Little Susie Homemaker

Tag: quilting

  • Hibernation

    Sometimes, I want to be a bear. Hibernating during winter just feels right somehow!

    For some reason, this winter, I have felt a bit more like hibernating than I have in the past. Even though we don’t have harsh winters and much snow at home, the colder, darker days just called to me to take things slower and stay home.

    With the fall wrap up of the garden, and heading into winter and getting to stay inside, I have enjoyed spending quite a bit of time in my sewing room (aka, the little bedroom).

    My local quilt shop has an annual UFO (unfinished objects) contest that I decided to do this year. You write down a list of 12 unfinished or not yet started projects that you want to finish this year, with an optional 5 extras and submit it to the quilt shop. They then choose a random number from the list to be finished each month and you either email in photos or can take the item into the shop to show its finished.

    I wrote out my list of just random stuff I wanted to work on or finish with the first 3 on the list almost finished (needed long-arming) and submitted it to the shop. Here we are with February not even finished and I have 10 of my 12 items finished.

    I guess that is one of the perks of hibernating – being able to focus on projects and stay in my sewing room.

    Here are a few of the items:

    This is a pattern I’ve now made 3 times and each of the quilts were gifted to my brothers & sisters-in-law. This gray one was the last one to go and was #3 of my UFO list as I started the year with it needing to be long-armed. It has now been sent to my brother and his wife so I can now show the photo. (The ones finished last year had one that was more yellow and the other was more green. I have enough of the material from the layer cake I purchased to make one more that would be pink)

    This “Chandelier” pattern is one I have loved since the first time I saw it. It was fun to make it once and see how it went together. I’m looking forward to getting this one on the long arm to finish it.

    The scraps of the Chandelier quilt were used for the Dresden pieces to make a spring table runner (pictured below). I hadn’t ever done something with rounded edges and had to figure out how to turn the edges under to sew it onto the square. Thank you YouTube for tutorial videos! I also tried doing some free-motion quilting on my sewing machine. While it was fun to try, I definitely need a LOT more practice to get better at it.

    One of the items on my UFO list was to finish 3 insulated RV window covers. (We need a total of 9, but I thought I’d just put 3 on my UFO list). We plan to be using our trailer more often and in early spring, the weather can be chilly.

    I finished the initial 3, then realized a 4th window was likely the same size and quickly finished the 4th cover. While these aren’t very pretty, they will help insulate around all the single-pane windows to keep the cold air out. Once they are in the windows, we’ll pull the blinds down and won’t really see much of them anyway.

    Since I’ve started quilting, I’ve seen quilt a few “sew-a-long” or “block of the month” (BOM) projects. A pattern is released on a regular basis, and you make that one square before they release the next pattern. It gives you a lot of patterns to try all while building skills and leading to a finished sampler quilt at the end.

    I decided to try the Riley Blake Designs BOM pattern this year. I was able to get all of the material cut and have everything organized by block for the whole quilt.

    It has been fun to try new patterns and see how something seemingly complex can be really simple to put together. Some of the blocks, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out until I literally pieces the last bit.

    Here are a few more of the projects from the UFO list that I’ve finished (or at least gotten to where they are ready for the long-arm) so far this winter:

    As winter is wrapping up, I’m starting to look ahead to the garden. We’re only a few weeks away from the early, cold-weather stuff being able to get planted.

    Plans for the garden in the next few weeks are to expand the existing rows. Amend the soil (we’ll go pick up some horse manure to spread over everything), and get new supports put up for a couple of things.

    We will also be growing some flowers this year for my step-daughter’s wedding in August. I hope things will actually grow for us so she has a large variety to use for her special day!

    Winter hibernating has been fun, relaxing and needed. As the days are getting a bit warmer, spring is coming and I look forward to what it brings with it this year!

  • 2025 – the year of the quilt

    Today is the last day of 2025 and what a year of quilting it has been!

    Hubby gifted me the sewing machine in November of 2024 and I have been thoroughly enjoying it ever since!

    I took the first class on how to use and maintain it in December of 2024, then the class to learn how to use the embroidery attachment in January 2025. But, for all of its abilities, basic quilt piecing has been what I’ve used it for the most.

    RV quilt using the Riley Blake ‘The Grand Circle’ national parks panel

    The year started with making “The Grand Circle” quilt for our RV.

    I then made three quilts using the same pattern (Bee Charming) and squares from the same fabric line (Bee Garden) for my sisters-in-law (one hasn’t received hers yet as it is waiting for the long-arm). The one not yet pictured is black & grey. I have enough left over from the Bee Garden layer cake (precut 10″ squares) to make one more quilt in this pattern.

    In the spring, I made quilts for my parents for Mother’s and Father’s Day. I embroidered the occasion and the year on each of them.

    Father’s Day Quilt
    Mother’s Day Quilt

    I purchased some musical fabric in Arkansas in February while visiting my college roommate to celebrate her 50th birthday. I then used some of that fabric and embroidered a bird on a table square for her.

    That table square used some black and white scraps I had in my stash that were left over from a quilt my mom had made for me more than a decade ago.

    After posting a few pictures of quilts, a friend reached out to ask if I could make her a rag baby quilt for her new baby boy who was due later in the year. I met her at Michael’s to pick out fabric and made a really cute blue blanket for her. It was my first rag quilt and it was pretty easy to do!

    There was enough leftover in the scraps from the rag quilt that I made a small take-along blanket that matched.

    In the spring, while on vacation at Capital Reef national park, I picked up a couple of quilt panels that I made into quilts that are still waiting to be long-armed. For some reason, I didn’t have a picture of first one I finished.

    I also made myself a throw quilt using squares I started more than a decade ago. While my points on the star aren’t very good, I love how this quilt turned out and am enjoying covering up with it on a chilly evening.

    I participated in a couple of mini mystery quilts through a group on Facebook. It was fun to do each step and then see how it all came together. The patterns will make great blocks to pull together into a full quilt. But, for now, I have made them into small wall hangings.

    I went through my stash one day and decided to use a pattern that came with some templates and made a small wall hanging and then machine quilted it myself at home. I was pretty impressed with how it turned out once it was quilt. Prior to quilting, it wasn’t laying flat so I thought it wouldn’t turn out, but thankfully, it did!

    In May, I visited my parents and my mom sent home some of her needle point panels with me. I quilted one of them into a throw blanket and love how it turned out. It quilts that one in straight lines on my machine at home.

    I pieced together the other squares into a king-sized bed coverlet for their master bedroom. I took it when I went to visit for Thanksgiving and they loved it.

    In October, I came across a pumpkin with a black cat pattern and decided to make it for my step-daughter and her fiancé as a table runner. They have 2 black cats so I thought this fit them perfectly.

    And finally, I purchased a pattern for a table runner that used mini charm packs (pre-cut 2 1/2″ squares). It can be done however you want, but the pattern pictured on the card had ombre ‘ed the colors. I have MANY mini-charm packs in my stash, so I pulled out one with a fall design. I loved it so much, I pulled out another one for Christmas and made a couple of table runners.

    There are a few more things I made over the past year that I don’t have pictures of. There are many more things to be made in this coming year!

    Quilting is really fun! I love the process of taking something on its own and combining it with other things to turn it all into something beautiful!

  • New Sewing Machine!

    My hubby got me a new sewing machine as a Christmas present. I got a Bernina 590 which includes the machine embroidery attachment. Wow, is it ever nice!!!

    I learned to sew as a kid. Both grandma’s and my mom sewed. There were home economics classes in both jr. high and high school that included sewing.

    For quite awhile, I used my grandma’s old (from the 1980’s, not an antique, although are the 80’s now considered old enough??) Singer sewing machine. I was told when I got it that something needed to be fixed, but it was going to cost more to fix than the machine was worth. Based on that, I never expected much from the machine and only used it for very basic sewing.

    Being retired, I wanted to be able to do more and better work. I took the machine mastery 101 class where I learned how to properly use the machine, learned all the various features and learned how to service the machine. I had no idea I had to oil the machine EVERY TIME I use it!!!! HOLY COW, no wonder that Singer wasn’t fabulous, I was being very neglectful.

    In January was the two-day embroidery mastery class. I immediately came home and did 4 small embroidery projects! (Literally before dinner that night.)

    Here are some of the things I have worked on since getting my new machine.

    I made a fall table runner. I’m a sucker for anything autumn or pumpkin themed. I machine quilted this one using templates I had at home. For anyone who hasn’t machine quilting, there is a learning curve! This project is at the start of my curve.

    With the embroidery machine attachment, I wanted to give that a try and make a few things. There are tea towels for my college roommate’s birthday, my mom and one for our travel trailer.

    The above snowman quilt was a combination of quilt piecing with hand applique. This is a primitive pattern my mom gave me years ago. She bought everything needed but never got around to making it. She gave it to me and I’ve been intimidated for years to even try it. This winter, I got tired of setting it aside whenever I went through my stash and decided it was time to no longer be intimidated. Mom was VERY patient in waiting for this.

    I did NOT make the above stuff, but from the first time I stepped into the quilt shop where my machine was purchased, I saw these little mini quilts and knew I needed to make them. (Again, I’m a sucker for anything autumn or pumpkin themed). Turns out these are part of a 6 month program thru Kimberbell and are the mini quilts for September and November 2024. I ended up buying the patterns and made my own.

    They don’t look exactly the same, but I love how they turned out. This was a fun project that combined both quilting and embroidery. I mostly used fabrics I already had in my stash rather than exactly what the project called for.

    This past year, we had a fireplace insert installed to have a heat source should the power go out. (There have been some silly, dumb reasons (i.e., criminals being ridiculous) in our area that made us decide we needed to be prepared.) After the first few fires of carrying wood in a few pieces at a time, my husband asked me to make him a firewood sling. Without a pattern and using material and old jeans I had on hand, I made him one. I love how it turned out and so does he!

    And finally, with Joann Fabric going out of business, I have stopped in a few times and picked up some mini templates which came with 6 patterns included. I decided to make a couple of placemats using a ‘flying geese’ pattern for our travel trailer. I used leftover fabric from the trailer makeover I did a couple years ago.

    I’m enjoying my new sewing machine. I have a feeling it will not get quite as much use in warmer month. But, it will definitely get a LOT of use in the coming years!