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.

Goin' Crabbin'

This is our row for Row By Row Experience this year. It is called Goin' Crabbin'. As soon as the theme, On The Go, was announced we had a pretty good idea what we wanted to do. We have learned over the years that when we put a crab on something it just seems to sell better. For some reason the people here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland love their crabs. And who doesn't love the old red pick up truck?

So, as I was saying, the crab is very popular. We are located just off of the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab can be caught in any of the waterways around here. When the crabs are live they are a blueish color as pictured above. When they are steamed the become reddish orange.  

Here are our rows from previous years.   

2014 the theme was seasons.

"Day At The Beach" was summer on the shore.

2015 the theme was water.

"H2O 4 Shore" showed water each season here on the shore. 

This was the worst year for our row! 

Was it because there was no crab or was it because there were so many little pieces?

2016 the theme was Home Sweet Home. 

"Crab Feast" went absolutely crazy!

We had a crab dye made for the AccuQuilt, 

so the crabs in the kits are pre-cut and pre-fused. 

We are still selling this kit and it is available here.

When I am trying to figure the layout of a row, I print the components on paper and play with the placement. I thought it looked better to have the crab in the foreground to the rear to look like it was left behind. 

Once I have the applique pieces prepared I iron them onto parchment paper. Then I can place the entire section onto the background fabric and fuse in place. 

I prefer to stitch around my applique with a double blanket stitch. This really outlines the shape and makes it stand out. For the crab it is best to stitch around each leg first and then come back and stitch around the shell. 

Chris, one of my team members, suggested the dog and the sign on the truck door. 

I think they are great additions to this row. 

I was having trouble getting a good picture inside, so I took it out and laid it on the porch. 

We have this row kitted, and it is flying out the door. 

If you can't get into the shop this summer and would like to purchase this kit, 

you can order it here and we will ship it November 1, 2017.

We decided last year that our license plate needed a crab too.  

This year's license plate also has a crab and can be purchased here.

I don't know how long people are going to continue running around collecting rows in the Summer, but I hope it continues a long time.