Pandemic Power Sewing...

This afternoon I dumped a basketful of 2 1/2" strips I've had for way too long and started some...

...power chain piecing.

I'm sewing three strips together, then cutting them into 5 1/4" squares.


There's really no rhyme or reason behind what I'm doing except that I plan on sewing them
into a scrappy Crazy Rails quilt pattern. I don't even know what size this quilt will make. LOL!
But I love my scrappy Thirties Repro fabrics...so know I'll love the quilt as well.
And....having an emptied basket of scraps makes this a win win project don't ya think.

 Honestly, it is just the perfect pandemic/summer sewing for me right now. I find myself feeling blah with little motivation to work on anything that requires much concentration. The afternoons are starting to get hot as our temperatures outside are beginning to near 100 degrees.
(Note: I am NOT a summer/heat person!!!)


So, contently I'll continue my power sewing as I watch old 80's movies and maybe a little toooo much Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles on the cable channels. LOL!
How about you??? Do you find yourself sometimes battling the pandemic/summer blahs?
If so,  please comment and share your "go-to" boredom buster??
With SMILES. Val

Best of 2017 Linky

I like participating in Cheryl's "Best of" Linky Party as it creates the opportunity and motivation for me to look back and see how my year of blogging has been. 

 My "word" for 2017 was JOY. I started out the year with an ambitious list of goals, but quickly realized I'd take a more joyful, laid back approach to my quilting. Our Winter was overwhelming and Fall was filled with family transitions, which as you know, included welcoming our new grand guy. Wierd how much can happen in a year huh. In review, I did finish six quilts and have been thinking about new ways to be creative in my studio and here on the blog. (Stay tuned) It truly has been a joyful blogging year with each of you as my "virtual quilting community". I am grateful for our friendships. Soooo, with that said, here is my best of 2017: 

First up, My MOST VIEWED post coming in with 696 views was my Classroom Quilt Finish.  Wow! Thank you for your continuous support of me as a second grade teacher.

Next, JACKSON'S MOST POPULAR POST with 717 views was when I asked reader's to take a quiz to determine What Dog Breed are You? I enjoyed finding out how many of you have a dog companion and what breed fit your lifestyle.

Next, is our LARGEST TUESDAY ARCHIVES PARTY. It was dated back in September and had 26 links. It was surprisingly our BAG themed party. Thank you for your continued participation in our weekly Tuesday Archives linky. 

We've had 178 linky parties so far...and many still ahead!

1. Each Tuesday I've posted a quilt theme.

2. I appreciate the time and effort you take to search through your quilting archives for old posts to link under the theme.

3. Thank you for visiting eachother.

 And remember you can find all our past themes in our Tuesday Archives: DIRECTORY Plus, I know Tuesday Archives is not your traditional linky party. As I prepared this post, I noticed that our weekly links have decreased by 50% compared to a year ago. I'm not sure if this is due to the rise in instagram and pinterest usage, but if you have any input to offer about our themes...please  email me with your ideas. And if you are new to my blog,  I'll hope you'll stop by on Tuesdays and join us!

And finally, I'll conclude with My Two FAVORITE QUILT Finishes of the year:

The first one is my Bloom QAL, made entirely from my stash!

The second, is my queen size Raw Edged Flowers and Nine PatchQuilt. 

It's always nice to finish a quilt that has been over a year in the creating isn't it. 

So there you have it: The 5 Best of 2017 here at Val's Quilting Studio. I want to thank all of you who have become my blogging friends over the past years.  I also want to welcome you if you are new to my ol' spot here in blogland. Please take a look around, and if ya are even a little bit inspired by what ya see, I hope you'll follow too. In the meantime, happy holidays to you all and thank you Cheryl for hosting this party. Click on the picture below to check out everyone participating and celebrating:

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

"Bloom" QAL Finished!

The Front:

This finish measures 62"x 72". 

The Quilting:

Yes I broke all the rules and did a Daisy on a String pantograph on this applique quilt...and I love it! 

This is a loose pattern that didn't take away from the applique. I think that was the key.

 Annnddd a peek at the Back:

Another happy finish that was a great stash buster.

On the Frame This Week...

Oh Happy Day everyone!

I finally finished my Bloom SAL project and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

Don't ya just love that feeling when ya finish something made entirely from your stash. 

When I very first starting quilting, I collected fat quarters of 30's repro's everywhere I went...so you can imagine how good it felt to dig into that stash for this adorable Lori Holt SAL. 

I'm on my way to put this one on the quilting frame and am looking forward to another Friday Finish this month...that will be TWO "old" WIP completed this month! Gotta' love that!

Stay tuned...

 Click HERE to post and join/rejoin us for this year's 

the Piggy Bank Challenge!

Note: This Linky is open until  August 1st. 
Please feel welcome to grab the code on my sidebar and and help spread the work to all your readers.

Five and Dime Quilt Finish

I decided to finish this "five and dime" quilt with no border and can't help but think it will make the perfect baby quilt for a little girl. It finishes at 33" x 55"...just right for a crib don't ya think.

I love it's black binding and red with tiny white polka-dot backing.

And though it's hard to see, I used a Lazy Daisy pantograph to add to it's charm.

It's always a good feeling to empty your stash to build one's stash of baby gifts isn't it!?

Annnddd to squeak in one more finish for 2016! Yippee!!!

WIP: Five and Dime Quilt

 I'm stash busting...and found this quick pattern to help me do just that!

Take a layer cake (the dime: 10") and a charm pack (the nickel: 5")

Center the 5" charm square on top of a 10" square; pin in place. 

Stitch about 1/8"from raw edges of the charm squares.

Pattern from Kansas Troubles Quilters; A Moda Precut Pattern

Next, cut the layered 10" block into fourths to make (4) 5" square segments. 

Mix up the squares and sew back together. 

No need to worry about matching the edges...it's scrappy!!!

This week will find me sewing this into a flimsy and deciding on the border.

What do ya think? A solid stop border with those cute 2" squares??

Thanks for stopping by...as I'm still thinking about what to do.

Tomorrow's theme is: MITTENS

Tuesday Archives #120: Farmer's Wife Quilts

Hello! Hello! And...Happy Tuesday Archives. 

The linky party that let's you rejuvenate OLD blogging posts.

This week's theme is: FARMER'S WIFE

Many of you already know, I'm a Farmer's Wife drop-out. (Yep! Click HERE to read my archived post from 2014, where I turned lemons into lemonade!) I am happy to report that this little quilt has since been gifted to a new mom as a baby gift and she loved it!

Stay-cation Day 3: Bloom QAL #1-8

I spent the afternoon getting caught up on my Bloom QAL blocks.

It's fun playing with my stash of 30's and Lori has great tips that sure make these easy peasy to put togethter. Red sure is an eye catcher. I'll have to be sure to balance that out as I go.

Tonight, I'm going to prepare blocks 9-12 as I watch the Season Premier of Dancing With the Stars!

Get blocks nine and ten sewn up tomorrow...then I'll not only be caught up, but actually ahead.

Gotta love that feeling! I know Tonya is doing this QAL but wonder if anyone else is??

 Please comment if you are, so I stop by and see your blooming garden as well. 

Till tomorrow.

How did I NOT know about this tool?!

Seriously!!! 

I have been doing applique for years and never knew what a 1/4" Clover Bias Maker tool was, let alone that I could use it to create stems for my applique projects...in seconds!!

So easy peasy....I made a whole spool full! I'm hooked!

A Sew Along full of new learning already!

What do you enjoy most about a sew along?
I'm participating in Lori Holt's Bloom Sew Along and have already learned so much. First, okay, there's that amazing little tool mentioned above that is going to save me a ton of time in the future. (I'm definitely getting all the other sizes!)

Secondly, I'm also learning a new way to applique using Pellon interfacing in a lightweight non-fusible.(Click HERE to read Lori's tutorial.) I'm finding this method to be quick and easy with a neatly finished edge. I plan to machine applique my blocks using a blanket stitch for this sew along. 

 I prepared the applique pieces the evening before and was able to have my block sewn together in a half hour after work.  Bam! NOw that's what I'm talking about! Here's my first block:

Our finished blocks measure 12 1/2" x 12 1/2".

Guess what! I'm even stash busting my 30's tub of fabric for this one!

Don't ya love that feeling?!?!

(I know, I know, a lot of exclamation points in this post...the littlest things really do make me happy!)

Sun Bonnet Sues Quilted!

So part of my Winter Sewing over my break from teaching was to quilt these darn Sun Bonnet Sues for our friend.

Why'd it take me so long??? Good question!

Quite honestly I was scared! (I was!)

I mean these were made in 1940 and someone else's heirlooms were in my hands!

Seriously!!! 

I'm a hobby quilter...in "real" life I'm a second grade teacher.

But I DID IT!!

The smaller one I stitched-in-the-ditch the Sues and cross-hatched the background. 

 The next quilt was QUEEN size.

After a LOT of thinking...I finally decided to pantograph this one!

Why?

Well.....the seams were thin and some even needed resewing as there were holes.

Next, the fabric was old. I wondered how much quilting it could withhold?

I remet with my friend  and asked her what her purpose of the quilt was?

Her answered that they wanted to use it....eventually passing it down to their grand-daughters.

I also had to keep their budget in mind.

So I chose a light, loopy flower pantograph that mimicked many of the flowers in the Sue's dresses.

Here's the clincher! Geuss which quilt was their favorite! Yep! the one I pantographed!! OMG!!  Have you ever sat on a project for months...contemplating???  When in the end, the project was much easier than you made it. (I mean they didn't know you are "not suppose" to quilt over applique.) 

Lesson learned.

Click here to see more Antique Quilts at this week's Tuesday Archives.