heARTS Creations

Absolutely NOT my fault! A few weeks ago I made the above block for a group project. It’s Kaffe stripes and a solid thrown in. I cut one inch strips and made four identical 8 inch blocks and sewed them together with the black and white in the center. We were to submit a 16″ block finished. I loved it! And, as it happens, I have lots and lots of scrap Kaffe and Kaffe Collective fabrics which includes Brandon Mably and Phillip Jacobs.

Off to the drawing board I went. I had to do this for me. My blocks are smaller – 12 inch finished. I pulled out my scraps and large pieces and began to sort and choose. Such fun! The above pic is of a joyful and organized mess. I put the strings for each individual square on a paper plate which is a trick I learned from a friend at a retreat. It works really well for some of my projects.

I sewed the one inch strips onto a lightweight stabilizer which keeps the block from getting wonky as can happen with such thin strips. I didn’t sew the black and white fabrics onto the corners until I placed all the squares onto the design wall, as the intersecting blocks needed to have matching black & white.

Oh the fun I had sewing these! It was just the burst of joy I needed as I was tiring of the sewing I had been doing. I had all the blocks sewn, squared and trimmed in three days!! A couple of borders are needed. I searched my stash and have come up with my first choice. Tune in to see.

Do you have squirrels in your studio waiting to attack? Don’t fight it – feed your creativity!

When I first saw wheel chair quilts on Pinterest, I got very excited. What a great idea and how well it fits into the Hospice quilts effort! This is the basic pattern I’m going by:

With a huge pile of half square triangles I had sewn as leader/enders, I began arranging on the design wall. Once I was satisfied, they were sewn together and the bottom corners cut (a safety feature to avoid wheel chair wheels). The quilt was then quilted. I love the idea of having a pocket as was shown on pics of other wheel chair quilts I had viewed.

Note that the pattern is “off” – just squares, not half square triangles in the center. That’s where the pocket will go. Not wanting to cover the quilt pattern, I did an overlay of the pattern with the pocket and matched it as best I could when sewing it on top of the quilt. The quilt backing is fleece as is the lining of the pocket. Not only does the pocket serve as a hand warmer, personal items such as tissues or a cell phone can be kept in it.

A second one done!

I then contacted the Hospice coordinator who will be receiving the donation quilts on Hospice’s behalf and she was so excited about the concept of the wheel chair quilts. I will definitely be doing a few more this year!

On another note: When I’ve emptied a spool of thread, I saved it. It’s a kick to see the accumulation of empty spools at the end of a year. Here are last years – not as many as in previous years, but I’m now working on fuller spools. The tall spool is from the bobbin thread I use which is finer than the threads I sew with. Really? That much thread gone?!

Look what we woke up to this morning! No, not much, and it’s raining so it’s going away quickly. Still, we so rarely get snow, that it’s fun to see! Hope you’re all staying warm, comfortable and safe!

Linking up with: Oh Scrap N&TT

Amongst my bins of cut fabric scraps is a bin of orphan blocks. Not feeling motivated to work on any of my current works in progress, I pulled out those blocks and began to play. These are leftovers from my Tula Strings quilt. I began by putting them all on the design wall for inspiration. Certainly not enough for even a small quilt, and there’s no way I’m doing more of these blocks!

Next, I cut each block into four. This would give me more to play with and some flexibility. I put those on the design wall with random scraps. No, no, no!

I then coordinated each set with a solid and made four patches.

After some rearranging on the wall, I divided the two color groups diagonally, and used two solid colors to make blocks the size of each four patch. A diagonal row of both the solid colors as half square triangles seemed to both divide and unite the two sections.

A mottled dark gray border pulled it all in. There’s only navy blue fleece left for backings, so this won’t be quilted until I restock the fleece. I’m not in love with the final outcome, but I do like it and the more I look at it the more it grows on me. I think quilting will help it come alive a little more, perhaps using a variegated thread. Once quilted, this will be another Hospice donation.

And, yikes, another month! I’m looking for motivation to work on the projects in progress. There’s so much effort already put into them, seems a shame that they just sit there. Soon.. Soon. This is where I now stand with the new year:

This brings me such joy! All are quilts on their way to Hospice. There are nine pictured above. Some were donations by quilting friends, some were made from blocks sewn at retreat, and some were put together by me at home. There is such a feeling of accomplishment when a Hospice quilt is complete.

The two quilts on the right above were quilt tops sent to me by readers. A friend quilted the center quilt. I quilted the quilt on the right and the one on the left I made from start to finish. There is just so much color and joy in each quilt – truly gifts from the heart!

I continue to take donations of completed quilts and quilt tops. Lap size or even a bit smaller suitable to be used by someone in a wheelchair are preferred. At this time, however, I am not accepting any fabric – my bins overfloweth!

Not all quilters work with a design wall, but I’d be lost without mine! For years I’ve had a double white design wall with a grid backing. The grid showed through to the front for the purpose of lining up blocks. It was getting a bit ratty looking and difficult to clear of threads.

I have now replaced it with a 72″ x 72″ heavy weight grey felt. I love it! It cleans off easily and fabrics just pop on it! And, I don’t miss the grid at all. Yes, it’s a bit smaller than the former, but more than sufficient for my needs. Another plus is that I bought it on sale at a fabric store and it was SO economical. I have yardage of a printed flannel made for a design wall, but I would have needed two lengths as it is only 44″ wide and I just didn’t want the seam. Also, the heavier weight of this new wall just seemed so much better to me.

This new addition also helps to make my studio a bit neater looking. A definite win for me!

I have had several inquiries about what was meant by the needle being close to the head of the machine. Hopefully this illustration will help.

My Singer is put away, so this last illustration I used a ruler instead of an actual rope basket in the making. With the greater distance, once the base is sewn, the rope can only be raised at an angle, thus making a bowl. With the Singer, it would be able to go upright to form a basket like the one shown.

I really appreciate your feedback and inquiries. Hope this helps!!

Several years ago I was so excited when I got my black Featherweight machine. I took it to retreats as a back-up machine. At home I did use it to make one quilt top but otherwise hardly ever used it. Hubby did customize an old student desk we had so the FW fit in it perfectly. This has been my year for clearing out – downsizing as much as possible. Decision made – Featherweight goes. A quilter drove 6 1/2 hours to my home to pick it up – wow! I think she fancied the desk – it was unique and quite handy. It was a little sad to see it go off in her vehicle but honestly, do I miss it? No. Decision well made.

Just a few weeks after saying goodbye to my black beauty, Hubby and I were in Habitat where I spotted an old Singer machine. Of course I had to check it out! What appealed to me was that the needle was close to the head of the machine which meant I could now sew rope baskets and not just bowls. You guessed it – she came home with me. The cost was a mere $27 and I had 30 days to return it.

It sews beautifully – very smooth. Hubby took it apart (oh how he loves doing that), went online for the manual and servicing info. It was extremely clean. Oiled and greased, I was ready to make my first basket. Yeah! It worked!

My new basket is on my cutting table for throw-aways. I’ve only made the one so far. The machine is put away for now so I won’t be tempted as I would really like to finish up a few other works in progress first. It will definitely be a fun day when it comes out again.

Will I travel with her? Oh no, she weighs a ton!

To Christmas that is! I did a little bit of last minute stitching this weekend. I made a rope bowl for a special someone and a couple of Santa Boot kitchen towels. The free pattern for the towels can be found here and are super simple, fun, and look great!

This rope bowl is made to go into a new home that has it’s main decor done in gray.

I finished decorating a while back and admittedly did not put everything out. Traditions are important to me, so much of what went up is very traditional to us.

The tree. Here our Callie is enjoying her daily nap beneath the branches. We quickly learned that she really likes tinsel so no tinsel at the bottom of the tree. Yes, we still do colored lights and tinsel. I can’t imagine it any other way. Many of the ornaments are from our children’s elementary years. I get the biggest kick out of pulling them out each year and hanging them, although fewer were put up this year.

There are also two smaller trees – one in the dining room and one on the kitchen counter. Both have white lights and add a nice shimmer to the rooms.

The large full manger scene is not out this year. It was given to me by my mother when I was 19 years old. This is only the second time it has not been set up for Christmas, but that’s okay because I still have this little precious one that our daughter made when just a little girl. Don’t you just love the sweet pea baby?! And a big angel is watching over.

And, of course, our mantel is lined with hand carved Santas They were all carved by our son when he was 16 years old. A few of his Santa ornaments are also on the tree.

The hanging stockings were made by a neighbor that moved away 25 years ago, but we remember her every time I hang them. These, however, are not the ones Santa fills. We each have a special crochet stocking – they stretch and can fit a lot more goodies in them!

Sending warm blessings to all of you.