String Challenge Small Quilt, Rail Fence Pattern

String blocks I had put together arranged in no particular order.

Same string blocks cut into 4" squares now sewn together.

Happy Weekend !!

Sunny and warm in Renton, WA.

Debbie Feske  had a string quilt challenge going on so I decided to work up some string sections and join in for fun. And so I sewed together some strings and played with arrangement until I ended up frustrated and thinking this is a waste of my time.

I finally realized what the problem was; I didn't want the quilt to end up big,  I've been working small lately and that's what makes me happy now. We're staying with relatives, helping out and vacationing too. So I don't have a lot of space or time to devote to large projects, so small it is.

When I figured that out I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly unpicked a couple of long seams and cut the strips into 4" blocks. Now I had something that gave me peace. I laid them out, 3 blocks by 5 blocks, in rail fence pattern and that was the trick.

I call it 'Attract' as in opposites attract.

I'm linking up with Julie and Linda  for Sew Stitch Snap Share .
Visit them for inspiration and progress in projects. Thanks Julie and Linda for hosting.

That's what I've been working on the last couple of days.

The rest of my time goes for adventures and walks in the sun.

I hope you're having a good weekend, and leaving time for rest and relaxation! 

I'll be by to visit.

Purple Haze or Smoky Purple, Compositions by BasicGrey, AHIQ Time

Tim Holtz fabric with alphabet, backing on butterfly quilt.

String improv, small, with 'Composition' fabric by BasicGrey for Moda.

My 'liberated' blocks to be arranged improv. style.

This block has beautiful 'smoky' batiks and newsprint fabric.

My small liberated triangle quilt will get orange border soon.

Foley's Produce market, Maple Valley, WA.

Peaches and plums, boxes of pears and tomatoes!

Corn and cucumbers, delicious.

Hello from Renton, WA.

Where it's summer and wild berries and farmers markets are ripe for picking.

My grandson loves berries. I bought beef steak tomatoes and they'll be sliced as a side dish for dinner.

Gossypium Quilt Shop  is hosting Kaffe Facett for classes and a lecture.

I'm planning on going to the lecture, September 16, 2017.

I put up photos of some of the ways I use letters in my work. I like to use fabrics with compositions on them. BasicGrey has 'Compositions, Newsprint, Number Jumble-etc for Moda.

Tim Holtz has fabric with maps, letters, numbers etc.

My butterfly quilt has Tim Holtz fabric on the backing with alphabet.

For my newest blocks, I'm calling them 'Smoky Purple' or ' Purple Haze',  I used a fabric pack of smoky purple batiks, made in India, I found at JoAnn Fabrics. I used to work there and know that once in a while some great fabric comes rolling through. There's also some 'Compositions' fabric by BasicGrey in there.

I made the blocks in an 'Improv Piecing' class by Debbie  at Gossypium Quilt shop.

Great class.

I'm linking up with Ann and Kaja for AHIQ #24, where all kinds of improvisation is celebrated. Stop in to share and get inspiration!

Have a great week and remember to share a smile.

I'll be by to visit.

Hand Sewing Binding Butterfly Quilt, Farmers Market Cucumbers

Hand sewing binding down on back.

Front close up, yes, the yellow and orange butterfly is my favorite.

'Gathering', 45" x 22", binding sewn on front.

Hedlin's Family Farm, La Conner, WA.

Happy Weekend from the Pacific Northwest.

The temperatures have been upper 70's, mostly sunny. 

We've been going to the lake, Lake Wilderness Park, about 15 minutes away,

located in Maple Valley, WA. We put our feet in the water, it's surprisingly warm, and my little grandson enjoys playing in the sand. It's great to watch the kids, big and small, splashing and swimming around.

I've been working on fiddly things this week; hand sewing binding onto a quilt back, arranging and composing an improv small quilt; two steps forward one back, etc. But progress is being made, slow but sure. My butterfly quilt, 'Gathering' is 45" x 22", and almost finished. It's spoken for and has a home already.

The farmers market photo I'm sharing here was taken in La Conner, WA over a month ago when strawberries were at their peak. I visited a local farmers market last week and found good sized cucumbers three for a dollar. You bet I bought some! Some were eaten fresh and the rest got pickled.

I hope you're taking time to enjoy the summer. 

( I know some of you live where it's winter but soon enough you'll be enjoying your summer!)

And remember to visit your local farmers market, there's good deals this time of year.

I'll be by to visit.

Quilted Butterflies, Piecing Baby Quilts, a River, Sew Stitch Snap Share

This is the backing for two quilts I'm piecing together.

I'm making two four patch quilts for my two grandsons.

We walked along the Puyallup River yesterday, it's south of Renton.

Native Americans are allowed to use nets to fish in the Puyallup River.

I've finished machine quilting my butterfly quilt, now to the binding.

Hello from  Renton, WA where it's a bit cooler today.

We walked along the Puyallup River yesterday, so the fishermen in the family could scope it out. Salmon fishing opens tomorrow. 

Native Americans here are allowed to use nets to fish for salmon and they were busy at it.

This week I pieced two four patch quilts I'm making for my grandsons. I thought the map on the backing and the trucks and cars on the front went together and would be fun to look at for them.

I also finished the machine quilting on my butterfly quilt, I've named it 'Gathering.'

It'll have white binding, Kona 'snow' and a hanging sleeve. It will look good on a wall.

Jo Morton has a book out, recently published by That Patchwork Place ,'Jo's Little Favorites II' a classic collection of 15 small quilts.

 Her historically inspired small quilts are beautiful, great design and color. 

This is an excellent resource and it'll be just the thing for reading on a slow day to get your creative juices flowing again!

I'm linking up with Linda and Julie for Sew Stitch Snap Share. Stop by to find color and quilt/project inspiration. Thanks Linda and Julie for hosting this good idea.

Have a wonderful week and next post I hope to share more farmers market photos.

I'll be by to visit.

Peaches and Improv Piecing Class and a Trade

Aren't they gorgeous? They smell as good as they look.

Blocks I made in Debbie Feske's Improv Class .

 Log cabin block I made at home.

Debbie @ A Quilter's Table blog is hosting a string improv  quilt-a-long.

I exchanged my Juki Mini for a Pfaff Expression 3.5.

Hello from sunny Renton, Washington!

Where chasing after our one year old grandson is great fun, always something new.

You should see him do 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', so cute.

My daughter-in-law brought home those (above) ripe, heavenly peaches. Nothing like a good peach in summer.

The class, Improv Piecing by Debbie Feske @ A Quilter's Table, link above, was great. Debbie's pleasant easy to understand style was the best! So I'm going to be putting together improv blocks based on traditional blocks, that's what I like to do anyway. The class was at Gossypium Quilt Shop in Issaquah, WA .

And you might be wondering, 'Why did she exchange her Juki Mini for a Pfaff Expression?

The Juki was giving me tension fits, literally and figuratively.

I want to sew, not run into the sewing shop every other day, trying this and then that and still not producing a decent stitch. I finally said to myself, 'This is not worth it. I'll take a machine that can sew a great stitch all the time, thank you.' And the Pfaff has a hard case so I can carry it.

And I need a machine that's portable right now, the Juki was too heavy. 

So that's the story.

At last I'm getting some sewing done and getting outside to enjoy the weather and the wild berries.

Hope you're having a good summer and don't forget to visit the local farmer's market.

You never know what you'll find there.

I'll be by to visit.

Kaleidoscope of Butterflies #19, 'Liberated' Butterfly Blocks, Fox Hollow Farm

https://fretnotyourself.blogspot.com

Liberated Butterflies w border, 45" x 21", my design.

Close-up, four patches are 4" x 4".

We visited Fox Hollow Farm in Issaquah, WA.

Beautiful farm buildings at Fox Hollow Farm.

Pony rides anyone?

There was a little farmers market on site, notice the pea hen on the roof?

Cute bunny here.

There were carrots and lettuce if you wanted to feed the animals.

Sweet farm kitty playing in the farmer's market.

Chickens and pigs put on a good show for us.

                                                          Hello from sunny Pacific NW! 

                                               Time for Kaleidoscope of Butterflies again!

I'm linking up with Ann @ fretnotyourself and Cathy @ saneandcrazy, celebrating butterflies.

I've sewed a border on my 'liberated' butterflies, 45" x 21". The border fabric is by Tim Holtz . There's

some letters on the fabric and some 'distress' used as design elements. I'm thinking of naming it, 'Gathering.'

This week we visited Fox Hollow Family Farm in Issaquah, WA. It's located in a scenic area.

My grandson loved it and had an exciting time seeing all the farm animals up close. The farm animals were happy to be admired and put on a good show. It's well run and perfect for a family outing.

I hope you're having a great week, enjoying the summer.

Remember to stop by the local farmers market.

I'll be by to visit.