Ring Around the Stars is Finished!

It was down to the wire, but I managed to finish "Ring Around the Stars," my entry for the East Cobb Quilt Guild's Ruby Challenge celebrating the 40th anniversary of the guild.

Ring Around the Stars, 55" square

Getting good outdoor photos was a challenge thanks to breezy conditions plus occasional appearances by the sun. 

It's difficult to see the quilting in many places. The stars were stitched in the ditch with white thread, and all the other quilting was done in red thread. I haven't washed the quilt yet and hope that the quilting will show up better after that happens.

The back of the quilt features a pieced strip showing all 40 fabrics used for the quilt top. One of the rules for the challenge was to include 40 of something--40 blocks, 40 flying geese, 40 fabrics, etc.

I was surprised by how well the quilting shows on the back from a distance. That certainly wasn't true up close, with the red quilting thread becoming almost invisible on the busy backing fabric.

This is one of the better views of the quilting. The curved lines that go from star to star were marked with chalk, but the rest of the quilting was all done freehand. Feathers everywhere!

Finishing this quilt was also my One Monthly Goal for January. Success at my first OMG of the year sure feels good!

The guild meetings featuring the challenge quilts are Thursday night and Friday morning. Afterwards, all guild members will get to vote on-line for their favorites. I believe there are going to be over 100 entries (from a guild with around 300 members.) That statement was incorrect--there were a total of 19 entries. I can't wait to see everyone's interpretation of the theme. We also get to find out the theme for next year's challenge. Hopefully I won't wait until November to start on that one!

Updated Saturday, 1/28/2023--my entry got an honorable mention in the challenge voting. You can see all the entries HERE.

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

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

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 1/17/2023

It has been many months since I joined the link-up for Tuesday To-Do lists, but I have so much going on this week that a list was necessary. I figured I might as well share it with all of you! The link-up is now hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric.

I'm facing some deadlines and really need to get most of the items on my list done sooner rather than later.

To-Do List for 1/17 - 1/23/22

1. Ring Around the Stars--finish quilting and add binding by Tuesday, 1/24 at midnight

2. Under the Mistletoe--pull fabrics for Diane Knott workshop on Thursday

3. Quilt guild BOM--make center block and 1st border before Thursday

4. Jabberwocky--make 3 blue blocks before Saturday

Optional:

5. Stay at Home Round Robin--choose center block

6. Project Quilting 14.2--make something pink by noon Sunday

Now you can see what I meant about the deadlines. It's time for me to step away from the computer and get to work!

I'll report on my progress next Tuesday, and maybe 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 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 1/15/2023

There has been plenty of quilting going on here this week, both free-motion quilting and some piecing. The main focus continues to be finishing my entry for the guild's Ruby Challenge. In order to test out some of the quilting designs that I was considering, I made two placemats with some of the same fabrics as the quilt. The top one is completely quilted and bound, and the lower one still needs more quilting before it gets a binding.

I discovered that it was very difficult to see my bright red quilting thread on the lighter red fabrics, especially the one around the outside edges of the first placemat. It's very hard to get a good photo of the quilting.

I used 1 yard of fabric for the two placemats, plus another 1-1/8 yard for the collection of blue blocks shared in yesterday's post for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                2.125 yards

Used year to date:             5.625 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:               0.0 yards

Net used 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 stitching time. Finishing the Ruby Challenge quilt has continued to be the primary focus of my quilting time this week, including making the matching placemats. I've also been trying to get going on my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

1/8 - 1/14            7 of 7 days

2023 Total        14 of 14 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

Stash Report and Stitching Time 1/8/2023

It's a new year, which means the numbers on the stash report start back at zero. It's always a good feeling to start over with a clean slate. That doesn't mean my fabric shelves aren't bulging with fabrics (they are!) but I'm happy to try again at using more and adding less. 

The stash report for this first week shows no new fabric added to the stash (hurray!) and 3.5 yards used. I used 1/2 yard for my first entry in this year's Project Quilting Challenge, an Irish Chain placemat.

The other usage was 3 yards for the backing of my Ruby Challenge quilt. It is mostly a single fabric, with the addition of a narrow panel pieced from the 40 different red fabrics used in the quilt top. The machine quilting is in progress, and the photo shows the quilt draped over my sewing machine cabinet.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 3.5 yards

Used year to date:             3.5 yards

Added last week:               0.0 yards

Added year to date:            0.0 yards

Net used in 2023             3.5 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 stitching time. Thank you to Kate for keeping this challenge going. It definitely motivates me to make an effort get some quilting time every day.

Most of my quilting time last week was spent on the Ruby quilt because it has a deadline. All week I kept thinking about making something for the Project Quilting Challenge, but didn't actually do it until Saturday.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

1/1 - 1/7          7 of 7 days

2023 Total        7 of 7 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

Ruby Challenge Quilt Top

Over the past several weeks, I've shared progress photos of my latest quilt project. This will be my entry for a guild challenge at the end of this month, and today I can share my completed quilt top.

56" x 56"

The East Cobb Quilt Guild of Marietta, GA celebrated their 40th (Ruby) Anniversary in 2022. In honor of the event, their annual quilt challenge theme is "Ruby, Ruby." The challenge rules are to use at least 40 square inches (5" x 8") of a ruby red fabric and the quilt must also include exactly 40 of something: 40 blocks, 40 flying geese, 40 different fabrics, etc. I decided to use 40 different red fabrics in my quilt top.

Check out the fabric at the very center of this photo--tiny little sewing machines! (The photo should enlarge if you click on it.)

The pattern that I made is one that I call Ring Around the Stars, and I have made a few different versions of it over the years. I'm trying to come up with a clever name for this quilt that combines Ruby with that pattern name, but haven't come up with a winner yet.

My One Monthly Goal for January is to finish this quilt. The top and the back are both prepped, and I have been testing out some possible quilting designs. Now I need to get it layered and start the quilting. I just looked up the challenge info on the guild website and discovered that we have to submit a photo of our challenge entry four days before the guild meeting. It's time for me to get moving!

Linking up with:

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

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

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

The Last Stash Report and Stitching Time for 2022

My final stash report for 2022 didn't turn out as hoped, but it's not too terrible either. Every year my goal is to use/give away/get rid of at least as much fabric as gets added to the stash. I was doing very well on that goal for eleven months of 2022, but a trip to Hancock's of Paducah plus the Black Friday sales pushed my end-of-year numbers into the red. 

The stash changes since my last report two weeks ago were 4 yards used for my recently completed Ruby Challenge quilt top. I'm going to share a sneak peek of just one corner of the quilt top for now.

One of the recent additions to the stash was 4.5 yards purchased for the challenge quilt backing. I think this will look great with the quilt!

The other stash addition was 3 yards of "turquoise" solids in the last installment of the monthly solids club from Fat Quarter Shop. Not many of these fabrics look very turquoise to me, but they will be pretty additions to the solids collection anyway.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 4.0 yards

Used year to date:      139.875 yards

Added last week:               7.5 yards

Added year to date:        153.0 yards

Net stashed in 2022      13.125 yards

My stash goals for the coming year remain the same as the past few years--to use or give away more than I add to the stash. It's time for a serious clean out of the sewing room fabric shelves!

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've been splitting my time between the Ruby Challenge quilt and Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery. I made a late start on the mystery, and I'm not excited with how my color choices are looking, so that project may come to an early end.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

12/18 - 12/31      14 of 14 days

2022 Total        354 of 365 days

My numbers for the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge have continued to be very good (almost 97% for 2022), and I hope to keep that trend going for another year! My sewing room is my favorite place to be, and I'm very lucky to have a husband who encourages my creative pursuits.

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

Happy New Year and happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 12/19/2022

My goal to get the Ruby Challenge quilt top assembled before the end of the month is coming along nicely. Over the weekend I made the last of the blocks, then began joining them together into sections. Here are the first two sections to be completed.

I don't like sewing blocks into long rows, then stitching those rows together. My preferred method is to join the blocks into sections, then put those larger sections together. This method works well whether the blocks are set horizontally or diagonally.

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 12/12/2022

Quilting time has been in short supply over the past couple of weeks, but I was finally able to spend a couple hours at my machine on Sunday afternoon. I made five more of the star blocks for the Ring Around the Stars quilt, which will be my entry for the guild challenge in January.

There are six more star blocks to make. I also need four more blocks with the chains of white squares in the corners, plus twelve partial blocks with the white chains in only one corner. Fortunately, most of the parts have been cut and are ready to be assembled. I'm hoping to have this quilt top together by the end of the month.

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Design Wall Monday 11/28/2022

My sewing room has been overtaken by red scraps, thanks to the new project I started last week. I finished nine blocks by the end of the day on Sunday.

I call this design "Ring Around the Stars" because of the impression of circles formed by the little white squares. The blocks can be straight set, as shown above, but I prefer the look of the stars on point as below.

My blocks will finish at 9". I'm planning a quilt with 16 of the star blocks, so there is quite a bit of stitching still to be done. I think I have finished most of the cutting.

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 11/27/2022

I'm a little behind on posting my stash report, which seems surprising since there haven't really been any changes to the stash since last week. I've been doing plenty of cutting up fabric and stitching it back together, but nothing is ready to be included on the stash report. 

I spent a large portion of the past week trying to figure out a plan/design for a guild challenge. It is the 40th anniversary of the guild, so the challenge theme is Ruby, Ruby. The rules are to use at least 40 square inches (5" x 8") of a ruby red fabric and the quilt must also include exactly 40 of something: 40 blocks, 40 flying geese, 40 different fabrics, etc. 

After considering many possibilities, I decided that I could make a quilt with 20 blocks, using two different red fabrics in each block. The block that I tried is a Judy Martin design from The Block Book called "Jabberwocky". I made one sample block and have a second one cut out, but decided that I don't want to make more of them right now. Those long, skinny triangles in the star points are very tricky to cut and to stitch accurately.

"Jabberwocky" from The Block Book by Judy Martin

My current plan uses a simpler star design, this time a single fabric for the stars and a scrappy red background. I pulled together 40 different red fabrics and will limit myself to those for this quilt. Here are the first two blocks. The stars will alternate with a 9-Patch variation block for the quilt design.

The good news for the stash report is that I have managed to resist the Black Friday fabric sales so far--no new fabric added to the stash this week!

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                0.0 yards

Used year to date:       131.25 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:     118.25 yards

Net used in 2022         13.0 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 stitching time. I spent even more time quilting than usual last week, although the beginning of the week was mostly playing with design ideas for my challenge quilt.

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

11/20 - 11/26          7 of 7 days

2022 Total        323 of 330 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