Helping Paws at the QPO?!

Oh, Lola!!

I fired up the 1961 Rocketeer to quickly zig-zag some batting scraps together.  Franken-batting is the name, and using up batting scraps is the game!

And Lola wanted to get right in on it.  Are you helping, Lola?  Or hindering?

There are very few times that I need a machine with zig-zag capability in my quilting life.  And this is the main reason besides mending tasks, which rarely happen in my world.

Set the machine at widest zig-zag with a very long stitch -

I overlap the batting by about 1/8’’ to make sure that my zig and my zag are really catching things securely.  And zip zap I go – zig-zagging away bringing these two pieces together to make a batting big enough for the no-name quilt top I shared in yesterday’s post.

It’s a small quilt – barely 36’’ square or so.  It wouldn’t take long to quilt, and small projects are perfect for putting leftover batting to use.

In fact – that is my goal this coming year.  There are two boxes and a partial bin of batting pieces and parts just sitting at the Quiltville Post Office taking up space.

It’s been easier to just cut a piece off of the batting roll so I could load that quilt into the long arm machine quicker – but this year – I am narrowing down the scraps.  The placemats and smaller projects are helping greatly with that. 

In the machine and quilting.

I’m still not sure I like the center of this quilt.  It’s fairly muddy.  But then I remind myself that these are the kinds of quilts that I adore when I find them out on my antique mall jaunts.  I used what I had, this is what came of using up parts.

There is a lot of fun stuff in here!

Is it perfect?

Not by any means – but that wasn’t my goal either!

Some days you play Thread Roulette -

AND WIN with inches to spare!

My fingers are holding the tail end of the thread – HA!  That was a close one!

The batting isn’t the only thing to go!

I have a rather large bin of “honking big florals.”  I don’t usually use big florals on the front of a project – I’ve never been that attracted to them.  Sometimes as borders – so what am I going to do to sew all that down?  BACKINGS!

I’ve used the big florals for the back of the place mats I’ve made for Quiltville Inn.  I’ll be piecing them hodge-podge style and using them up as backings.

I figure – either someone IS a big floral person, or they are NOT.  I am of the are NOT category –but admit that they can be pretty on the back.

I think it has to do with the scale of the prints and the fact that I do like to piece fairly small with no place for big florals to land.

They are the perfect “Back Up Singers” for this!

Little bit closer look.

Maybe I like it more than I thought I did?

Binding in berry shades!

This should take a few evenings – seeing me through until Christmas I expect!

Will there be more small projects coming out of that pile of orphan blocks?  Highly likely!  Quick finishes are becoming my feel-good-for-now.  I’ve got some bigger projects in the works behind the scenes, but these little small things – they are ringing all of my bells right now..

Label in the corner.

Yep, it feels SO GOOD!

December Things to Remember:

Our Hunter’s String Star PDF pattern is 1/2 price through the month of December at only $4.00!  No coupon code needed.

My newly released Bavaria/Austria project, Warm Hands, Warm Heart is available for download, in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store where you will also find the Hemming Chenille needles, size 24.  We are out of the Sulky Stick ‘n Stitch, but more is on the way!

I am shipping out Quiltville Quilter’s Date Keepers left and right! Thank you, thank you!

They are on sale for just $9.99 through December – feature more than 70 of my quilts, full of my favorite quotes, hints, helps and tricks and perfect for gift giving.  Regularly priced at $16.95, this is quite the discount.

I also have all of the rulers on hand that we are using in our Frolic Mystery, as well as many different styles of Karen Kay Buckley Scissors in the Rulers, Notions & Tools category if you are wanting to treat yourself (Or someone else!) to something special.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

I pulled off to the shoulder along a busy highway to take this photo. There is a life lesson in this little barn with its beautiful quilt block.

When the trees are leafed out in summer, you cannot see it - it is hidden from the road. But when winter comes, and the world gets cold and dreary this wonderful old barn is visible and makes my heart smile. It just begged for this quote!

Thanks for being a friend, behind the scenes or out in front. I appreciate you!

Have a wonderful Sunday!