What's On My Design Wall? - 11/30

Judy said she cheated since her picture was from Sunday. The SBS Blue & Brown swap blocks may be on the wall, but they are not what I'm currently working on.

I'm working on Carolina Christmas. Part 1 is complete and I'm half way through and I'm now cutting the large "green" triangles. (My gold is green and my green is blue. My red will be pink).

Stash Report Week # 48

My big plans were to get the borders on two quilts this week, but I only managed to get the first border cut and partially put on Autumn Splendor before starting Carolina Christmas. Hum...I wonder if this has anything to do with why I have so many UFOs?

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 282.333 yards

Fabric Used this Week: 3.04 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 93.426 yards

Net Stash: +188.907 yards

Check out how others are doing with their stash busting efforts over at Patchwork Times.

Carolina Christmas - Part 1

Part 1 of Carolina Christmas was finished this evening. As I've checked out the pictures of what others are doing, I'm drawn to those that have scrappy backgrounds with tiny prints. This year my goal was to gather black prints - tone on tone, or prints on black backgrounds since I virtually wiped out my blacks when I made Orange Crush. I think next year, I'll be looking for tiny prints on light colored backgrounds. Either that or start haunting the thrift stores for shirts. I simply need to remind myself that even if I have to pay "full price", it's still cheaper than a FQ at the LQS.

Now off to work on Part 2.

SBS Blue & Brown Swap Blocks Received

This morning I received a squishy in my mail box. The Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Blue & Brown Swap blocks. The blocks were from quilters all over the world. Australia, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, and the USA.

A special thanks goes out to Joan who coordinated the swap.

Now to figure out a setting to showcase these wonderful blocks.

Current Choices for Carolina Christmas

I have continued to play in my pink and blue fabrics. Although I agree that the multiple greens added depth to the stack of fabric, I went back and re-read Bonnie's description of her fabric choices.

a lighter yellow green all the way through to dark pine green
reds all the way from orange red to burgundy
ONE gold print to tie the scrappiness together

So, I'm going to pretend my blues are green, my pinks are red (a little easier) and my single green is gold. Won't that be fun to read 'green' and have to remember to pick up the blue fabric. Clearly after I print out the pattern I'll be taking a pen to it so I don't get confused. My background will be one of about 6 or 7 different white on whites, all in about the same shade of white. I briefly flirted with a a single background, but the only 2 yard piece I have is beige and I decided I didn't like it with the 'clear' pinks and blues.

Let's eat turkey, then bring on the first clue. My fabrics are pressed, I know where my ruler is and I'm off to clear the cutting board so I'll be ready Friday. - right after I drop my car off to get inspected.

Carolina Christmas or Double Delight!?

Last week I was asked if I was going to participate in Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt Carolina Christmas. I love Bonnie's patterns, but my plate is full so, I said no.

However, quilters have been known to change their mind and I might be convinced to play along. With all the chatter on the Quiltville list I've been pondering colors. One of my personal rules is mystery quilts have to come from stash. I have lots of pink and green, so pink and green with a white background, but what to use for the 3rd color? My husband suggested blue (hey I have a whole tote of blue), but then he qualified it "icy blue".

This is what I came up with:



When I found 2 hunks of the green totaling 3 yards I thought I'd use it to tie everything together instead of the selection of greens I had pulled.



It wasn't until I started this post that I realized I was looking at the instructions for Double Delight! You would think that either the title boldly printed on the top page or the fact that printout is nearly a quarter of an inch thick would have clued me in that I had the wrong pattern.

Double Delight! needs a 5th color and I have no idea what I would use. So, at this time I don't know which quilt I'll be making, or if I'll stick to working on something I already have in progress. I guess it will depend on how I feel about these colors after they sit together a while.

What's On My Design Wall? - 11/23

Half of the inner borders are now on Autumn Splendor.

See what others are up to by checking out the links over at Judy's blog.

Stash Report Week # 47

No fabric in. No fabric out.

But with two days off this week, I hope I'll get to the borders for both Autumn Splendor and Ladder to the Stars. That will bring me in striking distance of 100 yards. We'll just have to wait and see what the week brings.

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 282.333 yards

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 90.386 yards

Net Stash: +191.947 yards

See if anyone else is getting close to their goal over at Patchwork Times.

Border Decisions

A little over a year ago I walked into a new to me quilt shop, Lil' Red Hen in Paola, Kansas and fell in love with the top FQ. They had all sorts of fall colors displayed just as you walked in the door. To top that, they had a FQ sale going on. Before I left the store, I had bought a dozen FQ to make a quilt (not that I had a pattern with me), 2 yards of the print I fell in love with and a yard of the gold for an inner border. In the back of my mind I was thinking a small Turning Twenty or a large Crazy 8.

I brought the fabric home, tied it up with a ribbon and put my Crazy 8 pattern with it. The bundle sat for over a year while I worked on my various UFOs, started and finished other projects, and started projects which only made it to the top stage. Two weeks ago I cut into the fabric and have slowly been working on it.

This afternoon I finished sewing the blocks together and it was time for a border decision.

When I bought the fabric, I knew I was going to need somewhere for the eyes to rest since the blocks and the borders are so busy.



So as originally envisioned, there would be a narrow gold border and then the large leaf border. This however was not working for me.



What drew me to the leaf print in the first place was the purple, so I pulled down my bin of purple fabrics to see if I had anything bigger than a FQ which would work. I found half a yard of border fabric left over from my Old Tobacco Road which I think is going to be just right.



So, now that the decision is made, I think I'm going to call it a night. I'll deal with the borders tomorrow.

Josh's Graduation Quilt

It's done all that is left is for me to stitch down the label.

What's On My Design Wall? - 11/16

The exact same thing as last week. I didn't even move the blocks.

On the other hand, Josh's graduation quilt is finished! (OK, I still have to attach the label, but it's made!) Remind me to never use black backing. It shows everything. Hopefully later today I'll get a picture of it.

See what other are up to by checking out the links on Judy's blog.

Stash Report Week # 46

I've completely ignored my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks so far this month. Maybe over Thanksgiving weekend I'll get all 5 of them done for the month. It will only add up to about 5/8 yard, but every inch counts.

The binding is going on the graduation quilt! I made it last night, so 5/8 yards out.


This past year I've reached for that fabric on more than one occasion to use it for something -- the last time I stapled a note to the selvage so I wouldn't use it and then wonder what happened to the binding fabric for Josh's quilt.


The note is now off the fabric and the remaining 7/8 yards is in the "blue" bin so I can use it for something else.

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 282.333 yards

Fabric Used this Week: .625 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 90.386 yards

Net Stash: +191.947 yards

See how others are doing on their stash busting effort by checking out the links on Judy's blog Patchwork Times.

The Quilting is Done!

The quilting on Josh's graduation quilt is done! Now I've got to trim, bind, label and wash it. Josh graduated May 17, 2007, so it's about 18 months late. The top was done then. Does that count?

What's On My Design Wall? - 11/09

So close to finishing, or getting to a new stage in the projects I've been working on all summer I finally cut into new fabric Friday night. These are the blocks I made Saturday afternoon for Autumn Splendor.

I could have knocked out the rest of the blocks Saturday night or Sunday, but instead I worked on Josh's quilt. I've got three of the borders quilted, and the 4th one marked. Once I get the last border quilted, I think I'm going to go back and stitch in the ditch between the inner and outer border. At that point I'll have the tedious task of trimming the threads from the back of the quilt and trying to remove the dust and cat hair from the backing.

See what other quilters are up to by checking out Judy's blog.

Stash Report Week # 45

It was a rather productive week. The last row on the DWR was attached, which allowed me to determine what I needed in the way of backing and batting. The backing was found in my stash -- so that's 9 yards out. Woohoo! I also finished the hand quilting on my nephew's quilt. I have one border machine quilted and have the second one partially marked. Finally, I cut into a kit I put together a little over a year ago and have half the blocks made -- 20 FQ = 3 yards. So 12 yards out and I'm back under 200 yards inbound.

If I push, I might just make 100 yards used by the end of the year -- borders for a couple of quilts, binding for Josh's quilt, backing & binding for the music quilt and perhaps a dozen SBS blocks.

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 282.333 yards

Fabric Used this Week: 12 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 89.761 yards

Net Stash: +192.572 yards

See how others are doing on their stash busting effort by checking out the links on Judy's blog Patchwork Times.

Start of a New Quilt

This evening after finishing the hand quilting, I thought I needed some mindless piecing. The 4-patches in the DWR in theory are simple enough, but trust me, it's not so simple. Ladder to the Stars just needs borders, but I'm going to miter the corners, which means I need to think. There's nothing on my extensive list of quilts in progress which I would consider mindless enough for this evening - not that I looked until I sat down to write this post. The call of new fabric was too much.

I went to my crate of PIGs and pulled out Autumn Splendor. Twelve FQs plus border fabric tied nicely with a gold ribbon. I'm using the FQ friendly pattern Crazy Eights by Bits 'n Pieces. I think this is 3rd quilt/top I've made, but the others have been with just the 8 FQs.



Instead of mindless piecing, I cut the new quilt out. Surprisingly, given that I was looking for something mindless, I didn't make any cutting errors. I can also report the scraps are all appropriately cut up and in their boxes.



I'll be ready now for when I do need to sit down at the sewing machine for some mindless piecing.

The Hand Quilting is Complete!

On Josh's Graduation Quilt.

Now I have to finish it. For the border, I've decided to quilt lines 2" apart perpendicular to the edge of the quilt -- like a pieced piano key border. Once I get that done, I'll need to trim all the thread ends from my machine quilting, bind it and put a label on it. Who knows he might get it before the end of the year -- only 17 months after he graduated.

DWR Backing Found in my Stash

After measuring my quilt top last night, I got to worrying about the batting. I typically use Warm & Natural in my quilt tops, but when I buy it by the yard, it's only 90" wide. My quilt measures approximately 94" x 104" - so I'm going to have to buy a king batt. I'm currently leaning toward Quilters Dream Cotton - Request.

That got me worrying about the backing. I called the LQS to check to see how wide the backing are - and shoot I can't remember now - but I did validate that even the narrowest wide backing (is that an oxymoron?) will be wide enough. The bolt sale lasts through Saturday, so I can get the backing on sale.

That was this morning early. Fast forward to about an hour ago and a flash of inspiration struck me. About a year ago I bought a bolt of 60" wide 100% cotton shirting for next to nothing. I pulled it out looked at it and decided that it would be perfect for my backing. Although I'm not looking forward to seaming the backing, I can take comfort in that it is fabric out of my stash and no additional purchase was needed.

Since I was on a roll, I pulled out my thread box and found both a partially used and a brand new spool of thread. The color is Camel. Since I really like this color, and would hate to run out of it before the quilting is complete, the next time thread goes on sale, I'm going to buy at least one maybe two spools of it.

I might just have this quilt on the frame by this time next week. Still have to finish seaming the 4-patches. I'm not sure what I did this evening, but it wasn't a whole lot of piecing.

It Is the Last Row!

I just finished attaching the last row of rings to my Double Wedding Ring quilt! No, it's not ready for the frame -- I still have 4 patches to seam on the last two rows and then stitch the seams on the outer 4-patches, which are only going to be 3-patches. No sense in making them 4-patches and giving me 2 more corners per ring to miter around when I finally get to the binding.

Now I've got to measure the quilt to see how much backing I'll need and start thinking about thread color for the quilting.

This is what I'm planning on quilting in the background. It's a stencil by Gloria Hartley that I bought years ago.


I will also need to do some sort of quilting in the pieced arcs and 4-patches. I'm leaning toward outlining the arc, but not the individual pieces. I do want to finish this in this lifetime, preferably by this time next year.

Given that some of the quilting will be on the off white background and some on the colored pieces, should I use two different color threads? Or is there something which won't look odd in both places. I suspect my thread color may influence my backing choices.

What's On My Design Wall? - 11/02

This is what I believe to be the last row of my Double Wedding Ring. Last night I finally sewed on the previous row, although I still need to sew the 4-patches. The row is far enough along so I now know I need an extra blue arc for this last row.

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls by following the links over at Patchwork Times.

November 2009 Quilting Goals

Since I didn't do so well on last month's goals, it's more of the same.

* Keep up with the SBS BOW

* Finish the hand quilting on Josh's Quilt

* Finish piecing the DWR

* Complete Finishing Instructions for large Kansas Spirit BOM

* Keep Scraps Cut Up

Stash Report Week # 44

This week was a wash. A couple of SBS blocks (although not the one due tonight) were completed and one FQ inbound.

Instead of quilting Saturday, my DH and I drove down to Independence, Kansas for the Neewollah Festival, specifically the Marching Band Festival. We heard some great music. The day was absolutely perfect for the drive and festival. It cooled off after the sun went down, but I had my trusty picnic quillow with me. It was a great seat cushion until I needed it to keep warm.




So here's the report

Fabric Added this Week: .25 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 282.333 yards

Fabric Used this Week: .25 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 77.761 yards

Net Stash: +204.572 yards

See how others are doing over at Patchwork Times.

Review of October 2009 Quilting Goals

The month is over, so how did I do? Well, not as good as previous months, but it could have been worse.

* Keep up with the SBS BOW - Done
* Finish the hand quilting on Josh's Quilt - nope - two thirds of the last block remains
* Finish piecing the DWR - nope - one row is ready to attach and the last row needs putting together
* Hand quilt 2 rings on DWR - obviously not
* Complete Finishing Instructions for both sizes of Kansas Spirit BOM - The smaller quilt instructions have been turned in!
* Machine quilt borders on Josh's Quilt - obviously not
* Make at least 4 make-up SBS blocks
* Decide on the quilting for Jeremiah's quilt - didn't even look at it.
* Work on Ladder to the Star sashings - finished and got the center completed
* Keep Scraps Cut Up - did this, not that there was much to do

I also made a pineapple block to try out a new-to-me technique.