Well it seems like I get side tracked very easily and don't post as often as I should. I come back to find the following announcement which leaves me scratching my head wondering what they are talking about and my blog looking totally foreign. What am I supposed to do with this?

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Did You Know

As some of you may know I have been selling Accuquilt Products since 2010. I have been using the cutters and dies so long that if I can't make a quilt using the dies I have (and they are many) I don't want to make that pattern. I know that sounds silly but after using them for so long it is really faster to cut lots of different pieces using the cutter and dies. Depending on which cutter you are using you can cut 6 or 10 layers at a time. If you have an Accuquilt system but would like to know more about getting more ideas on how to use it you can watch the live videos they do every week on Wednesday at Noon CDT (convert to your time where ever you may be.) They last between 30 minutes to 50 minutes and you can pick up tips even if you have been using your cutter for awhile.

Meanwhile last week I took a class at Bobbins Quilt and Sew in Buhl, Idaho and we made a potholder in the hoop. It is a Kimber Bell design and there are six fruit designs on the CD. They are made to be Chenilled but I like them just sewn. Think I will head out to the quilt room and try the Pineapple.
If you have something to share would love to see it.

Turning the Churn Dash Block into a Folded Corners Block

I have seen several people wanting a pattern to make the Folded Corners block.  This is a variation of the Churn Dash Block seen here. 
As you can see the first block is a traditional two color Churn Dash block. The second block is the folded corners block. This block uses a light, a medium and a dark of whatever color family you choose to use and a background fabric. To get a 12" finished block if you are using Accuquilt dies you will need a 4.5" half square triangle #55031, a 4.5" square # 55060 or the one on the value die #55018 (both of these will finish at 4") and a 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle #55159 and the 2.5" half square triangles die # 55063 or the shape on the #55018 value die.
The only difference between these two blocks is using
4 colors for the folded corners instead of 2 for the Churn Dash. The next difference is that on the outside rectangle you add 2 2.5" 2"f half square triangles to make a flying geese unit on all four outside pieces  using the dark fabric.

If I have confused you please let me know. If you make some of these block please share

If you wanted to make the block 9"f instead of twelve you would use the die # 55006 3"f square, 55009 3"f half square triangles, #55158 Rectangles and 55319 for the half square triangles to make the flying geese with the rectangle units.

What have you been doing While Staying Safe?

Hope everyone has been taking care of themselves and staying safe. Since I work from home most of the time I have been getting some things done and making slow progress on organizing the quilt room. Last year I learned about a die company from Austrailia called

A1 Craft and Quilting or as most call them Blue Wren. They make some cool dies I haven't seen anywhere else so I have ordered a few of them and tried them out. For Christmas they have dies for Kangaroos pulling the sleigh.  
This is one of the dies I will be trying in the near future. Trying to decide on fabrics. Also for the first time ever I tried the Tumbling Blocks no Y seams. The 6" size goes together really fast but sure uses up some material. These are just a couple of things I have been playing with. Have you been doing some sewing and making projects while staying home. Even if you have been quilting are there other things you make? 
Well guess I will read for awhile. 

In the Quilt Room Today

Today was a good day and I spent some time in the quilt room. I have been working to get things cleaned up and organized so hopefully I can get busy finishing a mountain of projects that have been collecting. Some need borders added so they can be quilted some are a set of blocks made and just need to be made into a top so it can be quilted. That's my main goal this year to get as many of them quilted or ready to be quilted. We will see how well I do. Is anyone else trying to finish projects? I will be posting finishes as I can get them done hopefully it will work out to at least one a month. Will see how well I do.

I Am Once Again Going to Try Very Hard to Post More Often

I have been wanting to get back to doing Machine Embroidery. I used to do some many years ago and quit when we decided we needed to live somewhere other than WA state and started looking for a place to live. We looked for about 3 years and finally decided that we liked the Rupert, Idaho area and started looking for a place to buy. We purchased our place in Sept/Oct of 2008 went back to WA and started packing to bring some things down before winter set in. We managed one load  and went back to WA and packed up everything we could to be ready to start moving after the winter. By the end of 2009(and 7 loads later) I came down around the end of October and stayed here for the next 6 weeks while my husband was in WA taking care of some things and getting another load ready to bring down. My quilt room with all my material, quilting machine, other sewing machines etc. took one and 1/2 loads to move. The full load of the quilt room was the heaviest load we moved. So now that we have been here for 12 years I have finally started back to learn how to do machine embroidery again. So this November during the Black Friday sales I purchased a Janome 500 e and so far I am really enjoying it. There are a bunch of tutorials on youtube which have helped quite a bit and the book that comes with the machine is pretty good compared to some I have seen. The reason for such a long post is that my fourth project was done today and I'm quite pleased with how well it came out. The Tiger can be found on the Urban Threads website.

Catching Up Once Again

 It seems I am always running behind these days. Accuquilt has been keeping me busy with new die releases this year. There is a sale of up to 40% off of 60+ selected dies going on thru July 31st. More new dies being released in August and special EVENTS going on at Signature Dealers around the county where if you are lucky enough to attend you can purchase the new Arkansas Traveler Die which is only available at these events. When researching within a 200 mile radius around me the 9 other Signature Dealers listed not one of them shows or mentions Accuquilt products, classes or events or any items made using the Accuquilt products. I would host an event if I could afford to do one which sadly I can not do at this time. 
On a much lighter note the AccuCutUps group on Facebook meets the third Wednesday of the month. Each month we a block of the groups choice and have been having a good time learning about the dies and patterns to be made using them. In June we were fortunate to have a couple of guests who made blocks with us.
These are just a couple of the things I have been working on. The bottom left is Frankie exhausted after all the sewing I have been doing. Hope you are all getting things done that you wanted to make with more projects in mind to do. 

Welcome to 2019

The time sure flies the older you get the faster it goes. I don't know if I mentioned it or not but I am an Authorized Retailer of Accuquilt Cutters and Dies. I have a facebook group (AccuCutUps) for my customers so we can exchange ideas, ask questions post our projects and so on. We meet monthly to sew and visit sometimes we do a potluck and other times we just bring a lunch. At the request of the group we do a block of the month so they can check out dies they may be interested in adding to their inventory. The block for February will be the Pineapple Die which I have been having lots of fun with. I made a table runner that needs quilting and a couple of other block playing with some color packets I had on hand. We have also done the Kite Block, Lemoyne Star, Ohiostar, Blazing Star, Apple Core and if I remember correctly we also did the Snail's Trail. We will be meeting again on 20 February if you are going to be in the Rupert, Idaho area and would like to join us you can contact me for directions at 208-430-7144 or email is ohiostar46@gmail.com .
By the way in the previous post I mentioned the contest Warm Company was having. I did not win but I thank all my family, friends and customers who did go and vote for me it was fun to see the many different quilt shops and quilting businesses nominated.

The Warm Company is Having a contest

Hello All,

The Warm Company this link will take you to their contest. It is a vote for your Favorite Small Business the winner will receive a roll of batting. Who can't use some batting.

I've also been showing a block a month in the AccuCutUps group I have for my customers on Facebook. So far we have done the Ohio Star, Lemoyne Star, Hunter's Star, Flowering Snowball, Apple Core, Spider Web and the Kite die. I don't remember off the top of my head if there were anymore but we will be doing the Pineapple die in January. If the weather is bad I 'm thinking of doing in as a blog tutorial so you could just follow the steps here and sew at home.

So what has everyone been making this fall with all their fabrics. This year was Accuquilt's 10th anniversary so they released several new dies which has kept me busy making samples so I'd know what the patterns looked like and how to put them together. Here a few I tried out. The Pineapple Die, Leaping Frog, Bear Paw and Spider Web.


Also made the Spool Die, the Lemoyne Star, Blazing Star, Flowering Snowball and the Wonky Heart. I did a couple of Christmas Trees from the Christmas Medley die and practiced using the embroidery you can get for them. I'm going to be trying more of that in the coming year. I'm learning the Embrilliance software and using it on my new Brother PE 770. Hope to be posting more of that in the coming months. 

You can find other pictures of things I have been doing at Instagram.com/ohiostar46 if you'd like to see what I have been up to. I'd love to see what you have been doing if you'd like to share.

Happy Halloween

Hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Fall is definitely here in Idaho we've had some rain and the days are getting back to 50's and 60's hope they last for awhile I'm not ready for cold weather yet.

Have been working in the quilt room making a couple of Trick or Treat bags to send to my Great Granddaughters. One is in Michigan and the other is in Pennsylvania. I'll have to get the pictures transferred from my phone to an album so I can find them when I want to post them. They can be seen on my Instagram account which is https://www.instagram.com/ohiostar46/ if you would like to see some of my pictures.

Are you working on Christmas already or some other projects. Would love to see what you have been doing.

Anita

Thoughts Going Thru My Mind

I have been thinking a lot lately about America and our Military. There have been members of our family serving in the military since the Civil War and probably before that though I haven't any knowledge of that at this time. In my time (72 years) my 7 brothers have served in the Marines and one in the Air Force all but three have passed away. My husband served 22 years in the Navy during Vietnam and after. He also has 7 brothers most of whom served in the Navy, Army and one in the Air Force. We were very lucky that those in our families who served during the Vietnam War all came home alive. Within the last year I discovered a song written by Sailor Jerry called The Veteran's Hallelujah 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msYPbjFC50w which you can listen to if you click on this link. 

This song really grabs me and makes me think about the times I would hear things on the news and sit worrying, waiting to hear was it happening somewhere near where I knew one of my family members were wondering if they were okay or was someone in uniform going to knock on my door with news I didn't want to hear. The times I stood on the pier watching the ship pull out, then filling the days until I could once again stand on the pier watching that same ship pull back in and waiting to see my husband among all the uniforms. 

We the wives, husbands, kids, parents and other family members are the support staff that make it possible for the men and women of our military to do what they do knowing we are here keeping things running and ready for them to come home to as soon as they can. It is a job that I have been proud to do and it is the way I have served my country. So to all those currently serving and those who have served THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE it is appreciated and to all of us who are support staff I also Thank you for YOUR SUPPORT.

Anita

I Have Such Good Intentions

I always have such good intentions when I do a post to do them more often and then I get busy and forget to do them. 
I entered a quilt in our County Fair last week and won a Blue Ribbon, a Best in Division-Quilts, a Judge's Choice and a Gift Certificate to the local quilt shop. All this happened on my Birthday so it really made my day.

Other news if you are in Eastern Idaho on October 12th and 13th the Portneuf Valley Quilt Guild is having their Quilt Show. The show is called The Quilter's Harvest. I'm planning to enter a quilt or two and am giving some thought to having a booth to Show Accuquilt products. IF you attend and I do have a booth please stop and say hello.


 This is my quilt. It measures 52" x 66".

Spring Has Finally Arrived in Southern Idaho

Once again I have been among the missing. Have been busy trying to get some quilt tops put together so now I have to get them quilted. I have also started a group on Facebook for my Accuquilt customers for a place to meet and share what they have been doing or ask questions if they need help with something. I will also be starting a block of the month for the AccuCutUps group. It will help people see how the die is used and whether or not they might want to add the die to their collection. Our first die will be the Ohio Star die.


Other things going on here Frankie has grown like gang busters and now weighs 13 pounds and provides much entertainment. He has taken quite a liking to Echo. When I got up out of my chair this is what was sitting in front of me. Echo puts up with him rubbing all over him and sleeping with him in his bed. He goes around loving on everyone who will let him. Still just falls over where ever he feels like it and goes to sleep. Carl has started calling him Middle of the Road Frankie because he is always in the middle of where ever you want to walk.

Progress has been Made this week

One thing and another has kept me from getting things done this winter. Now that the weather is trying to get better here in Southern Idaho I have been able to play in the quilt room this past week. I managed to get two tops finished and ready to be quilted. Now if I can just keep that up. These aren't my best pictures the day was cloudy so the light was not good. Also the flash on the camera created a washed out spot on the Ohio Star quilt. Anyway you get the idea. Both of these were cut with the Accquilt Studio and GO dies. Once you get the cutting directions figured out and your fabrics cut correctly the Blazing Star is very easy to piece and sew together. Will post better pictures when they are quilted. I am now off to the quilt room to try out another pattern. We'll see how it goes so stay tuned. What are you working on?

 

Does Anyone Else Get Packages Damaged

Today I received a package I had ordered with a couple of new product used for cooking. This is what it and the contents looked like:

 The small hole in the bag leaked fine powder all over everything. 

Meet Frankie

 This little guy is Frankie. I found him in our backyard just laying in the grass with no sign of a Mom or siblings. So I picked him up and brought him in the house. With a Hawk in the neighborhood I couldn't leave him outside by himself. So in the 4 weeks he's been with us he has really grown and blossomed. He knows no fear and plays at full speed then all the sudden he just collapses where ever he happens to be and takes a nap.

He has been such a joy. We have laughed until we hurt at his antics and the other cats have finally stopped hissing at him and are now playing with him.

 He'd been with us about a week and he started crawling up in my knitting bag and then making his way into my recliner so he can get me to play with him. One time I found him sleeping on the knitting bag.
Tonight he went over to see Echo our dog and laid there playing with the leash. That is a first usually if Echo looks at him he will hiss and dares Echo to try something. When Echo turned his head Frankie just laid there and didn't react. They may make friends yet. I think we have another fur child.

Making an Ohio Star Block using Accuquilt Go and Die

This is a tutorial to show how I use the Ohio Star Die # 55174 to make this quilt. The Ohio Star Die cuts the 4.5"quarter square triangles used to make the star points for the block and it also cut five 4.5 " square which are the corner blocks and the center block of the square. Both the quarter square triangles and the square finish at 4". In this quilt I used 12 blocks set 3 x 4.

As you can see I have marked my die with the size of the blocks. To this measurement I added 1/2" to allow the material to cover the blades. I find that if I cut my fabrics to fit the die plus one half inch I waste less fabric than if I try to fan fold it. You may use whatever method works best for you.

I will use the colors I used in the quilt to make one block as an example. You may make your stars whatever color you want. I cut a strip of blue 5 3/4" by width of fabric. From that strip I was able to cut seven 5 3/4" squares. To make 12 blocks you will need 3.5 strips of fabric 5 3/4" by WOF to make enough squares for twelve blocks since you will need two blue square per block and 24 squares of blue fabric in total to make the blue star points for 12 quilt blocks.

Next I cut a strip of the red fabric 5 3/4" by WOF which also gave me seven 5 3/4" squares. You need one 5 3/4" square per block which means you need 12 total. Two strips of 5 3/4" by WOF strips of the red and two strips background will give you enough squares for 12 blocks.

The squares above when cut apart will give you the cut pieces shown on the right side which when sewn together will give you one complete block. I used a pre printed block in my center you can use the same color as your background or a 4 patch or a red center what ever you want to use in the center.

When I sew the quarter square together I lay them out as pictured. I flip the red triangle on the right to the blue on the top and sew the seam. Then I flip the bottom blue to the white (background) triangle and sew that seam. I usually press my seams open to reduce bulk then sew the two halves together. Do this 4 times and you have all your star points ready to lay out your block and sew the 9 squares into a block as shown on the right.

I hope you find this helpful in using your Ohio Star Die and making an Ohio Star Quilt. If you have any questions please do contact me. 

Two New Dies for Accuquilt

 Accuquilt is releasing The Spool and The Wonky Hearts Die today. They both make a 6" finished block. As you can see I had a chance to get the dies early so I could make up a couple of sample pieces. They are both very easy to sew. I really enjoyed doing the spools and even though I'm not really a wonky heart person the block was very easy to cut out and sew. There is a video out on doing these blocks on the Accuquilt website by Pam Heller and she was doing the wonky hearts using a layer cake of batiks. Very pretty blocks. Give these dies a try and let me know how you like them.

I Love my Accuquilt Studio Cutter

How many of you have the Studio Cutter? I purchased mine after I started selling the Go and the Baby. I like all the cutters but hands down my favorite is my Studio. Recently the Studio Dies went on sale and I had just discovered the Hawaiian Dies so I quickly purchased a couple of the dies to try. These two dies with one cut give you a Negative and a Positive look. These are just two of 8 different dies by Stacy Michell you can use to make a Hawaiian Quilt . I have since purchased the Dolphins, Palm Trees and the Butterfly Dies. When I get a couple of them cut out will be posting more pictures here. These are really fun to do. Now I just have to sit down and sew around the pieces so I can figure out how I want to set them together. Soon as I figure that out I'll post pictures.  Have you made any of these block if so have you posted pictures of them somewhere? I'd love to see pictures and how you put them together. I've been having so much fun out in the quilt room hope you are also having fun with your quilting.

Click for Babies

Happy August I am coming up for air once again. I hadn't intended to be quiet this long but as life sometimes does we were thrown an unexpected surprise in June when we went for our 6 months health check ups. The end result is my DH had Open Heart Surgery on 12 July so I have been busy taking care of him. He is doing much better and I am able to spend some time sewing now which I really needed it is my therapy. I did manage to get this finished and ready to deliver.

Tomorrow I am making some dill pickles and some bread and butter pickles. So that is it for now I have some time to go sew for awhile maybe I'll be able to post pictures of what I am doing in the next couple of days.

Oh the reason for the headline:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/national/knitters-needed-to-create-purple-caps-for-babies/581687440

Saw this online and thought I'd pass it on in case anyone is interested in doing this. If you do let me know so we can post pictures of what you got done.