Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/13/2024

The main focus in my sewing room this week was on the Rail Fence Spinner blocks that I've been making all year as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I started the week by making five blocks, which used a total of 1/4 yard of fabric. That brought my total number of blocks up to 80.

The next step was to start stitching blocks together. I joined 48 blocks together to make a small quilt top, which you can see in yesterday's post. I used 1/2 yard of fabric for the border.

The rest of my spinner blocks are in the process of being joined together in an on-point setting. Here's the planned layout. I still need to figure out a border for this version.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      .75 yards

Used year to date:           115.375 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:             88.75 yards

Net used in 2024:          26.625 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Besides the Rail Fence Spinners projects, I've also been spending plenty of time on quilt guild business.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

10/6 - 10/12              7 of 7 days

2024 Total          281 of 286 days

Success rate               98.25 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Rail Fence Spinners Quilt Top #1

One of my 2024 projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been the Rail Fence Spinner blocks that I started making as a way to use up leftover Rail Fence blocks from a 2023 RSC project. I counted up my 6" blocks at the end of September and had 75. I made five more blocks using black and brown scraps, our colors for September. 

Adding those last blocks brought my block total up to 80, which could have been joined together 8 x 10 to make a small throw quilt that would measure 48" x 60" before borders. However, I couldn't decide if I liked them better set straight or on point. I chose to make both versions as baby quilts. Here is Rail Fence Spinners #1 with the blocks set in straight rows. 

Rail Fence Spinners #1

42.5" x 54.5"

I auditioned several different fabric for the border and ended up choosing this fun print with all the colors of the rainbow in it.

I've got the remaining Rail Fence Spinners blocks joined together on point, just waiting for the borders to be added. I hope to get that top done before next Saturday.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/6/2024

It has been a good week in the sewing room, with time to catch up on a couple of my on-going quilt projects. I made the September blocks for the RSC Hen & Chicks sampler, which I also shared in yesterday's post. These 8 blocks are so small (3" and 6" blocks) that they only used 3/8 yard of fabric. They were also quite time consuming, with plenty of small pieces. 

After that, it was a relief to switch over to the latest blocks from Jen's 2024 Color Challenge. These blocks finish at 12", which seemed massive after the tiny 3" blocks. These are the blocks for September and October, and I used 3/4 yards of fabric in them. 

I've been making two blocks each month, one using light and dark of the assigned color, and the other set of blocks all have dark blue backgrounds. I'll end up with enough blocks for two kid's quilts at the end of the year.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  1.125 yards

Used year to date:           114.625 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:             88.75 yards

Net used in 2024:          25.875 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I still have a couple more projects to catch up, but it feels so good to get back to making progress on them.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

9/29 - 10/5               7 of 7 days

2024 Total          274 of 279 days

Success rate                 98.2 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Dark Saturday

Much of my quilting time this week was spent catching up on my September blocks for the RSC Hen & Chicks Sampler. Our color assignment for the month was dark colors, and I decided to use black and grey for my blocks. It wasn't easy finding enough batik scraps in those colors.

The finished sizes of the blocks are 3" and 6". We have only one more set of blocks left to make for this sampler, and I'm planning to use brown and tan for those. Then it will be time to figure out how I want to set them all together.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/29/2024

My stash report for the last week doesn't show as much change as the previous few weeks, mostly because we were out of town for several days. Before we left, I was able to finish off one last set of placemats for the guild's Christmas market. These feature another very old Hoffman print.

I would have used the bright print for the placemat backs, but I didn't have enough of that fabric. Instead I combined what I had left with more of the black solid background. These 6 placemats used 2-5/8 yards of fabric. I also used 3/8 yard for the Hollow 9-Patch block shared in yesterday's post. No new fabric was added last week.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                     3.0 yards

Used year to date:              113.5 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:             88.75 yards

Net used in 2024:            24.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. After finishing off the last set of placemats, I pulled out my ongoing hand stitching project, the applique hearts, to take along on our trip. That made it possible for me to get in my stitching time every day last week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

9/22 - 9/28               7 of 7 days

2024 Total          267 of 272 days

Success rate               98.16 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Returning to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

September has been an unusually busy month, including two separate trips. Most of my limited quilting time has been devoted to quilt guild projects, but I finally found the time to make a set of black and grey Hollow 9-Patch blocks, one of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I expect to add a set of brown blocks to the collection next month. I believe that would bring me to a total of 90 blocks. Each block will finish at 6". I will also spend October trying to catch up on the blocks that didn't get made for other RSC projects in September.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/22/2024

The past week has been a busy one, with all of my quilting time devoted to a variety of quilt guild activities. We had a board meeting on Monday, and our regular meeting was on Thursday, which was the guild's annual auction. Guild members donate quilting/sewing related items which are laid out on long tables with brown paper bags taped to the tables next to each item. We buy tickets and place them in the bags for the items we wish to win. Here are some of the items I donated.

Green ikat panel

Halloween panel

Santa panel

Stripes, checks and plaids

Heart appliques/blocks

Chilhowie blocks (Bonnie Hunter 2022 mystery)

In addition to everything shown, there were several other plaid and stripe fabrics, plus a few more Christmas panels. Donations from my stash totaled 19.875 yards. I also donated one book and some spools of thread.

I also won a few prizes, fortunately much less than I donated. One of them was this bundle of blue fabrics, which total 4.25 yards.

The prize I was most excited to win was this bin of light/low volume strips. I haven't had much time to go through them yet, but I foresee using them in all sorts of wonderful projects. I estimated the yardage at 7.5 yards by weight. I also won a book and a set of rotary rulers.

On top of all that fabric moving in and out of my stash, I have been busy finishing more placemats for the guild Christmas market. I made eight from a wonderful harvest print that seemed perfect for Thanksgiving.

I also finished another set that feature a very old Hoffman print from the late 1990's/early 2000s.

Each set of 4 placemats used 1.75 yards of fabric. When I added everything together, the totals came to 25.125 yards used/donated from the stash and 11.75 yards added. 

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                25.125 yards

Used year to date:              110.5 yards

Added last week:                 11.75 yards

Added year to date:             88.75 yards

Net used in 2024:            21.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. The whole week felt like a race to get things together for the guild auction and to finish the placemats for the Christmas market. I hope to complete the last set of placemats today, and then I should be able to get back to some of my neglected on-going projects.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

9/15 - 9/21               7 of 7 days

2024 Total          260 of 265 days

Success rate                 98.1 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/15/2024

It has been two weeks since my last blog post, mostly due to a recent trip to Wisconsin to visit family. Sometimes I am organized enough before going out of town to have some blog posts written in advance, but that wasn't the case this time.

One of the highlights of the trip was being able to go to the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, my first time there. That might have to become an annual event! It was an excellent show, with so many fantastic quilts on display. I'm going to share just a couple of my favorites here.

Up first is "Quiet Winter Morning" by Lisa Jenni of Redmond, WA. This is not at all the type of quilt I tend to make, but I was fascinated by the combination of the subtle color palette and the incredibly tiny pieced curving lines. Lisa won an Honorable Mention in Wall Quilts, Machine Quilted--Pieced.

Another favorite was "The Doings" by Katherine Clark of La Grange Park, IL. This quilt took 1st place in Hand Quilted Bed Size--Pieced. It is a variation on the Jack's Chain pattern. I've always loved quilts with the appearance of curves even though the piecing is all straight lines. My Ring Cycles quilt (see it HERE) has the same effect, but I love the scrappy reds in this version.

We went to the quilt show on Saturday afternoon, the last day of the show, and didn't have much time to visit the vendors. That was probably a good thing, since I had been able to stop at Hancock's of Paducah on the trip from Georgia to Wisconsin and again on the way back. My stash report shows a large increase to the amount of fabric added to the stash and only a small amount used. The usage went toward this set of Stack & Whack Pinwheel placemats, which will be donated to our quilt guild's upcoming Christmas market.

Most of the time, my fabric purchases are smaller pieces like fat quarters or maybe 1/2 yards. That didn't work at Hancock's because most of the fabrics I bought were on sale and required a one-yard minimum purchase, and I got even more than that of a few. It all added up to a total addition to the stash of 17 yards.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last 2 weeks:                1.75 yards

Used year to date:             85.375 yards

Added last week:                   17.0 yards

Added year to date:               77.0 yards

Net used in 2024:            8.375 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. As frequently happens when we travel, I didn't squeeze in any time for quilting on a couple of the days we were gone. It was well worth it to relax and enjoy the time with family.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

9/1 - 9/14             12 of 14 days

2024 Total          253 of 258 days

Success rate               98.06 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/1/2024

My main quilting focus for the past week has been on quilt guild projects. We had a community service sewing day on Thursday, with about a dozen guild members working together to make simple tote bags. The bags will go to the church where our guild meets to be included in the shoebox gifts they put together for children.

Earlier in the week, I pulled out some fabrics from my stash and precut 23 bags for the sewing day. I was able to use up some older pieces, and it got 13 yards of fabric out of my stash. Here are the fabrics that became tote bags. Some of the pieces were large enough to cut multiple bags (6 of the bright colored hearts), and there was only enough for one bag of some of the other fabrics.

I believe we finished over 60 bags at our sewing day, and a few of us took some home for the final steps. This photo shows 13 bags that I finished off the next day. Many were made from the fabrics I contributed, and a few fabrics came from others. That dinosaur fabric is especially cute!

Also coming up for the quilt guild is our participation in an annual Christmas market. This week I was able to finish my first project for that, a tablerunner made from a border-stripe floral print that I won at last year's guild auction. I used 1.25 yards for the runner.

There was a little bit of non-guild related stash usage last week too. I used 3/8 yard to make the orange blocks #32 - 35 of the Birthday Blocks by Edyta Sitar at Laundry Basket Quilts. You can see my blocks in yesterday's post.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 14.625 yards

Used year to date:             83.625 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:               60.0 yards

Net used in 2024:          23.625 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Besides cutting and stitching tote bags, I have a few more tablerunners that got pieced last week and are ready for quilting. Today I should prep a hand-stitching project for an upcoming trip.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

8/25 - 8/31               7 of 7 days

2024 Total          241 of 244 days

Success rate                 98.8 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Finishing the Orange Blocks

Today is the last day of August, and I finished making my orange blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge just in time. 

These are Blocks #32 - 35 of the Birthday Blocks by Edyta Sitar at Laundry Basket Quilts. For my blocks I am alternating using a white or black background on each block and combining that with the RSC color of the month. The blocks will finish at 6".

The orange star is not the pattern that Edyta had designed. Her star block was made with English paper piecing, and I didn't want to spend the time doing all that hand stitching. Instead I went through some of my books of quilt blocks and found this Judy Martin design. It is from her pattern "Kyoto Gardens" which was published in her book Stellar Quilts. I scaled the pattern down to make this 6" block, but I'm thinking about making the original size (10.25") as an RSC project for next year.

I believe our RSC assignment for September will be dark neutrals (black and brown.) I need to go through my RSC projects and figure out which ones could use some dark blocks added to the collection.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA