Quarantine SQUIRREL...

Hello again.

I hope I am not the only

one suffering from 

'Squirrel' syndrome during

this quarantine....?

Pretty sure I am not

and thought I would share

a few of the things I have done

since this began.

We went to Chicago mid March 

for a baby shower and that was

 the first time I had really taken 

my head out of my work long

enough to notice what was going on.

When we got home, I started making

some masks for my youngest

who works in a unit that

was being transformed into

a Covid unit and that freaked

me out just a bit...!!

This Worldmeter is dated March 22nd.

What a difference 2-1/2 months makes!

While my brain was trying to make 

sense of it all, I started hand piecing

these tiny little half-square triangle blocks.

Then for some reason unknown to me,

I decided I should start using some of 

the scraps from magazine projects to 

make a series of blocks...?

I don't make scrap quilts!!!

These were Very Helpful and necessary to 

my sanity as I watched job after job cancel.

So I have 5 sets of blocks

that match and I can't decide

whether to put all the same 

blocks, different fabrics together

OR, put all the same fabrics,

different blocks together.

Big Decisions!

Until part 2, keep stitching~

Rockets Red Glare

LOOK what hit mailboxes

last week!!

The July issue is now out

and yours truly

has a new quilt within

titled, 'Rockets Red Glare'.

THANK YOU Connecting Threads for 

the perfect fabric line,

Hometown Americana II.

It saddens me that so many quilters

feel overwhelmed by applique' 

because, to me, it is such a 

creative and relaxing form of quilting.

Yes, there are sometimes

many pieces to handle but

no more than some of 

the pieced quilts I have seen.

There are times that even I look

at one of my designs and ask,

"who designed all this work?".

Then I realize how much I 

love it and set to breaking

down each task just as you

would do in piecing.

Piecing steps: 

Iron fabric, measure, 

cut out pieces, sew, 

press, trim, and assemble.

Applique' steps:

Iron fabric, trace templates, 

fuse to wrong sides,

cut out, press to 

backgrounds, stitch 

around edges.

Pretty even in my book:)

Plus, once I get all the pieces 

traced and fused to the 

wrong side of fabrics,

I can pop in a fun movie

and cut all the pieces in 

a relaxed setting.

I am all about the relaxing:)

(NOTE in pic above I 

marked each template with 

the color fabric so I couldn't

mess up while fusing.)

These Karen Kay Buckley 

scissors are the Best!!!

Another nice thing about my

designs is that they don't need

to be laid out exactly.

As long as you leave at least

a 1/4" from the seam 

allowance, (1/2"-3/4" from 

block edge) you are golden!

Fireworks every day of the year!

Machine quilting is not really

my 'thing' but sometimes

I have to rely on my skills.

My default is a set of loop

designs that I free motion

over the raw edge applique'

and then enlarge for the

all over quilting fill in

and around my applique'.

Add a quick triangle label

to my corner and Voila-done!

THANK YOU to AQ Magazine 

for another cool layout!

Twelve Days of Christmas

 I have had this Christmas line 

for a few years now...

The selvages are adorable

and the colors vibrant 

and wonderful!

When quarantine started, I finished 

a couple of work deadlines and then

promised myself that I would do a

project or 2 for myself.

A friend of mine had done a 

a sew along that this fabric

was perfect for!

Suzn Quilts designed an adorable

miniature using her tiny templates.

The 12 Days of Christmas

 The finished size is 12" and since

I have so much of this fabric, I

thought it would be fun to keep 

making bigger blocks to go with 

the miniature....

Friendship Stars

I liked the little house blocks

and trees so much that I made 

another 12" miniature with them.

Here is the template for the trees.

In my mini, I left off the trunks.

Here is what I have so far...

My 2 minis, some Friendship Stars &

some Pinwheel blocks.

The first block is one of Susan's Tiny/Mini

Dresden blocks that can be found in

her Around the Block pattern.

I can't wait to see it finished

and I hope you will go visit Susan's

blog and site for lots of fun

ways to spend our days.

Until next time,

Keep stitchin'.