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 

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 

Design Wall Monday 9/19/2022

Saturday was one of those days taken over by the need to work on a specific quilt project. I even warned Ed at the beginning of the day that I didn't intend to cook that day. Fortunately, he took care of making dinner!

That day was also "National Sew a Jelly Roll Day." One of my prizes from the guild auction a couple days earlier was a pile of 4-patch blocks plus additional jelly roll strips to make more. These were what filled up my day.

All of the precut strips are from the fabric line "Karma" by Benartex. I have no idea how long ago the line was made. There are also some fabrics that were not part of the line included in the blocks. The 4-patch blocks are sorted into matching stacks of blocks, with each pile holding 15-16 blocks, with a total of about 80.

I couldn't figure out a layout that worked for me with the blocks as they were made. I ended up taking all the 4P blocks apart, separating each block into two halves. Then I rejoined two matching halves into blocks. For instance, this set of 16 matching blocks...

turned into two sets like these, 8 of each.

I made more blocks from the extra jelly roll strips, plus occasional additions from my stash, until I ended up with 120 blocks total. They were placed on the design wall in diagonal chains of matching blocks. This is what was up on the wall at the end of the day.

Karma 4-patch blocks

Do I love it? Well, not really. It's awfully busy for my taste, and I wish those diagonal lines of the darkest blue were more evenly spaced. The bold prints in many of the fabrics remind me of fabrics from the 1970's, a time that I remember but don't feel the need to relive the styles. Ed referred to it as a "hot mess," and I couldn't disagree with him. 

Despite all that, it was a fun day with an interesting challenge in trying to make all those crazy fabrics work together. I'm not sure I succeeded, but I enjoyed the process. When the blocks get joined together, they will make a small quilt that measures 40" x 48".

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 

Snail's Trail Quilt Top

My Snail's Trail blocks have been in the works for many years, and as of yesterday, they are finally assembled into a finished quilt top!

Snail's Trail

31" x 31"

This project began way back in 2001 when I purchased multiple packets of foundation papers for the Snail's Trail blocks. I can't remember why I thought it was a good idea to make a quilt with such small blocks (3.5".) I don't think I would make that same choice now!

The dark blue background fabric is a Hoffman International print, and it has always been a favorite of mine. I had used it along with the same yellow and orange color palette in an earlier quilt, my Blazing Hidden Nine-Patch.

Blazing Hidden Nine-Patch

46" x 58"

The Snail's Trail blocks were worked on very sporadically over the past 20 years, until I finally decided to finish them off this year. The most difficult part was joining the blocks together and getting the seams to line up well, but I am generally happy with how it worked out. Here's a closer look so you can see the fabrics better.

This quilt top will go into the closet with the rest of the unquilted tops, but I hope it doesn't take another 20+ years before it gets quilted!

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 

One Monthly Goal--September 2022

Figuring out my One Monthly Goal (OMG) for September was easier this month than usual. A niece is expecting a little girl, due in October, and for months I have been planning to make a baby quilt, but kept putting it off. The time has come for the procrastination to end!

Instead of piecing a new quilt, I went through my closet of quilt tops and pulled out a favorite rainbow top. Actually, there were two tops, which could have been joined together into one larger quilt.

These tops were made in 2020 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The pattern is called Square Dance, but in reality, it's just a Double 4-Patch. I made blocks all through the year, then joined them into the two tops in December. Each top measures 40" x 60".

40" x 60"

Here is the half that will become the baby quilt. I decided that 60" was too long and took three rows of blocks off the quilt. It now measures 40" x 48". The photo above shows it before the rows were removed, and the next photo is after.

40" x 48"

I have enough of my favorite wild print flannel, shown above, for the backing, and everything is ready to be layered. My biggest challenge right now is deciding on the quilting design, especially what color thread to use. Quilting would go much faster if I did the whole thing with one thread, but I can't figure out what color would work best. Maybe a light or medium grey? Of course, I could pull out my rainbow set of threads and use the whole collection!

The official goal for September is to end up with a finished baby quilt, quilted and bound! I'm linking up with the One Monthly Goal party at Elm Street Quilts. Also linking up to Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Another New/Old Project

My design walls are still empty today, but I do have some blocks to share. I pulled out the pieces from an old UFO, a mini Snail's Trail quilt. These blocks are foundation paper pieced. The paper on the backs means they won't stick to my flannel design wall, which is why you are getting a photo of them on the cutting table.

The plan is to make a total of 64 blocks and set them 8 x 8. The palest yellow at the upper left will be the center of the quilt, shading out to the orange and rust fabrics around the outer edges. The blocks finish at only 3.5", so this will be a very small quilt. I have about 20 blocks left to make, then I can get them trimmed down and joined together.

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 

Quilting on the Diagonal

My design walls are sadly empty today, but I do have a new project under the needle on the quilting machine. I made this little quilt top way back in 2015, and it has been hanging in the closet along with a piece of flannel backing ever since. It's time to get it quilted up and finished!

Diagonal Squares, 40.5" x 48.5"

My plan for the quilting is to do a different design on each fabric. I was even able to pull out enough thread colors so that each fabric gets it's own coordinating thread.

The threads on orange spools, both large and small, are all Aurifil. The white spools are from a set of rainbow colors that I got when Craftsy used to sell fabrics and notions. The two brands of thread seem to be close enough to the same weight and work well in my machine.

I started with quilting the darkest orange chain of squares. My quilting is following the design in the fabric. Each square measures 4".

I finished off that set of squares and need to decide which fabric to do next. I'm trying to spend 30-60 minutes each day working on machine quilting. Progress is slow but steady.

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 

Orange Triangles

My piecing projects have been sadly neglected this month because I have been focused on spending more time free-motion quilting and finishing quilts. Over the weekend I felt the need to pull out some mindless piecing for when I need a break from the FMQ action.

I discovered a baggie of leftover orange half-square triangles, some of them already pieced and many others cut out. Here's the whole collection after being stitched and pressed. All of the HSTs are stacked up in matching sets of four.

The next question was what to do with all of those triangles. I found this block that had been made as a sample for a Rainbow Scrap Project almost two years ago. The finished size of this block is 20", and the triangles are the same size as the new ones I made.

I'm thinking about using that big block as the center of a medallion style quilt and making other types of blocks with the remaining triangles to surround it. So far I've thought of making Friendship Stars and Pinwheels, but I'm sure there are plenty of other options too.

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 

Granny's Stars Assembly

The construction of blocks for the Granny's Stars quilt continued through the past week, and I finished the final four blocks on Sunday. There are twelve blocks total, and they will finish at 16" square. The shadowy hallway design wall was the only spot big enough for a photo.

Granny's Stars (aka Panama Stars)

pattern by Nancy Mahoney

I've started joining the blocks and sashing together into rows. I was able to finish one row before I stopped for the day.

I plan to continue building rows and joining them together later today. I would love to have a finished quilt top by the end of the week!

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 

Stars on the Design Wall

I've been working away over the weekend on more parts for the Granny's Stars blocks. The corner units for all of the blocks have been pieced, and I was able to finish two more blocks yesterday.

That brings my number of finished blocks up to four. The blocks are large, finishing at 16", so the quilt only requires a total of twelve blocks. I'm a third of the way done making blocks!

The next thing I need to do before I can assemble any more blocks is to piece some more of the fussy cut centers. That is a slow and tedious process, especially cutting the pieces. Despite that, I like the way they are looking, which will encourage me to keep going.

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 

Design Wall Monday 7/18/2022

Once I finished making the purple Charm Basket blocks last week, my attention shifted to prepping for an upcoming quilt class. I have signed up for a class called "Granny's Stars" that is being held on Thursday, taught by designer Nancy Mahoney. Here's a photo of Nancy's quilt.

It took me a couple of days of pondering options before I settled on the color palette for my quilt. I'm basing it on this fabric that I've had for several years. I love the combination of colors in this fabric.

We need to have the pieces precut to make four blocks in the class. I cut the pieces for one block and tried them out together on the design wall. The center of the block was made from four fussy-cut squares of the original fabric pieced together. 

I wasn't sure about the intensity of the yellow squares and switched them out for a lime green and yellow batik. There's also a different version of the center square for this one.

I think I'll go back to yellow, but a less intense version. I'll need to make those decisions soon and get the pieces precut for class. I also need to pull out my featherweight machine and make sure it is working well. It has been quite awhile since that machine got used, at least a couple of years.

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 

Purple UFO's Revisited

One of my goals for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year, besides making my chosen blocks in the assigned color each month, was to also make progress on some of my old UFOs. My plan was to pick a UFO each month based on our color for the RSC.

This month we are working with purple for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I didn't have many UFOs with purple in them, especially scrappy UFOs. However, I did find a couple of oldies that were still appealing.

The first project I pulled out was a set of Hawaiian applique blocks that I made between 2001 and 2003. There are three blocks completed, and the purple block at the bottom right is about 2/3 done.

Here is a closer shot of that unfinished block. I've been working on the applique this week and am making good progress on it. The unfinished area goes from the upper right down the right side to near center at the bottom. I hope to get the block done before the end of the month.

The other purple UFO that got pulled out was originally planned to be an Amish-inspired Sawtooth Diamond similar to the quilt below.

Mine was going to be made with prints, not solids, in fuchsia and purple. I made lots of small (1" finished) half-square triangles with my two fabrics, and that's where it stalled out. I realize now that this design is not a good choice for me because it is a great way to display some fancy quilting, and that is not my strong suit. 

I looked around for other ways to use some of the many HSTs, and decided to try a feathered star block. I have finished one block so far and am considering whether or not to make a few more.

Above was my first attempt at the block. I decided that I didn't like the HSTs near the base of the star points, so I reworked the block and replaced them with purple squares. Below is version #2. I wish I knew how to circle the area that got changed on my photos, but I'm not that technologically savvy.

I'm planning to get back to my regular RSC projects next week, probably starting with the Charm Baskets. I will try to get some more stitching done on the applique block, plus maybe figure out where I'm going with the feathered star block.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday. I'm also linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts, Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 6/13/2022

Most of the quilts that I make these days are very scrappy with many different fabrics in them. This week I've been enjoying working on these blocks that use a very limited selection of fabrics. I started by making a few more blocks yesterday, bringing my total up to the 36 blocks shown below.

Those all looked so good together that I kept going and made another dozen blocks, bringing my total up to 48. I think there are enough pieces cut for 16 more blocks still to be made.

The finished size for each block is 6.25". If I make 16 more and end up with 64 total blocks, I could join them 8 x 8 and end up with a quilt that measures 50" x 50" without borders. If I decide to go rectangular, I could use 63 blocks and set them 7 x 9, which would measure 43.75" x 56.25". My inclination is rectangular, but I haven't decided for sure yet. I also have enough of the bright print left that could be added as a border.

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

A New/Old Project

A recent search through a box of triangle pieces in many different sizes turned up a bag of pieces that I don't have any memory of cutting, but I do remember the main fabric. It is an old Hoffman International print, probably from the late 1990's.

There was a stack of triangles cut from that fabric in matching sets of four, plus other triangles in greens and blues. A few had been stitched, but I put the rest together over the weekend, just to see how they look as a group.

These are all the blocks I could make from the pieces that were already cut. I love the bright, cheery colors and think they would make a great baby quilt. I will have to pull out some other blue and green fabrics to make more blocks because the light blue seems to be the only one that still exists on my shelves. It's time to go digging in my fabric stash, one of my favorite activities!

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

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

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

Design Wall Monday 4/25/2022

The dozen pink uneven 9-patch blocks that I shared in last week's Design Wall Monday post became 25 blocks, which were joined together in time for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge post on Saturday. At that time, I thought it might be a finished top, but it just didn't seem complete. Yesterday I added a scrappy border made from the remaining scraps which measured 2.5" x 6" - 6.5". Now I think I can call this quilt top finished!

All of the prints fabrics in this quilt were leftovers from a layer cake of "Surrounded by Love" by Deb Strain, combined with a variety of pink solids pulled from my stash. The finished quilt top measures 42" x 49.5". I'm hoping to get it quilted in the next few weeks and donate it as part of the Hands 2 Help Challenge.

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

Monday Making

Both of my design walls are empty this morning, but there are plenty of block parts on my cutting table and sewing machine cabinet. I spent my quilting time over the weekend working on pink Charm Basket blocks, one of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Four of the basket blocks are nearly complete. They just need a little trimming, then the two halves of each block can be stitched together.

The basket blocks will finish at only 4". The pattern I am using is Charm Basket from Laundry Basket Quilts. 

Here are the bases for the rest of my baskets.

The rest of the basket handles are pinned to the backgrounds and waiting to be stitched down.

It was very difficult to get a decent photo at my machine without too much light reflecting off the surface of the cabinet. My main sewing machine for piecing is a wonderful old Singer 201. It is a straight-stitch machine with a beautiful, even stitch. I've had it for at least 20 years.

Here is the collection of basket block parts waiting to be assembled. By the end of today, I hope to have one design wall filled with cute little pink basket blocks!

Check out what other quilters are working on this week:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA