Category Archives: Quilt Setting

Prep & Progress

Posted on October 31, 2019 by heARTs Creations

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Lots of prep has been going on here. Saturday I leave for the mountains for the Fall Quilt & Sew-In! Even though I’ve been doing retreats for thirteen years, I still get a little antsy and anxious a few days before it begins.

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Blocks have been prepped for the charity quilts from the bin of precut scraps above. There are a couple of layout possibilities for one:

And here is the layout for another quilt:

A bucket of blocks with instructions are available for anyone who chooses to complete one or more blocks. They then put their name in for a drawing and on Show & Tell night names are drawn for prizes. I and another quilter put the blocks together for a quilt – it certainly helps to get more Hospice quilts completed!

My projects – I always bring more than I could possibly complete. When you are the facilitator, time sewing is reduced. I love it though, and wouldn’t have it any other way! First and foremost, I plan to work on my Tula strips. I already have several blocks complete and all is very organized (completed block above).

A nine patch I worked on at a recent sew-in is also in the queue. The plan is to do a disappearing nine patch, but I just haven’t decided which pattern I will be using.

For when I don’t want to actually sew, there is this bin of half-square triangles that need to be trimmed to size. There’s a bunch, so trimming a little at a time will make the task less daunting.

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And finally, a bin of 3 1/2″ squares for a leader-ender. I recently spent two (exhausting) days sorting my batiks by color. There is now a bin full of scraps, and six bins of larger pieces. The batik squares will be paired with black and white squares. I think this will be quite stunning. I love to have a leader-ender project going – makes me feel so productive!

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A fun and productive week is ahead! I can’t wait to share all that is Quilt & Sew-In!

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Color, Fabric, Hospice Quilts, Organization, Pattern, Quilt Setting, Quilting, Quilting Retreat, Scraps, Sew-in, Stash and tagged Charity, Color, Patterns, projects, Quilting, Scraps, Sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Two Weeks – Week One!

Posted on October 12, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Whew! I’ve been gone for the last two weeks. The first week I went to a sew-in with some great gals, came home on a Saturday, and left on Sunday for a week vacation with hubby! Some careful planning made it doable and it was all totally worth it!

First, the Sew-In. A good friend planned this time for us at the same place where I have the Quilt & Sew-Ins – at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock. This place is like a second home to me so I was thrilled that we gathered there. How convenient it was that my sleeping room was just around the corner from the sewing room! There were only six of us so it made it very intimate.

Debbie had the first finished project. This is such a cute mini.

Another Debbie creation. This pic does not do this beautiful log cabin justice. The fabrics were just glorious!

Pam’s wine fabric casserole carrier sure is classy!

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Yes, Debbie was quite productive. This flimsly was mostly done before the retreat – a few more seams and border – colorful and fun!

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Pam made this bag using a preprinted batting and precut strips. I love the way the strips meet on the sides. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be getting some of this batting.

Love this scrappy block pattern that Sue was working with. The block is rather time consuming and she made several. This is going to be one beautiful quilt!

Three table toppers! Sheranna tackled the 10 minute table toppers – one Christmas, one St. Pattrick’s Day and one very elegant and formal. Full disclosure – they take a bit more than ten minutes!

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And yes, I did sew. I worked on blocks using some of my batik stash for a quilt called “Katsura” from Modern Quilts Illustrated.

I also put together a pile of nine patches with a pile more to go. I’m going to split each block but have not decided which method to use yet – something different from the most used split nine patch.

I also managed to complete a flimsy for Hospice. This will be a 2020 contribution. How nice to have a bit of a head start!

It was a great week! Along with sewing I enjoyed talking, laughing, swimming, walking, dining at a few fine restaurants and lots more laughing. Now back to reality…

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Color, Fabric, Hospice Quilts, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting, Quilting Retreat, Scraps, Sew-in, Stash and tagged Color, Patterns, projects. Bookmark the permalink.

Aiming for Accuracy

Posted on September 19, 2019 by heARTs Creations

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That’s the name of a pattern from Craftsy several years ago. I fell in love with it and it being a free pattern, it made my decision to do this quilt a lot easier. I immediately ordered the fabric, Bobbins & Bits batik. Interestingly enough, this fabric also was in a non-batik and yes, I originally ordered the wrong one. Thankfully that mistake was easily corrected.

The fabric is bold and fun with graphics of buttons and scissors. I did all the cutting and began to put several blocks together when I did my artist in residency at Wild Acres about three years ago. When I brought the project home, it sat, and sat, and sat. Finally I put what was done on the design wall and was motivated to get this baby done! My aim at accuracy was a bit off in places, but overall I’m good with the results.

There is an excellent long arm quilter in South Carolina that I met last year and I gave her the flimsy in May. She travels a lot and I was willing to wait because I knew she would do a great job. And a great job she did! The red thread on the back fabric is quite bold! And as an extra bonus she squares and trims the finished quilt!! I machine sewed the binding on as soon as I got it home. Usually I completely machine sew on my bindings, but this one begged for me to hand sew the one side. For a week I dog sat at my son’s house so I had the perfect project to keep me busy!

This for me is more than just another completed quilt. It was a quilt in my must do because I truly love it quilty bucket list. It’s done! And hung! I love it! YIPPEE!!!

Linking up with: Moving it Forward Monday, NTT

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Posted in block pattern, Color, Fabric, Pattern, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting and tagged Color, Patterns, Quilting. Bookmark the permalink.

Quick Strip Piecing

Posted on July 21, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Have you ever just wanted to sew, sew, sew?! No complex cutting, no pinning, and especially no thinking! That’s exactly how I felt a few days ago. I dug through my charity quilt bin and pulled out pretty strips that a reader donated last year. They were not full strips, some really short, some half strips and the full length ones I cut so I would have all varying sizes. I wanted some sort of accent in there so I cut 2 x 2 1/2″ black and white blocks to put between each strip.

And next? I sewed! All the black and whites were attached, then each of the pieced strips got sewn together at the short ends. After that, the sewing marathon began! I sewed and sewed, jelly roll race style and ended up with quite a colorful and happy quilt top. Such a happy no-brainer!

There was enough of a dark blue fleece for the backing so the next day I sandwiched and quilted. I had a little time the next afternoon to attach a binding and YEAH! Another Hospice quilt was born, and added to the pile that will be donated in November.

This process was the cure I needed to get back to my other Works in Progress. A win-win!

Linking Up: Moving it Forward Monday Design Wall Monday WOW NTT Put Your Foot Down Whoop Whoop Fridays

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Posted in block pattern, charity quilts, Color, Fabric, Hospice Quilts, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting, Scraps and tagged Charity, Color, Quilting, Scraps. Bookmark the permalink.

A Very Scrappy Scrap Finish

Posted on July 5, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Sometime ago I emptied my fabric scrap bin and had cut everything into various sizes (posted here). I took all the 2 1/2″ squares and started putting them together as a leader/ender project. After putting together 24 sixteen patches, I bordered each with 1 1/2 inch strips. It was all finished off with two rows of the 2 1/2 inch squares for a border. I loved all the crazy mixed up color and patterns! The scrap squares were now just about gone!

I laughingly said that there were just enough left to make a potholder

Voila! An empty 2 1/2″ scrap bin!!

But now this happened. ARGH!%!

Link ups: To-Do Tuesday Midweek Makers WOW NTT Whoop Whoop Fridays Finished or Not Friday

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Posted in block pattern, Color, Fabric, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting and tagged Color, projects, Quilting, Scraps. Bookmark the permalink.

#’s Two & Three Complete

Posted on May 12, 2019 by heARTs Creations

Happy Mother’s Day! Today’s celebration had many facets. First, I celebrated the memory of my mother. How I wish I could share my passion for quilting with her. She did not quilt, but one of her many talents was sewing. Second, my dear hubby honored me for being the mother to his children. I rather enjoyed his cooking breakfast for me. My children then honored me with an exceptional luncheon that they prepared. I in turn celebrated the good fortune of being their mother. Such a great day!!

Now on to today’s quilt story! I made three Hospice quilt tops from fabrics donated by Pineapple Fabrics, but only quilted and bound one. Last week I got really motivated and finished the other two! One I quilted loops and zig zagged in the squares.

The second I did double wavy lines across the quilt. The two long seams beside the squares are covered with ribbon. First, I glued them down with Okay to Wash It then sewed close to the side ends of the ribbon. I really like the way it separates out the sections and adds a little more interest to the quilt.

Both quilts were backed with fleece. I am loving backing the small quilts with fleece – sew so much easier for quilting!

I have three more Hospice quilts backed and ready to quilt. Time and motivation are all that are needed!

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Posted in charity quilts, Fabric, Hospice Quilts, Modern Quilting, Quilt Setting, Quilting and tagged Charity, projects, Quilting, Sewing. Bookmark the permalink.

Post Retreat + Enjoying my Passions

Posted on May 8, 2019 by heARTs Creations

After being home a week, I’ve finally made it to the computer to do a wrap up of my somewhat productive sewing at a quilt retreat I attended in South Carolina. I began the week full steam ahead by making string blocks for a border that I cut into fours. I then paired each with a white on white square and made half square triangles. All of my notes were at home (why oh why??) so I just made bunches! This is the quilt top I was preparing the border blocks for:

These are the border blocks, not yet attached to the quilt:

And these are the leftovers! They will make a sweet little quilt. I will either add a couple of border to make it a baby quilt or add to it to make a lap quilt. That is a decision to be made at a later date.

Following my “string fling” I just piddled. I did some pinning, some sewing, but didn’t really attack anything else with much vigor. Mostly I enjoyed my time away and being with an awesome group of quilters!

What’s really been keeping me busy is the great outdoors. I am in the process of dividing my ferns. They are truly glorious this year! And tree work was done in our yard and this pile of mulch was the result. I can only load a few wheel barrels a day and do the spreading. Hubby cut this pile of wood and we’ll need to get a log splitter to finish the job. This is not fun yard work.

There is also much weeding to be done. I attack it a bucket at a time and have the wonderful ability to look past the weeds and enjoy the pretty plants and flowers. Fortunately, my one side bed manages to stay weed free!

The temperatures here have been glorious so I am enjoying the outdoors fully. I will sew more when it becomes very hot – mid to high 80’s and gardening do not go well together for me!

Embrace ALL your Creative Passions!

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Posted in Art, Color, Design Wall, Fabric, garden, Projects, Quilt Setting, Quilting, Quilting Retreat, Scraps, spring and tagged Color, flowers, garden, projects, Quilting, Quilts, Scraps, spring. Bookmark the permalink.

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