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Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Houses are HOT!

With all the talk of "safer at home", "staying at home", "quarantined at home", etc., quilters are making house blocks and house quilts in record numbers.

I wanted to make one too BUT:

1. I have a great house quilt I made a couple years ago, called The Village

2. I am too busy with deadline projects--like usual

SO, when I saw a great house quilt top made by a friend who recently passed away, I snapped that up in a hurry!

It is an unusual size and as I look at it I think I will remove some of the lower rows to make it smaller and have more houses/trees for another small quilt. It also needs another border or two. My husband saw it on the design wall and said "That's nice--when did you make that?"  Thanks to my friend for making it--little did she know, I would buy it and it would be mine.

My quilt, The Village--a great workshop quilt I have taught several times. The next time I teach it, we will do freezer paper piecing--teaching a new skill for most quilters:


I finished Foothills, washed and dried it, and we have been sleeping under it--a great topper for our king-size bed. My husband likes the AC at brrrrr level so we need extra cover at night. This is one of my most favorite quilts I've made, so glad it is done:


 The pattern is available Here.

This week I am quilting the "secret sewing" quilt and loving how it is coming along:

Using Superior's Microquilter 100 wt thread for all the ditch work, it can hardly be seen. The thread color on the back matches so perfectly that when I do need to take a bit of it out because OOPS happen, it is very hard to see the stitches. When all the "bones" are added, the stitch in the ditch lines, I will use a larger thread, probably King Tut or So Fine 50 wt, to create more texture and designs on the quilt. It is SO hard not to show it to you, but eventually...

This is blackberry season in my yard, which lasts about two weeks. Where I turn this:


 into this:


Never forget to put a cookie tray under a fruit pie before it bakes. SO glad I didn't have to clean the oven after this was done. And it was as yummy as it looks. The rest of the berries will go in the freezer to become Blackberry Cobbler for Christmas dessert.

Are YOU making house blocks or a house quilt? What else are you making that has a connection to the COVID-19 time in our life?

Let's quilt,

Barbara

5 comments:

  1. That is special that you got your friend's house quilt. I like that unique blue background. Currently I am not making anything house related.
    Foothills is a gorgeous quilt! My hubby is bothered if the AC comes on in the night, so it is sometimes warmer than I prefer. But our nights stay cool most of the summer, so keeping windows open at night makes most of them tolerable. Still, I sleep under just a sheet.
    Looking forward to the reveal on the secret quilt!
    Oh, those blackberries look gorgeous! We have a tiny row of blackberries, but I have my raspberry patch, and my Dad's raspberry patch to care for her. When hubby planted the blackberries I made it clear that they were his to care for. He just isn't a gardener, so we rarely see any berries from that row.
    The only thing I am making that is covid related is masks.

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  2. You got a fantastic start on another quilt top from your friend. No, I'm not doing any house or isolation quilts - too many others on the list. My mood tanked sewing the few masks that I did, I just can't get into making anything else virus related, quilts or needlework.

    That pie looks luscious! I sometimes think I should always keep a pan on the bottom rack no matter what I'm making. Cleaning the oven is bad enough, the smoke alarm going off is a bit much!

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  3. Micro thread! Have not heard of it used for stitch in the ditch but I am curious. What do you use in the bobbin?? The same weight??? Thank you for your continued inspiration with your blog. I always learn something from you!

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    1. Sandy, the Microquilter is working great. I have the same in the bobbin but would have used Quilters Select 80 wt or 60 wt or Bottom Line from Superior, it is a 60 wt. Color is most important to me so I let that be the deciding factor. My Q20 has no problem with the fine threads--I am using a size 80 Superior Titanium Topstitch needle--the size 70 had a tendency to shred.

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  4. I cannot believe that you made the quilt you called Foothills. I saw an old quilt on Pinterest and couldn't find a pattern for it and I didn't know the name of it. So I drafted the pattern that I believe is a somewhat smaller version than yours. I have gotten so many compliments on it because of the unusual colors that I used in mine. I was so shocked to see your version and delighted at the same time.

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