Midnight Shift

Midnight Shift

I'm back, relaxed and recharged after spending two weeks camping at Dale Hollow Dam. Walking the trail, sitting by the trout stream, reading, people watching, and hanging out with my sweet husband was so nice. We had a delicious Mexican meal at Los Primos on my birthday.

Since I can't go that long without sewing, my Singer Featherweight (Annie) and two tubs of scraps went with us.  I sewed blocks for two different scrap quilts, and I'll finish those soon. A couple of cool rainy days gave me a chance to sort quilt idea photos on my computer, and I designed a few quilts in EQ8.

I cut all the half hexagon shapes for this quilt on the Accuquilt cutter before we left. Dark navy blue prints with crisp white on white vine fabric is a classic look. It didn't take long to sew these together in rows. I improvised a design wall by pinning them to the valance on our back window.

After we got home, I sandwiched the layers and quilted on the Janome. With dark blue thread and the 2-point shell stitch, I used a ruler to sew vertical lines. Some of those utility stitches are fantastic for quilting. Midnight Shift finished out at 46” x 50” size.

Accuquilt dies used:

55437 Half Hexagon 4¼” finished
55017 Strips 2½” binding

Spring Break

 

Walking On Sunshine

I love a bright quilt with lots of contrast. This one is just the ticket, plus the added benefit of being quick and easy to sew!

The bright yellow and orange batiks and dots look gorgeous with black & white prints. Walking On Sunshine is a simple, modern design, finishing out at 48” square.

I used dove gray thread to quilt just each side of the wedges with three lines of straight stitching. My walking foot kept everything straight and even.

This would look great anywhere in the house, but it may hang on my kitchen wall for a while. 

Do y'all remember that 1980's song?  Now that it's stuck in my head, I may have more pep in my step this week!

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6600 Sliced Square 6” finished
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding

 

Dynamic Star

Dynamic Star
2024 Useful Remnants

Pink, green, and paisley fabric give this giant star a modern spring vibe. I started with two remnant pieces in the center, then chose coordinating colors from my stash for the other layers.

This is similar to a Morning Star or Texas Star block, but it's expanded to fit the whole quilt top instead of narrowing back to points. I used one of the shapes from Blue Wren's Dynamic Star die to cut all the triangles. The large size made everything go together quickly.

Layout on my design wall helped me keep the eight sections in the right order. I filled in the edges with a 2" strip to match up with the corners, then added setting triangles last. 

 

I decided on pink thread to quilt free motion curves inside each side of the diamonds. Finished size for Dynamic Star is 49½” square.

It was fun to design, cut, piece and quilt. I'd planned to donate it, but I may wait a bit so I can enjoy it myself. I'll definitely do this one again in other colors. 

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6954 Dynamic Star (smaller triangle)

 

Mom Mai's Attic

Mom Mai's Attic

Childhood memories inspired this Grandmother's Fan quilt. Colorful remnants of red, blue, yellow and aqua with natural muslin reproduce the vintage look of 1930's and 1940's quilts.

After stitching and assembling the blocks, I added a border of 2” x 3” rectangles sandwiched with 2” strips.

The center fan section is ruler quilted in a fishnet pattern, using natural thread. Borders feature straight line quilting with a walking foot. Mom Mai's Attic finished at 56” square.

I slept under a similar quilt at my grandmother's house. The family called her Mom Mai and she was a hard working farm wife. There were two big bedrooms on the second floor with multiple quilt covered beds, once shared by their six children. Her sewing room was tucked between them next to several cedar lined closets.

I often played with her spools of thread and buttons, sorting them into jelly jars. Lovely memories there of feed sack fabric, mayonnaise & crackers, cool well water, riding on the tractor, and the best homemade chocolate fudge I've ever eaten.

Dies used:

Accuquilt
55537 Grandmother's Fan 12” finished
55017 Strips 2½”

Blue Wren 6047 Rectangles 2” x 3” finished