Treasure Hunt, Quilted and Bound

It has taken me almost a month to get this quilt bound, but it is now officially my first quilt finish of 2019. 

I took it outside in an attempt to get truer color, but you still can't tell that the binding and part of the cubes are  purple grunge.

The quilt was made using the one block wonder technique.  I put a piece of the original fabric on the back.  This is Treasure Hunt by Marcia Derse.

Vicki Johnson of Threads That Bind Us did the longarming.   Again, I can't get the true color of the fabric. The backing is not as blue as it is in the last picture and not as gray as it is in this one.  My camera has problems with purples.

 The quilt  is 68"x 76".  I don't know yet who will get this one. We really have more quilts in this house than we need, but all my boys like this one, so I may have to keep it.

Stash Report:

Used this week: 5.0 (Treasue Hunt backing and binding)

Used year to date: 0 yards

Added this week: 0

Added year to date: 23.5 yards

Net Added:18.5 yards

Linking up:http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2019/02/postcard-from-sweden-baby-quilt.html

Mill Hill Gingerbread House

There is no cross stitch shop in the city where I live.  About 20 years ago, The Counted Thread in Chesterfield County, the closest shop to me closed.  The next closest shop in Fredericksburg closed about 5 years ago.  There are still cross stitch shops in Williamsburg and in Northern Virginia now, but I get most of my needlework supplies online or at the LQS where I work.  The shop where I work has a few charts, Sullivan's threads, WDW, GA, CCW, a few beads and some basic colors of linen and aida.  Once in a while, I make a cross stitch impulse buy at work.  This time I actually stitched it!

This is Mill Hill's Gingerbread House. 

I chose to stitch this project on the perforated paper provided.  I like using perforated paper, especially when it is a small project with lots of beads.   I think the paper holds up better to the weight of all the beads than linen would.  The downside to perforated paper is that it is easily bent.  I transported my project inside a book to keep it flat, but I still have some curling on the corners.  I know that people love to run their hands over projects with lots of texture.  I spent a lot of time on this one and don't want dirty hands on the stitching or pulling at the embellishments.  I will probably frame it under glass.  

I 

Rapid Fire Hunter's Star

In 2016, I made a red and white Ohio Star quilt for our entryway.

I sometimes hang quilts on my banister, and I was thinking that if I made just one red and white quilt a year, in a few years, I would have a collection of red and white quilts in my foyer.  I started cutting for one, but I put the fabric away for some reason, and it sat for a long time in a UFO box.  Today I finished the top! 

This is a Hunter's Star quilt that I made using Deb Tucker's Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler.  This tool allowed me to get this quilt done in just 2 weeks. (Why did I let it sit for a year and a half?)There are places where the piecing is not perfect, but I am happy with how it turned out.  And I'm motivated to make another red and white quilt!

Stash Report:
Used this week: 2.25 yards
Used year to date: 2.25 yards
Added this week: 23.5 yards (red, white, backing and aqua sale)
Added year to date: 21.25 yards
Net Added: 21.25 yards

Sedona, January

I started a new block of the month, Sedona by Sew Kind of Wonderful. It uses the Quick Curve Ruler mini, which I already had, and the pattern was only $20.  The thing that keeps me from joining block of the months is usually the price.  I cannot justify spending $20-$35 a month on one project!  Anyway, I had never even opened my QCR mini ruler, and I had had it over a year.  I figured this project would make me use the ruler at least once.  I don't want to die and have a bunch of brand new quilting supplies that I have never touched!

There are several options for this block of the month ranging from table runner to bed sized quilt. I am doing Sedona Trail, which measures 63"x 68".

Here is my first month:

You can see that some of my points are a little off.  I expect that will improve as I get used to the ruler and my cutting gets better. Using prints instead of red and white would have helped to camouflage  my errors, but I want a red and white quilt.  Sew Kind of Wonderful has excellent videos on You Tube, which I have used every I've made a project with one of their rulers.  The units are made oversized and then trimmed. 

I am also making another red and white quilt that uses a ruler I had had a long time and  never used before.  This one is the Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler by Studio 180.  Deb Tucker has figured out the math and presents and easy way to make this complicated block.  I have about half the blocks I need made.  They are not all perfect, but close enough, and I am improving!

Do you have tools in your sewing room you have never used?  Why not pull one out and give it a try?  You can probably find a video online to help you out.

My Dad

My father is finally at peace.

Carl Lawrence Plante of Virginia Beach passed away at home on January 12, 2019. Carl was born on October 13, 1933, to Albert and Mary Agnes Van Buren Plante in Watertown, NY. He graduated from Immaculate Heart Academy in 1951 and then served four years in the Navy. After his time in the Navy, he attended Clarkson College, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. Carl married Lucille “Louie” Reff on October 29, 1960. His work brought them to Norfolk in 1962, and they settled in Virginia Beach in 1966. Carl spent most of his career working for the Naval Air Warfare Center, Naval Training Systems Division from which he retired in 1997. In his 40s, Carl took up running and competed in races from 5Ks to marathons, often placing in the top three of his age group. Carl was an active member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, where he attended until his health declined.

Carl is survived by his wife of 58 years; eight children, Laura (Jeff) White of Richmond, VA, Martha (Jerry) Donoghue of Virginia Beach, Matthew (Shelley Nowacek) Plante of Virginia Beach, Julie (Scott) McDonough of South Riding, VA, Angela (Darren Barnes) Plante of Fredericksburg, VA, Karen (Roy) Alther of Virginia Beach, Philip (Lisa) Plante of Williamsburg, VA, and Douglas (Marcelo Bernal) Plante of Atlanta, GA; seventeen grandchildren; one brother, Joseph Plante of Watertown, NY; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other family members. Carl was predeceased by his parents; two brothers, Paul Plante and Albert Plante; infant twins, Daniel and Jenifer Plante; and one grandson, Andrew White.

A Correction and Clue 7

I just realized that I left out a quilt on my last post.  I also finished On Ringo Lake in 2018, so my total is 17 quilts finished.  Don't know how I missed this one.  It was a lot of work!

Last year I complained about the pace of the mystery quilt.  It seemed very rushed at the end, and I wasn't enjoying the process.  This year's pace is perfect for me.  I like the clues to come slowly.  That way I don't feel so behind, even when I get behind.  I finished Clue 7 today:

Linking up:https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2018/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-6.html

Quilts Finished in 2018 and Final Stash Report

  I finished 16 quilts this year!  That's two more than last year, so I feel very productive.  Never mind that several of these quilts were already tops and all I did was take them to the longarmer and then bind.  At least they aren't hanging half-done in my closet.

Jungle OBW for Phil:

Inverted Star for Erin:

Fish Quilt:

Row by Row Mashup:

Paris OBW: 

Pi Quilt for Joe:

Carolina Christmas:

Twist and Turn Bargello Quilt for Dan:

Making History, for Jill:  

Voila Fish:

On the Bright Side:

  

Claire's quilt:

Focus:

Flower OBW:

Tree Farm:

Labyrinth Walk:

As for my final stash report of 2018, it looks ok.  It was better before I bought fabric for my nephew's high school graduation quilt, but I found the perfect fabric for him and was afraid to wait until 2019 because it might be gone then. My final stash figures look better this year than last. I bought less fabric and I used more of it this year.

2018    30.875 yards added
2017   109.5 yards added
2016   20.875 yards added
2015   6.357 yards used
2014   2.5 yards added
2013   9.5 yards added
2012   20.25 yards used