Whiz By

Days are whizzing past and taking time to write a blog post has fallen by the wayside. But I've been busy with something worthwhile, my QuiltCon Pick a Color Challenge quilt, Ignite.

I did something completely different with the quilt sandwich. Though there's batting between the top and back, I layered it in a different way.

I first put down Quilter's Dream Request (lowest loft) Cotton batt to cover the backing. Then, using a leftover piece of Quilter's Dream Puff (it wasn't large enough to cover the entire surface) I cut out the starry "ignite" part of the design. I did so by pinning the original full sized design I'd drawn on a huge sheet of paper to cut the starry/ignite portion from Puff. Then I carefully positioned the Puff star directly behind the design of the quilt top. It wasn't easy to get the batting positioned to match the design on the front. But I did it, deliberately pin-basting the long ray shapes of Puff batting under each ray. 

I pinned it a lot!

Those bright dashes are where sunshine shone through the cord holes of the wood blinds.

Now I've been quilting! It's been an age since I set up my Bernina for dedicated domestic machine quilting. It feels good to tackle quilting again. 

The design for the inside (ignite part) of the quilt is meant to mimic the piecing design. This is all done with ruler quilting (feed dogs down). 

Indeed, don't the jagged, variable-sizes look similar to the piecing? 

It's exactly the look I wanted in this puffy space. 

Now I'm walking foot quilting the background, intending to keep that portion to simple straight lines that emphasize the angularity of the ignite portion. 

Lastly, I am hand quilting with two different colors of size eight perle cotton, adding bursts of flash (more "ignite") in strategically placed spots. I will add the same shape to the ends of each ray.

I am making progess, but I won't meet my self-imposed July 31 deadline. Truth be told, I sideswiped myself with a "squirrel" moment. On Instagram I saw a crocheted top made by my friend Debbie of @bluebellridgehandworks. It's so cute on her!

I had to make a run to Hobby Lobby for a couple skeins of Sugarwheel (variegated) yarn, and two skeins of "I Love This Cotton" so I could make a similar summer top for myself. (When I got home, I used my Stanwood yarn ball winder to make cakes.)

A week later, and I have a new summer top.

The free YouTube tutorial is here to make "Confetti Top" by Leonela Cevallos.

It's really quite comfortable, as I can feel the breeze through the "holes" of the crocheted design. I wore the top yesterday to Big Cypress Quilters followed by my weekly visit to Twistee Treat for ice cream - my seventh visit there, but who's counting? I'm collecting lots of reward points in the Sprinkles Club!

Last Friday at Diamond Dotties Club (diamond art painting) group leader Sandy offered a little project to make for $1. I selected this 3"-across seashell, a napkin with flamingos, and used Modge Podge to make myself a ring dish. I used a silver-colored pen to highlight the edge and added a little button for cuteness.

It's fun to make something different, especially when I didn't need to invest in all the supplies.

It's been a good week! Linda

Ignite, and Beyond

The Ignite quilt top is done. Tuesday evening I finished hand appliquéing bias tape to the edges of the pieced center.

The back is pieced too. In the center is the FPPed message and darker values of yellow prints. The lighter values of yellow solids are intentionally along the sides to prevent the backing from shadowing through to the front.

Sandwiching and basting happen tomorrow so as to begin machine quilting yet this week. Then there's big stitch hand quilting. My self-imposed goal is to complete the quilt by July 31. 

Over the weekend I went through scrap bins to cut pieces for the Modern Maze quilt that Big Cypress Quilters are making as an Along. Blocks are to be made in two different sizes, but we're free to arrange the design however we wish. To use as many of my small scraps as possible, I'm making only the smaller blocks that finish at 5½" X 12".

If my math is correct, 40 blocks pieced with 1"-wide black and white striped sashing will result in a 51" X 58" quilt to donate.

I'll be piecing with Big Cypress Quilters today using my little Janome Derby. (Mine is "Turbo Teal.") I'm so glad I bought the machine in June 2015 (I know this because I blogged about it) for only $55.

Continuing to play with yarn, I've finished a few items. I've memorized the Tiny Dolls round loom knitting pattern, so I work on dolls during occasional evening TV-watching. My goal is to making 20 dolls to give again to the local police department.

Thinking ahead to Christmas, I've begun making Santa hats for my grandchildren. Two of the boys have birthdays before Christmas, so that will be an appropriate occasion to gift them.

I made the Santa hat on the left on a 41-peg round loom. Free pattern here.

This knitted hat is also a free pattern. 

As for knitting for myself... oh my gosh. I've not caught onto it! I'm still working on the Summer Soul Top and twice, because of dropped stitches that I can't figure out how to pick up in spite of watching numberous YouTube videos about it, I've had to remove all the knitted and purled rows (called garter stitching) back to the "lifeline" - a row where a piece of yarn or an extension cord has been inserted, to prevent unstitching beyond that point. 

Gray yarn lifeline is about three rows below the needles.

Following directions, I paused in my knitting to try on the top, to see how it fits. I inserted an extension cord to remove the circular needles, then removed the lifeline. Ergh! See the distinct row of wrong stitching? Good grief. I accidentally knitted (or purled) two rows the same (rather than alternating). 

I'll re-insert a lifeline, unravel to that point, and give it another go.

On Saturday I helped the 4-H Club. Four girls made patriotic Sawtooth Star blocks. Since I don't have permission to share all the pictures I took, here's one of the girls with her finished block. 

Four younger children sewed strips together. This is the club leader with the quilt design laid out on tables. When finished, the quilt will be raffled as a fundraiser. 

Things have been hoppin' at Twistee Treat! I've been there four times now, and each time I count at least eight employees working. Apparently it's a popular place in the evenings too. (I didn't take this picture.)

Sunday was National Ice Cream Da, and the official grand opening. Prizes, games, and cheerleaders made the day special, but I opted to stay home and avoid the crowds. Give me a rainy day and I'll happily stand outside to be at the head of the line!

Oh! And let me share that my Australian friend, Ilka White, is again offering her virtual Braided Rag Rug workshop in two sessions the evenings of Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, for Canadians and Americans. I learned from Ilka and made my first rug in 2020. See my last big rug on our enclosed lanai.

Go here for more info and to register for Ilka's workshop. Linda

Yellow Burst to "Ignite"

I appreciate comments from those of you who weighed-in about the challenges I've faced with my yellow burst quilt top.

Since my last post, I finished hand-appliquéing along one side of the bias tape, so it's affixed to the perimeter of the design. What do you think? 

As you can see, I still need to hand sewn down points of those rays. But I like the contrast between the bias edge and banana-colored background.

Better, yes? 

I also think the quilt top looks better in these pictures because I snapped them with my Canon SX620 point-and-shoot camera. The two-lense camera on my IPhone 14 doesn't capture color very well.

The quilt top is approximately 65" square. 

I've still gotta piece a backing and will used stashed yellow prints for that. Also, in my batting stash I found a piece of Quilter's Dream Puff that I plan to use in the quilt sandwich, perhaps only in the center part, depending on how much batting I have. 

Now I'm feeling re-energized about this project. "Ignited" so to speak. From boring and tedious "yellow burst" to Ignite. Does that sound good? Linda

Powering Through Yellow

If you've been reading my posts of late, you'll know that I've been struggling to design and make a quilt for the MQG's "Pick a Color Challenge" for QuiltCon 2027 (Atlanta). I started this project by looking through scraps to see which color I have the most of - yellow won. 

I asked AI to design something for me, and after looking through several possibilities, I picked one. I thought it looked simple enough to piece, including the pieced the background. Silly me. Perhaps if I'd redesigned this for foundation paper piecing, I might have accomplished it. But since I don't know how to do that, I plunged in "Linda's way." Ha!

I imported the design into EQ8, then: 

• I manipulated the design by drawing lines to define each triangle, and
• printed the design on gridded 8 ½" X 11" paper

Then, I: 

• manually drew a 3" grid on a huge sheet of paper
• manually (square by square) drew the same design onto the huge sheet of paper
• manually traced each triangle, adding a quarter-inch to each side

• individually cut out each triangle, and 
• machine-pieced triangles together. Yes, with nothing but Y-seams. 

Even after picking out and restitching several intersections, the center part does not lay flat. But I went ahead to prep the burst for appliquéing to a background of Banana Painter's Palette Solid. I cut 1"-wide strips of Heat 'n Bond Lite and affixed them to all the burst edges. 

After removing the Heat 'n Bond paper, I pressed the burst onto the 68" X 68" Banana background, and then used Bernine stitch #15 and an appliqué foot to raw edge stitch the burst.

The whole design turned to mush for lack of contrast between the burst and the background. 

A 68" X 68" blob of mush. 

I scrambled through possibilites to try to save this, first thinking to add contrasting thread color to the appliqué edges Perhaps big stitch quiltign? I pulled out my yellow thread possibilities. 

No go. Not enough contrast. Well, maybe the Auriful wool (red spool, center, second from top).

Instead I landed on adding me-made bias tape to the perimeter of the burst. (I've had bias tape on my mind a lot lately because I'm creating a presentation and workshop on the topic.)

Not wanting to add thickness, I first cut away what I could of the background fabric behind the burst. Then, I began hand-appliquéing the bias tape. (Sigh.) 

I'm using Scanfil 50-weight thread, Sew Fine beeswax on the thread going through the needle eye...

... and a Sewline glue stick to baste tape to the edge, covering up the machine appliqué. 

What a wreck, huh? Not only is this taking forever, but I've appliquéd only one side of the tape! My plan is to get it positioned correctly on one side of the tape, and then go around the perimeter again to appliqué the opposite side. (Sigh again.)

Sometimes I feel like such a doofus maker. 

Will Plan F work out? Or is this Plan G?

As for the not-so-flat pieced center, my thought is to use Quilter's Dream Puff batting to add thickness, and perhaps allow poof to ease out wrinkles, followed by strategic big stitch hand quilting. 

I think you'll agree I have quite a way to go yet to make this quilt viable. All criticisms and suggestions for making it better are welcomed. And as always, encouragement is gratefully accepted! Linda

Catch-Up

How did it get to be July 8 already? Being that it's summer, and the days are supposedly slower and more laid back, I think time's whizzing by. It's certainly not like me to be so long between blog posts!

I haven't been idle. Though several of my regular activities aren't happening due to recreational centers being refurbished, I continue to exercise (more frequent power walks), and spend much time in my sewing room. I'd take a picture of my room if I wouldn't die of embarrassment. When I look around the space, I count seven projects in the works! I have touched every one of them in the past week. 

Yarny projects still tend to be in the forefront of my mind and in my hands. That's been more so this week because I'm participating in the online "Oh That's Why" Knitting Summit. This is a free four-day online event where knitting and crochet experts give 15-20 minute talks on a variety of topics at the rate of eight presentations a day. I'm watching most of the video presentations played back at 1.5 or 1.75 speed, and taking notes. Thus far I've learned about reading a knitting chart, why it's important to check gauge so as to knit/crochet with the correct size needle/hook, and the physics of knitting. Today I'm looking forward to learning how to knit backwards instead of purling. The summit has been made available through Hortense of Knitting with Chopsticks. 

I especially enjoyed learning about the chain row counters made by Twice Sheared Sheep (Pocatello, Idaho). Here's a video of how it works. Are you familiar with it?

It's timely for me to begin using this row counter as I've been knitting my Summer Soul Top. I also bought a container of knit extension cords that will be useful. If you don't know, rather than push your project off onto a strand of yard while you use the knitting needles on another part of your project, you push your piece onto these temporary cords. I'm learning so much about knitting!

Though, round loom knitting is more in my comfort zone. I've begun working on another batch of Tiny Dolls. As you can see, only one is finished. Others are in various stages of completion needing stuffing, arms, hats, faces. I work on these when hubs and I watch TV in the evening. 

Planning ahead, I'm round loom knitting a Santa hat. Might these be appropriate for grandsons, in November? Of course making them involved a trip to Hobby Lobby for "I Love This Yarn" in red and white. I'm using a 41-peg loom and following Denise of Loomahat's YouTube Santa Hat video. 

And still there's diamond painting... another handwork project... a bias tape quilt... and... 

... my Pick a Color Challenge quilt, Yellow Smash (for want of a name). Painter's Palette "Banana" background fabric arrived Monday and has been washed in readiness for completing the quilt top.

I have a vision. It remains to be seen whether it will work out. 

I'll use the G > ⌃ ⌄ in the pieced backing. Do you know what it means? 

My friend Rondelle, who visited from Iowa a couple weekends ago, shared this picture with me of the Tiny Doll I gave her. She says they're her prayer partners! 

Linda

End of June Fabric Use and Book Recommendations

June's fabric use is disappointing, but indicative of my focus on yarn-made projects.

Outgoing yardage totalling not quite four yards is abysmal, especially when more than 2½ yards of it was weighed as scraps for pet beds! Otherwise, outgoing yardage included only: 1) making another headband, and; 2) piecing ten Modern Maze quilt blocks. 

Oh well. 

Book Recommendations

On the flip side, June was a delightful month for book-listening! I not only listened to nine titles, but all of them earned a 4.0 and higher! 

Start with this one! Without a doubt, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is my favorite read for 2026. 

It's about 86 year-old Theo who has arrived in the city of Golden for an unknown reason. Theo is soft-spoken and uber-polite - agentleman originally from Portugal, who starts making friends by his bestowals. These are in the form of thought gifts of a portait of each individual who has been drawn by local artist Asher Glisten. Each person Theo meets in person has a story that Theo manages to draw out, ponder and consider.  

I adored Theo, and all the characters he befriends. His story is liberally sprinkled with profound wisdom, humor, pieces of Scripture, and sadness. Upon Googling, I discovered that Columbus, Georgia is considered the "Golden" location of this book. Linda's score: 4.8/5.0

My sister gave me a heads-up about The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold, and I'm glad she did. The story may have meant more to me because it takes place in Kansas City (where most of my family lives) but it is also completely Spirit-inspired writing. 

Mrs. Kip is an elderly woman who has just moved into Hospice Care in a nursing home. She has a lifetime of experiences that add up to more than a typical life. A Kansas City Star junior reporter, Aidyn, is assigned to interview Mrs. Kip and get her story of helping refugees in Kansas City. In spite of Aidyn's stick-to-the-facts approach, she is exposed to Mrs. Kip's gift of caring for others, and is unknowingly guided toward greater understanding.

I don't want to give the impression that the book is overly theological or is meant to convert anyone. Rather it's a touching portrayal of how a well-lived, considerate life impacts others. I totally admire Ms. Brunsvold's skill as an author and am looking forward to listening to her other titles: The Atlas of Untold Stories, and The Divine Proverb of Streusel. Linda's score: 4.5/5.0

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser sounded really familiar as I began listening to it. Then it hit me - it's the story of Cinderella!

However, the author has taken pains to completely turn the tables on the character of the "wicked" stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two sisters - all of whom are caring and very considerate. It's the stepdaughter, Elin ("Cinderella") who's the problem child and causes angst. I was totally engaged in the story that involves falconry, plotting for an eligible husband, behaviors of the royal court, and subverting male dominance. Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick is a great piece for getting a glimpse into life for housewives in the 1950s. While I could understand and relate to some of the social structures of that time (thinking of my own Mother), I also appreciated the determination of this women's club to not allow social norms to dicate what they could and could not do.

Each female protagonist in this book club has her own internal desires to cope with, and it was good to consider how times have changed. I also liked that Ms. Bostwick included an appearance by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

This book photo represents the four Mary Stone books I listened to in June. I am thoroughly enjoying the FBI Agent "Winter Black series." 

Books 2, 3, 4, and 5 follow Winter and her partner through various killing sprees by psychotic men and women. In each case that's solved, Winter's special ability for identifying important clues is critical, though she strives to keep her gift hidden. In every book there's intrigue among FBI co-workers - the annoying agent; the tempermental agent; and the "could it be love?" relationship Winter has with FBI Agent Noah Dalton.

My only complaint is that the author sometimes - in my opinion - spends too much time on relationship dialoge and internal conversations, rather than just getting on with it. Still, I'm enjoying Winter's experiences. Linda's overall score for the series: 4.3/5.0

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith relates the story of down-and-out Cormoran Strike whose girlfriend has tossed him out (he's living in his office) and his failing detective agency. A temporary secretary arrives, Robin Ellacott, and manages to set him rights. With an affinity for assisting Cormoran, Robin managed to help him with a case - is it suicide or murder? - that has suddenly dropped into his lap. 

This is definitely a who-done-it story that's engaging with an unexpected ending. 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

I hope you enjoy reading every one of these books! Linda