Solstice Sampler 2022

 This quilt is the result of a sew-along hosted by Amber of @alderwoodstudio. I started the first block in October and finished the quilt two days before New Years Eve.

 Nine designers made these wonderful blocks, it was a joy to make them.

The weather late December doesn't always cooperate for a photo shoot, but this day was just perfect!

The quilt consists of nine 18" blocks designed by awesome artists. I enjoyed making all the beautiful blocks.

With a size of 60" square the quilt will be a great addition to my home.

The backing complements the colors on the front.

A closer look of the quilt on my porch.

An indoor picture of the quilt shows the organic quilting I made using Aurifil thread in white #2021. 

I mostly used fabrics from Island Batik for the quilt.

This was a very pleasant quilt-along with a great-looking result!

Keep on quilting!

 

Chinese Lunar Year of the Tiger

 

February 1st we are entering the Year of the Tiger. 

Berene of @happysewlucky has designed this great FPP block (8" unfinished) that I just had to make. After some fussy cutting for the eyes and snout, I found this awesome 'scratchy' fabric for the nose, it really looks like he's been in a fight!

The block will be kept in my drawer until I find the right project to put it into.

Aurifil DOM blocks for July, August and September

I have made a few of the Aurifil Designer of the Month blocks over the years, and have completed several annual quilts. This year I started sewing in July, and my third block is now done.

The July block is designed by Carl Hentsch, and is paper pieced. This one was made when I was away on vacation.

The August block is designed by Karen Miller. It was real fun to make the 3D flowers, they look like carnations!

The September block is designed by Lissa Alexander. All the blocks are 12.5" unfinished.

Sewing these blocks in between other projects is very relaxing, and I enjoy it very much.


Keep sewing and quilting!

MEGA Paper Piecing Panel

For a long time now, I have been a regular pattern tester for Berene of HappySewLucky. The adventure started two years ago. I have had the pleasure of working with her evolving Tattoo Quilt Pattern, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Now it was the last center panel to be worked on.

This is a HUGE block, the pattern is a thick bundle of pages! I pieced as much as I could before taking the project with me on vacation. It travels better in smaller pieces. The above picture shows how far I got before packing started.

Assembling the heart was easy and quick with all the preparations done in advance. The above picture shows the heart without the text banners, rotary cutter for scale. Here the panel is 28" wide and 20" high.

The text banners are wide, and I almost didn't have enough Wonder Clips with me, I barely managed. My holiday sewing machine did a great job with the foundation paper piecing.

Here is the upper text banner assembled.

I took a picture of the lower banner before assembling. Keep in mind this is 28" wide!

The complete Open Heart Open Mind center panel is finished. The completed block is 28" x 32". Sashing will be added , and then it is time to assemble all my tattoo blocks into the complete quilt designed by Berene.

Now what remains is to pick out all the tiny and not so tiny paper pieces from the back. Actually, I kind of enjoy that mindless job after the stamina that was needed to finish this MEGA block.

Candy Cat

The Candy Cat pattern is a free pattern by Unicornharts. I've had this pattern for a while, and figured that this was the time for making a mini quilt of this foundation paper pieced pattern. I had a specific cat in mind as the model for my Candy Cat.