Barn Star Sampler Update

April 25, 2024April 25, 2024 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

I finished two more of the 24” blocks for the Barn Star Sampler I’m making. This block was pretty fun to make. I didn’t have to use the seam ripper near as much as I did on the last block.

After I finished them, I took all the blocks I have so far and laid them out on the basement floor following the layout in the pattern. You can see I still have several little blocks left to make and two more 24” blocks to fill in the empty spaces. I mostly used fabrics from my stash, but I did have to purchase some extra background and some darker teal, as I just didn’t have much of that color in my stash. I think I’m going to be pleased enough with it once it’s all together.

One thing that frustrates me is that this one fabric isn’t photographing the way it looks to the naked eye. At least not the way it looks to mine. The fabric in the background of this smaller block looks like a nice dusty rose pink, very similar to the pink in the large block next to it, but in photos, it has an orangish or brownish tint, and just looks kind of yuck next to the other blocks. I’ve tried all different kind of lighting, and it doesn’t look good in any photos.

Finally, here it is again on top of the whole stack of blocks. It really makes me wish I had used a different fabric for the blocks I used it in, but I’m not going to remake them. Especially not since they look good enough in person. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have been working on client quilts, as well, and will catch up sharing some of those here soon. I’m also working on a very special t-shirt quilt project for a sweet local family, but that is super secret for the time being. Eventually, I will get to share about that here. My “sewjo” seems to be in full swing lately, and I’m here for it!

We are under the gun today for potentially very severe storms. Some rain sure would be nice, but praying we dodge the bullet on all the bad stuff. They are saying on the radio, as I type, that we could have large hail and tornadoes. They are saying that we should actually hope for no rain today, because if we “break through the cap” enough for moisture, we will also see bad storms in this one. We have a 40% chance of wind, hail, and possibly tornadoes. 😬 😩

The Highlight of my Week

April 19, 2024 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

I have been very busy this past week. It was a good week, just busy. I started and finished a custom quilting job, but it’s going to a guild challenge, so can’t share just yet, tho I doubt any of the guild members are reading this. Probably better safe than sorry. I started yet another project. I can’t seem to stop starting fun new projects before I finish others. This was the absolute high light of my quilting week…one of my sweet grandsons wanted to do some of the sewing on this latest project I had going. I have been wanting to try the fold and sew method of making blocks with a layer cake and charm square pack. I chose the Strawberry Lemonade collection from Sherri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton. Here is my little helper at work.

They are fun to sew, but I’m wondering if the seams are going to be a bit too bulky once I start sewing to to each other. Also, some of the prints on bottom do shadow through the top charm square, so I will probably trim out the center on the back of those. It makes a nice size lap quilt.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

quilting · quilting notions

Sunday Funday Quilting and a Fun New Notion

April 14, 2024April 14, 2024 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

I didn’t get too very much accomplished, but I did get the blocks for my great niece’s quilt all laid out and ready to stitch together. It’s another Strip Mirage, (pattern from Sew Yeah Quilting) and I used a jelly roll I have had in my stash for quite a long time. A little bonus stash busting with this one.

I got the all the pieces for the next block in my Barn Star Sampler cut out. These will make two identical 24” blocks. And, I got to try out this nifty notion I ordered from Belle Bruner of Seams So Me. I follow her on Instagram and she posted these cool clips she designed to organize your quilt pieces. I love them!

They came in this cute little bag with a cute little sticker.

Here they are keeping my block pieces organized and identified.

They come in a set from A – N, and N was the only one not used for this block set.

I’m very happy with this purchase! They will join my list of favorite notions. Wishing you all a great week ahead! Thanks for stopping by!

Barn Star Sampler · client quilt · eclipse · quilting

Sunday Funday Catching Up

April 7, 2024 Wild Rose Quilter1 Comment

This past week, my quilting attention went mostly to this lovely Optical Illusions quilt that I am quilting for a client. She made it for her 16 year old grandson. I felt a little intimidated by it at first, but this has actually turned out to be so much fun to work on. The center part is just straight line quilting through the intersections, in such a way as to enhance the 3D-ness of the piece. It’s just really cool. I’m doing all the black thread parts first, and then I will switch and finish up with the white. All I have left with black is the very outside border, and whatever I end up doing in the inner sashing. The outside borders will be the same as the pattern I put in the inside border corner pieces.

I’ll share pics of the whole quilt once I get it off the frame. I had to take a pause on the mermaid I was quilting because my client ordered little eye and mouth appliqués that she wanted me to stitch onto the face and we are still waiting on them. One of those times zippers on my longarm leaders came in handy. I was able to zip it off and lay it on my guest bed in the meantime, and move on to the next client quilt.

Last week, my Sunday Funday sewing time ended on a down note. I thought I was zipping along, making good progress on the diamond star blocks for my Barn Star Sampler. I was working on assembling the four corner units for each of the two blocks. Well, I don’t know how I goofed up so badly, but I sewed a total of 32 half square triangles into their units backwards or upside down. Good grief! I spent some quality time with my seam ripper, and felt for sure the pieces would then be distorted enough that they wouldn’t go back together nicely. I finished redoing them this afternoon, and I now have all 8 corner units done, and they didn’t turn out badly at all. The next step is to make 16 elongated flying geese units. Hopefully, I will get those sewn together without mishap. 😂

I’m no stranger to the seam ripper, but that was a much bigger mistake than normal. I’m ready to get these two giant blocks behind me. I was supposed to have finished my blocks in February, and then assembled the quilt top last month, according to the QAL schedule. Obviously, I didn’t make it on schedule. This block is month 9, so after it I have blocks to do for months 10 & 11, then the mini filler blocks and top assembly for month 12. I haven’t decided if I’m going to custom quilt it, or do a pretty edge to edge on it. I’m kind of leaning to doing an all over edge to edge. We shall see when I get there, I guess!

I’m curious to see how noticeable the eclipse will be here tomorrow. We are not in the path of totality, and that suits me just fine. Sounds like it’s going to be crazy in those areas with so many flocking in to see it. I find them (eclipses and gigantic crowds) kind of unnerving for some reason, so I’m just fine staying where I am, and going about business as usual.

I did get some exciting news from an area quilt show this weekend, but I’ll share that in an upcoming post! If you’ve made it this far and are still with me, thank you for stopping by!

quilting

Busy Monday

March 25, 2024March 25, 2024 Wild Rose Quilter5 Comments

I’m trying to get into a better time management routine between my housework, my quilting business, and my personal quilting time. I used to subscribe to Flylady years ago, and I’m giving that another whirl. After the required morning caffeination, I get myself ready and then tend some household chores before I start my quilting workday.

Today, my workday consisted of taking our tax paperwork to the accountant. I had to fold and package up two quilts for shipping and get them to the post office. Getting quilts neatly packaged takes a significant amount of time. A quick trip to the bank and home for a quick sandwich and then spent almost three hours working on a very special t-shirt quilt commission. I don’t usually make t-shirt quilts as part of my business, but this is a very special case. Finally, this evening I found time for a little personal sewing. I made 64 half square triangles for the Barn Star Sampler. I’m working on the diamond star block and you make two of that block. I ran out of steam after pressing them, so trimming will wait.

Tomorrow afternoon and evening I will have my two youngest grandsons. So, I’ll definitely be busy then. Have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow, y’all!

quilting · wild rose quilter

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

January 29, 2020 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

I had this adorable, cheerful client quilt under my needle to brighten the cloudy, cold, wet day we had.

We were supposed to get 4″ or more of snow overnight and into the afternoon, but we ended up with only a dusting.

I spent the rest of my quilting time today working on more star blocks for the commissioned quilt I’m making. I’m keeping my little grandsons the rest of the week. I didn’t have them today, however I did have lunch with them, my son and hubby. So, I had some “son-shine” in my day, as well. 😍

quilting · quilts · wild rose quilter

Good Day

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

Today was just a good day. I had my two youngest grandsons and they were a blast today. A client dropped off a quilt for me to longarm quilt for her. And, I got a nice squishy in the mail from Missouri Star Quilt Company. In addition to the two lovely quilt backs I bought, they threw in two extra goodies for free! A sweet little pattern and cute pin set. Gotta love that! Thank you, MSQC!

Yesterday I didn’t have my littles and got quite a bit more work done on the commissioned memorial quilt I’m making for a recently widowed client. I laid a few blocks out on the floor to see how they look mixed together.

There will be 49 blocks altogether. These blocks are made from several of his shirts and even some swimming trunks he wore on their vacation trips to Mexico. I hope it brings her much comfort when it’s finished. I purchased the pattern several years ago from Quiltin’ Tia Quiltworks called Gracie’s Star. I’ve really enjoyed this pattern. This is one of my own quilts and the first one I made using this pattern. I love this quilt. ❤️

And, this is a cute cowboy themed baby quilt I made with it.

Have good night and a fantastic Friday tomorrow! Thanks for visiting me.

food · quilting

Wrapping Up this Thursday

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

As this day has wound down to a close, I’m sitting by the bedroom fireplace listening to little sleet balls ping against the windows. It’s supposed to do that all night. I’m glad I don’t have anywhere I have to go in the morning.

I did pretty good at getting most of my to do list tackled today. I did my paperwork that needed tended. I focused on cutting out more pieces for the commissioned quilt instead of sewing. The cutting seems to be moving rather slowly as I’m not using fat quarters I can stack and cut multiple block sets from at once. Using clothing makes that part quite a bit more tedious. At least it does for me. Some of the fabrics are a bit fussy to work with, also. I’m anxious to see how it comes together. It has such a varied array of patterns, colors and fabrics, but each item has special meaning to my client.

I did make my first chicken fried venison steaks with some back strap meat from the doe my husband harvested. This was a first for us both as it was his first deer. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out quite tasty.

I used my Pampered Chef meat tenderizer on it before soaking in it milk for about 4 hours before frying. It was also my first time using it as it’s a recent purchase. I was very pleased with it. It made quick work of getting the steaks prepped. I had them all done and soaking in less than 15 minutes. I have no affiliation with Pampered Chef, but I do have and use several of their products.

I always lose some of the crispy coating when I cook chicken fried steaks and I don’t know why. If you have any tips for keeping it stuck, I’d love to hear them.

quilting

Late Start to a Busy Day

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Wild Rose Quilter4 Comments

Today and tomorrow are my son’s days off so I’m not keeping my two littles and have my days filled with my own activities. However, I really overslept this morning. On the to do list is a workout, paperwork for our oilfield business, some stitching on a commissioned quilt for a client, and cooking up some venison. I’m new to that last one. My husband harvested his first ever deer on my family farmland, which I inherited a share of when my mom passed. I’ll share more on that as we go along here. It’s one of my favorite places on Earth. Today, the plan is to try chicken frying some back-strap. Check back later to see how this all ends up and how many things I actually get checked off my list. But first, I have a breakfast date with my hubby. Oh, and there’s a massage appointment scheduled in the afternoon for me, also. I have a feeling I’m not going to get everything accomplished that I wanted. That’s just a typical day for me though, lol.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful client quilt I got to do the longarm quilting on recently. One of my favorites from last year. Thanks again to Ruth Ann for trusting me with this treasure! This is all freehand and ruler work.

quilting

Orange

January 14, 2020January 16, 2020 Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

I loved this orange and white Irish Chain client quilt that I had the pleasure of quilting recently. My client asked me to keep the quilting simple. I decided an orange peel design would be perfect. Sometimes less is more and simple can be stunning. I was very pleased with the end result. I usually use a ruler to quilt continuous curve, but I had gotten my Intelliquilter installed right before this one came up for its turn on the machine. So, I programmed in the quilting path row by row and watched the IQ do its thing. It was fun and exciting to see it turn out.