Stash Report and Stitching Time 7/30/2023

I have been working on a variety of quilting projects this week. When I looked back over the week, it turned out that several of my projects were placemats. The first set was inspired by a mini-charm pack (2.5" squares) given out at our recent quilt guild meeting. We were challenged to make something with the squares for one of the guild's community service projects, so I went with placemats which will be donated to Meals on Wheels. By adding a few squares from my stash plus a border fabric, I was able to make two placemats.

These placemats have been finished around the outside edges, but they are not yet quilted. Instead of adding a binding, I basted a piece of batting to the top, then placed the top and back facing one another and stitched all the way around, leaving a small opening to turn. After turning, I pressed well, then top stitched 1/8 from the finished edge. As you can see below, the backing fabric is the same as the border. I'm finding placemats to be a great way to use up some of my older fabrics.

The next set of placemats have also been finished off around the outer edges, but are not quilted yet. The tops for these were finished about a week ago, made with the A Maze Zing pattern by Candace Hassen. The placemat at bottom right shows the backing fabric that was used for all of them. This set of placemats will be one of the items for sale at the guild's Christmas market.

The last set of placemats for the week were made as part of the ABC Table Scraps Challenge, hosted by the Joyful Quilter. Our color of the month, as determined by the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, is red, and our ABC Challenge letters are A and G. As usual, I struggled to figure out a way to apply the letters, but decided that as long as I made something, it's All Good!

I dug through my box of orphan blocks and found a bag of red hourglass blocks. I figured out that these were made in 2016 when Bonnie Hunter's annual leader and ender project featured hourglass units. There were over 30 blocks in that bag, and I used 24 of them to piece two placemats.

Unlike the other placemats in this post, this set is completely finished, including quilting. My quilting is diagonal lines following the piecing of the blocks. You can see it best in the photo of the back. The same backing fabric was used on both, another very old fabric from my stash that is now mostly used up except for a couple of strips. These placemats will also go to Meals on Wheels.

Now it's time to figure out the stash used for these projects. I'm not counting the mini-charm squares in the first set of placemats since they were given to me and are going right back out again. Altogether, I used 1.75 yards for all three sets of placemats, which covers the borders and backing for the first set, the backing for the Christmas set, and the backing for the red hourglass mats (the fabric for those blocks was counted when they were made in 2016.) I also used 3/8 yard for my red Jabberwocky blocks, shared in yesterday's post.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                       2.125 yards

Used year to date:                   60.50 yards

Added last week:                         0.0 yards

Added year to date:                62.375 yards

Net added in 2023                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 quilting time. I'm trying to keep up with ongoing projects like the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, plus working on some of those community service projects for the guild. There was definitely more than 15 minutes spent quilting every day last week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

7/23 - 7/29           7 of 7 days

2023 Total      200 of 210 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 the ABC Table Scraps Challenge at The Joyful Quilter.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Red Jabberwocky Blocks

It's the last Saturday of July, a month that has absolutely flown by. We have been busy keeping up with our garden, including making a batch of marinara sauce from our home-grown tomatoes. Yum! The hot weather has really settled in, which makes it the perfect time to stay inside and quilt.

One of my projects for the week was to make my Jabberwocky blocks in red, our color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The Jabberwocky block pattern was designed by Judy Martin and is included in The Block Book. The blocks will finish at 10.25"

The two blocks shown above were made this week. I also had two more red Jabberwocky blocks that were made last November as samples for a project that didn't happen. Here are all four of my red blocks together.

When I made the two blocks last fall, I discovered that the design has more of a 3-D effect with the darker fabric at the center of the star. The block at the top left has the lighter print at the center, which doesn't work as well for me. The blocks I have been making since January all have the darker fabric at the center.

I put one block from each month up on the design wall together to enjoy the color combinations. You might wonder why there are only six colors after seven months of the year. I didn't make any additional blocks in June when our monthly colors were light blue and light green since those colors were already included in the earlier blue and green 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 everyone!

Julie in GA

Tuesday To-Do List 7/25/2023

Welcome to another To-Do Tuesday! It's time once again to share how I did on last Tuesday's to-do list, (it has actually been two weeks since my previous list,) then figure out what I'd like to get done in the week ahead. The To-Do Tuesday link-up is hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric.

Having an extra week between posts made it much easier to complete everything on my last to-do list. In fact, many of the items on the list had even more done than planned in that additional time.

To-Do List for 7/11 - 7/17/2023

1. Modern Quilt Studio Mystery--remake a few blocks (change colors) ✔done 

I reworked one batch of blocks, then made the final set of blocks for the mystery. You can see them all in yesterday's post.

2. Rainbow Scrap Challenge 16-Patch Stars--make 2 red blocks  ✔done

3. A Maze Zing--make 2 blocks (red or Christmas)  ✔done

I made 3 red blocks, plus 4 blocks from Christmas fabrics. I'm having lots of fun making these blocks.

4. National Quilt Museum BOM--make Block #3      ✔done

I'm not wild about how my block turned out, but at least it's done.

5. Guild Christmas Market--it's time to figure out what I'm going to make for this sale  ✔partially done

The A Maze Zing blocks in Christmas fabrics shown above are going to become a set of placemats. I'm also going to make more of the Diva wallet that we learned in a guild workshop in May (see that HERE.)

It looks like another busy week around our house, and I should probably go with a shorter list, but I'm going to be optimistic and try to get through several different projects. Wish me luck!

To-Do List for 7/25 - 7/31

1. Modern Quilt Studio Mystery--start joining blocks

2. RSC Jabberwocky--make 2 red blocks

3. A Maze Zing--finish 2 Christmas placemats

4. ABC Table Scraps Challenge--red placemat

5. Guild Christmas Market--make 1 Diva wallet

That will be enough to keep me busy for the week ahead. I'll report on my progress next Tuesday, and post a new set of goals too. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Quilt Schmilt.

 

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 7/24/2023

It has been a couple of weeks since I shared the progress on my block making for the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Summer Camp Mystery, my primary quilting project since early June. After making about 100 blocks over five weeks of clues, I felt the need to remake some of my blocks from the earliest weeks of the mystery. My goal was to reduce the amount of teal and turquoise solids in the blocks and emphasize the rust and gold tones that fit with my color palette inspiration of the desert and Sedona, AZ. The first photo shows the blocks that are going to be remade.

The next photo shows the blocks after they were redone. These are still plenty of the blue-green fabrics included, but they are used as accents rather than the stars of the blocks, and some of the lighter turquoises were eliminated completely. It's not a huge change, but I'm much happier with the balance of colors. For some of these blocks, I was able to take apart and reuse portions of the blocks shown above, and for others I started over completely.

The final clues for the mystery were shared about ten days ago. I was expecting the reveal to show us how to put all of our blocks together, which it did, but it also included even more blocks to make. Below is my final set of blocks. 

Making these brought my total number of blocks to about 140. That included some extras of my favorite block designs, plus there are some of those reject blocks from the first photo still around. It's time for me to start getting them up on the design wall and playing with the quilt layout. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and at Monday Musings at Songbird Designs. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 7/23/2023

My stash report for the past week shows some movement both in and out. The fabric used includes 1-1/4 yard for four A Maze Zing placemat tops, plus 3/8 yard for two 16-Patch Stars blocks. Both sets of blocks were shared in yesterday's post.

The fabric added for the week was two yards purchased at our quilt guild meeting on Thursday. These two fabrics, both from the "Gradients Parfait" line by Moda, include my favorite colors, and the price was too good to pass up. I've no idea what I will make with them.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      1.625 yards

Used year to date:                 58.375 yards

Added last week:                         2.0 yards

Added year to date:                60.375 yards

Net added in 2023                    4.0 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. The hot weather has continued here, which keeps me mostly indoors at the cutting table or sewing machine.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

7/16 - 7/22           7 of 7 days

2023 Total      193 of 203 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

Scraps and Stars

I've been making progress on a couple of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week. I started out by making two scrappy 16-Patch Stars blocks in red, our color of the month. I have lots of red scraps, so it was fun pulling fabrics for these blocks.

My other scrappy project that includes plenty of red was a set of four A Maze Zing blocks made from Christmas fabrics. The plan is to finish these off as placemats to be sold in our guild's Christmas market. Each block measures 13.25" x 19.25".

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 7/16/2023

The stash report is moving back toward net zero (same amount of fabric used this year as added.) There were no new fabric additions this week, and I used a total of 1.5 yards. That included 1 yard for three A Maze Zing blocks (see them in yesterday's post,) plus 1/2 yard for the third block of the National Quilt Museum's Block of the Month. Unfortunately, I don't like the way my BOM block turned out (not enough contrast in the circle on the left,) and I am thinking about replacing some of the fabrics in it.

Colour Radar, NQM BOM 2023

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                         1.50 yards

Used year to date:                   56.75 yards

Added last week:                         0.0 yards

Added year to date:                60.375 yards

Net added in 2023                3.625 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 quilting time. It has been a steamy, hot week here in Georgia, and I've been glad to be able to stay inside and quilt even more than usual.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

7/9 - 7/15             7 of 7 days

2023 Total      186 of 196 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 Red Saturday 7/15/2023

It was time this week to get back to one of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I made three red A Maze Zing blocks, with each block measuring 13.25" x 19.25". They might end up together in a quilt, or they might become a set of placemats.

Light red/red with white

Medium red

Dark red

Here are all three red blocks together. These big blocks are fun to make and go together pretty quickly. I'm thinking about making some out of Christmas fabrics that would definitely become placemats.

You can read more about my A Maze Zing project in my earlier post 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. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Tuesday To-Do List 7/11/2023

Welcome to another To-Do Tuesday! It's time once again to share how I did on last Tuesday's to-do list, then figure out what I'd like to get done in the week ahead. The To-Do Tuesday link-up is hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric.

The July 4th holiday got in the way of posting last week. Even with an extra week to work through my list, I ended up with fewer items checked off than I'd hoped. Maybe the next week will be better.

To-Do List for 6/27 - 7/3/2023

1. Moda Blockheads quilt top--add borders   not done

I'd planned to add the borders to this quilt top, but decided that I don't like the fabric I had previously chosen and need to buy something else.

2. A Maze Zing--make sample with Christmas fabrics   not done

3. ABC Table Scraps Challenge--finish light blue project     ✔done 

I made one placemat using leftovers from another project, plus two more placemats from orphan blocks.

4. Modern Quilt Studio Mystery--make third set of blocks   ✔done

This mystery has been consuming most of my quilting time and is the main reason that my other projects have been neglected over the past two weeks. Below are the blocks I made  most recently for Week #5. You can see many more blocks in yesterday's post HERE.

5. Rainbow Scrap Challenge 16-Patch Stars--make 2 red blocks  not done

I'm hoping to get back to some of my ongoing projects this week and be a little less obsessed with the mystery quilt. We'll see how that goes!

To-Do List for 7/11 - 7/17/2023

1. Modern Quilt Studio Mystery--remake a few blocks (change colors)

2. Rainbow Scrap Challenge 16-Patch Stars--make 2 red blocks

3. A Maze Zing--make 2 blocks (red or Christmas)

4. National Quilt Museum BOM--make Block #3

5. Guild Christmas Market--it's time to figure out what I'm going to make for this sale

That will be enough to keep me busy for the week ahead. I'll report on my progress next Tuesday, and post a new set of goals too. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Quilt Schmilt.

 

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 7/10/2023

After pausing my progress on the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Summer Camp Mystery while waiting for some additional fabric to arrive, there was a major push last week in order to catch up on the weekly clues. I finished making the blocks for Weeks 3 & 4 on Friday, not long after the clues for Week 5 were posted. Here are all of my blocks so far.

Weeks 1 & 2

Weeks 3 & 4

After that second photo was posted on Facebook, there were some comments from others participating in the mystery asking about my plan for background fabric. The sandy gold fabric shown in the top photo was my original choice for the background, but someone suggested turquoise. I was intrigued by that idea (although it would mean buying more fabric, instead of using what I already have.) I decided to audition some aqua/turquoise options.

Each of these next two photos show an assortment of blocks on top of six different possible background colors. I started out with the lighter aqua choices.

My favorites in that first group were the two darker pieces on the right end. Then I moved on to even darker shades of aqua in the next group (although they don't look much different than some in the previous group in this shot.)

Those backgrounds are pretty with my blocks, but none of the aqua background choices fit with my color palette inspiration of the desert and Sedona, AZ. I put the same selection of blocks up on the design wall along with my original background choice.

This is definitely closer to the feel I am hoping to achieve. I'm happy with the colors (and also glad that I already have plenty of this background fabric!)

I'm hoping to finish the Week 5 blocks for this mystery today. This Friday is the final reveal for the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Summer Camp Mystery, and I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and at Monday Musings at Songbird Designs. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 7/9/2023

My stash report shows a sizable increase thanks to some recent additions. I've been working away on blocks for the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Summer Camp Mystery, and I felt the need to add some more solids to my palette for that project. This first photo shows my blocks from the first two weeks of the mystery.

My inspiration for this project is the colors of the desert around Sedona, AZ. After making the blocks shown above, I felt the need to use more of the rust, terra cotta, dark gold, and brick red colors and to cut down on the blues and teals as well as the brighter pinks. I ordered two bundles of fat quarters, which gave me plenty of new choices.

Choosing colors online is tricky, and many of these will not make it into this quilt. However, there are plenty of options that fit in perfectly with my color scheme. Here are a few of the blocks I was able to make after those new fabrics were added to my palette. I'm much happier with the balance of colors in these blocks.

The new additions to the stash totaled 10.75 yards. Figuring out the amount of fabric used for all the different blocks will be a challenge, so I'm going to put it off for now.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                         0.00 yards

Used year to date:                   55.25 yards

Added last week:                     10.75 yards

Added year to date:                60.375 yards

Net added in 2023                5.625 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 quilting time. I've become rather obsessed with these mystery blocks, and have spent much more than 15 minutes on them every day this week. 

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

7/2 - 7/8               7 of 7 days

2023 Total      179 of 189 days

The final reveal for this quilt comes on Friday, and I am very eager to see how it all comes together. It's still possible to join if you are interested in the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Summer Camp Mystery.

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