Three .... sort of ...

I have been plugging away on my UFOs to try to finish some from my posted list of 10 for the Finish Along group and for my local groups that are also hosting UFO challenges ... as of today, April 1, I've only finished three so far ....

First up:  I finished my Owl pillow repair and it is now living proudly on my couch ... though I have notice another pillow seems to have a damaged (puppy-chewed?) corner now .... finish one UFO only to discover a new one?  Is that fair???

 poor pillow in need of loving repair ....

to begin, must first remove the mangled face ... 

one happy owl-pillow repair is complete! 

For more about this pillow's beginnings click here or to learn details of its repair, click here.

Second, I've finished one of the Silk Tie pillows, and have prepped most of the ties to slice, dice and stitch up into new pillows.

 I love this classic design (one of my own creations!)

Now I must stitch up several more -- but using square and triangular pieces.
Click here for more about this pillow.

Third, and my favorite of all, I've made four more blocks for the original 12-block Drunkard's Wife QAL and have stitche the 16 blocks into a top!  I hope to piece the back and get my favorite long-armer quilting on it soon-ish.

This is pile shows the first six blocks that I pieced.

Ten more blocks were completed, plus embroidery "Oopsie Daisy" was embroidered to the top block.

 A peek at my title block -- "Oopsie Daisy"

and some of the other blocks

and a full view of Oopsie Daisy

This quilt is PINK! and it is for me, me, ME .... (I think).

Here are some links to some of the blocks (how-to's) that are in this funky quilt:  Click here to learn how to use Thangles to make two of the blocks.  Click here, here and here to see more of these blocks.

This very pink quilt that I am making just for me is the #346 linkie of all the finishes that have been posted for this first quarter of the Finish-Along 2016.  Click here for a link to get you to all the linkies that have been shared.

Three completed UFOs ... out of ten on my official list of UFOs 

for the first quarter of the 2016 Finish Along.  Click here to see my complete list of UFOs.

Now to ponder which to finish next .... and how many other UFOs I should list on the next quarter!

These are such lofty and important decisions.

Hopefully it will get me blogging more regularly too ... could happen...

Using Thangles

I continue to stitch on my Drunkard's Wife Quilt Along blocks.  Here are two that I made using Thangles.

This first block, block 11 of Felice's Drunkard's Wife QAL - Long Island Iced Tea, is made entirely using 2.5" strips of fabric.  That is the glory of using Thangles to piece half-square triangle blocks -- there is no need to cut odd sizes of fabric strips.

block 11 -  Long Island Iced Tea

This lively block uses 2" Thangles (my favorite size - just sayin').  Like Felice did in her version of this block, I elected to make a scrappy version.  My block uses 5 different pink prints and 3 different background prints (including a dark and a light print from Emma's Garden).  In fact, the fabrics were all leftovers from the other blocks in this quilt-along.

To make the block, gather your scraps and slice them into 2.5" strips.  You need an equal number of light and dark prints (well, actually 11" more of the dark strips).  Cut eight 2.5" squares from the dark prints.  Cut four 2.5" squares from the light.  Set these 12 squares aside and with the remaining strips make 24 half-square triangle blocks using Thangles as follows:

Mix and match your dark and light strips.  Place them right sides together, pin the Thangle paper pattern on top of the light print and stitch on the indicated stitching lines (click here for detailed step-by-step photos).  Each 2" Thangle strip will yield 6 half-square triangle blocks, 2.5" unfinished.  Cut the stitched Thangles papers apart, press the block open, then remove the paper.

TAKE:  two dark 2.5" squares,

      one light 2.5" square and 

six of the half-square triangle blocks...

and 

ARRANGE them to match the nine-patch pattern below. 

one quarter of my Long Island Iced Tea

Mix and match your scrappy fabrics in any order that tickles you.  Make four of these nine-patch quilt squares.  To piece the finished block, I angled three blocks in one direction and the fourth in a different orientation (see the first photo).

This pattern is called the Single T or the T-Quartet in the traditional quilt world.  Here are different sites with images and/or directions in making this block (here and here and here).  Note: none of these versions are as scrappy as mine!  Felice's directions can be found here.


I used Thangles again when piecing this block #9, the Pina Colada block.

block #9 -  Pina Colada

It took me a bit longer to find the intentional mistake in this block, but I did.  It is another easy block to make using Thangles,  although you do need to cut two 4.5" squares of the light-background-print fabric and one 4.5" square of the dark print before cutting the 2.5" strips of both dark and light prints needed for the Thangles (note: you can go scrappy if you wish).

Using the 2.5" strips of fabric, pin one light and one dark strip right sides together with the Thangle paper pattern on top of the light.  Stitch on the indicated stitching lines (click here for detailed step-by-step photos), cut apart, and press the block open before removing the paper.

Do you notice how the seam is automatically pressed to the dark fabric?  Mini-lesson:  Pressing the seams to one side (instead of pressing them open) adds strength to the seam and longevity to your quilt's life.  

Using the three 4.5" squares and 24 half-square triangle blocks, lay out your block, keeping the light 4.5" squares in opposite corners and the dark square in the center.  Remember to add your mistake (wherever it pleases you or use my photo as a guide).  Stitch together and press. 

The traditional version of this block is known as Cut Glass Dish and also as Winged Square.   Click here for another set of directions on how to make this block.  Cut Glass Dish is a free pattern offered by The Quilter's Cache, and is also sold on Craftsy and other sites.  Googling Winged Square reveals this site, Quilting Assistant (click here) with free directions.  Several images of this block used to make full-size quilts are easily found on the internet as well.  The internet is a wonderful tool to refer to when looking for guidance in how to make quilt blocks, and to see images of lovely quilts, and best of all - to share what you make or discover with others!

I hope you are enjoying this intentional oops series of quilt block patterns as much as I enjoy stitching the blocks together.

My lil owlie pillow

I spent the evening repairing this little pillow.

Lil Owlie - after the attack

As you can see,  my lil owlie has suffered a vicious mauling by our puppy when he (the puppy) was still new to the family (he's a little older and wiser now).  I've tucked the damaged pillow away for over a year or maybe closer to two years.  I loved it too much to toss it and yet hadn't decided how to repair it (especially the lower right corner - can you see that the corner is missing?).

I made this pillow using an owl from my toddler class bulletin board (in 2011-12, my co-teacher and I decorated our classroom with these owls).  I made two owl pillows, trading one in Another Little Quilt Swap (in the 7th swap) and keeping the other one (the one shown above) for my home. I especially love the background of this as my friend Liz B painted, over-dyed lightly, and enhanced it.  Click  here for more information on this pillow.


Meanwhile, on Instagram, The Cloth Pocket is hosting a WIP contest tonight.  I immediately grabbed this damaged owl and determined to fix it ....

Lil Owlie in need of new eyes and a beak

First step:  Carefully remove the damaged, half-eaten eyes and beak.
Next:  Stitch two black yo-yos, attach to white circles and stitch in place on the owlie's face.
Next:  Make the new beak and stitch it in place too.
Last of all:  Mend the dog-chewed-and-eaten corner ....

Lil Owlie ready to party again!

Ta-dah!
I've finished!

This marks my second finish in the 2016 Finish Along for the first quarter.  Do you like my creative patch to mend the lower right corner?  This little sleeping owl is appliqued in place and matches the fabric on the pillow back.  Click here for my original list of UFOs to finish for this quarter.

My lil owlie pillow is #345 of the official Q1 finishes for this first quarter.  Click here to see it and other amazing finishes.


Thank you to @TheClothPocket and also to the many hostesses of @FinishAlong  #2016FAL; #finishalong2016  #theclothpocketwipcontest #wipcontest

Oops, my progress report...

Ive been stitching away and posting photos on Instagram, but need to catch my blog readers up on where I am with my Drunkard's Wife QAL.

block #4 - Mint Julep

Here is block #4 Mint Julep of the quilt-along.  This is an "oops" of the classic Ohio Star.  My block looks to me as if it is standing up on its tippy toes.  The center pink daisies are from Patty's line "Emma's Garden" with Michael Miller fabrics.com.  Click here for the directions to make this block from the Generations Quilt Patterns website.  They have directions for several quilt blocks, so it's a great site to know about and have bookmarked.

block #6 - Mai Tai

This is the sixth block in the "Drunkard's Wife QAL", nicknamed Mai Tai.  It is a spoof or oops of the traditioal Mosaic or Connecticut block.  Or perhaps you know another name for the traditional version of this block (if so, please tell me too what it is).  I used 3" Thangles to make this block. Emma's Garden 'Happy Go Luck' Pink Daisies make a large part of this block.  This print brings back memories of my younger days, and the simple joys of plucking petals from a daisy "he loves me, he loves me not....".  Daisies also remind me of the sweet little saying "oopsie daisy" or is it "whoopsie daisy"?  (I think I have just named my quilt!).

block #10 -- Sake Bomb

The tenth block is called Sake Bomb.  This one is also a fun goof (or oops), and I am not positive what the name of the traditional version is called.  Could it be Rolling Stone or Wheel or Single Wedding Ring or is it possibly named something different.  I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was to piece too.  Click here for Felice's directions.  Directions for all of the blocks of this funky quilt-along are on Felice's website, click here for the full set (Drunkard's Wife QAL label).  Felice has posts other tutorials and insights and great stuff as well as this fun quilt along.  Her website is Sew Scattered.  Stay tuned as I continue to stitch up more of my blocks for this quilt along.

Daily drawings in January

This month, I've been participating in Lisa Congdon's Daily Drawing class through Creative Bug.  It has been fun and enlightening.  I can draw some objects so easily and struggle with others - but the wonky look is "in", so I'm good!  Below are a few of my favorites from the month.

day 9/31   Bird

As I was deciding if it was still bright enough to take a nice photo of my bird drawings, I spied my little chicken pincushion (a purchase from this year's International Quilt Festival) and plopped it ontop of my sketch pad as a prop.  Too bad I didn't spy it before I filled my page -- I could have sketched my stuffed birdie!

day 14/31   Fern

The day I drew the Ferns, the Houston Chronicle had a front page story on Ferns (front page of Section E).  I had to include this front page in my photo shoot -- wouldn't you?  (Again - I spied the page after I had filled my page!  must work on my timing!)

day 16/31 Apple

By now, I'm loving the posing of each sketchpad photograph but on day 16, Apple, I had only bananas in the house.  But there are apples in the quilt underneath my sketch pad - so that counts, right?

day 20/31 Fork

Drawing the forks was a challenge.  I did try to draw handles of my own forks, but need to practice with forks a bit longer. 

day 22/31 Paint Brush

This might be my favorite -- the colorful (& dirty) watercolors add a pop of color to my black-n-white sketchpad.

day 24/31  House Plant

I tried drawing my African Violets -- not sure that I succeeded, but I did try!  I also learned that my house plants were in need of some attention (tossing water on them is not enough!).

day 27/31 Lamp

Lamps were fun to sketch, but I forgot to sketch my favorite lamp -- a funky curvy wood base lamp actually we have a table lamp and matching floor lamp, inherited from my in-laws home.  I should at least get a photo of them to share here, right?

day 28/31 Salt & Pepper

I don't really collect Salt & Pepper shakers, but when I see a pair that tickles me (the bluebirds) or that remind me of my grandmothers, I tend to purchase them!  Maybe I am collecting Salt-n-Pepper shakers after all!

day 29/31  Sunshine

Drawing the Sunshine (well, really we were drawing the sun!) was very easy -- a throwback to elementary school days where the sun was always included at the top of the page, next to the stripe of blue for the sky.  The quilt behind this drawing is one that I received through Another Little Quilt Swap hosted by Kate North that happened in 2014.   Click here for more quilts that were traded in that swap or here to see what I traded when I received this quilt.

day 31/31   Telephone

The last lesson of the class was to draw a telephone.  I wish I had more of the old-timie telephones to sketch.  Instead I drew some old-timey wireless phones and the latest of iPhones at the moment (iPhone 6 is on loan from my husband).

 Ta-dah!

I have completed all 31 drawing lessons!

I plan to continue drawing too.  Of course it helps that there will be a February Daily Drawing class on Creative Bug (but not by Lisa Congdon - so I will get to sample other instructors).  I'm looking foward to this and am quite tickled that I kept it up all month (playing catch-up when I missed a day or two ...

Progress report on my Drunkard's Wife

I have three more blocks pieced and ready to share.  

The very first block, the Happy Hour Star, is an oops version based on the traditional pattern known as the Sawtooth Star.  It is currently lacking the embroidery in the center square at the moment, which will personalize the block and the entire quilt.  

block #1 -  Happy Hour Star

I love the two fabrics in this block.  One is a lovely background of a line-drawn floral from Emma's Garden by Patty Sloniger (with Michael Miller Fabrics).  The other is a hand-dyed pink by my friend Laurel Cull.  Click here for directions to make an 8" finished version the Sawtooth Star or click here for Felice's directions for the 12" Happy Hour Star block.  Or use your own method, like I did.  I used 3" Thangles to piece the eight half-square triangle blocks which make the star points.

block #5 -  Mimosa

Since I am racing to catch up, I am not stitching the blocks in the order that Felice released them.  I stitched this one, Mimosa, next as it has a similar format to the first block.  Both blocks are a basic a four-patch made with 6" square units.  The dark burgundy print is from the Emma's Garden line, the pink is a recent calico print while the light background fabric is a more ancient calico print that has been aging in my stash for many years, possibly since the last century.  You will see more of it in this quilt, as I am working hard to Sew My Stash during 2016.  Click here for Felice's directions to make this 12" block.  While I almost opted out of her method thinking to use my trusty Thangles again, I decided to try this new fabric-saving method to piece the Flying Geese units 'discovered' by Patti R. Anderson of Patch Pieces.  Click here for directions on this original "No Waste Method for Making Flying Geese".  I do enjoy trying out new techniques such as this one.

block #8 -  Amaretto Sour

This is Amaretto Sour, the eighth block in the series and another four-patch. It is one of my favorites.  It uses the same Emma's Garden light print as seen in the first block above and a remnant from Brother Sister Design Studio that I found in my bag of pink scraps.  Click here for Felice's directions, use your own method, or try using 3" Thangles (which is what I did).

Three more blocks are complete. 

Stay tuned for more ....

Whiskey Sour

This is the second block in the Drunkard's Wife Quilt-Along, but in actuality, it is the first block that I made in this series.

block #2 -  Whiskey Sour

This Whiskey Sour block is a Twisted Oops on the traditional Churn Dash block which is a variation of a traditional 9-patch quilt block.  The center butterfly is from Emma's Garden, then more of Laurel's hand-dyed pink fabric, with an oldie of mine featuring tiny hearts dangling from strings (but the stripes are sideways here -- so that the butterfly can fly up). Click here for Felice's directions.

I can hardly wait to share it with my traditional quilt bee .... what will they think of making a quilt which has an error, a deliberate mistake, in every single block?

I love this block both in the correct layout and also in this oopsie version.  The error is quite noticeable (even to the non-quilters among us), and yet it is pleasing as well (at least to me).  This block makes me smile.

More quilts from WHQG's recent show

The quilts were great at the recent "Quilted Roads of Texas" quilt show put on by the West Houston Quilter's Guild.  Here are more favorites of mine ...

Christmas on the Fourth of July by Beverley Bennett

Beverley stated that this Christmas Flag pattern is by Tina Curran, and was published in the Quilter's Newsletter magazine in 2012 as a series.  Three blocks per week were published from the 4th of July to the 12th of November.  Beverley completed the quilt top in time for Christmas 2012 and had it quilted by the Quilt 'n Sew longarm machine service in time for Christmas in 2013.

detail of Christmas on the Fourth of July, by Beverley Bennett

I love the flag look of this quilt.  It is an innovative way of making a row quilt (making  a row quilt is one of the many on my "Quilt Bucket List").  Each stripe of the flag is a different repeated motif related to the holiday season.  Quite fun. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that this quilt won First Place for the Wall Quilt Pieced, 2 person.  Congrats to Beverley (who made many of my favorites in this show).

Postage Birds by Joy Denk, quilting by Jane Plisga

Joy stated that this quilt was originally intended as a gift for her Mom who has always been fascinated by birds as well as for her Father who worked for the post office (hence the postage stamps).  She made the original quilt larger so as to fit her Mom's nursing home bed, but after completing it, was concerned that it may disappear too easily so she decided to keep it herself as a lovely reminder of her parents.  So sad that her fear is a well-founded one (I made several replacement blankets and throws for my grandmother during her years in a nursing home).  I love that Joy kept it herself as it is a beautiful memento of her parents.

detail of Postage Birds, by Joy Denk

I can remember spying this fabric on the bolt in a shop, but had no idea what I would ever do with it.  Perhaps this is why I enjoy it so, plus I absolutely love the colors and the birds and the postage stamps and all.

detail Pretty Dresses by Marie Robinson, quilted by Barb Knoblock

This quilt won Honorable Mention in the Wall Quilt Applique, 2 person division.  The pattern is called Pretty Dresses from Black Mountain Quilts.  This quilt is a result of an applique class taught by Sylvi Sealy that Marie took shortly after arriving in Houston from Australia.  She used a freezer paper/hand stitch technique to applique the dresses made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  It is delightful, even though only a sliver of it shows in the photo above (my full image was too blurry to share).

Amish with a Twist by Debra North

Amish with a Twist began as a Block of the Month by Quilt 'n Sew quilt shop.  It is not your traditional sampler quilt ...... Debra added the pieced and appliqued border "just to make it more attractive". 

detail of Amish with a Twist by Debra North

I love the bright-brights, the appliqued flowers and most of all that her additional border has offset corner designs.

Bali Tiles I by Sharon Dixon

Sharon stitched this quilt from the book Tiles Play by Cozy Quilt Design.  The quilting pattern is Swirly Gig by Judy Allen.  Sharon won first place for the Bed Size Pieced, MQ, one person category.

Bali Tiles I with Sharon Dixon

Sharon has quilted many quilts for me over the years.  She also does t-shirt quilts and crown Royal quilts along with her longarm service.  Check out her website http://www.katytshirtquilts.com/.


Sharon also made the quilt below using more of her Bali Tiles.  Click here to order your own fabric Bali Tiles to own....

Bali Tiles II  by Sharon Dixon, quilted by Linda T. Minton

This quilt is adapted from Shadow Box online tutorial by Jean Madan.  Hmmm, I may need to make a variation of this pattern for myself too.  Sharon loved the Bali Tiles so much that she insisted on making two quilts!  Linda Teddlie Minton, a dear friend of Sharon's (and someone I know as well!) quilted this for Sharon.  Follow Linda's art on her blog http://fiberreflections.blogspot.com/.



The West Houston Quilters Guild had fun planning for this quilt show.  This is evident with the lovely wall decorations of classic quilt blocks, all drawn on point.

Isn't this a delightful way to line the outer walls of their quilt show?  I am not certain, but my guess is that there are no duplicate blocks appearing on this long banners.

I wonder how many worked diligently on creating this handcrafted wall borders?  Job well done to the WHQG quilt show planners and worker bees.

Quilted Roads of Texas

Isn't this a grand theme for a Quilt Show deep in the heart of Texas?  That's the theme for the recent West Houston Quilter's Guild Quilt Show which I was fortunate to attend.  I thought you might enjoy a few of my favorite quilts from this small yet spectacular show, beginning with the Best of Show award winner:

Family Tree by Becky Hoffman

Becky used a pattern by Edyta Star to stitch and quilt her award-winning creation.  This is the third time she has made one of Edyta's patterns.  This is a lovely one, don't you agree?  Edyta's website is https://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/.

This next quilt is the first place winner of the Guild Challenge to create a quilt using a string quilt technique visible on the front of the quilt.

Balls of String by Beverley Bennett

Beverley was inspired to create this original design as she contemplated what to make for this Guild Challenge.  As she thought of string quilts, her mind kept wandering back to thoughts of balls of string .... after some creative piecing, this fun quilt was made.  It is one of my favorites from the show -- so quirky and fun, with a rainbow of colors.  It makes me smile.  Great job, Beverley!

Houston Oak Alley by Debbie Adami

This quilt, Houston Oak Alley by Debbie Adami, was made from a kit by Red Crinoline Quilts.  After making it, Debbie had Geeta Mehta quilt it for her, then she donated it to the Southern Dominican Gala in 2014.  It raised $2,000 to be used for the education of new priests.  Impressive.  The new owner, whomever they may be, agreed to loan it to Debbie for this show, where the quilt won first place in the category of quilts made from kits or block-of-the-month programs.

Traveling Texas by Patricia Cook

This is a second place winner for the "Quilted Roads of Texas" theme quilt.  Patricia used the pattern Texas Squared by Catherine Flowers and incorporated images from her travels with her husband around the state of Texas into this quilt, giving it additional special meanings.  I love her gulf waters.

Hugs and Kisses by Dianne Kuper

Hugs and Kisses is an original design by Dianne Kuper, and won an Honorable Mention in its category of Group Quilts.  The blocks were made by a group of Dianne's friends with the direction to use a Valentine theme as they designed their blocks.  Dianne stated that she loves "these group quilts because they are a challenge to put together, everyone participating has a unique quilt, and I can look at the blocks and remember my quilting friends".