October quilting goals and September results

September was an unusually productive month for me. I managed to reach all the quilting goals that I had set at the beginning of the month, and I even got a few extra projects done too!

SEPTEMBER RESULTS
1. My September goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes was to finish the binding on the Scrappy Sampler quilt that I pieced last year.   FINISHED 9/21/14!!

     

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in orange.  DONE 9/7

3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.  DONE 9/27

4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make September blocks.  DONE 9/11
All blocks joined together with sashing and cornerstones. (Apologies for the dark, shadowy photo.)

5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project  Made 81 blocks
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.
     DONE 9/30

Extra Credit:
Made 3 pairs of pajama pants
Boston Fiesta--made 24 blocks
Hearts baby quilt--quilt top done!


OCTOBER GOALS
1. My October goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes is to finish the binding on another quilt. This time it is my Dancing Stars quilt, which was my 2013 project for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I haven't decided yet if I want to make the binding in black, or do a scrappy brights binding.

     
2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in October's color.  

3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.
4.  Make 10-20 Autumn Leaves blocks to make this UFO bigger.

5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.

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

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 9/29/14

Yesterday I finished the top for my hearts baby quilt. Most of the hearts were made from a layer cake of Moda's "Surrounded by Love" line, and I think that is both the perfect name and the perfect sentiment for this baby quilt. 

This has been a fun little quilt to make, although I did run into some challenges with my sashing and a shortage of fabric for the setting triangles/border. I found a great flannel fabric for the back, so I am ready to get it layered and quilted.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! On Friday I will also link up to Let's Make Baby Quilts at Michelle's Romantic Tangle.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 9/28/14

We had a very busy week at work, but that meant I got to leave early on Friday to make up for some extra time I had put in earlier in the week. It's amazing the difference between getting off at 4:00 p.m. instead of 6:00--so much extra time for quilting! I spent the whole evening, plus part of Saturday getting my heart blocks joined together with sashing and setting triangles. Maybe I can figure out a border today. I will post a photo of the whole quilt tomorrow on Design Wall Monday, but here is a portion of it.

I also finished my scrappy orange hexie star and snowflake for September at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. You can see them on yesterday's post.

Used this week:                           2.375 yards
Used year to date:                   109.0 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      11 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Orange hexies

I have had a great time playing with my orange scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month. Orange was the perfect color as we head into fall, and I discovered more orange scraps in my collection than expected. 

I finished off my orange hexie snowflake and star (except for a few of the black-on-white background hexies.) I still need to make one more orange snowflake, but that probably won't get done before the end of September.

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you!  I am also linking up to Hexie Weekend at Quilting Reader's Garden and to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts. 

Julie in GA

Friday Finish!

My September goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes was to bind my Scrappy Sampler quilt, and it is complete! The binding was attached by machine to the top of the quilt, then finished off by hand on the back while "watching" baseball on TV.

This quilt was a block-of-the-month project at Intown Quilters in Decatur, GA through all of 2013. I joined all the blocks together in January of this year, including 180 bowtie blocks for the outer border. I got it back from having it quilted a couple months ago, and it is so exciting to have it finished and on the bed! Perfect timing as we get ready for the cooler weather of fall.

I am linking up to the finishes party for A Lovely Year of Finishes. It feels great to have reached my goal this month! I am also linking up to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday

Most weeks I write my Design Wall Monday post on Sunday night or early Monday before I go to work, but not this week. I just couldn't manage to do the writing and get any photos taken until this evening.

I spent several hours over the weekend making heart blocks for a baby quilt. These are from the "Surrounded by Love" layer cake that I won a few weeks ago in the ironing board challenge over at Jo's Country Junction. I keep rearranging the blocks, trying to get the colors evenly distributed. Next I will add more sashing strips around the outside and choose a fabric for setting triangles.

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 9/21/14

It seemed like I spent plenty of time sewing this week, but I didn't use up much fabric. I finished my blue and orange 12" LeMoyne Star blocks, which you can see in yesterday's post. I also finished 16 more blocks for Boston Fiesta, an old UFO that I am using as my leader/ender project.

Used this week:                           1.5 yards
Used year to date:                   106.625 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      8.625 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Orange LeMoyne Stars

I finished up my 12" LeMoyne Star block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here it is along with all of the orange 6" stars.

I have been playing with ideas for how to use all these stars in quilts. I tried my large blocks with this black and white check as a sashing possibility, but I'm not sure about that yet. I might also try to combine both the larger and smaller stars into one quilt.

I have started making a blue star to go with these and plan to make one in blacks and greys when we get to those colors.

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 9/15/14

Since January I have been making 6" LeMoyne Star blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. You can see my latest blocks (orange) here. In February I also started making one 12" block each month. Yesterday I finished my orange 12" star. I love those bright oranges against the dark background! Did you see the jack-o-lantern?

I have cut all the pieces for a blue star, the color I missed back in January. I am also replacing the light background on my red star with black. After that is done, I just need one more large star, probably in blacks and greys, for the center of the group. I haven't figured out a plan for this quilt beyond that, but I'm very happy with how the stars look together.

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 9/14/14

I had another great week of stash usage. Switching around between multiple projects time seems to be working out well for me. I made another pair of pajama pants, added sashing to the Tell It to the Stars mystery quilt, plus remade one of the blocks. I also finished my 8 LeMoyne Star blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, made some sample blocks for a baby quilt, and pulled out an old UFO to use as my leader/ender project.

The only addition for the week was a half-yard piece that I bought from a vendor at the Quilting Live! show yesterday. Here is my new fabric, plus the Seminole-pieced zipper pouch I made in a workshop.

Totals: Rainbow LeMoyne--8 stars           .5 yd. 
Baby quilt--3 sample blocks                     7"
Tell It to the Stars--remake one block       6"
Fall batik pajama pants                         2.5 yd.
Tell It to the Stars sashing                    1.25 yd.
Boston Fiesta--8 blocks                           .5 yd

Used this week:                          5.125 yards
Used year to date:                   105.125 yards

Stashed this week:                       .5  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      7.125 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Orange Scrappiness

I have been making good progress with my orange scrappy projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week. I finished all of my 6" LeMoyne Star blocks and have the pieces cut for a 12" block.

I might be ready to start joining these stars together into quilts soon. I haven't decided yet if I want to include brown and black/grey stars or just stick to the bright colors. It's time to put a batch of stars up on the design wall and see how they look together.

I also finished my first orange hexie snowflake this week and have started on my hexie star. The hexies have been getting lots of questions while I stitch on the train to work each morning.

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! I am also linking up to Hexie Weekend at A Quilting Reader's Garden, to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts, and to the Hexie Linky Party (HeLP) at Sarah Did It!.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 9/8/14

My main design wall is covered with the blocks for the Tell It to the Stars mystery. Our assignment for September & October is to add sashing and cornerstones and to get them all joined together with the blocks. All the blocks in the upper right part of the photo are stitched together except for one long seam, and the blocks to the lower left (plus those hidden to the left and the bottom) are waiting to be sewn together.

Judy's instructions for this mystery had the sashing cut from the same fabric as the block backgrounds, which makes the stars and chains of squares float more than mine. I decided to go with the darker sashing because I am making my quilt scrappy, with a different background fabric in every block. I am hoping that this slightly darker fabric will help all the different background fabrics work together. I keep looking at that chain block at the lower right and thinking the background looks too light compared to the others. I had better replace it before I get any further in the process or it will just continue to nag at me.

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 9/7/14

I have lots to report this week, both fabric used and fabric added. One project goes back a few months and is finally ready for showing, others are brand new.

A group of us at work joined together to make a signature quilt for the retirement of our boss Carol. I was in charge of the design and getting all the fabrics. We used batiks in many shades of blues, greys, tans and browns. The blocks were joined together and borders added on Friday. Carol always urged us to use a thimble for hand sewing, so we included a thimble block on the front, and the backing fabric is covered with thimbles. I am counting both fabric used and fabric added to my stash for this project. The white fabric for the signature areas was from my stash, as were many of the batiks, but I ended up with the leftovers of other fabrics purchased for the quilt.

Last week I showed the layer cake of "Surrounded by Love" that I had won. I was thinking it would be perfect for a very girly baby quilt with the many prints in pink, red and white. Only a few days later, I got an email from our pregnant niece letting us know that she is having a girl! It's meant to be! Yesterday I went shopping for a solid pink to use with the layer cake, and I also found a flannel print that will be perfect for a backing. That is an addition of 5 yards to my stash. I haven't decided on a baby quilt pattern yet, but I am considering several options.

My other purchase yesterday was this beautiful print from Patty Young's Modkid Studio. There is something I really love about the color combination, and I am thinking it would make a good color palette for a future quilt.

I got inspired to make some new pajama pants this week. I made a pair for myself from a tropical print, and a short pair for my husband, the FSU fan. They aren't quilts, but they are from quilting fabrics, so I am including the fabric used in my stash report.

Totals:
Signature quilt:  2.75 yds. used, 1 yd. added
Baby quilt fabrics:  5 yards added
Grey/teal/yellow print:  1.75 yds. added
2 pair pajama pants:  4.5 yds. used

Used this week:                          7.25 yards
Used year to date:                    100.0 yards

Stashed this week:                     7.75  yards

Stashed year to date:                97.5 yards 

Net year to date:                      2.5 yards used  

Hurray! I made my goal of using at least 100 yards this year (and should go well past that number in the remaining four months.) I'm still hanging on at using up more fabric than I add.

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Orange scraps for September

Our color for September at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is orange. This is a color that I almost never wear, but I love orange in quilts. There is such a wide range of colors, from pale peach to dark rust, and they all add such a lovely warmth to a quilt.

This week I have been concentrating on brighter orange scraps for my Rainbow LeMoyne Stars. I have six 6" blocks finished, two more to make, plus one 12" block to put together yet.

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 9/1/14

My main design wall is mostly empty at the moment. The only pieces hanging there are four LeMoyne Stars in orange, our color for September at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, plus my green hexie star with background hexies, another rainbow project.

The other design wall is covered with the rest of the hexie stars and snowflakes. Orange is the last color I need to make, then it's all about adding background and joining them all together. This project has been in the works for just over a year, and I expect it will take another year or more to finish the top.

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

Julie in GA

September quilting goals & August results

It is looking like September is going to be a busy, quilt-filled month. All the local quilt shops are getting back to full schedules of classes, and it would be a great time to learn something new. There are also two major quilt shows nearby, but unfortunately they are both on the same weekend. AQS Quiltweek in Chattanooga, TN runs Sept. 10 -13. 

The event I am more likely to be able to attend is Quilting Live! at the Cobb Galleria Center in Atlanta, Sept. 11 - 13. Here is some info about that show:

Quilting LIVE! will have quilt exhibits, stage presentations, classes, make-it take-it events and more,  presented by Quilters Newsletter,  McCalls Quilting, Quiltmaker, Quilting Arts, Keepsake Quilting, Modern Patchwork, Quilty, Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting and QNNtv! Be sure to check out the Quilting LIVE! website today to find out more and learn about all the quilting experiences you could have by attending.


AUGUST GOALS

1.  Finish quilting and bind Musical Stars baby quilt. This was also my August goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  FINISHED 8/9/14 and presented to the parents to be!

Musical Stars baby quilt
36" square

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in August's color, light/bright green.  Since I had already made green LeMoyne stars in May, I made 12 Crossroads blocks in light/bright greens. They have been joined together, borders added, backing pieced, and this is ready to be quilted.

3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes. Already had green blocks from May, so have been adding background hexies to my green star.

4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make August blocks. DONE 8/23/14

5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project  DONE 8/27
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.  DONE 8/31

SEPTEMBER GOALS
1. My September goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes is to finish the binding on the Scrappy Sampler quilt that I pieced last year. Now that we are getting close to fall, it's time to get this quilt completed!

     

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in orange.
3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.
4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make September blocks.
5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.

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

Julie in GA