Category Archives: Tu-Na Quilts

Tu-Na Quilts: A French Poodle for Moi

June is my month in the Bee Inspired Group to be the Queen Bee or the Hive Mama or the Bee Boss or whatever we call ourselves when it’s our month to ask our Bee mates to sew a block for us. I gave them all a heads up last month to check their quilty passports because we would be heading to a destination far away. This is so exciting!

I got my inspiration for a block from several sources, one of which is this lovely piece of fabric I happened upon while my mom and I were fabric looking (not shopping since I never intended to buy anything) early this winter.

I could also title this post “How a Free Fat Quarter cost me $68.00” because this was not the only piece I found.

We each had coupons for a free fat quarter (no purchase needed) which is why we happened to be in that quilt shop in the first place. Well once I spied this piece on the clearance shelf I just had to have it as it was perfect for my Parisian themed guest room. At the time of purchase, I had no idea how I would use it. But you all know that’s just how it is sometimes…a lot of times.

I remembered seeing a poodle pattern on the blog The Objects of Design. If you haven’t had a chance to check out her blog, you are definitely missing some real talent and some other fun free block patterns.

Isn’t she cute!! I want to make a few more.

I posted the links to this free pattern and tutorial, some construction tips, some pics of the room where the quilt is intended, and the inspiration behind this block on the Bee Inspired Blog. You can find it here.

There will be a pack of proud French poodles posting my way soon. I’ll be sure to take some pics of them when they arrive.

What I Learned Today:

A group of dogs is called a pack or kennel.
A group of crows is called a murder—I actually learned that last month from Velda and her crows so I guess I learned today that I still remember that little piece of trivia.
I only have to mail out two blocks for the other two Bee groups to which I belong.
June will go very fast anyway.

Question: Let’s have a little fun with groups. Pick out an animal or a group of people or group of something and tell us what a group of them is called. Here’s another one to get you started: A group of elephants is called a parade or herd. Speaking of elephants, I better get busy sewing a little parade of elephants on that baby quilt soon as that baby is not getting any younger or smaller!

Linking to Monday Making, Moving It Forward, Main Crush Monday, Sew Fresh Quilts, and Midweek Makers, Katie Mae Quilts BOMS Away,

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate and read all your comments, suggestions, and questions. I reply by email and often here on the blog as well as time permits. But sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I get behind. Just know that I value your taking the time to comment. Until next time, keep that needle flying!

Karen

Tu-Na Quilts: The May Bee Blocks Were on Their Way Before Month’s End

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May’s Bee blocks were so much fun to make and again were hard to send away as I wanted to keep them for myself. I thought by doing these Bees I would be able to narrow down all the quilts I want to make but instead I’ve lengthened my list.

I may not have made much progress with the elephant quilt this last week as I was busy with cleaning the sewing room and organizing the stash but the May Bee blocks are done and gone. I’ve also made my own block to request from my Bee mates which I will reveal on another post.

This 16″ faux nine patch in a nine patch block went to Irene in North Carolina.

Irene, who is a member of the Bee Inspired Group wanted pale grays or soft gray and white fabrics with no other colors. Yes, that itty bitty 9 patch almost in the center has pieces that finish at 1/2.” The slightly larger 9 patch in the center of the block has pieces that finish at 1.5.” I find it amazing how big 1.5 inch pieces are after working with 1 inch pieces. You can read Irene’s story and get the pattern tutorial here if you’d like to make some for yourself. She’s making this quilt for herself and I also included a little reading material within that block just in case she can’t sleep.

Since it was quite large, I carefully folded it and put it in a small manila envelope. It mailed for 70 cents.

The next block I tackled actually took longer to pick out the fabrics than to sew it. I had pulled so many different fabrics but finally settled on this.

These cats went to Jan in California.

Each cat block is 9 1/2 inches so she asked for two sewn together. I’m glad she did as they look so cute next to each other. Jan’s post and simple tutorial can be found here. The pattern comes from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. If you’d like to make a batch for yourself, you can watch Jenny demonstrate these Pins and Paws Blocks here. Jenny is fun to watch and she makes sewing anything seem so easy.

I put these cats in a legal size envelope but they were overweight so it cost 70 cents to mail with a word of caution from the postal worker that fabric gets caught in their machines. So I’m hoping these little beauties make it safely to California.

Finally, the last block for the month was completed and I had a really hard time sending it off. Luckily for me, I have at least a yard of each of the fabrics and they have been set aside so I can make a stunning star quilt for myself.

Cathy in Montana is the recipient of this beauty.

The pattern and tutorial for this 12 1/2″ unfinished Double Star block can be found here. While it looks complicated and I dreaded doing it for a long time, actually almost all month, it really went together well. I learned a new way to make those flying geese that didn’t waste fabric. I was really leery about that method on the tutorial but it worked really well. I followed Cathy’s advice to increase the 2 7/8″ pieces that are used for the half-square triangles (the teal dot and navy on my block) to 3″ and trim after sewing.

Cathy asked us to choose a fabric to fussy cut for the center and then match another fabric for the accent points. She’s hoping for a rainbow of colors. To round out the quilt and to provide some color consistency to it, she asked for navy, white, and gray fabrics and told us where to locate them in the block. I can’t wait to see her quilt as I think it will be stunning. It mailed for 49 cents.

I must admit that when I first pulled that coneflower fabric off the shelf, I thought it to be rather ugly but I needed something that could be fussy cut. So I looked at what I had for the accent and settled on the teal dot. Wow! Now I want to make a whole quilt of teal coneflowers.

Oh, and I have ugly yellow coneflowers with a green background and ugly pink coneflowers with a brownish background. I wonder what I could pair them up with?

What I Learned Today:

There’s always more than one way to solve a problem or make flying geese blocks.
Joining three Bees might have been a mistake as it was supposed to help me narrow down the list of quilts I want to make but has instead increased the list.
Sometimes the things or projects I dread the most actually end up being the best.
I need to be sewing in my sleep or hire someone to sew for me so that I can start and finish making all the quilts I want.
My quilting life is so full of choices, decisions, and endless possibilities.

Question: Have you ever had any difficulty mailing fabric or hearing that it got caught in the postal machines?

Linking to Sew Can She, Monday Making, Em’s Scrapbag, Main Crush Monday and Sew Fresh Quilts. Katie Mae Quilts BOMS Away

Tu-Na Quilts: Velda’s Crows

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I had a lot of fun sewing the crow blocks for Velda last month. She blogs over at Granny Can Quilt. Those crows took on a personality by themselves. By the time I was done, fabric had flown all over and a huge mess was everywhere.

So I wrote Velda a letter to introduce these feisty crows and included it when I mailed them to her.

You can read more about my April Bee Blocks here.

Here’s a peek at the letter I sent and then you can see if you can pick out who is who.

Hi, Velda!

I really don’t know what happened but I woke up this morning and a whole murder of crows were flitting about my sewing room. Unfortunately, they are not a quiet bunch. So I shut the window fearing anymore would fly in, opened the envelopes (there are two) and shoved them in. Such a ruckus they had so I am warning you as you open the envelopes that “all hell will break lose” in your house.

Let me introduce you to (you’ll have fun picking them out or at least I hope you do):

Charles: This is one sophisticated “he” crow. He’s dashing and debonair, and very stylish although his pants never seem to match his other attire. He tends to choose pants that make him appear taller than he actually is.
Sharlamane: She prefers going by Sharla and gets rather snippy if you address her formally. She’s a sister to Millie and one colorful bird—both with her attire and her language. But rumor has it that she’s got cold feet with the fellas.
Henrietta: This is one sassy old crow; probably stemming from the fact that she was raised by a bunch of chickens. She’s always poking her nose err beak into other’s business and turns green with envy. You can tell when she’s going to throw a fit as her beak starts to turn color first.
Millie: She’s an entomologist. Birds, bees, and other insects just seem to follow her everywhere. You can barely tell she’s Sharla’s sister as they never see eye to eye on anything but they do have some similarities.
Harry: Now he’s a navy man err crow. He’s always loved the sea. Some of the ladies think he’s rather a “stuck in the mud” kind of guy. Once he’s made up his mind about something there’s no changing it. Watch out for this one. Once he’s attached to you, there’s no way to get him to move on.
Roberto: This dashing dude crow thinks he’s hot stuff. The ladies really swoon over him. When he starts talking and flapping and doing his little crow dance, he gets everything and everyone stirred up around him. I think you’ll fall for him too. I had a hard time saying goodbye as I was smitten from first glance.
Gertrude: This sweet crow would do anything for anyone. Unless you call her Gertie. Then you’ve made her bad side. She’s always cleaning up around her. Her little beak is always so busy with tidying up that it often looks sore. Dust seems to follow her where ever she goes.
Harvey: This delightful crow is rather a noisy and nosey fella. He’s always poking his beak into other crow’s business so much it often looks like it’s sporting a bruise.
Abigail: She’s always running late and always in a hurry. She doesn’t seem to mind wearing two different socks. Don’t get in her way or she’ll run right over you.

And there you have these delightfully noisy crows to stay with you forever. Sorry, but I don’t sew quietly. I know you said you didn’t want more but I couldn’t help myself as this was such a fun project. Maybe you can use the extras on the back or just make your quilt larger. Thanks for helping me out.

Have fun, Karen

Now it’s your turn to have a little fun. Can you tell which crow is which? Click on Crow Quiz below to take you to my quiz to see if you can correctly identify the names of these feisty but oh so colorful, new, feathery friends of Velda’s. Thank you to my newly college graduated son for creating this quiz for me (I guess 4 years of college really paid off) He was able to graduate in 4 years with a degree in Computer Science AND another degree in Electrical Engineering. This is one proud mama!

Crow Quiz

What I Learned Today:

When the fabric speaks to you, just go with it.
My quilting is more a matter of enjoying the process and less about creating the finishes.
It’s always stress-relieving to include a little fun in the process.
When it comes to computer stuff, it’s so much easier to ask for help or in my case let a kid do it for me.

Question: What have you done for fun lately?

Linking with Sew Fresh Quilts, Wednesday Wait Loss, Midweek Makers, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Sew Can She, and Em’s Scrapbag.

Tu-Na Quilts: Let’s Make Elephants

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Here’s what my elephant quilt looked like when the project stalled in March.

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Here’s how it traveled to North Dakota with me so that it could be finished.

I labeled each block and each row and used lots of Clover clips to hold the labels in place. Then all the sewn rows and the ones needing sewing were put into a new gallon Ziploc bag.

The trip took three days and I didn’t want any pieces getting lost or mixed up.

I also clipped each row together and included my hand-drawn pattern. I had bought a package of 100 Clover clips when I was in Bismarck last summer (using a 50% off coupon from JoAnns) and took half of them to Arizona in the fall. Now they’ve come back to my ND home. I sure hope I remember to take them back to AZ with me or I’ll be buying more down there.

This quilt is for my best friend’s granddaughter. That baby just turned 6 months old and I might have to make it larger if I dawdle any longer.

I’ve already got 7 rows sewn. See how I labeled these rows. for transport? I sewed the paper label with the row number on the end of each finished row using a large stitch length. It only took a couple of minutes to do this and it is better than using pins.

My goal for this week is to move this project forward by:

Finish sewing the chevron rows.
Deciding whether to make the quilt a tad wider. I have most of the blocks made already if I decide to do so. Currently it measures 40″ x 56″. By adding two more blocks to each row (which completes the next peak in the chevron), it would be 48″ x 56″. What would you do?
Sewing up those three elephants and their background strip.
Sewing the top together.
Sandwiching the layers.
Free-motion quilting it. I already have a plan.

This list may be a bit ambitious (realistically I may only get thru number 3) as I also have to sew up and mail the three May Bee blocks this week. In addition, I am Queen for one Bee next month so I need to sew up a couple of test blocks and prepare a post.

To motivate me and keep me going, I thought I’d link with Em’s Scrapbag for Moving It Forward (love the tag line for her blog—”When life falls to pieces, make a quilt”).

And in case any of you are transporting quilt blocks, I’ll link with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for Tips and Tutorials Tuesday since I have some tips on keeping your blocks and rows organized. (Button is on the sidebar).

What I Learned Today:

I need something or someone to get me motivated.
Cold coffee tastes really good. I have a habit of pouring myself a cup and finding it three hours later.

Question: Would you make this quilt wider or not?

Other linky parties that I’m attending: Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication and Let’s Bee Social on Sew Fresh Quilts and Works in Progress at Silly Mama Quilts.

Tu-Na Quilts: April Bee Blocks are Done and Mailed

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My husband asked me, “Why do you participate in those Bees and then mail away your hard work?” So I thought I’d give you a list of the reasons why I choose to do so. Feel free to add other reasons in the comments sections why you participate, if you do so.

It gives me a good opportunity to try out block patterns to see which ones I’d eventually like to include in a future quilt. I can honestly say that most of the blocks I’ve sewn so far are ones that I probably would not have thought to use but now I see that many would make a beautiful quilt.
Sherry from Tennessee received this 16 1/2″ block. Those 40 little blue squares were not so little as they started out at 2 1/2″. She asked us to use any shade of blue including navy and turquoise but limit the use of pastels. I had to ask my mom for some of her blue fabrics to get a nice variety. Sherry’s daughter is getting married and these quilt squares will be part of her wedding quilt.

You can read more about this quilt here and get the pattern and tutorial here. This envelope cost me 70 cents to mail because it was overweight.
I learn new techniques (such as improv when I made Kate’s trees and gnomes block) that I probably would not have tried on my own. Yes, it puts me out of my comfort zone.
These Bee blocks allow me to use colors that I’d never put together on my own.
Lis from Nebraska asked for Tic Tac Toe using orange, pink and white. I probably would never have chosen to use those color combinations but it did look really nice when it was done. This block was 12 1/2″ unfinished.

If you are interested in making some of these Tic Tac Toe Blocks, you can find the pattern here. The postal attendant brought out the slot to check for its size and it didn’t go through. Thus it cost me 98 cents to mail. If you’ve read about my other blocks I’ve mailed each month, you probably agree that there appears to be no rhyme or reason behind the postal rates.
I get to “meet” other quilters from all over the world. I’ve shipped blocks to Canada, England, Australia as well as many states in the U.S.
Velda from Prince Edward Island in Canada asked for 4 crows for her block. She asked that we not sew them together so she could incorporate our crows along with hers in the quilt. Each little crow block was 6.5″ and really went together well. There were some improv parts such as the beaks. It was a good thing that I had already lifted the lid on my comfort zone box or these crows might have really been a stumbling block.

Velda’s got some crazy crows living close by that have been causing her such consternation as they create such a cacophony and conundrum around her house that she decided to embrace the chaos and celebrate them by making an incredible crow quilt. But these are not just your typical crows; they are a colorful bunch.

You can read Velda’s post here. Free downloadable patterns for birds or crows can be found here or here (this one is paper pieced but could be easily adapted to piecing).

Velda graciously volunteered to take my Bee month for April so I thought I’d send her some extra crows. I don’t know what happened as I cut out enough for 8 but as you can count there were 9 when I finished. But I didn’t stop there, I had some fun with these crazy crows and let their personality shine as I named each one and sent Velda a letter introducing them. I will share more about my unruly crows in my next post.

I put 4 crows in one envelope along with the letter and 5 in the other envelope. Evidently sending mail to Canada is expensive as each envelope was too thick to go through the 1/4″ slot (yes, they were checked), each was overweight (yes they were weighed), and each was leaving the country. Thereby, costing $2.50 to mail each envelope.
It allows me an opportunity to improve my sewing skills. I’ve become much better at matching seams and sewing an exact scant 1/4″ seam especially when it gets sent to someone else.
I get to participate in something bigger than just making a quilt for myself. I look forward to seeing those blocks I sent to others made into a quilt.
It’s fun!

What I Learned Today

I miss those crazy crows. I will have to make some for myself.
I need to sew up the May Bee Blocks early this week.
I will be Queen for one of the Bees next month which means I have to decide on a block pattern, sew one or two blocks, and write a post.
I do have a plan.

Question: What’s got you excited today?

Linking to:

Monday Making and Main Crush Monday. Buttons are on the sidebar, too.

I’m trying a new linky party this week. Show & Tell Monday with Bambi

Tu-Na Quilts: Catching up with the March Bee Blocks and the Continuing Postage Saga

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I got a bit behind. Actually, I got a lot behind with making my Bee blocks. I had a family emergency earlier this spring which took me away from quilting and blogging. In fact, I was supposed to be the April Queen Bee for two of the Bees but I didn’t want to take the time to sew up a block and write a blog post. I asked for a volunteer in each of those Bees to take over my month. My hive mates were gracious and understanding. Two hive mates jumped right in and volunteered to post for April and I was assigned a month later this year. By the end of April, I was caught up with all the March and April (coming under a separate post) blocks.

This block is called Checker. It went to Sherry in New Jersey.

Because it was already two weeks into April and this was supposed to have been mailed by the end of March, I decided to make two blocks. To save on postage, I used a suggestion from one of my readers and wrapped each block in Saran Wrap instead of using a Ziploc bag. I also decided to send each block in its own envelope. It must have worked as each envelope went for 49 cents.

Sherry chose orange and yellow half square triangles, gray rectangles with purple sashing. Yes these are purple. I think this block was 14.5″ square.

This was a fast block to sew. You can find the pattern for Checker here just in case you want to make some too.

This 14.5″ square block went to Shauna in Texas.

Next up were some star blocks. I made one in pink and the other in purple. Falling behind with making the Bee blocks was so easy to do. However, these star blocks were so fun to make that I made another one as payment for being late (more quilting interest). I packaged each in a separate envelope and they shipped for 49 cents each. Evidently they fit through a 1/4″ slot at the post office allowing them to ship at the regular first class rate.

Shauna asked that we use either a bright pink or a bright purple for the star. I think this quilt is going to look great!

You can find the patterns for these star blocks here or here. I bet you can’t stop with making just two.

The last blocks for March went to Kate in England. I have to admit I was a bit scared to tackle these improv blocks. When I bake, I follow recipes very closely. When I sew, I follow the pattern instructions closely. However, improv blocks allow for creativity and freely cutting without exact dimensions. Eek!! My brain doesn’t do improv.

Kate, who blogs at Smiles from Kate, started her tutorial post with this: “If you haven’t done any (improv blocks) before you don’t know what you have been missing and the great thing about a Bee is it takes you out of your comfort zone and you never know you may just find your perfect quilting technique.” It did take me out of my comfort zone. I think they came out very nice. I think this quilt is going to look smashing.

These blocks were 15 1/2″ square.

You can find the pattern for these trees and gnomes on Kate’s blog post here or in the original post where she discovered them here.

Kate asked that we make any number of gnomes and trees as long as there were one of each for a total of 6 per block. She says all the bee members made the same number: 4 trees and 2 gnomes (except for my extra block). My original plan was to make one block with 1 gnome and 5 trees and make the other block with 5 gnomes and 1 tree. Well, something happened as I made 7 trees instead of 6. Not wanting to have an orphan block, I adjusted the number of gnomes I needed and came up with this layout. Only after viewing the pictures, did I notice that I had put the gnomes and trees in the same positions in each block leaving the plain blocks in the same location. Talk about my not being able to think outside the box.

I carefully packaged each block and put them in separate envelopes. My husband and I discussed that they might be too thick to fit through the 1/4″ slot if the post office attendant brought it out to test them. In an effort to flatten them, we put a pile of heavy books on top. In the morning, they seemed even thicker than the night before. Sure enough, the envelopes were too thick and it would cost $3.23 per envelope. Upon further questioning we found out that we could save money if they were bundled together. So my husband, who had taken tape along with him to the post office, whipped out the tape and taped the envelopes together. This package now cost $4.16 saving us $2.30.

What I Learned Today:

Sewing an improv block is hard for me to do. Now that I have tried it, I might make more.
The end of the month comes very quickly.
Going to the post office to mail the Bee blocks can be entertaining.
Sometimes, I can’t think outside of the box.

Question: What blocks would you like to try but haven’t yet?

Linking to Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? and Finished or Not Friday. Buttons are on the sidebar.

I’ll be back in a few days with pics and info about the April Bee blocks, You’ll agree that the post is really for the birds.

Karen

Tu-Na Quilts

Tu-Na Quilts: Welcome to the Fourth and Final Week of the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

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We’ve come to the last week for this year’s New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.

That means one final week to visit some new blogs and one final week to enter to win some wonderful prizes from our sponsors.

This week’s line-up of Blooming Quilters hosted by Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl are:

Raylee at Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting Meet this busy mom of 4 boys who also shares her Australian home with a dog, cat, chickens and a fish. She’s a longarm quilter and in a sewing/design business with her mum. Stop by here to see for yourself how fantastic Raylee’s quilting stitches really are.

Danette at Lucky Quilts Visit Danette’s blog post to find out how she came up with her blog name. This self-taught quilter uses quilting as a stress reliever and admits to being a magazine and pattern addict. Her tip involves how to find those patterns when you want.

Olivia at Pumpkin Hollow Quilting This mom of two comes from Oregon and reveals that Halloween is her favorite thing. Come here to see some fun Halloween projects as well as other quilts that she’s completed. Don’t leave until you’ve discovered who taught her everything she knows.

Debbie at Quilt Knowlogy Auntie D started her quilting career at the age of 8 or 9 by hand stitching quilts for her dolls. Wow! What a way to start! Find out other interesting facts about Auntie D and see some of her quilts including her masterpiece which is also hand pieced and hand quilted.

Also check out the other hosts for the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, Leanne at she can quilt and Beth at Cooking Up Quilts, to meet even more new quilt bloggers.

Remember to enter the giveaway at one of our host blogs. Don’t delay as it remains open only for a few days.

What I Learned Today:

75°F feels cold after experiencing 109°F on Friday. I can see why the locals all wear winter coats in Phoenix in January when the outside daytime temperature plummets to 55°F.
There was a time when I felt warm once the temp reached 40°F.
My skin must be getting thin.

Question: Do you like it hot or do you like it cold? I prefer hot.

Tu-Na Quilts: Welcome to the Third Week of the 2017 New Quilt Blogger’s Hop

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Come on in, sit a spell, and explore my blog for some fun stories and interesting photos as well as quilting goodness. Hi! My name is Karen but I also go by Tu-Na or Tu-Na Quilts or Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats if you want to get very formal. My name came about during a conversation with my grandsons. I wrote my very first blog post about that conversation last April and you can read it here. If you want, you can read more about me here or check out the introductory post that I wrote for last year’s New Quilt Blogger’s Hop here.

I’ve been very busy with family responsibilities the past several months and my first blogiversary came and went without my notice. However, I’ve got some fun improvements and a belated party planned for my blog in the coming months so stay tuned.

I made my first quilt many years ago when I was 16 and wrote my second blog post about it which you can read here. Almost all the quilts that I make, I give away.

This fun quilt went to live with one of my grandsons since he loves the Little House books.

You can read more about this Little House quilt here and see the block that I designed for it.

Speaking of designing, I designed this coneflower block for last years Cloud 9 Block Hop.

I call this block “Anne’s Flower.” It is easy to sew using a method that I call piecelique–meaning some piecing and some applique. Don’t let that curved stem scare you; it’s easy.

Anne’s Flower pattern is available on Tu-Na’s Pattern Shop on Payhip here.

I am constructing a quilt gallery in the tabs at the top where you can see other quilt finishes including my mini laundry day quilt with this 4 inch mini-mini of a lighthouse.

Twenty one years ago, I took a quilting class where I learned how to use a rotary cutter and ruler which revolutionized quilting for me. I wanted to make a quilt for me since I didn’t have a good quilt that fit our queen size bed. I remember attending that class and sharing my strips of fabric with other quilters as they shared theirs with me. This class taught me the importance of accurate cutting.

I took those strips and sewed them into nine patches. I sewed many nine patches and then stuffed them into my fabric cupboard. Every now and then, I’d let them come out to play. I’d sew a few more nine patches, arrange and rearrange them, and then reshelf them while family and work responsibilities took priority.

Four years ago, I rediscovered them and took them over to my mom’s house. This quilt was meant for me and I wanted to get it done. Mom drew up a plan for setting those nine patches and together we laid them out and I sewed.

And then the top sat for another year until I rented time on a longarm and quilted it using a computerized program of hearts.

Sometimes I see the quilting as leaves or maybe heart shaped leaves.

Other quilts needed to be made and finished first and my quilt was folded and put away. When I was at my North Dakota home for Christmas last year, I unfolded it and machine stitched the binding to the top.

At this point I was tempted to return it to the pile but decided to begin to hand sew the binding to the back.

I didn’t get very far as I had to leave it behind when I flew back to Arizona on January 1st. Finally this spring, while I was on a quick trip back to my North Dakota house, I picked it up and finished hand sewing the binding. There you have the real story behind my quilt lovingly named “My 21 Year Quilt.”

I failed to get a pic of the back or to measure it. It is a generous queen size. I put my extra nine patches on the back. I will post pics and stats when I get back home.

Just in case you missed it, I live in two places: North Dakota in the summer and early fall and Arizona in the winter and spring. I love Arizona in the spring.

This Argentine Giant lives at the house next to us. It was loaded with blooms this year that open in the evening and last only 24 hours. I think I’ve convinced my husband that we need one of these in our yard.

I’ll be posting more pics of beautiful cactus blooms on Wednesday. Speaking of blooming, please visit my fellow Blooming Quilters this week. They know that company’s coming and are waiting for your visit.

These Blooming Quilters are hosted by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl. Thanks, Yvonne!

Tami @Thrift Shop Commando Tami gives modern meaning to the phrase “Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Go without.” She shows us a quilt that she’s making for her son out of some thrifted fabric. It’s going to be beautiful.

Sandy @Sandy Star Designs Sandy shows us some great eye candy as she puts it. She also shares a link to her tutorial on how to sew an accurate quarter inch seam. Since I can use all the help I can get, I’m going to have a look at that one.

Karen @Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats That’s me. Thanks for stopping by.

Kathleen @Kathleen McMusing Kathleen shows her quilt history through pictures of really beautiful quilts. Find out who taught her to sew and how she found her love for quilting. She’s got some great quilting tips and I should pay heed to #2 more as it’s the one that stalls my projects.

Sarah @Designs by Sarah J Sarah has a full basket of accomplishments: fabric designer, Aurifil thread designer, pattern designer, and author. You’ll be able to see some of her quilt designs and take a stroll through some of her other posts to see her Dandy Drive block patterns which you can download for free. I know I want to make some of them.

Also check out the other hosts for the 2017 New Quilt Blogger’s Hop, Leanne @she can quilt and Beth @Cooking Up Quilts, to meet even more quilt bloggers.

Remember to enter the giveaways found on our host blogs. There’s a bunch of prizes from some wonderful sponsors. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to win one so don’t delay as the giveaways are open only for a few days.

Quilting Tip: My quilting tip for you today is to strive to make quilts that are “good enough” and not perfect. If you want perfect, it may take you 21 years to finish.

What I Learned Today:

It is better to have finished after 21 years than not to have finished at all.
I like my 21 Year Quilt as much as I did when I first started it.
My bedroom is still blue. It’s a good thing I don’t redecorate often.
My 21 Year Quilt is still not perfect but it is good enough.

Question: Do you have any older quilts or projects begging to be finished? Here’s a chance to confess how long your project(s) has been shelved and whether you want to finish it or not.

Linking to Monday Making, and Main Crush Monday on Monday; Sew Fresh Quilts on Wednesday; Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, TGIFF, and Finished or Not Friday on Friday. Buttons on my sidebar. and Show Off Saturday on Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen

Tu-Na Quilts

Tu-Na Quilts: Welcome to the Second Week of the New Quilt Bloggers Hop

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Hello, fellow quilters! I’d like you to meet a few more of my fellow Blooming Quilters this week as we jet around the globe. Just click on their blog name and you’ll be able to visit with them too and if you like what you read you might want to follow them to keep in touch. Thank you to Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for bringing us all together. Visit Yvonne’s blog to enter to win some fantastic prizes. Don’t delay the giveaway is open only for 4 more days.

Olusola @Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co. We all strive for perfection in who we are and what we do. Meet Sola from Nigeria whose blog is perfect and she tells us at what point we or our quilts are perfect too. She’s displaying some fantastic quilts she’s either finished or in the process of making so you’ll get some major inspiration here.

Liz @My Sew Called Life Meet Liz who lives in the dream location of Hawaii. Find out how she turned her life around to create happiness and quilts, of course. You’ll also get to meet her fur babies and read about her feathered friends. There’s quilt inspiration pictures here too. She finished her post with some quilting tips but I can’t follow the first one…Don’t buy fabric just because you like it.

Anita @Domestic Felicity Anita’s introductory post is still coming and I can’t wait to read more. I’ll come back and update this when it publishes. Update: Anita may have been a bit tardy for the party but her post is definitely worth the wait and she had a good excuse–life got in the way. This motorcycle mamma sold her bike and took up quilting. I hope you’ll stop over and visit her blog to get a couple of great quilting tips that I’ll definitely use and maybe you will too.

Cate @Chaos Theory Quilting Cate started to quilt as a way to ease her pain and leave something tangible behind. She tells us that she has many unquilted tops lying around–no surprise there as I think many of us quilters have them, too. Learn what she would like to do with them.

Also check out Leanne @she can quilt and Beth @Cooking Up Quilts to meet even more quilt bloggers from these hives.

Come on back in May for two more weeks of introductory posts and giveaways. I’ll be posting the first week. Oh, and remember to enter the giveaway found on any of our three host blogs (Yvonne, Leanne, or Beth) soon.

What I Learned Today:

Food feeds the soul.
My sister is a great cook.
So is my niece (her daughter).

Question: What did you do yesterday? After a beautiful Easter church service, I had a wonderful Easter meal prepared by my sister.

Tu-Na Quilts: Welcome to Week One of the New Quilt Bloggers Hop

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Here they are all polished and shined up and ready for a visit. You’re all invited to pop over and visit and get to know these new quilt bloggers better. There are fun prizes to be won on our host’s blogs so don’t delay as there are only 4 days to enter.

Meet some of my fellow Blooming Quilters this week by clicking on their link which will take you directly to their post for this hop.

Jennifer @Inquiring Quilter You can find out that Jennifer is a list-maker and a planner and discover why and how she chose the name of her blog plus see some fantastic projects she’s done. We are talking major inspiration here. Plus you will want to pop back each day but especially on Wednesday for a little wait loss.

Fi at living cloth Find out what the word cloth means in her blog name. Fi also shows us her first quilt she ever made and a fun improve tree mini quilt that I just have to make and maybe you will want to make one too.

Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts This young mom of two boys is not going to let her stash gather dust. She designs quilt patterns and completed 34 quilts last year. Now that’s some serious sewing partly made possible by a desire to set goals and achieve them. Oh, my, I do need some of her energy. But don’t worry, she will leave you with a tip on how you, too, can not only manage to get something done but also achieve some lofty goals.

Bobbi at Snowy Days Quilting It’s a good thing that Bobbi loves snow since she lives in Montana. She shows us some of her quilts that she’s designed and tells us to spin our seams to make them lie flat. Well, I’ve tried and not been successful at spinning seams so I’ll just have to keep practicing it.

Amanda at Mommy’s Projects Another young mom tells us why she takes time to quilt or play with yarn. She’s got a great quilting tip that I plan to use and you might want to, too.

But that’s not all! Leanne at she can quilt introduces these new quilt bloggers

as part of

and Beth at Cooking Up Quilts introduces

Jess @ Sew Jess Handmade
Rachel @ Making a Beautiful Life
Amanda @ Quiltologie
Abigail @ Cut & Alter
Rose @ something rosemade

as part of

You will want to visit Yvonne or Leanne or Beth to enter the BIG giveaway on their blogs.

More new quilt bloggers are coming next week with another round of giveaways.

What I Learned Today:

I have great readers who left me some great stress relievers. Thank you all so much!
My brother suggests that eating a half a bar of chocolate each day is healthful. I haven’t even had time or the desire to eat any lately so I can’t tell you whether that would work for me or not.

Question: What are you craving to eat or do today?

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen