Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 22, 2020

The new Scrap Snap blocks that were shared a week ago continued to multiply. I have added three more colors to the green blocks from last week. There are two different groups of blue-green blocks--one set leans more toward the greenish end (which I consider teal) and the other set is more blue (turquoise.) The difference is quite subtle when they are all up on the wall together. The last group of blocks are the blues at the bottom.

Scrap Snap Quilt Along, hosted by Kari at Quilts for the Making

I started pulling together pieces in other colors to make more blocks. A few days ago Angela announced that the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for June would be pink. That is perfect for me because I already have all the pieces I need to make my pink Scrap Snap blocks.

These are the pieces to make one set of 10 blocks: 4 squares @ 4.5", 4 rectangles @ 2.5" x 6.5", 14 rectangles @ 2.5" x 4.5", and 34 squares @ 2.5". I already had plenty of 2.5" squares and a few 2.5 x 4.5" rectangles. It was easy to cut a few of the bigger rectangles from 2.5" strips, and charm squares can be cut down just a bit for the large squares. I hope to have my set of pink blocks done by the end of the day, and maybe make a start on some other colors too!

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 21, 2020

Starting a new project wasn't part of my plans last week, but it happened anyway. It is the Scrap Snap Quilt Along, hosted by Kari at Quilts for the Making. I've made two sets of blocks so far, one in green and one in teal. The blocks are so simple to make; it might take longer to pull together the pieces needed than to stitch up the blocks! I'm working on a set in turquoise next.

These blocks used a total of 3/4 yard. I also used 1/4 yard for the newest Scrappy Bear Paw block. No new fabric added once again. I seem to be one of the few quilters not doing a lot of online shopping--thank goodness for my enormous stash!

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            1.0 yards

Used year to date:                      95.5 yards

Added last week:                          0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    2.75 yards

Net used year to date            92.75 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. I missed one day last week because it was our anniversary (#13) and we were just too busy having fun together!

15 Minute Challenge:  

5/17 - 5/23                  6 of 7 days

2020 Total             137 of 144 days

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

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 21, 2020

There's a new project making an appearance on my design wall today. It's a set of blocks for the Scrap Snap Quilt Along, hosted by Kari at Quilts for the Making. I have no memory how I learned about this QAL, but it was probably someone participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The following images are from Kari's planning page to give some examples of possible layouts--perfect for the RSC, right? How could I resist?

Scrap Snap QAL layout options

from Quilts for the Making

Besides the obvious rainbow appeal, one other great thing about this project is the simplicity of the blocks. They are made completely from squares and rectangles. Each block finishes at 6", and there are ten blocks in each color.

I made my first set of blocks in greens since dark green is our color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. My blocks also include the lighter greens that we used back in January. I've been pulling out teal and turquoise scraps to make some blocks in those colors next.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 20, 2020

The past week was a fairly productive one for quilting. I finished making the last of my blocks for Frolic, the Bonnie Hunter 2019 mystery, and now I am starting to get them all joined together. Yesterday I made the rest of my Stashbuster Square Dance blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. These 30 blocks used 3/4 yard of fabric. No new fabric was added last week.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                            .75 yards

Used year to date:                      94.5 yards

Added last week:                          0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    2.75 yards

Net used year to date            91.75 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. We are continuing to make hospital gowns for my job, but working at home. It's tough, but I'm getting into more of a routine, which makes it easier to get back into my quilting habits. I had no trouble getting in my 15 minutes of quilting time this week.

15 Minute Challenge:  

5/10 - 5/16                  7 of 7 days

2020 Total             131 of 137 days

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

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 20, 2020

The Stashbuster Square Dance blocks that I have been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge are turning out to be an ideal type of quilt project right now. I try to get all of my squares cut at the beginning of the month, then I can always keep some next to the sewing machine. The blocks are easy enough to be a good leader and ender project, and they are also a great choice to have ready when I need some super-simple stitching time at night.

Our Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for May is dark green. I'm using lots of medium/bright greens in these blocks, because the really dark greens would blend together with the black squares too much. This month's blocks combine the greens with teal/turquoise prints.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 19, 2020

I missed posting a Stash Report last week, probably because there just wasn't anything to report. Today it's time to get caught up again. It's also time to say 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Ed and I decided we needed more face masks so that we wouldn't have to wash the few we have so often. We don't want to go out more than necessary, even though things in Georgia are being reopened. (Too soon in my opinion!) We would much rather stay home and be safe than go get a haircut or go out to eat, and when we do go out, we will be wearing masks. I made 7 more pleated face masks for us, plus one shaped mask that still needs to be finished. Altogether these used 1 yard of fabric.

My fun project for the week was this Dresden Ties pillow as a Mother's Day gift for my amazing mother. For years I've had a bag of ties that belonged to my father, and I finally got around to  making something with them. All of the wedges were from Dad's ties, although the center circle was not. I made a similar pillow for my sister-in-law Jane at Christmas using ties that belonged to her father (see it HERE.) The back is a batik that should blend in well with Mom's sofa. Making this pillow used 1.25 yards of fabric.

Dresden Ties 14" pillow

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                           2.25 yards

Used year to date:                     93.75 yards

Added last week:                           0.0 yards

Added year to date:                     2.75 yards

Net used year to date              91.0 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. I'm still making hospital gowns during the days, which makes it hard to get motivated to return to the sewing machine in the evening, but I've managed to get in at least 15 minutes every day over the past two weeks. I'm spending more time on my hand stitching projects these days.

15 Minute Challenge:  

4/26 - 5/9                14 of 14 days

2020 Total             124 of 130 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 Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 17, 2020

Working at home has proven to have unexpected challenges. I thought it would be easier because the work projects involve sewing, and I do that at home all the time already. We started out making masks, which were small and very manageable. The repetition was rather dull, but then I contributed some of my own fabrics and the variety made the project more interesting.

Last week we switched over to making gowns for Grady Hospital. We are working on this project along with the Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet costume shops. Those two groups are working out of their shops, but we have to work at home because the arts center is still closed. The gowns are being made from hospital sheets. For me that meant completely rearranging the dining room in order to set up two plastic folding tables to use as a cutting table. I also moved several things around in the sewing room so I could set up my serger and a zigzag machine. My already messy sewing space is now in complete disarray!

All of this has made it harder for me to get much quilting done. I've slowly been making more parts for my revision of the Frolic mystery. Yesterday I powered through the rest of my Square Dance blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The new blocks are the light blue/dark blue combo, and here they are with some of the turquoise/light blue blocks from last month.

I forgot to count those turquoise/light blue blocks last month. Today I am reporting 1.5 yards used for 60 Square Dance blocks in March and April. No new fabric added.

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             1.5 yards

Used year to date:                       91.5 yards

Added last week:                           0.0 yards

Added year to date:                     2.75 yards

Net used year to date            88.75 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. Spending most of the day at the sewing machine making gowns has made it hard for me to go back to the machine after dinner to quilt. I missed a couple days this week, but my totals are still very good.

15 Minute Challenge:  

4/19 - 4/25                  5 of 7 days

2020 Total             110 of 116 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. Many thanks to Donna and to Kate for continuing to host these link-ups!

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 17, 2020

One of my quilting goals at the beginning of the year was to make one Stashbuster Square Dance block every day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. There have been some months when I've had no problem keeping up with these blocks, and then there is April, when nothing has been normal. As of yesterday, I had 14 blocks done for this month.

After a full-court press earlier today, I finished up the rest of the blocks for April with a total of 30. Our color for the month is light blue, and I have used that with medium-darker blues in my blocks. They will not be arranged quite like this in the finished quilt when they are combined with more colors.

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA

Frolic on Design Wall Monday--4/20/20

All of the blocks for my version of Bonnie Hunter's 2019 mystery quilt "Frolic" have been hanging around on the design wall for almost a month. Over the weekend I decided it was time to start joining them together. Here's what has been on the wall since late March. The bottom row is cut off a bit by a table in front of the design wall.

As I got started sewing the parts of one lower corner together, I realized that one reason I've been avoiding joining these blocks was that I am not happy with the size my quilt is ending up. Bonnie's original design was for a quilt that finished at 82" x 82". I made a little over half as many parts, and my quilt as shown would finish at around 57" square before borders--not the most useful size for a quilt. I decided it was time to bite the bullet and make some more blocks, a task I've been avoiding, but I know I will be happier with the end result. I'm going to change the quilt from a square into a rectangle, with my estimated size being 57" x 75" before borders.

Because I have a very limited selection of pale aqua fabrics, I am going to turn four of the half blocks shown around the outer edges of the quilt into whole blocks, plus make one new whole block. I will also make six new half blocks to surround the center, repeating the fabrics from other half blocks. I spent a large portion of the weekend digging out the right fabrics and cutting pieces, then did a little sewing. The first couple of new half blocks are completed!

There are many more parts left to make for this quilt because of my change in plans, but I know I will be happier with the final product. The extra time and work will definitely be worth it in the long run.

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
BOMs Away at What a Hoot Quilts
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 16, 2020

There have been many times in recent years when I wondered how other quilters manage to use so much fabric each week or month. The current stretch of time spent at home is giving me a very good preview of what that is like. When you are at home all the time and spend a large portion of each day sewing, it's amazing how much fabric gets used up!

This week's Stash Report post is not going to include a photo of masks, although I did make over 100 of them last week, using 13.5 yards of fabric. My co-workers and I are now starting to make protective gowns, and the fabric for those is all being supplied to us. My stash usage numbers should get back to normal next week.

My quilting usage for the week was 1/4 yard for the Scrappy Bear Paw block shown in yesterday's post plus 6 yards for the Laundry Basket Quilts 2020 Mystery quilt top. I'm going to try sharing a close-up of part of the quilt again, because it doesn't seem to be showing up in my previous blog post about this quilt top.

Laundry Basket Quilts 2020 Mystery

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                         19.75 yards

Used year to date:                       90.0 yards

Added last week:                           0.0 yards

Added year to date:                     2.75 yards

Net used year to date            87.25 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 did get some quilting time every day last week, but it's a struggle sometimes after a whole day of mask or gown making is over.

15 Minute Challenge:  

4/12 - 4/18                  7 of 7 days

2020 Total             105 of 109 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. Many thanks to Donna and to Kate for continuing to host these link-ups!

Happy quilting and stay safe everyone!

Julie in GA