Oops!

I went back over my Buckeye Beauty blog posts and realized that I showed you the completed back, but not the front! So here it is; it measures 60" x 76", the "long throw" size on the pattern.

And here's a closer look at how my scrappy border turned out!

Today I'm filling out contracts for next spring -- gosh, this year is going fast! -- and then I'm going to put the borders on another Cozy Quilts design. I've been putting it off and it's time to just get it done!

It's called "Star of the Show" and mine is all in Christmas fabrics! Dawna and I made the same quilt; we arranged the blocks a bit differently than the pattern. Dawna's is 72" square (and finished! Quilted and bound and everything!); mine will be 88" square after I get the borders on...

Using Up the "Leftovers"

Today I gathered up all of the extra four patches, triangles and fabric from the Buckeye Beauty quilt top and pieced the back. Yes, I know it takes a whole lot more time than just sewing a seam down two hunks of fabric, but I love the look and I save a bit of money.

Pattern called for 4-2/3 yards of fabric for backing. I bought 1-1/4 yards and had a few inches left over.

Not counting the backing fabric I bought, this is exactly how much I had left -- I stuck the mechanical pencil on top so you could see how little my pile is!

Since I am not exactly known for my thriftiness when quilt stores are concerned, it's probably a good thing that I am making a valiant attempt to use it all up!

When I went to Bolts in the Bathtub to buy my 1-1/4 yards, I took a picture of Dawna in front of her quilt made of the exact same fabrics, the reason I bought them in the first place.

So I think it's becoming a Strip Club summer -- I've been buying the patterns and fabrics directly from Cozy Quilts and also from Bolts in the Bathtub. The stack of piecing to do is pretty high; I'd better get back to work!

Almost Done with Buckeye Beauty Top...

Got the blocks all together on Friday and then put the first border on just like the pattern directed.  Then my brain saw a stack of scraps and took a left turn...

 

This is the border fabric that, according to the pattern, should be pieced with cornerstones.  It's really pretty, but there are all those scraps!

 

So I had some leftover block parts that I decided to use as the cornerstones (would have stared this earlier, but wanted to get Dawna's eyes and creative brain over here for a look-see).  Loved the scraps as part of the border on either side of the cornerstones, so that's my project for today.

Meanwhile, I was waiting for Dawna to come around after the shop closed and got all the red strips sewn together and then the wider white strips sewn on top so that I can get a head start on my next Cozy Quilts project, Long May She Wave.  I love red, white, and blue quilts, don't you?

And here's the cover; I still need have to go to Bolts in the Bathtub and buy some blue fabric for the star.  

Today I want to get that border on Buckeye Beauty and start piecing the back out of those leftover blocks and scraps.  Then tomorrow I can buy the rest of the backing fabric as well as the blue fabric for the star.

Yay, fabric shopping!!!!

 

What I'm Working on This Week

I was in Bolts in the Bathtub a couple of months ago and Dawna Harrison, one of the co-owners, had made a quilt using a jelly roll of various browns and beiges and a beautiful aqua-seafoamy color background.  I found the above pattern from Daniela Stout's Strip Club series and bought the fabric.

Daniela's Strip Tube Ruler is what makes it easy to make half square triangles from strip sets.  It's pretty ingenious!

So I sewed a bunch of strips together and made four patches, then sewed more strips together to set up the cutting for the half square triangles.

So this is the finished block -- had to make 48 of them for the long throw size.  Another cool thing about Daniela's patterns -- you get instructions for several sizes (from throw to king, in this instance) so if you wanted to make it again in a different size you would have all of the fabric quantities, cutting directions, diagrams and all the math done for you already!

Stack of 48 ready to be laid out on my bedroom floor -- flattest, biggest place with the most light!

 

And here's my layout... I hope to get all the blocks sewn together today and the borders put on tomorrow?

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Pre-Retreat Retreat Part 2

I got bored piecing Christmas fabric, so I pieced a kit that I bought from my local quilt store, Bolts in the Bathtub in Lancaster CA.  The pattern is called "Spooky Ride" by Tiffany Hayes of Needle in a  Hayes Stack.  It was quick and easy to put together... I did the main part of the quilt and three of the borders in a day and then the last two borders the next morning.  Of course, I love it because there lots of bats in the fabrics!  Especially the outside purple border!  That's Beth helping me hold the quilt.

Beth was working on a flying geese project that will be a bed size quilt as a gift for her niece.  Beth invited me to join her and three friends at Sierra Stars: 

Bobbie was hard at work on a Judy Niemeyer project with lots of baggies separating cut pieces all ready to sew.

Joy finished several projects, including one that Beth posted on Facebook that was one of my patterns, Shoofly Hearts. I had never walked into a group where someone was piecing one of my patterns before, so that was really cool!  She finished that, went on to a couple of other things, and ...

when I took the pictures on the last morning, Joy was working on an attic windows quilt featuring Christmas kitties -- cute!!

Frieda doesn't quilt, but, man, can she cook!  She did all the cooking and made some very yummy things.  I don't think if you rent the house that she comes with it, though... darn!

So just as I was getting ready to leave, rain and hail started coming down.  I think I'm doomed to drive around in bad weather on my trips!

If you are interested in gathering up some of your quilting friends, here is a description of Sierra Stars Quilting Vacations as well as contact information:

"Introducing Sierra Stars Quilting Vacations: A unique time to do what you love, with friends who share your passion.  Come for a weekend or a week and enjoy a getaway filled with quilting or crafting and the natural beauty of the Lake Tahoe region."

You can reach Beth in a few ways:

Email:  info@SierraStarsQuilting.com

Website: www.SierraStarsQuilting.com

Phone: 858-922-0892

I highly recommend this and will definitely go there again!  Thanks Beth, Bobbie, Joy, and Frieda for a fun and productive sewing experience!

Pre-Retreat Retreat Part 1

Last year I signed up for my annual Cindy Needham fix, a retreat that she is now holding at the Mercy Retreat Center in Auburn CA.  My previous "fixes" have been in Rancho Cordova, so this was a new experience for me. 

The retreat was July 9-12 but through a fortuitous introduction made by a San Diego friend, Darlene, I got to come up to northern California a couple of days early for what I am going to call a pre-retreat retreat.  Darlene introduced me to Beth Nidzieko, who owns a beautiful home in Truckee CA that she makes available to quilting groups.  It's called "Sierra Stars Quilting Vacations" and is so welcoming and well-equiped for quilters!

I decided to drive up the eastern sierras route rather than straight up the heart of California on the 5, so my route took me up the 395 to Carson City and then around Lake Tahoe to Truckee.  Here are a couple of pictures I took of Mono Lake on the 395.

I didn't really think the route through before I left or I would have departed my house earlier so that I could stop at the Quilt House in Gardnerville NV, one of my favorite places to leave $ and add more fabric to my already overwhelming stash.  Someone told me her stash was STABLE, meaning Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy -- I think that could apply to me as well!

This is one of the quilts that are on the walls and beds of this wonderful house!

A couple of shots off the deck so you can see the great mountain scenery -- so peaceful and Beth and I were able to take an hour hike one morning to enjoy the scenery even more.

A pic of the sewing area: at the left is a huge (50" x 90") table which is padded so that you can iron on the whole think if you want, there are lots of cutting mats and a couple of irons, including a cordless Rowenta.  Also just about every ruler known to man; reading the rulers list convinced me that even though I was doing piecing for the two days, all I needed to bring was my rotary cutter because Beth already had the room equipped with every ruler I could possible need as well as the mats.

The house sleeps 8 and is set up for 6 quilters to each have a 5' work table, an OttLite and power strip, as well as really comfortable adjustable office type chairs.  There are several chair styles, so if you have a fave you could always duke it out with your housemates to see who gets to sit in what.

Some of the work that I did:  I was piecing a bunch of Christmas fabric leftovers together for the back of a quilt I recently pieced.  Beth asked me if it didn't take a whole lot more time to do it this way -- yes, she's absolutely right, it takes forever, but I love the look when I'm done.



Lots more leftovers that I can use for the back of this quilt; I need it to measure about 93" square, so that's a lot of fabric...

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Tanner's Quilt

I was in Auburn this past week at a retreat taught by Cindy Needham (more about that later) and was able to get together with my sister-in-law Sam, her husband Bryan, and their 4-month-old Tanner.  When Dan and I were in Banff, we bought Tanner a couple of gifts -- you can probably tell which of us bought what!

And I know you guys think I sit around eating bon bons all day, but I really have been sewing, I just couldn't show you because Sam would have seen it and it wouldn't be a surprise.  Since I don't need leftover baseball fabric and that's the theme for Tanner's bedroom, I made a pillowcase out of some of the leftovers.

This is the finished quilt; I bought the kit for the balls and bats and then added all the rest using fabric that Sam and I had picked out at Windy Moon Quilts in Reno.  Great shop, by the way, if you're in the area...

I cut a length of border fabric so that the words frame the quilt -- this is the top.  Got the cool star fabric used in the border at my local quilt shop, Bolts in the Bathtub.

Closeup of the applique part; Tanner's name is also appliqued.  I used fusible for all of this and then machine blanket stitched it down.  Used a decorative feather stitch for the red lines on the baseballs. 

Batter Up is the bottom part of the border; used the leftover for the cuff of the pillowcase. 

And here's the back -- stuck as much of the leftover fabric as I could on it so that it's fun on both sides.

We all met for dinner Saturday night at Cottonwood, a really good restaurant in Truckee.  I was in Auburn at Cindy's retreat, so it was a bit over an hour's drive up there and it was good to see everybody!

Next posts I'll be telling you about Cindy's retreat as well as my pre-retreat retreat at Sierra Stars Quilting Vacation in Truckee!

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