Beyond the Surface Is Pin Basted--Post 2

Pieced batting

Goal number nine on my October list was to piece the batting for Beyond the Surface, my project for the book, "Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books." I had a leftover piece of polyester batting from my Sweet Tooth mystery quilt that looked to be about the right size. By the time I got it pieced it was. . .just barely! When success happens with so little waste, I call it, "Meant to be!"

Pin basting in progress

I pulled a backing piece of fabric and I gave glue basting the backing to the batting a try. I read about the process on another person's blog; but can't remember who posted about it! It was easy to do. I probably didn't wait long enough for the glue to dry because when I tested to see if the two layers were connected, they weren't! 

Finished basting--the batting just fit

I ended up pin basting the layers together. When I finish quilting the 2022 though 2023 Temperature quilt, this project will be next. I used a piece of backing fabric that has been in my stash for about 20 years. I will have almost enough of it remaining to make a sleeve for the project.

Backing fabric

It feels great to have exceeded the goal of piecing the batting. It feels even better to have used that backing fabric! I remember purchasing it when a shop owner was closing one of my favorite quilt shops. Isn't it funny how we can remember such a purchase!

Linking to Oh Scrap!

The Last Blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge of 2025

Brown selvage squares

This is the last month that Angela will pick a color or colors to make blocks from our scraps. She chose dark. . .and if possible to include brown and black! I made some of each!

Black selvage squares

After I stitched the last block, I was curious how the blocks would look together. I chose to layout out the blocks sort of in rainbow order. Brown and black are not in the rainbow. I didn't have enough blocks of some colors to make a true rainbow; but, I like the modern take on the layout.

I  might call this project "Hidden Seven." One of my friends saw it right away. (Check out the placement of the yellow blocks.)

Possible block layout

Gertie, my inner squirrel wanted me to sew these blocks together. Because I need the design wall for a challenge project and Grassy Creek layouts, I agreed with Gertie and stitched the top together! It measures 62 inches by 72 inches.

The top

Making the blocks was goal number four on my October list. Linking to Finished Or Not Friday, Patchwork and Quilts and Scrap Happy!

One Sweater Body--Upcycled Into a Skirt!

Sweater body

I've had this sweater body in my stash. It previously lived for decades in my mom's stash. My mom would pursue the Jantzen fabric outlet for "buys." She bought a lot of fabric. She made a lot of garments for my dad, my brothers and even some of their friends. She made clothing for herself and for me. Although, I was stitching my own clothes so I didn't receive that many items! 

There was no fiber content available regarding the sweater body; but, I would venture to guess it is a wool and polyester blend. When I pressed it, it smelled like wool! It was 31 inches long by 72 inches wide.

Serged back center seam

I did bring it to the free table at a September guild meeting; but no one took it. Rather than put it in the landfill, I decided I would make a usable garment from it. Since there was no trim with the sweater body, I didn't want to make a sweater or a vest. I pondered what I could make with the supplies I had on hand. I looked on Pinterest. I searched Google and You Tube for ideas.

Center back seam with edges secured

A skirt for my oldest granddaughter seemed to be the best option. I could use the ribbing as the waistband and I could serge the edges of the fabric for the one seam. To make the skirt couture, I whipped stitched the seam allowances to the skirt body. Those seam allowances will remain as they are!

Waistband from sweater band

I used the sweater band as the casing for the waistband. The knitted waistband was wide enough that I folded it in half. I used a zigzag stitch to secure the casing. The stitch isn't visible from the front and the finished edge of the sweater band made a neat finish for the inside of the garment!

Hem

There was a finish along the lower edge of the fabric. I decided I could turn the edge and hand stitch the hem. The skirt finished about 28 I/12 inches or about four inches below my granddaughter's knee. I'm thinking this skirt paired with boots would look great. Miss K loves to wear boots. I will invite Miss K to go shopping for a blouse and/or a sweater or a vest to complete the outfit. I hope she likes it!

Finished skirt

I am rounding to the nearest quarter of a yard so I used three quarters of a yard of fabric to make this project. This brings the total used from stash this month to 4.75 yards and the total used from stash this year to 45.75 yards!

Linking to Oh Scrap and Sew and Tell!

Stitch By Stitch, The Finish--post 4

 

Lots of sort of straight lines

This project was inspired by the book: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. The book is about how one women helps her six siblings survive and thrive when their parents and older brother leave Afghanistan during the first Taliban takeover.

More diagonal lines

I began the quilting by quilting in the ditch. This is tedious; but, it is a good way to secure the layers. My goal with quilting this piece was to add texture and to keep it "modern."To that end, I quilted a lot of sort of straight lines. I used a thread that matched the background.

Oval motif for background; vertical lines on letters

I repeated quilting diagonal lines in several areas of the quilt. The diagonal lines represent how the women were "allowed" so few areas to be out in public. Of course, they had to have a male member of their family with them. If not, they were subject to being beaten.

View of the various quilted lines

Vertical lines on the letters represent the strictness of the Taliban. The oval motif in the background of the letters represent the decorative stitching the women did one the higher end dresses.

Cotton and polyester monofilament threads completed the quilting.

Thread used to quilt project

The horizontal lines in the piece represent what a women wearing a burka can see. The area is small, two and a half inches by about five inches. I can't imagine not tripping over the hem or an uneven sidewalk let alone picking out food from the market with such a narrow field of vision. 

View after completing the quilting

I made a quilted facing for this project. I used bias tape from my grandmother's stash to finish the inside edge of the facing. 

View of the back

I removed a seam from a pieced pinwheel that I didn't use on the front. I put one half of the block on each side of the label. 

Label

There was almost enough fabric for the hanging sleeve; but, not quite. I found a strip in the green chunk drawer that was large enough. This piece is 41 by 58 inches. I used four yards of fabric for this project. This brings the total net fabric used from stash to 45 yards this year.

Finished front

Previous posts were: Strings from a Scrap Bag; It's a Flimsy; Piecing the Back. Goal number six on my October list was to document the finish of this project. Linking to Finished or Not Friday and Patchwork and Quilts.

Sourdough Bread Baking--post 3 And A Fabric Palette

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers!

Goal number one on my October list was to document recipes from the Artisan Sourdough Made Simple cookbook written by Emile Raffa. This is my third post regarding recipes I've baked from that cookbook.

Soft Semolina Breadsticks with Buttery Crumbs

At the beginning of June, I made the Soft Semolina Breadsticks with Buttery Crumbs. My youngest granddaughter likes hard breadsticks. She might like these. When she comes for a visit, we will need to bake some to see what she thinks!

I baked these a few minutes too long so they weren't as soft as they should have been. The buttery crumbs are tasted panko bread crumbs with a little parmesan cheese mixed together. To get the crumbs to adhere to the breadsticks, I brushed the warms breadsticks with melted butter and then I rolled them  in the crumb mixture. This recipe was husband approved!

Crispy Sourdough Grissini

At the end of June, I made the other bread stick recipe, Crispy Sourdough Grissini, in the cookbook. From the oven, these were crisp; but, even in an airtight container, they didn't stay that way long! I would make them again; but, be sure to use them the same day that I baked them!

Roasted garlic and rosemary sourdough

Roasted garlic and rosemary were in the next loaf of bread I baked. My husband thought this was the best recipe yet.

Rolls before baking

Overnight Sourdough Bialays With Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese was the next recipe I tried. My husband does not like goat cheese although he did eat it in these rolls. He liked the carmelized onions and gave the recipe a thumbs up.

Rolls after baking

We ate one hot from the oven. The verdict was delicious! We ate them room temperature with our dinner. The verdict was good. We froze half of the batch. When we ate a couple that had thawed in the microwave, they were just as good as eating them at room temperature. I would definitely make this recipe again. It would be easy to leave off the goat cheese for those that don't prefer it.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Knot

Salted Chocolate Caramel Knot was absolutely delicious. I had my reservations. First, I doubted that the sourdough would be light enough to be a sweet bread. (It was!) Second, I doubted that I'd be able to shape the dough as was done in the recipe.(I sort of got there!) Third, Nutella and caramel? (It was a wonderful combination!)

A slice

My sweet husband said it would be no problem to "have" to eat this recipe again! It was best fresh from the oven; but, it was still great after it was totally cool. The next day and the day after it was still good! I would definitely make this recipe again!

Raspberry Gingersnap Twist

Raspberry Gingersnap Twist was good too! We would have enjoyed it even more had I done better about following the directions. I missed adding the cinnamon and chocolate chips at the right time in the recipe. I also didn't have Raspberry jam; but, I had plum butter that I had made from my friend Wendy's fruit tree. I made homemade gingersnap cookies to crumble so there was some effort in prepping for this recipe!

A slice

This twist was easier for me to do and it looked beautiful. The lightness of this loaf wasn't as much as in the Nutella loaf. The weather was a little cooler so maybe that was part of the reason or maybe, I should have let it rise a little longer before I baked it. All good reasons to try the recipe again!

There are about 70 recipes in this cookbook. (Artisan Sourdough Made Simple)So far, I've baked about eighteen of the recipes. There are more recipes to try so I will be writing future posts!

Because this is a quilting blog. . .I will share that I settled on my palette for a challenge one of my small groups is doing. A recognizable amount of the three printed fabrics must be used. We can make any project and can add as many additional fabrics as we want. There is no size limit.

Challenge palette

I have an idea of how I want to proceed so the next step was to prewash all the fabrics. I know many people don't prewash. I do because our water contains chlorine. I don't want surprises when I wash a project! I will report that the red print bled a bit; but, the dark orange was the worst bleeder! It took two rounds with synthrapol before the water was clear! Since pre-washing fabrics is a list item I avoid, I made it goal number seven on my October list. 

Pre-washed, starched and ready to cut

I have starched the pre-washed fabrics and ironed them. I'm ready to begin cutting the fabrics. First though, I need to stitch some blocks together so the design wall is available for this project. Linking to: Oh  Scrap and Sew and Tell.

Quilt of Valor Presentation #3

The special label

At the end of September, I was honored to wrap a QOV around the shoulders of Butch. When I asked Butch if I could nominate him for a quilt, he immediately replied that there were other more deserving veterans. I told him that I would like to honor him. Then I asked if he would like to see the quilt that I had stitched for him.

Quilt pattern: Indigo Way 2023 Bonnie Hunter mystery

He replied, "You made me a quilt?" His eyes were wide and his normal loud voice was so soft. I showed him the quilt. He touched it like he was thinking... for me? He looked at me and said "YES!" So we completed the nomination form. Later, I arranged to pick up the label that the area QOV group provides for each presented quilt.

Butch served in the navy during the Vietnam war. He said he was based in California; but, most of his deployment was spent aboard one of three ships.

Butch wrapped in his quilt

He wanted to have the presentation in the presence of his coffee buddies so that was what we did. There were a couple wives in attendance too! I love the smile on his face because it is an actual smile. He wanted a photo with his buddies so of course that happened!

The "Boys" and me

Seeing him so tickled will stay with me a long time. He does so much for others and asks for nothing. Having this ceremony just for him did honor him. He was amazed to learn that the lifetime number of veterans comforted at the end of August was 421,941. The rest of the boys also were surprised at the number of quilts awarded! Documenting this presentation was goal number eleven on my October list.

Linking to Finished or Not Friday and Patchwork and Quilts.

Triple Treat Leader Ender

Twenty blocks kitted and ready to go

I looked back in my posts to see when I began this project. my inital post was July 31, 2022! Goal number two on my October list was to write an update.

In October of 2022, I shared photos of my project in my recap and goals post. In January of 2023, I shared how it was my leader ender project as I pieced Chilhowie. In August of 2023, I again shared in my recap and goals post to keep making the leader ender blocks. In my September 2023 recap and goals post, I even shared a layout of the blocks.

One block ready to stitch

Earlier this year, I decided to stitch what I had into a top and call it good.  At the beginning of June, I decided to inventory how many blocks I had made 72 with the 73rd ready to stitch. I decided to make more of an effort to make more of these blocks.

After all, I still have some large print fabrics and multi colored fabrics that work well for this block. I spent some time cutting and made more kits. In the future, I'm going to "try" to cut out kits in multiples of four because Bonnie set four blocks together to make a unit. Larger units will be easier to piece in the end. Bonnie is so wise when it comes to putting blocks together!

Block piles

So I'll be cutting lots more pieces and using up lots more scraps!!! I don't have an end date for this project. I'll keep piecing units as I work on other projects. When I make about 200 units, I'll consider a layout. I am a long ways from that number!

Pattern stitching four blocks together

In the meantime, Bonnie released her Four Patch Fun leader ender and Gertie, my inner squirrel, wants to make these blocks. Sigh. . .too many options and not enough time!!!! Linking to Oh Scrap.

Recap September and October Goals 2025

Temperature quilt 2022 and 2023 pin basted

My Annual Goals are:

✒1. Have a net loss of 100 yards of fabric from my stash.

✒2. Finish six UFOs

✔ a. Temperature 2021--pin basted and ditched quilted started in January;  progress made in February. Almost finished the quilting in March. Completed the project in April. Hooray!!!! 

✒b. Temperature 2022-2023--pin basted in September

✒c. Martha's House blocks--purchased backing in May; determined a quilting design in August;

✔d. Positively Grows--pin basted in February; started ditch quilting in July, finished in August, documented in September.

✔e. Maze top--purchased backing in May; longarmer quilted and I added the binding, sleeve and label in June!

Stitch By Stitch quilted

f. Butterfly number four 

Fabric Summary:

Fabric in this month: 0 yards   

Fabric in year to date: 64 3/4 yards

Fabric used from stash this month: 20.75 yards 

Fabric used from stash year to date: 103 yards

Net loss/gain this month: -20.75 yards

Net loss/gain year to date: -41 yards  

Books:

My favorite listen of the month was: "Christy" by Catherine Marshall. A nineteen year old leaves home to teach school in the Smokey Mountains. She learns as much from the pupils and families as they learn from her. The author bases much of her story on her own experiences. 

My favorite read of the month was: "Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah. Learning about Anya in war torn Russia 50 years earlier is a puzzle her two American daughters unravel.

Grassy Creek string blocks pieced

My September goals were:

✔1. Document the finish of Sweet Tooth.

✔2. Document the finish of Grow.

✔3. Document the quilt that I gave my niece for her wedding in July.

✒4. Share my progress with the Triple Treat Leader Ender Project. Post is written; but, ran out of days to post it!

✔5. Continue documenting my recent trip to London, England and Paris, France. post 5, 

✔6. Make progress on Grassy Creek. I've finished stitching the string blocks for the border. I have stitched about half of the blocks.

✔7. Makc the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.

1/1/2025-6/9/2025 blocks for 
2025 Temperature quilt

✔8. Make more 2025 Temperature Quilt blocks. I have pieced the blocks through June 20 and have added the rows through June 9. While I'm still far behind, I'm less behind than I was!

✔9. Layer and baste Temperature Quilt 2022-2023.

✔10. Document the blocks I made during the July virtual retreat and the prize I won.

✔11. Make more progress on Stitch By Stitch. This month, I finished the quilting. 

✔12, Schedule a QOV presentation. I managed to schedule
and hold it before the end of the month. I will document the presentation next month!

It was another good month of progress inspite of working twelve days this month. I helped with a special project and taught two classes. I often work five to seven days in a month! I'm most pleased about the progress I have made on the Temperature Quilt for 2025. 

My October goals are:

1. Post about my sourdough baking.

2. Share my progress with the Triple Treat Leader Ender Project.

3. Make progress on Grassy Creek.

4. Make the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. 

5. Make more 2025 Temperature Quilt blocks.

6. Finish of Stitch By Stitch.--It lacks a sleeve and blocking.

7. Prewash challenge fabrics that one of my small groups is doing.

8, Make a knit skirt for my granddaughter.

9, Piece the batting for Beyond the Surface.

10. Begin quilting the 2022-2023 Temperature quilt.

11. Document the QOV presentation.

12, Continue working on the virtual retreat.

Linking to Finished or Not Friday, Patchwork and Quilts.