A Year of Spools – Sew Sunny

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 4 Comments

#sewsunnyblock, #quilting, #sunflowerquiltblock, #shabbyfabrics

The local sunflowers are in full bloom and they are absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I did not plant sunflowers this year and I’m not sure why. LOL So I will enjoy my sunflowers indoors. This is my make from the Shabby Fabrics block of the month, A Year of Spools. The pattern suggests flipping the direction of each sunflower spool, but I chose to have both of my sunflowers in an upright position:

These kits contain all the fabric needed to cut and assemble the block. So I just rolled with it and stitched mine with the provided fabrics. There is a hanging sleeve on the back, and I also added one of my Sweetwater quilt labels:

The hanging sleeve is convenient if you are using a hanger such as an Ackfeld wire hanger. I keep mine on the wall in my sewing room.

But since this is actually sunflower season, I want to display my wall hanging in my dining area where I have a permanent quilt hanger mounted on the wall. This is an Amish quilt hanger that I purchased at a local quilt shop:

Whenever I walk through the dining room and see my new quilt block, I am reminded of what a great time of year this is. The mornings are noticeably cooler and the daytime temps are not skyrocketing.

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Sunflower Slope – On Wander Lane

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 2 Comments

This week I am sharing my most recent make for the On Wander Lane Mini Quilt Club through Shabby Fabrics. It is a nod to summer’s end with the orange-yellow of the lovely flowers. I’m leaving those flowers to your interpretation. They could be sunflowers, dahlias, marigolds, or whatever you see in them.

Since this is a pre-cut and pre-fused applique kit, my finished mini quilt does look like the photo. Go figure. Hee Hee

However, I decided to use a background quilting file (Wavy-1) from Kimberbell and I “quilted” this little design with my embroidery machine. I used the Kimberbell Project Batting and Glide thread #15315 (Smoke). It was a quick and efficient way to get this little project completed. I plan to finish out the other 10 club shipments in the same manner.

The back has a hanging sleeve and one of my labels from my subscription with Sweetwater.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today, sewing friends. If you are so inclined, please leave a comment**. I enjoy hearing from the sewing community.

Next week begins a couple weeks of sharing some quick, summer tops that I have stitched up recently. Enjoy what is left of July and I will meet you back here in August.

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Hiding in Plain Sight – A Civil War Era Inspired Quilt

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 4 Comments

#quilting, #anotiontosew, #quilts

I learned a lot in making this quilt. The pattern is from the book Beyond the Battlefield, 14 Scrappy Civil War Quilts. Each quilt pattern is accompanied by the story of a heroic woman who played a role in America’s Civil War.

I participated in a class at one of my local quilt stores. We learned to use our Accuquilt Dies to cut all the pieces for the blocks. The class was designed for the 8″ Cube, but I own the 9″ Cube, so my quilt ended up just a bit larger than the others in the class. The finished dimensions of my quilt are 90″ x 90″.

I quilted it with free motion quilting. I’m not sure what the design is called, but I just call it wonky figure eights. I used nice, large quilting motions so the stitching would not be too dense. I was going for a soft, drapeable feel.

I used various fabrics from a curated fat quarter bundle. The fabrics are from various artists and various manufacturers.

I wanted a small coordinating throw to fold and display on top of my new quilt at the foot of my bed, so I made this soft, cuddly little blanket. I used Luxe Cuddle Paws fabric from Shannon Fabrics. And for the reverse side, I used flannel.

My little friend, Wolfgang, gave it a big paws up!!!

As always, I am very appreciative of the time you take to read my blog. Please leave a comment**. I enjoy hearing from sewing and quilting friends and I value your thoughts.

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