Quilty Road Trip ... Social Distance Style

This morning started Here,

because this is, literally, one of the first things I see in the morning,

after I use my eye drops to unglue my eyes, 

as it is on my bedroom wall opposite my bed. 

I do not actually "see" the eye drops.

I just reach out to where I know they are, aim and squeeze,

then wait a few minutes for them to take effect.

Usually, there is a blur of my hubby's face
and a fuzzy looking cat or three in view, too.

Only Katniss is actually fuzzy so I know if the other two look 

like they are having a bad hair day

that my eyes are not working yet.

By the time I ask Alexa to turn on the light,

the cross stitch starts coming onto focus.

After saying have a good day to hubby,
going out the door to his new job,

because the man does not know what the word "retired" means,

or that there is a "stay at home"
 ... um ... mandate? ... advisory? ... guideline? ...  

whatever the state is calling it now ...

for people our age.

I get my cup of coffee and say hello to my blog which comes up as my home screen

and there is my new favorite quilty project again.

Now that I have put my Quilty Love stitchery there again at the top of today's post,
it will be waiting for me again tomorrow morning ... I like!

Maybe I will put it at the top of the post everyday this week!

You may get tired of it, but I will not ... :-) 

Anyway...

my virtual road trip is rambling off course ...

just like most of our real road trips.

So ...

I wandered Here

so I could get cool with all the square inspiration of the day.

First off, 

Calico Joan @ the MooseStash,

opened my eyes wide with another one of her multitude of amazing quilty endeavors

and made me laugh with her zany humor.

Then I got as far as

This wonderfully Cool and Square quilty goodness

 @ Anita's Quilt in a Not Shell

before my road trip completely changed destinations ... 

and I bought this ...

 Pattern from Broadcloth Studios Here

... because I need a new project like I need a new turn in the road. 

I want to make a larger version of this for my very modern niece

 who is getting married in the fall.

Because I was at Broadcloth Studio

and I love their Quilty Quizes,

I found

A Quiz I Had Not Taken

... sew I had to take it ... 

... and I somehow I ended up Here ...

"While the road or the car never really changes, the scenery is what brings excitement and variety to the journey! Whether it’s color, texture, or the final quilting, there are a million different roads to take and a billion different adventures to have along the way."

Nine Patch?

Oh, Yes, that is me.

So while I ruminated upon my love of Nine Patch blocks awhile

I remembered a WIP ...

... so I traveled back in time to Here

... revisted Here

... then I had to dig out this pile of Fig Tree scraps

and sewed three more 9 Patch Blocks this morning

... and the morning traveled away with me.

Phew ... what a morning road trip!

Time for lunch, a little gardening

and I will get back to blog hopping later today.

I has been a happy quilty morning.

May yours be a good one, too ... :-) 

Sewing (and Quilting) Simply Joy

I made this soft and lovely floral Nine Patch Block
a few days ago.

It is for a Block of the Month sew a long on a Facebook group that I belong to,

Weekend Quilters

I am an everyday quilter these days but I enjoy all the lovely inspiration and
the rules by which this group abides.
It is very friendly and supportive.

The BOM Info posted a link to this very helpful 

Nine Patch Cutting Chart and Tutorial @ New Quilters

This is a good site.
I am not a new quilter but there are always new things learn.
Following their chart, I decided to
 up-size to a 12.5" unfinished block
because I want to make a lap quilt.

For this project I pulled out this stash of fat quarters
and a piece of yardage.
This is an old Fig Tree Quilts line called Fresh Cottons.
I love the soft and pretty colors and florals.
I have some "Fig Tree Cream" Bella solid yardage from Moda
to use as background, too.

Sometimes is is fun to just sew an easy, old favorite block.

Quilting Progress Day # 2

I am still feathering my flower petals on my quilting machine.
I have the center done and am working upwards toward the top.

Tonight and tomorrow I need to catch up on some piecing.

One of the good things about having a long arm is I do not have to change the setup on my regular machine to go from piecing to quilting.

I am a happy quilter.

What are you working on today?

The Importance of Being Accurate

Nine Patch Tracks

12" Block, Finished

Jelly Roll Friendly

Yesterday a new  quilting friend in an online sewing group was struggling 

with the math and the 1/4" seam allowance

while making a 12.5" block unfinished.

It started a discussion in the group and

sent me to my machine
to illustrate my comments.

I am a hands on person

so I designed this simple block.

Start with 2.5" scrap strips

The question was how to make a block from jelly roll strips 

and what size would the units be after sewing.

It could be called a Nine Patch Block or a Rail Fence Block

but I am calling this block Nine Patch Tracks,

in part because of my fabric choices.

This was made with some of my scrap kitty fabrics. 

Two strips sewn together measure 4.5" across.

These strips will be 2" wide in the finished block. 

Sew the strips together using a 1/4" seam and cut into 4.5" squares

Measure seams!
An accurate seam measures 1/4" from stitching line to edge.

I have moved my ruler a thread to the right so you can see the seam thread line.

Many quilters like to sew a "scant 1/4" seam which measures slightly smaller.

I like to maintain a full 1/4" so my seams will not be compromised and fray
with lots of washing.

Rulers are a quilter's friend!

It is important to maintain an accurate 1/4" seam

and to measure and square units before sewing them into the block.

The time spent measuring and squaring is well spent

as it insures the block will be the correct size in the end.

Put the right foot forward!
(like my ever helpful quilty kitty Maestro) 

I find a 1/4" foot invaluable.

I now use the flanged 1/4" foot on the left which was included
with my Janome 6600p.
I find the flange is a good guide for the edge of my fabric.

I started my quilting adventures with the foot on the right,
which is from my old Brother machine and fits my Janome.
I learned to sew an accurate 1/4" seam with this foot.
I  sometimes still use this while paper piecing.
This foot measures 1/4" from the right of the needle hole.
When learning, I put down a strip of narrow masking tape on the bed of my
old Brother machine marking 1/4" for my seams.

If you are a new quilter, practice, measure 
and find what works best for you.

I measure and square each block with my worn
12.5 inch Quilter's Ruler.

This block was constructed with nine 4.5" square units,
alternating directions of the strip seams.
3 rows and 3 units.
A very easy block.

This was my 15 minutes of fun playing with my scraps yesterday.

I am working on several projects for blog hops right now and
am looking forward to showing them to you soon.

May you have a happy quilty day!