A February Mini, 2022

 One of my favorite games

as a kid was Pick Up Sticks.

The object was to pick up each stick

without wiggling another stick.

That led me to 

dig into my overflowing strip basket

and pick up  pink, brown and light strips and

 see what I could make with them.

My February Mini

Pick Up Sticks

33" x 30"

My February mini reminded me of that game.

Lots of narrow strips, side by side, with me

 trying to sew them together

without wiggling the strip next to it.  

To give me some sense of order and control,

I precut both light and dark strips,

then randomly picked up pieces,

sewing them into the alternating light and dark combinations.

The "sticks" created a zig and zag pattern when 

stitched together.

All those tossed strips 

that were pulled from my basket

were fun to stitch together for this month's mini.

I kept thinking as I was machine quilting in the ditch,

why can I sew perfectly straight in the light areas

and then wiggle so much in the dark areas.

Always a little bobble, just like playing 

"Pick Up Sticks".

In keeping with my January photos,

I realized I had another series.

Browns and pinks,

a classic combination.

 

Yes, I trumped through the snow again

to reach my barbed wire fence,

but for the sake of art, I did it in 6 degree weather!

Oh, what  mini makers will do.

Check out the other hearty makers on 

Wendy's blog, The Constant Quilter. 

*****

Our world feels much smaller today

And filled with sadness and apprehension

. 

Until Next Time-

Kyle

February Mini Check-In

With only 28 days in the  month of February

you've got to apply the
K.I.S.S principle.
To make it less harsh
than the original acronym
I'm saying
"Keep It Simple, Sweetie".💗

That was my principle
as I worked on my February small quilt.

"KISS"
16" x 21"

Nothing quite says February
more than hearts.

Yay! Everything from my resource center,
including the pink 28 wt. Aurifil thread.

One of the wonderful benefits
of having "talented quilting blogging
friends" is the inspiration.
they share with me and many others.
I have always been a double binding kind of a gal,
but because Barb had shared a single binding tutorial
I decided to give it a try.

I really liked the feel it had on the small quilt
with it not being so thick at the edges.

My challenge has always been
folding and ironing a carefully even seam allowance
for the back side.
I just took my time and used
"a ruler" (duh)  for better accuracy and consistency
and did all that before sewing the binding on.

It's nice to know you can
teach an old quilter some new tricks.💗💗
Check it out..

****
Update

Again I wanted to thank many of
you for taking the time to vote for my daughter, Jessica,
 in the Northern Colorado Teacher Tuesday Contest.

Unfortunately, she didn't win, but has
given her some much need recognition for her
abilities, love of teaching
and dedication to the profession.
Plus a $50 gift card to a local restaurant.
Thanks!

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Remember Me

We all want to leave a small mark in this world.

As quilters, we take fabric and create

patterns and designs leaving a tangible object

for our family and friends.

A while back a friend shared with me

the remnants of a quilt top made

by someone many many years ago.

These hst's had been sewn together to form triangles 

and then a double pink was used for the other half 

making the square.

This is all that remains of that wonderful pink.

Someone rotary cut that fabric out of the original quilt and

now only these thin strips 

are left in the seam allowances.

I had decided to use some of the remaining 

half square triangles for my February Mini.

The pieces had been sewn together by hand.

After unstitching some,

squaring them up,

I stitched diagonal rows.

I was challenged by what fabric to use for the 

side triangle with the diagonal setting.

I auditioned more shirtings, double pinks,

cadet blues, and even some mourning prints.

It wasn't until I tried a chrome yellow ( a reproduction print)

 that I knew it was the perfect one.

I used a double pink reproduction for the 

border, but a vintage black print for the corners.

I love how it turned out.

I hand quilted diagonal rows using an

Aurifil #12.  It added a simple 

make-do look to the finished quilt.

Don't you love these classic

turn of the century prints. 1880-1900

There's no way of knowing who 

the original quilter was or her

story behind her quilt,

but at least now some of her pieces

will say "Remember Me".

Until Next Time-

Kyle