Stitched In Layers

Found this pattern online and thought it would be a quick and easy way to use a Jelly Roll I purchased some time ago.   Amy offered a different arrangement of the blocks that appealed to me; as you will see soon.  As I was recovering from knee replacement surgery, my husband brought my machine near to my recuperation space so that as tolerated I could “work” on this quilt.  Plenty of ironing that I could sit and do.Then to trim the squares to the right size.And then mark and pin for sewing (this with my legs up).I was not thrilled with the finished squares and attempted to use spray starch to achieve a flat crease.

It went on and on…

Finally time to lay it all out; I found a problem. I thought Amy said it did not matter which way you sewed the diagonal seam.  I thought her alternate arrangements did not require any different instructions.  Still not sure how it happened, but between my efforts to square up the block, and then use the layout I liked, the bars ended up parallel instead of perpendicular.By now it was 3 months post surgery and I was headed to camp and determined to get the top together and ignore the layout issues.  the crisp white and colorful fabrics were cheerful to me.Sew fun!

It hung in the basement awhile as I contemplated the quilting.  I was motivated to do a lot of stitching in the ditch and quarter inch lines. Plenty of practice.Of course the triangles needed something special.Stitched in Layers with designs by Joyce Lundrigan It was sew much fun and I was liking how it looked.  Whew.  Christmas came and went, but twenty stitching hours later it was ready for the binding.

The plaid binding and backing were bold and as cheerful as the other fabrics.

It’s finished in under a year.  The first of 2020; and part of the UFO Challenge.  Despite all the quilting it washed up softly and is on our grandaughter’s bed.

Can a whole year have passed by? Sew cliché I know, but sew true. In 2019 I finished 8 of the 12 quilts from my long list of projects begun but not finished.

I did start a few new things and some of them I finished as well.

12 projects in all and over 231 hours of stitching. Some of it hand stitching!

I did take on a Sue Garman designed Block of the Month Snowman

with Traditions at the White Swan (that has since closed their doors, sadly). And have been working steadily on a handful of wool projects.

The beautiful quilts made by my wonderful customers, did take some of my time; almost 200 hours on 30 quilts in 2019.

Here is the 2020 list. The four from 2019 are there and a few more. All from a long list of quilts I have already begun, or planned to begin, or bought fabric to make. I left a few months blank to allow some extra time.

Love seeing what everyone else is up to out there at American Patchwork and Quilting UFO Challenge. Also plan to stay connected with goal setters at Elm Street Quilts and their One Monthly Goal; I missed the January link up, but hopefully will catch up with them in February.

And this year I am planning with a friend in Colorado to quilt across the miles. We are planning our own My Small World. We will be sewing them together across the miles; with monthly goals and helping texts and emails along the way!

It easy to keep listing things…now to begin! There is something exciting about a new year with all its hope and promise and clean start. It’s fun to look back and wonderful to look ahead. I’m blessed and sew happy to still be quilting with terrific spaces to imagine and create. Good luck with your projects and goals in 2020.

Two sweet sisters were expecting two sweet girls and their mother had a giant party to celebrate!  And when you are known as a quilter, its hard to show up without one.  So all other projects went on hold and this is what I came up with.  Having some darling “girly” fabrics from my stash and having just seen a cute tumbler quilt in a shop; the idea was born.  I also already had the ruler!  It was meant to be.  For one a used the largest shape the ruler would make and paired like fabrics together. For the second one I used the largest I could still cut from the remaining yardage and I mixed the fabrics in each set.Sew the dear sweet cousins will have almost the same quilt.  I am hoping they enjoy them for years.

They were Stitched in Layers with a design called Am Ginger Snap by Apricot Moon.  And I had enought fabric in the stash to border and back and bind them.  Meant to be.

This beautiful fall colored jelly roll made its way into my heart around the time our oldest grandchild was born: May 2011.  I was visiting Kentucky and happened on a little shop (okay so I went looking for it).  Even though the pattern called for pieces to be cut a little larger than the 2.5 inch strip, I went for it and pieced carefully!  It was cut and stacked during car rides to the mountains in Virginia in August 2016.

Somewhere is a very detailed chart (that Cindi provides with the pattern), where I have delineated what color leaf will go where.  This is how it translated to my design wall, in May 2018.

Then began the fun sewing.  An easy block to piec,  but was careful to turn the leaves the right way and worked on the little parts of the leaves that would overhang the border.  It was a slow process, because I think I just had a hard time doing just one thing! Can anyone relate? This was now January 2, 2019

Finally in late January I was auditioning borders and ready to sew rows together!   This was on my must finish list for 2019, thanks to American Patchwork and quilting UFO challenge.I did finally quilt it in October of this year and used Anita Shackelford’s leaf veins that I manipulated with the Statler to fit my leaves.  And finding nothing I liked better, added an apple border by Anne Bright. 

Cindi also taught me an awesome custom fit binding application technique that is continuous.  Love it!Sew happy it was finished for the season and hangs smartly in my kitchen/family room area.

Pattern by Cindi Edgerton

Had the great fortune to be in Huntington West Virginia during this exhibit at the fine arts museum there.  What eye candy!  Nancy Crow curated the exhibition ,  and I was able to purchase the book featuring all fifty of the quilts in the International Invitational of Contemporary Quilts.  All of the artists are profiled with their work.  The backgrounds and journeys of the quilters are so inspirational.  Maybe the exhibition will travel near to you?  Enjoy!

(A photo of the quilter’s name and statement follow each quilt)