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Saturday, June 17, 2017

Slow and Easy Wins the Race


When summer rolls around,
there often isn't a lot of sewing time on the docket.
I know, for me, grabbing snippets of sewing time
has to satisfy that innate passion.

Sew a strip together here, pin blocks together there,
press those seams quickly before you head out the door;
and it amazes me how much I can accomplish.

First things first.
I finally finished my green Paper Lanterns quilt.


It was a very windy picture day,
so over the wood pile it went.
It blew off as soon as I snapped this picture,
so I didn't even attempt to photograph the back.
But it's cute!  You'll just have to believe me.

I chose to quilt it with white Aurifil 50 wt. thread
using the Serpentine Stitch and it was the perfect choice.
Thank you, Stephanie, of Loft Creations, for another fun pattern!!

When an elderly quilter in N. Tx went into an assisted care facility,
her fabrics were offered to her quilting guild.
There was so much fabric, it filled one stall of a two stall garage.
While I was visiting, I was invited to "shop"
and here is one result of that booty:


by Missouri Star Quilt Co.




 Except, I worked with an assortment of fat quarters,
scaled down the size of the blocks,
and ended up with a 40"x 50" top.
I used my walking foot and multicolored thread for the quilting.

It will be winging its way to Massachusetts on Monday
as a new baby (gender yet unknown) quilt 
for a very special young couple.

I will share one more thing, 
and then I'll save the rest for another post.
I think one of the reasons I'm getting a lot accomplished
even though I'm not marathon sewing,
is because I've made these trays for traveling 
from one station to another.


My sewing machine still lives in the kitchen
but my cutting station and the ironing board are in a different room.
I picked up a couple of plastic trays from the 
not-a-dollar-store-anymore,
and glued a layer of batting to the bottom.
It measures 10" x 14".
I can load them up and go from the cutting table,
to the sewing machine,
back to the ironing board,


and even into the living room
to work off my lap
while I watch a show in the evening!

Plus, they can be stacked on top of each other
even with projects laid out on them,
and tucked away when it's time to tidy up.

Okay, one more thing, since these blocks have shown up.
Here are some on my design wall.
already constructed.


I believe it was Adrienne of Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
that was destashing one summer,
and I was the lucky recipient of all her unwanted fabric.
The other day I was rifling through my fabrics,
which are still packed up for the winter,
and my hand pulled out this fabric that she must have used
to back a quilt.
There was enough leftover for me to construct 20 - 9" blocks.
With a coordinating border or two,
it should work up into a fun crib size quilt!
Quick, easy, cute, AND so far, free!

Had enough?
Okay, I won't tell you about cleaning the oven yesterday.
It was quite the experience.
I think I remember doing it before.
Once.

Hope you're doing well
and having as much quilty fun as me!

~karen




34 comments:

Lesley said...

Wow! What beauties! Love the lanterns and those falling charms. Stunning! Good for you to have those great stripes to play with. Looks to me like you are getting lots done!

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen wow love the paper lanterns ,well done with your gorgeous finishes and what a great idea with the tray xx

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

The quilts are gorgeous......great idea with the trays ❤️❤️

Sandra :) said...

Look at these fantastic finishes and WIP - you've been crazy busy! Paper Lanterns is beautiful, but I'm melting into a puddle of oooOOOooo gooooooOOOoo at Falling Charms - so fun and cute, and the quilting is fantastic! At first glance the coloured parts of the blocks looked random, but when I opened up the large picture where more quilting is visible, I can see that they're are actually arranged in a very orderly pattern :D This is an awesome quilt - so perfect for a little one!

Sandra :) said...

P.S. Love your store and stack idea - it would work well for an assortment of crafts and WIPs - quilting, beading, cross-stitch etc :D

Binsa said...

Love the Lantern Quilt Karen and enjoyed your post.Thank You.

margaret said...

you left a comment on my blog so now have found yours to follow loving the baby quilt

Sandi said...

Great idea of using the trays from a not so much a dollar store. Your last quilt is lovely as are the rest but that one is a great colour combination.

Karen said...

Great post, Karen. LOVE the lantern quilt (the green lantern quilt :)). Super idea about using those trays; I actually use the cardboard lids from 11 x 17 paper boxes, but never thought of adding a layer of batting to the bottoms. Thanks for that.
Thank you also for the smile re your oven - reassuring to read :)

Debbie said...

You are so busy!!! I really love the Lantern Quilt! Well, they are all so pretty. We used to joke that when the oven needed cleaning we would just move!

Lin said...

Two beautiful finishes - love the tray idea. xx

Needled Mom said...

Your Paper Lanterns is so pretty in those fabrics. That is on my to-do list. That is also a spectacular baby quilt.

Louise said...

Two super cute finishes, Karen! I completely understand trying to take photos in the wind and saying, "Good enough!" when the quilt starts to try to escape :)

I really like those parallel lines for the quilting on the triangle quilt. It makes the bright pieces look like they are zooming along on race tracks. I'm sure your friends will love that cheerful baby quilt!

sunny said...

I love all your quilts. The one with the striped fabric is fantastic! I have to go check my stash for some stripey fabric. And your use of the trays is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Janice Holton said...

Great finishes Karen! How fun to get to shop a stash! I was curious what kind of hand work you are doing. Are you hand sewing blocks together? Or are you just talking about the binding part?

Sondra said...

Wonderful to get a project all the way to completion! You had some great bounty given to you...lucky girl!!

Anonymous said...

I always love your colour choices. These are all beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful quilt projects - thanks for sharing what you're doing. I really like that tray idea and will check out Dollar General to see if there's anything similar there - or one of the other ones nearby, until I find some. I like the depth of yours. Maybe it will help me organize myself a bit more. You've really made good use of those fabrics that have come your way. Good to see the lantern finish!

Sheila said...

Wow , you have accomplished a lot and such incredible quilts ! Your lanterns are lovely as are the falling charms and that striped fabric looks amazing sewn like that ,you are so clever. I really love the tray idea , may have to copy that 😉

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Glad you were able to finish your paper lanterns. It looks great. I love the tray idea -- awesome.

Mama Spark said...

You certainly have been busy!! I love the green lanterns! I also love the falling charm quilt. May need to go look that one up.

Tish Stemple said...

Paper Lanterns turned out beautiful! I just might have to buy that pattern. And you tray idea is absolutely genius. A very inexpensive and easy way to transfer things to different areas. I'm like you my sewing space kind of spreads out to different rooms.

Anthea said...

Oh Karen, your oven situation made me laugh - I can't relate, because I wipe mine out once a month... easy!
Great finish with the paper lanterns, love your colours... you're right, we do have to take advantage of the spare moments in which to sew or press or cut... because big chunks of time just are hard to come by!

Raewyn said...

Lovely work Karen! The lanterns are gorgeous, glad the wnd played ball long enough for you to get your one shot! And the Falling Triangles is another beautiful finish - I see the wind was at it again :-) Good idea with the trays - little efficiencies like that make all the difference. Your Work In Progress is a stunner...glad you got a chance to sew in between all that oven cleaning!

Preeti said...

The lanterns make a lovely quilt but the falling triangles is so bright and cheerful!!!! You clean your oven??? Oh, I am having fun but not as much as you :-)

Karen Ackva said...

OH, Karen! You've been quite busy even in these hot summer months. And it is very true...a little her, a little there, and you can get a lot accomplished. Your Green Latern quilt is so pretty! And I love the idea of a sewing station and a cutting station in another room. I once did all of my ironing in the basement. That was a lot of fun exercise when sewing. Sending some cool hugs your way! Karen

Cheryl said...

I love your lanterns quilt, such an awesome design and fabrics.

Cattinka said...

I like the lanterns a lot. I have a box with japanese fabrics which would be perfect to use.
KATRIN W.

JanineMarie said...

Well, those bits and pieces of summer sewing really do add up for you. What a lot of lovely projects! I'm always on the lookout for inspiring quilting designs, so I was drawn to yours on the falling triangles quilt. How wonderful to honor a elderly former quilter by making a quilt from her fabric to celebrate a birth. I'm going to have to copy your tray project. I sew in three different rooms, and this would be so useful. (The still-life-with-tray photo is fantastic! What are those rocks?). I do want to hear the oven cleaning story. I have a self-cleaner. I used it once. It created such a smell that went all over the house, that I've never done it again. Not good for fabric. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Carol Swift said...

Slow and easy...great advice! I love that green paper lantern quilt. It looks beautiful with your quilting! I move from one room to the other when I sew and those trays would be so handy. Thanks for the idea! As for oven cleaning, I did that once or twice in the olden days.

Judy said...

Wow, and that's not getting a lot done?? Lovely quilt finishes, and your machine quilting is really looking good. That's a great way to get fabric, and I bet the woman would be delighted to know that part of her stash became a baby quilt :-)

Happy stitching,
Judy

barbara woods bewtjw@gmail.com said...

Beautiful quilts

Lorna McMahon said...

Your finished quilts are beautiful! I know how frustrating it can be to try to do accomplish the photography in the wind... But the quilt flapping on the line looks fabulous! Those blocks made from the scraps of stripes look like fun. I love the layout you chose!

KirstenNB said...

The paper lanterns quilt turned out so pretty! Love it!
I think it's funny how you have the rocks set up behind your tray. I'm assuming they are there just to look pretty, maybe a photo prop?
Inquiring minds want to know...