FIRST POINSETTIA BLOCK FINISHED

The first appliqued Poinsettia Wreath block, pictured above hung on the wood mantle piece, is finished.  You can also see the McCoy Rustic pottery displayed on the mantle, just a small part of my collection.  There is one flower petal that somehow got pressed down a little too far out from under the gold center.  I think the large flathead pins I used to hold the pieces in place while I ironed is the culprit.  Smaller pins are the order of the day for the next go-round.  Only eight more blocks to go, then stitching the pieced border.  It’s time to get cracking because Christmas time is close at hand!

The machine applique went well and I’m very pleased with the Heat and Bond Lite adhesive interfacing I used.  I like it much better than the Steam-a-Seam 2 I’ve used so many years.  The Heat and Bond Lite is easier to handle, the tracing is easier because the paper is steady, and the bond seems quite secure and supple.  If you haven’t already, you might give it a try.

And in case you haven’t heard, the Rangers won tonight!  Woo Hoo!!!!  Keep on winning boys.  We need three more victories to take the World Series

 

ALL JANE ALL NIGHT

Monday night the Johnson County Quilting Guild meeting featured speaker Barb Clark.   Barb is an avid quilter as well as an enthusiastic blogger.  You can read her entertaining blog at Just Sayin Sew.  I highly recommend that you check it out if you like quilts, laughs, travel, and cats (she has two of them).

 

 

She talked about the “Dear Jane” quilt phenomena based on a quilt made by Jane Stickle in 1863 and pictured below.

 

 

The 4 1/2” blocks and triangle border blocks were drafted from the original quilt for a book by Brenda Papadakis.  The Dear Jane book is widely available at Amazon.com and quilt shops.

 

 

To learn more about this amazing quilt, visit the Dear Jane website here.

Barb, a DJ club leader at Quilter’s Dream quilt shop, showed guild members several examples made by club members and others, including a traditional setting with a scalloped border,

 

 

this cute non-traditional red, green and black wall hanging,

 

one featuring DJ blocks with beautiful non-DJ applique images (my apologies for the blurry images and head shots – I did the best I could within a meeting setting but you get the idea),

 

 

a starry version with crazy quilt border,

 

one made from “reject” blocks that the makers did not want to put into their own quilts that were assembled and presented to the DJ book’s author,

 

a festive Christmas color-theme wallhanging,

 

 

a patriotic red, white and blue one,

 

 

a red and white wallhanging featuring just 12 DJ blocks (once again, sorry for the blur),

 

DJ blocks in a strippy setting,

 

and her own DJ work in progress featuring a  unique color way on black backgrounds.

 

Barb even showed a quilt featuring signature blocks exchanged with members of the Dear Jane internet group, some might even say DJ “cult” (LOL).

 

 

I, too, began this DJ journey five or six years ago, but after making about 30 DJ blocks, I decided I just wasn’t an adequate quilter to make these tiny blocks.  I’d only been quilting for a year or less when I started them and they weren’t the best sewing I’ve ever done.  Many of my blocks could be included into a “rejects” quilt. I need to go back to look at them, then salvage the best blocks to make into a “Baby Jane” sized quilt.  Barb’s program inspired me and I’m sure other members of the Guild.

 

Peggy, Susan, Phyllis and others at Guild meeting

On a completely different note, i.e. baseball, my Texas Rangers lost the first two games of the World Series against the San Francisco team, but they have a chance to fix that since it’s a best of seven games series.

Pumpkin Stencils from TexasRangers.com

 

Come on dear Rangers!  It’s not over ‘til it’s over!

ON TO THE WORLD SERIES

THEY DID IT!  The Texas Rangers won the American League Championship and move onward to the World Series for the first time ever in franchise history.  My Sweetie and I have been loyal Rangers’ fans since 1996, through thick and thin.  This moment makes it all worth it. 

                                                         Photo from texasrangers.com

One more reason why Fall, especially this year, is my favorite season.

Pumpkin stencils available at the Texas Rangers website.

HAPPY DANCING

My Sweetie and I are doing the “Happy Dance” because the Texas Ranger won again.  They have a total of three wins so they only need one more to advance to the World Series.  

While watching the last two Rangers’ games, I managed to get all my appliqué pieces cut out and also mark then cut the template pieces for the border.

 

After some trial and error, I managed to stitch together eight border pyramid pieces just ‘cause I wanted to see how it would look and it looks GOOD.  Next I will work on the appliqué layout so the pieces can be ironed down to the blocks.  Can’t do that while watching the next ballgame.

By the way, here’s the next pumpkin photo.

  The stencils for the featured pumpkins are available at the Texas Rangers website.

LAZY CAT AND GETTING READY FOR NEXT APPLIQUE STEP

Ranger, the cat not the baseball team, helps me while I surf the web by laying in the basket that holds my unpaid bills.  How could I do it without him?

As you can see, he pretty much overwhelms the basket and pushes bills out of it when he wallows and stretches.  Too bad he doesn’t make money “helping”.  We could always use more income to pay the bills!

All the Poinsettia petals were traced and cut out for the the Wreath wallhanging during Game 2 of the Rangers vs. Yankees battle – which the Rangers won decisively 2-7!  

 

 

Now that fusible web step 1 is done, the pieces must be ironed onto the fabric so that I can have something to cut out during tonight’s Game 3.

This is my first experience with Heat ‘n Bond Lite.  I’ve always used Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite but Hobby Lobby was sold out and my local quilt shop only carries this Heat ‘n Bond Lite (HNBL).  So far so good.  The HNBL has no loose paper or separation from the web prior to ironing and I like that.  We will see how well it adheres to the blocks after peeling off the backing and I’m stitching them with the machine.

I’ve got more fusible web ironing to do so off I go.  Before I do, here is the next pumpkin design that can be downloaded from the Texas Rangers’ website.  Let’s go Rangers!

 

WITH A SAD HEART ---- PLUS APPLIQUE PREP

My apologies to my readers who aren’t interested in baseball.  Until the playoffs are finished, you will want to scroll through my postings down to the sewing, cat, or whatever parts you like.

In the meantime . . . . .

 

Well, our Ranger boys flubbed it tonight.  They were coasting along, 5-0 when the eighth inning fell all to pieces and the Yankees caught up, then surpassed, our score.  Say it isn’t so, Joe.

In the 4th inning, our pitcher, CJ Wilson has an 0-3 lead.  Smooth sailing.

In the 4th inning when Josh Hamilton came up to bat, it was 0-5.  Life was good.

 

Then in the 8th inning, kablooey!   All h*ll broke loose.  What can we say except it’s only Game One.  We must not give up yet. 

Before the wheels fell off of the Ranger’s Express train, I was able to work on tracing and cutting out the fusible web for the appliqué pieces needed on the Poinsettia Wreath wall hanging I’m working on.   Flower centers and leaves are done.  Poinsettia flower petals next round.

I also managed to get the gold pieced blocks finished and added to the design board late last night/early this morning.

It’s only crooked on the board, not because of my sewing.  I promise.

In the spirit of the season, I’m adding a carved pumpkin at the end of this post, with more coming in the future.

You can get stencils for the featured pumpkins at TexasRangers.com. 

 

 

Quilt Displays and Poinsettia Wreath Status

My new “Pumpkins for Sale” is proudly hanging on the wall in a corner near the antique mantle clock previously owned by my Sweetie’s grandmother.  The clock rests on a small quilt made from a nine-patch block exchange with the local Jo’s Little Women Club group.

Grandma K’s clock is in excellent working order after investing several hundred dollars to restore the case and get the works fixed, but it’s worth it.

Standing further back in the dining room, you can see one full wall plus the corner wall displaying several of my quilts in addition to a vintage Crosley radio (it still works too) and china cabinet full of depression glass.  I guess you can tell I like old stuff.

Those nine-patch blocks came from the same Jo’s exchange.  The addition of cheddar sashing and black and brown border fabric created a perfect Fall wall hanging.  You might recognize the little red quilt draped on the quilt rack from the picture in the lower right-hand corner of my blog header.  It’s a Jo’s Little Women’s Club project from the early days that I dearly love.

My Aunt made the cute doll for a Christmas gift many years ago.  She sits either here or in one of my chairs in the den.  Her name is Gracie.  Don’t know why – just is!

My black witch-hat bear and pumpkin kitty, both made by Boyd’s Bears, sit atop a little box that holds several of my folded doll quilts.  These quilts get rotated for display on the wall pictured above according to the season or my mood.

On the Poinsettia Wreath project, my design board shows the completed five light-colored pieced blocks laid out.  Hopefully tomorrow I will stitch the four gold-colored pieced blocks.

The gold block pieces are cut and ready to go to the sewing machine.  Even with those blocks completed, I will have quite a ways to go to get to this,

but it’s in the works.

One final word today.  Texas Rangers play the Yankees tonight in Game 1 for  the American League division title.  Come on Rangers!

Glory Hallelujah!

The Texas Rangers won tonight!  Now we move on to play the NY Yankees in the American League Championship playoff.  On to the World Series!

“Pumpkins for Sale” is now complete and I’m so happy with the finished product.

Now I want to start on a Christmas wall hanging.  I’ve got a kit I bought from Quakertown Quiltsfor a “Poinsettia Wreaths” 46” square wall hanging featured in the December 2005 McCall’s Quilting Magazine.

It contains both piecing and appliqué, so I’ll have to consider whether I can devote the time needed to get it completed before the Christmas holidays.

I definitely need some handwork for the duration of the Rangers playoffs and hopefully, World Series, games.  It’s gotta be simple, because I am easily excited/distracted during crucial parts of the game.

Go Rangers!

 

New Quilt and Craft Books Added to Library

Last weekend’s trip to Half Price Books yielded two “new” books for my collection.  Please forgive the photo on my first book.  My scanner is not working under my new Windows 7, so I had to go another route.

American Graphic Quilt Designs by Dolores A. Hinson (1983),“A historical study of one-of-a-kind classic quilts—their motifs, colors and the events that influenced their makers.”

It covers appliqué designs for mostly antique Baltimore album quilts, with no color illustrations other than the front and back covers.  Great history and designs.

The other is totally different, Sewing With Vintage Linens by Samantha McKinley

It has projects for garments, pillows, quilts, stuffed toys, using old embroidered dresser scarves, tablecloths and such.  I would happily use some of my vintage linens for such projects, but only the ones that have a stain or other damage on some part of it.  No way would I cut up a perfect vintage item. 

Quilting is almost complete on my Pumpkins for Sale wall hanging.  The bobbin thread ran out last night in the wee hours before I could finish the borders so I stopped there before I got too tired and started messing up.

Yes, it’s sideways here, but you can see the grid quilting in the center part pretty well.

We at the Quilting Bear Gal household (well maybe not so much our cat) are looking forward to Game 3 of the Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow.  Win another one and we advance to the next playoff round.  Go Rangers!