Here's my stashbuster (more like nickel-buster!) Twinkler quilt!
The pattern is super easy, and is from Claudia's Quilt Shoppe. I made mine with 5" and 3" squares, just so I could use up those nickels! Produced a big quilt quickly!
Each complete star is from the same fabric, but there are at least five different fabrics, all pretty much the same color green. Yes, I cut those (gasp!). Just another bunch of fabrics I wanted to use up. And the quilting? I freehanded swirls with a hook in the center, then came out to a point to start another swirl.
The center of the stars got marked with a dot, then using a ruler, stitching went from seam points to the dot, and back out again. Simple, but effective. At first, I really didn't like the scrappiness of this quilt, and thought some of the blocks downright ugly. Quilting it with a dark olive green thread really helped to pull it together. So now I like it, and I hope a patient at the VA likes it too.
Ever want to just sew and make something that doesn't require a lot of thought? Well, that's what happened to me today. I've been wanting to join in the fun of my online stashbusters group, which is working on a pattern called Twinkler. And today was the day I finally got started. Here's a block
It's perfect for using up the stash, and easy to put together. The pattern can be found at Claudia's Quilt Shoppe, and being me, I changed it a bit. Instead of the 2 1/2" squares, I used 5". Yes, I am using more of the darned nickels! (Can't you tell, given how scrappy this block is?!)
My version requires eight 5" squares, one 5" square for the center of the star, and four 3" squares for the star points. After drawing a line from corner to corner on all of the 3" squares,
the seam was stitched just to the side of the line.
This allows for some fabric at the fold, so that the edges line up once the triangle is flipped over. And because I don't like to waste fabric, I sewed another line 1/2" over (just eyeballed it!),
to create little half square triangle units for a later use.
Cutting a 1/4" seam allowance between the two stitched lines
gave me the star points,
plus a little half square triangle.
Now the block is an easy nine patch assembly. For a quick way to sew a nine patch, see my post Efficiently Sewing a Nine Patch. Given the size of the patches, these blocks went together fast and created a large quilt. I must admit that though I love the pattern, my top is not the prettiest! I'm hoping the quilting will help with that. Happy Quilting!
Last night I had the best fun! No, didn't go out and party. Instead, I had the house to myself, a very rare occurrence on a Saturday night! And what did I do? Made some really awesome blocks!
These are just one style of block that can be made from the Book of the Month selection, Wacky Pinwheel Quilting Wizard(affiliate link)
Each one is a surprise, and they're all different! Here's a sampling
Aren't they cool?? And yes, they are really bright! All of these from this
Well, I'm off for more fun. Making more blocks of course! Happy Quilting!
I've spent the last few days cleaning out the sewing room in anticipation of my new machine. And yesterday was consumed in clearing the bookcase, that incredibly stuffed bookcase. I would have taken a 'before' picture, but I only had an 18" space to access it, so a picture was impossible, not to mention just to look for a book in it!
But now, after pruning it a bit, is has moved to a corner of the living room. It's out of the way, but more easily accessible, and has a bit of room (somewhere!).
I don't think my husband even noticed it's new home! And I'm happy I was able to move a dozen books out of the closet, opening up some space there. Yeah! But what's scary is that it really doesn't look much different from before. Oh well.
Anyway, the great part of going through the books was looking at them for Book of the Month potential. Now, all of them have that, but some more than others. I pulled out 5 possibles, then narrowed it to two. After purusing them last night, I've chosen a little pamphlet, Learn to be a Wacky-Pinwheel Quilting Wizard by Linda Causee (affiliate link).
And it can be found on Amazon for under $4! Click on the picture or the bold title if you want to make one along with me.
For this style of quilting, one thing she stresses is the pattern repeat. Looking through my stash, I came across this happy, adorable chicken fabric!
It has a really large repeat, has a fairly good print, and lots of color. And I've got a lot of it! But before I start cutting, I've got a bit more cleaning to do, plus finishing up my jacket (almost done!), and lunch with a friend. Have a great day and hope it includes quilting!
