Boston Fiesta Quilt Finished!

It's amazing sometimes what a difference a deadline can make. My Boston Fiesta quilt, which I've entered into a local quilt show next week, is finally completely finished!

Boston Fiesta, 60" x 74"

The journey began in 2005, when I bought all the fabrics for this quilt in Boston. I made some samples at that time to figure out my pattern, then began piecing blocks. The block pattern is very simple, a variation on a quarter log cabin, but it starts with a rectangle instead of a square. The finished size of my blocks is 7". 

The block below is one that I made last week because I always get questions about this pattern when I show photos of the quilt. Unfortunately, I made this block backwards of the blocks in the quilt. The key to this quilt's design is that all of the blocks are exactly the same--you can't have half of them facing one way and half the other.

The block below is one of the blocks in the finished quilt. As you can see, the dark green rectangle is at the bottom left rather than bottom right as shown in the above photo. Either way will work, you just need to make all blocks the same. The fabrics colors are more true in the photo above.

Back to the history of this quilt--blocks started in 2005, then set aside. They were pulled out again late in 2014 and the rest of the blocks were made, a total of 80 blocks. By May of 2015, the blocks had all been joined together and the borders added. Then it sat around for a couple years before being long-arm quilted. Below you can see the backing fabric for the quilt.

That backing fabric gave my long-arm quilter some trouble. I didn't realize when I bought the fabric that it had some stretch in it. I'm glad she persevered, because I love how the backing looks! 

Finishing this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for May. The binding had previously been attached to the front and needed to be hand stitched to the back. I finished that, plus added the hanging sleeve and label. One Monthly Goal has been met!

Linking up with:

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

One Monthly Goal at Elm Creek Quilts

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

A Quilted Heart

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to take part in a Zoom class called "Crazy in Love with Free-Motion Quilting." It was taught by Mel Beach, a quilter and teacher based in San Jose, CA. Here is one of Mel's samples for the class--check out all of the amazing quilting!

It was a great class, and we spent the day learning and trying out a wide variety of heart-based quilting designs. We would start by drawing out each design on paper or a white board, then try stitching the designs. Here are some of my stitching samples.

Besides trying out the different stitching designs, I also tested several different colors and brands of thread. I had consistently better results with Aurifil 50 weight on my old Singer machine.

The next day I finished up the decorative stitching on one little heart. This measures about 6.5" across and 5.5" high. 

I'm planning to cut out the heart, finish off the edges, then leave it in a public place as part of "I Found A Quilted Heart" to brighten someone's day. I had never heard of doing this until a couple weeks ago from my sister in Wisconsin, and then Mel talked about it in class too. You can learn more about "I Found A Quilted Heart" at their website HERE.

If you belong to a guild that is looking for speakers or teachers, I can highly recommend Mel Beach. She has a long list of lectures and workshops that she offers, and she is a fun teacher with tons of creative ideas for you. Her teaching info is HERE or you can check out her blog HERE.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/29/2022

It has been a very busy week for quilting here after getting very little quilting done in the previous weeks of the month. I started by finishing the binding and hanging sleeve on my Boston Fiesta quilt in preparation for the quilt show. There's one more quilt needing a hanging sleeve, plus labels for all three quilts to get them ready for drop-off next Sunday.

At the end of the week, I was able to take part in two Zoom quilting classes through the local guild. This was my first time for Zoom classes, and it was a very good experience. I missed the social aspects of taking a class in person with other people, but it was nice to not have to worry about packing up my machine and all the supplies, plus I didn't have the hassle of getting to the classes on time (always a challenge in Atlanta!) 

This is a close-up peek at my Intriguing Interleave quilt from Thursday's class. I'll share more info and photos about this quilt soon, plus some photos from the other class too.

My stash report is showing a little progress in the used direction this week. I used 1/2 yard for the green Charm Basket blocks that were shared in yesterday's post. My projects for the two quilting classes used a total of 1.625 yards from the stash. There was no new fabric added last week, but I'm seriously tempted by some of the Memorial Day weekend sales!

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:            2.125 yards

Used year to date:          34.0 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:         39.0 yards

Net added in 2022         5.0 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 stitching time. I spent more time on quilting-related activities this week than I have in ages. There were the two 6-hour classes, plus the time spent prepping for those classes. I also finished the Boston Fiesta binding and sleeve early in the week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

5/22 - 5/28           7 of 7 days

2022 Total      145 of 148 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

Green Baskets

Our colors of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in May have been greens, specifically forest and sage greens. This week I was able to finish up my Charm Basket blocks in those colors. I will make more green baskets later in the year when we get to work with light and bright greens.

I didn't have many sage green scraps to include in my RSC blocks, but we do have a beautiful sage plant growing in a pot near our front door. You can see it here along with the yarrow blooming next to it.

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. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/22/2022

I had planned to post a stash report last Sunday even though we were out of town at the time. It didn't happen because that was the first day of our family Covid outbreak. So far those infected include myself, my sister, her daughter and one grandchild. We hope that no one else gets sick and that everyone recovers quickly. I'm getting a little better each day after feeling the worst on Wednesday and Thursday. It's amazing that Ed didn't get sick, especially after we spent two days together in the car on the trip home from Wisconsin. 

There was a little fabric usage to report from before our trip and a bit more usage since we got home. I used one yard of fabric to make the hanging sleeves for three different quilts for an upcoming quilt show. The grey and white sleeve is the shortest at about 20" across, and it is already stitched to the quilt. The other two are 50" (gold) and 60" (green/floral.) 

The other recent usage was 3/8 yard used for my Scrappy Heart block plus five Charm Basket blocks, all made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and shared in yesterday's post.

Fabric added to the stash was 3 yards from the Fat Quarter Shop's Solid Club. Several of these greens would fit in perfectly for this month's Rainbow Challenge assignment of dark green and sage green. There might have been much more added to the stash if I had gone to Hancock's of Paducah as planned, but that stop was canceled after being exposed to Covid.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:            1.375 yards

Used year to date:       31.875 yards

Added last week:              3.0 yards

Added year to date:         39.0 yards

Net added in 2022      7.125 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 stitching time. Almost all of my quilting time over the past two weeks was spent on hand stitching binding or hanging sleeves, plus a little hand applique. Friday was the first time I did any machine piecing in weeks. I managed to get my 15 minutes of stitching time on 12 of 14 days over the last two weeks.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

5/8 - 5/21          12 of 14 days

2022 Total      138 of 141 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 Green Blocks

Both my quilting time and my blogging have been quite limited for the past several weeks. There have been several reasons, including working part-time, one project with a deadline, plus a couple of recent trips. Unfortunately, the latest trip ended with me getting Covid. My symptoms haven't been too bad, mostly like having a bad cold plus body aches and tiredness. I've been feeling better the past couple days and hope to be back to normal before long.

Yesterday was my first chance to get back to doing any piecing. I've fallen far behind on my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I was determined to make some progress on those. I started out by making a 12" Scrappy Heart block using our colors of the month, dark green and sage green.

The dark and sage greens made a rather drab block. I wish I'd added a few brighter green squares to brighten it up a bit. A lesson for next time...

I was also able to make a start on my Charm Basket blocks. I've got five baskets finished and hope to make several more green blocks before the end of the month.

It felt so good to get some time with my rotary cutter and sewing machine again. I've been doing lots of hand stitching lately, mostly finishing the binding and hanging sleeves on quilt show entries. I hope to have the time to do both the hand work and some piecing over the next week.

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. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/8/2022

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there! If it weren't for my mother teaching me to sew at a young age, my whole life would have been very different. My career (costume construction) plus my obsession with quilting both stem from my early love for sewing. Thanks Mom!

It was another good week for the stash report with no new fabric added and a little bit used. The fabric used was 1.625 yards on the pieced backing for the pink uneven 9-patch quilt. You can see the backing in THIS POST from Monday.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:            1.625 yards

Used year to date:          30.5 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:         36.0 yards

Net added in 2022         5.5 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 stitching time. Other than the pieced quilt backing, all of my stitching time this week has been spent hand stitching. I finished two more pink appliqued hearts (shown at the top), plus I have been stitching down the binding on my Boston Fiesta quilt. 

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

5/1 - 5/7               7 of 7 days

2022 Total      126 of 127 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

One Monthly Goal (OMG) for May 2022

There are some months that I have a hard time deciding on my One Monthly Goal, but this month is not one of those. That's because I have a deadline that must be met. This is my Boston Fiesta quilt.

I submitted photos of this quilt plus two others as possible entries for an upcoming quilt show. I was very happy to find out that all three had been accepted. However, that means I need to do a little more finishing work before I can drop them off.

The binding on this Boston Fiesta quilt is machine stitched to the front of the quilt, and it has been hand basted to the back, just so I could take photos of it. I have started removing the basting and finishing the hand stitching on the back. I also need to add a hanging sleeve and label. My goal for the month is to have this quilt completed and ready for the quilt show.

My other two quilts for the show already have finished bindings, but they also need hanging sleeves and labels. Getting those done would be my bonus goal for May.

You can see what other quilters are hoping to get done this month at the One Monthly Goal link-up hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 5/2/2022

The pink theme seems to be continuing on my design wall for yet another week. I pieced a backing yesterday to go with the Uneven 9Patch baby quilt top that I shared in last week's post.

I like to use flannel as the backing for baby quilts, and I didn't have enough of any single fabric, so I combined several different pink flannels for this scrappy back. It measures about 44" x 51".

The next step is to cut some batting, then get this little quilt layered and ready for quilting.

My quilting time has been very limited lately due to recent travels. These have included a trip last week to Paducah for the AQS show. It was so much fun to be back in Paducah with the city overrun by quilters everywhere, and the quilts at the show were amazing as usual. I haven't yet had time to go through my photos and prepare a blogpost of my favorites, but I hope to do so soon.

You can see the winners of the top prizes at the AQS website HERE. This was one of my favorites from the show. It is called "Orange Crushed It" by Andrea Brokenshire of Round Rock, TX.  It won "Best Wall Quilt, Stationary Machine Workmanship."

Orange Crushed It by Andrea Brokenshire

There are also more views of this quilt at The Quilt Show website, including very close shots of the incredible applique work and the confetti background. You will be amazed--take a look HERE.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/1/2022

There's good news for my Stash Report this week--no new fabric added! The most amazing thing about that is the fact that I went to Paducah for the big quilt show and didn't buy one single piece of fabric! Paducah has become a regular stop when we drive to Wisconsin to visit family, and we are hoping to make that trip again later this month. That made it much easier for me to see all the shoppers with carts piled high with bolts of fabric at Hancock's of Paducah and not feel the need to join in. Of course, there's also the fact that my sewing room is already overwhelmingly full of fabric (but that has rarely stopped me in the past, especially if there are bargains!)

There is a little bit of usage to report for the week:  1/2 yard for the border on my scrappy pink Uneven 9-Patch quilt top. (You can see it HERE.)

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                0.5 yards

Used year to date:       28.875 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:         36.0 yards

Net added in 2022      7.125 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 stitching time. I was able to spend some time hand stitching on each day that we were gone to Paducah. However,  I didn't get any quilting time yesterday. I have been helping out recently as an overhire stitcher at the theater where I used to work. I was there all day yesterday doing alterations on men's suits. By the time I got home, I was wiped out and quilting never even crossed my mind. It is the first day I have missed all year!

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

4/24 - 4/30            6 of 7 days

2022 Total       119 of 120 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