New Donation Blocks

Purple strip blocks
Purple strip blocks

I worked the other night while DH was out on clearing out my purple scrap bin. This resulted in a new set of blocks for BAM’s community quilting project.

There are a couple of duplicates as I had some long strips that resulted in two blocks.

There are also a lot of light scraps – lavender and very light purple. I was surprised at the variation in color. I don’t think I am a strictly dark purple lover.

I also made 6 more blocks than I did for the Green Strip quilt. I was on a roll and had the blocks in process before I realized how far along I was. It will be a slightly larger quilt. I haven’t decided what color to put with it for the plain blocks (I am using the same design as the Green Strip quilt). Chartreuse is across from purple on the color wheel I use.

I don’t feel like I used up enough of the purple scraps. The bin is definitely more empty, but still not empty enough. I even sorted out some super small pieces that would be much better as pet bed filling. Still I need to make more headway on purple scraps. Another similar quilt? Should I make this one larger?

Next FOTY?

First FOTY 2019??
First FOTY 2019??

This might be the beginning of FOTY 2019. The pieces are the same size as FOTY 2018 as I have the Ellsworth Kelly idea and I might want to do one with black squares and one with slate squares. I could also combine the two and do a FOTY 2018/19. I am getting behind now that FOTY 2017 is not jelling. I could probably skip FOTY 2017 and get to FOTY 2018, but that seems wrong to me.

Various & Sundry 2019 #3

Media

A friend sent me another article about the health benefits of quiltmaking. This is, what I would call, a readable scholarly article. I am not familiar with the publication, but I always enjoy reading about the health benefits of my passion.

I didn’t know that Ruby McKim still had a website.

Sara over at Sew Sweetness is hosting a quilt fiction book club with projects. No idea on what the projects are or if there is a cost.

F&W Media, the ‘enthusiast’ company has filed for chapter 11 and will sell their assets. F&W is the owner of such quiltmaking properties as Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors. they also own book imprints such as Interweave (where they ruined their quilt history magazine), SewandSo, The Quilting Company (includes Fons & Porter), North Light Books, and Krause Publications, all publishers who produce quiltmaking books. You can find more business-type information on the Bloomberg page. Abby Glassenberg wrote a blog post about the sale of recent ceasation of publication of some of their magazines. In my opinion, the changes they made to the successful publications they purchased led to this situation. I hope someone better (Fortunoff??) will buy some of these former gems and restore them to their glory.

Projects, Patterns and Tutorials

Valerie has a portion of the latest scrap quilt by Charlotte Hawke posted on her blog. I really like the Trip Around the World look and putting it on point makes it even better. The post includes a description of mystery quilts and some of those Charlotte has designed.

Ronni of Road Home Quilting posted a Peaky & Spike tutorial. No special rulers required.

Knot and Design has a pattern for fabric and vinyl pouches that are interesting.

Lieblingsdecke has a really great cushion cover pattern using paper foundation piecing. If you need help foundation piecing, check out my tutorial.

Patti told us about a quilted scissor holder tutorial from Miss Sews-it-all. I went and found the 2015 post and may make some of those for gifts.

Doing Good

The Million Pillowcase challenge is still going strong. Their website has patterns and other information.

Theresa gave Sara of Sew Sweetness permission to share her document that gives information on the kind of yardage you need for Sew Sweetness patterns. This is a google Drive document and I have no control over it.

Shops

Someone pointed out a shop with lots of Kaffe Fassett (and Philip Jacobs!) fabrics: Sew Colorful.

Tips & Tricks

Two methods of seam ripping.

FOTY 2017 Back on the Design Wall

FOTY 2017 - second effort on the design wall
FOTY 2017 – second effort on the design wall

I resorted the patches and have started to arrange FOTY 2017 on the design wall. It isn’t going well.

Why? I don’t know. It just isn’t working.

I did some math and am thinking I need to make the piece 18 rows by 18 columns to make it square, though that does not use all of the patches. I could make it a little off square and make it 19 rows by 18 columns, but that would use more patches, which is my goal.

I have another idea to try.

Serious Progress: Lights Tablerunner

Lights Tablerunner - quilted
Lights Tablerunner – quilted

It isn’t that long ago that I was sewing the blocks for this piece. Now the quilting is done and the binding is machine stitched. I am ready to hand sew the back of the binding and be finished.

Quilting - Lights tablerunner
Quilting – Lights tablerunner

I spent all day Saturday quilting it. It took me all day, too, to carefully straight stitch the areas I wanted quilted.

I really didn’t want to do it, but I also don’t want another UFO hanging around, so I bit the bullet and did the quilting. I am paying for my work as my arm and neck aren’t their usual selves. I tend to attach my left shoulder to my ear as I quilt. I tried really hard to keep it down so the pain is not as bad as it could be. I have Serendipity Lady to quilt, but that piece will have to wait for another day.

Lights tablerunner - quilting detail
Lights tablerunner – quilting detail

The quilting isn’t perfect, but I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. There are a couple of sections I might redo, but I don’t need to worry about that now.

What really helped me was listening to the Pearl Sister as I quilted. After a couple of enjoyable, but not well written books, this was a fantastic quilting book. It is the latest in the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley and was really great. I am going back to read the first in the series, because it was so good and I want to be reminded of the details of the sisters. I just found out there is another installment in the series ready for me to read as well, The Moon Sister! Yay! Perhaps it is time for another quilting project? Definitely read the series in order.

Classmates Tote Gift

Gerre's Classmates Tote
Gerre’s Classmates Tote

I decided to make another Classmates tote for my friend’s birthday. I didn’t mail it until Monday, so I hope she has it by now and the surprise won’t be ruined.

This one went a lot more smoothly than the first one. I learned different things this time, such as color placement. I am thinking I will make one to contain all of my random suitcase flotsam. I meant to see if it all would fit before I sent off the bag, but didn’t do it.

Gerre's Classmates Tote- open
Gerre’s Classmates Tote- open

I went through the pattern and marked the cutting chart up so I would know what I was cutting, which would help me with color/ fabric placement. My plan worked very well.

One thing that sent me over the edge in liking this project is the number of pockets. I knew as I was making it that I would get a lot of pockets, but I found, once I put the whole thing together, that there were even more pockets than I thought. This turned out to be because when I put the pockets I had made separately on the lining, additional pockets were created. The bonus pocket behind the center zippered pocket could hold a 6×6 inch ruler! Or nearly.

Gerre's Classmates Tote- outside cover, open
Gerre’s Classmates Tote- outside cover, open

I am pretty thrilled with how this one came out. I worked really hard and did my best work. The one thing I would change is the binding. It looks great on the inside, but doesn’t go very well with the ice cream fabric. I am not sure what I would use. I might need to change the linking to go better with the outside. I wanted to make sure the piece was cheerful, which is why I chose the lining fabric. I also wanted to use the ice cream fabric so this bag would go with the sewing machine mat and other items I have made for her. I thought it would be segregated enough to not matter, but I didn’t thinking about the binding and how that would united the outside with the lining.

Gerre's Classmates Tote- partially open
Gerre’s Classmates Tote- partially open

I think I would also change the handle a bit. I think it would be good to add a little padding to it. I am not sure my machine could make it through an additional layer of padding.

I am pleased with how the lobster clip and ring line up. That was a concern on the first one and this effort came out perfectly.

Journal Cover Gift

Gerre's Journal Cover
Gerre’s Journal Cover

My friend had a birthday yesterday. I have been telling her – well strongly suggesting that writing in a journal would help her work out some issues. Thus, this is my “put your money where your mouth is” gift to her.

I rummaged through my white scrap bin to make this journal cover. I was going for cheerful and light to counteract the grey weather we have been having. I really tried hard to get that castle fabric (upper left) on the front, but didn’t quite make it.

Gerre's Journal Cover with front cover open
Gerre’s Journal Cover with front cover open

Since I have been making Gerre a few things recently with the ice cream fabric, I wanted to include some in this journal cover as well. I put it on the inside as it didn’t go very well with my light and cheerful look.

Gerre's Journal Cover with back cover open
Gerre’s Journal Cover with back cover open

I haven’t made a journal cover in a while. The last one was dark blue and made in 2017. I have been sing a different kind of journal that doesn’t work with these covers, thus I haven’t needed a new one. I still like these Miquelrius journals. They have great paper and ink dries on it quickly. I am just more enamored with the Leuchtturm journals at the moment. I like hte rounded edges and the colors. The Leuchtturm journals also fit in my handbag, which is an added bonus.

Gerre's Journal Cover back cover
Gerre’s Journal Cover back cover

I had fun putting this cover together. I used a number of scraps from the EPP half hexie project and even some scraps from the City Sampler.

I had a hard time sewing it as there were so many seams along the edge, so I ripped the last seams out a couple of times. It isn’t perfect, but I hope she won’t notice. That edge is tricky.

I did get a nice compliment from Angela who has used the journal cover tutorial to make covers for other types of journals.  She said it was her favorite journal cover tutorial. 🙂

Gerre's Journal Cover -whole cover, open and face down
Gerre’s Journal Cover -whole cover, open and face down

My Flapper Apron – Finished

Every time I type ‘apron’ it comes out as aprong. I am not sure why, but it may mean that I need to stop making aprons.

I finally finished my Flapper apron. I have been using the Church Ladies apron I made awhile ago, though it is not perfect.  I don’t like the interfacing in the handles, because it makes them hard to tie. I also don’t like the construction.

I made a Flapper apron for myself awhile ago. The neckline was too long and gaped, so I didn’t like it for myself. It was the one I put in the Fair last year and was well sewn. It couldn’t compete against the tailored blazer in the same category (ERGH!!!), but I still did my best. I never wore it so I sent it off to a friend who admired it. Why not? She loves it.

I adjusted the pattern a little bit on this newest version and the neckline is much better. Not as long, so it doesn’t gape.

Flapper apron - pocket detail
Flapper apron – pocket detail

When I put the pockets on, I was pleased to see that I had matched up one of the Chrysanthemums! I didn’t do it on purpose, but am so pleased. I know the pocket blends into the fabric, so enlarge the photo to see my triumph. 🙂

I haven’t tried it out, but will soon.

Mod Lights Buffet Runner

I spent most of Saturday’s Sew Day working on the Mod Lights pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful. When I say ‘working’, you have to take that with a slight grain of salt, because I can’t help but change up the pattern.

In this case, I am not changing a lot. The fabrics are different and the size is slightly different. I want it to fit my buffet and that piece of furniture is a certain size.  Otherwise, the layout and the way I put it together was the same.

Holiday Lights Buffet runner
Holiday Lights Buffet runner

I finished the top on Sunday, so now I have to make a back and find some batting.

I bought the pattern on a whim at Stitch in Ferndale.  I stopped there, as mentioned, on my way back from Portland right before Christmas. I love that store. I would drive up there for a class, if they had one I would enjoy.

Trimming the lights
Trimming the lights

This pattern required the small/mini Quick Curve Ruler, which I also bought at Stitch. I was slightly annoyed because I thought I could use the larger version, but I ended up happy after seeing the lights develop and how great the motif is.

As mentioned when I was making MetroScape, all the curved portion of the blocks require trimming. You might sincerely dislike trimming, but I like it as it sets me up for success. Some of the curved pieces I sewed together came out super weird looking. If I had tried to sew them together as is, I would have had a disaster on my hands. As it was, I was able to help fill a pet bed and be successful.

The pattern has a couple of different projects included so you are getting some bang for your buck. All of the projects include the light. I got some ideas on other projects in which I could use the light motif, so I might get even more bang.

Green Strips Donation Quilt Quilted

Tim texted me the other day and sent photos of the Green Strips Donation Quilt, which he had finished quilting.

Green Strips Donation Quilt quilted
Green Strips Donation Quilt quilted

I gave it to him as a top and back and he sent photos of the top quilted.

I really like what he did and am planning another one in purples as soon as I finish a couple of the regular postage stamp donation blocks I have started.

Tim was nice enough to send me some details of the quilting, which looks great! He was excited about quilting this piece because I didn’t use white. I’ll think about grey or yellow when I make the purple one.

Green Strips Donation Quilt -scrappy binding detail
Green Strips Donation Quilt -scrappy binding detail

He changed the back, because he didn’t like it, to an ombre fabric (see that blue at the bottom?). It’s fine with me as long as he doesn’t give me the back back. I already counted it in my fabric used tally and it is hard enough to get those yards used as it is. He is also thinking of a scrappy binding. Photo is of his thoughts on binding.

Drawstring Gift Bags

Finished Jeni Baker Drawstring Gift Bags - Snack sized
Finished Jeni Baker Drawstring Gift Bags – Snack sized

I finally finished all of the gift bags I started at Gerre’s house a few weeks ago. I know I showed one of them previously. Sometimes I just have to show progress in order to make it seem real. The gifts are in them and ready for Christmas.

Crazy, I know, but those gifts arrived late for Christmas 2018, so I’ll just save them.

I am not sure I will make more of these bags for gift bags as they take quite a bit of time. Still, I bought some twill tape so I wouldn’t have to suffer through making drawstrings and I want to use that up. We’ll have to see.

As mentioned previously, Jeni Baker sells the pattern, which includes multiple sizes including a laundry bag size which is good for those of you sending kids off to college.

Dream Projects #11

I last wrote about my dream projects in July. Since then, I have, actually and surprisingly, made some progress on this list. This makes me kind of feel like writing down dream quilts isn’t a terrible idea. Of course, some projects haven’t changed.

Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (Ticker Tape Style) Quilt

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: Original, I do have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
  • Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly, but other colors for the leaves and flowers, perhaps
  • Steps: need to fuse a bunch of turquoise to some piece of fabric in the ‘ticker tape’ style so i can cut it up into small pieces. I am thinking of making it similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
  • Thoughts: I might make another one with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric.

Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (one sheet of fabric) Quilt

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: Original, I do have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
  • Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly
  • Steps: need to fuse a big piece of turquoise to SoftFuse or similar, then cut out the image and fuse it to the background. I would satin stitch all around the image. I don’t know that I can make one continuous piece, but will try. The image would be similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
  • Thoughts: I might make it with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric.
  • Added: 9/14/2017

Basketweave Baby

  • Status: Dream state
  • Fabric: Scrappy
  • Pattern: Fons & Porter, series 1000, episode 1005
  • Thoughts: I like the challenge of piecing this quilt and using a lot of partial seams for the piecing

Blue Rectangles Gradation Quilt

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Fabric: blue 2.5×4.5 rectangles
  • Pattern: similar to FOTY 2008
  • Thoughts: I can’t decide if this is still a dream or if it is already started and I just need to arrange it and start piecing. I have done a lot of cutting, so I think I have started it, thus it may not be a dream anymore. The original idea stemmed from the FOTY quilts. I just decided to do a monochromatic version – using just blues, in this case. I probably have enough patches now and just need to slot the time to work on it into my schedule.

Blue Lemonade

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Fabric: blue, purple and green scrappy
  • Pattern: inspiration from TFQ’s Pink Lemonade quilt
  • Thoughts: I probably had enough squares to make this quilt, but then I used a bunch of them to make En Provence. Now I am working on cutting more. I hope to slot the time into my schedule int he not too distant future.

Easy Street

  • Status: have pattern/ dream state
  • Fabric: pinks
  • Pattern: Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter
  • Thoughts: I really liked Daisy‘s version of Easy Street, which she calls Cherry Bomb (she thinks of the best names for her quilts) in terms of color and feel. I don’t want to copy her, but if I do this quilt, I’d like to have the same pinky-red feel to it. One challenge about a mostly monochromatic quilt is getting enough contrast. I look forward to that challenge. Not sure this will become a reality.

En Provence #2

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: En Provence by Bonnie Hunter
  • Thoughts: I loved the one I made before and can’t stop thinking about it. I have to make another one, but I can’t figure out what colors to use next. The ones I used before were almost perfect.

Feathered Star Block (or quilt?)

Flying Geese Quilt

  • Status: some Flying Geese made, good design in mind
  • Pattern: I did a drawing that I want to use
  • Thoughts: this wasn’t on any of my lists, but it has been on my mind lately and I think I will make it soon.

Good Night Irene Quilt

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: Good Night Irene from the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Block magazine, Spring issue v.2, issue 2, pg. 54
  • Fabric: I decided not to use a layer cake and will use the scrap 2.5 inch squares I have been cutting. I love the cheerfulness of Scrapitude Carnivale, as I say over and over, and am not done with that combination yet.
  • Thoughts: I thought about using dots on a white background, as I did with the Scrapitude Carnivale quilt as the background. It makes the Scrapitude quilt look so cheerful. I probably wouldn’t call it Good Night Irene.

Interlocking Triangles Quilt(s)

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: This is an idea that I designed myself. I made two quilts and have variations on the pattern to make more.
  • Fabric: I have a few different collections of fabric I want to use. Most are rainbow colored; I also have a lot of stripes to use
  • Thoughts: This is a quilt from which I get a lot of bang for my buck. The visual impact is tremendous. The easiest way to do the spiky triangles is with paper piecing. I am not that big of a fan of paper piecing (read my laments about the Spiderweb‘s paper piecing). I made Spiky Stars using templates and that was meditative and won a prize, so it is doable.

Jack’s Chain Quilt

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: Jack’s Chain, a continuous pattern
  • Fabric: bright scrappy, consistent centers
  • Thoughts: This is one of the first quilts I saw hanging in a quilt store and thought of making, after I learned to quilt. I have seen a number of variations lately using different hexagons in the center. It occurred to me recently that I could do four rings and make a pillow cover instead of a whole quilt. Partially, I thought of this because I saw an EPP pattern for this quilt. Taking on another large EPP quilt is not in the cards. I could also make the pattern larger, making the piecing for a quilt much quicker.

Music Quilt

  • Status: dream state, but not very inspired
  • Pattern: Top will have a piece of music the Young Man can actually play. That will probably be applique’
  • Fabric/Colors: music prints and tone-on-tones with a little red
  • Thoughts: The Young Man has requested this quilt as his high school graduation quilt. I missed that deadline. He has sent me a piece of music, which I printed out. Now I need to make into an applique’

Pineapple (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Status: I have some strips cut.
  • Fabric: dots. Have most of the strips cut. Will be much more selective about which strips I use.
  • Pattern: Pineapple log cabin
  • Thoughts: I haven’t given up on a Pineapple quilt despite my frustration with the previous attempt. I bought a different ruler: a Creative Grids Pineapple ruler in hopes that it will work better for me

Silk Colorblock quilt

  • Status: I have the fabrics and the plan
  • Fabrics: silk dupioni and cotton in brights (of course)
  • Pattern: Similar to Colorblocks 2
  • Thoughts: I have made a couple of, what I call, Colorblock quilts over the years. One was the Kona Challenge in 2011, another was my 1990 Colorblocks 2 and the first one, Colorblocks, also made in about 1990. I bought the silk fabrics at the Marin Needlearts show about a zillion years ago and they have languished waiting for me to learn to back them so I can use them. I think I have that covered now and there is nothing stopping me except time and will.

Spin Wheel

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Pattern: Fons & Porter Spin Wheel, 1200 series, episode 1201
  • Fabric: Scrappy with controlled scrappy background
  • Thoughts: I like the construction of this quilt and am convinced that I will make it. Another one just waiting for time and will. I have forgotten to cut the pieces I need to make the quilt, so I’ll have to add the correct size to my cutting sheet.

Windmill (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Status: half cut; need more greys for the background
  • Fabric: Scrappy. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Pattern: Come Quilt with Me Rotary templates
  • Thoughts: I think I will buy the Sizzix template and cut grey windmill pieces with that instead of by hand

Out of the Dream State: Below is a list of projects that were on this list at some point that I actually made or am working on:

Other:

I removed Stepping Stones #3 from the list, because I decided to give the pre-cuts to quiltmakers from the CampFire who need projects to work on. The details were:

  • Status: waiting.
  • Fabric: Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. It isn’t started, but I have lots of pre-cuts and think they would make a really fun version of this quilt.
  • Pattern: Stepping Stones by the Lintott girls
  • Thoughts: Hmmm. This is less exciting to me now. I think I need to finish #2 and then decide. It is just as likely as not that I will make this.

I might make another Stepping Stones quilt, but for the moment I think I am done with that pattern.

26 Projects 2019 n.3

Finished 2019 Quilt Projects

Stepping Stones n.2 – finished January 1, 2019

Finished 2019 Non-Quilt Projects

This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.

Doing Good

  • Ends n.7 quilt top and back – finished 1/6/2019
  • Green Strips quilt top and back – finished 1/16/2019
  • Green Thing donation top and back – finished 2/2019
  • Libs Elliot donation top – finished 2/2019 – Cheryl actually did the quilting and the binding. She made me feel good by saying she really liked the quilt. I should try the technique using stripes instead of making stripes and see if I feel differently. I should do a lot of things.

In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or are on the design wall waiting for me to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them

  • FOTY 2017 – pieces cut. Off the design wall. I counted and resorted the pieces while I worked on the City Sampler. Now the City Sampler is finished, I need to get it back on the design wall. I am tempted just to sew them together as I have sorted them and not worry too much about gradation.
  • English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – I work on this generally at night in front of the TV, so I made slow but steady progress. I am still thinking of my friend Faye whenever I work on it. She says that I have to think of this as my slow project.
  • Serendipity Lady Quilt: I was kind of surprised that I made progress. As mentioned in a previous post, I finished satin stitching the pieces on this project and am ready to baste it for quilting.

Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

  1. FOTY 2018 – this has to be on the list now as I have cut a ton of squares and need to arrange and sew it together.
  2. Handbag Sampler – this is still the forgotten project. The blocks were teaching samples when I taught a sampler class the time before I started writing the quilt class sampler tutorials. I found one block recently, but otherwise I actually don’t know exactly where the blocks are hiding. I have an idea and still have to crawl up in the far reaches of my fabric closet soon and see if I can find them. I haven’t even found a picture of all the blocks. Sad.
  3. Lobster – I still have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
  4. Pies and Points from 2016 Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. The last time I worked on it was when Julie and I had a playdate in April 2018. I brought this piece with me so I could cut more elements (Julie has a Sizzix). I lost my excitement about this piece and will have to get it back. Thus, I had to move this to the WIPs area.
  5. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. No progress.
  6. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I am still stalled on this again. As my oldest (I am pretty sure) UFO, I put it on my blog and out into the Twitterverse and Diane suggested that I not consider this as a self portrait. I think that strategy is a great idea. I am now trying to think of a new persona for her.
  7. Under the Sea: the top is done and I need to finish the edges and make it into a pillow
  8. Black and Red quilt – This came about because of two other projects. I made a whole bunch of bias tape as part of my failed attempt at doing the Mighty Lucky Club a few years ago. Another part of the inspiration came from my class with Tina of Little Blue Cottage fame. This was going to be for a nephew, but I think it will be for one of my SILs and BILs. I have rectangles cut and some bias tape ready. My next step is to sew the bias tape to the rectangles like pickup sticks. I don’t have any photos of this, so you’ll have to use your imagination.
  9. Who Am I? – This piece is up on my design and I keep meaning to work on it, but I haven’t. I am not sure why, but I don’t want it to end up like the Self-Portrait.

Small Projects in Process

Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting.

  • 4-Zip Organizer – part of Crafty Gemini Organizer Club. It is on my list, but I haven’t actually started
  • Chubby Charmer with Good Fortune charm pack – gift; not started.
  • Quick Curve Ruler lights tablerunner – The pieces are cut out and ready to sew
  • Retreat Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started
  • Solid black cell phone wallet – The pieces are cut out and ready to sew
  • Ultimate Project Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started
  • White on black dots cell phone wallet – The pieces are cut out and ready to sew

Ready for Quilting

  • None now

In Quilting Process

  • BAMaQG IRR –I have been working on this lately and am making progress. It is slow since it is hand quilting. I might add some more machine quilting to the project to move it along
  • City Sampler was taken to Colleen on 2/26/2019.
  • Theoretically, the Tarts Come to Tea is in the quilting process, though I haven’t worked on it in a while. Mom said she is really looking forward to me finishing it, which might be the incentive I need to get back to work on it.

Binding

  • The Aqua-Red Sampler is ready for binding. I got it back at the end of February 2019. This won’t count against my fabric usage goals as I counted it last year when I finished the top and back.
  • Metroscape is being bound. I got it back at the end of February 2019

Hunting and Gathering

  • 30 Something: I continue to cut 1.5 inch squares. I am pretty sure I have the 800 I need, but I am not ready to sew them together yet, so whenever I have a chance to cut more I cut more. It will give me choice when the time comes. I looked at whether I could start piecing this, but I found I need to cut some other sizes. I got those sizes on the cutting sheet and have a cut a few. I need over 600 of a size something like 1.75×3.75. I need some more accessories boxes to organize these new pieces. I’ll have to think up a new name for this quilt, too, since I am not using 1930s fabrics.
  • Blue Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch blue rectangles. It has to end sometime. I wasn’t sure I was ready to put this together, but I think I might be. I might do a couple of gradation quilts in a row just to get the practice.
  • Blue Lemonade: cutting blue, green, purple 2 inch squares. I used a lot of these squares for En Provence. I need more and have made some progress at Craft Night using the Accuquilt.
  • FOTY 2019: I decided to cut 2.5 inch squares again for the 2019 version.
  • Pink Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch pink rectangles
  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I might have to cut some more background fabrics. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background, which required the purchase of a new template. Cutting is very therapeutic, so I should try and do it when I have a few minutes.

Other

Gross usage is just over 21 yards YTD. My net is at about 9 yards. It is early in the year so I am hoping I can still use 100 yards of fabric net.

What’s on your list?

Aqua-Red Sampler

Aqua-Red Sampler, quilted & ready for binding
Aqua-Red Sampler, quilted & ready for binding

The other quilt that came back from Colleen, along with Metroscape, was the Aqua-Red Sampler. I am very pleased with how it came out.

I am glad I made the decision to forgo the sashing. I think it looks good as is. The blocks don’t bleed into each other too much.

I noticed when I flipped the quilt over that the back was very cohesive, like I made the City Sampler back. I am not giving up my big bold flowers, but I might try and keep some backs similar to the front if the design warrants it.

Aqua-Red Sampler back, quilted & ready for binding
Aqua-Red Sampler back, quilted & ready for binding

This back is very subtle except for that one red rectangle. I wonder what I was thinking?