Kindred Spirits

The April 15 meeting of the Kindred Spirits quilt club went very well, lots of good show and tell, and a challenging project (with options!) was presented.

Chera wins the prize for the most creative adaption to our monthly pattern (below).

This original project is called the "Pink and Brown Nine Patch" and it's from Kathleen Tracy's book "Small and Scrappy."

We had some other great show and tell as well.

Darlene wowed us with the lamb she made. She has a little dress made of French linen, and of course her coat is wool. The 2 little white buttons actually look like sheep. Great job, Darlene! Ewe get the most fun project award for this month!

Some wonderful churn dashes, and some blocks from a block of the month club. Below is Carol's January and her February projects. She didn't join us until March but was able to get caught up with the group.

Our project for the month of April, due May 13, is a bit of a challenge. It is a 9-patch strippy quilt, with 9-patches that finish at 1.5" square. I get them 2 other options to consider, by upsizing that little 9-patch to one that finishes at 3" square. Stay tuned to find out what the group did!

Till next time, keep stitchin!

Mary

Kathleen Tracy

Kathleen Tracy is issuing a monthly challenge on her facebook group "Small Quilt Lover's." The January 1 challenge was to make the 8 inch square house, which was not as easy as you would think! A lot of us had trouble getting the templates to print out to the correct size. I finally drafted the block in EQ, and forgot that when you paper piece, the block turns out facing the opposite direction. The January 15 challenge was to add the half square triangles around the block. The February 1 challenge was to make 8 square in a square blocks. 

The February 15 challenge is to add a border to the house block, and make 8 more square in a square blocks. I'm off to do that next!

I've never posted a photo of myself here on my blog, and thought I needed to update my "selfie." I'm sitting at my desk at work, I made the quilt behind me a few years back. The blocks measure 4 inches square. On another note, I had my beautician dye my hair blond on Oct. 28 and haven't had it colored since then. I'm letting my natural color grow out. Guess I am mostly gray and white now! So what you see is 4 months of no new coloring. Looks like I'll have another 4 months before the blond gets all cut off. 

Think I'll go make some square in a square blocks!

Till next time, keep stitchin!

Mary

More Disappearing Four Patches

Here are a few more Disappearing Four-Patch projects from our Kindred Spirits group. Chera, above, made her cuts a different size, so her center block is a bit larger than our other projects. 

I love the soft colors she used for her project.

Here's another red/white/blue color palette, with a completely different feel to it. Darlene put her blocks on point and placed them in the border of her very patriotic-looking quilt. The dark blue/white centerpiece of the quilt is the 1800's Vintage Quilt again...see ModaBakeShop for the pattern.  Don't you just love the flags in the corners! Great job, Darlene!

These photos, above and below, are blocks that can be made using the Disappearing Nine-Patch technique. There are many other possibilities for laying out the blocks, too. 

The 2 blocks on the top of the design wall (photo below) are what you start with. Then, slice down the middle horizontally and vertically. (see block on the left)

The photo above is a year-long Friendship Quilt project that Anne participated in with her quilt guild. She packed a shoe-box with the pattern and some fabrics (the gold and off-white) and had her friends make 9-patches adding their own Christmas fabrics. When her blocks were returned to her, she cut them using the Disappearing Nine Patch technique. 

And lastly, is Pam's project, above, that looks like Anne's Disappearing Nine-Patch, only Pam used charm squares and just assembled the quilt as normal. 

We have a very creative group and it's fun to see how one pattern can be changed-up by each person that makes that pattern into something slightly different. That, to me, is one of the main reasons I enjoy sharing projects and time with other quilters. It's encouraging to see their creative take on a project.

Hope you enjoyed our little quilt show, till next time, keep stitchin!

Mary in Virginia

Kindred Spirits Quilt Group

Our Kindred Spirits group met at Stitch by Stitch Quilt Shop Saturday, Feb. 11. Our first project of the year was a very simple, little table topper. Finished it will measure about 7 x 16 inches. The blue one below is the one I made for our teaching sample. 

This project is called "The Disappearing Four-Patch Runner." Anne Wright shows the one she made up in red, below.

Celestia is our purple-loving girl, and how special are these two cuties that she made? I love that she bound them in purple also.

Tammy's little project is in red and white also. Very fun, Tammy!

My favorite is the one Charlotte made. Don't overlook the cute little hearts that dangle from the bottom binding! Such a darling little project, and just in time for her Valentine decor.

This project was our first of the year in Kathy Tracy's new book, Small and Scrappy. The project appears on page 42. The book is published by Martingale, and Kathy is one of favorite quilt designers. You can also follow her blog at sentimentalquilter.blospot.com and her facebook page, Kathleen Tracy's small quilt lovers. She frequently posts free patterns. We are also doing a small sampler quilt this year....see the files section of her facebook page.

Till next time, keep stitchin, friends!

Mary in Virginia

Kindred Spirits Group

Our small quilt group met for the first meeting of 2017 on Saturday, Jan. 14 at Stitch by Stitch Quilt Shop in Chesterfield, Virginia. Since Pam was not at our Christmas Tea, she opened her gift from her Secret Santa--Celestia. Celestia made her this adorable wallhanging, "The Yellow Rose of Texas" featuring Pam's dog, Maggie Moo. The adorable skirt is a handkerchief! Pam is planning on moving back to Texas this year, and this will make a lovely memento of quilting buddies back in Virginia.

Our first project starts with a disappearing 4-patch.

for my demo, I cut 4 5"squares of fabric, two blue, and two background pieces. Sew them together to make a 4-patch. 

Place the 1" line of your ruler on the center seam line. Cut at the 1" mark. You just made a vertical cut. Move the ruler 90 degrees (a small movable mat is especially helpful) and slice with the 1" mark on the seam line. This time you are making a horizontal cut. Turn the mat 180 degrees and repeat the two cutting steps. You wind up with 4 squares in the corners, a square in the center (it measures 2" square) and 4 rectangular pieces at the north, south, east and west parts of the block. Now turn the rectangular pieces 180 degrees. 

You have a block that looks like this (above). Now seam the block together to create your "Disappearing 4-Patch." Clever, right?

The little table runner above starts with squares of fabric that measure 3 inches square. Making just 3 blocks, your little mat/runner will measure about 6 inches x 17 inches. 

We love options in our group! So Anne demonstrated what fun you can have with a Disappearing 9-patch. She started with 5" squares (see the two blocks at the top of the design wall.) Cutting again just like you did with the 4-patch, you create 4 different pieces, each with a small gold square in the corner. The three  blocks on the bottom of the design wall are just three separate options for different ways to set your blocks together. One of the beauties of this design and the Disappearing 4-patch, is that NO fabric is wasted. These are great projects for those charm squares you've been saving. If you need more of a tutorial, go to YouTube and search for Missouri Star Quilt Tutorials. They are soooo helpful!

Anne (photo above), Pam (photo below) and myself (the blue/white photos) sewed along with Merry Mayhem and her Mystery Quilt project on January 1. We each ended the day with 4 large blocks.

I made 5 more blocks to create a lap-size quilt (above). Each block measures 16 inches square, a HUGE block for us mini quilt lovers!

Vickie is working along with Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt "En Provence." She brought in a block that she has finished (above). Great job, Vickie.

I took a few other photos at our group Saturday, but alas, I can't find them! I'm still learning how to use my iphone. Perhaps there is an "IPhone for Dummies" book out there! 

Till next time,

Keep Stitchin!

Mary in Virginia

Another Mystery for the New Year!

Happy New Year, friends!

I wish you good health, happiness, peace, and lots of love from family and friends!

I started my new year working on the Merry Mayhem mystery quilt, which I have done for several years now. This year Pam and Anne joined me. You may still download the mystery if you hurry and go to http://merrymayhem.com/newyearsday.html

This is Pam's block (above). She used Civil War repro scraps--a very scrappy block, turned out fabulous, don't you think?!

This is Anne's block (above). She chose 3 fabrics from her stash--a no buy project! A black solid, a white solid, and a pink and black print. Very fun!

Here's my block (above and below). My choice was to pick lots of blue fabrics from my stash. I did buy 3 yards for the background fabric. 

We each made 4 blocks during the day. All three of us decided not to set our blocks the way Merry Mayhem had them set. We felt there was too much of the background fabrics--a very "Modern Quilt" setting, which none of us are modern quilts. So we discussed how we could set the blocks differently. I think Anne wants to finish her 4 blocks as a small baby or lap quilt. Pam and I both are thinking about making 5 more blocks and setting them with a 2" finished sashing. This will make a nice lap size quilt. The block as shown measures 16" square.

Today, January 2, I worked on our first group project for our Kindred Spirits quilt group. I will demonstrate this little quilt, from Kathy Tracy's new book, "Small and Scrappy" from Martingale. This is the "Disappearing Four-Patch Runner" which will measure when finished, 6 inches x 17 inches. A tiny quilt indeed!

January Quilt Project Goals:

1.  Complete 9 blocks to make Merry Mayhem Mystery Quilt.
2.  Complete (quilt and bind) mini Disappearing 4-Patch Runner.
3.  Complete sewing Bob's birthday quilt and get it to the long-arm quilter.
4.  Create list for February Beach Quilt Retreat projects.

Till next time, enjoy your new year, much joy to you ahead, and hopefully lots of time to do some needlework!

Happy Quilting,
Mary in Richmond VA