Getting Into Green

October certainly flew by this year, and the remaining months are sure to be even busier. It felt good to get my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks in brown done a little early, but it left me floundering for something to work on at the end of the month. 

I never did work on a brown UFO this month, so last week I pulled out a project from a class I took 5 years ago. These Shooting Stars blocks finish at 14" before the triangles around the outside are added. I have the pieces cut and partially stitched for two more blocks, but haven't decided what I want to use them for. I love the block pattern, but don't want to keep making more until I decide where they are headed. When I finish those two additional blocks, they will probably all end up right back in the same box as before

Because I was fairly certain that our RSC color for November was going to be light/bright green, I went ahead and started stitching my lighter green circle appliques. These will be the last blocks to be made for this quilt, and I am going to miss having my circles to sew on the train--time to find another little handwork project for next year. 

I have also started cutting away the background behind the circles. Thanks to everyone last week for your input on whether or not to trim. I decided to go ahead and trim all the blocks so they are consistent. Because I plan this quilt to be a wallhanging, I am not so worried about the stability with the background cut away. Boy, do I wish I had been trimming them as I made the blocks! That job gets tedious very quickly, and I have 120 or more blocks still to go. Then they all need to be squared off to 4-1/2" before I can start joining them together. Can't wait to get this quilt assembled!

I needed to take all the circle blocks off my design wall to put up another project, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible to get them all back in the same arrangement. I don't remember where I saw this idea, probably on someone's blog. I took each row down and stacked the blocks in order on a paper plate. The plates are labelled with the row number and also indicate which blocks are missing (those are the blocks still needing to be stitched.) I hope this helps when I am ready to put all the blocks back up on the wall.

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

Shooting Stars

As part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I have been working on two different projects all year long. I have also tried to make progress on a UFO each month based on the color assignment for the RSC, which is brown for this month. I realize that October is nearing the end (where did the month go?!), but today I finally pulled out one of my few projects that include brown, my Shooting Stars blocks.

These blocks were made in a class that I took 5 years ago. I am amazed that it has been that long! As happens with so many of my UFOs, they were set aside because I didn't have a clear idea of where I was going with them. The blocks are rather large, measuring 14" before the outside triangles are added on. I like the block pattern a lot, but I already have a pink and brown quilt and don't really want another bed quilt in those colors. 

I have a whole stack of pink and brown fabrics that I collected over the years. One of the options I am considering is to make more of the blocks, but in a scaled down version that could become a wallhanging. I want to keep this block pattern in mind for a possible future Quilt of Valor.

 I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/25/15

Before I sat down to write my stash report, I was happily thinking that I could count some fabric as used but had no additions for the week. WRONG! I forgot that I stopped at Joann's last Sunday afternoon to look for some fabric to back a baby quilt. I found this wild tie-dye flannel that was on super clearance so I bought what they had left, 4.5 yards. That will be enough to back at least 2, probably 3 baby quilts.

My usage was less than the incoming, but I am very happy to report a finished quilt top! My sister and I have been making Wonky Stars for Alycia's QOV block drive. I joined all of the Wonky Stars blocks together, then added a border of 3.5" squares around the stars. You can see about 90% of the quilt here--altogether it has 6 stars across and 8 down, plus the border of scrappy squares all the way around. If only I didn't have to photograph my design wall through a doorway!

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                  1.375 yards     

Used year to date:            141.75 yards

Stashed this week:                4.50 yards

Stashed year to date:      118.375 yards 

Net year to date:            23.375 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Scrappy Golden Circles

This week has been a busy one, with less time than usual for quilting. Fortunately, I still had time to hand stitch my appliqued circles for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I finished up seven more blocks in shades of yellow and gold. I believe that is the end of the warm colors for me. All that's left are some light and bright green circles, and I think that will be our color assignment for November.

On some of my blocks, especially the paler colors like yellow, you can see a shadow through the circle from the seam in the light and dark fabrics of the background. I have started trimming out the background behind those circles. 

Here's a question for you fans of hand applique out there--would you cut away the background on ALL of your blocks so they were consistent, or only on the blocks where the seam shows through? I wish I had pressed that background seam open instead of toward the dark; it would not make such a ridge in the circle.

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

Wall of Wonky Stars

I began making Wonky Star blocks for Alycia's block drive back in September. I posted photos of the blocks on the blog, which inspired my sister to start making some blocks too. We decided to join forces and try to get enough blocks made for a Quilt of Valor. Here is my design wall covered with our collection of wonky stars.

Somehow I ended up with two extra blocks, but they will go to Alycia along with the quilt top that these will become. I hope to start sewing them together this week. After that, they will only need a border or two, then away they go to Quilts of Valor for quilting. Wonky is not my usual style, but I sure had a good time making these stars.

I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/18/15

The fabric enabler has struck again! Yesterday my sweet husband suggested that I ride along with him when he went to his morning rehearsal. Not too far from the rehearsal were three quilt shops, and I visited every one of them and got fabric at every single shop. Best of all, he was buying! It was an early birthday present--he knows what makes me happy.

I was looking to replenish my stock of black and white prints, and got 12 different fabrics, all 1/4 yard pieces. I also got two RWB pieces that will be great for Quilts of Valor. I had used the light one with the music notes before, and was very happy to find more of it yesterday. The stripe may become sashing and/or border on a QOV that my sister and I are making together.

As for usage, I finished up 30 brown bowtie blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and 6 Wonky Stars for Alycia's QOV block drive. I also made 4 Twinkle Star blocks for the Block Lotto, but they all came out a little small. Maybe I will keep them for myself or see if I can fix them to end up a smidge bigger. They are too pretty to not be used somewhere.

Block Lotto Twinkle Stars

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                  1.875 yards     

Used year to date:            140.375 yards

Stashed this week:                7.50 yards

Stashed year to date:      113.875 yards 

Net year to date:            26.5 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

October Brown Scrappiness

The month of October is flying past, and I am continuing to add more blocks to my collections for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This week I finished 6 circle blocks (finishing up colors from previous months) and 18 brown Bowtie blocks. 

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

Throwback Thursday--Floral Log Cabin

My quilt submission for this week's Throwback Thursday post is the first bed-sized quilt I made by myself. It was started in a quilting class in October, 1995 and finished in August, 1997.

The pattern for our class was called Floral Blocks and Logs. I think it was meant to be a colorwash-type design. The pattern has 36 blocks, making a quilt that measures 63" square. Here is the cover of the pattern. 

I was a very new quilter when I took this class and really didn't have much of a stash of fabrics (boy, has that fact changed!) I vaguely remember going to Joann Fabrics and filling up a whole cart, maybe two, with bolts of fabric and getting 1/8 or 1/4 yard pieces of each one. I'm sure the people working there hated me that day!

During and soon after the class, I made 24 blocks for this quilt, then stashed the whole collection away in a box, probably because I didn't know how big I wanted to go with it. Nearly two years later, I pulled out the blocks and the fabric strips and made 40 more blocks. I quickly discovered the fun of playing with log cabin blocks in different settings. Of course, this was long before digital cameras came along, so I used a Polaroid camera to try different layouts of my blocks. Here are some of the possible layouts that I considered.

Floral Log Cabin--final layout of center

The center of my quilt is 64 blocks set 8x8 and measuring 84" square. To make the quilt big enough for my bed, I designed my own border for the quilt. I especially like the checkerboard--that's a lot of 1" squares! The next couple of photos give a better idea of the colors in the quilt than the scanned Polaroids in the previous photos.

Floral Log Cabin--center of quilt

Floral Log Cabin--border

This is the only large quilt I have ever quilted myself. I did it on my domestic machine, all stitch-in-the-ditch. The back of the quilt is plain muslin, and it feels like the batting might be polyester. I like to change around the quilts on our beds as the seasons change, and decided this quilt would be a good one to use now that it is starting to feel like fall. It was very difficult to get a photo of the whole quilt on the bed, but this was the best I could manage.

Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at Krista Quilts. Even better, add your own post to the link-up. We'd love to see your quilts from the past! 


Julie in GA

More Fun with Circles

My design wall is still covered with the rainbow of circle blocks. The empty spaces are for the blocks that still need to be appliqued. There are also several of the light green circles up there waiting to be stitched to the backgrounds.

The main change to this project over the past week was that I added the setting triangles around the four sides. I might also add scrappy borders of the white and black prints later if I decide the quilt should be bigger. I think I will start sewing the blocks together into sections soon. I'm happy with the arrangement of the colors and ready to start putting it all together.

I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/11/15

There hasn't been much change to my stash this week. Not much time for quilting lately, and my main project has been progressing very slowly. I did use 3/8 yard for the setting triangles on my applque circles quilt. I hope to have a photo of it to show tomorrow.

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                    .375 yards     

Used year to date:            138.50 yards

Stashed this week:                     0 yards

Stashed year to date:      106.375 yards 

Net year to date:            32.125 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Autumn Scraps

It doesn't look much like fall around this part of Georgia yet, but this week's blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sure have the colors of fall. 

Last week I showed a possible layout for all of my applique circle blocks. The next day I rearranged things a little bit, shifting the yellows to the upper left corner and the darkest blues and violets to the bottom of the quilt. You can see the new layout in Monday's post.

About 20 of those circles still need to be stitched to the background blocks. I finished 5 of the orange blocks this week, plus I made a dozen brown bowtie blocks for my other RSC project.

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

Throwback Thursday--Hawaiian Punch

Today's Throwback Thursday quilt is another in my series of wallhangings made for the Ben Franklin Challenge in Oconomowoc, WI. I entered this challenge every year between 1998 and 2003 when I lived in Milwaukee, and I even continued making entries for some years after I had moved away. Today's quilt was made in 2010.

The name of my quilt is Hawaiian Punch. It was my first-ever attempt at pineapple blocks. I printed out line drawings of pineapple designs and experimented with different color placements. The blocks measure 7-1/2" finished size, and the quilt finished at 37" square.

The squares in the following photo show three of the fabrics we were required to use in our challenge entries. I fussy cut those fabrics to make the most of their designs. The other two challenge fabrics were one of the bright pinks in the center of the quilt and the light spotted fabric that is at the center of most of the blocks. 

The next photo features the center of the quilt and gives a good view of many of the fabrics. We were required to use a recognizable amount of all the challenge fabrics and could add as many other fabrics as we wished.

My color plan included blocks pieced to form a built-in border effect with the darker purples. I was especially happy with the way this part worked out and will probably use that idea again if I ever make another pineapple quilt.

Hawaiian Punch took 1st place in the 2010 Ben Franklin challenge. It is currently hanging above my bed where I enjoy seeing it every single day. 

Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at Krista Quilts. Even better, add your own post to the link-up. We'd love to see your quilts from the past! 


Julie in GA

Playing with Circles

All year I have been appliquing circles to black and white background blocks as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Each month we are assigned a color to focus on, and I have tried to make around a dozen blocks with each color. The design is based on the pattern "True Colors" by Nancy Mahoney from her book Simple Circles and Quick Curves.

I have been playing with layout ideas and filling in with additional circles where needed. The original pattern has the blocks arranged in vertical columns by color, but I think I will go with a less formal layout. I started out with the yellows at the top center, but shifted everything around in order to get the darkest blue and purple circles at the bottom of the quilt. You may notice that some of the circles look larger than the rest--those are the ones that have been cut but still need to be stitched to the blocks. I am very eager to finish making blocks and get this quilt put together soon!

I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs Sew and Sow
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/4/15

I discovered a quick and easy way to make some headway at reducing my stash--give it away! A couple weeks ago I participated in the 2015 Fall Quilty Orphan Adoption Event. I find it very difficult to give up any of my fabric stash or quilt UFOs, even those that have been hanging around for years, but it felt great to find new homes for two of my old projects. You can see photos of the projects I put up for adoption HERE. If you are interested in having any of your "orphans" adopted, watch for the next Orphan Adoption Event in March over at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

My stash addition for the week came from the two little charm packs of polka dots that I won in a giveaway. More cute fabric! 

Orphan Adoption--46 Envelope blocks       5 yards

Orphan Adoption--Simple Symmetry #2    3 yards

RSC Circles--20 orange blocks                 .5 yards

Polka Dot charms                                   .5 yards added

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                    8.50 yards     

Used year to date:          138.125 yards

Stashed this week:                 .50  yards

Stashed year to date:      106.375 yards 

Net year to date:              31.75 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Circling the Rainbow

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for October is brown, but I haven't had any time to pull out my brown scraps yet. It has been a very busy week, both at work and in the evenings, and that has kept me from having much time to quilt. I need to get going on cutting squares for my rainbow bowtie blocks.

I decided a couple months ago that I wasn't going to include neutral colors like brown or black in my circle applique quilt.  If you saw my post from two weeks ago, it included a photo of the original quilt by Nancy Mahoney. Her quilt has the blocks arranged in vertical rows of color. I am thinking I might arrange my blocks in a gradation from lightest at the center of the quilt out to darker around the outside. Here's my first attempt with that idea.

There are a few holes in this grouping, and I would like to add enough blocks to end up with the quilt being 8 blocks wide instead of 7. I will need to make some more background squares, then decide where to add more colors. I know there are several lighter green circles around here somewhere just waiting to be stitched down.

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

Throwback Thursday--A Garden of Stars

Last week I showed the quilt that was my first entry for the Ben Franklin Crafts Quilting Challenge in Oconomowoc, WI from 1998. Here is another of my challenge entries, this time dating back to 2001.

I believe the challenge fabrics that had to be used in the quilt were the ones you see in this close-up photo--the blue, gold and burgundy prints, plus maybe the beige background. The star block measures 6".

The pattern I used was a variation on Judy Martin's pattern "Desert Twilight" from The Block Book. I changed the small stars a little bit and added the gold framing around the octagon. My favorite part of this quilt is the blue fabric that forms the large star points and the outer border. That was a wonderful find!

A Garden of Stars 2001
36" square
based on the pattern "Desert Twilight" by Judy Martin in The Block Book

My little quilt took 2nd place in the Ben Franklin Challenge in 2001 and also won viewer's choice. It is still a favorite of mine and hangs in our den at home.

Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at both Krista Quilts and at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Even better, add your own post to the link-ups. We'd love to see your quilts from the past! 


Julie in GA