Sister's Choice Quilts

February 24, 2017

Something New

I started a new project yesterday. I got out those pretty Garden Notes fabrics by Kathy Schmidt and got busy cutting out strips for "Buzz Saw". I think the blocks will go pretty fast, particularly if I concentrate on making the units of one size all at one time. I can chain piece and crank those little things right out.

I could not bear the idea of drawing lines on all the units, so I got out the Folded Corner Clipper ruler again. For now it is working fine. I thought about getting out Lori Holt's Seams Sew Easy seam guide, but I hate the way it positions on my sewing surface. You use these sticky dots that leave an icky residue that collects lint and is a real pain. The sticky dots eventually stop holding the guide in place and you are left with gooey, linty sticky circles on your sewing surface. I just ordered another seam guide called Clearly Perfect Angles that is supposed to "cling" to the sewing surface, so maybe I will like that better.

I used to use a seam guide called The Angler 2, but that doesn't seem to be available any more. And with that one, I had to use blue painter's tape to attach it to my sewing surface! I like the idea of one that "clings". The new one I ordered is supposed to come this weekend, so I will report back on how it is working.

What is your experience with these seam guides that help you sew corner to corner without having to mark your fabric? Do you have a favorite brand? They are a real timesaver.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Posted at 04:00 AM in New Projects | Permalink | Comments (15)

February 22, 2017

Two Green Table Toppers for March

I made another little green table topper with my leftover green scraps. I just couldn't let them go to waste. The one pictured above is called "Mite", a Miss Rosie "Little Bites" pattern. It measures just around 24 inches, a good size for the center of my dining table. The one I made for Sara is called Roundabout, and is a Schnibbles pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

I must have really liked this Roundabout pattern. In greens. It was the second time I had made it! lol Oh well, Sara wanted to be in my Table Topper of the Month Club, so she gets the 2017 version of Roundabout.

Hope you are all having a good week. I am simply amazed at how much rain keeps coming down. Lots of creeks overflowing and roads flooded, but no mudslides or trees down in my neighborhood.

Posted at 04:00 AM in Another Year of Schnibbles, Around the House | Permalink | Comments (6)

February 21, 2017

Penny Pincher is a Finish!

I am thrilled to say that Penny Pincher, a Primitive Gatherings pattern by Lisa Bongean is a finish. This quilt was a joy to piece, and the result makes my heart sing. The quilt top seems almost to glow from within. I made the quilt somewhat smaller than the pattern called for, and pretty much stopped when I realized it would fit my bed.

It rained much of the entire weekend here, and I am expecting we will float away at any time. There must a limit as to how much the sodden soil can absorb.

The little gully behind our lot turned into a raging torrent. It has been dry as a bone as long as we have been here, but it is surely transformed now from all the rain we have gotten. There are currently lots of flood warnings in our area, as local creeks overflow. At least we are not experiencing mudslides as many other communities are. It is just a matter of time until various trees lose their grip in the soft soil and topple over though. I am so tired of the rain, as most of my neighbors are as well. We needed the rain, and the reservoir in the next county can be seen from my kitchen window, a sight we have not seen since moving here. Hopefully this means the drought is over.

Whatever the weather where you are, I hope you had a great weekend!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Finish It | Permalink | Comments (14)

February 17, 2017

St. Patrick's Day is Coming...

Well, this week sure did get away from me! I did have most of the day on Thursday to sew, and decided to make a March table topper for Sara. I have made this Roundabout Schnibble by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. previously and have enjoyed it in my home. I thought Sara would like one as well. My gosh, my machine quilting sure has improved since I bought the Craftsy video by Jacquie Gehring. I got this little topper done in just a few hours and once I bind it, it will go to a new home at my daughter's house.

The sewing on this topper went so darn fast, mostly due to a little tool I tried out with it.

The Folded Corner Clipper. It is great when you have to sew squares onto rectangles.

Position it on your rectangle and clip away. Stack the fabric and trim six at a time.

Trim your squares the same way.

The trimmed units fit together like they were meant to.

Chain piece together and before you know it, your units are all pieced and ready to make into blocks.

This block does have "partial seams", but the explanation as to how to construct them is so simple, you will wonder why you were afraid to make this type of block. It was a fun and easy project and the world has been enriched with one more table topper. lol

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Another Year of Schnibbles, Around the House | Permalink | Comments (9)

February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's my sweet girl, making a heart with her hands and wishing everyone a happy Valentine's Day. We spent the day together yesterday, as her school is the only district in America which still has Lincoln AND Washington's birthdays off. We had fun, going to Target, Ulta and Red Robin for lunch. Who knows, maybe we will do it again next Monday for Washington's birthday...

She was really into that milkshake, I tell you!

In other news, Handy Man Bill has been back for a repeat awesome performance.

He made the opening in my sewing table larger to accommodate my new Bernina 740. I am so happy to have this machine in place, and that we are continuing to get acquainted (the machine and I, not Bill and I). The only thing about this machine is that is it VERY sensitive. It has a little computer screen, as you can see, and this past weekend it lit up like Fourth of July with an alarming warning picture of gears clashing and a big red X over them. Oh shoot, I thought I had wrecked the new machine already. I got out the 150 page manual and found that I needed to remove the bobbin casing to see what the trouble was. Removing the bobbin casing is a piece of cake, putting it back properly, not so much. The problem? A two inch piece of thread. Okay. I got it out, and spent 15 minutes trying to put the bobbin case back in correctly.

I have four rows of Penny Pincher put together and hope to wrap that top up on Thursday when I have the day off.

Hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day with your Sweetie, or on your own. If you are by yourself, do something lovely for YOU!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Around the House, Family, Just For Fun | Permalink | Comments (13)

February 10, 2017

It's Enormous

This Penny Pincher quilt is enormous! I have more or less got it up on the design wall, 11 blocks across and 11 rows down. The blocks on the right end are held up by blue painters tape because I am out of design wall to stick them on, and the bottom two rows are on the floor as you can see. At least I have managed to get the eleven rows almost sewn together and this weekend will get these rows attached to each other.

Can you imagine how monstrous this baby would be if made as big as the pattern calls for? I am thinking it is supposed to be twelve by fourteen. Good grief. This will do just fine for me.

So, that is my plan for the weekend sewing, and if I am lucky, I will get a few more courthouse steps blocks done. I just discovered two fat quarter packs of Jo Morton's Catherine collection that I had ordered from Fatquartershop awhile back, and they will be perfect for this project. I had them tucked away in a drawer for some future project and am so excited that I re-discovered that I had indeed purchased them when I had the chance. I love shopping at home!

Won't that be a perfect addition to the mix I have started?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Blocks, Finish It | Permalink | Comments (20)

February 08, 2017

Quick Update on Triangle Gatherings

I have made some changes in the blocks I am making for Lisa Bongean's Primitive Gatherings Triangle Sew Along. Here is how I started out, using white, cream, and tan background fabrics:

I was just not loving the mixed up look of those different shades of backgrounds. I decided to switch it up and use only the white background fabrics.

I am much happier with the more uniform (although still scrappy) appearance of the blocks. It has that January/Snowman vibe that is so nice in the winter months.

Also, in reading the small print on Lisa's blog, I read that she plans on coming out with over 80 different blocks over the course of the year. What? I had been making two of each block design and decided to stop doing that immediately.

I re-made the earlier blocks where I had used tan backgrounds and now have a total of nine blocks, and three extras (duplicates) that have the white background. I feel like I am now on-track with a fabric assortment that I like better. I am using the original Snowman Gatherings collection Lisa designed for Moda. I also ordered some extra yardage of various prints in the Snowman II collection, which will give me a bit more variety in those white backgrounds, plus a few more blues and navies. In addition, this summer Moda will release Snowman Gatherings III, which will give me even more white backgrounds should I need them.

I have a plan and I'm sticking with it!

Hope your week is going well.

Posted at 04:00 AM in Blocks, Sew Along | Permalink | Comments (8)

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