Keys to Contentment - Block 3

The March block is stitched up and stashed with the others.  When all 9 blocks are done, I hope to frame them into a colorful wall hanging.  You can see all the blocks together on this  PAGE  .

You can get these patterns for yourself, by visiting Val Laird's blog button in my left sidebar.

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation where you'll find many other quilters sharing their projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

CCQ # 17 - Quick Strippy

Here is another what I would term 'quilt in a day' pattern.  This one is called the Quick Strippy - a pattern found at www.maryquilts.com.  Mary shares a lot of free patterns there.  I had a piece of fleece donated from my quilt club, to use for backing, so I altered the size of Mary's pattern to fit this piece of fleece.

You can finish more comfort quilts when you choose patterns that let the fabric do all the work.  This little quilt is 37 x 44.

Be sure to visit my  CCQ  page to see all my charity comfort quilts.

I'm linking up with:       Judy at Patchwork Times    

                                     Connie at Freemotion By The River  

                                         and         Quilt Story

 I hope you'll visit these sites to enjoy many more creative quilters and their projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 3-27-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





sewing tutorials here, several useful for quilting methods
http://www.ohyoucraftygal.blogspot.com/p/sewing-tutorials.html

LuAnn has some handy tutorials, check out the tabs at the top of her blog
http://luannsloosethreads.blogspot.com/

links to 100 free quilt blocks, design your next quilt
http://thesewingloftblog.com/100-quilt-blocks/


Have yourself a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

CCQ # 16 - Poo Bear

I belong to the UMW Ladies Circle at my church.  This year we are having a  fall - winter fundraiser to provide for local missions.  One of the ladies donated a piece of poo bear fabric.  The fabric looked all green to me, so I decided to break it up by adding a top piece and a cuddly sleeping bear.  I backed it with a blue fleece.  It measures 41 x 57.

You can see all my charity comfort quilts on the  CCQ  page.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times  and  Connie at  Freemotion By The River  where you'll find other great quilters sharing their projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 3-20-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





you'll find some tutorials here
http://www.vanillajoy.com/category/tutorials

some new tutes here too
http://best-time-of-our-lives.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

helpful instructions here
http://www.quiltinglines.com/p/tutorials-tips.html


Have yourself a great weekend.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

CCQ # 15 - Scrappy Rails

A friend passed along a strippy rails pattern that would be quick for a child comfort quilt. It was truly a QIAD 'quilt in a day'.  I pulled everything except the celery green from my scrap bins.  I downsized the pattern by using only 20 blocks to fit with fleece backing donated from the guild. It is only 30 x 32, perfect for stroller or car seat.

Visit this  page  to see all my comfort quilts.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times where you will find more creative quilters sharing this projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

RSC15 Sampler - March Yellows

My scrap bins do not hold alot of variety in yellows.  The two sampler blocks are ready and waiting. Some points are a bit lost.  I'm okay with that cuz the quilt police are on spring break.

I have made friends with the easy angle and companion angle templates while doing this project.  Angela has worked up tutorials for the center sampler blocks using these templates.  If I'm careful with the 1/4" seam, it works pretty good and so convenient to cut them all from the same strips.    You can see all the monthly sampler blocks for the RSC15 Sampler on this page.

I'm linking up with Angela for Scraphappy Saturday where you will see what other quilters are making with their yellow scraps.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 3-13-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.




Here is 2 pages of projects, pick something to stitch up today
http://www.favoritefabric.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?search=action&searchstart=0&keywords=all&category=PATF&template=PDGCommTemplates/SearchResult_free_patterns.html

assorted tutes here too
https://kleiosbelly.wordpress.com/my-tutorials/

more free patterns
http://bethdonaldson.blogspot.ca/p/free-quilt-patterns.html

Have a great creative weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Keys to Contentment - Block 2

February Block 2 in the Keys to Contentment project is finished.  I thought I would leave the pressing until ready to put the set together into a wall hanging.

You can see the other blocks in this project on the  Keys to Contentment  page.

You can collect this project for yourself by going to Val Laird Designs.

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for NNT where you'll find more creative quilters showing their projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 3-06-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.




teaching great techniques in video
http://www.keepnuinstitchesquilting.com/category/tutorials/

free quilt patterns, you need to register a name & email but the patterns download from their site
http://shop.patchworkbliss.com.au/

plenty of projects here, something for everyone
http://www.quilting-warehouse.com/projects.html


Have yourself a wonderful weekend.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

RSC15 Sampler - February Pinks

I played catch-up with the RSC15 Sampler project this month.  Finished the February pinks today.  I'm not totally satisfied with one of the centers. I'm hoping it won't stand out alot once it goes into the huge quilt.

I also moved on to the yellow blocks today.  Made the stars and one center. May have to wait til the end of the month to get the other instructions for yellows.  Visit my RSC Sampler page to follow this projects progress,

I'm linking up with Connie for Linky Tuesday where you'll find more creative quilters sharing their projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 2-27-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





a variety of projects
http://sewscrumptious.blogspot.co.uk/p/tutorials.html

some free patterns here-scroll down past the garments for the bags & quilty projects
http://so-sew-easy.com/free-sewing-patterns/

25 great little pouches to make
http://thatsmyletter.blogspot.co.uk/p/pouches.html


Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 2-13-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.




25 handy little quilting tutorials
http://www.babble.com/crafts-activities/25-small-quilting-tutorials/

some fun projects here
http://sewmeblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/tutorials.html

lots of wonderful tutorials here, it's worth a re-visit
http://ellisonlane.com/category/sewing-tutorials

and more here
http://monpetitlyons.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html


Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 2-6-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





some nice handy block tutorials here
http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/p/great-tutorials-and-tips.html

a few interesting and unusual tutorials
http://www.sweetdreamsbysarah.com/p/my-tutorials.html

5 pages of small projects, mostly embroidery
http://www.birdbraindesigns.net/free-designs

and very interesting tutorials here too
http://blog.stoffbreite.de/anleitungentutorials-patterns/

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 1-30-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.




a host of quilting tutorials here;  be sure to visit the tutorials tab to explore all the categories of tutorials offered on this site
http://www.polkadotchair.com/quilts/

assorted projects here too
http://messyjessecrafts.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

lots of projects here;  don't forget the  'load more'  link
http://dearstelladesign.com/projects/

2 pages of free projects here
http://www.lovepatchworkandquilting.com/category/free

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Keys to Contentment - Block 1

Val Laird is offering a wonderful free block of month that includes some quilting and some stitchery. It will be the perfect size to hang over my mantle along with the ten commandments plaque which displays there. You will find Val's project  HERE  or click her "Keys of Contentment"  logo in my left sidebar.

Here is my January block.  I am also creating a new blog page to collect this project as the months progress.

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation where you will discover lots of creative projects in progress.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

A Path of Plenty

The  Stashbusters Yahoo  group recently issued a challenge to  pick a collection and bust some stash.  I chose my 30's reproduction fabrics.  I collected them several years ago and then they sat ...waiting for the perfect project to use them in.  I'm ready to use them up and move on.

                                                                                                                                                                     I believe I found this photo in one of my quilt marketing emails.
It spoke to me as a classic.  This is NOT my quilt.                                      





I am calling my quilt  "Path of Plenty".
The block is made from  (4 ) - 6 " drunkard path units.
Let's call this my Path of Plenty block.

12 " finished block

I dreamed up a simpler cutting plan and will share it here.

Make 4 drunkard path units, start with 2 fabrics of 2 rectangles
          cut each rectangle @ 6-1/2 "  x  9 ".

2 rectangles - right sides together

Align templates at outermost edge of rectangle

Draw the 2 cutting lines around templates - with ruler,
make the most of  your fabric with a 2 inch square in top right corner.

Cut on the drawn lines. Here are 2 units. Repeat with
the other 2 rectangles.

Here are 2 units. Repeat with the other 2 rectangles.

6 blocks finished  and  bonus  4-patches.
I have 6 more blocks nearly finished to add later today.

here is the collection with 12 blocks finished;
I'm ready for a curved piecing break

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times  and  Connie at Freemotion by the River  where you can see what lots of other creative quilters are working on.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 1-23-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you find some new inspiration today.





101 gifts to sew
http://believeninspire.com/tutorials

under the tutorials tab, several categories of projects
http://smashedpeasandcarrots.com/category/tutorials/

assorted free patterns here
http://mattandshari.com/sewing/quilting/

more simple projects
http://mattandshari.com/sewing/sew-simple/


Have yourself a creative weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

CCQ # 14

I finished this charity comfort quilt for my guild yesterday.  I made the  top from fabrics donated to the club.  I added a silver/gray fleece to the back and dark gray for the binding.  It measures  47 x 53.

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle & Thread Thursday.  Hop on over there to see many more creative projects in the works.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

RSC15 Sampler - January blues

The rainbow color for January is medium blues.  12" stars will each have a 6" sampler block in the center square.  I didn't want to do the card trick block, so I created a substitution.  I think it goes by several names, indian hatchet or arrowhead ? and also the " O "  version of the X's and O's pattern.

I'm holding out for the specs on the alternating blocks. I considered creating my own version, but I see the colors change within the block, to associate with it's neighboring color, so I'm trying to be patient.  In the meantime, I'm linking up with Angela at Soscrappy where other creative quilters are showing off their scrappy rainbow blocks.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 1-16-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





helpful tips for your quilting journey
http://joanne-everyonedeservesaquilt.blogspot.com/p/tip-tuesday-archives.html

a few tutorials here
http://mymaterialcreations.blogspot.com/p/tips-techniques-and-tutorials.html

some free quilt patterns here
http://www.gaylebong.com/free-quilt-patterns.php

and a few good tutorials here
http://www.mollisparkles.com/p/tutorials.html


Thanks so much for stopping by.

RSC14 Row Quilt

My Rainbow Scrap Challenge row quilt is finished.  I attemped borders to make it larger.  After several trouble re-takes, I cut off the borders and called it done.  EVERYTHING  except the white is from my scrap bins!  It finished at 51 x 68.

The backing is another quilt in itself.  I used 24 crumb/log cabin blocks from the RSC14 challenge.  I had to use 2 pieces of fabric for the backing, so i kept cutting and piecing in hope of making it interesting.

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork TImes  and  Connie at  Freemotion by the River  where lots of creative quilters meet up to show what's on their design wall.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 1-9-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





I can't wait to try out hand quilting with my perle cotton threads; other awesome tutorials here too
http://rebeccamaedesigns.com/homesweethome/tutorials/

a fresh variety of tutorials
http://www.onthewindyside.co.nz/p/tutorials.html

quilting tutorials with some embroidery
http://vickisfabriccreations.blogspot.com.au/p/tutorials.html

a huge offering of free patterns here
http://vickisfabriccreations.blogspot.com.au/p/free-pattern-project-downloads.html


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 01-2-15

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover new inspiration today.





a host of tutorials here
http://lrstitched.com/tutorials/

a variety of projects here
http://seaside-stitches.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

a host of tutorials, even if you don't embroider, ways to frame and display little projects
http://www.elefantz.com/p/tutorials.html

and some free projects from Jenny
http://www.elefantz.com/p/free-christian-designs.html


Have yourself a creative weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday Quilt Hop * 12-26-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you find some new inspiration today.




some interesting tutorials
http://inspiredbyfabric.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

and some excellent free patterns here
http://inspiredbyfabric.blogspot.com/p/free-quilt-patterns.html

lots of tutorials for your accessories
http://mel-allwrappedup.blogspot.com.au/p/link-love-to-amazing-free-craft.html


Have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 12-19-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





you will like this handy resource of chart sizes
http://www.sassyquilter.com/helpful-charts/

and some great tutorials, plus check out all the categories here
http://www.sassyquilter.com/tutorials/

a few interesting tutorials here
http://simplypieced.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

tons of links; just follow the category leads
http://www.marriedtoabmw.com/2009/02/free-sewing-patterns.html


I wish you a creative weekend and a blessed Christmas season.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 12-12-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.





a host of tutorials here
http://pileofabric.com/blogs/modern-quilting/tagged/tutorials

a nice assortment here
http://www.genxquilters.com/p/tutorials-patterns.html

applique related tutorials here
http://lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com/lynette_anderson_designs/tutorials.html

and country quilt patterns
http://lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com/lynette_anderson_designs/free-patterns.html


Have a great weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Toddler Quilt

This little quilt will be gifted this Christmas.  I also picked up a cushy small baby doll and will make a matching doll quilt for it.  It seems I will do anything to avoid finishing my own projects.

Here is the back.  It is a pretty fleece.  I did lots of quilting on it.  I will call it  modern style quilting .... (doing what I want to) crosshatch diamond/rectangle shapes in the flower print areas and straight line quilting in the checkerboard area, a splash of serpentine.

I'm linking up with Connie at Freemotion by the River  and  Quilt Story  for  Tuesday Linky's.  Hop on over there to see what everyone else is creating today.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 12-5-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover new inspiration today.





visit this site for lots of handy tutorials
http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/p/tutorials.html

don't toss those strings, lots of ways to use them here
http://stringthingalong.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

some stitchery included
http://sewingroomsecrets.wordpress.com/free-patterns/


Have yourself a creative weekend.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

CCQ # 12 & 13

Finished up these jelly roll quilts for the quilt club charity missions.  Another member, Kathy B, stitched the tops together.  They are not very large and it was a fast and fun process.

CCQ # 12

CCQ # 13

That's it for charity quilts this year.  I need to concentrate on some of my finishes.  I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times  and Connie at  Freemotion by the River  where you can see what other quilters are creating today.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop ^ 11-28-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today!





5 pages of great projects here; some are sewing
http://imaginegnats.com/category/patterns/imagine-gnats-patterns/free/

a dandy group of tutorials here
http://coopcrafts.com/tutorials/

an abundance of skills to know
http://sassafras-lane.com/pages/tutorials


Have yourself a happy and creative weekend.

Friday Quilt Hop * 11-21-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover some new inspiration today.






lets not forget about our Katie
http://katiesquiltsandcrafts.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

origami ornament tutorials
http://sy-elsk-lev.blogspot.no/2012/10/fabric-origami-ornament-tutorial.html

folded 2-fabric star ornaments, link to pdf
https://sites.google.com/site/4funcreativity/star-penta

a variety of folded ornaments in the left sidebar
https://sites.google.com/site/4funcreativity/home/folded-fabric-ornaments

eye candy, beautiful silk origami ornaments
http://www.lesliefehling.com/2011/11/silk-origami-christmas-ornaments.html


Wishing you all a happy and creative weekend.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

CCQ # 11

This quilt top was sewn by a local lady, Rose Hughes.  She donated several tops to our quilt guild for charity missions.  I quilted this up and gave it back to the club this month.  It was log cabin strips framing two individual panel blocks.  I did simple quilting and finished it up in record time, for a change.

Visit my CCQ page to see all the comfort charity quilts.  I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times where you'll find lots of creative projects happening.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 11-14-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover new inspiration today.





free paper piecing patterns
http://shape-moth.blogspot.de/p/tutorials-and-free-patterns.html

all kinds of sewing tips and tools, and be sure to explore the other tabs
http://thesewingloftblog.com/sewing-tips-tools-tricks/

and how about these choice tutorials
http://www.felicityquilts.com/p/tutorials.html

Have a creative weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Scraphappy Saturday - Browns

I am a tad late for my RSC14 project.  Last month was browns - I have it to share today.  It has the 8 blocks to complete the segment for my RSC row quilt.

I am passing up the light blues this month.  I have 9 rows completed which I think will be enough for my plan this year.  I need to sew white strips between each row.  I have a wonderful scrappy border planned for it.  Isn't it amazing how many possible quilts are lying in our scrap bins?

I'm linking up with Angela at Soscrappy.  Her RSC14 project has inspired me all year.  It's so easy to play along and remain committed.  Thanks, Angela!

I'm also linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.  Visit these linky parties for lots of quilting inspiration.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Quilt Hop * 11-7-14

Welcome to the Friday Quilt Hop.
I hope you discover new inspiration today.





lots of tips, techniques & videos here
http://www.kayewood.com/blog/freebies/tips-tricks/

nice tutorial on hand quilting
http://chasingcottons.blogspot.com/2011/06/quilt-class-101-week-11-hand-quilting.html

plus her collection of tutorials here
http://chasingcottons.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html

lots to explore here, visit the articles category for lots of interesting topics
http://quiltsbyjen.ca/


Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

CCQ # 10 - QOV

 It seems like I've had nothing to share for a long time.  The month of October was filled with many commitments, but I did make some time to sew.

A month or two ago, I took part in a quilt guild sew day.  The leader presented me with 20 orphan blocks and said "see what you can do with these".   LOL  Well, the blocks only trimmed up to 8 inch unfinished, so lots of creating around them was needed to bring the finished quilt up to size.  All the fabric parts for the top and most of the backing was provided from donations to the guild for the purpose of charity missions.

After lots of sewing,  and tons more quilting,  I finally presented it back to the guild yesterday.   It will be used for a local quilt of valor mission.  It turned out quite charming, if I do say so myself!  (grin)  I'm not usually in the photos because I'm the one taking the pictures.  Here is a rare instance where I get to smile with my quilt.

I put alot of effort into the quilting.  I quilt on a DSM and I do not possess coordination for smooth, free motion quilting.  I am happiest and most comfortable with linear grids, sometimes decorative stitches and my walking foot.

 I always let the block units determine how I want to quilt it.  In this case, I stitched inside the blocks going in both directions, eyeballing the middle.  Have you noticed how practiced we are getting at 'eyeballing' ?  LOL  Then I SITD around the blocks and around the sashings.  The cream cornerstones were plain and boring, so I used one of my stitches and stitched the stars with red thread, using the motion we would do when we learned to hand draw a 5 point star in grade school.  I was tickled with that idea and like it so much better than just a star outline.

This is what just came off my design wall.  I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times  and Connie of Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday .....where you will find out what other creative quilters are working on.

Thanks so much for stopping by!