Dogs and Sea Otters

My ex-colleague Grace Hill asked me to make a quilt for her soon to be daughter-in-law. I resisted at first but gave in finally. Her soon to be daughter-in-law asked for dogs and sea otters in colors of aqua and turquoise! Luckily I found dog and sea otter fabrics that fit the bill. She also wanted queen bed size! Because of the size, I selected an easy pattern with simple rectangles that would feature the dog and sea otter fabrics. The pattern is called “Kyoto Steps.” I don’t know why and the artist’s website gave no reason for the name. Maybe the pattern is named after a site in Kyoto, Japan or maybe a jazz music group? I like the way the rectangles are more dense in the center and space out at the edges. However, the asymmetrical placement and spacing meant I had to keep the pattern close by and piecing proceeded slowly, but easily. The good news (if you can call it that!) about this assignment is that Covid postponed the wedding, so I wasn’t rushed to finish the quilt.

The pattern called for pressing the seams open. I used the seam roll Mother made for a class around the time I was born. It worked like a charm. If the seam roll was opened you’d find a magazine my age (70 years) inside. That’s pretty good longevity for a homemade sewing tool. 

For the quilting I used my new side edge clamps. They worked beautifully. This was also the first test drive of my new Towa bobbin tension gauge. I loved the gauge and it made adjusting the quilting tension much easier and more accurate. I was also impressed that the Towa box prominently features the “Deming Award” given to the manufacturer. Deming was the person whose methods created the Japanese auto industry’s reputation for quality. Deming’s “quality circles” used to be a big deal and made their way into lots of industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturing where I worked for many years. Seeing the picture of the “Deming Award” on the box was a blast from the past! 

• 97” x 94 1/4" queen-sized bed (slightly wider than long, but essentially square)
• Quilted in parallel wavy lines across width of quilt. Used “Pearl White” Omni brand 100% polyester from Superior Threads. Free form quilting. 9 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Tonal turquoise vine print with a center panel printed with dogs looking over a fence. Fabrics came from fabric.com.
• Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester bleached, Hobbs Heirloom.
• Binding: Plain turquoise cotton used in the quilt.
• Pattern: "Kyoto Steps” by Robin Pickens
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame June 22, 2021. Quilting on long arm quilter June 23-25, 2021. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

à la Great-Great Grandma Short (Quilt for Cameron) #2

How to Make Waves

See the previous quilt for most of the notes about this second version. The above picture illustrates how to tilt the block to make waves. I call this a “dappled” tropical sky. The internet says that skies can be “dabbled”. The contrast of the darker, brighter blue sky with the sails looks better than the pale sky in the first quilt. Pressing the seams open that meet on the sides worked really well for sewing the acute-angled seams together. 

• 68 1/2" x 80 1/4" Single bed size
• Quilted in wavy lines and clouds; loop-de-loops in outside border; spirals in inside border. Both threads were Omni brand 100% polyester from Superior Threads. Used medium blue “Tidal Pool” for top; light turquoise blue “Light Turquoise ” for bobbins.  Free form quilting. 8 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light turquoise with white spirals cotton print. Fabric came from Connecting Threads.
• Batting: 100% cotton Warm and Natural.
• Binding: Navy blue tonal cotton print used for the bottom part of the ocean and the inner border.
• Pattern: "Rock the Boat” by Karen Bialik from easyQuilts, Summer 2019.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame April 13, 2021. Quilting on long arm quilter April 13-14, 2021. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

QC by Spencer

I see a bunny in the cloud!

Fancy Waves in the Ocean

Grandpa and Grandma Short and Some of the Grandkids 

QC by Cameron

à la Great-Great Grandma Short (Quilt for Thomas and a PIGS) #1

My Plans

Grandma Short made a boat quilt for Keith when he was a boy, so I decided to keep the tradition going and make boat quilts for two of her great-great grandsons, Cameron and Thomas. My inspiration came from a quilt magazine. The magazine arrived when Mother was in extended care with a broken neck and arm. Even though it was a chaotic time, I managed to hold onto the idea and remember where I put the magazine. The pattern was for a wall hanging so I enlarged it to a size that can work on a single bed or make a good fort. See my notes above.

Since it was a special project most of the fabrics were purchased from internet sites and did not come from my stash. The boat hulls are the only exceptions; those fabrics were from my stash. For this first boat quilt, I ran out of sky, so the tops of the sky is a slightly darker color. According to the internet the upper part of the sky does look darker than the lower part. So, I’m okay with this quilting hack. 

The pattern called for white, green, and yellow sails. I wasn’t too sure about green sails so I looked up color of sails on the internet. Turns out sails can be any color, especially for the brand “Hobie Cats”. In the old days, sails were primarily off-white, yellow, and red, depending on the fabric and the resin pounded into them to make them water repellent. Makers of red sails in Asia use a different resin than those in Europe. Aristocratic Romans had purple sails, but those were too expensive for the hoi polloi. So, I decided on white, yellow, and red sails. Maybe someone will sing “Red Sails in the Sunset” (Nat King Cole version) to each quilt recipient? That’s probably asking too much.

Where the tilted blocks sewed together made for a difficult seam when seams in the block met acutely. Where seams met obtusely there was no problem. For quilt #2 I will press those seams open and hopefully have fewer issues. Lessons learned! Who knew I would be a fan of obtuseness?

• 69" x 80 1/4" Single bed size
• Quilted in wavy lines and clouds.  Had to remount to do the side borders. Used different colors of thread for the sky, waves, borders and backing (bobbins). It was a pain changing threads and remounting. All that work for a potential fort! I will stick to one color of thread and one direction for quilt #2. All threads were Omni brand 100% polyester from Superior Threads. Used a pale blue “Blue Ice” for sky, clouds, wind in sails, and wind in front of boats; Dark blue “Navy Blue” for inner border; medium-dark blue “Ride the Wave” for outer border; medium blue “Tidal Pool” for ocean; medium blue “OceanBlue” for bobbins.  Free form quilting. 8 bobbins (7 “Ocean Blue” and one left from Aunt Linda’s “Spots” quilt—blue green “Treasure Isle”). Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Ocean print of jelly fish, anemones, etc. I mounted the backing print upside down compared to the boats. Geez! The jelly fish are swimming upside down! I decided not to worry about it. Fabric came from fabric.com.
• Batting: 100% cotton Warm and Natural.
• Binding: Navy blue tonal cotton print used for the bottom part of the ocean and the inner border.
• Pattern: "Rock the Boat” by Karen Bialik from easyQuilts, Summer 2019.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame March 30, 2021. Quilting on long arm quilter April 4-9, 2021. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

The Magazine

The Pattern

The Picture in the Pattern

Grandma and Grandpa Short with Patty and Keith

QC Guy on the Job

Sharks in the Water

QC by Thomas

Seeing Spots for Aunt Linda

Build Backing Better (Apologies to President Biden)

Aunt Linda sent a king/queen sized quilt top for me to quilt for her. It was fun! I haven’t had a quilt go this smoothly in a long time. It was going so well, I couldn’t stop and got the quilting done in one day! It’s comforting to know that I can still longarm a quilt without issues. The pattern Aunt Linda used was “Seeing Spots” from the Missouri Star Quilting Company, but she cut her own strips rather than use a jelly roll. I think the use of her own fabrics made the quilt more interesting and pretty.

• 85" x 90" King/Queen bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a loose spiral stipple. All quilting free form. Used light gray 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Silver") on the top and a “zippy” blue green 100% polyester on the bottom  (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Treasure Isle"). 9 bobbins. Quilting by Patty. This top quilted so smoothly I kept going all day for fear that if I stopped it wouldn’t go so well the next time. I credit good piecing by Aunt Linda, high quality fabrics (top and bottom), and the alignment of the stars!
• Backing: WILD BIG print, big tropical looking leaves in greens, aquas, and purples with red veins.
• Batting:  80% cotton/ 20% polyester from Winline “Comfort Blend”
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Inspired by “Seeing Spots" from Missouri Star Quilting Company.  
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Pinned into frame March 23, 2021. I used a “partial float” meaning the bottom of the quilt top was pinned to the third roller. I wanted to keep the quilt off the floor as much as possible. Quilting on long arm quilter March 24, 2021. (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Mother and Sally

Top before Quilting

Backing before Quilting

Many Pins Required for a Big Quilt. I had to open a new package!

Going Smoothly!

Mother and Sally QC’ing

Marley, Michael and Victoria receiving the quilt.

Always Sunshine and Silver Linings (Baby Quilt for Grace; New Technique Piano Keys Border)

Cousin Kristi’s granddaughter Grace was born October 8, 2020. I thought the baby needed a quilt, the utility kind that you can put on the ground for the baby to roll around upon.

The name for this quilt came from the two fabric lines used to make it, “My Sunshine” is the 10” bright print layer cake used for the star and piano keys and “Silver Linings” is the off-white fat-quarter prints used for the background. I thought the names put together made a good wish for Baby Grace. From my stash, I added bright yellow and green prints for the solid borders and a bright pink print for the binding. 

I used a Bloc-Loc 9 1/2” Square Template to trim the blocks to the correct size. The Bloc-Loc templates (various sizes) are some of the best quilting tool purchases I’ve ever made. They really helped step up my half-square triangle game. The templates have a groove down the diagonal center that just fits the quarter-inch seam and hold the block exactly right during trimming. 

I made a “piano keys” border for the top and bottom to make the quilt a better crib size and less square. The borders were easy to make if a bit oddly proportioned. I knew the pieces would look like fat, short keys, but this size worked best for the overall proportion of the quilt. This was my first attempt at a piano-keys border (new technique).

• 44 1/2" x 52 3/4" Crib size
• Quilting: Quilted in a loose meander with occasional loop-de-loops.  Besides the signature rabbit, I also quilted “Grace”, the baby’s name. Used butter-colored 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Butter").  Free form quilting. 6 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Pink flower print on a blue background from a Connecting Threads sale.
• Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester. “Comfort Blend” from WinLine. Piece was left from a previous project.
• Binding: Bright pink cotton print from my stash.
• Pattern: "Morning Star Baby Quilt” by Amy Smart from the internet.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame January 29, 2021. Quilting on long arm quilter January 29- February 5, 2021. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Doll Quilt

Great nephew David received a baby doll. He loves her and named her Quinn after his cousin. So Aunt Patty decided to send the new family member a quilt.

I used strips from a jelly roll to make the top. I used a label from the new ones I ordered from Etsy. What an unexpected way to begin my 2021 quilting journey!

• 20 1/2" x 30" Doll size
• Quilting: Quilted along the edges of the stripes using my domestic machine. Used a zigzag stitch for the quilting. Used beige 100% cotton thread (Aurifil). Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Beige cotton flannel left from another project.
• Batting: Same cotton flannel used for the backing.
• Binding: Strips from the same jelly roll.
• Pattern: Simple stripes.
• Piecing by Patty
• Quilting on domestic January 13, 2021 (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. Turned the binding and sewed the edge (second stitching) by hand on Jan 14, 2021, because our electricity was out due to PG&E work on electrical poles. 
• QC by Patty

Thank you for the quilt! Thomas way happy to receive it 

I knew the blanket would be used like a “burrito wrap”.

Goals for 2021 and 2020 Year-End Report

County Line Quilts

2021 Goals

2020 Year-End Report

2021 Goals

• Complete  4 long-armed quilts, including:
• Make a baby quilt for Cousin Kristi’s new granddaughter, Grace.
• Make a quilt for friend Grace’s new daughter-in-law, Grace’s request.
• Finish the sampler quilt begun in 2019 before my eye problem. The blocks were completed in 2020, but the quilt needs sashing, borders, etc
• Make 1 quilt from the To Do list of 27 Projects in bags (PIGS) as listed here (strongly recommend quilt for Thomas):

1. Dog Park (Quilting Bee--"Community Garden") in Cal-Asia bag and book
2. Sea Star (Binding Tool Star) in clear plastic orange bag
3. Garden Gate in gold NM bag
4. Marbles (Modern Baby) in UNICEF bag
5. Jumping Jacks (quilts from sweet Jane) in MSQC red bag to be named Tomato Soup?
6. 3 half square triangle quilts in red reptile N-M bag. One red, one blue, one pink
7. Crosswalk in blue clear bag. Needs white. See MSQC video.
8. Strips and tool in brown homemade tote bag for MSQC Basic X quilt. Needs fabric for center(gold?) See MSQC video.
9. Volunteers (Hands) in black Doctors Without Borders bag.
10. Black, White, Red Quilt in bright pink N-M bag—contains instructions
11. Green bug in Kaffe Fasset bag. Needs off white
12. 5”sq baby quilt in UA small canvas bag
13. Koala Jumping Jacks quilt (see Tomato Soup) in medium blue NM bag
14. A couple pieces for STEM quilt in Aunt Janet long skinny bag. Rest of pieces on shelf
15. Burst quilt and tool and instructions in tan and brown NM bag
16. Kiss Me Kate half square triangle quilt in UNICEF bag. Instructions on her web site
17. Half square triangle quilts in blue bag from sewing machine store. See book with dog park quilt for instructions
18. MSQC Wonky Star quilt in La Prairie white paper bag
19. Don’t remember in Thailand Elephant bag
20. 9-Patch and Hourglass on MSQC or stretched Periwinkle on MSQC using fabric from Lynda at Belmont sewing group. In 2 clear bags.
21. Tula Pink Monkey Wrench . Pattern unknown. In Kaffe Fasset bag
22. Thomas’s ship quilt in wild print NM bag 
23. Jelly Weave in “give quilter an inch” cloth bag. Needs background fabric
24. Scrap Patch Boxes in clear Quilt in a Day bag. Directions in iBooks
25. Scrappy succulents in clear Quilt in a Day bag. See iBooks.
26. Cacti and Succulents from MSQC in black Williams Sonoma bag
27. Red strips in “Start Over” canvas bag. Dart pattern in iBooks. Use white for back ground. Make it a few inches wider.

• Organize sewing studio—deep clean the fabric shelves! 
• Try a new technique. Consider curved piecing, needle-turned appliqué, or free-motion quilting on the domestic machine. Consider this a fun project.
• Make a few more masks, because COVID-19 is still with us.
• Only buy fabric to finish quilts, such as backs and bindings. Otherwise, use what is already in my inventory. An exception can be made for the quilt Grace commissioned for her daughter-in-law.

2021 Outlook

After the unexpected plague year of 2020, I read advice to keep goals for 2021 modest and achievable. I think that’s good advice. We need to give ourselves a break and a pat on the back for surviving a difficult 2020. Therefore, my new goals are not too ambitious. On the positive side my eye is better. Though, I will still need cataract surgery when COVID-19 abates.

2020 Year-End Report

• Completed 13 long-armed quilts, including the baby quilt top pieced in 2019 before my eye went bad (quilt given to new grandnephew Miles Rangel, Stacy Wong’s baby), t-shirt quilt for Tomiko, t-shirt quilt for Mother that I started in 2019, 4 quilts for Aunt Linda, a quilt top from the guild, and a baby quilt for the new grandniece Quinn Charlotte. In addition, I quilted a small top on the domestic for Aunt Linda. It was a lot of work and took a long time but turned out pretty. Goal exceeded for long armed quilts. 
• Made 2 neonatal quilt for guild. Goal exceeded. These quilts were quilted on the domestic
• Made one "kit" quilt, the quilt for Quinn Charlotte. Goal met.
• Made 2 T-shirt quilts. Goal met.
• Long armed the top Sally and Mother started in 2019. Goal met.
• Made 1 quilt from the To Do list of  Projects in bags (PIGS), Alaska quilt from fabric Ann gave me. Goal met.
• Tidied and organized sewing studio, including making more bags of quilting projects (PIGS). In addition, made two quilts from the new PIGS list, the quilt kit for Quinn Charlotte and the Aunt Linda Dream Weaver quilt, now named Quilt in the Time of COVID. Goal met.
• Made a dog bed stuffed with scraps. This was a big job, and from now on all small scraps get thrown away! Goal met.
• In addition, I made many masks for friends, family, and myself to help stop spread of  COVID-19.

All of my 2020 goals were met and one exceeded. I give myself an A for 2020, a very difficult pandemic year.