Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/12/2024

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! I am thankful for so many things that my mother taught me, and sewing was a big one. It led to my 40+ year career making theater costumes, plus I am consumed/obsessed by quilting, the most creatively satisfying hobby ever. (at least, it is for me!)  Thanks, Mom!

The last week felt much more productive than the previous few weeks in the sewing room. I've been able to catch up on a couple of different Block of the Month projects, which are always a relief to complete. I shared my Chatsworth blocks and two sets of Sewcialites 2 blocks a few days ago (see that post HERE.) Yesterday I was able to stitch one more set of Sewcialites 2 blocks. These will finish at 6".

All of the BOM blocks, plus a set of pink Rail Fence Spinner blocks, added up to a total of 2.375 yards of fabric used. No new fabric was added to the stash last week.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                   2.375 yards

Used year to date:             33.625 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:             27.50 yards

Net used in 2024:            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 quilting time. I've been splitting my quilting time between all of those BOM blocks and starting the quilting on one my entries for an upcoming quilt show.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024: 

5/5 - 5/11               7 of 7 days

2024 Total        129 of 132 days

Success rate              97.7 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Pinwheeling in Pink

We have moved on to pink as our color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I was able to get one set of pink blocks done this week. These are my Rail Fence Spinner blocks.

It was fun going through my pink scraps and strips for these blocks, and I'm looking forward to continuing with even more pink scraps for the rest of my RSC projects.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Catching Up on BOMs

There are multiple different Block of the Month (BOM) programs that I've been following so far this year, and I was very happy to get caught up on two of them this week. The first one was the Chatsworth Quilt-Along, a pattern designed by Doug Leko of Antler Quilt Design, and the quilt-along is hosted by Moda Fabrics. The quilt finishes at 74" x 88", but the book also includes other size variations and layouts. It's not too late to join the quilt-along! These are blocks #7 & 8, which will finish at 16".

Chatsworth, Block 7

Chatsworth, Block 8

Chatsworth, Blocks 7 & 8

After those were finished, I turned to my Sewcialites 2 blocks. Sewcialites 2 originally ran as a weekly block program at Fat Quarter Shop from October, 2022 until April, 2023. All of the block patterns are still available on the Fat Quarter Shop's website. Our quilt guild is doing it as a BOM, with two blocks due each month. 

The Sewcialites 2 pattern includes instructions for blocks in three different sizes: 3", 6" and 9", and I've been making blocks in all three sizes. I haven't made the 6" blocks yet this month, but I did get the others done. Here are Blocks #3 - 6, our assignment for April and May, in the 9" size.

Sewcialites 2, 9" Blocks #3 - 6

These are the same blocks in the 3" size, although they will look like the same scale in the photo.

Sewcialites 2, 3" Blocks #3 - 6

The bottom left block in the 3" set was the hardest one yet. There are 48 pieces total in that block, and the small half-square triangles finish at only 1/2" each. All of the 3" blocks are very challenging to make.

It's fun to see the different block sizes together on the design wall.

I hope to get the last of the 6" Sewcialites 2 blocks done this week. Then I would be completely caught up on this project.

Linking up with:

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report & Stitching Time 5/5/2024

My stash report for the week doesn't include photos of any of my most recent output because the blocks were all shared in yesterday's post and have since been stashed away in a bin. Instead of pulling them out for a recap photo, I decided to lead with a couple more images from our recent visit to the AQS Show in Paducah. The Best of Show quilt seems like a good place to start.

Serenity by Molly Hamilton-McNally

I loved the way the quiltmaker used a very limited color palette to create such beautiful images. The machine quilting on it is absolutely amazing!

Our recent travels, combined with working part-time both before and after our trips, left me run down this week, fighting a cold and feeling wiped out. I enjoyed one lazy day at home while Ed was playing golf, taking it easy and quilting as much as I could handle. That was the day I was able to finish up my scrappy yellow blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, all of them shared in yesterday's post. I used a total of 2 yards of fabric for all those blocks, and no new fabric was added to the stash.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                     2.00 yards

Used year to date:               31.25 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:             27.50 yards

Net used in 2024:              3.75 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. Even with a busy week plus not feeling great, I still got in at least 15 minutes every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024: 

4/28 - 5/4               7 of 7 days

2024 Total        122 of 125 days

Success rate              97.6 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Not Quite Ready for a New Color

Even though the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge switched over from April's yellow to pink on May 1st, I still had some sets of yellow blocks to finish off. 

Up first were my yellow Terry blocks, inspired by Terry Rowland's colorwash quilts, featured in her series of three YouTube videos. These scrappy little blocks will finish at 3".

Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts is hosting a Birthday Quilt 2024 quilt-along. There is a new pattern for a 6" block posted every week. I am alternating using a dark or a light background each week, and my blocks this month all feature yellow.

The yellow Rail Fence Spinners needed yellow strips cut before I could make the blocks. After that, they went together very quickly.

It was a lucky coincidence that the May block pattern for Jen's Color Challenge featured yellow. The inspiration for Jen's color choice was the Electric Yellow Lab, a type of tropical fish.

I'm done with the yellow scraps and hope to have some time this weekend to start pulling out my bits and pieces of pink.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA