Stash Report Sunday 4/30/17

The good news for this week's stash report is that I used 2.375 yards making 30 more blocks for my RSC Watercolor quilt, which you can see in yesterday's post. The bad news is that I miscalculated on my stash report a week ago and have to take .875 yards off the used total, for a net usage of 1.5 yards this week. More good news--no fabric added! 

2017 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:             1.50 yards

Used year to date:       41.00 yards

Added last week:           0.00 yards
Added year to date:       2.00 yards

Net used year to date:  39.0 yards

I am continuing to join Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking how many days each week I manage to get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I keep plugging away at my many quilt projects, moving them along bit by bit every day.

15 Minute Challenge:  
4/23 - 4/29                7 of 7 days

2017 Total          118 of 119 days

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

April One Monthly Goal

Finishing my Fiesta Log Cabin quilt top was my One Monthly Goal for the month of April. It is also one of my projects for the 2017 UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times. I am very happy to say that my goal has been reached!

I started the Fiesta Log Cabin quilt in 1998, piecing 36 Log Cabin blocks, joining them together, and adding borders. Unfortunately, I was never happy with the finished look of this quilt top. It was an awkward size (55" square) and I didn't like how the borders turned out.

Fiesta Log Cabin, 1998 version

I decided to remove the borders, stitch more blocks to make the quilt rectangular, and maybe change the border design. Here is my first attempt with an extra row of blocks added to the top and bottom, plus a new possibility for the borders. At this point, the center of the quilt measured about 42" x 56", and adding borders would take it up to 54-56" x 68-70".

I still wasn't wild about the borders, so I decided to eliminate them entirely and add another row of blocks all the way around the quilt, taking the pieced area up to 56" x 70". That meant making 32 more blocks to add to the 48 that were already done. 

Fiesta Log Cabin, 56" x 70"

I considered going with an asymmetrical setting, but decided to stick with the centered Barn Raising set. The blocks have all been joined together into a quilt top, and that was my goal for April. I'm happy with the way this top turned out, and look forward to getting it quilted sometime soon. I think I have enough of the lighter print for a back. Speaking of the fabric, here is a closer shot featuring both prints.

I am linking up with the One Monthly Goal--April Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts and with the 2017 UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Multicolor Progress

My multicolor/watercolor quilt blocks have reached the point where it is impossible for me to get a photo of all of them together on the design wall. Taking photos of my design wall involves standing in the bathroom and shooting through the doorway and across the hall. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

This week's additions are the twelve dark blocks that run down the right side and across the bottom in the photo. I need to make twelve more of those blocks, then figure out how to make the setting triangles. There is an end in sight!

The next quilt isn't scrappy, but it sure is multi-colored. It's log cabin blocks made with just two fabrics in a barn raising setting. I started this quilt in 1998, took some of it apart this month, and finally finished the top a couple days ago. You can read more about it in THIS POST.

Fiesta Log Cabin
80 blocks, 56" x 70"

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday Sunday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects that everyone is sharing! 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 4/24/17

One of my current projects is a set of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge where our assignment for April is to use multicolored fabrics. I pulled out two shoeboxes of 2" strips from close to 20 years ago when I made a couple of watercolor quilts. You can see photos and read more about them in THIS POST. The pattern I chose to use is "Tranquil Treasures" by Evelyn Sloppy from her book Strips and Strings - 16 Sparkling Quilts.

I started at the center with the lightest fabrics and worked my way out. After the first few sets of blocks, I was seriously questioning my decision to use these fabrics for this pattern. This is how it looked at that point.

The RSC quilters were very positive in their comments and encouraged me to continue. Over the past week, I added another, darker round of blocks. There is still one more round to go, and it will be darker still, then pieced setting triangles to finish the edges. I hope I have enough dark multicolor prints!

This photo will give you a closer view of some of the fabrics. Lots of oldies in there! Most of them are not my preferred style of print, and it feels so good to get them out of those shoeboxes.

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 4/23/17

This was another good week for stash usage with nearly 3 yards of fabric being used and none added. My usage included 1 yard for the final group of Fiesta Log Cabin blocks and almost 2 yards for more watercolor blocks (see this project in yesterday's post.) My fabric used numbers continue to go up, and I have barely been tempted to buy any new fabric because my sewing room is so very full already.

2017 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:           2.875 yards

Used year to date:       39.50 yards

Added last week:           0.00 yards
Added year to date:       2.00 yards

Net used year to date:  37.50 yards

I am continuing to join Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking how many days each week I manage to get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I have been able to find time to stitch every single day over the past week, keeping up my nearly perfect record.

15 Minute Challenge:  
4/16 - 4/22                7 of 7 days

2017 Total          111 of 112 days

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

More Multicolor Scrappiness

Thanks so much to everyone who left all the positive comments about my multicolor/watercolor quilt blocks in last week's post. I appreciate your encouragement to keep moving forward with this project.

I made six more blocks, adding the next darker set of fabrics and placing them along the left side on the design wall. The quilt is looking better with each new set of blocks. My main concern right now is that I may not have enough of the darkest multicolor prints to finish the quilt. I will continue making the rest of the current group of blocks, then see how much I can get from my darker fabrics. If possible, I would like to make one last set of blocks, then setting triangles to finish it off, all of them in my darkest prints.

Here's a closer shot giving a better view of some of my fabrics. Keep in mind that most of these fabrics are close to 20 years old. My last group of blocks will be made with prints even darker than those in the blocks on the left side.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects that everyone is sharing! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/16/17

This was a good week for stash usage with more than four yards being used and none added. My usage included 3/8 yard for the binding on a kid's quilt, 2.75 yards for the watercolor blocks I showed in yesterday's Rainbow Scrap Challenge post, and 1 yard for more Fiesta Log Cabin blocks.

Here's a sneak peek at the finished kid's quilt. You can read more about this quilt in my Hands2Help post.

Stack & Whack Spinners for Hands2Help 2017
43" x 51"

And here are the log cabin blocks. It's been quite awhile since I made any log cabins, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy them. I also love the way the piecing seams disappear with the two wild prints used in these blocks. I still have 16 more blocks to make, then they will all get stitched to the quilt top I showed in last week's stash report post.

Fiesta Log Cabin
16 blocks, each block 7" finished

2017 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:           4.125 yards

Used year to date:      36.625 yards

Added last week:           0.00 yards
Added year to date:       2.00 yards

Net used year to date:  34.625 yards

I am continuing to join Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking how many days each week I manage to get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I have been able to find time to stitch every single day over the past week, keeping up my nearly perfect record.

15 Minute Challenge:  
4/9 - 4/15                 7 of 7 days

2017 Total          104 of 105 days

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Hands2Help Challenge 2017

Today is the time for all participants in the Hands2Help Challenge 2017 to show our finished quilts. Hands2Help is an amazing quilt drive hosted every year by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict (love that blog name!) This is the seventh year for Hands2Help, and the number of quilts donated keeps going up every year. There were nearly 200 quilts donated last year alone! Judging from the number of quilts already shared, it seems quite possible that there will be even more quilts this year.

I have been making an effort to finish up some of my UFOs this year and decided to combine that effort with the H2H Challenge. I pulled out a quilt top that had been made in 1999 as a teaching sample, quilted it up and added the binding. I still love the fabrics in this quilt and feel like it will be a very fun quilt for a child. 

Stack & Whack Spinners
43" x 51"

This is the fabric used to make the pinwheels in the quilt top. Bugs and frogs and lizards(?) galore. Can't you imagine a little boy loving those crazy creatures!

In the following photos you can get a better view of how the blocks are pieced. Each pinwheel is made up of four matching squares cut at 2.5" and four smaller squares cut 1.5". The same sizes were cut from the background fabric. All of the little triangles were made by sewing diagonally across the smaller squares.

For the back, I pieced together the remainder of the theme fabric with other similar tropical prints (maybe from the same line.) Bright and cheery!

My quilt will be going to Emily whose Happy Chemo project collects quilts to give to patients undergoing chemotherapy. I hope this quilt can make a sick child's day a little bit better!

Thanks to Sarah for all the time she puts in each year organizing the Hands2Help Challenge. I will be linking up this post on her blog, Confessions of a Fabric Addict. It is so heartwarming to see how many quilters contribute their time and talents to these wonderful causes!

Happy quilting,
Julie in GA

Multicolor Madness

The assignment for April at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is to use our multicolored scraps. Last week I showed piles of multicolored 2" fabric strips left over from a couple of old watercolor quilts, all of them sorted from light to dark. I considered many design options for how to use those strips in an RSC quilt. I was very excited to begin on my chosen project. This is a pattern I have been wanting to make for several years, and now seemed like the perfect time!

Tranquil Treasures by Evelyn Sloppy
from her book Strips and Strings - 16 Sparkling Quilts

I started with the center blocks, using the lightest of my watercolor fabrics. The blocks are made in pairs, so I ended up with four, but only need three for the quilt.

The next group of blocks combine the lightest lights (Group #6) with the next slightly darker lights (Group #5.) There are eight blocks with this combination, followed by twelve blocks using Groups #5 & #4. 

It was at this point that I started having serious doubts about how this was all coming together. To tell the truth, I seriously hated it! My multicolored fabrics are a widely varied collection. There are bright, primary-color prints, softer jewel tones, and muddier earthy tones. In my opinion, getting them all to play together nicely wasn't working out so well.

Watercolor Fabrics, Group #3 Dark Medium

The watercolor quilts that I showed in last week's post are completely made up of 1.5" finished squares. The largest pieces in these blocks will finish at 1.5" x 7.5". It's much harder to hide the fabrics that don't blend in as well.

I continued on, hoping that adding some darker colors would help pull it all together. I like it a little better with the new batch of blocks added, but not enough to keep going with this. I'm contemplating throwing in the towel on this project. I'm not very happy with the results, and I'm not willing to put in any more time on it right now. 

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects that everyone is sharing! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/9/17

One of my April projects for Judy L's UFO Challenge is my Fiesta Log Cabin quilt. This quilt top dates back to 1998, but I never liked the square shape or the borders on it. I removed all of the borders last week and made 12 more log cabin blocks, which have been added to the rest. Here are the before and after photos.

Fiesta Log Cabin before

Fiesta Log Cabin after
12 blocks added

The next step on this quilt will be to decide on the borders. It currently measures 42" x 56". Making the new blocks used .75 yard. I also used another 1/4 yard on my EPP hexagon blocks. No new fabric added to the stash.

2017 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:             1.00 yards

Used year to date:         32.5 yards

Added last week:           0.00 yards
Added year to date:       2.00 yards

Net used year to date:  30.5 yards

I am continuing to join Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking how many days each week I manage to get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I have been able to find time to stitch every single day over the past week, keeping up my nearly perfect record.

15 Minute Challenge:  
4/2 - 4/8                 7 of 7 days

2017 Total             97 of 98 days

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Multicolor Scrappiness

While pondering what to do with multicolor fabrics for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month, I remembered that I had some 2" fabric strips left over from a couple of long-ago watercolor style quilts. The first time I went to a quilt guild meeting (in 1997), the speaker was Deanna Spingola, author of Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic and More Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic. She inspired me to give watercolor quilts a try.

I had been quilting for only a couple of years at the time and didn't have anywhere near the variety of multicolor prints that I needed for these projects. I remember going to JoAnn Fabrics very early on Black Friday that year and buying small amounts (1/8 - 1/4 yard) of a ton of prints, mostly florals. I would bet that I got close to 50 pieces of fabric that day, maybe even more!

I made two watercolor quilt tops the following year, one small (27" square) and one larger (55" square.) Neither one ever got quilted. I especially like the wreath of flowers effect in the first piece.

"Calvary" from Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic
by Deanna Spingola, 27" x 27"

variation on "Cosmic Energy" 55" x 55"
from Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic by Deanna Spingola

All of the pieces in those two quilts are from 2" squares. Afterwards, I was left with three shoeboxes full of leftover 2" strips, sorted from #1 at the left, the darkest darks, to #6 at the right, the lightest lights. These are from the two boxes that had already been divided up--the third box still needs to be sorted.

I have been looking at many patterns and designs for different ideas on how to use these strips. I haven't made a firm decision yet, but I hope to have something in the works by this time next week. 

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I'm also linking up to Scraptastic Tuesday with Mrs. Sew & Sow. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects that everyone is sharing! 

Julie in GA

April 2017 Goals and March Report

March was a busy month with lots going on, but I managed to make good progress on several of my quilting projects. I met my One Monthly Goal, and although I didn't complete my two tasks for Judy's UFO Challenge, I did move both of those quilts closer to completion. Here's my list from March.

1. One Monthly Goal--Finish up the third Star Cluster baby quilt.  DONE

2. Add borders plus piece a back for Maple Stars top.  BORDERS DONE, no backing

3. Quilt and bind Stack & Whack Spinners quilt top. Most of the quilting is DONE

4.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make a set of red Scrappy Trips blocks. DONE

Also figure out another pattern to make using the pile of 3" red strips  MORE SCRAPPY TRIPS

5.  Meadow Mystery--join all blocks together into finished quilt top.  DONE

APRIL GOALS:

1. One Monthly Goal and UFO Challenge #1--Fiesta Log Cabin remove borders and make more blocks to make this quilt rectangular

2.  UFO Challenge--quilt and bind one of my Christmas panels.

3.  Wonky Log Cabins--join blocks, add borders, quilt and bind.

4.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--Make 4 Scrappy Trips blocks with multicolor fabrics.

5.  Finish the quilting and binding on the Stack & Whack Spinners quilt shown above as #3 for March.

That's the plan for the month ahead. I will report back at the beginning of May with a progress report and a new set of goals for the next month. I am joining the One Monthly Goal link-up for April at Elm Street Quilts and Judy's 2017 UFO Challenge at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/2/17

Another week, another stash report, and no additions to the fabric stash! I know that one of these days I will see some lovely fabric that I just have to buy or I will run across a great deal that I can't refuse, but for now it feels good to concentrate on using what I have. My quilting room is filled to the point of being hard to find a place to put anything new, so it is definitely time to make a dent in the stash.

My usage for last week was two yards for the remaining 8 red Scrappy Trips blocks. You can see the full set of blocks plus a couple of ideas for setting them together in yesterday's post.

2017 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:             2.00 yards

Used year to date:         31.5 yards

Added last week:           0.00 yards

Added year to date:       2.00 yards

Net year to date used:  29.5 yards

I am continuing to join Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking how many days each week I manage to get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I have been able to find time to stitch every single day over the past week, keeping up my nearly perfect record.

15 Minute Challenge:  
3/26 - 4/1                 7 of 7 days

2017 Total             90 of 91 days

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

New Month, New Color

I'm not fooling when I say that I am definitely glad to be done with March and the red scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I never got inspired to do anything more than keep making more Scrappy Trips blocks. I ended up with the original four red gradation blocks, plus 20 mixed red blocks. I showed the gradation blocks in THIS POST. Here are the rest of my blocks, which I just completed a couple days ago.

Scrappy Trip Around the World
20 blocks, each block finishes 15" square

You can see some of the fun fabrics in this close-up shot. I have some great sewing fabrics with thimbles and buttons in this grouping.

I haven't settled on a layout for these blocks yet. This just shows one possibility. There is also the chance that I will combine these blocks with some blue blocks for a Quilt of Valor. Here are a couple of EQ7 versions that include blue.

Our new RSC assignment for April is multi-color. This is the first time that Angela has included a month for mixed colors. I will have to ponder how to make my gradation blocks with multi-colored fabrics. I expect this will either be really fun or terribly frustrating (I'm hoping for fun!)

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects that everyone is sharing! 

Julie in GA