Design Wall Monday 10/27/14

It's funny how the quilting rhythm comes and goes. Last month I made great progress on several projects, meeting all of my quilting goals plus a few extras. This month I am struggling to get anything accomplished.

Part of the problem is that I am reaching the point where I need to make decisions, which is always a challenge for me! I need to decide what to do for setting and borders on my Rainbow LeMoyne projects (see them both here.) I also need borders for the Boston Fiesta quilt. The Surrounded by Love baby quilt is ready to be layered and quilted, which is not my favorite part of the process. I would much rather keep on piecing.

Instead of dealing with any of my decision-making obstacles, last night I avoided them all and worked on an old UFO that has been my leader and ender project for a couple of months. I don't know the name of this pattern or when it was started, at least 12-15 years ago. I found the parts in a box along with a block or two made up. Now all of the pieces have been joined together, and it doesn't do much for me. Usually I really like the fall colors together, but this just doesn't excite me. Not sure where I will go with it now (probably back into a box.) Yet another decision for me to avoid making!

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 10/26/14

Another week with just a small amount of fabric used, 1/2 yard for 12" LeMoyne Star blocks in brown and black/grey.

No fabric added for the week, but I'm having a hard time resisting all the online deals. My sewing room is jam-packed with fabrics, yet I have been thinking about getting some new additions. I am trying to stay strong and resist, but I don't know how long I can hold out! This weekly stash report does help motivate me to keep using fabric rather than adding more. Thanks, Judy!

Used this week:                             .5 yards
Used year to date:                   111.625 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      13.625 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Scraphappy Saturday 10/25/14

For some reason I haven't been getting much done on any of my quilting projects this week. I guess it was a combination of long hours at work and low energy from fighting a cold. I did manage to finish my black and grey 12" LeMoyne Star block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here are all of  my 12" blocks with the top fabric candidates for sashing and cornerstones. 

I am trying to figure out whether to stop at 9 blocks or make 3 more and end up with a rectangular quilt, which I think would be more useful. I could definitely make a brown star, and probably one with lighter neutrals (tan/beige/gold), but I don't know what to use for a twelfth color. Any suggestions? I would like to get this quilt top finished before the end of the year instead of ending up with another UFO stuffed into a box while I wait for inspiration to strike!

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

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 10/20/14

My design wall is empty today, but I do have a project in the works to show. I have been cutting diamonds for a black and grey 12" LeMoyne Star block. You can see the rest of these blocks here. I hope to get this block put together tonight or tomorrow.

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 10/19/14

Another small increase in my net usage for the year. 3/8 yard used for my black and grey LeMoyne Star blocks (which you can see in yesterday's post.)

Used this week:                          .375 yards
Used year to date:                   111.125 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      13.125 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Getting Busy with Black

I made good progress on my Rainbow LeMoyne star blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week. I finished seven more 6" stars using my black, grey and brown scraps. That gets me up to my goal of 9 finished blocks. All that's left is to make a 12" star block next week.

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

Julie in GA

15 Minutes to Stitch 10/16/14

I am so glad that Kate has brought back a new version of her 15 Minute Challenge. I had participated in her challenge through most of 2013 and was sad when she decided not to keep it going this year. I have continued tracking the number of days that I have managed to spend at least 15 minutes on quilting, and my results have been very good. It has helped me get into the habit of spending some time in my sewing room almost every day.

So far in October, I have spent at least 15 minutes quilting every single day. Most days I worked on my hand-stitched hexies, and I have also been spending machine time on my Rainbow LeMoyne blocks and my Boston Fiesta UFO. Quite often I end up spending an hour or more on my projects in the evening.

Soon I need to figure out if I am going to attempt to make any Christmas gifts and get started on those. The time will slip away before we know it!

Check out Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch post at Life in Pieces to see how she and others are finding time for their creative pursuits. 


Julie in GA

Scraptastic Tuesday!

I recently discovered a new weekly series of posts called Scraptastic Tuesday. The posts are hosted by Leanne at she can quilt and by Nicky at Mrs. Sew and Sow. As you have probably figured out, their posts are all about scrappy quilts, one of my favorite things! Once a month, they are hosting a linkup, and today is the day for the rest of us to share our scrappy projects. 

I have two current scrappy quilt projects in the works that were both started as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Up first are my Rainbow LeMoyne Stars. Since January I have been making 6" LeMoyne Star blocks, usually 8 or 9 each month in whatever color has been assigned for the month. Here is a small selection of my finished blocks. I expect to end up with enough blocks for two lap or kid's quilts.

Along with those, I have also been making one 12" star each month. I am planning to make one more block in blacks and greys for the center of this group.

My other on-going scrappy project is Scrappy Hexie Stars and Snowflakes. I began hand-stitching hexies in August of 2013, mostly as a way to fill the time during my morning train commute to work. I have tried to make one large star and two "snowflakes" each month, again using the assigned color from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I have completed most of the colors, and now I am starting to add background hexies to the stars, as you can see on the large green star at the upper right. 

I am so excited to check out the other posts for Scraptastic Tuesday! You can visit Leanne and Nicky's blogs to see all the scrappy goodness!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 10/13/14

I have been working away at the Boston Fiesta blocks that I showed for the first time last Monday. First I did some ripping and re-pressing of seams to change the direction they lay and make them nestle together when they get joined. Next I joined the blocks into groups of four, and now I am playing with ideas for the borders.

I knew that I wanted to start with the last fabric in the blocks in order to complete the design. I am considering two options, one with pieces of the green fabric alternating with the yellow, and the other has a single strip of the green. Both versions continue with the yellow, followed by the stripe for a final border. Here are the choices I am trying out:

Another option would involve finishing the quilt with 5 borders--green, yellow, stripe, more yellow, and finish with the green. Here is how that idea would look (except the green print on the final border would run horizontally instead of vertically.)

I might end up making two throw-size quilts with these blocks, one to keep and one to donate. If so, I could do different borders on each quilt and keep the version I like better. Now I just need to figure out if I have enough fabric left for these ideas.

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 10/12/14

Another small increase in my fabric used number, and no fabric added again! I finished 16 more Boston Fiesta blocks, plus 2 LeMoyne Stars.

Used this week:                          1.125 yards
Used year to date:                   110.75 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      12.75 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Into the Darkness

It has taken me a little longer than usual to get going on my LeMoyne Stars blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month. It's not that I dislike the colors chosen which are black, grey and brown. I think adding black and grey stars to my collection will look great. I have just been too distracted by another project for the past week or so.

I did manage to get out some black and grey scraps and made two 6" stars last night.

I had taken down my black and brown hexie stars and snowflakes from the design wall in order to work on adding background hexies to them. It is quite a different look on the wall with only the brighter colors up there, but I will definitely include the darker ones in the finished quilt. The large green star at the upper right is the first to have the background hexies added to it.

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 which is over at Billie Bee's blog this week, and to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts. 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 10/6/14

A couple weeks ago I pulled out some old UFO blocks to use as leaders/enders while working on other projects. I had 32 blocks already made, and have made an additional 32 blocks recently, with only another 16 blocks left to go. I was so close to finishing those last 16 yesterday, but didn't quite get there. 

Unfortunately, when I was working on my last batch of blocks, I discovered that I should have been pressing my seams differently. If I press all the seams away from the pale yellow, it is easier to nestle the seams when joining blocks together. Why couldn't I have figured that out after making my first six blocks, instead of when I have 74 blocks done and only six blocks to go?!

I call this project my Boston Fiesta quilt. Boston because that is where I bought the fabrics back in 2005, and Fiesta because the colors make me think of Mexican food--avocado green, yellow corn tortillas, orange cheese. This is making me hungry! The block is a quarter log cabin variation. I saw a quilt made with this block at the AQS-Paducah show in 2004 and knew I would make one of my own someday. 

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 10/5/14

My stash usage this week was small, just 1/2 yard for more Boston Fiesta blocks and 1/8 yard for my last orange hexie snowflake.

I made a brief visit to a quilt show yesterday, but didn't have enough time to visit the vendors. It's just as well I guess--kept me from adding to my stash!

Used this week:                           .625 yards
Used year to date:                 109.625 yards

Stashed this week:                       0  yards

Stashed year to date:               98.0 yards 

Net year to date:                      11.625 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Digging through the dark strips

I haven't gotten very far with this month's colors for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. For October our assignment is to work with black, grey and brown scraps. All I have managed to accomplish is pulling out my two scrap drawers that hold those colors and start choosing which to use. I am planning to make a batch of 6" LeMoyne stars and see how they look with all the bright colored stars. I also need a 12" star to go in the center of that grouping.

Since I had already made hexie stars and snowflakes in both black and brown last year, I will concentrate on adding background hexies to them.

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

Tell It to the Stars 10/3/14

Our September/October assignment for Judy L's Tell It to the Stars mystery was to add sashing and cornerstones to the blocks we had been making since January. For a change, I decided to get mine done right away at the beginning of the month. I completed this part a few weeks ago, leaving me to wait until November for the next step.

One big difference between my quilt and others is that I have been going somewhat scrappy. I wish I had mixed it up even more, especially with the background fabrics. I used a different background in each block, but it might have been even better if each block had a mix of several backgrounds. I also used a fabric for the sashing which is darker than the background, making my blocks look more boxed in instead of floating like other versions.

All that's left to do on this quilt are the borders. Judy has told us to expect some straight and one pieced. That's no surprise since we know how Judy loves her pieced borders. I can't wait to see what she has planned!

To see other interpretations of the mystery, go to Patchwork Times.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA