Quilt Makeover and Some Fun

I was invited to a baby shower this past weekend and didn't have time to start a new project so I thought I would dig up something from the past.  I found this snow dyed mandala baby quilt that I made before I had my longarm. It is cotton on the front and fleece on the back.

I think when I put this together I felt it was kind of gender neutral, which was good as I have been invited to showers where you don't yet know if it's a boy or a girl.  This time the baby boy was here and I felt the quilt just had too much pink.  I decided to give over-dyeing a try.  After a  brief phone consultation with my dyeing partner Kathy, we decided that a brown overdye might be a safe bet.  We decided on a deep brown from our last round of joint experiments that was made up of orange and navy dyes.  The results were not what I expected...GREY?? But it wasn't pink or purple so I could live with it.

I was headed in the right direction, but decided that my simple outline quilting was no longer enough, so onto the longarm it went.

I just started doodling and this is what happened.

A little personalization for a finishing touch.

Now for some fun.  Quiltmaker Magazine is once again hosting their "100 Blocks Blog Tour" this week.  I have always enjoyed seeing the blocks, and visiting all the blogs.  I have also been lucky enough to win copies of the magazine, fabric bundles and a mug.  Maybe you could be lucky too!  Click the button to check it out.

Floral Hopscotch

This lovely lap quilt belongs to Cheri.  She has made for her sister, using the Hopscotch pattern. This is a really great one for fat quarters.  Cheri's fabric had a lot of dainty floral fabrics so the Flying Paisley panto was just the right scale.  I used So Fine thread and Quilter's Dream Blend batting.

 

Embroidery Bouquet

Peggy brought me this very unique quilt that has a piece of hand embroidery as the focus.  Peggy was enlisted by family members to preserve the embroidery and put the top together for another family member as a surprise.

This top did have me a little scared as I had never worked on an embroidered piece before and it had a lot of blank canvas calling for a good design idea.

The white border got a freehand flower/curl/leaf design, bead board in the dark blue, and a leafy feather in the light blue.

I chose a tight tipple behind the embroidery to help it pop. I used So Fine thread in blue and white for the front and white Bottom line for the back. Peggy provided a pure white polyester batting which really kept the border and backing fabric a nice crisp white.

 It is so wonderful to see a family treasure on display instead of folded up in a closet somewhere.  Thanks for trusting me with your treasure Peggy!

Curve it Up Quilt Along Block 12 and a Spare

The last set of instructions for the Curve it Up Quilt along came out this week.  The last blocks was spools.  You can see the original here.  I really didn't have much fabric to choose from that would work so thought I would try four spools instead of eight.  Mine aren't as elegant, but do seem like spools to my eye.

Here are the 12 blocks together.

I also had a lot of left over pieces from the previous blocks.  When I realized that I has 16 "HSTs", that coordinated,  I knew I need to make an extra block.  But what layout to choose? HSTs are just so versatile!!

I was really indecisive, so after a round of voting by Kathy, the girls and Nolan I settled on this one.

Here are the 13 blocks.  I am waiting to see what layout ideas Jenny and Helen come up with before I put the top together. I think I will pull the block that isn't playing well with the others and put in on the back for the label.  Which one would you send to the backside?

The Easiest Roast Recipe Ever!

I tried this recipe for the second time yesterday, and decided I just had to share.  A unique cooking method turns a usually tough cut of meat into a delicious meal, and it has quilting time built in!

1. Preheat oven to 500 F.

2. Season an Eye of Round roast with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning blend. (I used Montreal Steak spice). Place in roaster, no cover, no water.

3. Place roast in oven for 7 minutes per pound.  (5 minutes per pound if your roast is 5 lbs. or larger).  Set your timer, for me that was 21 minutes, as my roast was about 3 lbs.

3. Do not be tempted to leave your kitchen at this point.  Your oven is on at 500 degrees!!  I used the time to peel potatoes, carrots and wash some lettuce.

4. When you hear the timer, shut your oven off.  Do not open the oven door or you will spoil the whole thing. Let the roast sit in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.  (At this point it is probably best to leave the kitchen and do some sewing so that you won't be tempted to peek).  Here is the end result.  Seared on the outside and tender and a nice medium on the inside.

My family was very happy with Monday night supper, and I didn't spend too much time in the kitchen!

 

  

 

 

Island Sunrise

This is Robin's beautiful Island Sunrise quilt. It is Judy Niemeyer pattern that Robin doubled from the original size.  It is all paper pieced.  She gave me free reign on this one, and I decided to take a "less is more" approach.  I wanted to emphasize the beautiful piecing and fabrics and not muddle it up with too much quilting.

I stitched "beside the ditch" about 1/8" around the spikes on the background fabric, and echoed the circles twice.

Robin used a lovely cream floral wide backing fabric and Quilter's Dream batting. I tried Magnifico thread for the first time and I am very happy with the result.  It has a nice amount of shine that just adds a little something to the quilt.  I used the "Smokey Mountains" color through the whole quilt top and bottom line on the back.

I wanted something special in the borders to complement the piecing and came up with what I am calling my "Spiky Baptist Fan" border.

Thanks for letting me spend some time with your beautiful quilt Robin!

April Already?

Where did the time go?  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We enjoyed short trip to Minot over Spring Break and a quiet Easter at home.  Things have been melting around here, but there still is a long way to go.

I finished the 11th block in the Curve It Up Quilt Along - Drunkard's Path.  Only one more to go.

 Renovations have been progressing.  All of the suspended ceiling is up and it sure goes a long way to making it feel finished.  The last big job is the floor and baseboards, but that will have to wait until we can have a stretch of days off in a row.  Looking like that might be May!

And one more step was taken to help convert the rec room into a "Man Cave".  

And here is a sneak peek at what will be coming off the machine this afternoon.  It is going to be a little hard to say goodbye!