Design Wall Monday 10/31/2022

My current quilting focus has been catching up on my Charm Basket blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I finished the last set of blocks in light and bright blues on Saturday, ending up with 24 of them.

Finishing that set of blocks brought my total number of basket blocks up to around 225. I was so excited to have them all done and began putting all the colors up on the design wall together. I started in the bottom left corner with the purple and blue blocks.

After getting all of the blocks up on the wall and doing a little rearranging of colors, I started sewing them together. So far I have gotten the first two columns stitched up, and there are 11 more columns to go.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts. Unfortunately, Beth at Love Laugh Quilt has decided to discontinue her Monday Making link-up.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/30/2022

My bin of solid fabrics will be overflowing with the additions I received this week. I have been getting monthly fat quarter bundles of solid-colored fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop all year, The colors in each bundle are based on that month's birthstone. I had received the October bundle early in the month, but September's Sapphire blues were delayed until this week. I also got the Garnet bundle from January, which I had previously missed because I joined a little late. These would work well together in a patriotic quilt.

One thing I didn't realize when I started getting these monthly bundles was that the manufacturers would vary. Each month's bundle contains fabrics from a single company, but the company can vary from month to month. Both of the bundles above are Kona cottons. Below are two groups of red--on the left is the Kona Garnet bundle, and on the right is the Ruby bundle from July. That one is Bella Solids from Moda. I have also received Confetti Cottons by Riley Blake and Pure Solids by Art Gallery Fabrics. Using these different fabrics may help me figure out if there is one brand I prefer over others.

The additions to the stash totaled 6 yards for the week. As for usage, I used 1-3/8 yard to make a total of 36 Charm Basket blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. You can see them HERE. I am nearly done with the light and bright blue baskets, which will be the last color added to that collection.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:            1.375 yards

Used year to date:     121.375 yards

Added last week:              6.0 yards

Added year to date:     115.25 yards

Net used in 2022       6.125 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 obsessed with working on the basket blocks all week, determined to get caught up on the last three months of blocks. I hope to finish off the light blue blocks today!

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

10/23 - 10/29          7 of 7 days

2022 Total        295 of 302 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 Charm Baskets

My attempts to get caught up on my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge shifted to the Charm Baskets blocks this week. According to my photo files, the last time I made any of these blocks was back in July, so I was behind by three months. I started with the orange scraps, our color from August, and made 20 blocks.

After that I pulled out the light and bright green scraps, making 18 blocks to go along with the darker green blocks from May.

Before all the new blocks got stashed away with the rest from earlier months, I combined the orange and green blocks together on the design wall

I've been working on more basket blocks in September's light and bright blues and hope to have them finished before next Saturday. That will bring my total number of blocks up to over 200. (Keep in mind that they finish at only 4".) I'm still debating whether to add any brown, grey or black blocks.

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! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/23/22

It was another good week for stash usage, with a total of 5.5 yards of fabric used and no new fabric added to the stash. The usage included 2.875 yards for the Karma 4-Patch quilt top, 1.625 yards for the border stripe tablerunner, and 1 yard for the last blocks plus the sashing/border on the Scrappy Hearts quilt. You can read more and see photos of each project by clicking on the names. 

The Scrappy Hearts were my favorite project of the week. This is partly because they include one of my all-time favorite background fabrics, Tula Pink's Fairy Dust print. I've used this fabric for two quilts so far, and am considering getting more for a future rainbow quilt.

Tula Pink's Fairy Dust print, color "Cotton Candy"

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              5.50 yards

Used year to date:        120.0 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:     109.25 yards

Net used in 2022       10.75 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 stitching time. I completed the last project for the guild's Christmas fair, plus finished assembling two more quilt tops. It's time to get back to more free-motion quilting.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

10/16 - 10/22         7 of 7 days

2022 Total        288 of 295 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 Hearts Quilt Top

The last two blocks for my Scrappy Hearts quilt were finished this week. I made one block using light/lime greens (our assigned color for October at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.) I only needed one more block after that, so I went ahead and made one in browns.

I couldn't wait to join the blocks together, adding sashing and a border of the background fabric. Here is my completed Scrappy Hearts quilt top!

Scrappy Hearts, 45" x 52.5"

My quilt was inspired by the Scrappy Hearts pattern by Emily Dennis of Quilty Love, with a couple of significant changes. Emily's design uses 3.5" squares to make 18" blocks, while I used 2.5" squares for 12" blocks. I also added vertical sashing between the columns of hearts to make the quilt wider. 

This is my first finished RSC quilt top for the year. I'm trying to get going on the Charm Basket blocks again, after not making any blocks during the past couple of months. It's time to get caught up on those.

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! 

Julie in GA

Christmas Fair Collection 2022

One of the quilt guilds that I belong to participates in an annual Christmas fair, selling handcrafted items made and donated by guild members. The event is one of the primary fundraisers for the guild, and as a new member, I was determined to contribute to the cause. I finished my last item two days ago, this tablerunner made from a border-stripe fabric.

Christmas tablerunner, 17" x 46"

My husband is a retired musician, a french horn player, who bought a large piece of this fabric for me several years ago. We have a Christmas tree skirt and a tablerunner from it that we use each year, so I was happy to use some of the remaining fabric for this donation.

Yesterday was our monthly guild meeting and the time to turn in our items for the fair. I decided to get a photo of my whole collection before donating them. The lighting wasn't great, but at least I have a record of everything together.

I've shared photos and info about the rest of these items in earlier blog posts. You can read about the placemats, the potholders and ornaments, and the Scandinavian Star ornaments, all in separate posts.

For anyone in the Atlanta area interested in visiting the Christmas Arts and Crafts Market, it is held at the Coweta County fairgrounds, November 4th - 6th. Admission is free. More information is available HERE.

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Karma Four-Patch Top is Done!

There was a new project that I shared a few weeks ago, the Karma 4-patch blocks made from a prize won at the guild auction. Those blocks have now been joined into a finished quilt top!

Karma 4-Patch, 45.5" x 55.25"

Most of the fabrics used in this quilt were from the line "Karma" by Benartex, and they have a definite 1970's feel. It's a crazy mix of designs and colors that I tried to lay out in a somewhat cohesive manner by running matching blocks in diagonal lines. Leftover fabric strips were added as borders to finish the whole thing off. Here's a closer look at some of the fabrics.

Linking up with:

 Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/16/2022

It has been a good week for stash usage, with 3.375 yards of fabric used for a variety of different projects, and no new fabric added to the stash. The usage included 3/8 yard for two potholders and three ornaments to include in the quilt guild's booth at the upcoming Christmas fair.  

I also used 1.5 yards for the Artful Improv quilt top (blog post HERE) and another 1.5 yards for the last ten blocks plus the border of my Glorified 9-Patch quilt top (see it HERE.) 

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:            3.375 yards

Used year to date:       114.50 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:     109.25 yards

Net used in 2022         5.25 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 have been finishing up some projects for the Christmas fair before the guild meeting next week, plus trying to catch up on some of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

10/8 - 10/15           7 of 7 days

2022 Total        281 of 288 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 10/15/2022

For the first time in several weeks, I have a project to share with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This was a rainbow quilt that I had started almost exactly two years ago. I needed a new hand-stitching project at the time, and decided to try hand piecing some Glorified 9-Patch blocks. Here is one of my first blocks, both from the front and showing the handwork on the back. I made two sets of blocks by hand (yellow and brown) before switching over to machine piecing them.

Our color for October is lime or light green, with light neutrals as an alternate choice. I happened to have some partially-completed Glorified 9-Patch blocks in all of those colors. I had made the 9-patch centers late last year, but hadn't added the curved outer sections. Here are the unfinished centers:

and here they are with the backgrounds attached.

After that, all of the blocks were arranged on the design wall to spread out the colors. They all needed to be trimmed down to 6.5" before they could be joined together.

After a couple days of working at this, all of the blocks were stitched together. I decided to add a black and grey fabric as a finishing border.

Glorified 9-Patch, 48" x 48"

Here's a closer look at a few blocks and the border fabric.

I am a little disappointed that the circular designs around the blocks don't show up better. The circles are there, just rather subtle. I realized that using two background fabrics of such different values (very light greys vs. blacks) made the seams between those two colors the strongest contrast in the quilt, and therefore the square blocks are the visual focus rather than the curved seams. I guess that's my lesson from making this quilt. There's always something new to be learned!

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! 

Julie in GA

Artful Improv quilt top done!

Cindy Grisdela is a quilt artist and teacher who has also written two books about improv quilting. She was the speaker at our recent guild meeting, and also taught two different workshops. I was lucky enough to take part in her "Artful Improv" class, and today I am happy to share my finished quilt top from that class.

We learned about several different improv techniques that Cindy uses regularly including improv blocks, angled stripes and improv curves. At the end of that first day, I had this collection on parts up on my design wall.

The next day I was very frustrated and unsure of how to proceed. I decided to keep making more parts, adding them to the wall and doing some rearranging. This was my design wall at the end of day 2.

After making one more set of angled stripe blocks, it was time to start puzzling everything together. I had to trim down some blocks to make them fit, and others got strips added to make them larger. Here's what I had at the end of day 3.

Artful Improv #1, 26" x 31"

I was happy with the piece so far, and could have stopped there and called it a finished top. Instead, I decided to add borders to two sides utilizing two more techniques from Cindy's class, inset strips and curved stripe borders. I like the way they make the quilt even more asymmetrical, but I'm not sure they fit in with the overall piece. They feel like unnecessary additions to the quilt rather than being fully integrated with the rest of the design.

Artful Improv #1A, 29" x 34"

I'm not sure if those two borders will stay on the quilt or not. There's a very good chance that I will take them off, but for now that decision is on hold.

I found this quote on Cindy's website about a 7-day workshop she took with Michael James: "Taking a class that pushes you out of your comfort zone is a great way to grow as an artist." This improv class was definitely way out of my comfort zone, and I struggled at times, but pushed through it and am happy with the result. I look forward to playing with Cindy's ideas even further in the near future.

A Little Citrus by Cindy Grisdela

The quilt above is one of my favorites that Cindy shared with us in her class. You can read more about Cindy Grisdela's quilts, books and classes at her website HERE. The Artful Improv class is available as either a workshop for a group (info HERE) or as an on-line class that you can take on your own time (HERE.) Either way, I encourage you to explore Cindy's techniques to make your own improv quilts.

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/9/2022

The main focus in my sewing room this week was getting started on some projects to be included in the Christmas craft fair that my quilt guild participates in next month. One of the fun projects I completed was three Scandinavian Star ornaments. I made them based on the tutorial from Jen at Shabby Fabrics. You can find the YouTube video HERE. She also has many other tutorials on YouTube.

Each ornament is made from two 6.5" squares with Heat 'n Bond Ultra fusing them together, making them reversible. The two photos above show the same three stars, flipped over to show the reverse in the second shot. They finish at almost 6" tip to tip. 1/4 yard of fabric used.

As for additions to the stash, I received the October solids bundle of fat quarters from Fat Quarter Shop. The birthstone for October (on their list) is pink tourmaline, and the bundle includes a great range of pinks from very light to dark. 3 yards added to the stash.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                .25 yards

Used year to date:     111.125 yards

Added last week:              3.0 yards

Added year to date:     109.25 yards

Net used in 2022       1.875 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 stitching time. I spent the first part of the week finishing up my Artful Improv quilt top (photos coming soon!), then the rest of the week was all about projects for the Christmas fair.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

10/2 - 10/7           7 of 7 days

2022 Total      274 of 281 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

Improv Monday

I have a brand new project up on the design wall, and it is totally out of my comfort zone. I took part in a Zoom class on Saturday with Cindy Grisdela called Artful Improv. That is also the name of Cindy's first book. We tried out several different techniques for improv piecing, and this is what I had on the wall at the end of the day.

I have no plan for where I'm going with these blocks, and that's part of the fun with this kind of project. There are solid fabrics all over the sewing room and I plan to make some more blocks to go along with these. I will move blocks around, maybe even cut some of them up and add other pieces. There's no telling what they will turn into! It's all a big mystery, which is both exciting and rather uncomfortable for me.

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 everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/2/2022

It has been two weeks since my last stash report. We were out of town last Sunday, and there wasn't much to report anyway. I did add one yard of fabric to the stash, this lovely panel for my Santa-collector husband. I should be able to use this to practice some of the motifs I've been learning in free-motion quilting class.

On the usage side, I made a set of four LeMoyne Star placemats which will be donated to my local quilt guild for their Christmas fair. You can read more about them in my post HERE. It seems that there was a Christmas theme going on in my sewing room this week.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              1.75 yards

Used year to date:     110.875 yards

Added last week:              1.0 yards

Added year to date:     106.25 yards

Net used in 2022       4.625 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. Welcome back to Kate--we missed your posts! 

My numbers cover the past two weeks, which included a multi-day road trip to Cincinnati, Louisville, and Nashville. I had a hand-stitching project along on the trip, but rarely pulled it out, which led to two days with no quilting time. I did get to go to a quilt show in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Here's my favorite quilt from the show--the design is called Crystal Prism, and it was made by Mary Lois Hill.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

9/18 - 10/1        12 of 14 days

2022 Total      267 of 274 days

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

Happy quilting everyone!