week in Paducah is over!  We had a blast on our adventure there - I even took Flat Lilli with me, and look who she met!  Quilt Man and Bobbin!


Paducah really goes all out for Quilt Week - if you ever have a chance to go, you should!  I’ll share some pictures from the show later on this week.

For now, though, let’s see how last week’s list went

1.  Quilt the Swoon quilt.
Done!  I’m so happy - I finished this quilt about 20 minutes before I walked out the door to go to Paducah - binding and everything!  Woohoo!!  I promise better pictures on Friday (if the weather clears up before then!)


2.  Quilt the t-shirt commission quilt!
Also done!  This turned out beautifully, thanks to fusible woven interfacing and straight line quilting.  It’s all delivered, ready to be given to its new owner at graduation!


3.  Work on changing my email address over with 
everyone under the sun...
Started.  I’ve sent out a blanket email (you may have received one!) and I’m changing it with companies that I receive email from, but it’s a slow process!

4.  Put the borders on the Celtic Solstice quilt top.
Started, but not nearly finished.  I just ran out of time!

5.  Make a ministry quilt for a man with brain issues.
Fortunately, Tommy had finished a quilt last week that didn’t have a home yet, so that quilt went to this gentleman.  Isn’t it gorgeous?


6.  Work on designing blocks for two upcoming blog hops.
The designs are ready - I just need to do the tutorials now!

7.  Keep up with all other quilt ministry needs as they arise.
We had one more quilt request come in this week, and I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to get it done in time for us to pray over it on Wednesday night.  But then, according to God’s plan, I’m sure, we received a box with several finished quilts in it!  One of them was perfect for this need.  This quilt is going to a gentleman with cancer of the esophagus.

Whew!  I sure am glad for God’s provision - He knows just when we need something and always provides!  

Here’s what’s on tap for this week

1.  Quilt a ministry member’s quilt for her neighbor who is sick.

2.  Finish a ministry quilt for a woman getting ready 
for open heart surgery.

3.  Finish a ministry quilt for a man with bilateral lung cancer.

4.  Write the tutorials for the block blog hops.

5.  Write up a quilt tutorial that has been requested.

6.  Put the borders on the Celtic Solstice quilt top.

7.  Continue switching over email addresses.

8.  Pull yard sale items for my daughter’s sale.

9.  Quilt a couple of ministry quilts to get ahead of the need.

10. Keep up with any ministry needs as they arise.

11. Research monetizing my blog.

As much as I hate to add that last item to the list, I think I’m going to have to do it.  When we switched over our internet service, we traded unlimited poor service for better service with a limit on how many gigabytes of data we could access each month.  Our previous ISP gave us unlimited access, or should I say it was unlimited as long as it was working!  But the new one has limits, and it’s expensive to increase those limits.  I miss being able to surf and check out everyone’s blogs at home freely, so I’m planning to do some limited advertising on my blog to help cover the cost of the internet service.  I’m going to do my best to insure that the advertising is relevant to what I blog about, and as unobtrusive as possible.  So please bear with me as I go through the learning process!  And if you’ve had experience with this and have any words of advice, I’d love to hear them.

So now it’s time to get to work!  But the last question on my mind is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - Be sure to check back in on Friday - there will be a giveaway to celebrate 1000 followers!!!  Woohoo!!


Sunday, April 27, 2014

Hands2Help - Jamie's Southern H2H Tutorial

Hi, all!

I am so very happy to introduce you to one of my favorite people today - Jamie of L'Fair Quilts!  I found Jamie's blog long ago, when I first started blogging, and she's been a great source of inspiration to me as I learned to quilt.  She's also been a huge supporter of my blogging efforts, and of the Hands2Help Challenge.

She's also a fabulous quilt designer - here's a quilt I made from her pattern "Blue Me Away" - - - 


I call my version "Orange You Glad" - and it's my favorite quilt.  Every time I look at it, I smile!  Be sure to check out more of her patterns at Black Cat Creations.

Today, Jamie's bringing us a tutorial for a great quilt she's designed.  I'm so excited to see how to make this quilt - I've seen it in person, but didn't know how she made it.  Now I'll have to make one of my own!  Enjoy!!

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Hi ya'll, I am Jamie, coming to you from southern Houma, Louisiana, I bring to you a versatile quilt pattern that can be used for the youngest to the oldest (boy or girl, man or women)  I have made this quilt several times now ….. as a baby quilt, the 2012 Hands2Help Challenge and earlier this year, for a baseball team fund raiser.   Each of these samples are shown on my blog today, at L’Fair Quilts.
 
The version I have chosen to share today is color-blocked…. something that makes you think of the 1960s.  Against the black background, the bright colors pop, each defining a quadrant radiating from a yellow center.

Finished 66" x 78"


Here is what you need (will have left-overs)

One (1) yard each of orange, green, blue and purple
Quarter yard (1/4) of yellow
Four (4) yards of black (includes binding)
Five (5) yards of backing.

Are you ready:  let’s start cutting….


Orange:
Two (2) 6 7/8” x WOF strips, then cut seven (7) 6 7/8” squares
Six (6) 2 ½” x WOF strips

Blue:
Two (2) 6 7/8” x WOF strips, then seven (7) 6 7/8” squares
Six (6) 2 ½” x WOF strips

Green:
One (1) 6 7/8” X WOF strip, then five (5) 6 7/8” squares
Six (6) 2 ½” X WOF strips

Purple:
One (1) 6 7/8” X WOF strip, then five (5) 6 7/8” squares
Six (6) 2 ½” X WOF strips

Yellow:
Three (3) 2 ½” WOF strips, then cut one (1) 27” strip and five (5) 13” strips

Black:
Five (5) 6 7/8” X WOF strips, then (24) 6 7/8” squares
Three (3) 6 ½” x WOF strips, then (18) 6 ½” squares
Twenty-four (24) 2 ½” x WOF strips
Three (3) 2 ½” x WOF strips, then cut two (2) 27” strips, and four 13” strips
Eight (8) 2 ½” x WOF strips for the binding

Blocks Assembled:


Using (1) black 6 7/8”square and (1) orange 6 7/8” square, right sides together, draw a diagonal line on the back side of the orange.  Stitch ¼” on each side of drawn line.  Cut apart on drawn line making two (2) half-square triangles (HSTs).  Repeat to make a total of (14) orange/black HSTs.  Press toward the black.


Repeat for (14) blue/black HSTs.

  

Repeat for (10) green/black HSTs.



   
Repeat for (10) purple/black HSTs.




 Join (2) black 2 ½” WOF strips and (1) orange 2 ½” WOF strip as follows, then cut into five (5) 6 ½” rail fence units.

  

  

Repeat above instructions and make five (5) blue/black rail fences.



  Make five (5) green/black rail fences.




Make five (5) purple/black rail fences.

   

Join together (2) black 2 ½” x 27” strips with (1) yellow 2 ½” x 27” strip, cut into four (4) 6 ½” rail fences.



Join together (2) orange 2 ½” x WOF strips with (1) black 2 ½” x WOF strip, (Need two sets). Join together (1) orange 2 ½” x WOF strips with (2) black 2 ½” x WOF strips (one set).




 Cut each strip set into (13) 2 ½” sections to join one of each into (13) orange/black nine patches.

  
Repeat above instructions, for a total of (13) blue/black nine patches.

   

Repeat for a total of (11) green/black nine patches.




 
Repeat for a total of (11) purple/black nine patches.



Join together (2) yellow 2 ½” x 13” strips with (1) black 2 ½” x 13”, (Need two sets). Join together (1) yellow 2 ½” x 13” strips with (2) black 2 ½” x 13” strips (one set).  Cut each strip set into (5) 2 ½” sections to join one of each into (5) yellow/black nine patches.

Now the fun begins….using the picture and a design wall (or floor), lay out the blocks into 11 rows across and 13 down.  Sew your blocks together from top to bottom and then sew the columns together.

Layer the quilt top with your favorite batting and backing.  Bind with black.
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Isn't this a fabulous quilt?  So easy, yet it looks so intricate!  Be sure to hop over and check out the other versions of this quilt on Jamie's blog today, too!  

Thanks for all you're doing for the Hands2Help Challenge - remember, you're making a huge difference in the lives of so many with your talents!  And be sure to check back next Sunday for a peek into the creative genius of our next guest blogger, Carol!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - Did you notice the followers count on the top left side bar?  Yep, you know what that means - - - a giveaway will be coming soon!  Stay tuned.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Weight Off My Shoulders...

Hi, all!

It’s Friday again - are you ready to whoop it up?  As you read this, I’m at the AQS Quilt Show in fabulous Paducah, Kentucky - the home of the National Quilt Museum AND Hancock’s of Paducah.  


If you’ve never been to Hancock’s of Paducah, you really should think about stopping in if you are ever anywhere near.  This is not your average fabric store.  The first time I went in, my husband was with me.  Good thing - he pounded me on my back to make me start breathing again!  Several hundred bolts of solids, including every color Kona cotton.... a bajillion bolts of batiks..... thousands of bolts of fabric sorted out by manufacturer, designer and line.  And then there’s the back room - - - oh my!  The first time I was in, the lady cutting my fabric asked if I found everything I was looking for, and I said the only thing I wished they had was precuts, because I couldn’t find them anywhere.  She said, “Oh, they’re in the...  back room...”  in the same tone of voice the guy at the video store would tell you where to find the adult movies.  I followed her to the room and... oh my....  thousands of precut bundles all arranged next to the stock room - 20 foot tall shelves with more fabric!!  I tell you, it was a fabric addict’s dreamland.  And during the quilt show, they have tables of one-yard cuts all at great prices - you just kind of dig through and see what you can find.  You never know what’s in the stacks, so it’s like a treasure hunt.

OK, that’s enough about that.  I’ll try to post some pics next week, both of Hancock’s and of the quilt show, so you can see how much fun it is!  I may even show you some of the “Flat Lilli” pics I have to take, too - Lilli made a little paper doll for a school project that she’s supposed to send with someone on an adventure.  I’ve been nominated to get some great pics for her class project - this should be fun!

So as if going to the quilt show wasn’t enough to be whooping about, I’ve got something else....


I finished this commission quilt!  I’m so much happier with my second attempt at a t-shirt quilt.  This time I used a woven fusible interfacing and the t-shirt blocks were much more stable. I also did straight line quilting this time instead of a random meander on the long arm and I think that worked better also.  


My customer chose the sashing and cornerstone colors (Kona Graphite and Torch, both new colors this year) and I chose the backing, a nice masculine black and white graphic print from Joann’s.  The blocks are 12.5” square, and the entire quilt measures about 70” square.  And I’m so glad to have it finished in time for her son’s graduation!


I’ve got one more thing to whoop about, too - - - I’ve got the Swoon quilt on the frame and it’s almost finished!   I’ve got maybe 30 more minutes of quilting - small random meander in the space around the bottom row of blocks - and then it’s done!  It’s really nice to know that this one is tucked away too (well, at least as soon as I do the binding, but that’s a quick finish) and I don’t have to worry about major deadlines for a while!

Oh my - I just noticed something else - that followers count is up to 999 - just one more to go to reach that elusive 1000 mark!!!  Hmmm  I'm at Paducah, the quilt capital of the world  I bet they've got something great I could get for a giveaway!!  I'll have to put my thinking cap on..  Come on, one more follower!!!

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And now it’s your turn!

What’s making you dance the happy dance this week?

Share with us - we want to dance along!

Remember, it doesn’t have to be a finish - 

Just something that makes you smile!

The party will remain open until Sunday night -

Hope to see you there!

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One more thing - I hope you’ll check back in on Sunday, when the fabulous Jamie of L’Fair Quilts will be guest blogging for the Hands2Help Challenge! I can’t wait to see what she’s got for us - she’s one of the most creative and prolific quilters I know!

Hugs!


Sarah



Monday, April 21, 2014

Make-A-List Monday - Prophetic Fulfillment!

Hi, all!

Last week's post was titled "Make-A-List Monday - #1, Get New Internet Service…"  Well, I was joking (sort of) because our internet service had been getting worse and worse and we had pretty much had no service at all for about a week.  Or it would come on for five minutes, then die for several hours.  Just enough to tease us. Living out in the country makes it difficult to get good service - but yesterday my husband heard of a satellite service that had good reviews (the other one we looked at turned out to have horrible reviews, so it was a no-go) and they installed it today!  And I have had internet service all night - a minor miracle in itself - and it's fast!  So I guess last week's blog title was a prophecy that fulfilled itself!  Woohoo!!

Anyway, let's see how I did on the rest of last week's list….


1.  Finish the last three Swoon blocks.
Done!  And not only the blocks, but the whole quilt top!



2. Cut the sashing for the commission t-shirt quilt.
Done!  And once again, not only has the sashing been cut, but the top is sewn together!



3.  Quilt the granny square baby quilt.
Done! And this sweet quilt came out so soft - it's backed in a pale pink linen that will get even softer with washing...



And God's timing is so cool - it turns out that the baby this quilt is intended for, who was supposed to be born in mid-May, is going to have to be delivered next week because of some health issues.  I'm so glad He prompted me to get this one finished in time!

4.  Assemble the donated Celtic Solstice quilt top.
Done!  And I found a bag of blue and orange triangles that make up one of the outer borders, so I'll be adding that to this beautiful top.  Let me tell you, this is going to be a hard one to give away!



5.  Write a post for the Piece*Love*Quilt blog. 
(Hopefully in the next fifteen minutes!)
Done!  You can read this post here



6.  Keep up with ministry needs as they arise. There aren't any on the list right now but that can change drastically in the course of a few minutes.  So I'll make hay while the sun shines on the other things on my list in the meantime!
Done!  We had two requests for quilts this week; the first is for a woman who was in a terrible car accident, and the second is for a woman just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.




7.  Pull more yard sale items for my daughter.
Done!  I've got bunch of stuff for her and can probably find some more - it's definitely time to destash on some of the junk around this house!

8.  If weather and time permits, 
work on a new planter in the front yard.
Done!  My husband and I worked on this most of the day on Friday - I couldn't possibly have done it by myself but together we managed to get the bulk of it done.  I'll be adding some small planter pots over the next few weeks, but at least the foundation is there.  And see those rose bushes?  They are so cool - they have three different color roses on each bush!






So it appears that having no internet service really increases my productivity!  I got a lot done last week!  

And here's the goals for this week

1.  Quilt the Swoon quilt.

2.  Quilt the t-shirt commission quilt.

3.  Work on changing my email address over with everyone under the sun

4.  Put the borders on the Celtic Solstice quilt top.

5.  Make a ministry quilt for a man with brain issues.

6. Work on designing blocks for two upcoming blog hops.

7.  Keep up with all other quilt ministry needs as they arise.

I'd say that's definitely enough to keep me busy and out of trouble! Oh, and this is the weekend for the AQS quilt show in Paducah, so I'll be headed up there on Friday - so maybe all of this won't get done this week after all.  But I sure wouldn't want to miss Paducah!  I'll have a report next week…

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - Blogger is playing games with me, which means that sometimes if you leave a comment, it doesn't email it to me - even though my settings are correct.  So if you don't hear back from me, please feel free to email me directly at salliesue (at) clearwire (dot) net.  Especially if you requested a pdf of the tutorial posted on Sunday and didn't get one from me!  I'm trying to check frequently, but would hate to miss you….

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Hands2Help - Time to Check In!!

Hi, all!!

Hello, all you wonderful H2Hers!  I've heard from so many of you who have been working so diligently on your quilts - it makes me smile to think of all the good that you are doing, and all the quilty hugs that will be shared through this year's Challenge!  

So today there is a linky party for you to link up and show your progress.  Maybe that's just a pile of fabric, or maybe even just a state of confusion about what you should do.  For some of you, it may even be finished quilts!  Wherever you are, link up and share - then go visit your fellow H2Hers and cheer them on!  

And if you're stuck without an idea of what to make, I'm going to share a simple quilt tutorial that can be made in several sizes.  This was posted on my blog back in July of last year…






This tutorial is for a great quilt design by Deb at A Simple Life Quilts.  She calls it Noodle Recipe because her version uses 2.5" strips, which were known as noodles at the time she came up with the design, many years ago.  She graciously allowed me to post a tutorial for her quilt design on my blog - thanks, Deb!

I've made some size adjustments, so you can use this design to make a baby or toddler quilt (40" square), a child's quilt (50" square), or an adult quilt (60" square).  A nice general all-purpose design!  All three sizes are constructed the same way, with the same number of blocks.  The only differences are the size of the blocks, and the borders on the adult size quilt.


And the best part?  I made this flimsy in less than three hours, including choosing fabric and cutting it out!  So without further ado, here's the tutorial....



Noodle Quilt
Designed by Deb@asimplelifequilts


Fabric Requirements:

NOTE: The fabric requirements listed below are “best case scenario” requirements in some cases.  If your fabric is not cut or folded straight, you may need more fabric than is listed.  I have put the actual number of inches of selvage to selvage fabric required for each cut in parentheses following the listing in case you are working from stash fabrics.

Baby quilt:
1/2 yard of a print fabric (print #1) (for pieced blocks) (15”)
1/2 yard of a solid fabric (15”)
3/4 yard of a print fabric (print #2) (for large blocks) (25.5”)

Child’s quilt:
3/4 yard of a print fabric (print #1) for pieced blocks) (24”)
3/4 yard of a solid fabric (24”)
1 yard of a print fabric (print #2) (for large blocks)* (31.5”)
   *if the fabric doesn’t have 42” of usable fabric (WOF minus 
   selvages) you will need 1 1/4 yards. (42”)

Adult’s quilt:

Same fabric requirements as the child’s quilt, plus border fabric as listed below:

For a single border:
1 yard of a print fabric (print #3) (33”)

OR

For a double border:
1/4 yard of a solid fabric (solid #2) (9”)
3/4 yard of a print fabric (print #1, #2, or #3) (23”)

NOTE:  After you cut your WOF strips, remove the selvage edges.

Cutting directions for baby quilt:

Print #1 - cut six 2.5” by WOF strips
Solid -      cut six 2.5” by WOF strips

After you have made and measured your pinwheel blocks:

Print #2 - cut twelve 8.5” squares (or whatever size your pinwheel
                blocks came out)

Cutting directions for blocks for child’s or adult’s quilt:

Print #1 - cut eight 3.0” by WOF strips
Solid -      cut eight 3.0” x WOF strips

After you have made and measured your pinwheel blocks:

Print #2 - cut twelve 10.5” squares (or whatever size your pinwheel  
                blocks came out)

Cutting directions for borders for adult’s quilt:

Single border:

Print #3 - cut six 5.5” x WOF strips

Double border:

Solid - cut six 1.5” x WOF strips
Print #1, #2, or #3 - cut six 4.5 x WOF strips

Sewing Directions:

IMPORTANT NOTE:  All seams need to be sewn with an accurate 1/4” seam.  If you use a larger seam, the blocks will not come out the needed size and your quilt will be smaller.

Take one print strip and one solid strip and sew, using a 1/4” seam, down the length of the two strips.  You will now have one piece that is print on one side and solid on the other.  Repeat with all the print and solid strips.  Press the seams towards the print piece.

                          

Now you will need to measure your sewn strips.  Ideally, for the baby quilt, they should be 4.5” wide; for the child or adult quilt, they should be 5.5” wide.  You will now cross-cut the strips to create square blocks, using the measurement of your strip.  

                            


Baby quilt blocks should ideally be 4.5” square, adult quilt blocks should be 5.5” square.  The block will be comprised of one print rectangle and one solid rectangle.  You will need 52 of these blocks to make the larger pinwheel blocks in the quilt.

                 

Divide these blocks into 4 stacks of thirteen, and lay the four stacks out in the pinwheel pattern.  You can now chain piece the blocks together by taking two blocks from the top two stacks, then two blocks from the bottom two stacks, until all the small blocks are gone.  

                   

                   



Press seams towards the long print piece in each pair.  Cut the connecting thread between each pair of block sets - this will give you thirteen sets of block sets that are still connected where the last seam will go.  Sew the final seam.  

 

When you go to press that seam, you can open the seam allowances at the center of the seam, where the four corners meet, so that you can press half the seam one direction and half in the other direction.  This will allow for the seam allowance to be undetectable under a lighter solid.  (It also gives a cool little pinwheel effect on the back of your block!)


When all thirteen of your pinwheel blocks are finished, measure several of them to see what size they turned out.  For the baby quilt, they should measure 8.5”; for the child or adult quilt, they should measure 10.5”.  Whatever they measure, you should cut your large print squares to that measurement. You will need twelve large print squares.

Lay the squares out in a checkerboard pattern, five rows by five rows, with pinwheel blocks in each corner.  Join the blocks in each row, then join the rows together.  If you are making a baby or child’s quilt, you can now quilt as desired and bind!


If you are making an adult quilt, you should now fold your top in half, right side to left side, and measure ALONG THE FOLD to find out the measurement for your side borders.  (Measuring along the fold will help keep your quilt square, and will avoid “waving” on the border.)  Sew three WOF strips together (remember to cut off the selvages first!) and from that long strip, cut two pieces to the measurement you just made.  Attach to the right and left sides of the quilt.  

Now fold your quilt in half, top to bottom, and measure ALONG THE FOLD to find out the measurement for your top and bottom borders.  Sew three WOF strips together and from that long strip, cut two pieces to that measurement.  Attach to the top and bottom of the quilt.  

If you are making two borders, repeat the above process.

Congratulations!  You have finished your quilt top!

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I hope you enjoy this tutorial!  If you would like a printable copy of it, please leave a comment letting me know and I'll send you the pdf version!  (Be sure you leave an email address, too, if you are a no-reply blogger - I'd hate to miss sending you a copy!  I respond to all comments, so if you don't hear back from me, you're probably a no-reply blogger.)


And remember - if you're just now finding out about the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge, there's still time to join in the fun!  Just leave me a comment letting me know you want to participate and I'll send you more info.

Now it's time to link up.  You can link up a new blogpost, an older blogpost, or link to a picture on the Flickr group. I can't wait to see what you have been working on!  

Hugs!

Sarah

PS Just to be totally up front, I haven't even begun to think about making my H2H quilt!  I'm a little bit behind..  ;-)