Wiggle Time Quilt Top & Back

It doesn't happen to me very often, but every once in a while, a new fabric provides the immediate inspiration for a quilt. That was the case this time around. It started with this fabric that I got at Hancock's of Paducah in late July. It is from the "Wildflowers" line by Debbie Beaves for Robert Kaufman fabrics.

I have been wanting to make the pattern "Wiggle Time" by Cynthia Brunz for quite a while, and this was the perfect background fabric for it. Here is the photo from Cynthia's pattern page. 

Wiggle Time pattern by Cynthia Brunz

The first step was choosing fabrics from my stash for the squares that step up and down across the quilt. Because a couple of my fabrics were already cut strips, I needed to reduce the scale of those squares, which made it possible to include more fabrics. 

The pattern is very well written and went together quickly. In a very short time, I had this wonderful finished quilt top.

Wiggle Time quilt top, 45" x 57"

I found this adorable flannel fabric that includes all the colors of the quilt top to use for the backing. 

The flannel piece wasn't quite big enough, so I added a couple strips of orange polka dot flannel to extend it.

I had a great time making this little quilt and look forward to using the Wiggle Time pattern again soon. If you aren't familiar with Cynthia's patterns and quilts, check out her blog Quilting is more fun than Housework (one of the best blog names ever!)

Linking up with:

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Let's Make Baby Quilts at Michelle's Romantic Tangle

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

To-Do Tuesday 10/12/2021

It is Tuesday and time for another Tuesday To-Do list. I was away from home last Tuesday and didn't update my list, so today's post covers the last two week. It's time to see how I did with my last to-do list. then come up with a new list for the week ahead. The Tuesday To-Do List link-up is hosted by Linda at Texas Quilt Gal.

Keeping my last list short was the right thing to do since we were going out of town. I didn't get much done while we were away, and I am still catching up now.

To-Do List for 9/28 - 10/4 10/11

1. Bowties 365--make one Bowtie block each day   ✔done

I've gotten ahead on my daily Bowtie blocks and have 16 light green blocks done. You can see the layout I'm considering in yesterday's post.

2. Hearts Applique--make at least one block/week    ✔done

My applique project didn't receive much attention over the last two weeks. I completed two heart blocks.

3. RWB Rectangles--make more blocks     ✔done

I had a stack of red blocks already cut out and got a few of them stitched up yesterday.

I'm mostly focusing on catching up on some of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects this week.

To-Do List for 10/12 - 10/18

1. Bowties 365--make one Bowtie block each day   

2. Hearts Applique--make at least one block per week    

3. RWB Rectangles--make more blocks    

4. Sew Colorful Stars--make one orange and one light green block

5. Scrap Magnet--make last two blocks

I'll report on my progress and post a new set of goals next Tuesday. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Texas Quilt Gal.

Julie in GA  

Design Wall Monday 10/11/2021

As we get into the last few months of the year, some of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge are approaching the end. Yesterday I decided to play with a possible layout for some of the bowtie blocks that I have been making all year.

I have been making two different sets of bowtie blocks this year, with the goal of making an average of one block every day of 2021. This set consists of 5" finished size blocks that all have the same background fabric. I've tried to use mostly "pastel" prints, but have needed to go into darker shades of some colors, especially purple. 

This very unusual layout for the bowtie blocks is one I've been wanting to use for quite awhile. I had originally seen it on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog, although it is not one of Bonnie's patterns.

Bowtie quilt top shared on Quiltville blog

I'm still working on more green bowtie blocks for this quilt, but I am eager to get them made and start putting them all together. My quilt won't have all the colors of the rainbow, just the ones you see in the top photo.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stitching and Stashing--Week 41, 2021

A week away from home has meant a serious slowdown in stash usage. However, another visit to Hancock's of Paducah led to an enormous addition to my stash. It's time for me to do some serious stashbusting!

My stash usage for the past two weeks was 2.25 yards for blue striped shirt (shown in this blog post) and 7/8 yard for Homespun blocks (shown in yesterday's post.)

The additions: 26 yards from Hancock's. I had intended to be more restrained on this visit, but Ed urged me to get whatever I wanted as an early birthday gift. Who was I to say no to that?! My main goals were to get some new turquoise prints and also some light/background fabrics. I was successful on both fronts, plus got several other pieces.

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                          3.125 yards

Used year to date:                    150.25 yards

Added last week:                          26.0 yards

Added year to date:                   127.50 yards

Net used year to date             22.75 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 stitching time. I took a hand stitching project along on our trip, and I did spend 15 minutes on it every day, but rarely more than that. Progress has been very slow, but my numbers look good.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

9/26 - 10/9           14 of 14 days

2021 Total          280 of 282 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 41, 202

I've been absent from blogging for over a week because we made another trip back to Wisconsin, this time for a family wedding. Sometimes I am organized enough to have some blog posts prepared in advance, but that didn't happen this time. We had a great trip, both at the wedding and spending a couple days hanging out with family, including several great nieces and great nephews, ages 1 to 8. It was so much fun to see them all again!

After we got back, there was the usual day or two of laundry, grocery shopping, and getting back into the usual routine. I didn't get any quilting done until Thursday, but I have now completed the last blocks for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, the Homespun quilt.

Homespun design by Modernly Morgan

As you can see, the tan and grey blocks are divided into half blocks. That is because my planned layout needs some half blocks, and I think I will probably use the neutral colors there. I did the same thing when I made brown and black blocks in July. You can see those blocks HERE.

I have made all the blocks I need for this quilt and am very eager to get them up on the wall and consider different arrangements. I'm hoping to get caught up on other RSC projects first, then I can reward myself with some layout playtime.

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

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 9/28/2021

Another Tuesday? How can it be Tuesday again already?! The weeks sure do go by quickly. It's time to see how I did with last week's to-do list. then come up with a new list for the week ahead. The Tuesday To-Do List link-up is hosted by Linda at Texas Quilt Gal.

I got through more of my list than expected last week, so I'm taking that as a success!

To-Do List for 9/21 - 9/27

1. Bowties 365--make one Bowtie block each day  ✔done

I finished my Bowtie blocks a little early this month, finishing the last batch for my total of 30 blocks in September. You can see them all in Saturday's post, or there's a different layout of them in Sunday's post.

2. Hearts Applique--make at least one block  not done

3. Sew Colorful Stars--make orange block  not done

4. Volcano 9-Patch--take photos, write blog post  ✔done

You can see the finished quilt in this post.

5. Scrooge coat--make progress   ✔done and ready to fit

I've been including this Scrooge coat on my to-do list for several weeks. I think it's finally time to show what I've been talking about.

For over 40 years, I worked in theater making costumes, up until my retirement in 2020. My most recent employer, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta stages a production of A Christmas Carol every year. They had been planning to mount a new version of the show in 2020--new script, new casting, new sets and costumes. Of course, that didn't happen, so the new production was postponed until this year. 

Over the years, I made all sorts of costumes, both men's and women's. One of my specialties became tailoring. I was asked to make a coat for Scrooge in the new Christmas Carol, and that is what I have been working on lately. It is finally all together and ready for one last fitting. Unfortunately, it is very hard to see any details in my photos of this black wool coat, but here it is! The large white stitches on the front are just basting that is holding the layers together.

Scrooge coat--front

Scrooge coat--back

6. Denim shirt--finish   ✔done?

Instead of completing the denim shirt that I showed last week, I cut out and stitched another shirt. It is a blue stripe, and I finished it yesterday!

7. RWB Rectangles--cut pieces for more blocks

I cut pieces for many more blocks, and I got 10 blue blocks stitched. You can see them in yesterday's post.

To-Do List for 9/28 - 10/4

I know that the next week is going to be a busy one, so I'm shortening the list to a more reasonable number of goals.

1. Bowties 365--make one Bowtie block each day

2. Hearts Applique--make at least one block

3. RWB Rectangles--make more blocks

I'll report on my progress and post a new set of goals next Tuesday. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Texas Quilt Gal.

Julie in GA  

Design Wall Monday 9/27/2021

Most of my stitching time over the last week has been spent on garment sewing, but I also made some progress on my newest project, the Red, White & Blue Rectangles quilt. You can read more about the beginning of this quilt in last week's post.

I made 10  blue blocks last week and have the pieces cut for 7 more. 

I've also started cutting pieces for more red blocks. Here are light rectangles for 17 blocks, sets of red pieces for 7 blocks, and the strips across the top are options for the remaining sets of red. I will probably dig through my stash a bit to see if there are any other favorite red fabrics I want to include.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 39, 2021

My stash report includes a small change, 1 yard used for the week and no new additions. My usage was 3/8 yard for the binding on the Volcano 9Patch quilt (see it HERE) plus 5/8 yard for 30 orange bowtie blocks. I've been having fun playing with other layouts of those blocks (you can see a different layout in yesterday's post.) 

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            1.00 yards

Used year to date:                   147.125 yards

Added last week:                            0.0 yards

Added year to date:                   101.50 yards

Net used year to date            45.625 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 stitching time. I had one day last week with no quilting, but I did spend some time working on garment sewing. After rereading Kate's original post about the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge, I realized that any type of stitching (sewing, knitting, embroidery, etc.) counts, not just quilting projects. I updated my totals and am back at having missed only two days all year.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

9/19 - 9/25               7 of 7 days

2021 Total          266 of 268 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 39, 2021

The end of September is approaching much too quickly, and I still need to finish making my blocks for one or two of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. I did manage to finish my orange bowtie blocks today.

I ended up with 30 bowtie blocks, ranging from yellow-orange to dark rust. 

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

Julie in GA

Volcano Nine-Patch Quilt is Finished!

The quilting on my Volcano Nine-Patch quilt was completed almost two weeks ago, but we have had so many grey, rainy days that it has been difficult to get outside for photos. The weather has finally cleared, and it's time to share my most recent finish!

Volcano Nine-Patch

42.25" x 52.75" after washing

This quilt started from a Zip-loc bag of 9-patch blocks, strip sets, and fabric scraps, all left over from my original Volcano Island quilt, made in 2000-2001. I got inspired to see what I could make from the leftovers and ended up with a lovely baby quilt. Here are both quilts together, hanging off the railing of our back deck.

The big quilt measures about 85" x 95". It is a Blooming 9-Patch design, made from alternating 9-patch blocks and large squares of the same fabrics. The baby quilt is all 9-patches, with no plain squares in between. Almost all of the same fabrics were used, although I added one orange print at the center, had to substitute one fabric, and didn't have any left of the outer border fabric from the big quilt.

The quilting on the baby quilt is stitch in the ditch done diagonally around all the blocks, plus rectangular boxes the run through the centers of the blocks. The back of the quilt, shown below, is a flannel fabric from Joann's. 

Finishing this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for September. It feels so good to have another finish, and I look forward to gifting it soon.

Linking up with:

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA