Design Wall Monday 9/8/14

My main design wall is covered with the blocks for the Tell It to the Stars mystery. Our assignment for September & October is to add sashing and cornerstones and to get them all joined together with the blocks. All the blocks in the upper right part of the photo are stitched together except for one long seam, and the blocks to the lower left (plus those hidden to the left and the bottom) are waiting to be sewn together.

Judy's instructions for this mystery had the sashing cut from the same fabric as the block backgrounds, which makes the stars and chains of squares float more than mine. I decided to go with the darker sashing because I am making my quilt scrappy, with a different background fabric in every block. I am hoping that this slightly darker fabric will help all the different background fabrics work together. I keep looking at that chain block at the lower right and thinking the background looks too light compared to the others. I had better replace it before I get any further in the process or it will just continue to nag at me.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! 

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 9/7/14

I have lots to report this week, both fabric used and fabric added. One project goes back a few months and is finally ready for showing, others are brand new.

A group of us at work joined together to make a signature quilt for the retirement of our boss Carol. I was in charge of the design and getting all the fabrics. We used batiks in many shades of blues, greys, tans and browns. The blocks were joined together and borders added on Friday. Carol always urged us to use a thimble for hand sewing, so we included a thimble block on the front, and the backing fabric is covered with thimbles. I am counting both fabric used and fabric added to my stash for this project. The white fabric for the signature areas was from my stash, as were many of the batiks, but I ended up with the leftovers of other fabrics purchased for the quilt.

Last week I showed the layer cake of "Surrounded by Love" that I had won. I was thinking it would be perfect for a very girly baby quilt with the many prints in pink, red and white. Only a few days later, I got an email from our pregnant niece letting us know that she is having a girl! It's meant to be! Yesterday I went shopping for a solid pink to use with the layer cake, and I also found a flannel print that will be perfect for a backing. That is an addition of 5 yards to my stash. I haven't decided on a baby quilt pattern yet, but I am considering several options.

My other purchase yesterday was this beautiful print from Patty Young's Modkid Studio. There is something I really love about the color combination, and I am thinking it would make a good color palette for a future quilt.

I got inspired to make some new pajama pants this week. I made a pair for myself from a tropical print, and a short pair for my husband, the FSU fan. They aren't quilts, but they are from quilting fabrics, so I am including the fabric used in my stash report.

Totals:
Signature quilt:  2.75 yds. used, 1 yd. added
Baby quilt fabrics:  5 yards added
Grey/teal/yellow print:  1.75 yds. added
2 pair pajama pants:  4.5 yds. used

Used this week:                          7.25 yards
Used year to date:                    100.0 yards

Stashed this week:                     7.75  yards

Stashed year to date:                97.5 yards 

Net year to date:                      2.5 yards used  

Hurray! I made my goal of using at least 100 yards this year (and should go well past that number in the remaining four months.) I'm still hanging on at using up more fabric than I add.

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Orange scraps for September

Our color for September at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is orange. This is a color that I almost never wear, but I love orange in quilts. There is such a wide range of colors, from pale peach to dark rust, and they all add such a lovely warmth to a quilt.

This week I have been concentrating on brighter orange scraps for my Rainbow LeMoyne Stars. I have six 6" blocks finished, two more to make, plus one 12" block to put together yet.

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 9/1/14

My main design wall is mostly empty at the moment. The only pieces hanging there are four LeMoyne Stars in orange, our color for September at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, plus my green hexie star with background hexies, another rainbow project.

The other design wall is covered with the rest of the hexie stars and snowflakes. Orange is the last color I need to make, then it's all about adding background and joining them all together. This project has been in the works for just over a year, and I expect it will take another year or more to finish the top.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! 

Julie in GA

September quilting goals & August results

It is looking like September is going to be a busy, quilt-filled month. All the local quilt shops are getting back to full schedules of classes, and it would be a great time to learn something new. There are also two major quilt shows nearby, but unfortunately they are both on the same weekend. AQS Quiltweek in Chattanooga, TN runs Sept. 10 -13. 

The event I am more likely to be able to attend is Quilting Live! at the Cobb Galleria Center in Atlanta, Sept. 11 - 13. Here is some info about that show:

Quilting LIVE! will have quilt exhibits, stage presentations, classes, make-it take-it events and more,  presented by Quilters Newsletter,  McCalls Quilting, Quiltmaker, Quilting Arts, Keepsake Quilting, Modern Patchwork, Quilty, Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting and QNNtv! Be sure to check out the Quilting LIVE! website today to find out more and learn about all the quilting experiences you could have by attending.


AUGUST GOALS

1.  Finish quilting and bind Musical Stars baby quilt. This was also my August goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  FINISHED 8/9/14 and presented to the parents to be!

Musical Stars baby quilt
36" square

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in August's color, light/bright green.  Since I had already made green LeMoyne stars in May, I made 12 Crossroads blocks in light/bright greens. They have been joined together, borders added, backing pieced, and this is ready to be quilted.

3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes. Already had green blocks from May, so have been adding background hexies to my green star.

4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make August blocks. DONE 8/23/14

5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project  DONE 8/27
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.  DONE 8/31

SEPTEMBER GOALS
1. My September goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes is to finish the binding on the Scrappy Sampler quilt that I pieced last year. Now that we are getting close to fall, it's time to get this quilt completed!

     

2.  Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 6-8 LeMoyne Stars in orange.
3.  Scrap Hexies--make hexie star & snowflakes.
4.  Tell It to the Stars (Judy L. mystery)--make September blocks.
5.  Make at least 30 blocks as part of the 350 Blocks Project
6.  Spend at least 15 minutes each day quilting--cutting, sewing, designing, etc.

There you have it, my quilting plans and goals for September and my results from August. Watch for the next update at the end of September.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 8/31/14

Here we are at the end of August, two-thirds of the way through 2014! At this point I am feeling pretty good about my stash report. My goal for the year was to use at least 100 yards, which is less than 8 yards away. Looks like I should reach that goal easily. 

The other goal, and this will be tougher, is to use more fabric than I add to the stash. There isn't much difference between my yardage used vs. yardage added numbers, and one good sale could knock it all out of whack. I will just keep plugging away at my current projects, and see how it all turns out in December.

This week I used just over 2 yards. I made a pillowcase for my QOV Bowties Quilt, made the binding for my Scrappy Sampler, remade one of the blocks for the Tell It to the Stars mystery, and finished adding background hexies to my green hexie star.

QOV pillowcase

There hadn't been any additions to my stash since early July, which coincided with my return to work. All those Labor Day sales are tempting, but so far I have been able to resist. However, I do have one lovely addition to report. I was the lucky winner of the Ironing Board challenge at Jo's Country Junction. Jo sent me a layer cake of Moda's "Surrounded by Love" by Deb Strain. I am dreaming of a very girly baby quilt with these fabrics.

Used this week:                          2.125 yards
Used year to date:                    92.75 yards

Stashed this week:                      3.0  yards

Stashed year to date:               89.75 yards 

Net year to date:                      3.0 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

End of the Month Scrappiness

It's hard to believe that it is the end of the month already. August just flew by (but I probably say that almost every month!) For the most part, it wasn't a terribly hot summer around here, but we've had quite a few 90+ days over the last couple of weeks. I am looking forward to shifting into fall. I am also looking forward to switching over to orange, our color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

My main progress this week in the light and bright greens for August was to finish stitching background hexies around my scrappy green star. Orange is the last color I need to make for this project, then I can get serious about adding background to all the stars and snowflakes. 

I already have a pile of orange hexies basted, just need to finish a few more before I start sewing them together. I love the colors of autumn!

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! I am also linking up to the Hexie Weekend at A Quilting Reader's Garden, and to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts. Hexies all over the place--go check them out!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 8/25/14--Tell It to the Stars

When I started making the August blocks for the Tell It to the Stars mystery, I was worried about the amount of black in my blocks. However, once I finished a few and put them up on the wall with my earlier blocks, I was much happier with the look of it all.

This is my guess at a possible layout for our blocks. The blocks for August are the triangles around the outside. I have quite a bit of my turquoise fabric left, plus we still have a few more months to go on this mystery. I am thinking we might be adding sashing at some point, and probably more borders. We know how Judy loves to use multiple borders!

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times where you can see all sorts of amazing quilting inspiration! On September 1st, I will link up to Patchwork Times again for the Tell It to the Stars progress reports.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 8/24/14

This week's stash usage may be my largest amount used in a single week all year! I realize it isn't a lot compared to how much some people go through, but I feel very good about getting my numbers back into the black.

I used 4.5 yards for the backing of my QOV Bowties, 1.375 yards for the August blocks for Tell It to the Stars mystery, and .75 yards for a new ironing board cover. No fabric added again this week. It has been more than a month since I got any new fabric. I may be going into withdrawal!

Used this week:                          6.625 yards
Used year to date:                   90.625 yards

Stashed this week:                          0  yards

Stashed year to date:               86.75 yards 

Net year to date:                    3.875 yards used  


Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.

Julie in GA

Return of the Scrappy Hexies

It has been several weeks since I showed the status on my Scrap Hexies project. I keep stitching away during my morning train commutes (and sometimes evenings too) but there hasn't been a lot to show lately.

I have been working on this project for over a year now, and I expect it will probably take another year to finish it. Last August I began making hexie stars and snowflakes as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. It has been the perfect handstitching project for those chunks of free time.

Since I had already made a green star and two snowflakes in May, this month I have started to add background hexies around the star. Progress has been slow, but I am very excited with the way it is turning out!

Check out this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts on Saturday--lots of amazingly beautiful rainbow projects to inspire you! I am also linking up to HeLP for Hexie-aholics over at Sarah Did It!,  to the Hexie Weekend at A Quilting Reader's Garden, and to the Monday Morning Star Count at Life Under Quilts. Hexies all over the place--go check them out!

Julie in GA