In This Corner...

4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

I decided to start with the hardest corner piece first. It wasn't really all that hard, just very time-consuming. But that's to be expected when it has 74 pieces (76 if you add the two adjoining dark triangles on the top and right.

"This is BLC (Bottom Left Corner), Goshen", an advanced-level corner kite piece that I paper pieced. This is where I rant about the software -- when I tried to print a paper-piecing pattern for this kite, the software said that "this applique block cannot be paper pieced". That's absurd...this block is not appliqued and a pattern can easily be made to paper piece it. So that's what I did. I paid good money for the software and it has bugs like this? And they haven't provided patches for downloading?

Last @#$%^ Triangle!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

Finally, the last of the 52 triangles!

This is "LS8, Northern Lights", an intermediate-level triangle for which I used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch method of applique.

Now to deal with the four corner kite-shaped pieces...Stay tuned...It may take me a while...One of them has  74 (!) pieces!!!

Getting Down to the Wire

6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

This is "LS4, Virginia's Kite", an advanced-level triangle which I paper pieced and also used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch method of applique.

Going and Going...

7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

This is "LS1, Nancee's Fantasy", an advanced-level triangle. The main part of it (on the right of the above photo) is sewn on using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch method of applique and the parts seen on the left side of the photo were paper pieced. The dark red fabric for the applique was cut out as one single piece of fabric as explained in this post here.

Countdown Continues

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

My Christmas present to me was time -- time to work on another triangle. This one is "LS5, Olympic Torch", an advanced-level triangle which I mostly paper pieced except for that little half-circle. It's sewn on using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch method of applique.

A Little Early

Since I'm not sure if I'll be blogging in the next several days, I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and I hope the spirit of Christmas lives in all of us through 2012 and beyond!

Happy Festivus to all!

Finished!

Check out my group blog, Random Acts of Stitching, for the info on all these great quilts!

Ugly Duckling No More

Remember these awful fabrics that I blogged about here...

Well, I turned them into this...

This was the result of the first challenge presented by my mean girlfriends art quilters' group. Click on the link at the beginning of my post to read about the challenge.

Earlier this week, the group got together to reveal our projects (I'll show a photo of all of them in another post next week). What you see today is my finished piece -- it's about 13" x 16".

The fabrics that I was given sat in my quilting studio for weeks before I figured out what to do with them. Everyone said they were Civil War-style fabrics, but they reminded me of colonial/revolutionary times more than Civil War. The fabric with the cherries made me think of George Washington (the fabled cherry-tree story), which then made me think of making a quilt with a tree or cherries or something, but nothing really thrilled me. Nothing was inspiring me.

That is, until a friend of mine gave me a quilt top to machine quilt for her. It hung on my design wall for a day or so while I figured out how to quilt it. It was a Gee's Bend-style quilt, with the usual improvisational piecing. As I was deciding on a quilting pattern for my friend's quilt, something hit me and told me to make my challenge quilt in a Gee's Bend style. So I quickly started cutting and sewing and before I knew it, I had a piece that I actually liked (even though I can't stand the fabrics by themselves).

I added the white fabric and the striped binding fabric. The cherry fabric is on the back. The piecing is all improvisational and the quilting was done to mimic hand quilting (my Bernina has a "hand-quilting" stitch). While I was researching Gee's Bend quilts, I read a description of the quilting that was something like this -- "Somewhat parallel lines, random distances apart". So that's what I did. And I love the result!

Unfortunately, my friend's quilt is still on my frame....

Modern BOM Block 5

This is my version of block #5 of the Modern Block of the Month Sew-Along on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog. As I've said before, I'm making these blocks using leftover fabrics from my son's high school graduation/going-off-to-college quilt. If you're new to my blog, you can see his quilt here.

To see my first four blocks in this series, click on the "SMS BOM" label on my blog sidebar.

Still Working Toward the Goal

9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

This is "LS-12, Button Hook", an intermediate-level triangle that I mostly paper-pieced and then added the two diamond shapes using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch method of applique. The one piece of background fabric that looks different from the others bothers me a bit (it is the same fabric, just has a bit more color to it), but not enough for me to re-do the triangle...

Onward....

The Final Countdown Has Begun

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0...

This is "LS10, Megan's Cathedral", an intermediate-level triangle that I paper pieced.

Now we're down to 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0... (5 triangles and 4 corner kites).

Not So Mean After All?

One week from today, this project will be revealed to my mean girlfriends art quilters' group. Although I hate the fabrics (see my post here), I am really enjoying the process of making my quilt. When it's done, I probably won't be able to say that I love the finished piece, but I think I can probably safely say that I like it!

No Waste Quilting (continued)

Some of the scraps shown in my previous post were sewn together to make new crumb fabric like this...

And then I used my GO cutter to cut out some crumb tumbler blocks from this new fabric...

So far, I've made 11 of these tumbler blocks...still have some scraps left, but this project will be put aside while I concentrate on a few other things that have deadlines. Maybe after the new year I'll figure out what to do with these.

Oh, and the pile of really small scraps that was on the left side of Friday's photo went into a bag that I will give to a fellow guild member who makes animal beds for the local animal shelter. The slivers of fabric and batting that most quilters throw away are used by her as stuffing for the beds.

Voila -- no waste quilting!

No Waste Quilting

I had these scraps left over after I made the tumbler quilt I blogged about last week...

 I cut them up into two piles....small scraps and even smaller scraps...

Believe it or not, none of this will go into the trash...Stay tuned...

A Second Helping of Jane This Week

This is "LS2, Barb's Diamond", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper pieced and then added the small diamond using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method.

If I can keep up this pace, my goal is to have the entire top finished by the January 3rd meeting of my Laurel Janes support group. After that, the headache of piecing will be replaced with the headache of adding a scalloped border, machine quilting the entire thing, and then binding a scalloped edge...My heads hurts just thinking about it already!

Thanksgiving with Jane

This is how I spent part of my holiday weekend...

This is "LS6, Susie Q", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then added the melon-shaped piece using the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method.

Only seven more triangles and four corner kite-shaped pieces to go!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish all my readers a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. I hope you spend the day with family and friends, if not in person, then in spirit over the phone, computer, whatever.

And in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, this is my latest charity quilt. It's boxed up and will be mailed today to Basics, a charity in NYC, all part of my mission to make charity quilts for teenagers. The next distribution day for Basics is December 1st, so this should make it in time.

The back is pieced from leftovers...

Free-motion loopy quilting with variegated thread...

You can see the first quilt I sent to Basics here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings

This Thanksgiving season I am reminded how blessed I am (and how blessed I have been all my life).

These nine pillowcases (and another three Christmas-themed ones) are on their way to be donated to ConKerr Cancer. I hope they will bring a smile to some children who are going through a tough time in their lives.

I used up 12 yards of fabric from my stash for these pillowcases...and NO, I am not going shopping on Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, or any other holiday to buy more. Holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends, not for spending money on stuff we don't need!

Maybe I'm Hungry

There seems to be a food theme going on here....last week it was "Connie's Brownies", this week it's "LS11, Kathy's Cake". It is a beginner-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method for the tiny melon and the curved piece at the base.

New Blog To Check Out

This picture has nothing to do with what today's blog post is about, but we don't like posts without photos, do we? It's just a binding that I'm currently working on. You'll see the finished product soon.

In the meantime, go over to Cotton Cellar, a new blog from my fellow guild member Kathy. Take a look at the projects that she's working on -- her purses are to die for! And she sells them, too...both online and at our local quilt shop.

Go ahead, check Kathy's blog out and tell her I said "hi" and welcome her to blogging!

Moosewood Monday

Another great recipe from the famous Moosewood Restaurant. This time it's Southwestern Black Bean Burgers. I made them smaller than the recipe suggests and served them as a side dish for a Tex-Mex meal for guests instead of on a roll with various toppings like a burger as they do in the restaurant. I also made a fresh mole salsa to garnish them with. Everyone gave their thumbs up, so this one is a keeper!

Down to Single Digits

This is "LS3, Connie's Brownies", an intermediate-level triangle which I paper-pieced and then used the raw-edge machine-buttonhole stitch applique method for the two melon-shaped pieces.

This now brings me to only nine triangles remaining, along with the four corner kites. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Closeup

This is my version of the Jelly Roll 1600 Race quilt....the strips are all from vintage sheets found in thrift stores. See my previous post for a photo of some other quilts of the same pattern but with different fabrics.
Edited 8:00 AM -- to see what my friend Susan has done with her quilt, click here. I think the borders she added are a great improvement!