Design Wall Monday 10/31/16

Happy Halloween to all. Have fun handing out candy to all the little ghosts and princesses. Our neighborhood gets so crazy with trick-or-treaters that we tend to turn off the outdoor lights and hide in the back of the house.

Over the weekend I finished making my last set of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler Quilt. I switched up the color for one column, and the red Ohio Stars were my choice of pattern rather than the assigned blocks for the quilt-along. I have been moving columns around on my design wall to decide which look best next to each other, and I think this is the final choice. I'm planning to insert 1/2" - 3/4" finished strips of the background fabric between the columns to make joining them easier (no seams to match!)

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check out all of them for tons of amazing quilting inspiration!

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/30/16

The stash usage numbers continue to inch up. This week I used 3/8 yard for my last group of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (see them HERE.) I also used 1 yard for a set of red Ohio Star blocks for the RSC 2016 Sampler and 1.375 yard for the back and binding of a baby quilt. No new fabric added, although I have been tempted by some recent sales.

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:                 2.75 yards     
Used year to date:           79.75 yards

Stashed last week:               0.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         70.0 yards 

 Net year to date:  9.75 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. I keep plugging away at my attempts to spend at least a little time quilting every single day.

15 Minute Challenge:  
10/23 - 10/29                7 of 7 days

Year to date            274 of 303 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made 10/23 - 10/29: 11

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Finishing Up the Yellow Blocks

The color for October at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been yellow, and I just managed to finish up my yellow blocks yesterday. Here are three more of the Folded Box blocks in yellow.

Folded Box blocks, tutorial by Donna Lynn Thomas

This wonderful pattern is from Donna Lynn Thomas, and you can find a tutorial for it on her blog HERE. I believe this pattern is also included in her Craftsy class Piece Like a Pro (and the class is on sale this weekend for only $19.99!)

The next time my design wall is cleared off, I will put my whole rainbow of these blocks up. I can't wait to see them all together and figure out a plan for joining them into a quilt or two.

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

Stash Report Sunday 10/23/16

My stash usage numbers continue to go up, although this week the increase in fabric used is only 3/8 yard for the yellow blocks in my Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt. You can see a photo of all of my blocks in yesterday's post.

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:                 .375 yards     
Used year to date:             77.0 yards

Stashed last week:               0.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         70.0 yards 

 Net year to date:  7 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. Quilting helps me stay sane, even if I only have a small amount of time to quilt.

15 Minute Challenge:  
10/16 - 10/22                7 of 7 days

Year to date            267 of 296 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made 10/16 - 10/22:   36

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Rainbow Scrap Sampler Columns

All year long I have been following along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. Each month we have made a set of blocks in that month's chosen color, and the blocks get joined together into columns to make the quilt.

I have most of my groups of blocks stitched together into columns. I switched the September blocks to yellows instead of reds, and I am using my red scraps to make a different set of blocks than Angela chose. I still need to make four more of the red Ohio Star blocks.

The only blocks that I'm not sure I will include in the quilt are the grey blocks on the left side--they don't include any background fabric, and they seem too solid and square to me. It's possible I will remake them into another design, or I might just leave them out completely. I am also considering adding narrow background strips between the columns in order to make joining them together easier (less bulk and no seam matching!)

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

Stash Report Sunday 10/16/16

Another week, another quilt back completed! Backings are the best way I know to reduce my stash numbers quickly. This time it was the back for a Quilt of Valor mystery which I shared in Friday's post. That used  5 yards, and I also used 1 yard on the next step of Cheryl's Meadow Mystery. I'm done two weeks early with the mystery blocks for October--that's a rare occasion! This photo shows only a few of the units that were made.

Meadow Mystery
designed by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:              6.000 yards     
Used year to date:         76.625 yards

Stashed last week:               0.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         70.0 yards 

 Net year to date:  6.625 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. Quilting helps me stay sane, even if I only have a small amount of time to quilt.

15 Minute Challenge:  
10/9 - 10/15                  6 of 7 days

Year to date            260 of 289 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made 10/9 - 10/15:   57

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Rainbow Stars backing

I didn't get any new blocks made for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week, but I did manage to finish piecing the back for one of my rainbow quilt tops. I made scrappy 12" LeMoyne Star blocks each month throughout 2014. Half the blocks got light background and half are dark, like the two stars below.

Scrappy Rainbow LeMoyne, 12" blocks

The blocks got joined together and bordered in June of 2015, and this quilt top has been hanging in my quilt closet ever since.

I bought a piece of fabric that seemed like a great choice to back this quilt. Black and white with stars and bright colors--it's perfect! Unfortunately, the amount I had was just a little bit short. Time for a creative way to make it work!

I chose fabrics that matched the colored stripes in the backing fabric and pieced long strips approximately 4-5" wide. These were inserted to replace some of the original color stripes in the backing, bringing it up to the width needed for this quilt.

Here you can get a better look at the fabrics that were inserted as the wide stripes. 

This quilt is now ready to be quilted and finished. I don't have any immediate plans to do that, but it feels good to have everything prepared.

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

Field of Stars QOV

Do you all know about Alycia and her amazing work with Quilts of Valor? She is the best cheerleader I have found for this wonderful organization. She blogs at alyciaquilts.blogspot.com. One of her most recent projects has been designing QOV mystery quilts. They are available to members of the Yahoo group called MysteryQuilts4Military (MQ4M). A new mystery project just started a couple weeks ago, and that motivated me to finish up the last mystery.

Here is my Field of Stars quilt top. The top for my quilt has been done for almost two months, but I hadn't gotten around to taking any photos of it. Now I can share pictures of both the top and the back.

Field of Stars, 65.5" x 79.5"
pattern by Alycia (Quiltygirl)

One of the best things about Alycia's mystery is that she keeps it very manageable. The clues are posted every Friday, and each step takes approximately an hour.

Here's a closer shot of a couple of my favorite star fabrics. You can also see the background fabric that I added when I ran out of the first background (oops!)

I finished making a back for this quilt on Thursday. I used several fabrics that I got from Connecting Threads a few years ago. I rarely have enough yardage of a single fabric for a quilt back, and I enjoyed the puzzle of figuring out how I could combine these fabrics and end up with the size I needed.

Alycia's newest mystery #A4, the Betty D., is running now. I encourage you to join the MQ4M group on Yahoo (find more info HERE) and quilt along with us!

I am linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts, and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. On Monday I will also share with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check out all of them for tons of amazing quilting inspiration!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 10/10/16

My main quilting activity for yesterday consisted of sorting through and measuring some quilt tops in order to get started making backs for them. There were a couple of tops that were made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and a couple more were UFO's that got assembled last year. The last top was made as part of a recent Quilts of Valor mystery by Alycia.

I pulled out a batch of fabric possibilities for the back and spent some time trying out different combinations on the design wall. I think this is the group that made the final cut. Don't mind the creases, I promise I will press them before I got much further. 

Most of these fabrics were purchased from Connecting Threads 3-4 years ago. It feels good to be moving some of the older pieces out of my bin of red, white and blue fabrics.

Here's a photo of one corner of the quilt top that these fabrics will be backing.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check them all out to see lots of wonderful creations!

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/9/16

Over the past two weeks, I have been spending part of most lunch hours piecing the back for a quilt top that was finished over a year ago. I made the blocks for the top as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2014. I don't have a photo of the quilt back yet, but here is the top of my Rainbow LeMoyne Stars quilt. I hope to share a photo of the back soon.

One of the best things about finishing the quilt back is that it gets my stash numbers back in the black! The back for this used 3.25 yards, plus I used another 3/8 yard on other blocks. It's time for some serious stash reduction efforts!

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:              3.625 yards     
Used year to date:         70.625 yards

Stashed last week:               0.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         70.0 yards 

 Net year to date:  .625 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. I am trying hard to get back to my pattern of quilting every day, even if it's only for a short time.

15 Minute Challenge:  
10/2 - 10/8                    7 of 7 days

Year to date            254 of 282 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made 10/2 - 10/8:   11

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Glowing Golden Blocks

I'm getting very excited to be making my last group of 3D Folded Box blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color assignment for October is yellow and orange, like the morning sunrise. I hope everyone along the southeast coast of the US has survived the hurricane and will be seeing some sunshine soon.

Folded Box blocks, pattern by Donna Lynn Thomas

Here are my first few yellow blocks together. I have pieces cut for three more blocks, then I can put all the colors up on the wall and decide if I need any more. I can't wait to see all the rainbow goodness together!!

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. I'm also linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs. Sew & Sow.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday

It's later than usual for my regular design wall post, but that is mostly because there was nothing to show on the design wall this morning. That all changed after I got home from work.  

The blocks across the top are Whacky Pinwheels for the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt. They were made back in April, but I am getting ready to join them together into a column.

The other blocks are for my most recent new project, the Meadow Mystery Quilt. This is a monthly mystery, hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs. These blocks were the assigned clue for September, and I decided to join in on the mystery on September 30th (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) I also made a stack of HSTs with the same royal blue print and a lighter background. Our next clue comes out this Thursday, so I am very pleased to have these done before then.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check them all out to see lots of wonderful creations!

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 10/2/16

September was a month with no fabric shopping, and I managed to gradually chip away at my stash numbers. Last week I was down to only 3/8 yard from being back to even on the stash usage/additions. Yesterday that all changed when my enabler suggested he drop me off at the quilt store while he took care of an errand. Who am I to turn down that kind of offer, especially since I had a gift certificate to use there. The damage isn't awful, and I really like the fabrics that I got. I think I need to make a red, white & black quilt soon!

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:                 1.375 yards     
Used year to date:             67.0 yards

Stashed last week:               4.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         70.0 yards 

 Net year to date:   3 yards stashed

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. I am trying hard to get back to my pattern of quilting every day, even if it's only for a short time.

15 Minute Challenge:  
9/25 - 10/1                    7 of 7 days

Year to date            247 of 275 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made 9/25 - 10/1:   1

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Sunny Scraps

It's so nice when things work out the way you had hoped! I took a chance this week and got a jump on cutting pieces for some yellow and gold 3D Folded Corners blocks. Checked the new Rainbow Scrap Challenge post this morning, and our October color assignment is yellow and orange, the colors of a sunrise. Perfect! 

I love using yellow in my rainbow quilts; it is so bright and cheery. Here are my little stacks of light, medium and dark yellow pieces, just waiting to be turned into blocks over the next couple of weeks.

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