Pastimes Quilt Design

"Tribute to Judie" my latest work in progress

2012-06-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

Normally, since I design patterns, I don't have time to make quilts from other designer's patterns. But my long arm quilter quilted a "Tribute to Judie" by Carol Hopkins Designs for one of our local quilt shops last year and I happened to be at her home the day she took it off her machine. We both absolutely fell in love with it. I am such a huge Civil War fabric fan. She and I traded fabrics and each came up with enough to make a queen sized quilt. Wow, what a lot of little pieces were needed to make about 350 star blocks 3 1/2" square. I am finally in the process of laying out the quilt. The blocks are set on point and I am using a variety of browns as the alternate blocks. Here are some pics of what I have laid out so far. I can't wait to finish it up and put it on my bed. Have any of you made this quilt?

Focus on Fun

2012-04-02T11:13:00.000-06:00

I had some darling vintage style fabric showing kids marching in a patriotic parade in my stash that I didn't want to cut up. So I designed this quilt using large pieces of my focus fabric in the blocks as well as in the border. I had so much fun making it, that I made a lap quilt with monkeys and a wall hanging with jack-o-lanterns. This pattern will work for any focus fabric up to 4 1/2". The blocks and sashing use the partial seam piecing technique. I used an acrylic octagon template to fussy-cut the centers. Why not look through your large print fabrics to see what kind of fun quilt you could make?

Ladybug Twist & Shout

2012-03-26T08:19:00.000-06:00

My granddaughter's nursery is decorated in ladybugs. I designed this fun quilt for her room with flower-pot pinwheels and ladybugs dancing all over the quilt. The flower pots are done with a little bit of simple paper piecing. I used large rick-rack for the flower stems and a bright button for the pinwheel centers.. The ladybugs are appliqued and their anntenae are embroidered. I added a piano key border using the leftover fabrics.

Windmill Garden a flowery quilt for Spring or Summer

2012-03-22T19:05:00.000-06:00

This quilt was all done by applique. The flowers, the blue block border scallops, and the cream outer border scallops. I don't usually do quite that much applique on one quilt but I had fun with it.

Here are some closer views. Don't look too close as I am not an applique experts or perfectionist.

Plane Patrol

2012-03-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

This was one of the first quilts I gave to my grandson. He sleeps with it every night. I had to borrow it back once to take pictures and he cried and cried when I hung it up. He thought I was going to keep his beloved airplane quilt. It was fun going through my stash to find all those blue fabrics.

How to Clean a Goopy, Gummy Iron

2012-03-16T18:25:00.002-06:00

Last night I realized I had left my iron on. No big deal right? Well unfortunately it was too close to a plastic ziploc bag of scraps that I had setting on my pressing station. By the time I smelled the hot, melting plastic it was too late. Ugh! Now my iron has goopy plastic on it. Wait a minute, I remember how to easily get that mess off.

Place a towel or piece of fabric on your pressing station. Sprinkle some salt on the fabric. I used coarse salt like the kind you get on soft pretzels.

Heat your iron and rub across the salt until the goopy mess is gone. This takes relatively little effort.

Whew! Thank goodness I remembered that trick. Now I can use my iron again without having to run to the store for iron cleaner. Do they even sell that stuff anymore?

I think it cleaned up rather nicely, don't you? No more melted plastic gumming things up.

Now just go ahead and throw the salt away. Warning: Do Not Feed it to Your Family. I probably didn't need to tell you that. Lol But seriously, throw it out.

Circle Fun - Free Quilt Pattern

2012-03-16T13:21:00.002-06:00

For one full year my quilt group of twelve fun ladies exchanged 6 1/2" squares of black on white, and white on black fabrics. At the end of the year we each had a large assortment of black and white fabrics to use however we wanted. This is what I made from mine. I called it Circle Fun. It is approximately 70" x 90".
Since it's St. Patrick's Day weekend, I decided you should all enjoy a little Irish luck with this freebie.

This was such a fun, no-brainer type quilt to make, and a great way to use up your scraps. I appliqued the quarter circles by hand while waiting at the Dr.'s office or watching TV at night. I find this very relaxing and it takes my mind off the idleness. You could machine applique them very quickly if you prefer.

Fabric Requirements:

70 black 6 1/2" squares
70 white 6 1/2" squares
140 bright 3 1/2" squares to cut quarter circles from
1/2 yard stop border
1 2/3 yard outer border
5/8 yard binding
5 1/2 yards backing

Place a white 6 1/2" square right sides together on top of a black 6 1/2" square.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.
Stitch 1/4" away from each side of the line. Cut on the line to make two half-square triangles.
Press, then trim each square to 6". Repeat with all 6 1/2" squares of fabric to make 140 half-square triangles.
Trace a 5 3/4" circle onto freezer paper. Cut the circle in half twice to make four quarter circles.
Press a paper template onto the wrong side of a bright fabric scrap. Cut on the straight edge but 1/4" away from the rounded edge.
Fold the rounded edge over the freezer paper and press well. Make 280 bright quarter-circles.
Remove the paper and applique a quarter circle into the two seamless corners of each block.

Note: I just did a random variety of color combinations. You may want to lay out your quilt prior
to making the last 10 or 15 blocks so you can adjust the colors if necessary.

9. Repeat for all blocks using a wide variety of interesting, bright fabrics.

       10. Lay out your blocks in fourteen rows of ten blocks each, alternating the white and black
       sides of each block. Make sure you will have four different bright colors to form each circle.
       11. Stitch the blocks together in rows.
       12. Stitch the rows together.
       13.  Stitch two stop borders 2" x 77 1/2" to the sides of the quilt and two stop borders 2" x 58 1/2"
       to the top and bottom of the quilt.
       14. Stitch two outer borders 6 1/2" x 80 1/2" to the sides of the quilt and two outer borders
       6 1/2" x 70 1/2" to the top and bottom of the quilt.

15. Cut nine strips 2 1/4" x width of fabric for binding.
16. Quilt and bind.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

Pineapple Quilts and ruler

2012-03-13T16:09:00.001-06:00

When I worked at a quilt shop several years ago, I was asked to make a Pineapple quilt for a shop display and class. I made two versions using the book Positively Pineapple by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith.

I used their Pineapple Rule to make sure the blocks were even and accurate which was extrememly helpful and fun.

The first quilt was from the pattern Mocha Latte. I really liked the light, medium, and dark tones of this pattern. Here is the picture from the book.

I made my quilt in my daughter's favorite color tones, turquoise blue. It has been tucked away in the closet to save for her someday wedding. I pulled it out the other day and finished up the binding. My sister Debbie in Marietta, Georgia quilted this for me on her HQ16.

The second quilt I made was from the pattern Jelly Beans. I did this one using the same color scheme as the picture in the book, Lime green, Yellow, Hot Pink, and Orange. It is such a bright, cheery quilt. It has not yet been quilted as I've had too many other projects in front of this one. I think I'll save it for one of my grandkids.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

Dresden Baskets WIP

2012-03-12T14:46:00.001-06:00

This is my current work in progess. Dresden Baskets. I got a little sidetracked with my blogging so I haven't worked on it for about a month. I hope to get back to it soon.

I have all of the blocks sewn together with the setting triangles and the yo-yo flowers stitched on.

Flying Geese Ruler by Quilt in a Day

2012-03-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

I love making flying geese with the Quilt in a Day Flying Geese rulers. I own the large and the small one. These are the things I love about this ruler, it's easy, accurate, it makes two different sizes, and there's no waste of fabric. You can make four matching, perfect flying geese from two squares of fabric. It is a must have if you are making a lot of flying geese for a border on your quilt. By the way, this is just my personal opinion and I am not being paid to say this. I know there are some newer rulers out for flying geese but this is the one I have used for years and I still love it so why spend the money for a different one? What is your favorite method of making flying geese? Please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

Quilt Block Design Mirrors

2012-03-08T11:34:00.001-07:00

I purchased this Quilt Block Design Mirror by Collins several years ago when I was working at a local quilt shop. It has been tucked away with some of my rarely used rulers, out of sight out of mind. I ran across it today while straightening up a bit in my sewing room. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play with.

Tonight I pulled out some bright, large print fabrics and started to wow myself. You can run it across the fabric and watch to your delight as beautiful kaleidescope views appear. I am truly amazed by this. Ok so it doesn't really take that much to get me excited about fabric, but trust me, this is really fun.

Every time I see a kaleidescope quilt I am awestruck at how many different looking blocks you can get from one print of fabric. This just may inspire me to make a new quilt.

1,2,3, Under The Sea A Counting Quilt for Toddlers

2012-03-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

This quilt was inspired by my grandson who loves to go to the aquarium. When he was 2 years old, he thought that anything more than one was two. I designed this quilt to help him learn to count. One sun, Two octopus, Three whales etc. I used the needle-turn method to applique the sea creatures. I tried to draw very simple shapes so they would be easy to applique. It went together remarkably fast. I just happened to have some bright sea shell fabric in my stash that worked really well for the border.

Double Continuous Prairie Points quilt tutorial

2012-03-07T14:30:00.002-07:00

I love Prairie Points on a quilt. Here is a quick and easy way to make a double prairie point edge or border that is all in one strip, evenly spaced apart, and ready to stitch to your quilt. I will be demonstrating a 3" prairie point but you can easily adjust the size if you like.

Cut your fabric 6" x width of fabric. Press in half widthwise to make a center crease. If you want to have two alternating colored points, cut each strip of fabric 3 1/4" wide and stitch them right sides together along the one long edge. Press.

Lay the fabric on your cutting mat. Measure 3" in from the left edge and cut with your rotary cutter just to the crease mark in the center. Now make another cut every 3" to the end of your strip.

Turn the fabric so that the uncut edge is closest to you.
Measure 1 1/2" in from the left edge and cut just to the center crease. Cut off this section completely.

Now measure 3" in from the new left edge and cut just to the center crease. Make another cut every 3" just to the center crease.

Place fabric strip on your pressing table wrong side facing up. Fold each top square diagonally to the right to the center crease and press. Fold each bottom square diagonally to the left to the center crease and press. I spritzed with a little Mary Ellen's Best Press to hold it in place

Now fold each triangle diagonally in the opposite direction and press.

This is what your fabric should looke like with both edges folded twice to form the prairie points.

At this point you can either place a little drop of applique glue at the tip to hold it in place, or machine baste along the inside edge close to the crease mark.

Fold the fabric in half widthwise so the bottom prairie points are overlapping the top prairie points. Repeat to make as many strips as you need. You are now ready to stitch them to your quilt.

One of my favorite qulting tools, The Angler 2

2012-03-04T18:57:00.001-07:00

I know there are lots of tricky ways to make half square triangles now days. I like to make mine by using the Angler 2 by Pam Bono Designs. I have owned this nifty quilting tool for about 9 years now and still use it all the time. Just line the key hole up with your sewing machine needle, tape the plastic template to your sewing machine, and follow the line. So accurate and easy.

Antique and Vintage Quilts - Enjoy the Show

2012-03-03T09:17:00.001-07:00

Ok, you know I love quilting, and I love antiques. So here are some pictures of antique and vintage quilts. I guess I should clarify, these are not my quilts (I wish they were). Mostly just pictures I obtained from Pinterest. However, some of the vintage pics at the bottom are my quilts. I do love looking at old quilts I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Six Pointed Stars circa 1873

Flower Basket quilt circa 1880 Michigan

Vintage Quilt

Vintage Cathedral Windows Quilt

Antique Album Quilt

Antique Appliqued Flower Basket Quilt

Cactus Rose 1855

Circa 1900-1920 antique quilt

Grandmother's Flower Garden

1800's Oak Leaf quilt

1840's Baltimore Album quilt

African-American applique quilt

Early 1800's embroidered quilt

antique doll quilt

mid 1800's silk Tumbling Block quilt

Bethlehem Star quilt from Pennsylvania

antique hand quilted Carpenter's Star

antique log cabin

antique Album quilt

Quaker quilt from Pennsylvania 1840's

Antique Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt

Antique applique quilt

Antique star quilt

antique quilt in green and cheddar

Antique 1930's Tulip quilt

antique 1930's Christmas Pine quilt

antique 1950's Sunbonnet Sue quilt

antique blue-white Drunkard's Path quilt

antique red-white quilt #1

antique red-white quilt #2

antique Rolling Stones quilt

antique applique quilt

antique Rose quilt

antique Star quilt

antique Clam Shell quilt

antique doll quilt I purchased at a garage sale.

1930's Dresden Plate quilt that was my mother's.

Grandma's 1930's Dresden Plate quilt.

My sister's and I found some old Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks in mom's cedar chest that had been made by her grandmother. I had mine made into a wallhanging.

1930's Double Wedding Ring quilt I purchased at a garage sale.

Sunbonnet Sue quilt I had as a child in the early 1960's.

Grandma's Sunbonnet Sue quilt made in the 1930's.

1930's tulip quilt I purchased at a garage sale.

1930's Glorified Nine Patch

"Cinnamon Twist" pattern correction

2012-03-03T08:58:00.001-07:00

Oooops, I made a mistake, please pardon my error.

Cinnamon Twist
Inside Sashings: the inner brown flying geese should be facing the same direction as in steps 13, 14, and 16 with the wide part of the geese along the outer edge of the strip. A huge thank you to Donna for pointing this out to me.

Quilts I've Made - Enjoy my Quilt Show

2012-03-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

These are some of the quilts I have made over the years. I hope you enjoy my quilt show.

I used a wide variety of Civil War reproduction fabrics in browns and pinks to make this Broken Star block quilt. I added a tulip border.

"Aunt Betty's Attic" done in 1930's reproduction fabrics.

"30's Black & White" pattern by Lori Holt. I made this using a variety of red 1930's reproduction fabics and then added my own appliqued floral border.

"Grandma's Bunnies" made from 1930's reproduction fabrics.

"Apples" from the book Quilting with my Sister

I combined a variety of blocks and ideas to make this 4th of July wall or lap quilt.

Scrappy Stars

I made this quilt from the pattern: Zinnia Basket by Kim Diehl. I used a line of fabric by Nancy Halvorsen

I combined several different patterns to make this Fall quilt.

This is an attic window block with 4 patch kaleidescopes in the center. I wrote a poem to go with the fun Halloween prints and had my long-arm quilter quilt it in the border.

"Treat Street" from the 1999 Quiltmaker magazine. Plus I added a lot of additional costumes and made my quilt larger.

"Milky Way" done in woven plaids.

"Ring Around the Posies" Snail Trail pattern. I added the flying geese border and trailing vine with flowers.

This is a table topper I designed for a friend of mine who needed something to cover his coffee table. I used some of my favorite star blocks and made them 4 1/2"

I just fell in love with these bright frogs. I had to make this quilt to hang in my "grandkids" room at my house.

"Pretty Dresses" from the book Quilting with my Sister.

This was a Civil War sampler type quilt. The class was full so I attempted to learn to piece a quilt on my own.

Flower Pot wall hanging.

.Hollyhock wall hanging

I combined several block patterns to make this cozy flannel cabin quilt. I used the moose, deer, and pine trees from the book Block Magic.

Christmas quilt I designed using blocks from the book Block Magic

Christmas quilt I designed using extra Block of the Month blocks and blocks from the book Block Magic.

Christmas quilt using a panel and pieced pine trees.

"Snowflakes" I designed this quilt using fussy-cut snowmen in the center of a snowflake block.

I used the "Card Trick" block to make this valentine quilt. Each card trick block is quilted in gold thread in the shape of 4 hearts.

Valentine quilt using a variety of pink/red/white 1930's prints plus fussy-cut vintage valentine fabric. I added a cute pieced heart border.

Floral wallhanging

Spring wallhanging

Cowboy Boot lap quilt

I designed this wallhanging for an "ugly fabric" quilt contest at a local quilt shop. I call it "My Favorite Things" The border is made of 3D flying geese. I won 1st place, a $50 gift certificate.

Quilt Ladder, Disappearing Design Wall, and Ruler Holder

2012-03-03T08:06:00.002-07:00

My friend Michael made me a couple of quilt ladders to display my quilts on.
This is a great way to display 4 o 5 quilts at once without taking up much wall space. I have one at the end of my hallway and one in my family room.

He also made me this fantastic design wall. I removed my closet doors and hung it above the door frame. This hides all the stuff in my closet while allowing me full use of the design wall which I use constantly. It easily rolls up into the shelf when I want to get into the closet. I haven't painted it yet.

My dad made me this ruler holder. Now all of my rulers are in one place and I can see them at a glance. As you can see, it holds a lot of rulers.

I like the clear plastic scrapbook paper holders to store my projects in. Especially projects that have a lot of small pieces. They come with plastic dividers that work well for keeping applique parts for each block together.

I also like that everything lays nice and flat in them. They are a little expensive so I don't use them for every project.

"Pot of Jewels" quilt pattern

2012-03-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

This is another of my strip pieced hexagon quilt designs. I swapped strips of civil war fabric with friends so I would have a huge selection of different fabrics to make my varied hexagon combinations. I find scrappy quilts to be incredibly interesting. I guess it's my love of fabric. To see so many all in one quilt is such a thrill for me. What an easy way to make a hexie quilt. All parts are cut using an acrylic triangle template, then strip pieced together in rows. I had lots of fun making the flower pot applique border too. The quilt turned out so colorful. The hexagons reminded me of faceted jewels, thus the name "Pot of Jewels" I think this is one of my favorite quilts.

"Around My Flower Garden" a strip-pieced hexagon quilt

2012-02-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the look of hexagon quilts such as "Grandmother's Flower Garden" but piecing all those little hexies by hand did not really appeal to me. To be honest I don't think I would ever finish it. Here is where I admit that I have a somewhat short attention span. I designed this quilt to have that look without all the time consuming hand piecing. The center of this quilt is done by strip piecing triangles together to form the hexagon look. I did hand piece the small outer flowers using no-melt template plastic to stitch the individual small hexies, then appliqued them onto the quilt.

"Strawberry Limeade" quilt pattern

2012-02-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

I designed this quilt to be done by machine applique. I did a small zig-zag stitch around the folded edge of each piece to applique it to the quilt. I stitched the heart shaped flower petals on each block then stitched the blocks together in vertical rows adding the leaves and flower centers as I went. I did a slight wavy edge on the border. It was a really fun process and I love how the quilt turned out.

Life is Like a "Bow"l of Cherries quilt pattern

2012-02-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

I designed this quilt using the bow-tie block and appliqued cherries. For the borders I added vintage looking bowls with cherries dangling from them and another round of bow-tie blocks. I used a variety of 1930's reproduction red fabrics. It hangs from a shelf in my kitchen to go along with my other vintage kitchen items which I love. I think red is such a cheery kitchen color. Please visit my "Patterns for Sale" page for ordering information.

How to Sharpen Your Rotary Blades. Have you tried this?

2012-02-12T12:41:00.003-07:00

I saw this tip on Pinterest the other day from a blog called Pennys Hands. Sharpen your rotary blades by cutting through tin foil. Being the type of person who can't throw anything away that might someday be useful ( my sister says I verge on hoarding) I had 10 old dull rotary blades in a plastic case in my sewing cabinet. I set up an old ruined rotary mat, (yes I saved this too) and turned it over onto the back since I didn't know if this process would damage the mat at all. I tore off a large piece of tin foil and folded it several times.

Then I cut through the tin foil in tiny, tiny strips. Let's be realistic here, tin foil is much cheaper to buy than a trip to the emergency room so be very careful to not cut your finger off while making these thin cuts in the foil. Keep your fingers well out of range of the rotary cutter. I can't be held responsible for any injuries you may sustain in attempting this dangerous feat.

This is what your foil will look like afterwards. I wasn't sure if this would be enough to sharpen the blade so I turned the mat sideways and cut through the foil strips again.

Then I tried the sharpened blade out on some fabic and batting. It seems to have worked really well. I folded the fabric and cut through several layers just fine. I had nicks in some of the blades and it seems to have taken them out too.

I'm sure they are not as sharp as a brand new blade and I don't know how long they will last but I think it was worth trying.

"Old Time Valentines" quilt pattern

2012-02-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is another fun Valentine quilt I made several years ago. With, you guessed it, another vintage looking fabric. Don't you just love all those adorable old Valentines from days gone by? I think they are just so sweet. I fussy cut the fabric into squares and added 1930's reproduction fabrics in red and pink and then a pieced heart border. How is that for quick and easy? It's just a lap size so I throw it over the back of my couch to decorate the house or use while watching TV.

"Love is in the Air"

2012-02-10T10:12:00.001-07:00

I found this antique looking Valentine fabric a few years ago and being an antique lover, I just couldn't say no to it. Do you ever have that problem when browsing through a quilt shop? Some fabrics just call out to me saying "take me home, take me home." I designed this quilt using the card trick block for the outer edges. My very talented long arm quilter used gold thread to quilt a lacy heart shape with a bow in each card of the block. Check out the close-up picture. I appliqued little hearts in the center with an embroidered message "Love is in the Air". I think red is such a striking color when mixed in varying tones. Happy Valentine's Day.