Easter Table Topper

 The Easter table topper is almost finished! It's been quilted and the binding has been sewn on. It measures 30" X 30".  It's made of fun and vibrant Easter/Spring fabrics. This is for my friend who was my college roommate for years. She's the only one I still keep in touch with after all these years. 

I started quilting this on Sunday. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with the quilting but it came to me as I started quilting it.

I quilted this star in the center block. It's hard to see on that plaid fabric, but it's there! Time to sew down the binding. I really have to learn to sew down the binding using my machine. One of these days I'll try it!!

Easter Runner

I finished quilting my Easter runner yesterday. It just needs binding. It's such a pleasure to make something small and actually finish it quickly. Since Easter is next weekend, I'll finish it just in time!

Here's a close up of the quilting. I just did arcs in the small squares and ribbon candy in the sashing. The larger squares had triple arcs on each side. It's nothing very fancy but it works nicely!

Here's a view of the back. I love how it's so flat! The quilting is seen quite nicely too! I'm going to use something in my stash for the binding. I hope to get that done today. Hopefully!!

Easter Table Runner

Here's the table topper I made with my leftover Easter fabrics. It measures 30" X 30" finished. This was a quick project that I finished in just about one afternoon. I found the pattern while searching for free table toppers. If you're interested, the directions can be found here.

I started out by working on the center first. (Oops, one of those quarter square triangles isn't positioned properly. Good thing I fixed it!) Each square measures 6.5". The hardest part was those quarter square triangles which were very quick. The fabrics are actually much brighter than the pictures. 

I'm trying to find my batting and backing. I'll be starting the quilting process next. I still have to decide what to do. 

Windsor Easter Table Runner

I finished an Easter table runner over the weekend. I had bought the cutest Easter fabrics and wanted to make something that would showcase the fabrics. I own all three books of the Tabletastic series by Doug Leko and knew I'd find something to make. So I settled on this pattern called Windsor. It measures about 17.5" X 42".

I cut the background fabric first. I had bought this fabric about a year ago and forgot I had it! I thought it would be perfect with these blocks. It's white with a little confetti thrown on it. It's not too bright but festive enough with the Easter fabrics. Each block measures 8" square finished,

It took a little while to figure out how to set up the blocks but I came up with something I liked. I put everything together but the borders. The borders and sashing finish at 1". I can't do too much quilting in them but I'll think of something! I'll be quilting it soon. I'm going to make a quick table topper for a friend using the same fabrics. Then, I'll quilt them together. I'll post more pictures soon!

 

I Like Thursday #269

 It's time again for Thursday likes! A bunch of us bloggers post positive and fun content every Thursday. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. I was so happy to see our daffodils sprouting. I know for sure Spring is here. Sort of! It's still cool and wet today but I'm hoping our weather improves. 

I received this card from my daughter for my last birthday. I love it! This kitty is surely enjoying life! I lover her outfit too. She's very cool as well as stylish!!

I just started reading this book and so far, I like it. It's a new take on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but from Jim's perspective. Jim is a slave but not all is as it seems. Jim is putting on an act. He's smarter and more intelligent than he lets on. It's an interesting read.

The prompt this week asks about our Easter as children. Well, we always got a new outfit. Since my dad was a tailor. he made us new coats for Easter in this picture. I think I was 5 years old here and my brother is close to 1 year old. I always got a new hat, shoes and pocketbook as well as a dress. My mother made a huge dinner which usually included my grandparents. We always went to church and had our dinner early in the afternoon. Such great memories and so fun! I feel Easter is much more casual now and not as religious. We got chocolate but that's about it. 

I hope you had a good week and enjoy your weekend!!

Checkerboard Block - Laurel Ridge BOM

The April directions for the Laurel Ridge BOM came out a few days early. This month, we'll be making the Checkerboard Block. I was a little nervous to make this block since it looks complicated. After making 4 blocks, I found out it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. These blocks finish at 5" square.

I started out by cutting everything first. (I don't always do that!) The squares are made by sewing long strips together and then cutting down. The triangles are added to the start of each row as well as the other side of the 4th row square. After sewing the 4 rows together, I trim the ears off the triangles. I sew on the floral triangle and my block is complete! Not as bad as I was thinking! I have to make a total of 32 blocks this month. 

I Like Thursday #268

It's time for Thursday likes! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more blogs posting fun likes. My two cats, Lily and Molly, don't always get along so I always like seeing them sitting together and not fighting. I think Molly is jealous that Lily is in the little house but Lily is just staring right back. No hissing or flying paws! They actually stayed like that for awhile. Quite surprising!!

I bought these cute Easter fabrics a few weeks ago. I think I might make a table runner. I doubt I'll have it ready for this Easter but the fabric was just too cute to pass up!

I made this banana cream pie last week and it was very tasty! You can find the recipe here. It uses a ready made graham cracker crust so it's quick! I hope you like it as much as we do!

This is the latest paper pieced block for the Frightful Fun Block of the Month. The background is actually much lighter than the picture. This one took a while to make but it's wasn't too hard. It measures 12.5" X 24.5". I'm waiting for the next installment of Laurel Ridge from The Quilt Show. I heard it will keep me busy most of the month!

 Have a great weekend!! We're expecting a rainy weekend. It's better than snow!!

Frightful Fun BOM Update

I'm not sure why but the April blocks for Frightful Fun are already up! I made these blocks in an afternoon. These are quick and easy! (Which I love!!) They finish at 6" square. I used a different orange for each block but all the other fabric was the same.

These are the rest of my blocks before April was released. I love using the different color backgrounds. This is one of the most fun quilt projects I've made. Such fun!!

Quilted Log Cabin Star

 

My husband and I both had doctor appointments in Boston on Thursday. We got there early for my appointment but then had to wait around for 1PM for his. It's nice not having to go into Boston twice but it certainly makes for a long day! The traffic was awful when we were ready to come home. I've been sewing and quilting but didn't go on my laptop once! I did finish the Log Cabin Star. I really like how it came out.

Here's a closeup of the quilting. I have the binding all ready to go. I went to the quilt store for the binding fabric and bought a few more things as well! I can never just buy what I need when I visit a quilt shop. There are too many nice things that I just can't leave behind! I'll post pictures when I decide what I'm going to do with my bonus purchase!

Quilting Log Cabin Star

 I started to quilt the Log Cabin Star table topper. It measures about 36" X 31". I had a backing left over from a previous project that has lots of pink in it. I thought it would work out well. I found a batting that I had had for years. I don't usually use polyester batting but I thought it would be okay for a table topper. I found it easy to quilt with after the 2 blocks I quilted. I quilted arcs in the center diamond. I quilted small arches, candy ribbon and wishbone in the three layers surrounding the middle.

Since this top isn't very large, I decided to float the top and not pin it to any leaders. I think it's small enough to be okay to do this. I'm so used to pinning! I figured I would get outside my comfort zone and try this method. This piece is made of 12 diamonds so I don't think it will take too long to finish. Now, if I could just find some fabric to bind it with! I'll have to go through my stash.

I Like Thursday #267

It's time for Thursday likes! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more blogs taking part in I Like Thursday! I finished these cross stitch pieces a few weeks ago but it took a while to add a border and quilt them. I finally finished them up this morning. I just have to sew down the binding. The one on the left is about 10" square while the other one is 9" square. I'll be displaying them as soon as they're done. It's not too warm today but it does feel more like Spring. I actually quilted these two on the long arm! I used the same backing so it was quick to load and finish them up.

Speaking of spring, look at my Christmas cactus! It has so many new little leaves growing. I think it happened overnight. So exciting for me since I don't have a green thumb. 

Here's my Alaska quilt. It's all washed and bound. I put in 2 color catchers when I washed it. It seems to have done really well. Although I prewash my fabric, I still am unsure if anything will run in the wash. I also used a wool batting which is supposed to show off the quilting well even after washing it. My quilting is still very visible. I've had some quilts where the quilting is hard to see after that first wash. It must be from shrinking, not sure. 

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Toil and Trouble

I finished the latest block released for the Frightful Fun BOM. I was a little nervous to make this one. The bird looked difficult to me, especially the eye. The eye is about 1/2" square and then each corner gets a tiny triangle to make it look more round. 

I'll admit that I had to make the eye twice before I got the hang of it. The pieces were just so small. The second one looked so much better than the first one.

I also wanted a fun accent piece below that charcoal grey of the cauldron. I was lucky I found this Tula Pink in my scrap box. It was perfect!!

I decided to make the moon yellow at the last minute. I had another fabric all picked out that had stars in it but changed my mind. I'm glad I went with yellow. I was a little nervous to sew on those "legs" but it all worked out! The designers do a great job with these patterns. 

I'm all done for this month and am waiting for the April release of the next patterns.

I Like Thursday #266

It's time for Thursday likes! Please visit LeeAnna to find more blogs taking part in I Like Thursday. I kept hearing a weird noise while in my kitchen. Both cats came running and I saw them staring at this little guy! For some reason, this squirrel likes to climb the window screens in my eating area. He actually licks them!! I'm not sure why. I've noticed he comes a few times per day. I even caught him licking the vinyl siding. I suppose all species have their crazy members!!

I finished this cross stitch project last week also. I used rick rack but I need some other sort of trim. 
Any suggestions?? I used to like looking around JoAnn's but the one near me has been picked over. There's nothing worthwhile left. It's sad these stores are closing. I'm not sure where I can buy notions like these. Maybe Michael's?? I'm hoping some quilt shops add to their inventory.

This is my second attempt at Stanley Tucci's Zucchini Pasta. You can find the recipe here. This one seems a bit more authentic than the last one I tried. I made the zucchini this morning and will let it sit in the fridge all day. They recommend overnight but I forgot about making it last night. I have my cheese all ready to go! I can't wait to try it!!

Our prompt this week asks us what we wanted to be when we were children. I always wanted to be a teacher. However, at the time, teachers couldn't find jobs. It was always my dream to have my own classroom. I changed to pharmacist since I had volunteered at the local hospital and they put me in the pharmacy. It seemed like a good job and I was always interested in science. I think the favorite part of being a pharmacist was teaching the pharmacy students that rotated through our department. I guess I combined teaching with my pharmacy career as best as I could.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm enjoying to see our snow melting. It's been a little bit warmer and it also rained. So nice to see grass again!!

Halloween BOM Frightful Fun

I've been working on my Frightful Fun BOM since I'm all caught up with the Laurel Ridge BOM sponsored by The Quilt Show. I finished quilting this mini last week and added the binding over the weekend. I'm sewing it down by hand while watching TV.  It measures 18" X 18". This was a great way to review my paper piecing skills before I started the larger project.

These are my bone blocks. I decided to stick with black and white although many of the other quilters added all sorts of colors. I like using just 2 colors for the 6 blocks. They measure 6" square unfinished. These blocks look easy but each block is made from 23 pieces! They always take longer than expected. My next block is the witch's cauldron! I'll post pictures once that one is finished. More to come!!

 

I Like Thursday #265

It's time for I Like Thursday. We bloggers post our likes for the week. Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. I'm way ahead on the Laurel Ridge BOM. The March directions came out a few days ago and I'm already done!! We had to make 48 half square triangles. Thanks to the 8-at-a-time method, I finished them in record time! The Halloween BOM still hasn't posted for March yet. 

Anyone else taking part tomorrow? No buying from large companies. No gas or fast food. No credit cards. Buying from small business is fine. Just trying to make an impact by hitting them in the wallet. Money is the only thing they're interested in. 

I found this great fabric to frame my Easter cross stitch. It's a little busy but I just love the bunnies! I'm keeping it! It's amazing what's hiding in my stash!

I just finished this book and loved it! I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It's s study of Lila and her family. I have a best friend named Lila so I felt like I new her right from the start of the book.

That's it for this week! Have a great weekend!!

Log Cabin Star

I finished my Log Cabin Star table topper. It measures approximately 36" X 31". I loved making this. Once I figured out the directions, it was easy to sew together. It's a little different to have 60 degree angles on either side of a strip but it works out very nicely. I loved picking out batiks. Next time, I would place the strips a little differently. I would make the medium strips in the order of lightest to darkest. I didn't differentiate them this time. I didn't even think of it! I would like to make a quilt using this pattern and all my scraps. I'm hunting for a pattern.

I'm so happy to show you the middle intersection. Everything lined up very nicely the first time I sewed that middle seam. I usually have to rip out and fiddle with it but this one was good after one try! That doesn't always happen to me. It was a nice surprise!!

I Like Thursday #264

It's time for I Like Thursday where a bunch of us bloggers post lots of likes. Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more blogs. I finished piecing all the blocks for the Log Cabin Star table topper. There are a few things I would do differently with colors, but I do like it! I do enjoy working on quick projects. I started making this over the weekend and hope to have it all sewn together soon.

One reason I've been getting so much done is the snow!! We've been getting plenty of snow here in New England. This is a picture of my daughter watching her boyfriend and father clean off her car. It's nice that she didn't have to do it all by herself. There was lots of snow and ice out there from the weekend storm. We're still dealing with ice and wind. It's been a long winter!!

I was watching TV and dozing off for the night when I saw Lily on high alert! It looks like Molly, our other cat, was in my bedroom. Lily is quite territorial and didn't like seeing her in this room. Molly saw her and quickly left the room! So funny!

My daughter's boyfriend got me a subscription to this magazine and I just received it a few days ago. There are some great patterns in this one. There's also a cute little project for Valentine's Day. I got it a little too late for this year, but it may come in handy next year. 

Those are my likes for the week. We're expecting warmer temperatures this weekend so hopefully, no snow!! Have a great weekend!!