Step 2 of My Valentine Mini Quilt Sew Along

 If  you joined me in making lots of little four patches last week for my Valentine's Day sew along, this week we'll put them together into larger blocks and finish the quilt. The directions are in my Facebook group files.  If you're not on FB, go to my website later today and find the directions and download from there. 

Here goes -    

     

This is a basic Irish Chain block and you'll make four of them using two different background fabrics. The directions will tell you how to cut the pieces and put them together.  

     

How cute is this?? There are lots of tiny pieces to sew so be patient with yourself. Take your time and pin all the intersections before sewing. It takes a little extra effort but your blocks will come out nicer. I also always press my seams open between the units for less bulk. The heart in the center is optional. 

As far as I got yesterday. The challenge will be to try to finish this little one by February 14.  

                                                                         💗💗💗

Four-Patch Valentine's Day Sew Along

Are you ready for a little winter fun??  There's a new sew along in my Facebook group using simple four-patch blocks to make a sweet little quilt for Valentine's Day. I'll also put directions up on my website in a .pdf file for you to download later today. 

Step one is pretty simple -  cut some 1 1/4"  x 1 1/4" squares and make a bunch of little four-patch blocks using pink, red and light reproduction fabrics. I'll post Step 2 next week.

                                Put a little love in your heart.

                                                                         💗💗💗

Merry Christmas to All

                             

Snow is always at the top of my Christmas list but Santa has not been listening to me lately . . . . 

Do you have Christmas family traditions? This morning I got up early to put together the star of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner - Christmas Lasagna. This tradition began years ago when I decided to include on the holiday menu a few international dishes like Swedish Meatballs, Pierogis, Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Baklava (bakery bought). Eggrolls as an appetizer. It was a lot of fun to do this and the one tradition that really stuck was the lasagna. It now makes an appearance every Christmas. When my daughter was a vegetarian I began making it with spinach instead of meat and now that has become our main Christmas dish. The family probably wouldn't miss ham or turkey but they'd cry if I didn't make lasagna every year. 

Easy recipe - Sauce, cooked lasagna noodles, a bag of frozen spinach sauteed with garlic, shredded mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese mixed with a beaten egg and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Place a bit of sauce in bottom of lasagna pan. Then, layer one at a time - noodles, spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, sauce. Layer each ingredient twice, except for noodles - end with a layer of noodles on top. Then top with mozzarella cheese and more sauce. Yes, I find that Prego is just as good as the sauce my mom used to make from scratch and I copied for years. I often spice it up if I feel like it. My sister the cook likes to use Italian sausage in hers. With everything else I have to do or worry about around Christmastime, the last thing I need to do is make my own sauce or feel bad about myself if I don't.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Enjoy!

 

Merry Christmas! And all good wishes for the New Year! 

                                                                              -Kathy

Pre-Thanksgiving Jitters

I hope you're all taking a little time for yourself during a busy pre-holiday week. Not much sewing going on lately. I get Thanksgiving jitters around this time every year just thinking about everything I have to do - shopping, baking, cooking, cleaning - to make sure everything turns out great. It always does so I don't know what I worry about. The food is always superb and the company behaves well. If the house and table isn't perfect, Ehh. 

For the last few years I've gotten a lot better at saying "Oh well" if a curve ball gets thrown at me. Except for the time a couple of years ago when I let the dog out right after Thanksgiving dinner without checking to see if the gate to the backyard was closed after dark. It wasn't. She spotted a skunk in the far corner, then chased after it like her life and the lives of her family depended on it. We both got skunked as I ran after her and tried to scoop her away. I had to leave the party to run upstairs and take a shower with Dawn dish soap. I left my husband with the de-skunking of the dog part. 

Yeah, I can laugh about it now . . . . I even bought a tiny skunk ornament for the tree that Christmas so we'd remember.  So you can see why I still get a bit stressed.

 Anyway, I always make sure I take some silent time for gratitude during this week as I prepare, to keep the calm feelings going forward. And, if it gets to be too much on the actual day (have you watched The Bear, LOL??) I steal myself away from the crowd and retreat upstairs for 15 minutes while I leave the post-dinner cleanup to others. Shh, don't tell anyone. So far no one's noticed and I'd hate to have to give that up . . . .

Garden Quilt Show

Yesterday, I spent some time at the Fine Art of Fiber show at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Lots of pretty quilts in a beautiful (indoor) garden setting. I usually go every year but missed last year for some reason. 

          Two things I love: walking around outside in my favorite season and looking at some lovely quilts. 

Lots of pretty, colorful quilts and lovely fall surroundings. I was disappointed that there were not many traditional quilts displayed (my style) but they were all beautiful nonetheless. This quilt below, a Lori Holt design made by Lydia Hoelle, was my favorite.  

This sweater reminded me of the quilt.

Still a few flowers blooming here and there.

Some parts of the garden were blocked off because they were setting up a winter light show that starts later next week. One of my favorite parts is always the waterfall. It was closed though, so here are a few photos of what it looked like in years past. 

 

                                           

                                 

                     

 It was a perfect fall day and the colors of the leaves were just beautiful. 

                        

                                   

                            

                     

The weather forecast originally called for rain but it turned out to be a beautiful day. If you're in the Chicago area, the Botanic Garden is always worth a trip. The show runs through Sunday, Nov. 9. 

                                                                                                           -Kathy

Darting Birds Quilt for Fall

I love this block!! Have you started making them yet?  

I decided to make 9 blocks and set them randomly to look like - what else? - birds darting to and fro. 

Then a few days ago I had some time to begin the quilting stage.  Simple stitches for a simple but busy quilt. I opted for no border, just binding. 

A very simple finish. 

Fall Mini Quilt - Darting Birds

I hope you'll join me in making a sweet little fall quilt using the "Darting Birds" block. Isn't it cute? In all my years of sewing, this is a block I've never made before, can you believe it?  

You'll find the pattern in my Facebook group files and also on my website. You can make your quilt with 6 or 9 blocks, add sashing, borders or whatever. There's even instructions to make a 3" block if you're feeling adventurous and want to go smaller. Have fun with them and arrange the "little birds" in different formations to give your quilt a sense of movement. Hope you all have a great weekend! 

                                                                                                            -Kath

Fall Mini Quilt Sew Along

 

If you love playing around with your reproduction fabrics (and especially scraps), I hope you'll join me in my Fall Mini Quilt Sew Along beginning this coming Friday, Sept 19. I'll post the directions to make a sweet little block and you'll find them in the Facebook group files that morning. I'll also post directions on my website www.countrylanequits.com

We'll be making a simple quilt using some of your favorite fall colored fabric scraps. And, believe it or not, it's a block I've never made before. So pick through your fabric scraps this week and come up with a few background lights as well as two medium or dark prints for each block. The more the merrier. The quilt I designed is comprised of six blocks but you may not be able to stop at six so pull out some extra fabrics and maybe you'll enjoy making a few more. I always make a few extra blocks anyway just so I can play around with different colors. Scrappy little quilts are such fun to make!

September

It's September. The temperatures are a little cooler than they've been for a long time. The flowers in the garden may be fading but quilts endure, bringing lasting comfort.