Finally Finding the Orange Scraps

It's a good thing that April has five Saturdays this year, because I have fallen terribly far behind on my posts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for the month of April is orange, and it wasn't until last weekend that I had a chance to dig out my orange scraps. I've been making up for lost time this week--check out my design wall now! Plenty of orange, plus a little brown.

In the middle are my Whacky Pinwheel blocks for the RSC 2016 Sampler. To the left are three orange and one brown Scrappy Trips blocks from my drawer of 3" strips (adapted from Bonnie Hunter's instructions,) and at the top are four orange Folded Box blocks.

I am especially excited about the Folded Box blocks. I have seen this pattern in different places over the past few years, and was always intrigued by the 3-D look you can achieve with the right color placement. The first time I really noticed this block was on the Martingale website in this photo from the book 
Patchwork Palette - No-Fail Color Plans for Captivating Quilts by Donna Lynn Thomas. 

Just last week I ran across it again, this time in a blog post for the Vintage Shirting and Dress Fabric blog hop. This version was also made by Donna Lynn Thomas, and her blog post includes instructions for making a  12" block. I'm not sure if there is another name for this block, so I will go with the one Donna uses. 

My Folded Box blocks will finish at 9" instead of 12". After finishing the orange blocks, I pulled out my drawers of blue strips and cut pieces to make five more of these blocks in blue. I am hoping to make four or five blocks each month, including catching up on the other RSC colors from earlier this year (brown and purple.) 

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

Design Wall Monday 4/25/16

Despite having plenty of stitching time over the weekend, I don't have a whole lot to show on my design wall today. I did finish putting together the pinwheels baby quilt using the second layout that I showed in last week's post (thanks to all for the feedback!) Here is the back that I pieced together for that quilt. The fabrics are all flannels, and that animal print is just adorable!

I finished making the rest of my orange whacky pinwheel blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. These blocks were easy to make, and I really like the way they look together. I can imagine making a whole quilt with this block pattern (maybe the next baby quilt?) The blocks finish at 6".

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, and  Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/24/16

The pinwheel blocks that I have been making from my collection of 30's fabrics turned into the top for a baby quilt yesterday, and not a moment too soon. My great niece Clara was born Saturday afternoon. I also pieced a back for her quilt, so I will try to get it quilted up quickly. I will probably wait until after I have it finished and delivered before I share the quilt here.

Later in the day I started piecing the orange whacky pinwheel or whirligig blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. This was my first chance all month to spend any time on RSC projects. I hope to finish the rest of these blocks up today.

STASH TOTALS: 
Used this week:              2.75 yards     

Used year to date:        25.75 yards

Stashed this week:           0.0 yards

Stashed year to date:    19.25 yards 

 Net year to date:   6.5 yards used

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. The more days  I quilt, the more quilts I can get done and the more fabric used. 

15 Minute Challenge:  

April 17-23                7 of 7 days

April total               21 of 23 days

Year to date        108 of 114 days


350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made this week:  32
Block total for April:      117 

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  I am also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework, and belatedly with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 4/18/16

I have been making lots of pinwheel blocks from my collection of 30's fabrics. I think I probably have almost enough blocks for two baby quilts. The first photo shows the layout I was originally planning to use. Now I can really see how bad the lighting is in these photos--so sorry!

While making the last few of the yellow blocks, I had the idea of joining the small pinwheels into groups of four, then alternating them with the larger pinwheels. Here is what that layout would look like.

Now I don't know which way to go because I like both designs. I would love to make two quilts, but unfortunately I don't have any more of the plaid to make more large pinwheel blocks. I might have to see if I have another multi-color print that I could use for large pinwheels in a second quilt.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/17/16

After three weeks of working crazy, long hours, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I was thrilled to be able to enjoy a three-day weekend off, which has been largely filled with quilting time. I spent so much time cutting, stitching and pressing yesterday that I ended up rather stiff and sore by evening. I will have to be more careful about pacing myself today!

My last stash report was two weeks ago. All of my usage has been pinwheel blocks from 30's fabrics for a baby quilt. I have figured out my setting for them, and I probably have enough pinwheels to make more than one baby quilt. The photo shows a small selection of blocks. I hope to make the last few blocks today and start joining them together. Watch for my design wall post tomorrow to see the layout possibilities.

STASH TOTALS: 
Used this week:            2.625 yards     

Used year to date:          23.0 yards

Stashed this week:           0.0 yards

Stashed year to date:    19.25 yards 

 Net year to date:   3.75 yards used

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. The more days  I quilt, the more quilts I can get done and the more fabric used. I've had very few large chunks of time available, but I still manage to get in at least 15 minutes most days.

15 Minute Challenge:  

April 3 - 16                12 of 14 days

April total                  14 of 16 days

Year to date             101 of 107 days


350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Block total for April:      86 

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  I am also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 4/11/16

I only have time for a very quick blog post. It has been two weeks since my last design wall post, mostly because there has been very little to show. Crazy long hours at work have left me with limited time and energy for quilting. However, I have made a little progress on my 30's pinwheel blocks. I finished some of the blue and green pinwheels, plus a few more of the larger plaid blocks. I still need to cut the pink and yellow fabrics.

The large blocks in the photo above finish at 8", and the smaller pinwheels are 4". This is not the way they will be arranged in the finished quilt.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs. Sew and Sow, and Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/3/16

Long hours at work over the past week have seriously limited my quilting time. Next week is likely to be much the same. I did manage to use 5/8 yard of fabric making the first batch of blocks for a baby quilt. Spring has gotten me in the mood for pastels, and I have enjoyed using some of my 30's collection for this project.

For many months I'd been hoping to find a good price on Minick & Simpson's "Polka Dots and Paisleys" line, and I finally got one that I liked. The Fat Quarter Shop had Jolly Bars (5" x 10" cuts) on sale for 50% off, so I grabbed two sets plus a coordinating panel. I feel another Quilt of Valor coming!

STASH TOTALS: 
Used this week:              .625 yards     

Used year to date:       20.375 yards

Stashed this week:           3.5 yards

Stashed year to date:    19.25 yards 

 Net year to date:   1.125 yards used

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. The more days  I quilt, the more quilts I can get done and the more fabric used. 

15 Minute Challenge:  

March 27 - April 2          7 of 7 days

March total                29 of 31 days

Year to date              89 of 93 days


350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

This week's block total:    20
Block total for March:      160 

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA