Author Archives: slfinnell

About slfinnell

Child care provider for 22+ years in my home. I feel so blessed to have cared for so many children. Spend my spare time creating items for Etsy and searching for vintage items that need a new lease on life. Blogging?, well I just enjoy it.

Red Cross I/ #AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

I’m not sure if there would be an unspoken rule that when a block says the name of a color in it (like Red Cross or Yellow Lily), if you have to use that color fabric or not? Well I reckon I just broke that rule if it exists.

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

The Red Cross I block was not done in a solid red as you can see. It is certainly less cross-looking in the floral print. Not sure I like it but it’s done and it’ll do for me.

RedCross1_2

Red Cross I

Ozark Slang of the Day:

Ruinate. Definition: Ruin or spoil something.  Example: I hope the red white and blue fabric doesn’t ruinate my quilt block.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you canspend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

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Queens Crown/ #AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

This quilt block is going to be in the top 3 favorites for me personally. I am partial to these basket-esque blocks and this one gives the appearance of a mirrored image basket. The fact that its title doesn’t reflect that is no matter to me. It still has the style I love. And it’s not difficult; so there’s that.

Book illustration
Fabric layout

Something I haven’t discussed is fussy-cut quilt blocks. The Queen’s Crown could take on a whole new bejeweled look with some changes in the points.  For a scrap fabric hoarder like yours truly, this is definitely something I will consider. The only decision left is whether to go for a saphire, emerald or topaz colored ‘crown’? Or maybe all the above such as in the picture below I’ve found via Pinterest.

Scrappy Fabrics Flower Baskets Easy Pre-Cut Quilt Block Kit

Picture from Pinterest

Queenscrown2

Queen’s Crown block

Quitchur makes the Ozark slang list for letter ‘Q’. We have another instance of combining two words for one. Quit your is replaced with the slang and said when you are in a hurry to complete a statement. Such as ‘Quitchur lollygaggin and hurry up or we’ll be late!’ I hope you can assertain from the context that lollygaggin is a synonym for taking your sweet time. I am guilty as charged for using this one. The danger for not listening to this first attempt at speeding them up is that in the next breath, Quit Your comes out very clearly and you know you are about to get left behind.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you canspend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Pinwheel Square/ #AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

The choice for Letter P was decided for me since I want to (mainly) stick with 2 fabrics per block. So here you have a type of pinwheel in a square as the title describes. It was not difficult at all, no pivoting needed (sigh of relief), and I didn’t have bobbin trouble again. Made it to the 16th letter and feeling the end is distinctly within reach at last. It’s a good day!

Pinwheelsquare

Pinwheel Square

All that being said, ‘Pritnear’ is my Ozark slang of the day. This combo of 2 words into one is a way to say it quicker and more efficiently. Why waste your time when you can lessen the number of words you use in a sentence? My example for you: “She was pritnear the last one to leave the church.” Definition: Pretty near or almost the last one.

Do you feel as if the end of the 2018 Challenge is pritnear finished or still a long distance away?

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Ohio Star/#AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

There were several choices in the book I was referencing for the A to Z Challenge for the Letter O. And this one seemed like a good choice. The Ohio Star is a very popular block, but this one is a different take on it.

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

 I learned one thing this time. It would be best to pin and pivot the needle on this type of block. I also need my machine to cooperate and not wadd up the thread under my fabric when sewing, but I’ll save that topic for another time. The real concern in sewing blocks with pivoting is that I need to learn to better ‘set in’ those kinds of pieces. My question is this…is it any better with paper piecing? I intend to find out this coming year. Til then, as I say to my kiddos, You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. Here’s my feeble attempt, puckers and all.

Ohionoteveragainstar2

Ohio (neveragain) Star

Oh for Pete’s sake, you’d think I’d killed your dog! = Ozark slang of the day.

You are being over dramatic about something. Dogs are often a best friend or part of the family and the idea of that loss is upsetting. But you know what they are unhappy about is not anything nearly that tragic. Get a grip in other words.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

No Place Like Home/#AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

There’s “No Place Like Home” of course. And this block would be gorgeous in multiples. It’s reminiscent of a Courthouse Steps or an Irish Chain design. The hourglass center is the part where you could have some variation in fabric colors. Kind of an Eye Spy quilt for a child. To put it simply, it has lots of potential and would work up very quickly. And of course, it would be easy to stitch in the ditch by machine and be done if you’re pinched for time.

Noplacelikehome2

No Place Like Home

Not a Happy Camper = today’s Ozark slang. Ever worked in retail or another service-oriented job where you could tell a client was extremely ticked off? This saying is a subtle hint that you had best not get in their way. Just walk the other direction and call the manager. If you are the manager, keep your poker face and give them something free.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Mosaic II/ #AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

This one is very simple. And when you’re doing over 2 dozen never-before-sewn blocks in a time crunch, a few simple ones are absolutely acceptable. Have I ever mentioned working how 11-hour days are a little taxing the older you get? Any sympathy is appreciated 😉sarcastic mr krabs GIF

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

So the Ozark slang for the day is probably not that unknown, but it was well used back in the day during my high school years. Miss Goody two shoes is the phrase and you know the type. They’re all about themselves and think they are too good to even breath the same air as you. Hence they were portrayed by my friends with a finger towards a turned up nose. It’s most definitely a mudslinging term if they came from the same station in life as you and were no better off. We would say they were ‘above their raisin’.

Mosaic2b.jpg

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Mosaic2b.jpg

Lily Quilt/#AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur cuppa coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

So this is spring and I’m definitely ready for some cut flowers. A little early for day lilies in Missouri, so why not bring some inside with a quilt block?

 

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

In this book I’m using for the Challenge, there are a few floral quilt blocks. I chose this one probably because every sampler should have at least one floral choice, in my opinion. And also there is a particular little girl who spends her days with me named Lilly and I just thought it was the perfect choice for this year. She’s a sweetheart and this will let me always think of her smiles and laughter once she has headed off to kindergarten. (but not for a couple years at least)

Lilyquilt

For today’s Ozark slang I’m sharing a saying I’m 100% sure I heard my Great Grandmother mumbling . “Look at that Yahoo!” would have been her reaction to seeing someone drive down our country gravel road at a high rate of speed. Calling them a yahoo was a ladylike attempt at swearing in her case. She was not impressed at all and had no use for such nonsense.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Keyhole/#AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

Book Illustration
Fabric Layout

 If I had made several of this block, I would want sashing between each one for sure to distinguish each one. Otherwise I don’t think it would have the same appearance. It was a little bit of a cantankerous block. You have to pivot those corners around the square blocks in the center with your machine. Or do what I did…….stop,cut the thread and restart after you turn your fabric. Either way, it would probably frustrate a new quilter and I would not recommend this one for a starter block.

Keyhole1

For my Ozark slang of the day, I could have went with cantankerous I suppose. But it isn’t a ‘K’ word and there doesn’t seem to be a synonym for it that will help me out. So the word isn’t quite ‘Kind’ enough to suit me. So I’ll just have to ‘keep it between the ditches’. So what does that mean to a quilter? The space between each sewn piece is a ‘ditch’ and to quilt our tops onto the batting and muslin, we often times follow those lines. Especially in a piece as the one above. There wouldn’t be any markings to worry about and it will make a very snug finish. Snug equals no bunching of the batting between the layers of fabric. You know how a comforter can get all wadded up after a lot of washings? Well quilting in the ditch on a particularly detailed block will alleviate this and keep it ready for washing after washing for years down the road. That’s why your grandma’s quilt is still in one piece.

Now for you ‘knee high to a grasshopper’ whippersnappers, you really need to keep your life between the ditches. The straight and narrow path is not always the easiest, but it will get you to the goal. Which is,hopefully, a life well lived.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Joseph’s Coat/ #AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

The Letter today is J.

Book Illustration
Fabric layout….kind of

I’m going to combine my ‘Ozark slang’ of  “just a smidge” with todays quilt block. It seems relevant with the skewed picture above on the right. You see, you’ll need to visualize rotating the center block “star” just a smidge to have it appear correctly before piecing. It means just a little bit. And, notice I just showed you another one of those stars I keep telling you about. A star is pointed around a center in quilting. Not exactly the official definition, but it does the trick for the purpose of this blog post.

Josephscoat2

The completed block above worked up without any issues. Really wishing I had one of those computer programs that could table a bunch of these designs side by side to see different color combination possibilities. Computer genious friends, any suggestions?

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.

Indian Squares/#AtoZ

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The April A to Z Blog Challenge is an annual blogging event in which participants blog every day (except Sundays) one post for each letter of the alphabet for the entire month. My theme for the year will be “Quilts and Ozark Slang.” So gitchur coffee or sodapop, grab a pilluh, and sit a spell.

The Letter today is I.

When I embarked on this challenge, the plan was to stick to 2 fabrics per block. Then along came the letter I. All the choices from the book I’m pulling patterns from were doable with just 2 fabrics up until this point. So I had to make a decision.

  1. Whether to choose a letter I block from another book or other source, or
  2. To go with the letter I block from the book that used 3 fabrics.

As you see below, I resolved to add a 3rd fabric. I only needed to add these 4 squares to the entire block. At this point I also noted there were a few other blocks in the alphabet that were going to need an extra color included. So the navy print joins the fold (pun for fun).

IndianSquares6

The 3 fabrics. 

Moment of realization.
3 sections before joining.

This block was looking wonderful except for one problem……..it’s a 15 inch block.  All the other blocks in the book are 12 X 12.

Not sure how I’m going to arrange this quilt as of this writing. Or if I’ll even include it it the finished quilt. Maybe it should be a ‘tag along’ as in this pic my cousin, Michelle, shared with me …..

Quilt w missing square almost.

Whatever happens, I think I may make a note in the book for a future quilter. Warning them of hazards of believing everything you read.

Book illustration
Fabric layout

So with that, I’ll give you the finished block

IndianSquares

And a little Ozark slang, “In a coon’s age.” Did you know Daniel Boone was buried in Missouri at one time?  (until some relatives moved his remains to Kentucky.) He wore those coon skin hats they claim. But the saying above implies that racoons live a long time. Wrong. Its a very mistaken idea. So you’d be well advised to use it cautiously.

There are many more wonderful blogs this year that I hope you can spend a couple minutes reading. All you have to do is click here and select something that interests you. To read about the A to Z Challenge and what we are all about, click here.