a PEARY good time... was had by all...

second son N & family live in a charming Craftsman house in Baltimore. in their back yard is their beloved pear tree- it was planted years ago by previous owners, but N & P really love the tree, as well as the children E & T. we get lots of pictures and updates on the blossoms and pears, and how they're doing. N also has a hive of honey bees.

on a recent visit down to Bmore, N was happy to show me how his bees are doing. i was impressed at all he knew, and how he was very knowledgeable in caring for the hive of bees. we're all looking forward to the day when he has enough honey to share!

currently, we have 6 grandchildren- 3 boys and 3 girls. of those 6 birthdays, 3 of them occur in an 11 day time span! (AND: i think i forgot to mention, but #7 is due early May!) L is the daughter of my oldest son, D, and she starts the party with a birthday on October 30. they live in CA, so we were only able to face time on her special day, but she's sure a sweety! she just turned 3. 

Next up is C. he was 5 on November 4. he's the son of my oldest, M, and has a younger brother and sister L & A. wee baby sister is in the wings, and will be joining us in May. we can't wait! Grammy and Pap gave C a "coonskin" hat. he seems to like it...

here we are at C's picnic- my 2 youngest daughters, A & B, as well as his siblings L & A. 

then, just to keep things interesting, i headed down to Bmore that weekend, to celebrate E, who was also 5, on November 10. if you're wondering why i started this grandchild birthday celebration post taking about N's honeybees, I'm going to tell you! 

E knows that Grammy loves her, and she also knows that Grammy loves to quilt. she asked me if i would make her some pear placemats for their {family hierloom} dining room set. of course, i didn't even have to think about that for one second! i'd be thrilled. 

i dug around in my stash, and found some long ignored and unloved tan plaid; that worked just great for the background. i also found some greens and yellows that would work well for the pears. 

but: such a special project certainly called for some "stash enhancement"! and I was thrilled to find some fabric that was just perfect! (i think you should be able to click on the pictures to supersize them, and see some of the fun fabrics i found) Belle, bees, pears, catapillars are some of the fun elements that made an appearance... 

i used the pear pattern from Lori Holt's book, Farm Girl Vintage. it was a gift from N & P a few years ago, but the first I've used it. (there are lots of fun block patterns in that book; i plan to make a few more blocks/placemats one of these fine days...) 

i made 8 pear placemats (so there would be enough to use for company,) and then i also made 6 "pear blossom"  placemats. using my accuquilt Studio2 cutter and my shoo fly {my favorite quilt block!} die, i loosely interpreted a pear blossom into more placemats. The white and pink represent the pear blossom, the brown is the twigs of the tree and the {Kona stratosphere} is the brilliant blue of the spring sky. 

each placemat finished around 13" X 17" if i remember correctly. i drove down to Bmore to deliver the placemats, and E (and the whole family!) opened them are were so thrilled! i was so happy that E had asked me to make something special for her, and it's also important to me that she know that Grammy was honored to fulfill her special birthday wish! 

we had a lovely afternoon together- not doing much of anything but spending time and chatting. i even got to rock the baby, T, to sleep and hold him during his nap. (he's a chubby, chubby sweetie!) 

thanks for stopping by- and listening to my little tale of grandchildren, pears, placemats and family! 

 

UFO roundup: 2017 style!

Judy is hosting another UFO quilt-along for the new year 2017. she's done that in years past, too. (2011 and 2012.) I've gotten lots done with that little extra kick in the pants, so I'm excited to participate again this year.

 

I had no trouble finding 12 projects to work on! most of these are not too terribly old (although there is a linger-er from 2011!)

 

#1- Scrappy, bright strips. I started this Bonnie Hunter (free) pattern in 2014(?). it just needs quilted. I don't really do much of my own quilting anymore because of the tendonitis in my left shoulder. although the pain is mostly gone, it's easily flared up again. but- i'll push through and get this done so my girls can actually use it! (the strips use the fabrics that I used to make their matching bed quilts.)

DONE! and blogged about here.

 

#2: Civil War Geese is a hold-over from the UFO challenge 2011! it's much farther along than it was back then, so this should be the year? right? ( I did manage to make a bit of progress on it, but it's been at a standstill for far too long...)

DONE: and blogged about here.

#3-these homespun 9-patches were just a stack of blocks in the 2011 UFO challenge. In 5 years I've managed to get them sewn into blocks, and I have a plan on how I'd like to put them together.

DONE! and blogged about here.

#4- I started my JustGottaMakeItChristmasStars in July of 2015- so it's not that old, but I'd really like to get it done.. I've decided on the layout I'd like to use, and even have the backing picked out, so I just need to get it done!

#5-a couple years ago our quilt group (Friendship Quilters) did a 9 patch exchange of the month. each month was a different color 9 patch, with kona white as the consistent solid. a friend and I combined our blocks, and did a modified Split 9 Patch. the (16+) blocks are done, and just need sashed. we plan on using a grey of some sort- to make the blocks look like stained glass windows.

DONE! and blogged about here!

#6- a (very) scrappy BH Rick Rack Nines. (from the book Leaders and Enders) I have 117 9 patches pieced, and need to get them set into the top.

#7- these zig-zag squares were a RSC15 project. originally I planned on making 2 quilts: a horizontal zig-zag and a vertical zig-zag for the guest room beds. I've scrapped that idea for a Cartwheels Quilt by one of my favorite bloggers: Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts.

DONE: and blogged about here. (there are still a couple pinwheel blocks leftover that I plan to make into a smaller, straight set quilt.

#8 and #9- technically, a pile of (unopened) charm packs can't really be considered a UFO. however- it's pretty obvious that I tend to collect the charm packs rather than use them! i'll find a couple patterns each of these months and make a small quilt or two...

DONE! and blogged about here and here.

#10- I bought this kit from Connecting Threads on a sale a few years ago. ( I think this is another project that's made its way over from the UFO Challenge of 2011/2012) it's not been started, but i've always wanted to make a schoolhouse quilt. I'm not too crazy about the colors, but i'll manage.... 

#12- another Technically Not A UFO- 2 separate little piles of some intriguingly interesting fabrics- shot cottons on the top, and wild stripes with matching metallics on the bottom. another Quilty Bucket List of mine is to make a (very simple) quilt using the 60 degree triangles. conveniently, I have a 60 degree ruler to do just that! inconveniently, I can't find it at the moment, so it might take a bit of searching and tidying of the sewing room to get this one done...

 

DONE! and blogged about here.

 



#11- this is a Star Sampler I started ages ago (mid/late 90s?)there are 7 large stars done (12") and 6 small stars done (6") i'll need to decide on a layout, and piece a few more stars. there seems to be ample fabrics to get this top done- maybe I jst need a  few more blues...  * edited to add: I just found a BOM over at Academic Quilter- and maybe i can fit this UFO into what she's doing! YAY... happy dance.... *

 

have you read this far? thanks so much! all photos should super-size if you click on them. I'm looking forward to knocking off a few more UFOs this year- the challenge and accountability is good for me! thanks for reading- and join along if you'd like- it's fun!

 

I'm still here!

the garden is growing well, and we're very busy planting, tending and harvesting... every once in awhile I'm able to sew for just a little bit. (but not this week!) it's taken me a couple weeks to get my photos uploaded, but here I am!

I'm loving my low-volume plus quilt. (are you an old-enough quilter that you can remember when we called "low volume" our "neutrals"?) ha! every month my LV+ quilt is the first one I go to... it's easy, and soothing to piece.

the granny squares are going fine, too. I have all the aquas done, and a few pinks. I still have a couple greens to finish up from May.

My Simply Woven quilt blocks are all done. here my daughter, A, and our friend B are laying it out at Scraps to Wraps for me. the rows are pieced together, now I just need to sew the rows together. next time I want to do a quilt like this, please talk me out of it! it didn't' go together as easily as I had hoped... (but I'm sure it will all quilt out!) I have a big bag of 2½" strips that someone gave me for S2W, and I plan to use them to make a Scrappy Trips quilt ala' Bonnie Hunter.

 

I haven't even worked on my RSC16 Column-Along! it's in the back of my mind, though, and I have all intentions of finishing it. I love column quilts, and have always wanted to make one. I just need to take the time to look over my stash of Konas, and see what I still need. our local Ben Franklin has the Konas for $5.49/yd every day! how fantastic is THAT?

 

be sure to pop in over at Angela's blog to see what everyone else is making!

Round and round with all the squares we go!

technically, this TATW quilt is not RSC16, but I thought I'd share it anyway... a dear friend lost her husband to leukemia last month, and she brought me a laundry basket full of his shirts, and asked me to make a quilt for her. my long-arm quilter and I paired up, and got it pieced, quilted and delivered in record time. and the best part? it's bringing some comfort to my grieving friend!

 

 

I was also able to take the time to piece 9 more granny square blocks in purple (only 8 are shown here) Last night I started the purple crumb blocks, and since my monthly additions to my Simply Woven quilt is done, (i'll show the progress on that next month) that only leaves me with the RSC column along for this month.

 

today the girls and I are off to the local YMCA for a health fair. CSA signups are slow this year, (is it the weather, or the economy?)  so we're hoping to pick up a few new members!

happy purpling, with a dash of yellow thrown in!

So: what do YOU think?

one of my goals for RSC16 has been to finish, approximately 1 per month, my unfinished quilts from RSC15. I already finished my RSC15 sampler (and I'm thrilled with it!) so I'm ready to move on to the next quilt, and the next month...

I have finally finished piecing my S4P- in all the colors. these blocks turned out fairly tiny- about 4½" after squaring up. (I started with 4 patches made from 3" squares) even though I have 209 of them, it would still make a small(ish) quilt if I set them all together without any alternate blocks. I've auditioned 4 different fabrics for the setting blocks-I think I might have my mind made up as to which one i'll use, but I want to see what YOU think!

 

#1- a funky grey.

#2- blue

 

 

#3- a small brown/cheddar plaid

 



#4- a tan polka dot

Finishing up those loose ends...

it was a busy week this week (but then, aren't they all?!) but I concentrated on finishing up some projects from RSC15.

if you follow me on instagram (jlcap69), you'll have already seen my RSC15 sampler *almost* finished. I had to dig very, very deep in my stash to find some orange to finish the zig-zag of the setting squares in the orange row.

but- I'm thrilled with how this quilt turned out! thanks, Angela, for designing such a fantastic sampler! (sometime maybe you should do another linky for the RSC15 samplers- for all the late comers and procrastinators!)

 

I also was motivated to finish my S4P (split 4 patches) this week- I only have about a dozen more to go, and then they're all done, too!

I've updated my RSC15 tab at the top of my blog to reflect my most recent finishes.
 

click over to so scrappy and see what everyone else is working on!

RSC16- off to a good start with the blues

I'm happy with my progress so far for RSC16. one of the quilts that I'm making this year is Simply Woven . especially since Angela is calling for an accent color each month, this quilt should work really well for RSC. all the fabrics are from my stash, and I'm really pleased with how this quilt looks so far. there are 4 different tans, and many, many blues, with a few purples thrown in.

 

technically, this bonnie hunter scrappy trips isn't really a RSC project, but I had pieced the blocks last year, and just this week got the top put together. with a 6X6 block layout, it finishes at about 72"- a perfect throw size.

 

this quilt is for my 2 girls' room- it uses all the same fabrics that are in their bed quilts.  they helped make the squares, picking out 5 fabrics of the color combinations of their choice. I added the Kona white as the middle constant, and this is a very bright and colorful quilt!

 

the top is done, and the backing is pieced and hanging with the quilt in my sewing room closet. I had planned on quilting this one myself (straight lines, easy peasy) but with tendonitis in my left shoulder, it's really more than I can manage, unfortunately. as the budget allows, I'll send quilts to the longarmer...

 

my farmer's market table runner/cloth went to the quilters this week, so I'm calling this a good week, quilt wise. and: I also figured out the bloggy tabs for RSC. yay, me! all of them are a work in progress, but RSC14 is done- go check it out! and while you're at it, stop by Angela's and see what everyone else has been working on!

the quilter's post of shame...

RSC14 was so successful for me (my first year participating)- it was just the inspiration and accountability that I needed to "tame" all my scraps and fabric, and begin to use them. using a color a month, and piecing a pile of blocks seems to work really well for me, so I jumped in. during RSC14 I made 8 (throw size) quilts: one for each of my children, one particular favorite that I couldn't part with, and a color wheel quilt for my sewing room wall.

 

so when RSC15 rolled around I jumped in even more whole-heartedly, and tried to make all the quilts. with piecing a particular block(s) each month, in a particular color, things rolled along pretty smoothly until December. then it was Time. To. Put. All. The. Quilts. Together.

 

smokey cats, batman! a tad bit overwhelming, it was... so here's my list of RSC15 quilts that will be completed into tops as part of my RSC16.

 

in no particular order:

scrappy 16 patches, using my favorite fabrics, and tan/cream neutrals. even though I only picked out my favorite fabrics, I still ended up with 188 blocks! sheesh...

the zig zag quilt. (sorry about the upside down picture) I have all the colors, and plan to make 2 quilts- vertical and horizontal zig zags.

crumby strips. I still have the green ones to piece, and still not quite sure what i'll do for the layout of this quilt. I'm thinking a diagonal set at the very least... maybe something like this?

these Split 4 Patches are made from 3" squares from my suitcase of squares. they look super cute when completed, but I think they're a pain in the dooopy to make... I still have about 16 S4P to cut and sew back together, and then this quilt will be ready to assemble....

a special pile of 16 patches- I'm making a quilt for my table at farmer's market. you can read more about this quilt here.

my monochromatic 4 patches. not sure what I want to do with these, either, but there's always my pinterest RSC board for inspiration, but here's another layout that I like.

there are still a few more blocks lurking around: like the RSC15 sampler (just need to do the X blocks for that one...)  my bright scrappy trips (bonnie hunter's pattern) and my red stars.

 

as part of my RSC16 sewing, i'll be doing *approximately* a top a month to complete all these started and unfinished RSC15 piles of blocks. and you can keep me accountable, too!

RSC16- so excited for another year of scrappy quilts!

I definitely was a big, fat show off bit off more than I could chew last year, and started TOO. MANY. QUILTS. (is that even possible? did those words just come out of my mouth?)

 

I love the soothing rhythm of sewing and sewing blocks together, paying attention only to color, an accurate seam allowance and the growing little pile of blocks. but I realized at the end of the year I had a very large stack of blocks, and to put them all together in to about a dozen quilts (really!) was not quite as soothing or relaxing. actually, it's a bit ridiculous!

 

I'm not complaining, really! but several of the quilts that I made required quite a lot of twiddling and laying them out to get the colors just right. my design wall is not quite big enough for that (still not complaining) but it was all a bit much.

 

so this year, I'm not doing as many quilts. ( I'm a quick learner, I am!).

 

here's my list of projects for RSC16- (even though I'm a bit late for the New Year's Posts that ya'll did...)

 

• Row by Row Plus blocks, with neutral (white) 3" squares. I'll only make 9 blocks each month, and then sew the row together. I promise not to obsess with the color placement of the light and dark blocks- "just sew them together, for Pete's sake!" I also have a FQ bundle of the new Allison Glass fabrics that I'll cut into for this.

• Crumb blocks- I love these, and they make such cool quilts!

• Angela's RSC16 sampler. I plan on making the lap and twin size. one I'll keep for myself/family, and one I'll donate.

• Granny squares. I've always wanted to make one of those! I think I'll use all the tan 3" squares left over from the 16patch last year, since I'll be using the whites in the RxR Plus blocks.

• I also plan on making this Woven quilt, and have all the cream rectangles cut for most of the blocks. I saw that Mary was making one, too, and it occurred to me that it would be a perfect RSC16 quilt. I'm excited about this one too- and with the addition of the accent color of the month this year, it should be an especially nice quilt!

There. doesn't that seem much more manageable? I think so! if I can figure out how to do those really cool and clever tabs at the top of my blog header (any hints, anybody?) i'll get things sorted out, and easier to keep track of and follow along.

 

I've done another post about my RSC15 quilts that are just a pile of blocks right now, and you can check out my progress on that here. thanks for stopping by!

is it ok if i come out and play along today?

 officially speaking, I didn't do any RSC sewing this week, but I was busy with other stuff. (Tuesday we butchered all 25 of our turkeys- they weighed from 17lb. all the way up to 30lb. +. our bird for Thanksgiving dinner was 27lb.- plenty for 6 people!)

 

my friend asked me to make her a baby quilt for her newest great-granddaughter. I've had this jelly roll for a while- and it's sort of rainbow-y, too! (pattern here)

my DWR quilt is done! I'm happy with how it turned out, and it was definitely not as hard (or twiddly!) as I thought it would be. ( I will iron it soon, I promise!)

it's about a double size, and I plan to bind it in the gold solid. for now the plan for this quilt is to go to one of the MCC auctions, unless one of my children falls in love and claims it...

more gorgeous quilts here!

in which the quilter acutally finishes a quilt or two...

I would not be surprised if any of you were beginning to wonder if I ever actually finished a quilt, but were just too polite to mention it... well: this is the week!

I gathered all my crumb blocks together, and was surprised at how many I had! ( I think there were 121 total, in all the colors of the rainbow!) i had a rough idea where i was planning on going with this quilt, and after some final inspiration and direction from Julie's quilt, i was ready to go.

 

with the sashing, this flimsy turned out a bit bigger than i had thought it would, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. (it's about 66X88, if i remember correctly) it's already at the home of my quilter friend, Karen, and i expect it back sometime after Christmas.

 

this Christmas quilt is all done- quilted, bound and fresh and crinkly out of the dryer! it's about 60" square, and used tons and tons of my 3" squares. (but not enough to actually put a dent in that suitcase of squares!) I love how this quilt is just so hodge-podge- fabrics from 5, probably 6 decades, and all sorts of fabrics: vintage, Christmas, not Christmas, stripes, polka dots, text, geometric, metallic, solids, novelty, civil war, florals... so many fabrics to look at!

I've promised A that we'll put this quilt out next Thursday- after our Thanksgiving dinner!

 

click over to angela's to see what everyone else is working on!