A December Mini Quilt - 2022

 The perfect ending to 2022,

a December monthly mini.

Making Snow Angels

18.5" x 18.5"

This little holiday quilt was made with

the leftover pieces from 

the quilt I just had finished

"I Believe in Angels".

It was nice to use up a few

of those leftovers.

Fussy cutting the snow angels

had each one standing up in the 

right direction.  

That made me very happy.

The corners looked a little plain,

but adding some embroidered snowflakes

and beads brightened them up.

Anytime I can use a directional

fabric for binding,

it's a no brainer. 

After getting bundled up

the December mini quilts were put on the fence

for one last quilt parade.

December, 2022

I'll share a fence parade, 2022 soon. 

It will be fun  revisiting

all those quilt hung out on the barbed wire

throughout the year.

But until then,

check out Wendy's blog

for other fabulous minis.

Thank you Wendy, for keeping

us all stitching along.

I hope that 2023 brings you 

love, laughter, and joy.

Happy New Year.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

The Last Mini Quilt for 2021

 

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas

and a happy holiday.

Now we switch gears and 

it's time to start a new year.

But until January gets too

far ahead I need to share 

my 2021 December mini.

My latest mini is reflective of the season

in the classic color combination

of reds and greens.

Christmas Poinsettias

30" x 30"

2021

This pattern was inspired by Kim Diehl 

from her book

Simple Whatnots II

Kim has also provided this as a free pattern

from Henry Glass Fabrics.

This quilt was a good combination

of pieced flowers and appliqued stems and leaves.

It was also a nice way to use

some of those reds and greens 

I've been collecting.

I few fluttering snowflakes

would be perfect to showcase 

this fun holiday quilt,

but nothing yet.

I kept the machine quilting simple by outlining the 

flowers along with a few feathers and

then a simple loopy design in the border.

I dug around for awhile

looking for a backing and finally decided

on this fabric.

Well, this is really an oldie.  I bought it in

1974 and made bedroom curtains!

Some of you may recognize it as one of

the timely calico prints from Ely and Walker.

The company printing this design and several others

for a long time even up through the 70's.

Ely and Walker Dry Goods started manufacturing fabric in

1855 in St. Louis.

Maybe, without realizing it,

I have started a  

 Red and Green Christmas series.

2021                                       2019                              2020

I'll have to keep that in mind when

December, 2022 rolls around.

Maybe you're ready to join in 

making a monthly mini coordinated by

Wendy, the Constant Quilter,

 and her quilty mini-ettes as we march into 2022.

Time to get stitching.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

A November Mini Quilt Challenge

A challenge was made

by the Rogue Quilter, Janet.

Take a small baggie of fabric

And make a mini quilt with it.

My baggie from Janet 

was filled with browns and with pinks.

This should be fun

said Kyle with a wink.

Pinks

 Browns

A little more fabric can be included

 if you must.

The 4 B's can be added 

Now don't make a fuss.

( Background, Borders, Binding, Backing)

The wheels began turning.

and it didn't take long.

The stars began appearing 

like a heavenly throng.

Hand piecing 8 pointed stars

3 inch finished stars

Using just the small bits

each star was unique.

I like how they looked

Oh, so chic.

Connecting them all 

with a sweet background

Was easy to do

with this fabulous brown.

Next were the borders

that took some planning to attach.

Just so the corners

could be an excellent  match.

With simple machine quilting, 

 binding and an interesting backing

The quilt came together

and wasn't too nerve wracking.

Using Janet's tiny scrap pieces

my mini was now complete.

The challenge was a challenge

but the result were oh, so sweet.

Thank you, Janet for the

challenge you made. 

Check out Wendy's blog post

for a mini parade.

Until Next Time-

Kyle (with a smile)

March's Mini

I'm imagining that many us save 

photographs of quilts.

Maybe it's a design we like,

or a color combination that's interesting,

or the quilt just speaks to you.

For my March mini I decided

to take a look at the photos I'd been saving.

I used this quilt

which appears to be from the collection of the 

International Quilt Museum.

(Sometimes it's hard to follow the trail)

 I found the image on Pinterest.

Here's my interpretation.

Rocky Mountain Snow Keeps Fallen

17" x 24"

A couple weekends ago when we had our 

"Big Snow",

I found myself looking for something to do

rather than volunteering to go shovel.

I remembered the quilt photo I had saved,

and began digging in the stash for fabrics. 

I hadn't used many of my stripes and plaids for a while

so it was fun to reconnect with many of my favorites. 

One thing that appealed to me about the original quilt,

besides the use of the color,

was the symmetry of the center.

It has a calming effect and 

a sense of order despite all

 the different fabrics.

Maybe the original quilter had strips

long enough to do the center in that fashion

and then had to piece the remaining rows.

I enjoyed the free use of the fabrics,

just adding pieces as I went. 

I added a little stripe as the binding and

did some hand quilting

down the center of each row.

Some ticking that I had

been saving was perfect for the backing.

It was a fun mini to make for March.

Be sure and check out the other Mini Makers

on Wendy's blog, the Constant Quilter.

It's fascinating and amazing how each participant

creates a unique little quilt each month.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

End of the Year Mini

 Well, what can we all say, 

but farewell 2020.

One of the nice things that

happened this year was the continued

sewing of a monthly mini.

I have really enjoyed exploring and

challenging myself with new techniques,

colors and patterns.

This month I was planning

on doing something simple.

I had received a new book 

through the Martingale book club.

 by Martha Walker

I decided to give one of the patterns a try.

It involved fusing, Christmas, and

some simple whip stitching.

The thing I fast discovered was that

there were a lot of pieces, small pieces

I stitched around the bigger shapes, but decided to

forgo the small circles.

Then I rediscovered the border

was made up of lots of pieces.

Remember I wanted something fast and easy.

That's when I learned about Cluck, Cluck Sew's

Diagonal Seam Tape.

There have been other products

 that have worked as guides

when sewing diagonal seams,

but Allison's product is great.

I loved how easy it was

to set up and start sewing.

The tape is thick, 

sticks well, comes off easily,

 but doesn't leave a residue. 

My pieces came out perfect.

In order to get this last mini finished,

I opted to keep the machine quilting 

very simple,

in the ditch and around the applique.

"A December to Remember"

32" x 32"

When it came to adding the black binding

I had just a small piece of the black left.

I cut what I thought I would need and.....

I did have a 4 x 3 inch piece left,

 thankfully,

but doesn't this kind of thing drive you crazy!

Another year of mini's completed.

This wonderful year long project has been directed

and coordinated

by Wendy, The Constant Quilter.

Thank you Wendy, for your time and effort

and to all the other quilters who participated.

***

I did complete a sweet little

cross stitch designed by

Brenda Gervais who gifted it

to so many as a free chart

for the holidays.

"Merry and Minty"

It was a fun little stitch.

Thank you, Brenda.

****

Well,

a new year awaits us.

May it be a positive, healthy,

and kinder new year. 

Until Next Time-

Kyle

January Mini

January, 2020

 has used up all the cloudy days 

that Colorado usually has for the entire year.

So when the sun 

finally came out today,

it was the perfect day

to take my quilt outside 

and share my January Mini.

Winter Blues

33" x 33"

The pattern is adapted 

from Betsy Chutchian's design

found in the 2020

That Patchwork Place Quilt Calendar.

I had only a yard of that wonderful large print,

also from Betsy's Eliza's Indigo collection,

so it is smaller than the original and with less hst's.

Isn't it all about making do?

I love the rich indigo blues that I pulled from my stash to 

use in the blocks.

The blocks were done before I left on my trip,

but once I was home, it gave me an

opportunity to reconnect with my

sewing room.

Sometimes, I hate to admit, that I get

weird things that pop up in my head.

I decided to machine quilt my free hand, organic feathers

in the center square, triangles and border.

They're not perfect, but I love stitching them.

The phrase "full figured" kept spinning in my head

as I tried to make each plume plump and rounded.

That lead me to remember the

ads that Jane Russell use to do

for Playtex, way back when.

Anyone else remember this?

I guess it takes whatever it takes

to get the results you want

to make it look perfect

under that blue Colorado sky.

Connect with Wendy at her blog

to see what other perfect minis were

finished in January. 

Until Next Time-

Kyle