Laney's Big Girl Quilt - RSS Summer Sew-along

Here is a fun finish for my littlest granddaughter!

Ruby Star Society Sample Quilt

What began as a summer sew-along has turned into a fall finish! After making a Gingham Table Runner, I spied another project featuring colorful squares of fabric on Instagram for the Ruby Star Summer Sewalong. I love gingham and plaid effects in quilting, and thought this would make a great summer picnic quilt. We haven't been on a picnic in years, but I love the sound of "picnic quilt"!

I printed out the free pattern and was just starting to pull some fabrics from stash when my daughter texted me. She and 6 year-old Delaney (we all call her "Laney") were "fighting" over a quilt that my daughter had claimed the last time they visited. (Side note: It was this quilt, and you might recall I made it for myself. Well it was mine until my daughter saw the back of it and fell in love - lol!) She wondered if I would want to make Laney her own "big girl" quilt so she wouldn't have to share her quilt with her - lol!

Laney loves this fabric!

RSS suggested these possible colorways for the quilt

As you know, when someone asks you to make them a quilt, heavenly choirs sing! On a whim I sent my daughter the picture of the sample sew-along quilt and asked her if she thought Laney would like the pattern. Well yes, she loved the pattern so I sent her some of the colorways suggested, and Laney chose the one that features Tarrytown by Kimberly Kight (middle colorway shown above). A big part of the attraction was the above navy turtle fabric. We narrowed down preferred colors, I ordered from two Etsy shops, and everything arrived fairly quickly.

The pattern features strip cutting, and with the charm packs, cutting was pretty fast. The making of the quilt was prolonged due to two cataract surgeries, but better late than never!

Binding choice was influenced by Diann at Little Penguin Quilts, who has used Tula Pink's gorgeous Fairy Dust in a few of her projects. I found it in lavender and there was every color needed! Quilting was a widely spaced "swirly criss-cross" (my name for it) because my daughter prefers less quilting.

Quilt back blowing in the breeze

Closeup of the backing

My daughter sent me photos of the colors in Laney's room as well as her sheets. I found the perfect backing, which not only coordinates with the fabrics on the front but also with Laney's sheets!

Cozy softness after laundering!

I have to say a word about the batting. Last year I used up the last of a big roll of batting I had purchased on sale from Joann's fabrics. I asked Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing for her recommendations. Kathleen is always so kind and patient with any questions I have, and she gave me such good information. I ended up purchasing Quilters Dream Cotton Select Loft, and I could not be more pleased with it! I never knew how much difference good batting can make in a quilt. My quilts are so soft and cozy after laundering, and you can actually feel the difference between my most recent quilts and my old ones. So thank you Kathleen!

We will deliver the quilt on Friday while Laney is in school,

so my daughter will send me a photo of Laney with her quilt

Quilt Details

Finished pre-laundered size: 68 x 69 inches

Finished laundered size: 65 x 66 inches

Pattern: Perfect Picnic, a free Buffalo-style plaid pattern found here

Fabrics

Main:

Fabrics from Tarrytown by Kimberly Kight for Ruby Star Society

Hole Punch Dots in White by Kimberly Kight for Ruby Star Society 

Stay Gold by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society

Sugar Sunshine by Sara Watts for Ruby Star Society

Effie's Woods by Deb Strain for Moda

Tessalations Diamond Stack Purple by Victoria Bright for River's Bend 

Backing:

Words Allover from Sweet World by Charlotte Grace for Wilmington Prints

Binding:

Tula Pink's Fairy Dust in lavender

Batting:

Quilters Dream Cotton Select Loft

Thread:

Superior Threads So Fine #50 in Genoa Gray #503

To Do Tuesday 9-27-22

Welcome to To Do Tuesday - would you believe the last one in September? Eeeeek! On the one hand, I'm so excited that October is just around the corner, and on the other hand I'm already panicked to get my holiday projects done. If you feel the same, list out those projects and post them by clicking the link below. And as Cheree said on her blog last week "We'll encourage you to get things done!" - I love that!

ANNOUNCEMENT

I have decided to open the TDT linkup earlier in order

to accommodate those who prepare their posts early,

so how does Monday night at 9:00pm CST sound to you?

If you need earlier, let me know in the comments,

otherwise this will be in effect starting next Tuesday.

Coin purse done!

Last week's goals:

✅1. RSS quilt - I want to finish it so we can take it to our granddaughter on September 23 - We are going this coming Friday instead (our daughter had the date wrong). I'm marking this as a finish because all I have left is binding it! I'm buying some color catchers today to have ready when I wash it.

✔2. Wedding quilt - Progress of a sort - I got it out ready to press because it has been in a drawer!

✔3. Crochet hat - I am almost ready to cinch up the top and decide if I want to add a pom-pom

✅4. Make myself a coin purse, style similar to this one I made in 2014 - Done and posted here

Brown Sugar Apple Pie, recipe here

In spite of the continued high 90s heat, last week I just had to make something apple-ish, and this hit all the spots. And cooler air finally came last night!

RSS quilt is ready to bind!

My playlist for the coming week:

1. Sew binding on RSS quilt and take to with us on Friday while we babysit our grandson so our daughter can go to the dentist. Our granddaughter will be in school, so our daughter will send us a photo of her with her new quilt.

2. Get The Wedding Quilt sandwiched and ready for quilting!

3. Finish crochet hat and start on my next crochet project - maybe another hat or maybe a scarf.

4. Look at my next two quilting projects: One is a quilt I started last September - Indian Corn - and the other project is the RBD (Riley Blake Designs) blocks, which I need to sew together with sashing.

I suggest you assume this position as you go visit the other blogs,

otherwise you will end up with a Squirrel Alert page like mine on your blog!

OK it's time to get those posts linked up! Just click on the link below and add yours. If you have any questions, click on the To Do Tuesday button in my sidebar.

Inlinkz is spotty in accessing Marsha's Spot blog, so I suggest you copy the URL below and paste it into your address bar and go see what she has created!

https://marshasspot.com/

If you leave a comment, please check to see if it is posting as "Anonymous"
and add your blog name to your comment - thanks!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

A Coin Purse And Apple Pie!

This little purse has been on my "make" list since I made one in 2014 for my granddaughter's 11th birthday - she is 19 now! You can read about it right here on my old blog.

This canvas fabric by Cosmo has been in my stash for years.

I did a couple things differently from the last time I used this pattern:

1. I did not line the outer fabric with fusible fleece, which is very bulky. 

2. The tutorial gives instructions for gluing the fabric to the clasp, but I chose to sew it on instead using two strands of embroidery floss, which you can see in the photo above. There are several good tutorial posts and videos showing how to do this.

I bought several of these clasps from Sugar Carousel on Etsy

I used quilting cotton for the inside and lined it with light fusible interfacing.  I will try to hide the inside stitches next time. I will also work on the pattern to make it fit this particular clasp more perfectly. There are some gaps on the side upper corners.

Fits nicely into my new cross-body bag (purchased on Amazon)

More coin purses in the works!

The tutorial and pattern are found on this post by Sweet Bee Buzzings. My daughter saw my Instagram post and now she wants one. Then she showed the photo to The Littlest Granddaughter, and she said "Is that for me?" so more fabric has been pulled to make my girls happy!

After all that work, I needed sustenance! I started to make a Fresh Apple Cake, but my DIY Guy walked in, saw the apples and baking ingredients and got excited about pie, so that is what I made instead. It is my favorite apple pie recipe, and I call it Brown Sugar Apple Pie, even though it has both kinds of sugar. It is based on the popular Apple Pie by Grandma Ople on Allrecipes. I make it a little differently with added spices. If you want to try my version, here is the recipe:

Brown Sugar Apple Pie

4 cups chopped or sliced thin apples

1/2 cup salted butter*

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 9-inch double pie crust

*If you use unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Prepare pie crust for double crust and set aside.

Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir to form paste, cook a couple minutes over low heat. Add sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water, bring to boil. Add apples, lower heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Roll out and place bottom crust in pie pan. Add apple mixture. Prepare top crust and place on top of apples. Crimp edges and cut slits or shapes in several places.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350°. (I place mine on a rack close to the bottom of the oven. It seems to cook the apples better and the crust edges don't brown as quickly.) Bake until apples are tender and juices are bubbling through crust. Mine is in the oven about an hour total. Place on wire rack to cool.

To Do Tuesday 9-20-22

It is Tuesday, and you know what time that is! Welcome to To Do Tuesday - please come on in and share your activities from last week and show us your playlists for the coming week. All are welcome! If you have doubts about it, just click on the couple above and go read what To Do Tuesday is all about.

In case you missed it, the winner of my giveaway for the Get On Board With Sewing blog hop was Judy of Busy Hands Are Happy Hands! The grand prize winner on Brenda's blog was "Lori S". Congratulations to the winners, and another big Thank You to Brenda and Melva at Melva Loves Scraps for such a successful and fun celebration of National Sewing Month.

Saying a final good-bye to Queen Elizabeth II

Last week was a so-so week in terms of finishing, but I enjoyed it anyway. The Queen's funeral and procession to Windsor yesterday was a major distraction.

✔1. RSS quilt - Quilting started but had to rip some out

❌2. Wedding quilt - Nothing

✔3. Crochet hat - Slow-going but good progress, white stripe has been added

Playlist for the coming week:

1. RSS quilt - I want to finish it so we can take it to our granddaughter on September 23

2. Wedding quilt

3. Crochet hat

4. Make myself a coin purse, style similar to this one I made in 2014.

Do you have a playlist for the coming week? Squirrel-wise it is very dangerous for me to visit your blogs, but I love seeing what you've been up to, so be sure to add your link below and then go visit the other blogs! Because of an Inlinkz conflict, you may have problems accessing Marsha's Spot blog. If so, just copy the URL below and paste it into your address bar:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Each week Kathryn at The Book Date hosts this event to share what you are reading or have read or about to read! Several of you share your latest books on your posts, and I have enjoyed many of your recommendations. Kathryn gives a brief review of her massive reading list, so it is a great read for me every Monday.

I'm not sure if it was Kathryn or someone on another blog who recommended this book, The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. The description on Amazon drew me in "Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series will devour this hauntingly beautiful tale of love and time travel". Well, yes I am a huge fan of Outlander (the TV series) AND time travel, so yes I had to have it!

My glass of  zin and my iPad!

The main character, Carrie, is an author who is staying near the Slains Castle in Scotland to do research on her latest book. Without revealing too much, let's just say that as she writes, she seems to have an ancestral or genetic memory of her main character, who lives during the first Jacobite uprising. So far I have enjoyed Kearsley's smooth transitions from present day to the past.

Winter Sea is the first book of "The Scottish series", so I am already looking forward to the next one, The Firebird.

We Have A WINNER!

Thanks to all of you who participated in Get On Board With Sewing and left sweet comments! The winner of the grand prize was Lori S. and now I am so happy to announce the winner of my giveaway!

JUDY from Busy Hands Are Happy Hands!

Judy's name was pawed by the kitties with a random generator, and she wins a charm pack of I Believe In Angels and a sampler pack of Magic Pins. She will be notified by email.

Congratulations Judy!

Thanks to all of you who participated in Get On Board With Sewing and left sweet comments!

To Do Tuesday 9-13-22

Welcome - it's To Do Tuesday - when we detail any accomplishments or ongoing projects, or simply join in to document anything creative in our lives! You are invited to add your post by clicking on the Inlinkz link below, then to go visit other blogs - but be sure to put on your Squirrel Blinders!

I found myself surprisingly emotional over the death of  Queen Elizabeth II and had tears in my eyes as I watched her coffin leave Balmoral. I was touched by her great faith, strength, integrity, and steadfast commitment to service, plus she had a good sense of humor! I deeply admire all the pomp and ceremony of the British and like to watch and listen to the BBC for their dignified and respectful reporting. I've been easily distracted by every step of the procession of the Queen's coffin on its journey in Scotland. I guess my genetic  English and Scottish roots are showing!

Last week I had an appointment with a surgical dermatologist in Plano, about 55 miles south of us. I will have three skin cancers removed - two from my nose and one on my cheek - then travel the mile or so to the plastic surgeon for "reconstructive surgery". I have a consultation with the plastic surgeon a week from tomorrow, and he will set the surgery date.

Started my second hat - this time "crimson and cream" OU Sooners colors!

I'm currently crocheting in the evenings and loving it. You can read more about my renewed love for crochet and yarns right here.

Got the RSS quilt sandwiched and Longmire is oiled and bobbin and thread ready!

My playlist from last week:

1. RSS quilt - Done and ready to quilt! This quilt is for my youngest granddaughter.

2. Wedding quilt - No progress

3. Crochet hat - In progress - Frogged several starts but finally decided on simple single crochet stitch

4. Visit a dermatology surgery center - Done

Playlist for this coming week:

1. RSS quilt

2. Wedding quilt

3. Crochet hat

I hope you will join in the fun by adding your post below! If you try to access Marsha's Spot and have any issues, just copy the address below and paste it into your browser:

https://marshasspot.com/

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

In Love Again!

The yarn side of my sewing room closet - I love every skein and would part with none!

NO, not in love with another man (next month will be 53 years of marital bliss with Mr DIY Guy, so nuh-uh), but with YARN! I have crocheted since my early 20s, and picked it up off and on since then, but recently, thanks to Karen merely mentioning her yarn stash, I'm loving it again! I have had these pretty yarns for a few years and have made a few projects, but recently rediscovered their allure.

My latest acquisition called Lion Brand Home Town -  planning to make a hat and a neck scarf

I'd love to make some wild socks out of these!

I've had these for awhile and can't decide what to make, but I love each color!

These sparklies will be neck scarves for the holidays

My most expensive purchase, this skein is Scheepjes Whirl in Green Tea Tipple

and contains a whopping 1000-plus yards! Maybe an afghan!

After Boomer the puppy chewed up my old craft bag, Mr DIY Guy told me to order a new one, so I got a nice one on Amazon (link here for those who asked!). It holds my projects, has a place for crochet needles, and has a clear plastic top with holes for my yarn to feed out as I use it. In the side pockets I have embroidery projects. And I keep it far out of reach of Boomer.😉

Made a bed runner for the guest bedroom and blogged about it here

Made myself a hat to keep my head warm this winter!

My current project is a red beanie with a stripe of white, as a nod to the crimson and cream colors of our favorite Oklahoma Sooners football team!

I am linking this post to Joy's Monday This And That and to Melva's Monday Sew and Tell!