From a distance this looks like a classic red and white quilt.
​It's not.

There are also ivory, cream, ecru, and gray.
And if you look very closely, you will see a smidgeon of blue.

On The Plus Side
pattern by Minick and Simpson
84" x 84"
approximately 3,219 pieces

Not long after I began putting blocks together I realized it would not be in the top ten of my favorite quilts.
​I grumped and complained to my sister all the way to the end.

Thank goodness I love the border. Whew!


Someday I will make a real classic red and white quilt.
There will not be plus signs.
​Enough of those already.

Line Dried is headed to the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale Quilt Auction. It will be sold on September 22, 2018.
​
Teal and aqua prints and stripes combined with solid white and black and white stripes update this traditional Ohio Star quilt.
I added additional borders for a 84" x 88" finish.

The donated machine quilting by Three Sisters Quilting complete this quilt perfectly. I couldn't be happier with how it looks, and I'm glad for the donation opportunity.

It could be yours!

Each of my four sisters seem to have an appreciation for my quilts.
​However, one of the sisters I would say is the quiltiest because she makes as many quilts as I do.

I remember purchasing this pattern called Desert Rose by  Kate Spain at Glacier Quilts in Kalispell, Montana on a road trip to Seattle.

Isn't it ironic that I bought a quilt with desert in its title in the foothills of Glacier National Park?

At the time I had no idea what fabric I would use or where it might eventually end up.

​Well, take a look!
​Here is the finished quilt!

My quiltiest sister had this one machine pieced and used it to redecorate her guest bedroom.

​It looks amazing!

​Now I want to be a guest!

A few years ago I pieced Vanilla Cakes, a pattern  by Fig Tree.
​Strawberry Cakes and Orange Cakes would be more accurate I think.

I gave this quilt top to Three Sisters Quilting. They generously donated their machine quilting.
​Now that it is finished, it will be donated to a charity auction for a birthing center.
​Doesn't this seem like a perfect quilt for a baby girl?

Strawberries and Oranges
​73" x 87"

The more birthdays a woman has, the more fun she has celebrating.

We reserved tickets.
​We read the summary and the lyrics of the music.
​We packed the quilts.
​We donned our winter coats and gloves.
​We arrived in Chicago prepared.

We were greeted by a temperature of 34 degrees with wind at 19 mph;
​it felt like 24 degrees on this spring day in the city.
​These conditions did not deter my generous and steadfast husband.

"Wait a bit," he said.

Photography?
Success.
Hamilton?
Amazing!
Final birthday celebration for dinner?
​Comfort food at the Berghoff.

City Tiles
60" x 72"
1590 pieces

There are 10,963 explanations why I have no finished quilts yet in the year 2018.
​10,963 is the total number of pieces cut for the six quilts that I am currently making.

​Some quilters work on only one quilt at a time.
​That's not me.

This post reviews the progress of each of the six.

​Line Dried (2225 pieces) is a completed top and has been delivered it to Tammy at Three Sisters Quilting.
​This may be the first finish, unless I finish City Tiles (1590 pieces) before Tammy calls and says Line Dried​ is completed. All City Tiles needs is to have the rows sewn together.  I plan to quilt it myself.

Last March I began piecing two Irish Chain quilts out of my blues, greens, and neutrals stash, thinking that they would be for my two grandsons. Since that time I learned that there will be another grandson. And there is now! So this project has grown into three Irish Chain quilts. I have finished the 144 blocks needed for these three quilts. They are waiting to be sewn together into rows.

The last of the six quilts in progress is On the Plus Side ​(3620 pieces). Those 3620 pieces have been reduced to 2632.
​Hmmm...a ways to go on this one.

Obviously I  need to take a break from all those numbers.
What is the best way for a quilter to take a break?
​Start another project of course.
​Fortunately this bunny pillow (seven pieces) materialized quickly.

Emily Dennis is a Michigan quilt designer who created this City Tiles pattern. I wanted to make a quilt by a Michigan artist (so close to home), I liked the title of the pattern, and I knew in my head what I could do with the block design.
​So this is another quilt in progress.

Each block contains 53 pieces.
​Those 53 pieces are more easily seen from the back of the block.

The fabric is  collection of ten different blues. Five of the blues are from the True Blue collection by Zen Chic.
I chain pieced to make the sewing go faster...

and gradually the pile of blocks grew.

I am currently in the process of sewing thirty blocks and rows together. This quilt will measure 60" x 72."

This pattern called Line Dried by Coriander Quilts nestled in my brain the first time I saw it.
Maybe it was the Ohio Star blocks.
Maybe it was the name.
​Maybe it was the stripes.
More than likely it was the combination of all three.
​It didn't take long before stars, lines, and stripes organized themselves in my brain. 

The actual quilt did not materialize as quickly, but eventually 2,225 pieces successfully became one.​

I assembled zebra stripes for the binding.

This quilt top will be machine quilted at Three Sisters Quilting, and likely
​auctioned at the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale this September.

I have laundry on my mind as I continue to sew blocks for Line Dried,
​a pattern by Coriander Quilts.

My laundry-clothesline quilt features lots of lines.
Using striped fabric may or may not have been the best decision.
​I love the look, but the stripes ensured that I maintained my close relationship with Ripley, my seam ripper.
​Ripley continued her workout for 43 of these wee Ohio Star blocks.

​During a needed break from Ripley, I found this poem online.

I do have a clothesline.
Yet because our recent January temperatures and snow are not conducive to any real line drying,
​I'll continue working on my Line Dried quilt.

Sewing red and white blocks during the Christmas season seems so color-appropriate. The only trouble is that there is barely enough time to sew with all the holiday preparation happening.
Happily I enjoy both.
​These blocks are a new-to-me block with new-to-me construction. 

The blocks could then be squared up, corner pieces applied, and sewn together with a "stem.

I made twenty-six.
​They will make up the border of On the Plus Side by Minick and Simpson. Like the name suggests, there will be lots of "plus" blocks...
​and by lots I mean 256. 
​I have 54 completed.

More fabric is cut and waiting...
​ready for adding another "plus" to my wonderful Christmas.

Who doesn't love striped binding?

Stripes give this solid colored quilt a little needed sass.

Morning Glory
​66" x 74"
​

I began making half square triangles for two Ocean Waves quilts last March.  I blogged about the monotony of making thousands of hst's, but if I did them a few hundred at a time, the goal would be reachable. After all, I set a two year time timeline for making these quilts.

This past week I pulled the box of several hundred finished hst's, and began to make blocks.
Using only blues, greens, and light neutrals from my scraps and stash, the resulting combinations always amaze me.

The going went well for the most part. Although there was that time when my seam ripper thought I was getting too catty.

There is more satisfaction in seeing this closer-to-being-a-quilt layout than in constantly working on hst's. But more hst's are needed.
Next time.

For now the boxes and finished rows are going back into the closet.
I'll pull them out for another week of work later.

Six colors for the binding chosen and attached...

Add this quilt to My Favorites list.

End of the Rainbow
75" x75"

Bonneyville Mills provided the setting for my latest finished quilt made from a pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew called Dottie.
I used Modern Neutrals by Amy Ellis for my fabric.

As I already have a quilt named Dottie and one named Hey Dot, I clearly  needed to think of a new name.

I first thought of the name Millstones, because don't they look somewhat like millstones? Okay, maybe only slightly...but they look good beside millstones.
However, not wanting to be burdened by the thought of a millstone hanging around my neck, I have chosen a different name.

This quilt will be called Water Wheels.

Water Wheels
61" x 69"

Last summer my friend and second cousin shared two sets of vintage appliqued blocks made by by her grandmothers.
"Could you please help?" she asked. "How would you finish these?"
I said immediately that I would help.

Why?
Hmmm.
I am connected to the same quilting tradition that she is.
And I also thought, "What quilt maker  begins a quilt that she never intends to finish? Of course these should be finished."

You may argue that vintage applique blocks should only be hand quilted.
Were they not appliqued way before computerized quilting machines were in use? During the last century the makers never imagined anything but hand quilting.

I am sure this is not even close to the original finished look her grandmothers intended.

However, it is 2017. I chose to finish these simply, and let the colors and motifs shine with no other fabric, sashing, or border distraction.
I also chose an overall machine-stitched stipple for the background... simple and in keeping with the vintage look.
They turned out beautifully. I hope the grandmothers would be pleased.
I have no doubt that they would be thrilled knowing their stitching is respected and loved by subsequent generations.

Butterflies
58" x 69"

Parasol Girls
65" x 79"