January Mini ++

Here we are entering our 5th!! year of mini making under the guidance of Wendy, The Constant Quilter. Can you believe it? This month is quilt #49 :) If you haven't joined in on the fun there's always time to jump in. Check Wendy's blog the end of the month when she posts her own mini along with links to lots more. 

It's not surprising that I started with this asterisk block that was actually the sample for the little quilt I showed you last month. I followed the instructions for making these blocks on Darcy Quilts. 

I framed that little block with alternating 1/2" borders of black and Barbara B's Best of Morris prints . . . 

.. . . then added 2" floral borders and cornerstones. 

I had this wonderful blue leaf print that I purchased at Garden State Quilters (more than a few years ago) and put it on the back. It's hard to see the quilting lines but they are ITD around the inner borders and double zig-zags on the outer ones. The piece is 16-1/2" square. 

Every year I publish my blog using Blog2Print. I now have 7 years' worth. It's a great way to keep track of what I've done throughout the year. 

When I sat down to take a look I noticed on the very first page that two images were missing. Oh, no! I emailed customer service and within minutes I was told they would reprint the book. Thank you Blog2Print for your quick response :)

I bought myself a Christmas present--do you ever do that??? Both books are by Di Ford and I'm especially enjoying the second one where she talked about the types of fabrics she liked to use in her quilts.

The snow is piling up on our deck. It's so pretty outside--but C-O-L-D. The other day the nighttime temp hit -18 but this morning it's -6 warming up to a high of 6 deg at 2 pm :) 

That's all for now.

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

Digging Into Lots of Scraps :)

Thank you Carol Y. in VA for sending a huge box of scraps my way! There's just something about using someone else's scraps that sets me off in a new direction :) What fun!

In a big Staples box were three bags of scraps which Carol had accumulated over the past 45 years including some that belonged to her mother.  

I took the first bag and started sorting shapes and sizes.

I set aside these pieces as they spoke to me for a possible February mini :)

Some small scraps were already pieced together so I started with those and sewed them in a column on the far left. The large black, gray and multi prints were cut in wedge shapes that I sewed together for another column.

I decided to cut that black column in half and make it twice as long. That's much better. 

So as I continue to sort, iron, cut and sew, I'm striving for 54" columns that are determined by the width of the scraps. Carol mentioned there are scraps that she overdyed, some are cutaways from a pajama factory, others from clothing that were cut for the fabric. And she also worked in a quilt shop!

We finally got some snow! Of course, the first thing I noticed were the animal tracks in the driveway. Probably a little squirrel :)

Enjoy your week!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

2021 is Gone--Part II

The second half of the year was a little different than the first mainly because the Deacon blocks were ALL done! In their place I finished a couple small quilts and continued making minis. Scraps seemed to be the norm :)

July 2021

July mini was made from leftover (what else??) strips from a large-print top that I was working on. Don't know that I ever would have intentionally planned this layout but that's the fun of making minis!

August 2021

This was made using a thrift shop brown and border print--I had a lot of both.

 September 2021

I finished Marbles--my much smaller version of the ever-popular Quilty 365 :) Should have replaced that light block on the right. Just sayin'!

This mini was made from leftover tumblers from a UFO that I hope to finish soon--yes, soon!. Why didn't I notice that pink before in the lower right? It just seems to blend in with the border and looks really washed out. In hindsight I should have moved it to another position!

October 2021

More thrift shop finds made their way into October's mini. I'll never forget Wendy's description of the green/yellow/black stripe as a "moose with sunglasses." That really made my day!

November 2021 

Get It Done was finally finished! I'm not crazy about this quilt but after many iterations this was the end result. 

What fun it was to work with someone else's scraps! When Janet O. announced her Baggie Challenge I chose one of her baggies and made this November mini. 

 December 2021

The last mini of 2021 included some French General fabrics mixed in with pieces from the scrap quilt I'd been working on. That center strip was from Barbara B's Ladies' Legacy line and fit right in. The border was a thrift shop goodie :) 

Oops! I almost forgot this one even though I made it a while ago. Love those Best of Morris fabrics by Barbara B :)

 __________

The day before Christmas we went to watch the Olympic Team Trials in Lake Placid. A gift from my daughter and her husband.

 The event was the Nordic Combined . . . 

. . . which started at the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex . . . 

. . . and ended at Mt. Van Hoevenberg with a grueling 10K cross-country ski. The winner, Taylor Fletcher, was nominated to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team. He is one of the fastest cross-country skiers on the world circuit. NBC was there filming but it was also fascinating to watch a drone flying overhead!  

Well, that wraps up 2021!

It's time to move on to 2022 . . . 😊😊😊

 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer 

2021 is Gone!

So it's the beginning of a new year but before I jump in it's time to review what I made in 2021. I like doing this as it gives some perspective as to how I spent my quilting time :) And it looked something like this: Deacon blocks, mini, Deacon blocks, mini, maybe a quilt . . .

January 2021

I had been making Ella Maria Deacon quilt blocks since October 2019. These are #61-64.

This mini marked the beginning of the 4th year of mini-making with Wendy, The Constant Quilter and other bloggers who joined in on this fun activity!

 February 2021

I finished Barb's Baskets, a quilt I started in 2017 when I sewed along with Barb V. 

February Mini was put together using leftovers from a mini I made in 2020.

March 2021

I was working on Deacon blocks #69-72 counting up to #85.

Choosing orphan blocks from my pile this mini came together in no time at all.

April 2021

Deacon Blocks #73-76 included one broderie perse. 

Another mini using 4 leftover 9-patch blocks. 

May 2021 

Deacon Blocks #77-80. It was the second time making the one on the lower left. See the first above in January. 

A Pinterest-inspired mini.

June 2021

Finally! The last of the Deacon Blocks #81-85! For twenty-one months I really enjoyed the challenges that were presented when making these blocks :)

This month's mini was made from pre-cut flannel squares I purchased at the thrift shop. When it was done I donated it to the TS :)

More to come next week.

Last month, my daughter wrote in my birthday card, "For your 78th trip around the sun, we're giving you a monthly stop for fresh flowers." 

The first weekend of every month we'll go to Little Farmhouse Flowers to pick up a fresh bouquet where all flowers are grown on-site.

December's was dried flowers which I put in a bark container that I made in the 70s!

And last weekend we picked up these beautiful double red tulips . . .

. . . which have all opened to display these glorious blooms!

Well, that's it for now.

See you next week!

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer