Recycled denim apron

I joined up the quilt blocks, and I think that it needs a little solid color border. For fun, I tried a bit of recycling. This project is not for the perfectionist sewer. Take a big old pair of jeans. Cut off a leg. Hem around. Add some strings and maybe a pocket.

I'm having a problem with arthritis and can't type a lot in this post--I'll have to save it for later. Meanwhile, I'm doing battle with my health insurance. It seems that Medicare has imposed a lot of new rules on dying people.

Half-Log Cabin blocks

Rather an upsetting weekend for me, as my DH's health is not doing very well. However, nothing like a bit of quilting to quiet the nerves, and if I make a mistake in my sewing, I just remind myself that I'm only sewing scraps of cloth together, and although what I'm sewing is in danger of turning into a crazy quilt block, or even a dust rag--so what. I want to make another half-log cabin quilt. Although I made a similar one not too long ago, there are so many ways to set the blocks that every quilt made with this pattern can look different. The trick that I have found is to sew all 24 blocks simultaneously. That way, I only have to figure out where each piece in the puzzle goes one time. I made a sketch of the finished block and tacked it to the bulletin board that I have hanging on the wall behind my sewing machine.

By the way, if you like muffins, I've posted a recipe for milk-free Apple and Honey Muffins on my cooking blog at http://roz-kitchen.blogspot.com/

Bricks Quilt--the second

This bricks quilt was so easy to machine quilt. I simply quilted in the ditch. I think that I should have made it a bit longer, though. But it is a nice size for a lap quilt. I'm putting in a close-up photo because I think that this fabric is so amusing. I found a fat quarter that's printed to look like money. I'm putting this quilt away for a rainy day. I plan to donate it to a sick person as a Healing Quilt.
Sad news here, one of the sick people that I gave a quilt to has died. I'm planning to attend a prayer meeting at the home of the mourners this evening.
Meanwhile, as my blogging friends know, I'm already sewing another quilt. It's a log cabin. More news to follow.
Here's a question for you--if you were planning to take out insurance--how much value would you place on your fabric stash and sewing equipment?

Holiday snuggle quilt

Today is September 11th. Such a heartbreaking day to remember. I cry. I have completed this quilt--it's made similarly to the Art Quilt that I posted about previously, except that I used printed fabrics instead of solids. I had a hoard of some special Holiday fabric scraps and I used them in this quilt. I put flannel on the back, and I quilted it in sort of straight lines (except the borders are wavy). The quilt turned out to be kind of puffy, and I think it may qualify to be called a Comforter. I love it. I'm thinking of putting it on my sofa and using it like an afghan.

The above quilt is another "Bricks" quilt, similar to the one that I made last December, except that the blocks are 3/12 inches by 6 1/2 inches. I sewed 13 rows. Why 13? because I didn't count how many blocks I cut out until later, and it turned out that I had enough for 13 rows. The quilt is approximately 40 by 45 inches--enough for a lap quilt. I gave the last Bricks quilt away to a Cancer patient--and I plan to give this one out as a gift sometime, also. I hope I can get this one pin basted today. I've been thinking about quilts that use dark and light fabric as part of the pattern--such as the log cabin quilt does. It's one of the things that we don't seem to pay enough attention to when doing free-piecing. I want to try to do more light and dark patterns.

Four Patch Scrap Squares Quilt

I like to play recordings while I make my quilts. I played some Bach while I was pin-basting this quilt, and some Jimi Hendrix while I did my free-motion quilting. Jimi was maybe the best guitar player that ever lived--his recording of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is absolutely wonderful. I could name a bunch of other great guitar players that I love, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Montoya, Julian Bream, Santana, and of course, Charo--who is a wonderful guitar player when she's not wiggling and acting funny. Who's your favorite?

Anyhow--back to the basics--I just love how this quilt came out. I'm very proud of it. I also have done some quilting on another quilt that I kind of made in the background--it's a printed-fabric version of my "Art" quilt. I have to do the binding today.

Four Patch Scrap Squares Quilt

Those untidy piles of scraps in the last post have been tamed into a quilt top. It's very easy to do. The scraps were combined into 6 1/2 inch blocks and the blocks were joined into a four patch, while alternate 6 1/2 inch blocks were surrounded by 3 1/2 inch strips of solid fabric. Borders were cut 2 1/2 inches wide.
It's rather exhilarating to put together a quilt top, but it's the quilting and binding that make it into a quilt. I'm so tempted to keep making quilt tops, without stopping to finish the quilt! But without the finishing, this is only a pile of scraps--when completed, it then becomes a useful article. Rather like life, isn't it--it takes some commitment and determination to see something to completion.