Friday check in: bookshelf OMG q/b/l

When I was at the library earlier this week I had a chat with Peggy who said she's retiring.  Her last day is June 10.  She's been a mainstay of the youth services department for many years.   Time for me to make a bookshelf quilt! 

  I've lost count of the bookshelves I've 'constructed" -- 40-plus,  I think.  I've given them to coworkers who earned their MLS degrees, to trustees who completed their terms, and to coworkers (now former coworkers (I retired in 2014)) upon their retirements.  

  In 2004 I purchased the book pattern from Christine Thresh (winnowing.com) -- I don't know if the website is active.  I've certainly gotten my money's worth from it.

This was going to be my June OMG but I finished it last evening -- quilted, bound, and labeled. 

My novelty stash.  I don't add to it but it doesn't seem to diminish very much.

Come back on Monday for my OMG declaration.

Linking up with 
Peacock Party  Finished or Not Friday

 

Weekly update: kitchen, OMG, stars, and SQUIRREL!

The kitchen and dining room walls are now "Gleeful." (The contrast wall at the end of the entry hall is "Lime Rickey," a shade darker.) The base cabinets are in place and the upper cabinets are waiting in the garage for the carpenters this week.

My November OMG was to make a bookshelf quilt for a former coworker who is retiring this month.  This is the 40th bookshelf quilt I've made since 2004, all using Christine Thresh's pattern (Winnowing.com)  (I have gotten my money's worth!)

I'm linking this post to the  OMG November finish .

I was pleased to get a place in the star swap that  Barb Vedder  is hosting. They're not due until mid-January but I forged ahead and made all 31 (with a couple of extras).









Earlier this month I made some black and white slab blocks. When I got to 24 I put them on the design wall.  I don't want to replicate last year's Modern Cabin.  I arranged them horizontally by accent color and realized that may be the setting -- six rows, six blocks, each row a different accent color. Since I took this photo I've made another green, another yellow, and four turquoise blocks. Orange and purple to come.

And the SQUIRREL?  It leaped across my quilting path, metaphorically speaking, when I leafed through a stack of patterns clipped from magazines.  The pattern uses 100 paper-pieced 5-1/2" (unfin.) blocks.  I didn't want to go to the effort of printing 100 paper foundations and I really didn't want to have to tear out all that paper. Instead I'm piecing the blocks conventionally. They have 2-1/2" centers (I have a shoebox of them) and 1" strips (cut from the 1-1/2", 2", and 2-1/2" strip bins, and some yardage).  The skinny strips are not hard to work with.  I make the blocks in batches and press and trim after each round.   I've made 57 blocks so far.  The random arrangement on the design wall puts me in mind of the lively designs by Kathy Doughty and Jen Kingwell .  I'm not sure where I'll go with these blocks but after all,  SQUIRRELS dash here and there.

Linking up with
Oh Scrap!
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

Weekly update: holiday doings, catching up, and Clue 4

The United Methodist Women had their holiday luncheon on Thursday.

In years past I've made ornaments as favors but this year I made coasters. (20 coasters, 5" squares = 2 yards of fabric used!)


Thursday evening I went to my friend Erika's P.E.O. chapter's holiday party.

At both parties we exchanged white elephant gifts.  I was happy to pass along some perfectly nice items I did not want. In return, both times, I got candy.

(Yes, I hang out with middle-aged/older white women. I fit the demographic.)








At church this morning the kids performed the Christmas play. The theme was superheroes.  They had a meeting to talk about the new superhero who was coming -- sent by "Mr. G. O. D."  After they met Mary and Joseph ("Why didn't you call ahead for reservations?" Mary asked) and, with the help of the shepherds (played by two moms since the kids wanted to be superheroes) they realized that "We will save ordinary citizens. You, Jesus, will save all the world!"





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I finished Bookshelf #38 (or is it #39?) for Pat, who's retiring from ZBPL. The party is this coming Wednesday.  This is my OMG for December.  (Click on the label on the sidebar to see other examples.)

linking up with the December OMG finishes here  

I made 9 scrappy purple sawtooth stars for the December Block Lotto.














Here's the wonky house for the December guild BOM.


And, hooray -- this week's Good Fortune clue was fun and easy!  Here are the orange string-pieced blocks.



See what other bloggers are up to:
Oh Scrap!
Design Wall Monday
Quiltville Mystery Monday
  Monday Making
 Moving It Forward 

Weekly update: wildflowers, a quick finish, and a new start

I remember the first time I saw wild flags (wild iris):  circa 1990, driving home to Auburn, Maine, on Route 202. That was long before cellphones with cameras. I looked for them the next year, and the next, but never found them again.  Now I make a point to visit Illinois Beach State Park each year to see both blue and yellow flags in bloom.


Flags differ from hybrid iris -- they like wet feet.

There's a patch of hybrid iris along the road in the park. I speculate how they got there. Did someone (illegally) dump a load of garden dirt that included the iris rhizomes?   There were houses in what is now the state park, but they were moved or torn down decades ago, so it's unlikely that these are a remnant from a flower bed.






Other wildflowers in bloom now are bladder campion (maiden's tears), coreopsis (tickseed), spiderwort, and ragwort.  ("Wort" refers to a plant that was used for food or medicine.)

I made a Chinese Puzzle block in aqua/teal, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for June.  (And I've just had a flash of inspiration for setting them.  Hope I remember it when all 10 blocks are made.)

I finished the bookshelf wall hanging.  This is the 37th or so that I've made for coworkers, colleagues, and library trustees. I use a pattern by Christine Thresh (winnowing.com) that I got in 2004. I know there are many other bookshelf designs but this is how I make 'em. (Click on the "bookshelf quilt" label on the sidebar to see a selection.)

I'm making this 20 x 30 wall hanging for the silent auction at our guild show this fall.  I hope no one mistakes the squiggly pumpkin vines for snakes . . .

The pattern is from an issue of Quilt magazine.
The designer's vines are spikier.  The magazine had the pattern half-size so I had to draw the pieces free-hand.

I'm linking up with
Monday Making
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Oh Scrap!
 Design Wall Monday
 Moving It Forward

P.S.  This was definitely not a wildflower! A half-dozen rose petals had blown down the beach. Wonder what the story is . . .

One Monthly Goal for June

Today's the last day to declare my One Monthly Goal and link up with others at Elm Street Quilts:  Well, I missed the June 7 deadline for OMG. But  here is the link up page with 100+ other quiltmakers who made their decisions (and wrote their posts) in time.

Allen is retiring from the Zion-Benton Public Library after 25 years. He will turn 86 this year!
ZBPL was his second career, following retirement from the U.S. Steel wire plant in North Chicago.  In the mid 1990's he came to ZBPL to be the bookmobile driver. When the bookmobile was decommissioned in 1999 he made the transition to the circulation department. 

His retirement party is June 14. I will have this bookshelf wall hanging finished by then!

DWM: finishes, pillowcases, and advice taken

Thank you, everyone who offered advice about borders for the scrappy stars quilt.  I did cave in and buy more dark blue fabric. In the meantime I found an idea for a pieced border. I haven't started it yet -- you'll need to tune in next week.

Cindy and her daughter Jeannie came over to pick up the pillowcases that I made. Cindy generously paid more than I asked. She gave me the leftover fabric, which weighed 4.5 lbs (18 yards).  They also brought more fabric from which I made four pillowcases and the cover for a dog bed.

I finished the bookshelf quilt for my friend Pat who is retiring July 31.  This is the fourth bookshelf quilt I've made this year and, if I calculate correctly, #36 in all.  I've made them for library staff getting their MLS degrees, retiring library trustees, the ALA Executive Board (during my term, 2004-07), and now for colleagues who are retiring.  I have gotten a lot of use out of the pattern, which is by Christine Thresh (www.winnowing.com).

I created this 78 x 78 batik top in May, 2014. I basted it six months ago (the backing is a never-used Ralph Lauren flat sheet, a garage sale find for $2).  I finally quilted it this week.  Hooray for a finish!

I'm linking up with other quiltmakers at Patchwork Times.

DWM: a quilt show, a clean slate, new projects, and border quandary

On Saturday my sister treated me to the   Batavia Quilt Show  I took a number of photos -- I'll compose a separate post to include them once I

We were luncheon hosts after church yesterday.  Stevens sliced a ham.  I made salads (three-bean; macaroni; brown rice; cukes-in-sour-cream), a batch of brownies, and rhubarb bundt cake.  The cukes and the cake were completely consumed. We gave the leftover ham, buns, and brownies to a family (many kids). The remaining salads were just as good at suppertime.

Since we are more than halfway through the year I thought it was time to edit the list of projects on the dry-erase board next to the sewing table.

Before

After

I made 11 pillowcases from the fabric that Cindy brought me ten days ago. There's a lot of fabric left. We're settling up this week.....I have to say that Ole, the 1991-model Viking Husqvarna serger, did an admirable job finishing the seams.






















A new project: bookshelf quilt #36 (or thereabouts) for my friend (and ALA roommate) who's retiring at the end of July.










Tumblers are Bonnie Hunter's  2015 challenge . I had not intended to join, but look what I found on a shelf in the Deep Stash .   Now I'm thinking about tumblers for the next 30's bin bust project....










And once the tumblers are finished I can try this template set.

I got both of these packages on clearance ($5 each) about ten years ago. I haven't used either one.







And finally, to my design wall.  The blocks as set are approx. 58 x 58. What should I do about the border?
* I am trying not to buy more fabric.
*There are two dark blues -- the stars and the setting triangles are different fabrics.
***I do not have enough of either of these dark blues for even a skinny border.
* I am trying not to buy more fabric.
* The print on the left has a dark purple background. The print on the right is too dark and the wrong scale for the stars.

I'm linking up with Judy's Patchwork Times and Beth's Love Laugh Quilt .

Midweek update: another bookshelf

From start to finish in three days! This is bookshelf quilt #35, if my count is correct.  It's for one of the ZBPL department heads who is retiring at the end of June.

Unfortunately for me I cannot attend the retirement reception on June 22 because I will be in California between the AAUW national convention and the ALA Annual Conference.  I will wrap the gift and drop it off at the library office. They'll be sure to put it out at the reception.

I use Christine Thresh's pattern (here) for all the bookshelf quilts I've made. My procedure has gotten pretty efficient. I have a box of motifs fussy-cut from novelty fabrics already backed with fusible web.  I like to use the same black-on-black print for an entire wallhanging so I don't pre-make the blocks (in case I run out of a particular b-o-b).

Bookshelf, bubbles, and bunco buddies

Bookshelf quilt #34!   Started and finished in nearly record time (Monday - Wednesday).
This one is for a recently-retired coworker from ZBPL.  (How many more of these will I make?   For other ZBPL coworkers when they retire; for ZBPL trustees for whom I worked; and for close friends (librarians) when they retire.)

I was not clear about the size of the bubble blocks I posted earlier this week.
The blocks are 15" x 15" finished. Each is made of four quarter blocks.
The CUT size of the pieces:
3" center square
2" colored strips
1.5" white strips




Karen DeWitt was the speaker at the Northern Lake County Quilters Guild monthly meeting last evening. Karen is an artist, a quiltmaker, a bunco player, and now a novelist.  She's published three books about a group of eight women who play bunco and make quilts. I bought the first two books from her at our guild show last fall, where she was a vendor. I read and enjoyed them both (okay, I read them last weekend in anticipation of her presentation last night!). The third book came out a month ago and I bought it last evening. If you like stories about quilters and quilting friendship you'll enjoy these.  Here is Karen's website: ( http://karendewittauthor.blogspot.com/)  -- note that the books are available as audio downloads as well as in print.

Karen's program was about her quiltmaking journey with a trunk show of her work. She is a professional artist (MFA) and a professional picture framer. She has reproduced several of her pen-and-ink and pastel drawings on fabric (with Spoonflower ) and had them for sale along with her books.  (She's also played bunco with a group of women for about 25 years, though she insists that the characters in her books do not portray any of them.)

DWM: a bookshelf and (more) scraps

In addition to polishing silver (see previous post) it was a busy week: AAUW, Woman's Club, two conference calls (one for an ALA committee and one for a P.E.O. committee), the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast.  Stevens and I went to see "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" which was delightful.

The Zion-Benton Public Library hosted forums for candidates on the ballot in this April's election. (In Illinois we elect municipal officials and library district/school district/park district/etc. trustees on the first Tuesday of April of odd-numbered years.)  The forums are held only for the races where there are contested seats. I was the moderator, which I've done in previous years.  On Friday evening we heard the candidates for the library board and for the high school board. I did not pose the final question, but I relished asking it: "Do you have a library card and do you use it?" (The four library board candidates did.  One of the high school board candidates did. The other two said, "No, I use the Internet," to which I replied, "We can remedy that.")  On Sunday afternoon we heard the *six* candidates for Zion mayor and five of the six candidates for two seats on the Zion city commission. The meeting room was filled and people stood out in the lobby. The current mayor is retiring after 16 years. Economic development, public safety, and tax relief are the key issues.
The video is here .  (Yikes. I need to stop wiggling when I speak in front of groups.)

This week's quilting project is assembled and ready to quilt. It's for a library coworker whose retirement luncheon is this coming Friday. This is the 32nd (or so) bookshelf quilt that I've made.  It's hard for me to work/create with a tight deadline.

Novelties stash

On the other hand, projects with no deadline come together more easily. I have acquired a pile of 4.5" HSTs from the BlockSwappers' quarterly exchanges. I trimmed many of them to 3.5" and made pinwheels. I had a stack of 16-patches made as leaders-and-enders.  The blocks are 6.5" unfin/6" fin.   How would they look together?  The scrappy blocks are intense and busy, no place for the eye to rest.  How about adding some HST 9-patches? (Source: the 2.5" HST box.) How about making some stars? (Sources: the 2" HST box, the 2" squares box, and the 3.5" squares box.)  I'm not sure where this will end up!

I'm linking up on Judy's Patchwork Times and Beth's Monday Making.

DWM: Tote bag and bookshelf #31

I wrote that my quilting to-do list included a tote bag.  Rather than repurposing a vendor totebag (see here , for example), this one is made out of batiks and is adapted from a design by Heather Willms of  Hopscotch Quilt Shop . 

I used a technique I learned from another tote pattern. It results in enclosed seams. I think it's easier and neater than creating a separate lining that is inserted into the tote.
1. Piece the outside. 
2. Quilt the outside to the batting.
3.  Attach handles.
4. Put the resulting top/batting right-side-together to the lining.
5. Sew along the perimeter, leaving an opening for turning. 
(Be sure that the handles don't get caught in the seams.)
6.  Turn right side out. Stitch opening shut. 
7.  Sew side seams.  Create squared-off box bottom if desired.


This tote will be filled with advance reader copies and donated to Lake County CAP for their fall fundraiser.

Here is another project to check off my to-do list. This is bookshelf quilt #31, to be presented in a couple of weeks. I made the flimsy today (Sunday) in a concentrated afternoon and evening in my studio.  I have meetings MTW evenings so the quilting will come later in the week.



I'm linking up with Judy's Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.