Granny square progress

Welcome summer!!!

This has been a full week of end of school activities for all the boys; award ceremonies, promotions, parties, picnics.... but school is out and summer is here!

I managed to squeeze in just a few minutes of sewing here and there and finished up my granny square blocks.

I trimmed them all up by lining my ruler's 1/4 inch mark just to the right of the colorful points all the way up one side.

Here it is all squared up.  It finished at 11 3/4 inches  square.

 

Here are all 25 laid out and ready for sashing.

This picture really makes the purple stand out.  Yikes!  This is making me rethink that choice of purple.  It is not quite as bright in real life, but it does still stand out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Comma Wedge Quilt Complete!

I've got a finish this morning!

The Comma Wedge Quilt is quilted and bound.

This one was so much fun to make.  I'm sure I will use these little wedges again.

My friend Cyndi quilted this on her long arm in an orange peel design.  I love how it echoes the orange peel in some of the fabric.

I used a black fabric with small white dots for the binding.

It is backed with an Ikea duvet cover that I chopped up.  Perfection.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Granny Squares - a quick how-to

Hi Quilty friends!

Someone had a question about how I was doing my granny squares, so I thought I'd take a few pictures while I put together my next block.

This is such a versatile block.  You can cut your little blocks any size you would like, and make as many "rings" of color as well.  I cut my fabric squares 2 1/2 inches (perfect for using the half pieces of layer cake I had left), and made 4 "rings".

First, I lay out all of my squares:

1 center square
4 squares around the center
8 squares around that, and
12 squares around that.
Finally, lay out 16 background squares (also cut 2 1/2 inches).

Next, sew each row together and press each of the rows in opposite directions so that you can nest your seams when you sew the rows together.

Now sew your rows together and press away from the center (towards the shorter rows).

 And that is it!

Since you pressed your rows in opposite directions, your fabrics should meet up nice and pretty.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Farm Girl Barns - a finished quilt!

First up, a couple of WIP...

I finally decided that I really did want to make this beauty a little bit bigger so we could snuggle under it.

So, I have started to make some flying geese to fly all the way around it.

And, remember this cute little pile of Briar Rose leftovers?

They are becoming these cute little granny squares.

14 down.  11 to go.

And finally, a fabulous finish!  My barns are quilted and bound.  Woo hoo!

 I actually started this quilt a couple of years ago when Lori Holt was doing her Barn Along through her blog. But then the top lingered unquilted.  When I saw that she had included her cute little barns in her new book, I knew that this top just had to become a real quilt.

Just look at all of these cute little barns.  Too hard to pick a favorite.

If you have not already bought her new book.  Run!  Right now!  Order it!  It is adorable.  These barns are in there along with more than 40 different blocks to play with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Linking up to Freshly Pieced.

Happy Farm Girl Fridays

Are you farming along with Lori of Bee in my Bonnet?

I am and I am LOVING it!



She is showing us 2 blocks each Friday.  My plan is to make 2 quilts as we go along (or maybe more if I get super excited).  I am going to make the sampler from the front of the book with 6 inch blocks.  And I am also going to make the Haystack quilt which calls for (13) 12-inch blocks along with a ton of little haystacks blocks.

Here is what I've got so far...

 

Week 1: Apron strings block

And Week 2: Autumn Star and Baby Chick

These are just so cute!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Making progress...

I'm making progress on this Michael Miller kit. 

Here is what I got done today.

 Here is everything I've gotten done so far.  This is going to be so beautiful when it is all done.

I'd love to have this top put together by the end of the summer.  We'll see...

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Fresh Cut Cake

Good Morning quilty friends!

I've got a quick quilt top for you this morning.  This one came together super quick.  Like, put together in a weekend that is already full of activities, quick!

This one came about as a way to use up 1/2 of a layer cake of Fresh Cut that I had leftover after putting together the Superstar Charm quilt. I had marked this quilt pattern in the book Dessert Roll Quilts and it seemed like a perfect fit.  Except for the navy, all the extra fabric came from my stash. Yay for using what you've got!

The pattern is super simple.  There are just 2 blocks: (4) simple 9-patches and (32) 9-patches that include 2 HSTs.  Then you just turn your blocks to create the pattern. Easy-peasy. The background is made up of the low-volume prints from the layer cake as well as a variety of soft whites and creams.

I debated adding an extra 5-inch border of background fabric all the way around, but I think I like it as is.  It is already a good size at 81 x 81 inches.

My next challenge is to use up the other half of this layer of Briar Patch that I so adore.  I have pulled some coordinating solids from my stash.  I am thinking a granny square quilt would be perfect...

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas...in May

It's done! It's done!

Six days ago this quilt was just 5 tree blocks, 7 present blocks and a stocking.  And as of last night, it is a finished quilt top.  Woo hoo!

This all started in November when Lori Holt started her Christmas quilt along.  As much as I wanted to, I couldn't join in.  There was just too much going on.  Too many gifts to make.  So I just admired everyone else's pictures and swore that I would start mine in January.

And I did!  I wanted mine to be bigger, to snuggle under, so I decided to make multiples of the blocks and turn it into my own little row along.  The goal was to sew a row a month and to have it finished by next Christmas.

But then there was Farm Girl.  It starts today. Last Saturday I decided that I would precut my scraps into pieces for the haystacks block (like a courthouse step).  My plan is to use those blocks as my leaders and enders.  But, when I went to go pull my fabric and get it organized, I realized that a lot of the fabric I wanted to use in Farm Girl was the same fabric I had pulled for the Christmas Quilt.

So....I gave myself a deadline.  Finish by Friday.  Just 6 days.  And I did it!  And it feels AWESOME! And I love, love, love the result. Deadlines are the best!

Ta dah!  Now, enjoy some quilty picture goodness!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy