Simple Whatnots

 

There isn't a lot to show yet for Farmhouse Stars (Kim Diehl Simple Whatnots), but at least I've begun to make a little progress.  There will be 34 more of these blocks. So far I have made 25 of the upper sections with the 3 brown squares.  All of the pieces for all of the blocks are cut and ready.

 

This was the Simple Whatnots project that I've been most excited about in this series. I love the look of this one.  Like all of Kim Diehl's patterns, this one has a zillion little pieces.  But results are worth it. 

 

I don't anticipate getting much more of this done right away because it's going to be a busy week.  We have a wedding to attend Saturday and then Sunday morning I'm leaving with 2 girlfriends to drive to Iowa to visit a friend who moved in August.  We're really looking forward to that road trip and seeing a dear friend that we miss.

Saturday Sampler progress

 

Chasing Fireflies - isn't that a fun name for a block?  This is the second block in our latest Saturday Sampler project which is called Summer Watermelon Sampler.  The first block was Lucky Ladybug. 

 

We chose our own fabrics this time and were encouraged to "shop our stash". Since my stash has a LOT of black and white prints and a LOT of batiks, those were my choices for this one. Each month we do 2 variations of the block.  I've decided that each month I'll try to make one version a darker one and the other a lighter version. Some of the prints have a little black on white, and others are reversed with just a little white on the black.  And I'll switch up the batik colors. This may be a crazy looking quilt.

Distractions abound

Again I've been distracted by something . . .

 

 

I enjoy reading quilting blogs and follow a couple of online quilting groups on Facebook.  And I'm constantly seeing things that I want to make. I bought this book and the paper templates months ago, but just pulled it out this past week. I had done the pink center, the white and a few of the green sections during the week. And then I stopped into The Pin Cushion on Small Business Saturday. Cindy was doing a demo on this very thing!! It was so timely!  I've done some English Paper Piecing hexies and diamonds, and this shape is fun too. The book offers some beautiful layout options.

 

These scraps are out of my bin of (mostly) Civil War reproductions. I've been using them to make the tiny blocks for the Circa 2016 Temecula project. Only a few blocks to go there and then I can put the quilt together. And now I have something else fun to use those fabrics in. I have no idea how many of these I'll make. But at least ONE!

 



I must admit that I'm having a "missing mojo" problem lately.  My sewing room is in the basement, and doing the stairs bothers my Achilles tendon. Plus I've been working more hours each week and am out of mental energy. And I'm feeling a little bogged down by unfinished projects again,  especially because I keep seeing new things I want to start.  My head is spinning - too many projects and not enough time.

Check out Design Wall Monday at:  http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Oops!

I've had to make friends with my seam ripper again. There were actually 2 of these blocks put together wrong.  But it was an easy fix.  There are now 30 blocks, which works out to be a top 5 blocks wide by 6 blocks long.  Not quite big enough for anything more than a small lap quilt. So I'm toying with new layout ideas or borders.  Any ideas would be very welcome!

This is how a UFO is born!  It was looking so promising when I had just a few blocks done. Now it's on hold. 

Books and pillowcases go together

Something to play with, something to wear, and something to read . . . that has become my motto for buying Christmas gifts for the 5 grandchildren.  This year I decided they each needed a pillowcase with the same theme as the book the receive.  A Friday afternoon off, and those pillowcases are ready to go.

 

 

For 2 year old Jack, I found a book about a train, and it has a little toy train that he can run through the grooves on every page.  His pillowcase has train cars floating all over.

 

Jonah is 4 and he is getting Jan Brett's book The Hat.  And while searching online for other things I came across this fabric with woodland creatures - wearing knit hats just like in the book.  What a lucky find!

 

Mason's tastes are running toward a fascination with dragons now that he is 6.  The book has all kinds of dragon stories, maps, and secret flaps hiding more information. I've hunted high and low for dragon fabric, and finally found some online.  I love that the red dragon is almost a perfect match to the color of the book cover.

 

And both girls - 5 year old Sophia and 4 year old Olivia - are getting Bambi.  The Bambi fabric was a find at Missouri Star Quilt Company this summer.  And the books have beautiful illustrations, similar to my vintage childhood Bambi book. 

Check out what other quilters are working on: Design Wall Monday at http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/2017/11/design-wall-monday-november-20-2017.html

Selvages are fun

 

Aren't these selvages unique? More and more often it seems like the manufacturers are adding fun design to their selvages.

 

I ordered 3 pieces of yardage recently to make special pillowcases to go with the books I've bought for the grandkids for Christmas.  It was really hard to find dragon fabric to go with Mason's dragon book.  But eventually I did find just want I wanted online for a couple of them.  Notice the flame shapes on the dragon fabric. The train fabric looks like trucks on the selvage rather than trains.

 

Now I need to go shopping locally to find the perfect fabrics to blend in for the pillowcase cuffs.  When I get them done I'll show them off with the companion books. 

Design Wall Monday

 

An origami flower that I made awhile ago is set to become "something" as a gift, but I'm just not sold on the background fabric I've chosen for this.  I may need to rethink that background before I hand stitch this down. Possibly a solid background would work better.

 

Check out Design Wall Monday for some inspiration from other quilters - http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/