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Presenting my first quilt finish of 2020! The center block sub-units were pieced by Debbie Kratovil (swipe to the end for the pattern specifics). She gave them to me (via her daughter) three years ago and at the end of December, I decided it was about time I put them into a quilt! She also gave me the extra purple fabric that I used for the outer border. So I just had to add the inner polkadot border and the backing. This measures about 42 inches square and is destined to be another quilt donated to Early Childhood Headstart via the @baltimoremqg. Debbie is a prolific quilter, teacher, and author but she doesnāt seem to have an Instagram account. If you Google her name, you will find her blog if youād like to know more about her and her work. ā„ļø . . . Itās been years since I used this particular quilting pattern, but I love how a tiny change in the angle at the top of the quilt results in such a big difference at the bottom of the quilt. You know that saying, āSmall hinges move big doorsā? Hereās a graphic representation of that! ā„ļø (I love @healthymovingās take on mindset and implementing small, incremental change if you are wanting any encouragement on that in the new year.) #salmonandsouvlakisews #baltimoremqg #charmcitysewcial #debbiekratovilI am working on samples for a demonstration that I am doing at the @baltimoremqg guild meeting on Sunday. I am demonstrating the freezer paper method for constructing words to be added to a quilt. This is the #refrigeratormagnetpattern from @elizabethagh. Our guild is doing a one word quilt challenge, as part of our yearlong 10-year anniversary celebration. Currently, I am working on the letters A, C, and T. There are four more letters to go. Can you guess which one word Iāve chosen for the year? š #salmonandsouvlakisews #baltimoremqg #charmcitysewcialHere are my top nine posts and my year of color. Family, quilting, and lots of colors. Sounds about right! š Happy New Yearās Eve!Handmade Christmas 2019: reusable teabags. Thatās it. š In years past, I sewed and sewed and gave handmade sewn presents to nearly everyone. But this year? It was a really rough fall that I hope I never have to repeat it again. And when I got to December, not much sewing happened (at least compared to my high output years). But I did make about 60 of these reusable teabags, made with 100% cotton organic unbleached muslin from @dharmatradingco. I gave them away along with dried peppermint from @mountainroseherbs. It seriously makes the best peppermint tea youāve ever had. ā„ļø In the picture, you can see that one of the teabags has also been used with black tea because itās beautifully dyed. š . . . How to use them? Fill with 1/2-1 tablespoon of loose tea (for herbal tea you need the larger amount), brew as usual, take the teabag out, allow to cool, turn inside out to remove the wet tea leaves, rinse, and dry to use again. Itās zero waste tea, especially if you compost the tea leaves! š #salmonandsouvlakisews #reusableteabags #zerowaste #zerowastehomeāEarthquake Consolationā is a series of six quilts that I made last summer (June/July 2019) as presents for my family and in response to the November 30, 2018 magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska. With too many thoughts to be contained in one little Instagram post, I dusted off the blog and wrote a couple blog posts instead. See the link in profile if you want to read more and to see many more pictures. ā„ļø . . . This was my most ambitious sewing project of the year by far! Quilt design inspired by a free tutorial from @emily_dennis_. Almost all the fabrics are #konacottonsolids from @robertkaufman, from my stash. Flannel backs from @joann_stores #salmonandsouvlakisews #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqg #quiltersofinstagramI am really intent on finishing up all my outstanding projects in my sewing room (either finishing them or giving it away to someone else who might be interested in actually finishing it). So with that in mind, in late November, I made this baby quilt from blocks which I received from my bee mates in #beehiveswarmmerrilee in 2017. @driftedindrive was our leader for that year. Thanks Merrilee! After I assembled it, it didnāt feel quite fun enough for a kid so I added the little turtle appliquĆ©. And then I had fun piecing together all my cute green fabrics for the back, including turtles, bugs in jars, frogs, and green beans! I donated this one to @baltimoremqgās work with Early Head Start. . . . Block pattern: #treasurehuntblock from @blossomheartquilts #charmcitysewcial #blossomheartquilts #salmonandsouvlakisews #baltimoremqgThis year, I realized I was running a little late on three bird ornaments. In Ellieās case, I was nine years late. š For the two little boys, they are just 2.5 and 3 so Iām not doing too bad. I generally aim to make these in time for the first Christmas. But hey, better late than never right? š . . . Little bird pattern is from @purlsoho. #salmonandsouvlakisews #charmcitysewcialFor the third year in a row, I sewed my mother-in-law pillow for her birthday (which is early in December). This year, I used a 150% enlarged #quatrefoilblock from @blossomheartquilts. Itās 20ā square, sewn with fabrics from my stash. I just keep these particular fabrics together and reuse them every year (although Iām staring to run out ā¹ļø). I love the rich red and green with gold combination. One of these years I should really sew some Christmas pillows for my own house. š I made a Velcro closure for the back and sewed on the binding at half an inch to make it be a little more pronounced part of the design. In the last picture, you can see the binding as well as my very most favorite color of thread (used for the quilting in this project). š In the picture with all three, you can also see my pillows begun in my @baltimoremqg classes with @victoriafindlaywolfe and @duringquiettime. I love seeing them all together! . . . #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqg #salmonandsouvlakisews #quiltersofinstagramI am feeling like an accomplished grown-up today because I remembered to polish my silver the day before Thanksgiving. š Also, āpolish my silverā feels very grown-up to say. š . . . I am blessed to have silver from both sides of my family. The set on the left is from my momās family. My Granny collected box tops for the set. The silver on the right comes from my dadās family. The two little butter knives have the initials āMā for my paternal grandmotherās maiden name and āRā, for my paternal great-auntās married name. She didnāt have any children and so my grandmother inherited her things when she died. My dad is an only child and so we ended up with a lot of silver. . . . This summer, while we were in Alaska for our family reunion, my dad asked us kids to each take silver with us. I am looking forward to using it on our Thanksgiving table tomorrow. š (You can see some silver polishing process pictures in my stories right now. I just used my baking soda cleaning paste for polishing and it worked great.)Last Saturday night, I managed to whip together this little quilt (approx. 36ā square). I already had the quilt top assembled so in under two hours, I was able to make the quilt sandwich, quilt it and sew the binding to the top. I did most of the hand sewing of the binding during our @baltimoremqg guild meeting last Sunday and, as was my goal, was able to hand it off to join the other baby quilts that our guild donates to a local charity. . . . Each of the blocks in the quilt top was sewn by a member of my guild. In 2017, I participated in the āquilt in a boxā bee where I provided the fabric and each other bee member was free to sew whatever design she wanted to. Some of my most devoted readers may remember my posts from a couple years ago of blocks that I had sewn using other peopleās fabric. š . . And, if you swipe to the last picture, you will see the documentation of the other project I managed to get sewn over the past three months. There were six boy babies born in our church in 2019 (and no girls!). That combined with a couple other babies meant that I needed to sew eight boy flannel blankets. š„° . . . #salmonandsouvlakisews #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqg #quiltinaboxDespite quite a few frustrating moments this fall, my fall garden harvest is coming along quite nicely! Those are Parisienne carrots, at close to full size and shape. So cute! š The middle picture is todayās harvest, which includes fancy salad greens, red turnips, white turnips, carrots, and just a few sugar snap peas. The final picture is an aerial view from our upstairs window. Seeing it from above helps me look past all the bare patches to see that itās pretty darn full of green and growing things. Iām sure thereās a life lesson in there somewhere. š . . . All seeds from @bakercreekseeds. #salmonandsouvlakigardens #growwhatyoueat #organicgardening #parisiennecarrotIn a classic case of better late than never, this afternoon I sewed a couple #talltalesblock blocks to contribute to the @baltimoremqg group quilt, being organized by @lindaschiffer. It will be part of the group of prizes for next yearās bingo fundraiser. To me, the first block tells the story of three major projects that I sewed for Marko, all featuring these #edemberley giraffes. Swipe to see the second block, which speaks to me of an amazing classic novel, perhaps Jane Austenās Persuasion? Thanks so much to @katebasti for allowing our guild to use this block to make this quilt. š . . . #salmonandsouvlakisews #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqg #baltimoremqgbingo Linda, I will put them in the mail to you tomorrow! Thanks for accepting them late. š¤£Categories
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Tag Archives: Finish It Up Friday
Finish It Up Friday 2016: Update #5: A Beautiful Table and A Beautiful Kitchen!
I appear to be settling into a every-other-week reporting groove! š I managed to cross two more things off my list!Ā First, I sewed a tablecloth for our table, which was ordered and delivered during Mark’s pregnancy. It’s pretty big … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday 2016: Update #4: Will Those Birds Eat the Corn?
I am obliterating my to-sew list! Here’s what I accomplished over the past couple weeks. I made eight corn sacks (portable heating pads) – three on commission and five as presents for people who have been really kind to our … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday 2016: Update #3: All Construction, All The Time
Thanks to all our at-home time due to Jonas, I got a good bit of sewing done. Here’s what I crossed off my list: I sewed all three of these baby blankets on Saturday as the snow came down. š … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday 2016: Update #2: Does Moving My Sewing Room Count as a Finish?
Over the past two weeks, we’ve had to completely empty out our upstairs (other than one closet, which I was able to pack totally full) in preparation for some home renovations.Ā We’re hoping that the work won’t take much longer … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday 2016: Update #1: Making Progress and Keeping Secrets
If you haven’t done so already, Ellie would love your vote for your favorite farm animal! š I made a lot of progress this week! (See the second half of the post for my book progress.) Here’s what I accomplished: … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday 2016: You Know What They Say About the Shoemaker’s Children, Right?
Updated 1/9/16 – I split the sewing list into two sections plus added more things to the “currently in progress” section. I’ve decided to embrace the fact that I need some public accountability to help me get certain sewing projects … Continue reading
Finish It Up Friday – Final Update of 2015 (don’t fall over in shock)
I know, I know, you thought this would never happen, but it has.Ā I finished sewing our dining room Roman shades!Ā Please don’t fall over in shock after reading read this.Ā I know, I know, I have been writing about … Continue reading
