Shortcut

 I'm sure many of you know this method already, but I'm sharing it today because I found it to be so much easier than cutting half square triangles.

Start with 10" squares right sides together.

Draw an X line point to point.

Then sew all the way around the 10" block 

Cut on the drawn line diagonally each way.

This is what happens....

Give a quick press

Sew them together

You can make all different figurations with these half square triangles.

I'm going with this one.

Happy Quilting!

                                       Sew and Tell

                                       NTT

                                      Midweek Makers

                                      Put Your Foot Dow

                                     Finished or not Friday

I'm inspired

Isn't it fun to visit quilt shops? Inspire is the largest quilt shop in our area. Since the pandemic, most of the quilt shops have closed. And two more are slated to close soon. Inspire will be moving. The owner has sold the building and is retiring. But I was told they have a new location and will be moving in the summer.  Of course they are having sales so they won't have to move ALL the fabric.

Always lots of inspiration.

And a peek through the glass

Happy Quilting!

Sew sampler

 Do you do any quilting subscription? I never have. But I am taking a leap and subscribed to the Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler. 

 

These colors enticed me. And the new year starts in April. So lets see what this month brings. If it gets too much for me I can always opt out. But hopefully I can keep up.

SO Happy Quilting!

Quilts for seniors

 Ok so this is what I've been doing. Making two more quilt tops for the nursing home for Christmas.  

They are not fancy, but would make a perfect lap quilt. I have a lot of 10" squares, so I'm working on getting the pile down. 

                                     

                                       Sew and Tell

                                       NTT

                                      Midweek Makers

                                      Put Your Foot Dow

                                     Finished or not Friday

Sewing Day

 Finally got together with my sewing pals.

We each were making progress on our projects.

How about you? Did you do any sewing/quilting over the weekend?

Yell-OH!

 Yellow. That's the color I always thought I never had much. But when I was organizing my fabric recently, I discovered yellow!

I've been putting fabric in baskets by color. And as such, I have been digging in my stash.

And would you believe I found that I had yellow! Plenty of it. Some were mixed in with the neutrals, and others were just here and there. 

Whoop!

I like this system I have starting using.. 

Over the years, my fabric has gotten out of control  But the baskets are great. Easy access and easy to grab a piece of fabric in whatever color I need.  

How about you. Do you have a system for your fabric stash?

Rope bowl

 Recently I learned something new.  Making a rope bowl with fabric scraps.

\

Have you tried anything new lately?

                                       Sew and Tell

                                       NTT

                                      Midweek Makers

                                      Put Your Foot Down

                                     Finished or not Friday

Yardage chart

 

One little hint about using yardage for a charm pack pattern is how many 5" squares can you get from a yard of fabric -

1/4 yard = 8 squares
1 fat quarter = 12 squares
1/2 yard = 24 squares
3/4 yard = 40 squares
1 yard = 56 squares

I thought I would go one more step and add the yardage guide for strips. I always find this information helpful when trying to decide how much fabric to purchase.

Width = Strips Per Yard -

1.5" = 23 strips
2" = 17 strips
2.5" = 13 strips
3" = 11 strips
3.5" = 10 strips
4" = 8 strips
4.5" = 7 strips
5" = 7 strips
5.5" = 6 strips
6" = 5 strips

Happy Quilting!

Hello April!!

 Spring. Don't you just love it?  With spring comes flowers. 

This is the first year my amaryllis bloomed. It is one tough survivor as it was walked on, stomped on with workers all over the yard. But it looks so pretty.

My African Iris that I brought over from our old house.

It has done really well for 14 years.

My knock out roses have bloomed and bloomed and bloomed.

And finally my Yellow Elder, which exploded with color. Two of my sweet grandchildren stood in front of the tree.

No quilting today, but I hope you have a Happy Quilting day.

Winners!

 

Winners have been chosen and notified. Here is the list of the winners from my blog hop.

Set of cards - Carol M  

Sponsor prizes - Anita Carol Gambrell   

                           Grunge+Grace    

                           cjm71

                           

Drawing  - Joyful Quilter  

                  Gram Chris    

                  Sherry   

And the winner of my fat quarter bundle is Rachel Summy

Congrats to all the winners. Tricia is still working out the details of the winning prizes. It was so much fun meeting all of you. Thanks to all of you who follow. Hope to see you soon.

Happy Quilting!

Happy Easter

 

Heart of Trust

 "Heart of Trust" by Kristina Hall is the first in the series of Hearts of the West.

1870. Jake and Georgia Aymes leave behind friends, family and everything they knew in Tennessee to start a new life in Texas. 

Looking to buy land, they meet a landowner wanting to sell his ranch and take his family to Virginia. Jake makes a deal and they settle into their new home. 

But trouble is on the horizon when two land barons offer to buy the land.  But Jake refuses to sell. This was their dream and he wasn't going to let anyone threaten him and run him off.  

This story is an action packed clean historical suspense. It is hard living pioneering the West. But the characters show faith even when they are beaten down.

Kristina Hall paints a story that comes alive. The troubles and heartache live in harmony with their faith and determination. You can't help but root for Jake and Georgia as they face each trial along the way. 

I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. 

Make a house a home

 Going through my UFO's I found this quilt. 

I don't remember how long ago I started it, but I have always loved house quilts. So this will be my next project to quilt.

                                       Sew and Tell

                                       NTT

                                      Midweek Makers

                                      Put Your Foot Down

                                     Finished or not Friday

A question answered

During the blog hop, someone asked me why I made black and white quilts for charity. Because the person who asked was a no-reply comment, I thought I would answer here.

The person who asked said she was curious and that I must have a reason. For most of my charity quilts I use a variety of different colors. But I do have a couple of reasons as to why I have made some black and white quilts. 

First of all I had a pattern that worked well with black and white. 

I made this pattern with yellow and with red accents. Both look really stunning in my estimation.

The second reason is because I have made it my goal to make quilts to donate to nursing homes at Christmas. As many of you know, it is so easy to make a quilt that has flowers and pretty things for ladies. But I have often thought about the men who live in these facilities. I am working toward giving the quilts to the residents who never have any visitors, especially during the holidays.. And believe me, there are lots of them.

The third reason is it seems that black and white stimulates the brain. It was studied for use with newborns to help them develop their optic nerves and for focus. So I thought perhaps people with dementia or Alzheimer's would also benefit. Many nursing homes have separate wings for Alzheimer's patients.  Last year a couple of my quilting buddies and I made lap quilts for a nursing home where one of the gals mother was living. They were well received and the staff was delighted.

So that is the run down for my goals this year. I hope many of you will follow along on my journey. Thanks for the interest.

Happy Quilting!

Villa Rosa Blog Hop Day

Welcome to my day of the Villa Rosa Designs Fast and More Fun blog hop! I am delighted that you have stopped by. If this is your first time visiting, a little bit about me. I have been quilting for about 30 years. I live in Florida with my hubby. We have three children and five precious grands. I am a simple quilter, which suits me just fine. I find that quilting is my therapy.

This hop has been so much fun. If you are not familiar with Villa Rosa Designs, they are post card size patterns which make up quick and easy. There are over 600 to choose from and are reasonably priced.  They feature precuts like 1/2 yards, fat quarters, 10" squares, 5" squares, 2 1/2" strips, fat eighths, fat sixths and panels.  

We were given five designs to choose from.

Each of the 28 talented and creative bloggers have shared their take on the pattern of their choice. So many ideas using the same patterns.

I chose to make Ebb Tide. As I had been making charity quilts in black and white that was my color choice. I had a piece that featured yellow, so I followed through and added yellow to the basic black.

Here is Ebb Tide - 

The backing was a piece from my stash

The yellow and black/white worked really well for this pattern.

There are lots of prizes generously given by these sponsors. 

Prize info -  Hoffman, Jaftex, Moda, Banyan Batiks/Northcott, Benartex, Timeless Treasures, Electric Quilt, Fox Chapel/Landauer, Hancocks of Paducah, and C&T Publishing! 

• One of you will win the pattern collection used for this hop.

• Three will win Sponsor prizes.

• In addition three bloggers will be selected as entries for the GRAND prize drawing (Kaffe Fassett Precuts Collection, $100 digital gift certificate for Hancock’s of Paducah, A Big Mystery Box of Quilting Goodies, and Download of Electric Quilt 8}.

So how can you win, you ask! Just leave a comment on this post (or any of the other participants). Be sure your email is available. Anonymous or no-reply comments will not count, so leave your email to be sure to be included. In addition, if you are a follower, let me know in your comment. From me, I will choose one follower (US only please for my prize) to receive an 8 piece black and white fat quarter  bundle. 

Thank you Villa Rosa for inviting me to participate in this blog hop. I love these VRD patterns. They are simple, fun and easy to follow.

Here is the full list of bloggers. If you have not visited them all you have until the 24th before we choose our winners.

Thursday, March 14
Villa Rosa Quilts — https://villarosaquilts.com/ (Get all the deets here)

Friday, March 15
Kathleen McMusings — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
The Morning Latte — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
Homesewn By Us — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
Pieceful Thoughts — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
C & T Publishing — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16 — National Quilting Day!
Needle and Foot — https://needleandfoot.com/
MMM Quilts — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
Texas Quilt Gal — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
Time 4 Stitchn — http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
SIY (Sew It Yourself) — https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17 — Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Quarter Inch Capers — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
Norton House Quilting — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
Quilting Gail — https://quiltinggail.com/

Wazoo! Newsbits — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
With Strings Attached — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
Jaftex/Scott Fortunoff — https://scottfortunoff.com/
Cocoa Quilts — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

Quilt With a View — http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 19
Shout 4 Joy — https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
The Darling Dogwood — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
Something Rosemade — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
Quilts of Valor Foundation — https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20 — First Day of Spring!

Grace and Peace Quilting — https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
Happy Cottage Quilter — https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com/
Joyfully Tracie — https://joyfullytracie.com/
Patchouli Moon Studio — https://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com/
Electric Quilt Company — https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21
Villa Rosa Quilts — villarosaquilts.com 

Happy Quilting! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will visit again.

We are off

 

Here is our Blog Hop Schedule:

Thursday, March 14
Villa Rosa Quilts — https://villarosaquilts.com/ (Get all the deets here)

Friday, March 15
Kathleen McMusings — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
The Morning Latte — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
Homesewn By Us — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
Pieceful Thoughts — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
C & T Publishing — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16 — National Quilting Day!
Needle and Foot — https://needleandfoot.com/
MMM Quilts — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
Texas Quilt Gal — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
Time 4 Stitchn — http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
SIY (Sew It Yourself) — https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17 — Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Quarter Inch Capers — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
Norton House Quilting — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
Quilting Gail — https://quiltinggail.com/

Wazoo! Newsbits — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
With Strings Attached — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
Jaftex/Scott Fortunoff — https://scottfortunoff.com/
Cocoa Quilts — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

Quilt With a View — http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 19
Shout 4 Joy — https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
The Darling Dogwood — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
Something Rosemade — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
Quilts of Valor Foundation — https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20 — First Day of Spring!

Grace and Peace Quilting — https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
Happy Cottage Quilter — https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com/
Joyfully Tracie — https://joyfullytracie.com/
Patchouli Moon Studio — https://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com/
Electric Quilt Company — https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21
Villa Rosa Quilts — villarosaquilts.com 

World Quilting Day

 The Fat Quarter Shop has generously offered 10 Free Quilt patterns for World Quilting Day.

Fat Quarter Shop

They mostly start with precuts and are PDF downloads. Be sure to check out the tutorials too!

Can you guess