August quilting goals & July results

July was a very busy month that included travel and returning to work full time. My "summer" break (April to early July) came to an end much too quickly. Usually that time off is my most productive stretch of quilting time of the whole year, but it didn't feel that way this year. Maybe the structure of a regular work schedule will help me stick to a more regular quilting schedule too.

 JULY GOALS AND RESULTS:
1.  QOV Bowties--get borders on the quilt top, plus make the back, binding, and pillowcase, then turn it in for longarm quilting. This was also my goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes, but I did not complete it.  Still trying to decide what to use for a border.

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in red. DONE 7/20/14

3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.  Made 2 snowflakes and added background hexies to 2 others

4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make July blocks.  DONE 7/13

5.  Make one Mariner's Compass block. Not done
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.   28 out of 31 days

Extra credit
1.  Made Musical Stars baby quilt top & back
2.  Carol's signature quilt

AUGUST GOALS
1.  Finish quilting and bind Musical Stars baby quilt. This is also my August goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in August's color.
3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.
4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make July blocks.
5.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc. 

There you have it, my quilting plans and goals for August and my results from July. Watch for the next update at the end of August.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 7/27/14

I didn't feel like I got much quilting done this week, but when I checked my stash report list, I discovered that I had done more and used more fabric than I originally realized. No fabric added, so I am getting closer to even again.

Used this week:
1/8 yard--hexies
1/8 yard--2 LeMoyne stars
3.25 yards--tablecloth

We are having a big birthday party for my sister-in-law today. I discovered this great border-print fabric in my stash and decided to make it into a tablecloth. I love how bright and cheery it is!

Used this week:                            3.5  yards
Used year to date:                     76.5  yards

Stashed this week:                          0  yards

Stashed year to date:               86.75 yards 

Net year to date:                   10.25 yards stashed  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Finishing Up Red

It has been such a busy week that I don't have much progress to show on my red blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I did finish the last couple of 6" LeMoyne Star blocks, bringing my total to 8. The pieces for the scrappy red 12" star have been cut and laid out, but are still waiting to be put together.

I put a couple of each color of star up on my design wall to show to friends tomorrow.  We haven't had an orange month yet (maybe August?), but I had one orange block that was made many years ago. It's so much fun to see all the colors together!

Check out the all of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of beautiful rainbow projects to enjoy!


Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 7/21/14

My design wall is mostly empty, but I do have my 6" LeMoyne Star blocks finished. I have been making these all year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, where the assigned color for July is red. All that's left for these is to make a scrappy 12" red star.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 7/20/14

Not much quilting this week, so minimal change to the stash report. I used 1/8 yard for 2 LeMoyne Star blocks, and another 1/8 on my hexagon quilt.

Used this week:                                 .25  yards
Used year to date:                         73.0  yards

Stashed this week:                               0  yards

Stashed year to date:                    86.75 yards 

Net year to date:                         13.75 yards stashed  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

A few scraps of red

For some reason, quilting time just didn't happen much this past week. Too many other things going on in the evenings I guess. I did manage to finish two more red LeMoyne Star blocks on light background. They are shown along with the four blocks on dark fabric from last week.

I hope to complete the last two blocks this week, plus make a scrappy 12" star before the end of the month.

Check out the all of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of beautiful rainbow projects to enjoy!


Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 7/14/14

Over the weekend I finished my July blocks for Judy L's Tell It to the Stars mystery. This is my guess at a possible layout for the blocks. I wonder what Judy has planned for us in August and the rest of the year.

I rearranged the blocks in an attempt to get the stars better balanced, moving the two darkest blocks into the center of the layout. There's no telling how many more blocks we will be making and where they fit into the plan.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 7/13/14

I've had a very productive quilting week, which is somewhat surprising since I also returned to work full time last week. However, my husband was working every evening during the week, so I spent as much time as possible in the sewing room while he was away. 

The largest amount of fabric used this week was for this Musical Stars baby quilt. You can read more about this quilt here. It measures 36.5" square and used 2-7/8 yards of fabric.

I also used 1/4 yard for 4 LeMoyne Star blocks, 5/8 yard of white for signature blocks, and 1 yard for the July blocks for the Tell It to the Stars mystery.

My only addition this week was this beautiful rainbow pack of hand-dyed fabrics that I won for participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The hand dyes were from Vicki Welsh. The weird wavy lines are from my photo, not the fabrics.

Used this week:                               4.75  yards
Used year to date:                         72.75  yards

Stashed this week:                         1.25 yards

Stashed year to date:                    86.75 yards 

Net year to date:                         14 yards stashed  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Scrappy Red Saturday 7/12/14

The assigned color in July for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is red. I am halfway through with my 6" LeMoyne Star blocks--four on black background done, and four on light background up next.

My other project for the challenge has been my Hexie Stars and Snowflakes. Because I started these hexies last August, there are some colors that I have already used, and red is one of those colors. To keep my favorite hand-stitching project moving forward, this month I am catching up on things that didn't get done in previous months. This week I stitched the black on white hexies to the red star and made a second pink snowflake. I have determined that I need a total of 10 large stars and 22 snowflakes for this quilt.

The next photo shows a portion of my planned layout when I start putting blocks together. I am trying to figure out the most efficient way to add the background hexies and join the stars and snowflakes. I believe I will need 10 of the large stars and 22 snowflakes for this quilt.

Check out the all of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of beautiful rainbow projects to enjoy! I am also linking up to HeLP for Hexie-aholics at Sarah Did It!


Julie in GA

Musical Stars Baby Quilt

It has been a long time since I was so excited about a simple little baby quilt, but it is also rare for one of my quilts to come together so quickly. 

This quilt started with the fabrics. My husband (the quilt shop enabler) spotted these fabrics from the line "Let There Be Music" by Windham Fabrics. We are friends with a couple who are expecting their first child in October. They are both musicians; one plays the trumpet, and the other plays the viola. These fabrics couldn't be more perfect!!

A few more music-themed fabrics were added to make the stars. The star blocks finish at 8". They were joined together with striped music fabric for sashing and borders.

Here is the completed quilt top. Not your typical baby quilt colors, but I just love it, and I hope the new parents will too!

Musical Stars Baby Quilt
36" square

I am linking up to Let's Make Baby Quilts! at Michelle's Romantic Tangle, and to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 7/7/14

The design wall has the center of my QOV Bowties quilt hanging on it while I consider border options. This photo shows about 80% of the blocks before they were joined together. The quilt would be big enough for a Quilt of Valor without any borders, but for some reason it seems to need something more.

I like the red print shown below as the outer border, but I am undecided on what to use for the inner border. Originally I didn't like the first version very well and wanted a fabric there with both red and blue in it. The second version has the red and blue stripe for the inner border, and I wonder if that looks too busy. (There is also the small problem that I don't have enough of that fabric.) I will have to ponder these choices a little longer. 

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 7/6/14

The past week was spent visiting family in Wisconsin, which means no sewing time/no stash usage. However, there were plenty of quilt shops visited with my sister and mother (and my sweet husband as our driver!) I think I was very restrained in my purchasng--I got the Christmas stripe to make a tree skirt or a table runner, maybe both if there's enough. The scissors print will join my collection of sewing-themed fabrics, and the red, white & blue stars and stripes print may become part of my current Quilt of Valor project.

Does anyone know the manufacturer and/or collection for this red, white & blue print. This photo includes a tape measure to show the scale of the print, just under 1.5" repeat across. I bought this at Nancy's Notions retail store. The piece I bought is only a fat quarter and didn't have the selvage with any info. I would love to get more (half a yard would do it) for a small border on my QOV Bowties.

Used this week:                                  0  yards
Used year to date:                        68.0  yards

Stashed this week:                         3.25 yards

Stashed year to date:                    85.5 yards 

Net year to date:                       17.5 yards stashed  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014--Mid-year update

As part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014, Angela has suggested we submit a post showing our mid-year status. I am very excited to see everyone's progress up to this point.

I started making my hexie stars and snowflakes for the RSC last August as a way to fill some time while riding the train to work each day. That is why I already have some colors finished that haven't been chosen yet this year like black, brown, and red, our assigned color for July. Since red is already done, I am going to spend July catching up on a few colors that need a second snowflake, plus I might begin working on the background (if I can make a decision on how to put them all together.) The first photo shows most of the colors together on the wall, and the second photo has the yellow additions from June.

My other rainbow project for 2014 is Rainbow LeMoyne Stars. I made four blocks on the black background way back in 2001. They finish at 6". I love the way they look together and have no idea why they got set aside for so long. 

For the RSC, I am making 8 blocks each month, half on light background and half on dark. I have also been making one 12" block most months. I have several ideas on how these will get joined together eventually. These photos show just a few of my finished blocks.

Check out the all of the mid-year Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of beautiful rainbow projects to enjoy!


Julie in GA