Design Wall Monday 5/14/12

Here is the completed tablerunner that I made for my mother with fabric that she picked out while we were in Paducah.  I am now working on another one for our table.

Check out more amazing design walls at Patchwork Times

Julie

Stash Report Sunday 5/13/2012

Not much sewing got done this week due to having houseguests all week.  First it was my oldest niece who is getting married in October.  It was so great to spend time with her before she starts her new life.

On Friday my mother arrived for a week-long visit.  The only sewing I have done this week was making a tablerunner for her.  She picked out this fabric while we were in Paducah.  The finished tablerunner will have to wait to be revealed tomorrow--can't show it here before she gets it for Mother's Day!

Used this week: 2 yards
Used year to date:  11-5/8 yards

Added this week: 40-1/2 yards

Added year to date: 43-1/4 yards
Net year to date: 31-5/8 yards added

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie

Stash Report Sunday 5/6/12

My stash took a big hit last week after I spent 2-1/2 days at the Paducah quilt show with my mother and sister.  I haven't been buying any fabric so far this year, so I went a little crazy in Paducah.  There were just so many beautiful fabrics, and my willpower seemed to have disappeared.

I have been collecting music-themed fabrics for some time to make a quilt for my husband the musician, and these are the latest additions.  I just counted up the yardage in my bin of music fabrics, and it is right around 30 yards.  Time to stop buying and start sewing!  The border stripe that you see at the center is especially wonderful.

Batiks are one of my favorite types of fabric, and I am happy to add these to my stash.

My sister and I took a quilting class together back in 2002.  I have close to 40 blocks like this one made in different blue and brown prints at the center.  Every once in a while I pull them out of the box, put them up on the wall to ponder how to finish the quilt, and then they go back into the box again.  Maybe this great striped fabric for the back of the quilt will motivate me to finish it!

As always, we had a great time in Paducah and saw tons of amazing quilts.  There are endless sources of inspiration there,  and I am eager to get back to my sewing machine. 

Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 9-5/8 yards

Added this week:   40-1/2 yards

Added year to date:  43-1/4 yards
Net year to date: 33-5/8 yards added

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie

April Color Palette Challenge

I made a very late start on the April Color Palette Challenge.  I hadn't planned on joining in because I already had plenty of projects in the works.  However, I did like the combination of colors, even though the inspiration was a photo of a moldy pie!

As I was getting ready for a road trip to Paducah with my mother and sister, I decided that I needed a hand-work project to take along.  English paper piecing is something I have wanted to try for awhile.  Combining that and the palette challenge was the next step.

I pulled all the fabrics from my stash, but wasn't happy with every one of them.  Then I found the perfect grey/blue piece in Ricky Tims' booth at Paducah.  This piece of fabric was destined to be a part of this challenge!

I haven't completed much yet, but this is what is done so far.  Keep in mind that this was started about 10 days ago.  I am enjoying the process and am pleased with the way it is looking, even though I have quite a bit left to stitch.

Check out Patchwork Times to see how other people used this color palette and to find out next month's palette.

Julie

Design Wall Monday 4/23/12

The Storm at Sea quilt is on hold until I have more time to spend at the machine.  It was looking like the top would be done by the end of April and I could deliver it to my longarm quilter next week, but it would have ended up being a rush job to finish the top.  Better to slow down, get it right, and deliver it in June.

I've been wanting to try English paper piecing for awhile, and decided to go ahead with it now since there will be some travel time over the next few months, both plane and long stretches in the car.  I am going to make a medallion of hexagons with fabrics pulled for the April Color Palette Challenge.  For once I am starting with a small project before I dive in head first!  The photo shows part of the layout as I was choosing the background fabric. 

Check out more amazing design walls at Patchwork Times

Julie

Stash Report Sunday 4/22/12

I had hoped to finish the top for my Storm at Sea quilt this week, but didn't get to spend enough time on it.  Instead of rushing to get it done as quickly as possible, I decided it was more important to do it right and end up satisfied with the final product.

I decided to try to make a small piece for this month's Color Palette Challenge.  This is the photo inspiration for the challenge.  Not a very appetizing photo, but a great group of colors.

I had been wanting to find a hand stitching project that would be easily portable for travel, and I decided to try English paper piecing.  I am going to see how I like the process by making a small wall hanging for the challenge.  These are my fabric choices.

I was amazed when I found the multicolor print in my stash.  It is such a terrific match for the color palette! That will be a border, with the light print as a background and the others for the pieced area.  Don't know if I can get it done before the end of the month, but it's worth a try. 

Used this week: .5 yards
Used year to date: 9-5/8 yards

Added this week: 0 yards

Added year to date: 2-3/4 yards
Net year to date: 6-7/8 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday 4/16/12

Progress on the Storm at Sea quilt has been slow but steady.  I got all the parts for the center of the quilt joined into bigger sections, which makes it so much easier to move them around on the design wall. 

Now the units for the border are going up on the wall and then getting sewn together.  The quilt has reached the point where it is too big for my wall, so I have pulled down the sections from one end while I work on the border for the top and one side.

Check out more amazing design walls at Patchwork Times

Julie

Stash Report Sunday 4/15/12

There are no changes to my stash this week.  I continued joining together the parts of the Storm at Sea quilt.  The units for the center of the quilt have been joined together into bigger sections, and I have started putting  the parts for the borders up on the design wall.  The little bits of yellow are paper tags to help me keep everything in the right order.

I hope to get it all together in the next week or so and then deliver it to the longarm quilter.

Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 9-1/8 yards

Added this week: 0 yards

Added year to date: 2-3/4 yards
Net year to date: 6-3/8 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

What's on Your Bed?

Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville is hosting a What's on Your Bed? linky party.  There are currently links to 76 other quilter's blogs showing the quilts on their beds.  Lots of great inspiration!

I like to switch the quilt on my bed when the seasons change, and this is my favorite one for spring.  I call the pattern "Ring Around the Stars" because of the circles formed by the green squares.  I made this quilt back in 2001-2002, and it is still one of my all-time favorites!

Check out the other great quilts on Bonnie's blog.

Julie

Design Wall Monday 4/9/12

The design wall doesn't look too much different than a week ago.  I finished up swapping out several pieces to add some lighter/brighter fabrics to the mix.  Now the whole center of the quilt is up on the wall and ready to be assembled.  I am eager to see how the quilt comes together, but I need to work carefully in order to keep the pieces where they have been placed.  It would be far too easy to get pieces mixed up and switched around.

See more design walls at Patchwork Times

Julie