Although my Covid-induced creative slump persists, I did manage to complete the monthly vintage tree block

and finish a beaded Christmas ornament, made from a Mill Hill kit purchased years ago.

I got the binding sewn onto a very special quilt I started in April of this year and hope to post about that before the year is up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ta-da! It’s done!

Welcome to this Friday edition of TerifiCreations! Today I’m sharing the first in a series of interview of quilty people, some interviews will be specifically geared toward all things Quilt Market. Today I talk with Lee Chappell Monroe the creative genius behind May Chappell. We cover everything from her new book and the first thing… Continue reading An Interview With Lee Chappell Monroe

Here’s the September vintage tree block:

I only hope that when the data’s analyzed, a weakness can be found.

Princess Leia Organa

I only hope that when the blocks are finished, a layout can be found.

                                                                                                 Me

Just yesterday, this is what my latest quilt top looked like: As you can probably see, the center square was complete, but I hadn’t yet attached the borders. Those border sections to surround the outer triangles, which are just pinned in place, weren’t even cut out, as I was still figuring the dimensions of those […]

I think I’ve cut out all of the major pieces for my current project — it took a while, since I had to wait for the black background fabric to arrive. However, I’ve now pieced the central LeMoyne Star and have begun working on the feathered star that surrounds it. Most of what you see […]

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been taking a fantastic set of online classes from Philippa Naylor. The last class in the series is a tutorial on making a feathered star quilt with a LeMoyne Star center. I’ve always loved both feathered stars and LeMoyne Stars, so this was a no-brainer for me. As I rooted […]

Not much to report this month as I’ve been busy with a very special project, which I hope to begin posting about soon, once the remaining two sides of the binding have been sewn.

In the meantime, here is August’s vintage tree block

and a few photos of progress on my 1930s postage stamp quilt top.

Earlier today, I caught Fat Quarter Shop’s just-released video about making a 9 x 9 postage stamp block consisting of 81 one-inch squares, in which Kimberly stressed the importance of pinning every intersection for best results. I chuckled a little, as ...

The latest quilt is now finished! I had such a good time quilting this one, especially since I wasn’t constantly fighting the weight as I moved it around under my Bernina, thanks to my new suspension system. The background fabric is a white-on-white fabric with happily flitting dragonflies, which is where I got the name […]

Here’s a helpful hint for flat seams while making quilt tops!

When making blocks that have a four-patch construction, use a “split seam” technique when pressing to help the seams of the quilt top lie flatter. Press the first seam allowances toward the darker fabric. After sewing the two units together, pull the center to pop the last couple of stitches from the original seams.

Press the “split” seam open in the opposite directions. You’ll see a tiny four-patch unit where the seams come together.

This technique works for all blocks with a center seam: pinwheels, double 4-patch ...

This quilt has now been on my design wall for several months. I felt like doing something different, so I thought that I would work on it. I had the fabric strips and extra pieces in a project box but no pattern...where did this project come from?  

Mystery UFO (UnFinished Object) solved

First clue: I checked to see when I had first taken pictures of the quilt on my design wall. I found this picture in December on my Studio Tour post, and on my phone it first appeared in mid-November. It would seem that I didn't write ...

I haven’t posted for a while, but I have finally finished the top I’ve been working on. This photo shows just the completed top, but yesterday I also pin basted it for quilting. Of course, I haven’t yet decided how I’m going to quilt it, but that will come. In the meantime, here’s the top […]

When I first started blogging, I wrote about my design process – actually – the lack of one, and surprisingly, it has received a fair amount of attention. In particular, readers have inquired about the 20″ block shown in that post and how to construct it.

In response, I’ve created a rudimentary graphic of the block’s units, their finished sizes and the construction sequence. Although it does not explain how to make the units (most quilters have a favorite method of producing half-square triangles and flying geese), it does cover the basics which I hope those who are interested will ...

The quilt I’m working on needs sixteen Snail’s Trail blocks, and my Bernina and I finished making those today — yay! I still need to make 25 pieced cornerstone blocks and 20 diamond sashing blocks, but these Snail’s Trail blocks have more pieces in them than the others. Hmmm … I see that I managed […]

I saw a quilt online recently and thought it looked like a fun one to make, so I bought the downloadable design. Oops. After downloading it and reading the instructions, I discovered that those instructions basically said to follow the directions on the two specialty rulers required for the design — and those rulers added […]

You will need ...

Amazingly, I am two months ahead of schedule in the production of my vintage tree blocks, having just completed July’s block. I was able to get ahead due to a work assignment to listen to a 24-episode Great Courses Plus course on energy. You can get a lot of piecing done in 12 hours and it really helped keep me awake for the lectures. Still, I did learn a lot, and piecing while listening helped me through some of the more scientific parts pertaining to chemistry and physics that were beyond my capacity.

Here are the April, May, June ...

 The Flabellum quilt-along started a few weeks back and guess what? Yes of course I am already behind. I was on time to cut all the pieces but then I was working on other (non-quilt) projects so I never started the piecing on time. Finally last week I went through the chain piecing to make all these garlands from week 1.

Week 2 was all about cutting off the garlands and ironing the strips....

Week 3 was about making the building blocks, 36 units, which I finally made this week-end

In week 4, we are making the blocks, all 9 ...

The most recent of the online classes I’m taking from Philippa Naylor teaches techniques of making a miniature quilt. I’ve done some minis before, but I’ve usually paper pieced them; the bit and pieces of the sample quilt for this lesson are traditionally machine pieced instead. I’m not certain that I’ll make the entire quilt, […]