Wednesday, April 27, 2022

April Mini and a Runner

Boy, the end of April sure came fast though I must admit I had made the top for this month's mini last month and then had to scramble to finish it on time :)

Where to start? With these scraps from Carol's box, of course, that were all marked on the back with a small Dresden Plate-like pattern. 

But they were lacking enough seam allowance to use them the way they were so I cut them all into 1-1/2" squares which I alternated with a neutral print. 

I added a small print brown border and used the same for the binding. 


I had this bird print that I purchased at the thrift shop a while ago and it was just the right size for the backing :) 

And talking about the thrift shop . . . 


Look what I bought for $1.00! This cute felt house runner that I put on the table.


It's all hand-stitched / embroidered with a road leading from the bottom to the top. 

So very improv, don't you think?

Cute windows and doors!

We took the long road to the top :) Anyway, I just love this piece with its large ric-rac trim! 

It was a gray day when we took the Lake Champlain ferry from Essex, NY to Charlotte, VT to have lunch with our friends. The trip only takes 25 minutes. 

I'm reading this book by local author Sara J. Henry and it begins with a ferry ride across Lake Champlain :)


Finally! The first wildflower sighting of spring :) A large patch of Colts Foot was right down the road. I even missed it the first time I walked by! 

Still waiting for warm, sunny days! 

 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

UFO #2 is Done. . . Plus

Have you ever hit a brick wall and decided there wasn't anything more that could be done to make your quilt better? Or, how about just calling it quits? Well, that's what I did with the 4-Patch Strippy that I started last summer.

I was in a funk back then and decided to make something easy and 4-patches appealed to me. I had two strips of a blue/brown floral for side borders . . .

. . . and two strips of a bird print for the center. I had lots of large scale prints from other projects and started cutting 4-1/2" squares.  

I tried adding borders to the top and bottom but that just didn't work. So after multiple tries at a better 'finishing touch' I realized there was nothing more I could do (or wanted to do). So, to the longarmer it went :) It's kind of dark and jumbled in the middle but that's the way it is.

The fabric on the back is from The Old Sturbridge Village Anniversary Collection by Judie Rothermel for Marcus. The finished quilt is 38" x 48".

I changed the quilts on the railing in my sewing space and that always makes me happy. I also spent time cleaning and re-organizing. I had stuff EVERYWHERE! One improvement is that my projects are now in baskets on the floor instead of in piles. Ah, so much better!  

I hung my indigo and white minis. 

And bought a little Kolanchoe in an Easter bunny basket and put it on top of this month's mini for a table decoration.


I found this painting that my granddaughter did many years ago and propped it up on the kitchen counter for all to admire. She is now 21 and an art major :)


This was the sunset Easter evening . . . 


And this was yesterday morning! The nor'easter came our way with 9" of heavy, wet snow. We are still without power but luckily we had a generator installed last year :)

See you next week with my monthly mini!


Copyright 2022 Barbara Schaffer 


Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Making Progress

So I sewed the border on my Album blocks . . .

. . . and had just enough leftover strips--2 on the cross grain and 2 on the straight--to make it work. 

I love this large print fabric! It pulls everything together.  

Now to do the backing and then to the longarmer for another UFO finish :)


More gorgeous tulips for April but some don't even look like tulips!

I continue to make blocks from Carol's scraps and often use a novelty print as a starting point. 

A moose . . . 


. . . a Santa--maybe a Debbie Mumm fabric?? It's been lots of fun slicing and dicing and cutting and sewing! The blocks are 10-1/2" unfinished.

I also made some 6" string blocks but I think they will be part of another project. 

The other day my daughter had her birding scope focused on this Great Blue Heron nesting in one of the trees along our driveway. So cool! 

Happy Spring!

 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer