Lazy borders

 Quilt top together and I even sewed the backing! I did not have enough of any one fabric for borders that’s what happens with fat quarters so I kept it scrappy.—Ann—

New project

 

Hubby was off on a fishing trip…..I had uninterrupted time in my sewing room.  First I made the appliqué for a cousin sewing lots of stops and starts, going slow and turning lots of corners like driving around town.  Getting to the sewing on this buggy barn pattern was like hitting the open highway in South Dakota where the roads are straight and long with a full tank of gas or rather a freshly oiled machine the roar became a hum.  I also found a new use for my knitting blocking tiles…..put the buggy barn piles on the tiles and I can slide the tiles away as I sew the big segments together, everything stays in order.  Another little trick I learned long ago was to put a sticky note just below my markings on my big square up tool so I cut every block the exact same size—no oops.  Those white spots are the reflection of the ceiling lights. —Ann—

Wonky Churn Dash

 This was so easy........it’s been together for a week........Its a Buggy Barn pattern from the book Certifiably Crazy. Stack the fabrics cut, shuffle and sew if the intersections of the churn dash don’t intersect no big deal. It sewed together fast sometimes I need an almost instant gratification project.  Add it to the stack to be basted. And we are almost halfway through summer. I wish summer would slow down. ~~Ann~~

Hand Dyed

New project on the wall.  I pulled out all my hand dyed fabrics from almost 20 years ago with thoughts of another quilt.  I sorted the brightest fat quarters for that project and I was left staring at the pile of earthier colors. After looking through a couple books this wonky churn dash by Buggy Barn was the perfect choice. Begin by stacking the fabrics and tracing the pattern on freezer paper, pressing again and cutting..... its onto the sewing.  I'm just past half done with the blocks.  Happily sewing on these hot days.  --Ann--

erin fabrics sailboats

The bottom two quilts have more Erin fabrics than the top two.  The bottom two are more fun to look at and how I wish I still had some of that fabric.  --Ann--

Ta da da done

 My first finished quilt of 2018 what have I been doing all year??? Two years ago I started out finishing a quilt every couple weeks.  I must have had some shorter deadlines back then,  I'm always more productive under pressure. We have had a weeks worth of hot days here so is good to spend time downstairs in the sewing room.  I took pictures of my quilt before it got too hot and there were some volunteer violas in the rocks. Such cheery little blossoms.  
--Ann--

quilt top finished

 
Its snowing again.  Sometimes the flakes seems to just float in no particular hurry to the ground and other times they are rushing sideways.  I could sit in the sun room all day and watch.
Another quilt top added to the stack I need to get a bleached white batting for the pastel quilt, an unbleached seems to wash out the colors and the white makes them a little brighter.  On to something new! Over the weekend Easter Blessings I heard about 3 new babies who will each be needing a quilt when they arrive in the coming months.  - -Ann- -

buggy barn stars

I went for a walk yesterday because the sky was blue and the sun was shining like spring has some catching up to do.  We had 8 inches of heavy wet snow over the weekend and after yesterday I think its down to 4.  All I could hear as I was walking was the snow melting, dripping off trees and houses and gushing down storm drains.  It was a wonderful sound along with the birds chattering in the trees.
I turned all the plaid and stripe blocks upside down because all the block were leaning to the left now they look like they are dancing in pairs.   Back to the sashing.  --Ann--

Something new on the design wall

We have had four gray days in a row here I needed to work on something with cheerier colors and something that didn't take a lot of thought.  A Buggy Barn pattern fit the bill, just pick out 16 fat quarters or cut a half yards cut in half and stack and cut and sew.  No hours spent pouring over books and magazines or fabric or cutting strips.  I need to trim and add sashing and cornerstones and maybe a border.  And instant feeling of success.  --Ann--

Sailboats

Recent finish on the top quilt.  These quilts really do have nice square corners but no matter what I do or how  I stand I cannot stand square in front of them to take a picture, always some distortion.  These are all the same Buggy Barn pattern from the book Those Crazy Kids. The bottom quilt was made just like the pattern.  The others I used the full fat quarter and for a quick and colorful baby quilt its perfect.  --Ann--

Sailboats

 I love sewing these Buggy Barn Sailboats they are so quick and so fun to pick the fabrics and always a surprise to see how the fabrics pair up when you shuffle the stack.  The only thing left is the binding and the label but I will wait with the label until the baby has been born and that is a few weeks away. Sailboats in the summer and another quilt entirely from my stash  --Ann--

Sail Away finish

Machine quilting is so much fun when the tension is right.  I just sewed waves across the lower part of the block then  meandering clouds across each block.  All that is left is to sew a label then send it off to the new baby.  --Ann--

Sail Away

Somedays I sit down to do something and everything goes wrong.  Machine quilting on this was one of those things.  I could not get the thread tension right for anything.  I finally got the book out and adjusted the screw on the bobbin case and then the upper tension and adjusted and adjusted some more and I got it right.  Then I ripped everything that I had machine quilted.  Fortunately since the tension was so off it pulled right out.  Better days in the sewing room.  --Ann--

Design Wall Monday

After almost 3 months of no sewing I was able to spend some much needed time in my sewing room. My Elna machine just groaned when I put my foot to the pedal.  She just needed a little oil which I found in the safe spot where I knew I put the oil when I packed my sewing room.  It was in a sealable bag in a tin box and after I thought a bit I found the right tin box, the box that always sat to the left of sweet 16 machine, I should have looked there first.  But I honestly couldn't remember where I packed it.  I just had to pause and think for a few minutes with a cup of coffee and wait for the aha moment. And there it was.
A cousins daughter has a new baby boy, these Buggy Barn sailboats are quick and easy and such fun to sew and I found all these fabrics in my newly organized closet with all the neat and tidy stacks of fabric.  Next to find the jar of thimbles and extra SD cards which might be in the camera bag but then I need to find the camera bag, and a couple books.  It seems I spend at least an hour everyday looking for something in a safe spot that was at my fingertips before we moved.  Or maybe its a memory thing but there are so many things to remember after a move like where I put everything!  The treasure hunt for safe spots continues.  --Ann--  Linking to Judy's DWM

Safe spot found

 Yesterday I couldn't find the Buggy Barn book Certifiably Crazy because I put it in a safe spot. I looked in 4 safe spots before I found it. The book shelf, the cutting table, the catch all table, the other bookshelf where I have to get on my hands and knees and look under the table and hold my head at an uncomfortable angle so I can see through my reading glasses and be careful I don't hit my head, then I looked on the first book shelf again. Where was the last time I saw that book???? When I was deciding on a pattern and fabric! I pushed the whole stack of books into the fabric stash closet. The bad thing about safe spots it they move all the time. Things are never ever in the same safe spot as the last safe spot.

I found more fabric for the next quilt, this will also be a snail trail but I am going to sew it together in a different order so I don't have the sharp points intruding into the previous round of triangles. Buggy Barn calls the block Monkey Business. If you have never sewn a Buggy Barn pattern you should, they are fun, you stack up a bunch of fat quarters, iron the freezer paper with the pattern traced onto it, cut, shuffle and sew! It is the best possible way to sew a block with a five point star. Happy stitching--Ann--

Summer Sailboats

sold on etsy

gift to great nephew

Two quilts I no longer have but sailboats always speak to me of summer. The top quilt I used the whole fat quarter for the sailboat blocks the second I cut the sailboat to pattern size Buggy Barn for the ocean wave borders. Both are free motion quilted. Wishing for a cooling breeze. --Ann--