The travels of a JoQuilter Fabrics bag.

First, I got to go to the AQS Show in Paducah KY. What fun we had!



Then I traveled to the Green Country Quilters Guild Show in Tulsa OK. Where to you suppose I will get to go next?

New Ruler

This was my great find at Spring 2010 Quilt Market in Minneapolis. This ruler has a "channel" that locks onto the seam allowance. No turntable or repositioning required. It totally eliminates ruler rock. As the advertising states, "Perfect Results Every Time!!!"

I never did like squareing up my half-square triangles. I found it easier to cut them at ?? and 7/8", sew and press. Were they always the correct size? No, but just as close as I could get using a "rocking ruler". I love these rulers. I have them on order, I will announce when they arrive in the shop.

Doll Quilts

I can't believe it has been 9 days since I added to the blog. I guess I have been busy! I have gotten a little quilting time in and have been big stitch hand quilting on last year Block of the Month quilt. I am working on block three. Maybe I will take some pictures of the three finished blocks and post them soon.

This is doll quilt #4 for this year. It was actually made as a doll quilt a few years back. I just didn't get it finished. But this is the year to "get 'em done".
Please note the bottom row of blocks on this quilt. No, the mistake was not intentional. I'n not sure what I did wrong, but since the border was on, I decided to just let it be. The quilt is approx 23" x 27".

I've pulled 4 bolts of fabric from the shop for a new quilt but since I have so many things going on I am trying hard not to cut into it. So who will be the winner, my "will power saying, no" or my "desire to start something new"? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.

Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23, will be the 2nd Annual Art & Culture Tour on the Grant Wood Scenic Byway, Hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. I am one of the listed stops so if you are in Bellevue either day, please stop in.

Doll quilts

I found 4 extra blocks and put together another doll quilt (16" square). This seems to be the best way to rid myself of clutter. I am hoping some little girl will enjoy it for her teddy bear even though it is kind of funky. I has a pretty flannel on the back and she can always turn it over.

Fossil Fern Scrap 4-Patch (36" square)

It's done. I have given it a new name. I now call it, "Leftover Oddments Numbered One". I decided it needed a nicer name that Scrap 4-Patch. I found the word oddments in the dictionary and liked the sound of the word.

I like the way my "Big Stitch" hand quilting looks in the center block.

Pink Shoebox Squares

I made all the fabrc pieces in the pink box into 4-patch units, then did a rough count of how many blocks I had. I decided I had enough to make a quilt for my half of our king size bed.

You're saying "Why is she making a quilt that only covers half the bed?"

My reason is this, I am always a little colder than my husband. Now I will have the perfect quilt to put over my half the bed. I think it's a great idea. What you see in the picture is 10 rows, or about half then length.

I really enjoy watching scrap quilts grow and the way the color flow changes as the quilt grows.

I am still quilting on the fossil fern scrap quilt but I don't have very much left. Then I will need to pick out a binding color.

Moving forward

I did it, I did it, I did it! I made the decision!

I love the blocks and I think a big quilt would be outstanding but I have way too many projects started so this quilt is only going to be nine squares big! I have them all sewn together and have started quilting a cable in the sashing. I can’t wait to get it done and wash out all the blue lines to see what the final result will look like.

Now, while I have a nice quilting project to work on I also like to have a piecing project. So what was it going to be? Well, in that pile of stuff in front of the closet I found a little pink plastic box. In that little pink plastic box I found a bunch of 4-patches. And also some that were not yet completed. I guess this is going to be my piecing project. Wonder what I can do with them. Mmmmmmmm!


So when do you think I acquired those fabrics? Well, to the best of my recollection it was sometime between the years 1987 and 1997. Evidently, I signed up for 5” squares to be sent to me each month. (None of them are out of any fabric that I've ever bought.)

I started making the 4-patches back then but finally just put the squares in the box each month. I think it was a year or two ago that I ran across the box again and cut the rest of the squares in half, sewed them together, cut again and made them into more 4-patches. As the picture shows, I didn’t get them all done before the box got put away once more. This time I’m going to stick with it. I will state that it was one of the worst jobs of cutting I have seen in a while. It will surprise me if I don’t have some troubles somewhere along the line.

Now that you know what I’m working on, let me know what you’re doing. Jo

Simple & Done, Number 2

OK, not only do I have a closet that is talking to me, but there is a pile of “stuff” on the floor in front of the closet. I decided to see if I could make any progress on finding a “home” for this stuff. The first two items were easy, they went into the waste basket, item number 3 was a lonely quilt block.

I would like to make a complete quilt using this block (if you know me, you know I love 9 patch blocks), I also know it will never get done, so lets make another doll quilt. It is so easy to add a single border to a block, put flannel on the back, add a little machine quilting and it turns into Simple & Done, Number Two.

No, it doesn't rhyme any more but that's OK.

2010 Charity Quilt 1

On Wednesday, I opened a closet door and had a pile of fabric hit me on the head! Well, it was only 11 little samples of flannel but it was enough for me to understand that my closet was talking to me and saying, "Clean me, clean me, clean me!"

Well, that was a little too radical, and time consuming, but I did decide to make my first charity doll quilt for 2010. It's called, Simple and Done, Number One.

New fabric

This is the newest fabric in the shop, just arrived today. It's from the collection Aubrielle from RJR Fabrics. (Bolt #1406-$9.49/yd) I've no clue what I'm going to do with it yet but the mind is definitely spinning around.

What I really need to do is get back to the desk work, darn!