Dakota Inspired--Quilt Top Done!

My most recent finish is the quilt top from Alycia's Dakota Inspired mystery quilt-along. This one wasn't much of a mystery for me because I didn't start piecing mine until around the time that Alycia was giving the clues for assembling blocks.

Dakota Inspired, 67.5" x 83.25"

I always enjoy Alycia's mystery quilts because the piecing is fairly easy and goes quickly. I didn't have enough of any single red fabric, so each red churn dash is a different print. Some are red, white & blue prints, others are red tone-on-tones.

I added a border that was cut at 3" wide to finish off the outer edges. I love the way the dark blue fabric frames the rest of the quilt.

My best spot for taking quilt photos is with the quilt or top hanging off the railing of our back deck. It can be tricky if there is too much wind or sun, but I was fairly lucky out there today.

I'm  linking up with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts.

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 4/27/2021

Happy To-Do Tuesday once again!  It's time to look back at my to-do list from last week, see how I did on accomplishing my goals, then post a new list for the week ahead. I'm linking up with the  To-Do Tuesday Weekly Link-up hosted by Chris at Chris Knits. 

Life seems to be very busy lately as we have been getting out of the house more. We reach the "fully vaccinated" stage tomorrow (two weeks since our 2nd shot.) It feels good to get closer to normal, but it has definitely cut into my quilting time. I am so thankful that I have this wonderful hobby which helped me stay sane  through the past year.

To-Do List for 4/20 - 4/26

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day not done

I finished 5 of 7 blocks last week, but I'm still ahead for the month with 33 total so far.

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #28   ✔done

3. Sew Colorful Stars--make 1 light blue block  ✔done

4. Alycia's mystery #A12--make 8 red blocks   ✔done

Not only did I make the 8 red blocks, but I also finished the 6 remaining blue blocks. All the blocks for this quilt are done!

5. Glorified 9Patch--prep background for light blue blocks  ✔done

6. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting  not done 

It's time to be realistic and cut the list down a bit since I will have less time to spend quilting. 

To-Do List for 4/27 - 5/3

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day  

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #29

3. 30's Kaleidoscopes--make pink and yellow blocks from new fabrics

4. Alycia's mystery #A12--cut setting triangles, start joining together

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 Chris Knits.

Julie in GA  

Design Wall Monday 4/26/2021

My larger design wall is covered with my blocks for Dakota Inspired, Alycia's most recent mystery quilt. The wall is so full that some of the blocks are cut off around the outer edges, but you get the idea. There is probably some rearranging of blocks still to come. It looks to me like I need to move one brighter red block to the bottom row.

The next step is to find a dark blue fabric for the outer setting triangles and final border. I don't have many options for that in my stash, but I did find an old Jinny Beyer paisley print that might have enough yardage. I couldn't get a good photo of the color--here is a washed-out version with the flash, followed by a too-dark shot without. The real color is somewhere in between. I hope the faint line down the middle of the second photo is just the fold catching the light and not a fade line.

 

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 17, 2021

My quilting time was somewhat limited last week, but I did manage to make the rest of the blocks for Alycia's latest Quilts of Valor mystery. Those blocks used two yards from my stash, and I hope to cut the setting triangles and get the quilt top put together this week. No pictures of my new blocks yet, but you can see my first batch of blocks in last week's post.

Sew Colorful Stars, 16" finished size

My other stash usage for the week was 3/8 yard for the light blue Sew Colorful Stars block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. No new fabric has been added to the stash, but I'm eager to visit a quilt shop again once I get past the two weeks wait post-vaccine.

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            2.375 yards

Used year to date:                       92.375 yards

Added last week:                              0.0 yards

Added year to date:                         24.0 yards

Net used year to date              68.375 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 has been more difficult to get in my quilting time this week as we have been getting out more during the day, but I'm still hanging on at 100% for the week and the year!

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

4/18 - 4/24                7 of 7 days

2021 Total           114 of 114 days

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 17, 2021

I'm later than usual with my post for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week, but that's because I didn't have anything to share until a few minutes ago. I just finished making my Sew Colorful Stars block in light blues for April.

Sew Colorful Stars, 16" finished size

I don't really enjoy making these blocks. All those triangles get rather tedious to me, but I keep going with them because I love the finished product!

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

To-Do Tuesday 4/20/2021

Happy To-Do Tuesday once again!  It's time to look back at my to-do list from last week, see how I did on accomplishing my goals, then post a new list for the week ahead. I'm linking up with the  To-Do Tuesday Weekly Link-up hosted by Chris at Chris Knits. 

I finished 5 out of 6 items from last week's list. Once again, I did not work on the quilting  on my Around the Twist quilt, but I did start one new project, Alycia's latest QOV mystery. I made 18 blocks for that quilt and have 14 more to make. The Around the Twist quilt is my One Monthly Goal for April, and I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever happen.

To-Do List for 4/13 - 4/19

1. GET VACCINATED! ✔DONE!  

It's such a relief to be done with that, and we didn't have any bad side effects.

2. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day  ✔done

I made 7 bowtie blocks last week, but don't have a photo to share.

3. Sewcialites QAL--make block #27   ✔done

4. Glorified 9Patch--prep light blue blocks ✔done

Centers for three light blue Glorified 9-Patch blocks plus Sewcialites Blocks #27

5. 30's Kaleidoscope--finish adding corner triangles  ✔done

Photos shared in Saturday's post.

6. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting  not done

I'm keeping the Around the Twist quilt on the list, even though I can't seem to get motivated to work on that project. Maybe this will be the week!

To-Do List for 4/20 - 4/26

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day   

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #28

3. Sew Colorful Stars--make 1 light blue block 

4. Alycia's mystery #A12--make 8 red blocks

5. Glorified 9Patch--prep background for light blue blocks 

6. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting 

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 Chris Knits.

Julie in GA  

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 16, 2021

My quilting time for the past week was mostly divided between two main projects. The first was adding the corner triangles to the kaleidoscope blocks that I have been making as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge since the beginning of this year. That doesn't change the Stash Report though, because I had already counted all the blocks as though they were complete.

The other project that filled my time last week was Alycia's current Quilts of Valor mystery #A12--Dakota Inspired. You can currently find pdf's for all the clues on her Alycia Quilts blog. The mystery started in early March, and I had been saving the clues since then, but wasn't making any of the parts yet. Once I saw the blocks and the quilt layout, I needed to pull out some fabrics and join in the fun.

This quilt will have a total of 32 blocks. I have finished 18 blocks and have 8 red and 6 blue still to be made. I didn't have a big enough piece of any one red fabric, so I am making each churn dash block out of a different red. The blue is a leftover from a recent quilt back.

Alycia's mystery #A12--Dakota Inspired

These 18 blocks used 2.5 yards from my stash. I am also counting 3/4 yards as used for some crumb and string blocks that I made recently. No new fabric was added last week. 

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                              3.25 yards

Used year to date:                          90.0 yards

Added last week:                              0.0 yards

Added year to date:                         24.0 yards

Net used year to date                  66.0 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. We got our second Covid vaccine on Wednesday, and my sore arm limited the amount of rotary cutting I could do afterwards. Fortunately, the discomfort didn't last long, and I am still on track with quilting time every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

4/11 - 4/17                7 of 7 days

2021 Total           107 of 107 days

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 16, 2021

The inspiration for the 1930's Kaleidoscope quilt that I have been making as one of my 2021 projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge came from this quilt by Linda Miller that I've saved in Pinterest for several years. 

1930's Kaleidoscope by Linda Rotz Miller

Linda's Flickr albums have an amazing wealth of inspiration. I could spend all day going through her in-progress photos. I've learned so much about quilt design from looking through her photos and reading her comments.

I've been making kaleidoscope blocks from my 30's fabrics for the RSC since the beginning of this year. I have made half of my blocks each month with white triangles on the outer corners. The other half of my blocks were octagons without any outer corners because my contrast fabric hadn't been selected yet. I auditioned some color options back in January, but I only had a set of pink blocks made at that point. Now that there are blocks in four different colors, it feels like the right time to decide on the contrast corner fabric. I ordered three different colors of Chambray Tonals from Connecting Threads during a recent sale.

My original plan was to use a pale yellow like Linda's quilt at the top of this post. Keeping the contrast low between the alternate corners and the white background helps make the circle design more visible. Unfortunately, the yellow I received was brighter than expected and didn't really work as well as I'd hoped.

Chambray--Light Honeysuckle

My favorite option from the original auditions in January was aqua, so I got some of the chambray in that color. This one was good, but didn't excite me as much as I thought it would.

Chambray--Light Aquamarine

To my surprise, the color that worked best of the three purchased was the mint green. This one keeps the contrast low enough, plus the green has the truest 30's feel to me. We have a winner! 

The following two photos both show blocks with the light mint chambray. They were taken in different rooms, one with the blocks laid out on a table and the other up on my design wall. It's surprising how different the color looks in each photo.

Chambray--Light Mint

Now that a decision has been made, I have started cutting into that mint fabric and gotten the corner triangles added to the blocks that need them. It feels good to move on to the next step of this quilt project. Here are some finished blocks in all the colors with their minty corners added.

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

To-Do Tuesday 4/13/2021

Happy To-Do Tuesday once again!  It's time to look back at my to-do list from last week, see how I did on accomplishing my goals, then post a new list for the week ahead. I'm linking up with the  To-Do Tuesday Weekly Link-up hosted by Chris at Chris Knits. 

I stayed on track for the most part last week, finishing four of my five tasks on the list. I keep avoiding the quilting on my little Around the Twist quilt, but I need to get started soon if it's going to get finished by the end of the month.

To-Do List for 4/6 - 4/12

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day   ✔done 

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #26   ✔done 

3. Scrap Magnet--make two  blue blocks   ✔four blocks done 

4. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting  not done

5. 30's Kaleidoscope--choose fabric for corner triangles and start adding them to blocks   ✔done  

I chose a pale mint green and got the corners stitched to my yellow blocks.

My goal for the next week is to continue with the on-going projects, plus to prep some blocks for one of my rainbow projects. 

To-Do List for 4/13 - 4/19

1. GET VACCINATED! We have appointments for our 2nd dose tomorrow!

2. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day   

3. Sewcialites QAL--make block #27

4. 30's Kaleidoscope--finish adding corner triangles

5. Glorified 9Patch--prep light blue blocks 

6. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting 

I'm planning to keep moving forward with these projects and hope to avoid adding any new ones to the list (although I've been tempted by Alycia's current QOV mystery.) 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 Chris Knits.

Julie in GA  

Design Wall Monday--4/12/2021

There are some days when I have time I can spend in the sewing room, but I can't figure out what to work on. This is most likely to happen when I have just finished a big project like completing a quilt top or making a set of monthly blocks. Sometimes I want to quilt, but my brain can't handle anything complicated. That's when I pull out the crumbs and strings. 

Our April color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is light blue. I made six light blue crumb blocks and two string blocks a few days ago. I also finished off one yellow string block. These blocks currently measure 6.5" each.

When I went to put the blocks away, I discovered a good-sized stack of crumb blocks in other colors and decided to see how they looked on the design wall together. 

Isn't that a cheery collection of blocks! If I made three more, they could become a baby quilt, 36" x 48". On the other hand, there are a couple of colors missing (pink and orange.) If I make blocks with those colors and maybe add a few more to the colors that are short (yellow, aqua/teal), I could end up with a throw quilt. 80 blocks set 8 x 10 would make a quilt that measures 48" x 60". For now, they will go back in the box until I get inspired to pull them out again.

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 15, 2021

We have been enjoying some beautiful spring weather this week. It is azalea season in our area, and it is a daily treat to get out for a walk and admire the beautiful blossoms. These are some that are blooming in our own back yard.

My stash report shows some fabric used and none added for the week. I used 1/2 yard to make the binding for my Beveled Blocks quilt, 7/8 yard for 16 light blue Kaleidoscope blocks from my 30's fabrics, and 1.5 yards to make the four Scrap Magnet blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Scrap Magnet pattern by Kirsty of Bonjour Quilts

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            2.875 yards

Used year to date:                         86.75 yards

Added last week:                              0.0 yards

Added year to date:                         24.0 yards

Net used year to date                62.75 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. We have been spending more time working in the yard and garden lately, but I still managed to get in my 15 minutes of quilting every day!

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

4/4 - 4/10                  7 of 7 days

2021 Total           100 of 100 days

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 15, 2021

Our color assignment for April at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is light and bright blues. This week I decided to make my Scrap Magnet blocks. I started out by making two blocks that include light, medium and dark blue fabrics.

After that, I decided to try making a block with just lighter blues in it. I ended up making two, one of them very light and the other includes more medium/bright blues.

The block on the right might be a little too pale. I'm afraid it might blend into the background of the quilt too much. This is my favorite block of the group.

I decided to see how the blue blocks look together with the previous colors.

Scrap Magnet pattern by Kirsty of Bonjour Quilts

That lightest blue block might be okay as part of the collection. I would need to include another block or two that are equally pale so that one doesn't look too different than everything else. Or I might not use it in the quilt at all. To be determined at a later date.

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

To-Do Tuesday 4/6/2021

Happy To-Do Tuesday once again!  It's time to look back at my to-do list from last week, see how I did on accomplishing my goals, then post a new list for the week ahead. I'm linking up with the  To-Do Tuesday Weekly Link-up hosted by Chris at Chris Knits. 

I managed to complete my whole list from last week, but it was down to the wire. The final item didn't happen until after dinner last night.

To-Do List for 3/30 - 4/5

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day  ✔done 

Twelve bowties done last week.

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #25  ✔done 

3. Beveled Blocks--make binding  ✔done

This is the project that didn't get done until last night!

4. 30's Kaleidoscope--make light blue blocks  ✔done 

Sixteen light blue blocks done.

5. Around the Twist--remove old quilting  ✔done 

You can still see the creases where the quilting stitching was, but it has all been removed.

The list for next week continues with many of the same projects, plus the return of the monthly Scrap Magnet blocks, a personal favorite!

To-Do List for 4/6 - 4/12

1. Bowties 365--make at least 1 bowtie block every day   

2. Sewcialites QAL--make block #26

3. Scrap Magnet--make two  blue blocks 

4. Around the Twist--figure out a plan for quilting 

5. 30's Kaleidoscope--choose fabric for corner triangles and start adding them to blocks

 

The list doesn't look like much, but I'm sure other things will come up. 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 Chris Knits.

Julie in GA  

Design Wall Monday 4/5/2021

One of my ongoing quilt projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year has been to make Kaleidoscope blocks using my collection of 30's fabrics. Our assigned color for April is light/bright blue. I had so many 30's fabrics in blues that I divided them into two groups and made 16 blocks with the lighter prints for this month.

Kaleidoscope blocks, 6" finished size

I will continue making these blocks in future months when I have the right color. According to my tracking list, I've made 86 blocks so far. I have 15 more blues cut, plus red, orange and lavender/purple blocks still to make. I may end up with nearly 150 blocks total.

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 14, 2021

After posting unusually large numbers for stash usage a week ago, I'm back to my more usual range this week. Fortunately, there was no new fabric added this week. The fabric used was 1.75 yards on my newest project, the Homespun blocks. I shared this photo plus several others yesterday, but I'm so excited about this quilt that I will post it here again.

Homespun Quilt, pattern by Modernly Morgan

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                              1.75 yards

Used year to date:                       83.875 yards

Added last week:                              0.0 yards

Added year to date:                         24.0 yards

Net used year to date              59.875 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 spent well over 15 minutes quilting every day last week, especially after I got a little obsessed with making those Homespun blocks. There were a couple of times that dinner was delayed a bit while I finished off another set of blocks.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

3/28 - 4/3                  7 of 7 days

2021 Total              93 of 93 days

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 14, 2021

Okay, let me start out by saying this: I really didn't intend to start a new project. I mean it. Truly. But the pattern was just too perfect, and I decided to make just one sample block. At least, that was the plan...

Somehow in the past few weeks, I became aware of the Homespun quilt-along hosted by Morgan at the website Modernly Morgan. It was probably from someone's blog post on one of the many linky parties that I read, but I haven't been able to locate the source now. Anyway, I decided to take a look, and discovered a pattern just meant to become a quilt for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I'm sure you can see why with this photo from Morgan's pattern page.

Homespun Quilt, pattern by Modernly Morgan

The problem is that I already have four or five other projects in the works for the RSC this year. I generally try to work on one of them per week, and by the end of the month, they should all be up to date with each new monthly color. Adding one more project to the mix might throw my schedule totally out of whack. I resisted for a couple of weeks, but gave in earlier this week and started with a light blue "sample" block. (I put sample in quotes because I knew from the beginning that I was unlikely to stop at one block.)

As expected, I love it! I was so confident about this pattern that I even chose to use a background fabric that I have been saving for a special project. This is Tula Pink's Fairy Dust print. The color is "Cotton Candy."

Tula Pink "Fairy Dust" in Cotton Candy

A second block was made the next day in pink, our RSC color from January.

Each big block with the star at the center is actually made up of four smaller blocks. 

Two more big blocks were added the next day. At that point I had one block for each color that has been assigned for the RSC so far this year.

At this point it was time to think about how big I wanted to make this quilt, which would tell me how many blocks to make. These big blocks will finish at 16" each. The photo at the top of this post with 12 big blocks would measure 48" x 64". Since I am loving the pattern so much, I wanted to keep going and make it even bigger. 20 big blocks would take it to 64" x 80". That is my current plan, and I may even go bigger than that later.

In order to end up with 20 big blocks, I decided to do a lighter and a darker version of each color. I believe we will have light green and dark blue called as monthly colors later in the year. I went ahead and made darker blocks in pink and yellow, our colors from January and February. Here are all the blocks I've made so far.

One of the best things about this pattern design is that there is an alternate layout that staggers the blocks. Skipping the final seam on my dark pink big block meant I could put each half at the ends of a row for this offset look.

I'm so tempted to keep going with this project and make more blocks in all the colors, but I'm trying to persuade myself to set it aside for now and go back to my other RSC quilts. I don't want to get behind on any of those. I will look forward to revisiting this pattern next month when we have a new color.

If you love this design too, you can buy the pattern HERE or get more info about the quilt-along HERE.

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