UFO Frustration

It has been a slow start this month on my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for the month is indigo (purplish blue), with black and grey as alternate choices. I am using indigo in my applique circles blocks, but only completed a couple of them this week. My bowtie blocks are being made in black and grey, but all that got done on those this week was cutting more pieces.

It took quite awhile to choose my UFO project for the month. I pulled out a few options that included black, but most of those didn't make me want to finish them. I ended up deciding to work with this set of nine-patch blocks that were left over from a couple of quilts I made around 2004. Here is what I had up on my design wall earlier in the week. This is the type of layout that was used for the previous quilts.

I spent many hours playing with ideas for finishing the quilt. I didn't want to make lots more nine-patch blocks, but I would like to get the quilt big enough for a possible Quilt of Valor. I auditioned many fabrics as possible alternate blocks, and setted on three different greyish-green prints, using up almost every inch of all three. I will need to make some more ninepatch blocks, but not too many. Any blocks that don't get used in the quilt top will become part of the back. It's time to get these blocks out of the box of leftovers!

The three blocks with medium brown near the top right will be the center of the quilt, with concentric rings building out from there. I am debating between the grey or the blue blocks for the 2nd round of ninepatches. In the meantime, I need to add up how many more blocks I need of the other colors, and get to work cutting strips for them.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 


Julie in GA

Throwback Thursday--Pinwheel Baby Quilt

Two weeks ago I showed my first quilt, a Double Irish Chain that my sister Karen and I made together in 1995 for our brother's wedding. The following year I made my first baby quilt for my brother's son Devin.

Here are the fabrics I used. The white-on-white was the background, and the tone-on-tone pieces were all used for pinwheels. The large piece on the left was the backing.

The pattern I used was a pinwheel variation by Trudie Hughes from her 1993 book Quilts to Fit Beds. Trudie was an early designer of rotary-cut patterns and published many great books and patterns. My quilting was minimal, mostly just stitch in the ditch. Seeing this quilt now makes me want to make the pattern again, maybe with the addition of a border.

Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at Krista Quilts. Even better, add your own post to the link-up. We'd love to see your quilts from the past! I am also linking up to Let's Make Baby Quilts at Michelle's Romantic Tangle.



Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 8/10/15

The past weekend was a classic case of having time to quilt, but not being able to figure out what project to work on. I spent some time on Saturday sorting through a few boxes that held scraps and bits left over from past projects. I am always more interested in moving on to the next quilt, and somehow the boxes of leftovers sit around for years instead of being put away in the scrap drawers and shelves.

My design wall shows some blocks from a few different projects that I found in my exploration. On the left side are four Ohio Star blocks from back when I used to teach quilting classes. The two stars with yellow were already made, and I finished the two with the orange. I made the two striped blocks at the center from shirt scraps, and I am dying to start a whole quilt with shirt fabrics, but this doesn't seem like the right time. The 3 nine-patch in a square blocks are left from my Storm at Sea quilt, and they have been my recent leader/ender pieces.

On the right side is a collection of nine-patches and squares that I found in a ziploc bag. The original plan had been to make a small Blooming Nine-Patch quilt, but after making this group of blocks, I felt that the fabrics blended together too much. It's almost impossible to see any of the seams in the nine-patches. Here is a closer view.

I have been playing with some other ideas for those blocks, but none of my ideas are exciting me, so these blocks will probably end up going back into that bag and get filed away until I run across them again on a future excavation. 

The next box I came to had scraps and leftover blocks from another nine-patch quilt. Now these might be just the ticket! Maybe it's the fact that schools are starting up that makes these fall colors appealing to me. I still have more of all the fabrics, so I can make additional blocks. Time to come up with a new plan!

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and to Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt. Check them both out for lots of amazing quilting inspiration!

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 8/9/15

No fabric in and none out this week. I have been trying to clear away the leftovers from some past projects, and I haven't decided what I want to work on next. Right now it's more important to get the mess in the sewing room under control--too many piles everywhere!

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                    0 yards     

Used year to date:          108.375 yards

Stashed this week:                  0 yards

Stashed year to date:         93.0 yards 

Net year to date:              15.375 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Another Scrappy Saturday

It took me a few days to come up with a plan for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for the month is indigo (purplish blue), with black and grey as alternate choices. I ended up deciding to use them all.

For my True Colors circle applique blocks, I decided to add a set of indigo blocks to the collection. They aren't all the very dark blue I usually think of as indigo. I have included a few lighter circles in the mix. So far five blocks are finished.

For my Rainbow Bowties, I am using black and grey scraps. I've still got some fabrics to cut, but there are 20 blocks made at this point. Once again I have combined the circle blocks and the bowties together on my design wall.

I am still considering a few options for my indigo or black UFO of the month. I pulled out one project last weekend, but haven't decided if I'm really motivated to continue with that one. I'm hoping to make a decision on that this weekend.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  There will also be plenty of scrappy projects at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework.


Julie in GA

TBT--My First Quilting Class

It's time for another week of Throwback Thursday over at Krista Quilts. I just discovered another Throwback Thursday link-up over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Last week I showed my first ever quilt, made along with my sister in spring of 1995. You can see that post HERE. This week I wanted to share the quilt I made in my first quilting class.

In the fall of 1995, I signed up for a beginning quilting class at Patched Works in Elm Grove, WI (the west side of the Milwaukee area.) The pattern we were making was a scrappy split nine-patch. Even then, I knew that I didn't like the "anything goes including the kitchen sink" type of scrappy quilt. I preferred a more limited color scheme and kept mine in the jewel tones. Many of the fabrics came from the scrap bins at the store, but I had already started collecting some fabrics myself. Here is a close-up showing a selection of prints.

We learned some tricks for making multiple half-square triangles, and the piecing was quick and fun. It took me close to a year to get the quilt layered, quilted and bound. The quilting is very simple, just stitch in the ditch. The borders don't lay very flat, but otherwise I am happy with this early effort. I learned that I love scrappy quilts as long as there is some cohesiveness to the fabrics chosen. I also figured out that for me piecing the quilt top is much more fun than the doing the quilting, something that is still true today.

Split Nine-Patch 1995
38.5" x 52.5"

Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at Krista Quilts and at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Even better, add your own post to the link-ups.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 8/3/15

I had an evening at home by myself over the weekend, and my plan was to spend the whole evening quilting. The only complication was that my feet were killing me, and I didn't want to stand any more than necessary. That meant finding a project that was ready to stitch and didn't need much cutting done. I browsed through my boxes and bins of UFOs until I came across this one, the Dresden Stars quilt that I started in a class with Edyta Sitar two years ago.

The quilt will end up with 8 of the Dresden Star blocks. There were five with the outer ring already made, and I put together two more, just one left to go. Yesterday I prepped a couple of the blue circles for the centers and have those ready to applique down, plus stitching the block to the background.

I have been working my way through all sorts of UFOs this year, and it feels so good to clear some of them out. I hope this will be the next one to be finished.

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and to Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt. Check them both out for lots of amazing quilting inspiration!

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 8/2/15

July ended on a high note as far as stash usage is concerned, mostly because I made two quilt backs. That always gives a nice boost to the numbers, and there was no fabric added to my stash this week.

Curves & Cornerstones back         5 yards

Starry Night for Josh back            5.25 yards

Rainbow Bowties--51 red blocks   1.125 yards

It's also time for me to file my report for the 350 Blocks Project over at Prairie Moon Quilts. I ended up with a total of 93 blocks for the month of July, well over our goal of 30 for the month. 

This photo shows the back I pieced for Alycia's mystery quilt, Starry Night for Josh. I had four yards of the blue fabric, not enough for the entire back. I also had two star blocks leftover from the quilt top, so they got framed out with strips and nine-patches to reach the needed size along with the rest of the striped fabric.You can see my quilt top in THIS POST.

          

Over 100 yards used (my goal for the year) and it's only the beginning of August!! Last year I didn't reach that milestone until about a week into September. Now I just need to keep the fabric shopping under control.

TOTALS: 

Used this week:                11.375 yards     

Used year to date:          108.375 yards

Stashed this week:                  0 yards

Stashed year to date:         93.0 yards 

Net year to date:              15.375 yards used

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Seeing Red and Moving On to Black

It took me until the second last day of the month, but I finally finished up the two sets of red blocks for my ongoing projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I don't plan to combine the bowties and the circle blocks in the same quilt, mostly because of the different backgrounds, but I do like the way the shapes play together on my design wall.

I am excited to report that I also finished assembling the quilt top of the red UFO that I showed last Saturday, my Curves and Cornerstones quilt. You can see it and read more in yesterday's post.

I haven't figured out what to do with my circle blocks for August. Our RSC color for the month is indigo (purplish blue), with black and grey as alternate choices. I considered adding grey circles to my blocks, but I didn't like the way they were looking with the black and white backgrounds. I will definitely make black and grey bowtie blocks in August, but haven't decided what else to do. I'm still considering options for a UFO too.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  There will also be plenty of scrappy projects at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

I am also trying to help spread the news of a new linky party. Krista has started hosting a quilty version of Throwback Thursday. Go to her blog on Thursdays to link up a post showing some of your early quilt projects (maybe pre-blog quilts?) and see other posts of quilts from the past. This week I shared photos of my first quilt, made in 1995. You can see my post HERE, and join in on the fun at Krista Quilts next Thursday.

Julie in GA

Curves & Cornerstones top finished!

One of my major quilting goals for this year has been to clear out some of the old UFO projects that have been hanging around. There are some that don't appeal to me anymore, and those need to get passed on to someone else or thrown out, but there are others that I still like very much. In most cases I got stuck because I couldn't make up my mind what direction to go and I didn't want to mess up and waste all the time and the fabric that had gone into the project up to that point.

The latest UFO to make an appearance is my Curves and Cornerstone quilt. This is my oldest UFO, dating back to a class I took in 1996! You can read more about the history of this project in THIS POST.

Over the past 10 days or so, I made an additional 12 blocks for this quilt, taking it from a square piece to rectangular. It now measures approximately 60" x 80", perfect for a throw quilt. I am so excited to have this quilt top together and ready to be quilted!

Curves and Cornerstones
59" x 79"

I had run out of two of my original fabrics for this quilt and had to find substitutes for them in order to make the extra blocks. Here is a closer photo that shows the fabrics better. The upper row of blocks is all original fabrics, and the lower row has the two replacements, one red and one white. I think they look pretty good in there.

I even pieced the back right away too. Not too difficult since it was only one long seam down the center, although I did match up the print.

It feels so good to get another UFO to this stage. I believe this is the 6th or 7th UFO to become a top so far this year. The pile of tops and backs ready to be quilted has gotten rather large. One of these days I will have to find someone to do some long-arm quilting for me and decide which quilt to have finished first.

I am linking up to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, WIPs Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden, and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

I am also trying to help spread the news of a new linky party. Krista is hosting a quilty version of Throwback Thursday. Go to her blog on Thursdays to link up a post showing some of your early quilt projects (maybe pre-blog quilts?) and see other posts of quilts from the past. Yesterday I shared photos of my first quilt, made in 1995. You can see my post HERE, and join in on the fun at Krista's blog next Thursday.

Julie in GA