Friendship
Crossroads Quilt Along · Quilting tips and techniques · Uncategorized

Friendship

lovinglylissaLeave a comment

What a perfect name for the block I am working on for the Crossroads Quilt Along this month, especially after my last post about Community.

But first, I want to show you this nifty gadget I picked up on clearance from Craftsy.

seamguide

It’s a handy little seam guide!  Do you see the fraction markings?  Right next to them is a hole you can put your needle into on the sewing machine.

Like so;

seamguideneedledown

I was able to make sure my quarter inch foot marking was really marking a quarter inch.  I’ve noticed my needle can be slightly off center sometimes.  But it looks good here.

I used the ruler to mark the machine with masking tape.

seamguidemaskingtape

I was curious to see if having a longer mark for the 1/4 inch guide would help on my blocks.  It didn’t hurt.

Also I used it to mark the diagonals on the small squares for the Friendship blocks.  It has the perfect mitered edge for just a task.

seamguidemarking

Time to sew!

My blocks this month lost some points.  I pulled apart and redid pieces many times.  In the end I am quite pleased with how they turned out.  I even went outside for a fancy photoshoot with them.

crossroadsapril3

crossroadsapril2

crossroadsapril1

Remember, the Crossroads Quilt Along is raising money towards the March of Dimes.  Please donate if you are able!

Now that the Crossroads blocks are done, I am (im)patiently waiting for the mini size from Sondra Davison of Out of the Blue Quilts.  I am picking out and starching fabrics tonight!

Also, it is almost time for a special arrival!!!!!

I’ve signed up for the monthly Sew Sampler from Fat Quarter Quilts.  The very first one ships this week and I can’t wait to share with you the surprises I find inside.  I’m looking forward to trying out new notions and tools and giving you all an honest review of it all.

There are so many other projects I am working on too.  I can’t wait to share them all with you.

 

Uncategorized

Quilting Community

lovinglylissa4 Comments

I have always been a lone quilter.  I’ve attended classes, but by and large I am self taught.  I get lonely at times.

Recently I attended my first one of these!

qs

I walked in and immediately felt at home.  The quilts were so beautiful!  It was hard to get pictures but here are some of my favorites.

Look at these gorgeous scrappy quilts.

qs3scraps

This scrappy one is my favorite!

qsscrap1

 

But I don’t think any of them can beat this mini (yes mini) log cabin scrappy.   The note card read there are 628 pieces of fabric in this mini quilt.

qsminilogcabin

There were beautiful floating blocks.

qsfloatingblocks

A few t-shirt quilts that I spent time admiring.

A few more mini quilts..I have a special place in my  heart for mini quilts.

My absolute favorite is the next one.  It is amazing.  The artist created it for a show that was themed Fantasy Sports.  The Red Dragon is The Ohio State University and the Blue Dragon is Michigan.  They are holding their school signs with their tails.

qsdragon1.jpg

Here is a close up of just the dragons.

qsdragon2.jpg

I can’t get over all the details!  I’m just in love.

Of course I spent some time shopping, too!  There were a few vendors and a garage sale from the members of the quilting society running the show.

I purchased an interesting looking tool and beautiful buttons (I see more pincushions in my future)

 

I am always on the look out to build my stash.  I’m very low on purples and oranges.  I found a great little bundle of purples and was just delighted when I got home and opened one up to find this stunning peacock.

qsfabric

I immediately started making plans for her.

Before I left I did one last thing.  I joined the quilting society running the show.  My first meeting with them is in a few weeks and I am looking forward to it.  I can’t wait to see and learn and explore with all these fine quilters.

 

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O-H

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I-O

Yay, for OHIO!!!!

I’ve had some cheerleaders in my home recently…monkeysohio

They hung around for a while.

monkeysonwall

And were a little mischievous.

monkeysnet

But we didn’t mind.

These grand fellows are now on their way to a new Buckeye home.  But before they go, I have to show you the little one up close.

monkeyeyes

His eyes are actually buttons!  Can you believe they make googly eye buttons!!!!  I need to buy more of these.

Special thanks to the boys in my home who delayed their Nerf gun war to do a photo shoot for me while I was at a meeting.

 

 

 

 

hockey quilt · Quilting tips and techniques · Uncategorized

Take Me Out to the Ballgame 2

lovinglylissaLeave a comment

I’m finishing off the Hockey quilt top for my nephew.  I want to applique his name on the top of the quilt.  I used my Cameo Silhouette to cut the letters out using the same font as the team uses.

I put Wonder Under under a large piece of fabric and sent it through the machine.

cameo cutting

They came out really nice.

letters

After that it was just a matter of ironing them onto the top border and machine appliqueing them on.  I used black thread to give them a little pop.

jonathon

I added the top and bottom borders and the top is finished!

hockeyfinish

So here it is, the finished top.  I don’t have a back fabric for it yet.  This team is one of the few NHL teams that doesn’t have a licensed fabric. I may just go with the navy blue, but I’m opened to suggestions.

If you know of a fabric you think would go great with this top, leave a comment and let me know!

Quilting tips and techniques · Uncategorized

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

lovinglylissa3 Comments

Well…not really, because this quilt is a hockey quilt and I don’t think they use balls in hockey.

As you can probably tell, I’m not much of a hockey fan.  I do like baseball and football, but just can’t get into hockey.  However, I have family members who are fans and a nephew who never got his baby blanket from me.

My sister and I did some searching and found this pattern by Kristie at OCD: Obsessive Crafting Disorder and I got to work.

I wanted to personalize the borders and decided on some applique.  I will be putting my nephew’s name at the top and on the sides I decided the logo for their favorite team would be perfect.

I have this great circle cutter that I’m in love with. I used it to cut the black and white circles I needed for the logo.

circle cutter

cut circle

Perfect!

The circles were cut larger than I needed and I used this method by Anna Maria Horner and machine appliqued them.

For the main part of the logo I used Wonder Under and cut out the main part.

red logo

Once the circles were machined appliqued on, I ironed the main part of the logo onto them and machine appliqued that on as well.

border logo

I attached the borders to the sides and they are looking great on the quilt!

hockeyborder1

Stay tuned for my next post to see the finished top!

 

Quilting tips and techniques · The Splendid Sampler · Uncategorized

Colors

lovinglylissa5 Comments

I have been following along with The Splendid Sampler quilt along.  I’m not making every block as I have too many projects going on.  However, every now and then a pattern has struck me and I’ve just HAD to make it.  This happened recently and it was great timing as it was an embroidered block and I was looking for something to do while waiting for my car to be serviced.  I love projects that are portable.

This block is called Crocheted Thoughts and is by Alyssa Thomas.

I found some blue variegated thread in my container and was thrilled.  Not only do I love blue, but I have SOOOOO much blue fabric.  I started pulling out of the bins and laying them out.  I take pictures with my phone so I can step back and get a better read.

At first I tried to use some fabrics that came together in a pack and moved them about a bit.

colors7 colors9

But I wasn’t happy, so I tried a new arrangement.

colors6

I got closer with that arrangement.  I really like the center fabric, it is a very pale blue, but I didn’t like all the other blues around it.

So, I figured I would use some color theory and asked myself what the complementary color of blue is.  Answer is orange!

No way, orange with blue?!  There was no way I was going to like it, but I went to my orange fabrics and pulled some out.

colors5

Oh my goodness, I think I was falling in love.  But to be sure, I cut all the pieces out and laid out the block.

colors3

Yes, this is definitely a winner!

crochet block

The finished block is 6 inches.  Not sure what my plans for it is yet, right now I just enjoy looking at it.

Crossroads Quilt Along · Uncategorized

My March Mini

lovinglylissa2 Comments

Here is the next mini Crossroads block from Sondra Davison.  The last one I made, I tried something new for me.  I tried something new for me this time as well.  I tried out fussy cutting fabric for the block.  It took some doing, especially as the square was only one and three quarter inches big, but I am happy with the results.

The sun was gorgeous today, so I left the craft room for a photography session outside.

march mini

Here it is again with the Mama block from Crossroads.

march big mini

The large block is finished at 7.5 inches and the mini is finished at 3.75 inches.

The Crossroads quilt along is run by Kimberly Jolly at the Fat Quarter Shop and benefits the March of Dimes.  Please join along or consider making a donation.

Uncategorized

A Favorite Thing

lovinglylissaLeave a comment

From time to time a blog post will NOT be about quilting.  Perhaps another craft I am working on, perhaps something going on in my life.  Who knows?

Today is one of those posts.  I want to share a favorite part of my craft room with you.

This cabinet;

cabinet

Inside this cabinet is a hod podge of crafty needs.  Popsicle sticks, pom poms, ribbon, feathers, glues and tapes; beads, felt, stamps, and most importantly, google eyes.

When one of my kids gets inspired and asks if I have something to help them create their vision, I love being able to say yes, and open the cabinet doors for them.

My most frequent visitor is my middle child.  In the past he has drawn cartoons and wished that he could make them into stuffed animals, and we have.  In the future there will be a t-shirt quilt that he is collecting t-shirts and fabrics for.  Recently he felt the urge to make a small collage.

denis collage

A short while later and his current masterpiece was ready.

denis collage2

Yup..definitely one of my favorite things….that smile!

Crossroads Quilt Along · Quilting tips and techniques

Stabilize it!

lovinglylissa1 Comment

While we wait for the next pattern for Crossroads, Sondra Davison from Outofthebluequilts is giving measurements to make mini versions of the Crossroads Blocks.

I decided to give it a try, with a few changes to the original block.  Instead of the line down the side of the house matching the background fabric, I made it a darker color of the house, and I took out the main window and added a door.

Here are my fabrics. They are just from my stash, I don’t know the lines or designers.

fabric choices mini

I knew the pieces were going to be tiny so I decided to try a fabric stabilizer I had on hand and see if that would make sewing easier.

sew stable

I mixed it up with some water according to the directions, laid the fabrics on a towel, and sprayed away.

wet fabric

It was fun to play with the pieces in the morning.  They felt like thin pieces of paper.  See?  No flopping!

stiff fabric

I did find it much easier to cut and sew these tiny, tiny pieces with the stabilizer applied.  There was less movement when cutting and sewing and no fraying.

Here’s Momma house and Baby house. Baby house was so cute, I made it a little crocheted frame.

mini house w full

And so you can see how tiny the finished block is, here it is next to a tic tac box.  Finished size of the mini block is 3.75 inches by 3.75 inches.

mini house w tic tac

I can’t wait for the mini diamond block to come out!

lovingly, lissa