Scrappy Teal Saturday 3/8/14

My teal LeMoyne Stars for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge have been coming together slowly. I spent most of my evenings last week making a shirt for a birthday gift, and that cut into the quilting time. Yesterday I finally got back to playing with my teal scraps and finished a few more stars.

I have also been basting lots of teal, turquoise and aqua hexies. Not too many left to baste, then I can start joining them together. They will become a star and a snowflake or two like the ones here.

Check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts every Saturday to see how others are using up their scraps. So many beautiful projects! I am also linking up to Hexie Weekend at A Quilting Reader's Garden and to the In Hand EPP Link Party at splish splash stash.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 3/3/14

My design wall has the collection of LeMoyne stars that I have been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This grouping started with a few stars on the black background that were made at least 10 years ago. I decided to use them as my RSC project this year. Blue and pink were our assigned colors for January and February, and I made 8 or 9 small stars in each color (6" finished) plus the 12" pink block. For March we are working with the blue-greens like teal and aqua. I finished four blocks in those colors with the white background yesterday, and I hope to make at least four more with black background this week, plus maybe a 12" block.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. Check it out for tons of amazing ideas and inspiration. 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 3/2/14

My stash usage continues to change very gradually. I didn't add any new fabric to my stash this week. The only usage was .5 yard for my February blocks for Judy's Tell It to the Stars mystery.

Used this week:                      .5 yards
Used year to date:            11.625 yards

Stashed this week:               0  yards  

Stashed year to date:       4.0 yards 

Net year to date:               7.625 yards used


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Scrappy Saturday--Pink to Teal

February just flew past, didn't it? Of course the fact that the month is a few days shorter doesn't help.  I managed to finish my planned projects in pink for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, including one bonus block, and now it's time to switch over to a new color.

Here are my pink hexie star and snowflake.

I finished up the 6" LeMoyne Star blocks by the middle of the month. Then I decided to try making a scrappy 12" block. The first version had the white print as the background, but I decided the star would show up better against the black and remade it. This block was very challenging, but I love the way it looks. Maybe I will go back and make another 12" star in the blues from January.

I am so happy that Angela selected teal/turquoise/aqua for this month's color. I have tons of scraps in those colors left from previous projects. So far I have only managed to make a mess all over my cutting table with them as I pair them up for the LeMoyne stars.

Check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts every Saturday to see how others are using up their scraps. So many beautiful projects! 

Julie in GA

Quilting Goals for March

I am going to continue to post monthly quilting goals, at least for now. I find it very helpful to keep me focused on these goals rather than bouncing around between too many projects. That doesn't mean I won't ever get the impulse to try out a new pattern, but this public proclamation of my goals definitely helps me stay on track!

March 2014 goals:
1.  Red, White & Blue Sampler--finish making blocks and join together. This is also my March goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in next month's color.
3.  Scrap Hexies--make RSC hexie star & snowflakes.
4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make March blocks.
5.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc. Computer time looking at quilt blogs doesn't count (that adds up to way more than 15 minutes some days!)


February 2014 goals:
February was a successful month for my quilting goals. I ended up 4 for 4, including one completely finished quilt.

1.  Bowtie Baby Quilt--finish quilt (finish making blocks, assemble quilt top, and get it quilted/bound) DONE 2/22

2.  Scrap Hexies--make RSC hexie star & snowflake in pink   DONE 2/21

3.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in pink DONE 2/23

4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make February blocks  DONE 2/25

That covers my quilting plans and goals for March and my results from February. I hope to reach the goals that I have set for the next month. Watch for the next update at the beginning of April.

Julie in GA

February Finish

The Bowtie Baby Quilt is finished! This little quilt was made as a baby shower gift for a co-worker. This was also my February project for A Lovely Year of Finishes. The idea for this quilt started with the floral border fabric as my color palette inspiration. I had such a great time pulling out fabrics and making bowtie blocks. I ended up with lots more blocks than this quilt used, so another bowtie quilt will be coming before too long.

Bowtie Baby Quilt
Finished size 36" x 46"

The backing was pieced together from some flannel scraps. So soft and cuddly! 

I am linking up with the February finishes party at A Lovely Year of Finishes. You can check out how everyone else did at reaching their goal for the month. I am also linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and to Let's Make Baby Quilts! at Michelle's Romantic Tangle.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 2/24/14

Today I have before and after photos of my design wall. The before shot shows the LeMoyne Stars that I have been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

After having this up on the wall for a day, I decided that the big star would look better with the black background instead of the white print. I took it apart yesterday and replaced all the background sections. Yes, I redid all those y-seams! I am much happier with the result now.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. Check it out for tons of amazing ideas and inspiration. 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 2/23/14

Most of my fabric usage this week was on projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I have been stitching hexie stars and snowflakes in each month's color, and this month was pink.

Yesterday I made a 12" scrappy LeMoyne star block to go along with all my 6" stars. That used .25 yards. I am thinking about switching to the black background instead of the white print to help those pale pinks show up better. I laid some pieces of the black over the white in the second photo, and I like the way it looks much better. Time to get out my ripper!

I also used 3/8 yard for the binding on the Bowtie Baby Quilt that I made for a co-worker. We are having a baby shower for her this Friday, and I can't wait to give her the quilt.

Used this week:                     .875 yards
Used year to date:            11.125 yards

Stashed this week:               0  yards  

Stashed year to date:       4.0 yards 

Net year to date:               7.125 yards used


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Scrappy Pink Saturday

Over the past week, I finished stitching together my pink hexie star and snowflake for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I have now completed 6 stars and 9 snowflakes. I really need to figure out my layout plan so I can be adding background hexies to each star and snowflake as they are made rather than waiting until the end.

Check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts every Saturday to see how others are using up their scraps. So many beautiful projects! I am also linking up to the Hexie Weekend at A Quilting Reader's Garden.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday--2/17/14

Nothing new to show on my design wall today. The pink LeMoyne stars for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge are still up there. These are 6" blocks, and I have been thinking about making some 12" stars to go with them.

My main focus lately has been the quilting on the Bowties Baby Quilt that needs to be finished by the end of next week. 

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. Check it out for tons of amazing ideas and inspiration. 

Julie in GA