Colorwash Assembly Begins

Last week's post included progress photos with half of the different color sets of "Terry" blocks going up on my design wall. After adding the rest of the colors, I let all the blocks hang out together up there for a few days. Every once in a while, I would stand back and look at them, then move a few blocks around. I took some photos in grey scale to make sure nothing jumped out as being in the wrong place (like that too dark block just right of center and six rows up from the bottom.)

My final layout ended up with 27 rows of 20 blocks each, which should produce a quilt measuring 60" wide by 81" long.

Yesterday I was finally ready to start joining blocks. I managed to get the lower right quarter sewn together. 

Green is our assigned color for May at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and the next section for this quilt will include lots more green, plus teal/turquoise and blue. I would love to have a finished quilt top to share next week.

I began making these scrappy little 3" blocks early last year, inspired by Terry Rowland's amazing improv colorwash quilts, which are featured in her series of three YouTube videos. Terry doesn't have a blog or website, but she is active on Facebook and Instagram.

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

Chandelier Quilt Top

Our quilt guild had a group sewing day recently to work on throw quilts for donation to the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. The quilts are distributed to clients who are in need of comfort and warmth. Here is my completed Chandelier 3-yard quilt top.

Chandelier quilt top

50" x 61"

The design I chose to make is the Chandelier 3-yard quilt pattern from the Sew Can She website. Caroline at Sew Can She offers a huge selection of free patterns on her site, including several of the popular 3-yard patterns. The pattern was easy to make, and the quilt came together quickly.

I received the fabrics from the guild's head of community service projects. They aren't my usual style, but I like the way they look together. So many of the quilts I make are scrappy, which I love, but the cutting sure goes faster with only three fabrics. 

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/25/25

There are no changes to my stash report for the last week, even though I spent plenty of time quilting. My main projects were a 3-yard quilt for a guild community service project, but it was made from guild fabrics, not mine. I also spent lots of time putting more of my "Terry" blocks up on the design wall. I shared some photos in yesterday's post, and here is the next phase.

There are only a few more colors to add to the wall, plus there's sure to be plenty of rearranging of blocks. I would love to get this top together by the end of the month, but that might be unrealistic.

 

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  0.0 yards

Used year to date:            34.5 yards

Added last week:                0.0 yards

Added year to date:           51.0 yards

Net added in 2025:        16.5 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 quilting time. It was another 7 for 7 week, which included a guild sewing day to work on community service quilts. 

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

5/18 - 5/24                7 of 7 days

2025 Total          143 of 144 days

Success rate                 99.3 %   

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

Designing a Gradation

After sharing the final group of blocks for my "Terry" quilt in last week's post, it was time to start arranging all the different colors together on the design wall. I have around 560 blocks and decided to make my quilt 20 blocks wide and 26 or 27 rows high. That should give me a quilt that measures 60" wide x 78" or 81" long.

It seemed easiest to start at the bottom and work my way up. I wanted to keep the darkest blocks around the outside edges and to have the colors create a swirling effect. I started with the purple blocks at the lower right corner.

The blue blocks were added to the left of the purples.

The lower left corner was filled with all the blue-green colors like teal and turquoise.

After that I added the greens along the left side.

That brings me to approximately halfway through my set of blocks. Since green is our assigned color for May at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I'm going to stop there for today. It's getting hard to include all the blocks in my photos as the layout grows. The design wall is in a hallway, and I have to stand in the bathroom and take pictures through the doorway.

I'm sure there will be plenty of rearranging of blocks once I get all the colors up on the wall. I can already see a few in these photos that need to be moved for a better blend of the colors and values. I can't wait to see how it looks with even more colors added to the design wall!

I began making these scrappy little 3" blocks early last year, inspired by Terry Rowland's amazing improv colorwash quilts, which are featured in her series of three YouTube videos. Terry doesn't have a blog or website, but she is active on Facebook and Instagram.

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

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/18/2025

It was a very productive week in the sewing room, with major progress made on multiple projects. That meant a significant amount of fabric used for the week, helping my stash report total get closer to being back in the black. I used 1.5 yards in the sashing and border for my Sewcialites 2 sampler quilt (read about it HERE.) 

Sewcialites 2 quilt top

1.875 yards was used for the backing and binding on the Diagonal Squares baby quilt, shared in the same blog post.

Diagonal Squares baby quilt

I also used 1.25 yards to make the last set of "Terry" blocks.

"Terry" blocks

Altogether, that adds up to 4.625 yards used for the week. I did have one small addition to the stash. We had a speaker from a local quilt shop at our guild meeting this week, and she did a pop-up shop for us. It would have been rude to not buy anything from her, right? I got one charm pack, Olive You by Zen Chic. It's not a color palette I normally gravitate toward, but for some reason, it spoke to me that day. 3/4 yard added to the stash.

I still have a long way to go before the stash total is back to even, but I feel really good about the progress made this week. Finishing quilts definitely eats up some yardage.

 

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              4.625 yards

Used year to date:            34.5 yards

Added last week:                0.0 yards

Added year to date:           51.0 yards

Net added in 2025:        16.5 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 quilting time. Along with the projects shared above, I also got caught up on my Temperature Quilt, cut the pieces for a guild sewing day next week, and attended a guild meeting. It was a week filled with quilting, just the way I like it!

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

5/11 - 5/17                7 of 7 days

2025 Total          136 of 137 days

Success rate               99.27 %   

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

The Last "Terry" Blocks (I hope)

It's possible that my collection of "Terry" blocks is complete! Green is our assigned color for May at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I finished piecing the rest of my green blocks this week. I ended up with a grand total of 86 blocks in green, well over the average number of my other colors.

I also decided to add a few to the set of teal/turquoise/aqua blocks, making twelve more in those colors. Some of these definitely lean toward green or blue, which will be very helpful in getting my color gradation to blend together.

Early last year I began making these scrappy little 3" blocks inspired by Terry Rowland's amazing improv colorwash quilts, which are featured in her series of three YouTube videos. Terry doesn't have a blog or website, but she is active on Facebook and Instagram.

I started making my blocks last February, following along with the assigned colors for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge each month. By the end of the year I had nearly 400 blocks made. This year I made additional blocks in some colors to even out the numbers. Most colors have around 60-70 blocks, and then there's the enormous set of 86 blocks in green. According to my tally, I now have 561 blocks total, although I wouldn't be surprised if that count was off by a few.

Up next is the part I've been both dreaming about and dreading--combining the colors on the design wall. Putting over 500 blocks up on the wall and getting them arranged for the best gradation of color is likely to be a slow process since I tend to agonize over the placement of every single block. I can't wait to see how the colors work together!

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

UFO Challenge 2025--Report #1

Our quilt guild recently started a UFO Challenge (UnFinished Objects, in case you didn't know), with each member submitting a list of UFOs and what they hope to achieve on their projects. The challenge is running from April until October. For each goal successfully completed, we get our name entered into a prize drawing, and for each goal not completed, our penalty is one fat quarter. Those fat quarters become part of the final prize.

As usual, I greatly overestimated how much I am likely to get done on my UFOs. The list I submitted contains 13 different projects! Most people listed three or four. This week I buckled down and completed two of my UFO goals.

Sewcialites 2, 9" blocks

The blocks shown above were made as part of the guild's most recent Block of the Month, Sewcialites 2 from  the Fat Quarter Shop's website. I finished a quilt top with 3" blocks from the same pattern (see it HERE,) but lost interest in making more of the 9" blocks. My UFO goal was to join them together into a baby quilt top.

Before joining the blocks together, I decided to rework two of them that bothered me as part of the group. Those were the blocks at the top right (that bright blue isn't used anywhere else) and the bottom left (needs more of the background fabric.) I changed the corner squares in the bottom block to half-square triangles with the dark blue background, and I'm much happier with that look.

Instead of taking apart the block with the bright blue, I picked a different block pattern to make from scratch. This was a very easy block to piece.

After those were done, I figured out a plan for sashing and borders. It took a couple days, but I now have a finished quilt top. UFO Challenge Goal #1 completed!

Sewcialites 2 quilt top

39.5" x 50"

I didn't waste any time after that UFO success before I pulled out another project. This was a small quilt that had been pieced several years ago, then the quilting was started in 2022. Each fabric has been quilted with a different design in a different color thread. Here are some close shots of the fabrics and the quilting.

This photo of the back really shows the texture of the quilting. The backing is a flannel print.

All that needed to be done on this quilt was to finish quilting the borders, then add the binding. I took care of those items, and now it's a finished quilt. Goal #2 completed!

Diagonal Squares baby quilt

38" x 45"

It feels so good to have completed two of the goals from my UFO Challenge list. Maybe that will motivate me to keep pushing through the other projects I've chosen. If I can average completing two goals per month, it will be a very successful challenge for me.

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/11/2025

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there. We recently visited my mother and other family members in Wisconsin, and I'm always thankful for any time spent with them. Love you, Mom!

It's going to take a long time and a lot of quilt projects to get my stash total back in the black for the year after the huge additions to the stash that were reported last week . I made a small start this week with 34 green blocks for the Terry Rowland colorwash quilt (read about it HERE.) I used 5/8 yard from my stash to make these blocks.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                .625 yards

Used year to date:         29.875 yards

Added last week:                0.0 yards

Added year to date:         50.25 yards

Net added in 2025:    20.375 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. I worked on multiple different projects last week, which is the norm for me, and I definitely got in more than 15 minutes every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

5/4 - 5/10                 7 of 7 days

2025 Total          129 of 130 days

Success rate                 99.2 %   

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

Green Terry Blocks

My collection of "Terry" blocks continued to grow this week, with a batch of green blocks completed. Green is our assigned color for May at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I still have about 50 more green blocks cut out and ready to be stitched.

These scrappy little blocks were inspired by Terry Rowland's colorwash quilts, which are featured in her series of three YouTube videos. I started making these blocks last February, and I've finished every color except green by following along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

When I finish making the remaining green blocks, I should have a total of around 500 blocks. Each block finishes at 3" square. Then comes the challenge of arranging them all on the design wall and getting them joined together. I hope to have a finished quilt top before the end of June.

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

Temperature Quilt Progress

It has been about a month since I posted an update about the Temperature Quilt project. I've kept up pretty well with making blocks, although I did have to do some catching up after we were gone for a week. Here's how it's looking right now, which includes blocks through May 4th.

The blocks in the upper part of the photo are joined into groups. If I keep up over the next week, I will be able to construct three more big 16-block segments.

It takes a long time to get enough blocks made for a complete segment. The dates on the blocks run across the quilt horizontally. For instance, the top row of horizontal diamonds covers January 1 - 12. The dates continue in the next row, running from left to right, January 13 - 23.

The 16-block segment shown above is a good example of  the wide range of dates that make up one segment. These blocks start with January 20th at the top and end with March 29 at the bottom.

The block with the circle in this segment is a special addition. I needed to add three blocks to the 365 for the year in order to get a number that worked for my chosen layout. The circle represents the day my husband was born, and the colors match the high and low temps for his birthdate and place. I will embroider or write the date and place on that block. I'm planning to do the same thing for my birthday in October, plus an appliqued heart for our wedding anniversary later this month.

I had been debating whether to make all of the daily blocks to represent the temperatures at our home, or if I should make blocks to reflect temps in other places when we travel. For now I've decided that the front of the quilt is all about home. I'm planning to make the blocks for travel days and use them somehow on the back of the quilt.

I'm linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 5/4/2025

I missed writing a Stash Report post last week because we were traveling, so this post covers two weeks. It's time for a little bit of True Confessions regarding my stash report. Remember back in March when I wrote about starting work on a Jane Stickle sampler quilt? (If not, you can read my post HERE.) I had started out by buying 1/2 yard cuts of a variety of teal/turquoise/blue Grunge fabrics. I narrowed down my choices to six colors plus a cream background. After prepping several blocks from one color, I figured out that 1.5 additional yards of each color should be enough for my quilt. I also threw in another color of teal. To top it all off, I bought a bolt (15 yards) of the cream background Grunge, my first time ever to buy a whole bolt of quilting fabric. Total additions to the stash: 26.5 yards. Ouch! It's going to be hard to get back in the black after an addition like that.

Fabrics for Jane Stickle sampler quilt

My usage over the past two weeks has been minimal, partly due to being out of town for a week. I did use 1/2 yard for the purple blocks made to round out the collection for my Terry Rowland colorwash quilt (read about it HERE.)

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  0.5 yards

Used year to date:           29.25 yards

Added last week:               26.5 yards

Added year to date:         50.25 yards

Net added in 2025:        21.0 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. For the first time all year, I missed a day of quilting. We had gone to Wisconsin for a niece's wedding, and I never found any time to stitch on the wedding day. We had a great time at the wedding and visiting family, so it was definitely worth missing one day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

4/20 - 5/3              13 of 14 days

2025 Total          122 of 123 days

Success rate                99.2 %     

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

RSC Green Scrappiness

My main focus for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2025 has been making more "Terry" blocks, the scrappy little blocks inspired by Terry Rowland's colorwash quilts, which are featured in her series of three YouTube videos. I started making these blocks last February,  but I missed making any in green because that had been the color last January. Green is our color for May at the RSC, so I spent much of the afternoon yesterday cutting up some green fabrics to use for my blocks.

Each piece of fabric measures about 4" x 5". As you can see, I have a lot of different greens (and there are still plenty more that weren't included.) My plan was to make 60 - 70 blocks, but I believe there are more than 80 pieces in those stacks. Now I need to cut each piece into segments, plus pull contrast squares and rectangles for the centers.

I did manage to put together the first few green blocks. These scrappy little blocks will finish at 3" each. The other color that was incomplete is purple. I've been making 60 - 70 blocks of each color, and only had 45 done in purple. Here are the purple blocks that were made in 2024, followed by the 25 new purple blocks made in late April.

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