Quilt Show, Fabric and Purchases

On Thursday, I went to a guild members home for fabric.  Another member is giving away her fabric stash since she doesn't feel up to sewing anymore.  I gathered some fabric.

free fabric

I can use some of this for the I Spy quilt.

Three of us wen to a quilt show on Friday.  Prairie Star Quilt Guild had there bi-annual quilt show.  I usually don't get to attend this quilt show, since it falls on the same weekend as my family reunion, but my family reunion has been moved to June, so I could attend.  

We started the day by going to a quilt shop.  I had a gift certificate to this quilt shop.  I didn't know that this shop is closing before the end of the month.  I checked out their scrap deal (scraps by the ounce), and found some for the I Spy quilt and also some larger pieces (1/2 yards to a piece that is several yards long) that I will use for different projects.  Sitting on a shelf, she had a Singer bentwood case.  I asked if it was for sale, and made an offer.  The case was locked (no machine in it), so I couldn't tell what condition the inside was in.  Hubby had to help me get the case unlocked, since I didn't have a key.

locked bentwood case

base is in nice condition with the attachment area cover

missing the hinge pins that hold the machine in place

This case is for a 3/4 size machine.  I have a few of those that need a base or case.  This will fit the bill nicely.  I should be able to find some hinge pins and a key.

I also bought some fabric at this quilt store (had to use my gift certificate).

larger pieces, especially the bottom one which is several yards

from the scrap bucket

Following are photos of some of the quilts at the show.

great quilting on this one

gotta include some seasonal quilts

This next quilt is one that I'm also making, using it as a leaders and enders quilt.  I've actually gotten a lot done on parts of mine.  It is Sue Garman's Omigosh!

1/2 inch squares in this Omigosh! quilt

one of the challenge quilts

I like how she added the photos

This next quilt is for Barbara, since she does so much embroidery with her quilts.

EPP pattern

up close, all hand stitched and quilted

another block up close

You won't believe this next quilt.  I thought the Omigosh! quilt had lots of tiny pieces, but this one has even more.  She paper pieced this quilt during the pandemic and it took her 14 months of intense work.  I show the quilt with someone in front so that you can see how large the quilt is and how tiny the parts are.

all flying geese

up close

I have this next pattern, but I haven't made it yet.  

up close of above quilt

I got blocks from the next quilt, that were already stitched, off the freebie table at my large quilt guild a couple of years ago.  I haven't put them together, since I just didn't know how I wanted to set them.  Now I have a good idea.  Maybe mine will be done before Christmas 2023 (we'll see).  It is wool work, and I haven't done anything with wool (yet).

This next quilt is a great way to use all the coordinating fabric with small panels.

up close

up close

We all hit the scrap fabric booth (fabric from the guild's quilters).  It was very organized.  They had pre-cuts, fat quarters, buckets of scraps (by either color, fabric type or novelty) and larger than a fat quarter was rolled up with rubber bands.  Of course I wanted to find fabrics for the I Spy quilt (it needs 7-9 inch squares).  I also found neutrals for backgrounds and a few fabrics for other projects, too.  I also bought some fabrics from vendors.

scraps

backgrounds (including a 5 yard cut from another quilt store we stopped at on the way home)

fat quarters and vendor fabrics

larger cuts

more fat quarters

We stopped at another quilt store on the way home.  I had another gift certificate, and bought 5 yards of background fabric (shown with the backgrounds above).  That quilt store was having a sidewalk sale.

Yesterday I washed and treated (for bleeding) all the fabrics I'd acquired on Thursday and Friday.  Now to iron and star cutting out fabrics for the I Spy quilt.  I've already pulled a few fabrics out of my stash and started cutting them out.  

While I was pulling fabrics out of my stash for the I Spy quilt (before the quilt show) I checked to see how much ric-rac I have.  I found much more than I thought I had, so I have a good start.  The pattern says I need at least 27 yards, so this is only a dent, but at least I can get started on blocks.  

ric-rac from my stash

Off topic:  I had Panda Express for lunch on Thursday, after picking up all the fabric.  When I opened my fortune cookie, I got 7 fortunes.  Each fortune was different. I'm a very fortunate lady, I guess.  

7 different fortunes in one cookie

A Little Stitching, Cutting and a Few Finds

 

On my last trip I found a new flannel Jelly Roll at an antique shop for a couple of bucks.  I didn't realize that this Jelly Roll only had 18 strips (not the usual 40 strips).  Still, it was cute fabric and I used it to make a small Jelly Roll Race quilt.

mini Jelly Roll race quilt top

I bought some flannel yardage on Monday so that I can add borders and binding to this little quilt top.  It will make a cute baby quilt for a boy.  It's always nice to have a couple of baby quilts on hand, just in case.

Also on my last trip I met up with a friend of my parents that I hadn't seen in 30-40 years.  It was nice to catch up with her and her son (they used to live across the street from us when I was little).  She had some antique quilts she was wanting to sell, and I bought 2 of them.

I need to find out what this block is called

Grandmother's Flower Garden

The Missouri TOGA (Treadle On Gathering and Academy) needed more 'house' blocks for next year's raffle quilt.  I'd already made a log cabin block last June.

I made a schoolhouse block and mailed it.  I added a bell in the bell tower and a door knob.

Also on Monday, I finished another block for the Angels Among Us quilt.  This is May's block. (it still needs buttons added to it for the flowers).

Pushing a needle thru several layers of fused fabric gets difficult at times.  I ordered a thimble that fits over my fingernail.

Unfortunately, I broke my fingernail this morning.  Oh well.

I signed up for a quilt class that my large quilt guild is having next week.  We were sent how much fabric we'd need and cutting instructions (we don't get the pattern until the day of the class).  Here is a photo of the quilt we will be making.

There are 6 different sizes we can make.  I decided to make a king size quilt since I only have one that fits on our new king size bed (last year's Christmas gift to ourselves).

They suggest using Jelly Rolls, or 10" squares.  I seldom use either since I like to prewash all of my fabrics.  I had a stack of fat quarters that I'd bought several years ago for a quilt I never made, and I started pulling yardage out of my stash that would coordinate.  I was hoping to just use my stash for this quilt, but I didn't have enough of any off white background fabric.  Oh well, only buying background fabric is ok.  Here is what I pulled to start with, including the background fabric.

I added another dozen fabrics before I started cutting.  There are 45 different fabrics for the chain links in the pattern.  The pattern says I needed at least 3 Jelly Rolls (120 strips).  I cut 3 strips out of each fabric.  I just finished cutting all the pieces for the class.

fabrics for the chain links

background fabrics

I don't like cutting fabrics, but since I have a 2.5" Shape cutter strip cutter, this went really fast.

I saw this great pattern in one of the newsletters I get online and I ordered it.  I've been wanting to make an I Spy quilt and I'll use this pattern for that.  

busy background

plain background

This is the template for the I Spy fabrics.  

Now I know that I will need 9" squares to set the blocks on point (7" squares if fabric direction doesn't matter).

9" square for on point (directional fabrics)

7" squares if the fabrics aren't directional

I only have a few fabrics collected that will work with this size I Spy block.  I'll have to start collecting fabrics now.

They also included 2 strips of ric-rac, to show what size I'll need (each curve has ric rac).  I'll have to start collecting ric-rac, too. 

13-14 inches long

This pattern came all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

Since I don't have many fabrics or ric-rac, this quilt will take me a while to make.  I need around 75 different I Spy fabrics for the blocks.  I was hoping to make this for Grandbaby #4 (due February).  I doubt I'll get that many I Spy fabrics in time. Oh well.  

I'm Home! (Catching up)

Since my last blog post I've been on 2 more trips.  The first trip was a vacation with extended family in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. We flew into Albuquerque and went up Sandia Peak.  I hadn't been up Sandia Peak since I was a senior in high school.

the sky at sunset

Albuquerque from the top of Sandia Peak

We drove with hubby's brother and sister-in-law to Cloudcroft (where we met up with hubby's parents).  While driving to Cloudcroft, we kept passing this overloaded van.

overloaded van

From the front (sorry, I couldn't get a photo), we could see at least 3 6 foot tables along with other stuff, strapped to the roof.  Since they turned when we got to Alamogordo, we figured that it was a military family moving to the Air Force base there.

In Cloudcroft, we stayed at a cabin called Elk Hollow.  Great cabin (my father-in-law found it on VRBO).  We saw 20-60 elk every morning and late afternoon going up or down the mountain by our cabin.  We'd just walk out onto the balcony, and they were just feet away.  There were at least 5 different bull elk, with the largest having 13 points.

overflow parking at the cabin

from the balcony

in front of the cabin

On Friday night, we attend 'Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch' A Cloudcroft Light Opera Company production.  

What a hoot!  We cheered the good guys, Boo'd the bad guys and threw popcorn.  What a fun evening!  The Cloudcroft Light Opera raised at least $500 for a scholarship for a local student.  They try to raise fund for at least 5-10 $500 scholarships each year.

When I got home, I found this.

see the battery acid coming out?

My car battery was dead (it was 5 years old).  Hubby & son were off all day playing disc golf, so a nice neighbor helped me get the old battery out and the new battery installed.  Thank goodness NAPA Auto Parts was open on Labor Day. 

I was only home for one week before I headed back out, this time to Texas for my mother-in-laws knee replacement surgery.  We didn't get home till Oct 1st.  From Father's Day (June 19th) thru Oct 1st, I've only been home a total of 32 days.

I did get some stitching done since my last blog post.  I quilted, bound and gifted a baby quilt.

I also finished 3 more blocks for the Angels Among Us calendar quilt..

February

March

April

Over the summer we found out that our 4th grandchild will arrive around my birthday (first week of February).  It will be a girl.  Now to figure out some quilts for the new grandbaby.  I'm trying to decide if I will paper piece a quilt for the new grandbaby, like I've done for the other 3 grandkids.  We've done Peter Pan, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and Harry Potter.  What theme would this one be?  I need some ideas.