Brynn's Name Quilt

 

Brynn will be a year old on February 6^th and I finally finished her Name Quilt. This is a throw size quilt. I have made one for each of my grandchildren so far. So, this is number 4 and I still need to make one for Berkley. He will be one on March 16^th. I really want to get it done before his birthday.

My daughter chose the pattern and fabric for this quilt. One of the reasons it took so long to get it done is this was the third pattern she chose, and we ordered fabric 3 different times. But not only did it put me behind with Brynn’s quilt, but I am now behind with Berkley’s quilt. Honestly, I can’t blame my daughter for me being behind, I just didn’t do much sewing at all last year.

I believe all  of the fabrics used in this quilt are Art Gallery except for the background, which is Peppered Cotton in Oyster. Peppered Cotton Oyster is my favorite background fabric right now.

Recently I have been getting most of my Art Gallery Fabric from Pear Tree Market on Etsy. They carry a lot of Art Gallery and are very quick at shipping it out. 

This was the first block. I just started with the one to make sure this was what my daughter wanted.  

I was keeping Brynn three days a week while my daughter worked. 

You can see I was working on her quilt while she napped.

I don't know what I would do without a design wall to get that just right layout. 

I prefer a double blaket stitch to outline my machine applique. 

Using a darker thread helps to make the applique letter pop.

Sewing on that last border.

The top finished.

Quilting it on the long arm.

I love taking pictures of the completed project outside on the washline. 

These are the fabrics I will be using in Berkley's Name Quilt. I will also be using Peppered Cotton in Oyster for the background fabric. Once again I believe these are all Art Gallery fabrics. 

Blessings,

Candy

My Temperature Quilts

 

2022

2021

2020

I would love to share my past Temperature Quilts with you.

I first heard about Temperature Quilts in October of 2019, and I was immediately intrigued by the thought of making one. I am hooked. I have made one every year since.

2020

2020 was my first Temperature Quilt. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to choose fabric for it. I still had the shop at the time, and you would not believe the bolts of fabric I had out all over the place. The shape represents the high temperature for the day and the background is for the low. I decided on a freehand gum drop for my high temperature of the day. This quilt is put together vertically. Each column is 3 weeks.

The gumdrops are machine applique and stitched around with clear thread. I had a couple special days that year. The day my first granddaughter was born I stitched around with pink thread and the day my daughter got married I stitched around with white thread.

2021

For 2021 I chose to use circles. I kept my fabrics to just 2 colorways, pink and blue. Here the circle is the high and the background the low. This one I pieced together horizontally. There is a white block at the start of each month. When I quilted it, I quilted in the name of the month.

2022

2022 is my favorite Temperature Quilt so far. But there is a strong chance 2023 could become my favorite. Anyway, I went with the circles again. For 2021 I loved the circles, but I can’t say I love the fabrics. I love everything about the 2022 quilt. The previous years the temperature never went below 15. So, when I had one night in January drop below 15 I needed to add another fabric. I chose that chartreuse green. And then we had two nights in December drop that low too. I just love how those nights really stand out because of the color of the fabric.

2023

I have been diligently working on my 2023 Temperature Quilt. I really want to get it done because I think I am going to love it, and I am looking forward to getting started on 2024. I don’t know what I will do for that yet, but I have been thinking a lot about it.

 

Blessings,

Candy

 

Have you ever heard of a temperature quilt?

I first heard about temperature quilts near the end of 2019. I immediately got hooked. I made my first temperature quilt for 2020, and I have been making one for each year since.

Guess I need to write a post about all my finished temperature quilts, but I need to take some good pictures of them first.

This past week I have been working on my 2023 quilt. I have never been this far behind on getting my temperature quilt done before. For 2023 I am doing triangles. There is one triangle block for each day. The triangle represents the high temperature for the day and the background represents the low temperature for the day. The unfinished block measures 3” x 4½”, so the finished triangle block will be 2½” x 4”.

It appears I am having a new love affair with Art Gallery Solids, and that is what all the fabric is in this quilt. To make fabric selection easier I bought the “Art Gallery Fabrics PURE Solids Color Chips” from Woven and Woolly. I used these for several projects I started last year. I absolutely love these color chips and believe it is one of the best quilty purchases I have made.

 Art Gallery Fabrics PURE Solids Color Chips

 Because I love these Art Gallery Color Chips so much, I recently bought the “Peppered Cotton Color Chips.”

Peppered Cotton Color Chips

I chose a different fabric for every 5 degrees. Don’t you just love the color of these fabrics? And because they are Art Gallery, they feel as good as they look.

I have all my fabric cut and each day bagged by month. Now I just need to get them all sewn together. I now have everything pieced through June. So, I am well on my way.

Here are some of my blocks for January. I am so excited to get this done. I am determined to stick with it and get it done soon.

 

Blessings,

Candy

Fabulous Freehand Curves

 Diving In

I am diving more in depth to one of my finishes for last year. Cindy Grisdela came to my guild in July 2023, and I took her workshop, “Fabulous Freehand Curves.”  View Cindy's website here.

Cindy is a great teacher, and I loved all the different methods for freehand improv piecing that she taught. I think I will be using some of these techniques again.

If you are not able to take her workshop in person, then check out this book. Most of her techniques are included in it.

Here is a picture of my project while I was still working on it. As you can see, I was not finished implementing all the techniques she taught, and I shifted my blocks around.

I kept the quilting simple by starting in the middle and circling out. Initially I thought I would wiggle my line as I spiraled out but quickly decided I did not like the look of that. So, the quilting is not perfect, and I am okay with that. It is done.

My finished quilt ended up being about 24” square. That is a great size for a wall hanging or a table topper.

Remember at the beginning of the week I mentioned I had been sewing again. Here is a peak at what I was working on. I had to order fabric for the back and am waiting for that to arrive to quilt it. I can’t wait to get this one done.

 

Blessings,

Candy

Crocheting Again

 

A very interesting thing happened in 2023, I started crocheting again. It wasn’t even my idea. My daughter wanted me to make a baby blanket for my granddaughter. Oh, and I find it odd that they now refer to afghans as blankets. When did that happen and why did they ever call them afghans anyway?

 

Well, let me get back on track here. My daughter saw this daisy baby blanket on Pinterest and asked me to make it. I hesitated since I hadn’t crocheted since I started quilting 25 years earlier. But I do usually give in to my daughter. She was not sure what color she wanted it, so I made a few sample blocks. First the blue, then the darker pink, and then finally deciding on a lighter pink. It turns out that I still love to crochet. I actually started crocheting when I was about 7 years old.

 

I finished the daisy baby blanket off with a scalloped border.

 

When my daughter was trying to decide on what yarn she wanted for the daisy blanket we thought she had settled on the darker pink, so I bought enough for that project. Since she changed her mind, I had all this darker pink just sitting around. I really enjoyed crocheting again and did not have another project to do, so I made this all pink baby blanket. I’m not sure what I will do with that.

 

My next crocheting project was a bonnet for my granddaughter. After that was completed, I thought why not make her a sweater to match.

So, yes, the crochet bug has bitten. I still love to crochet. My passion is quilting but crocheting is portable and something I can do while sitting with others enjoying their company.

I do have another project started and am planning my next one after that.

My next post will be about quilting. I was actually sewing this weekend!

 

Blessings,

Candy

2023 Finishes

 

It is January 4^th and I have not done any sewing or quilting yet this year, but I am not going to let that keep me from posting. I am committing to this blog. Remember, I am doing this for me.

I had very few finishes last year, so I am going to share them now.

In 2022 I was on the ball with my Temperature Quilt. I finished my 2022 Temperature Quilt in January of 2023. I plan to do a future post highlighting my Temperature Quilts. I have been making a Temperature Quilt each year since 2020.

In my Modern Bee we made postcards to mail to another member. This is my postcard that I put in the mail. I made this out of an orphan block from an earlier project.

In March I took a class with Barbara Cline. This isn’t technically finished, but the top is done. Not only is the top done, but I made two of them. These are for the twin beds in one of my guest bedrooms. Hopefully I will get them quilted this year.

In July I took a class with Cindy Grisdela. The workshop was “Fabulous Freehand Curves.” Initially I thought I would make 9 or 12 blocks to make a throw. In the end I went with just 4 blocks so I could get it done. The completed quilt measures about 24 inches square. I figured small and done is better than one more UFO.

In October I took a class with Eleanor Levie. The workshop was “Weave a Quilt With Me.”  I used the same fabrics that I used in the previous class I took. Again, I made my project smaller to “git r done.”

My final quilt project for the year was my Modern Bee Challenge. Each member drew a color card. It was a blind draw, and I was fortunate to get a color that I love. Honestly, I did not have much time to spend on this project so once again it was a “git r done” kind of project. For the most part I am happy with it, except for the quilting. Maybe some day I will go back and do some more quilting on it.

Sadly, that is about all the personal sewing and quilting I did in 2023. I am looking forward to much more time spent in my studio this year. 

Blessings,

Candy

Happy New Year 2024

I have been thinking for some time about doing my blog again. Honestly, I don't even read that many blogs anymore. I just spend too much time scrolling on Instagram. But I want to do this for me. It will be a kind of a journal. I intend to do it like I did before. It will mostly be about quilting, and then throwing in whatever else is going on in my life.

Maryland Flag Quilt Pattern

I began this blog in January of 2010. In September of 2012 I opened a quilt shop. As I got busier with the shop my posts became fewer. My posting became so sparse that I decided to just stop.  I have not posted since the Summer of 2017. 

Monthly Minis

When I opened the shop, I said I would probably do it for about 10 years and by then I would hopefully have some grandchildren. I closed the shop in 2021 and had 2 grandchildren at the time. I now have 5 grandchildren. 

Chesapeake Star

I do still longarm for customers out of my house, but not near as much as I used to. I also haven't sewn or quilted as much in the past year because of the grandchildren, but it is still my passion. 

I began designing Quilt Patterns in 2013 to sell in my shop. Since closing the shop I began putting the patterns on Etsy. I do not have them all on Etsy yet, but I intend to get that done in the near future.  My most popular patterns on Etsy are the Monthly Mini Quilt Patterns, the Crab Patterns featuring the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab, and the Maryland Flag Pattern. 

Jimmy

I have put off getting restarted with this blog because it seemed like there was so much to do to get back at it. Since it is January 1, it seemed like a good time to just do it. I know there are many things that should be redone and updated but I couldn't let myself keep coming up with excuses to put it off. 

I hope you will enjoy following along on my journey.

Blessings,

Candy

PS...  I couldn't do a post without pictures, so I have included pictures of some of my patterns on Etsy with the link to the shop.