Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
Saturday, October 17, 2015
October Brown Scrappiness
The month of October is flying past, and I am continuing to add more blocks to my collections for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This week I finished 6 circle blocks (finishing up colors from previous months) and 18 brown Bowtie blocks.
Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Throwback Thursday--Floral Log Cabin
My quilt submission for this week's Throwback Thursday post is the first bed-sized quilt I made by myself. It was started in a quilting class in October, 1995 and finished in August, 1997.
The pattern for our class was called Floral Blocks and Logs. I think it was meant to be a colorwash-type design. The pattern has 36 blocks, making a quilt that measures 63" square. Here is the cover of the pattern.
I was a very new quilter when I took this class and really didn't have much of a stash of fabrics (boy, has that fact changed!) I vaguely remember going to Joann Fabrics and filling up a whole cart, maybe two, with bolts of fabric and getting 1/8 or 1/4 yard pieces of each one. I'm sure the people working there hated me that day!
During and soon after the class, I made 24 blocks for this quilt, then stashed the whole collection away in a box, probably because I didn't know how big I wanted to go with it. Nearly two years later, I pulled out the blocks and the fabric strips and made 40 more blocks. I quickly discovered the fun of playing with log cabin blocks in different settings. Of course, this was long before digital cameras came along, so I used a Polaroid camera to try different layouts of my blocks. Here are some of the possible layouts that I considered.
The center of my quilt is 64 blocks set 8x8 and measuring 84" square. To make the quilt big enough for my bed, I designed my own border for the quilt. I especially like the checkerboard--that's a lot of 1" squares! The next couple of photos give a better idea of the colors in the quilt than the scanned Polaroids in the previous photos.
This is the only large quilt I have ever quilted myself. I did it on my domestic machine, all stitch-in-the-ditch. The back of the quilt is plain muslin, and it feels like the batting might be polyester. I like to change around the quilts on our beds as the seasons change, and decided this quilt would be a good one to use now that it is starting to feel like fall. It was very difficult to get a photo of the whole quilt on the bed, but this was the best I could manage.
The pattern for our class was called Floral Blocks and Logs. I think it was meant to be a colorwash-type design. The pattern has 36 blocks, making a quilt that measures 63" square. Here is the cover of the pattern.
I was a very new quilter when I took this class and really didn't have much of a stash of fabrics (boy, has that fact changed!) I vaguely remember going to Joann Fabrics and filling up a whole cart, maybe two, with bolts of fabric and getting 1/8 or 1/4 yard pieces of each one. I'm sure the people working there hated me that day!
During and soon after the class, I made 24 blocks for this quilt, then stashed the whole collection away in a box, probably because I didn't know how big I wanted to go with it. Nearly two years later, I pulled out the blocks and the fabric strips and made 40 more blocks. I quickly discovered the fun of playing with log cabin blocks in different settings. Of course, this was long before digital cameras came along, so I used a Polaroid camera to try different layouts of my blocks. Here are some of the possible layouts that I considered.
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| Floral Log Cabin--final layout of center |
The center of my quilt is 64 blocks set 8x8 and measuring 84" square. To make the quilt big enough for my bed, I designed my own border for the quilt. I especially like the checkerboard--that's a lot of 1" squares! The next couple of photos give a better idea of the colors in the quilt than the scanned Polaroids in the previous photos.
 |
| Floral Log Cabin--center of quilt |
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| Floral Log Cabin--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!
Julie in GA
Monday, October 12, 2015
More Fun with Circles
My design wall is still covered with the rainbow of circle blocks. The empty spaces are for the blocks that still need to be appliqued. There are also several of the light green circles up there waiting to be stitched to the backgrounds.
The main change to this project over the past week was that I added the setting triangles around the four sides. I might also add scrappy borders of the white and black prints later if I decide the quilt should be bigger. I think I will start sewing the blocks together into sections soon. I'm happy with the arrangement of the colors and ready to start putting it all together.
I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:
Julie in GA
The main change to this project over the past week was that I added the setting triangles around the four sides. I might also add scrappy borders of the white and black prints later if I decide the quilt should be bigger. I think I will start sewing the blocks together into sections soon. I'm happy with the arrangement of the colors and ready to start putting it all together.
I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:
Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times
Julie in GA
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Stash Report Sunday 10/11/15
There hasn't been much change to my stash this week. Not much time for quilting lately, and my main project has been progressing very slowly. I did use 3/8 yard for the setting triangles on my applque circles quilt. I hope to have a photo of it to show tomorrow.
TOTALS:
Used this week: .375 yards
Used year to date: 138.50 yards
Stashed this week: 0 yards
Stashed year to date: 106.375 yards
Net year to date: 32.125 yards used
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Autumn Scraps
It doesn't look much like fall around this part of Georgia yet, but this week's blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sure have the colors of fall.
Last week I showed a possible layout for all of my applique circle blocks. The next day I rearranged things a little bit, shifting the yellows to the upper left corner and the darkest blues and violets to the bottom of the quilt. You can see the new layout in Monday's post.
About 20 of those circles still need to be stitched to the background blocks. I finished 5 of the orange blocks this week, plus I made a dozen brown bowtie blocks for my other RSC project.
Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
Last week I showed a possible layout for all of my applique circle blocks. The next day I rearranged things a little bit, shifting the yellows to the upper left corner and the darkest blues and violets to the bottom of the quilt. You can see the new layout in Monday's post.
Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Throwback Thursday--Hawaiian Punch
Today's Throwback Thursday quilt is another in my series of wallhangings made for the Ben Franklin Challenge in Oconomowoc, WI. I entered this challenge every year between 1998 and 2003 when I lived in Milwaukee, and I even continued making entries for some years after I had moved away. Today's quilt was made in 2010.
The name of my quilt is Hawaiian Punch. It was my first-ever attempt at pineapple blocks. I printed out line drawings of pineapple designs and experimented with different color placements. The blocks measure 7-1/2" finished size, and the quilt finished at 37" square.
The squares in the following photo show three of the fabrics we were required to use in our challenge entries. I fussy cut those fabrics to make the most of their designs. The other two challenge fabrics were one of the bright pinks in the center of the quilt and the light spotted fabric that is at the center of most of the blocks.
The next photo features the center of the quilt and gives a good view of many of the fabrics. We were required to use a recognizable amount of all the challenge fabrics and could add as many other fabrics as we wished.
My color plan included blocks pieced to form a built-in border effect with the darker purples. I was especially happy with the way this part worked out and will probably use that idea again if I ever make another pineapple quilt.
Hawaiian Punch took 1st place in the 2010 Ben Franklin challenge. It is currently hanging above my bed where I enjoy seeing it every single day.
The name of my quilt is Hawaiian Punch. It was my first-ever attempt at pineapple blocks. I printed out line drawings of pineapple designs and experimented with different color placements. The blocks measure 7-1/2" finished size, and the quilt finished at 37" square.
The squares in the following photo show three of the fabrics we were required to use in our challenge entries. I fussy cut those fabrics to make the most of their designs. The other two challenge fabrics were one of the bright pinks in the center of the quilt and the light spotted fabric that is at the center of most of the blocks.
The next photo features the center of the quilt and gives a good view of many of the fabrics. We were required to use a recognizable amount of all the challenge fabrics and could add as many other fabrics as we wished.
My color plan included blocks pieced to form a built-in border effect with the darker purples. I was especially happy with the way this part worked out and will probably use that idea again if I ever make another pineapple quilt.
Hawaiian Punch took 1st place in the 2010 Ben Franklin challenge. It is currently hanging above my bed where I enjoy seeing it every single day.
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!
Julie in GA
Monday, October 5, 2015
Playing with Circles
All year I have been appliquing circles to black and white background blocks as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Each month we are assigned a color to focus on, and I have tried to make around a dozen blocks with each color. The design is based on the pattern "True Colors" by Nancy Mahoney from her book Simple Circles and Quick Curves.
I have been playing with layout ideas and filling in with additional circles where needed. The original pattern has the blocks arranged in vertical columns by color, but I think I will go with a less formal layout. I started out with the yellows at the top center, but shifted everything around in order to get the darkest blue and purple circles at the bottom of the quilt. You may notice that some of the circles look larger than the rest--those are the ones that have been cut but still need to be stitched to the blocks. I am very eager to finish making blocks and get this quilt put together soon!
I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:
Julie in GA
I have been playing with layout ideas and filling in with additional circles where needed. The original pattern has the blocks arranged in vertical columns by color, but I think I will go with a less formal layout. I started out with the yellows at the top center, but shifted everything around in order to get the darkest blue and purple circles at the bottom of the quilt. You may notice that some of the circles look larger than the rest--those are the ones that have been cut but still need to be stitched to the blocks. I am very eager to finish making blocks and get this quilt put together soon!
I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:
Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs Sew and Sow
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs Sew and Sow
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
Julie in GA
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Stash Report Sunday 10/4/15
I discovered a quick and easy way to make some headway at reducing my stash--give it away! A couple weeks ago I participated in the 2015 Fall Quilty Orphan Adoption Event. I find it very difficult to give up any of my fabric stash or quilt UFOs, even those that have been hanging around for years, but it felt great to find new homes for two of my old projects. You can see photos of the projects I put up for adoption HERE. If you are interested in having any of your "orphans" adopted, watch for the next Orphan Adoption Event in March over at Quilting is more fun than Housework.
My stash addition for the week came from the two little charm packs of polka dots that I won in a giveaway. More cute fabric!
Orphan Adoption--46 Envelope blocks 5 yards
Orphan Adoption--Simple Symmetry #2 3 yards
RSC Circles--20 orange blocks .5 yards
Polka Dot charms .5 yards added
TOTALS:
Used this week: 8.50 yards
Used year to date: 138.125 yards
Stashed this week: .50 yards
Stashed year to date: 106.375 yards
Net year to date: 31.75 yards used
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Circling the Rainbow
The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for October is brown, but I haven't had any time to pull out my brown scraps yet. It has been a very busy week, both at work and in the evenings, and that has kept me from having much time to quilt. I need to get going on cutting squares for my rainbow bowtie blocks.
I decided a couple months ago that I wasn't going to include neutral colors like brown or black in my circle applique quilt. If you saw my post from two weeks ago, it included a photo of the original quilt by Nancy Mahoney. Her quilt has the blocks arranged in vertical rows of color. I am thinking I might arrange my blocks in a gradation from lightest at the center of the quilt out to darker around the outside. Here's my first attempt with that idea.
There are a few holes in this grouping, and I would like to add enough blocks to end up with the quilt being 8 blocks wide instead of 7. I will need to make some more background squares, then decide where to add more colors. I know there are several lighter green circles around here somewhere just waiting to be stitched down.
Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.
Julie in GA
I decided a couple months ago that I wasn't going to include neutral colors like brown or black in my circle applique quilt. If you saw my post from two weeks ago, it included a photo of the original quilt by Nancy Mahoney. Her quilt has the blocks arranged in vertical rows of color. I am thinking I might arrange my blocks in a gradation from lightest at the center of the quilt out to darker around the outside. Here's my first attempt with that idea.
There are a few holes in this grouping, and I would like to add enough blocks to end up with the quilt being 8 blocks wide instead of 7. I will need to make some more background squares, then decide where to add more colors. I know there are several lighter green circles around here somewhere just waiting to be stitched down.
Julie in GA
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Throwback Thursday--A Garden of Stars
Last week I showed the quilt that was my first entry for the Ben Franklin Crafts Quilting Challenge in Oconomowoc, WI from 1998. Here is another of my challenge entries, this time dating back to 2001.
I believe the challenge fabrics that had to be used in the quilt were the ones you see in this close-up photo--the blue, gold and burgundy prints, plus maybe the beige background. The star block measures 6".
The pattern I used was a variation on Judy Martin's pattern "Desert Twilight" from The Block Book. I changed the small stars a little bit and added the gold framing around the octagon. My favorite part of this quilt is the blue fabric that forms the large star points and the outer border. That was a wonderful find!
My little quilt took 2nd place in the Ben Franklin Challenge in 2001 and also won viewer's choice. It is still a favorite of mine and hangs in our den at home.
I believe the challenge fabrics that had to be used in the quilt were the ones you see in this close-up photo--the blue, gold and burgundy prints, plus maybe the beige background. The star block measures 6".
The pattern I used was a variation on Judy Martin's pattern "Desert Twilight" from The Block Book. I changed the small stars a little bit and added the gold framing around the octagon. My favorite part of this quilt is the blue fabric that forms the large star points and the outer border. That was a wonderful find!
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| A Garden of Stars 2001 36" square based on the pattern "Desert Twilight" by Judy Martin in The Block Book |
My little quilt took 2nd place in the Ben Franklin Challenge in 2001 and also won viewer's choice. It is still a favorite of mine and hangs in our den at home.
Check out other Throwback Thursday quilt posts at both Krista Quilts and at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Even better, add your own post to the link-ups. We'd love to see your quilts from the past!
Julie in GA
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