To-Do Tuesday 6/30/2020

My first week of participating in the To-Do Tuesday linky at Home Sewn by Us was a very successful one. I listed four goals last week and managed to accomplish all four of them. I'd call that a very good beginning!

To-do list for 6/23 - 6/29:

1. Pin baste and begin quilting at least one of two baby quilts ✔one quilt completely finished! 

2. Scrap Snap--make at least 10 black/grey blocks ✔ 24 whole blocks and 12 partial blocks made

3. Scrappy Bear Paw--make pink block  ✔ done 

4. Orange Peel--finish last pink block    ✔ done 

I'm having some trouble coming up with a list for the week ahead. There's another baby quilt to layer, quilt and finish. Other than that, the main thing I need to do is some cleaning/organization. The piles have taken over my cutting table!

To-do list for 6/30- 7/6:

1. 2nd baby quilt--layer, quilt and finish

2. Scrap Snap--join blocks into columns

3. Cleaning--clear away at least one pile

That should be plenty to keep me busy for the next week. I'll report on my progress and post a new set of goals next Tuesday. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Home Sewn by Us.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday

Several different quilt projects were worked on over the weekend. I finished up the first of two baby quilts, and it's a good thing since the baby was born a week and a half early! 

After that was done, I allowed myself some time to finish making the last of the Scrap Snap blocks in blacks and greys. I made 24 whole blocks and six more that are split into 1/3 and 2/3 of a block. Then it was time to play on the design wall.

I didn't get very far, but I'm liking where this is headed. I have blocks in the rest of the rainbow colors ready to join the few that are up on the wall. I can't wait to see all of them together! This will probably be my main project for today.

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 26, 2020

There has lots of movement both in and out of the fabric stash this week. The fabric added was 2 pieces of flannel to be used as backing for a couple of baby quilts, +5 yards total.

Some of that flannel is being counted as used too. The polka dot piece has already been quilted up with one of the baby quilts, plus a turquoise batik binding, 1.875 yards total. A second baby quilt top was completed, using 2.5 yards, and 30 black and grey Scrap Snap blocks were made, using 1.125 yards. Total usage for the week = 5.5 yards.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                               5.5 yards

Used year to date:                      116.25 yards

Added last week:                              5.0 yards

Added year to date:                       34.75 yards

Net used year to date                81.50 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Baby quilts were my main focus for the week, but I did get some work done on a couple of other projects too.

15 Minute Challenge:  

6/21 - 6/27              7 of 7 days

2020 Total         170 of 179 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 26, 2020

It's the last week of June, which puts us close to the mid-point of the year. This has been such a crazy, frustrating and frightening year in many ways, but I'm going to avoid all that for now and concentrate on quilting.

It seemed like a good time to figure out where I stand with the Orange Peel blocks that I have been making for a year and a half as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. These started out as a hand-stitching project for my train ride to work, but of course I haven't been riding the train for several months now. I haven't yet settled into a regular routine for hand sewing time at home, but I do pull them out occasionally and make a few more.

It's so helpful to see them all up on the wall together. I was able to figure out how many more to make of a few colors, although I still need to work out the corners. I could also see a couple blocks that just don't work, like this one with the chili pepper fabric. The background fabric just looks too light with the other blocks. I've already cut the pieces to remake that block with a darker background.

The same background fabric is also a problem in the bottom left block below. It doesn't look as pale as the previous shot because the lighting wasn't very good around the outer edges. I know that the background will look much lighter than the others, plus it is too close to the same value as the purple peel, and they just blend together. I've also recut this block.

With any luck, I will be able to finish making the rest of the blocks I need for this quilt and get them all joined together by the end of the year.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I'm also linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 6/23/2020

For several months I have seen other bloggers sharing their lists of weekly goals with the To-Do Tuesday linky at Home Sewn by Us. I've always been a list maker, and it seems like a good time to try setting some weekly quilting goals now that I have more free time thanks to my recent retirement.

My to-do list for 6/23 - 6/29:

1. Pin baste and begin quilting at least one of two baby quilts (this assumes that the flannel I ordered for the backs will show up soon!)

2. Scrap Snap--make at least 10 black/grey blocks (I need ~30 total)

Pieces for black/grey Scrap Snap blocks

3. Scrappy Bear Paw--make pink block for Rainbow Scrap Challenge

4. Orange Peel--finish last pink block

That should be plenty to keep me busy for the next week. I'll report on my progress and post a new set of goals next Tuesday. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Home Sewn by Us.

Julie in GA

Pinwheeling

Most of my quilting time over the weekend was spent making a baby quilt for a niece and her husband. They are expecting their first child, a boy, next month. I'm not ready to show everything just yet, but here is part of the border.

There will be a row of pinwheels at the top and bottom of the quilt. The striped fabric will be the final border all the way around. I'm keeping the center of the quilt as a surprise for now!

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 25, 2020

My first full week of retirement was a productive one for stash usage. The biggest project was the completion of the center part of my Frolic quilt, Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery. That used a total of 6 yards. Next I need to figure out a plan for the borders.

My other usage for the week was 3/4 yard for my pink and red Stashbuster Square Dance blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, which were shared in yesterday's post, plus 1/2 yard for a few more face masks for Ed. No new fabric was added to the stash, although I am anxiously waiting for an order to arrive.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                              7.25 yards

Used year to date:                      110.75 yards

Added last week:                              0.0 yards

Added year to date:                       29.75 yards

Net used year to date                81.00 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. It was a good week, with at least 15 minutes every day, and usually a good deal more than that!

15 Minute Challenge:  

6/14 - 6/20              7 of 7 days

2020 Total         163 of 172 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 25, 2020

As more colors join the collection, I keep getting more excited about the Stashbuster Square Dance blocks that I have been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This month's color is pink, and my blocks combine that with red. There will be more pink used later along with purple. Seeing these blocks together makes me want to figure out a way to use them in a Valentine's quilt design.

There we go. I'm not going to join the blocks together like this, but it's fun to see what is possible with this design.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Progress on Frolic

The last time I shared photos of the progress on Frolic, Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery quilt, was late April. At that time I had decided to make more blocks and change my quilt from square to rectangular. Here are some new blocks as they were being assembled.

It took until mid-May to get all the additional blocks and sashing units made. Then everything hung around on my design wall for ages. Over the last week, I have been pushing to get all those parts joined together, and yesterday it finally happened. Here is the completed center for my Frolic quilt!

The next step will be deciding what to do for borders. Bonnie's version had two rows of HSTs, but I might go with something simpler. According to my quilt software, it should currently measure about 55" x 73.5". I'm debating how big I want it to end up. This is where so many of my quilt projects get bogged down!

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
BOMs Away at What a Hoot Quilts
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 24, 2020

It has been a big week for changes to the stash report around here, with several yards used and many more added. There was also a big change in my life in general because I RETIRED! After 40 busy years of making theater costumes, it is time to begin a new chapter. Retiring during a pandemic means that some plans, especially travel, will have to wait awhile, but I'm looking forward to getting to choose how I spend my days. Of course that means more time for quilting!

Back to the Stash Report--the fabric used included 1.5 yards for Scrap Snap blocks in four more colors. There are three blocks of each color in the photo, but I made 10 of each. Up next is to make some black/grey blocks for the setting.

I also used 2.375 yards for a small quilt top, but I'm not ready to share that one yet. Here's a little sneak peek.

And last of all, I made 29 more face masks for work. There are 20 masks in the bright print on the left and 4 of the stripe, 5 of the other print. These used a total of 3 yards of fabric.

Now it's time to add up all the additions to my stash. The only previous addition this year was a jelly roll that I won in a giveaway. Some of the new fabrics are basics or needed for a specific project, others were just fun prints that I really liked.

The basics--solid black, solid grey, a yellow print (yes, there is a print, it just doesn't show up very well) and a blue print that isn't really as dark as it looks in the photo.

Two light greys for backgrounds, and the teal print is for the border of a nearly-completed quilt top.

The fun stuff--two fat quarter bundles from BluPrint. Many of the patterns remind me of Kaffe prints. No idea yet what I will do with these, but I look forward to figuring that out.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            6.875 yards

Used year to date:                      103.50 yards

Added last week:                            27.0 yards

Added year to date:                       29.75 yards

Net used year to date                73.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I got in my 15 minutes every day, which let to a productive week, including finishing one quilt top and at least 40 blocks. 

One of my first goals for the weeks ahead is a major overhaul of my sewing room because it is a disaster area! That may mean less stitching time in the short term, but should make things more efficient in the long run.

15 Minute Challenge:  

6/7 - 6/13                7 of 7 days

2020 Total         156 of 165 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 24, 2020

The pink blocks for the Scrap Snap Quilt Along, hosted by Kari at Quilts for the Making went together very quickly. I made blocks in a couple more colors this week too. It's time to figure out how I am going to set them all together.

At the center are two of my hand appliqued Orange Peel blocks, a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project from last year. I really need to put all those blocks up on the wall together and see how many I have and how many more I need.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 23, 2020

Today's stash report covers the last two weeks because I didn't post my report a week ago. I guess there wasn't much to tell. Much of my quilting time over those two weeks has been on a secret project that is not ready to be revealed. What is ready to be counted on the stash report is three more sets of Scrap Snap blocks (turquoise, blue and pink) which used 1-1/8 yards of fabric. Here are a few blocks in each of the colors that I've done so far.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            1.125 yards

Used year to date:                      96.625 yards

Added last week:                             0.0 yards

Added year to date:                       2.75 yards

Net used year to date            93.875 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I missed two days over the past two weeks, and I can't even remember why! My total for the year is still very good.

15 Minute Challenge:  

5/24 - 6/6                12 of 14 days

2020 Total             149 of 158 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. I'm also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA