Design Wall Monday--1/18/2021

The current project filling one of my design walls is Grassy Creek, the Bonnie Hunter 2020 mystery quilt. Bonnie's final reveal of the quilt happened about 10 days ago, and I spent part of the past weekend making up some blocks and sashing units.

The blocks, sashing units and 9-patches are not joined together yet, just laid out on the wall. I overlapped areas to complete the grey diagonals between the blocks and sashing, but that makes it look like the red triangle tips are cut off.

This mystery may be the first time I ever used the same color palette as the original design. Usually I prefer to go in a different direction and make my own unique version. This time I liked Bonnie's colors and used them for my quilt. The main change I made was to go with a single grey fabric instead of scrappy greys.

I've been making about 60% of all the different units each week. My plan was to make a smaller quilt than Bonnie's original 94" x 94", although I did buy enough of the grey fabric to make the full quilt in case I really loved it. I'm currently thinking about making a lap quilt with 12 of the star blocks (Bonnie's quilt has 25 stars.) If my math is correct, my quilt would measure 54" x 72" before borders. The photo above would be approximately half of that amount.

If you are interested in making your own version of Grassy Creek mystery, be sure to head to Bonnie's blog soon for all the clues. You can download them for free until Feb. 12th. After that, she will rewrite the pattern and sell it as a PDF. The main page for the Grassy Creek mystery is HERE.

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA  

Stitching and Stashing--Week 3, 2021

There were additions to the stash last week, a fabric order that I had been waiting for since New Year's weekend. I needed solid white to use as the background for a new Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. Since I was placing an order anyway, a few other things got added to my cart. The rainbow bright circle print is an all-time favorite of mine, and I already wish I had gotten more! Altogether, 11.5 yards added.

Some of that white solid was used right away to make kaleidoscope blocks. I made 19 pink blocks, using every pink 30's fabric in my stash. The blocks will finish at 6", and 1 yard of fabric was used in them.

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             1.00 yards

Used year to date:                         1.25 yards

Added last week:                            11.5 yards

Added year to date:                        11.5 yards

Net added year to date             10.25 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I've kept up with my Bowties 365 block-a-day goal, plus worked on several other projects, getting in well over 15 minutes every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

1/10 - 1/16               7 of 7 days

2021 Total              16 of 16 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 3, 2021

The white solid fabric I'd ordered for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects finally arrived this week, and I didn't waste any time getting started making blocks. Our color for January is pink, so I pulled out all of my pink 30's fabrics to make kaleidoscope blocks.

Half of the blocks have white triangles on the corners. Another fabric is needed for the contrast corners on the rest of the blocks. I auditioned several color options, although I don't have enough yardage of most of them. 

Pale pink

Medium yellow

Pale yellow or peach

Green or darker yellow

Aqua

None of the colors I've tried so far are jumping out at me saying "I'm the one! Pick me!" I'm still undecided which way to go and will revisit these options after I've made blocks in more colors. 

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA 

Stay-at-Home Round Robin

There seem to be so many new quilt-alongs beginning as the new year gets started, and they all look like fun.  I'm trying to rein in the number of new quilts that I start, but some are hard to resist. One that has me especially intrigued is the Stay-At-Home Round Robin (SAHRR) hosted by Gail at Quilting Gail with help from several of her quilt blogging friends.

I've never participated in a regular round robin, but I have always wanted to give it a try. Here is Gail's explanation of a traditional round robin:

"This is a common activity in many quilt guilds. A round robin (in quilting terms) is where each person makes a centre block. This block is put in a bag or container, maybe with extra fabric, perhaps with a notebook, and the bag is passed onto another quilter in the group. They are given instructions as to what kind of border they are to add on to the quilt. Sometimes the next person will make a border for each side, or one side or two sides of the block. It’s then passed on to another quilter and it continues on … when the quilt centre and all the borders are completed, it is returned to the original maker of the centre block."

For the Stay-at-Home Round Robin, each quilter will make all the different parts for their own quilt. The "Round Robin" part of the process will be that each week one of the co-leaders will give instructions for the next border to be added. The quilter has to figure out how to make that border plan work with their quilt, or they can decide to leave it off. 

The first step is to come up with a block for the quilt center. I had recently run across an old UFO started in 2001. Earlier that year I had made this little wallhanging (36" square) for a quilt shop challenge. The design is a variation of the Judy Martin pattern "Desert Twilight" from her book The Block Book. It now hangs in our den above the mantel.

Desert Twilight wallhanging, 36" square

At that time, I had been thinking about making a bed-sized version of the Desert Twilight design. The star blocks in the original wallhanging measure 6". My plan was to make larger feathered star blocks to put in those places. I made one feathered star block as a sample, using some of the same fabrics as the original quilt.

This single block is as far as I ever got on that quilt plan. I still have many of the original fabrics, and I think this block will look great as the center of a medallion style quilt. The star measures 14.75" to the points, but there is extra background around the outside which could take the block up to a max of 17". 

I will be waiting eagerly until next Monday to find out the plan for our first border. There are seven rounds of borders planned, with a new one being added each week until the end of February. If you are interested in joining in, check out Gail's info post HERE. You can see the center blocks that people are planning to use HERE. Come join the fun!

Linking up with:

Stay at Home Round Robin at Quilting Gail

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 1/12/2021

It has been a few weeks since my last To-Do Tuesday post, and I can't really figure out why. Of course there were the holidays in there, but we stayed at home and I still had plenty of quilting time. Last Tuesday was the Georgia run-off elections, but we had voted early, so that didn't slow me down either. At any rate, I'm hoping to get back to more regular participation in the  To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update and Link-up hosted by Roseanne and Sue at Home Sewn By Us. Here's the list from my last post:

To-Do List for 12/22 - 12/28/2020

1. RSC Square Dance--finish joining all blocks together           ✔done

Two quilt tops finished, each measuring 40" x 60". They could be joined together into a single 60" x 80" quilt.

2. Grassy Creek mystery--finish Step 4, begin Step 5              ✔done

Bonnie posted Step 7, the final reveal, last Friday. I am done through Step 5 and have started Step 6. 

3. Sewcialites QAL--make block #14                                      ✔done

The Sewcialites QAL took a couple weeks off for the holidays, and block #14 was just posted last Friday. I am all caught up on these blocks.

4. Glorified 9-Patch--stitch one black/grey block                      ✔done

I finished two black/grey blocks while watching election returns. They will get trimmed down when I am ready to join blocks together.

To-Do List for 1/12 - 1/18/2021:

1. Bowties 365--make one bowtie block every day

2. Blooming Onion--make more blocks (I shared the beginning of this project in yesterday's post.)

3. Glorified 9-Patch--make 1 block in pink

4. 30's Kaleidoscope--start making blocks (a new project)

5. Grassy Creek mystery--put together first block

6. Sewcialites QAL--make block #15

7. Stay-at-Home Round Robin (SAHRR)--choose or make center block

Once again, I've gotten carried away with making my list. It's unlikely I will get to everything, but it would be great to move ahead on most of them.  I'll report on my progress and post a new set of goals next Tuesday. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Home Sewn by Us. 

Julie in GA

Curves, Take Two

 Last week I shared my first set of blocks made using the pattern Blue Onion by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts. 

Blue Onion by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts. 

The blocks turned out okay, but they weren't quite what I was going for. I decided to try again with different fabrics. The second set of blocks were made with all batiks, and I cut the pieces for all 48 blocks for my quilt before stitching any of them together. That made it possible for me to get a wider variety of fabrics in each block. After much time rearranging pieces at the design wall, followed by an afternoon sewing session, I ended up with these blocks.

I am much happier with the combination of fabrics in these blocks. My plan for the quilt is that these blocks will be the lightest area of the quilt, and the colors will move through oranges and hot pinks into purples around the outer edges.

This new project was inspired by the quilt along hosted by Corinne and Cecile at the Cocopatch website. Their theme this year is curves, and it gave me the perfect excuse to make this pattern that I have owned for several months. The quilt along has just started, so it's not too late to join the fun and sew some curves!

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA  

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 2, 2021

It always feels good to start with a clean slate for the quilting stash reports at the beginning of a new year. Unfortunately, I have very little to report for the last week. I've gotten obsessed with a new project, but haven't yet reached the point of being able to figure out my yardage used for it. 

There is one small project in the works that has used a little yardage. I wanted to come up with a project that I could make as a block-a-day quilt this year. I had plenty of ideas, but none seemed quite right until I ran across a stack of already-cut pieces for bowtie blocks that I had prepped for a baby quilt several years ago. Here are a few leftover blocks from that quilt. 

Isn't that the cutest background fabric! I wish I had lots more of it. Here are the leftover pieces I found, 3" squares and 1.75" squares. Believe it or not, there are enough pieces in those stacks to make over 100 bowtie blocks.

The original baby quilt got made, but I used up the background fabric long before I ran out of bowtie pieces. On the first of this year, I pulled out another background that worked well with the bowtie colors, then started stitching blocks. Here are my first 8 blocks, which used 1/4 yard of fabric. I started with pink because it is our color of the month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

2021 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                               .25 yards

Used year to date:                           .25 yards

Added last week:                             0.0 yards

Added year to date:                         0.0 yards

Net used year to date                   .25 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I've already missed one day on the bowtie blocks goal, but I have still gotten in at least 15 minutes of quilting every day this year.

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

1/3 - 1/9                   7 of 7 days

2021 Total                 9 of 9 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. I'm also linking up to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 1/4/2021

There is a new quilt along happening, hosted by Corinne and Cecile at the Cocopatch website, and I am very tempted to join in. This year their theme is curves. One of the reasons that I'm thinking about participating is because I bought this pattern a few months ago, and it seems like the perfect choice for the QAL.

Blue Onion pattern by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts

Karla Alexander, designer of this pattern, is known for her "Stack the Deck" books and patterns, and this pattern is made using that technique. The blocks are made by stacking several different fabrics together, making the curved cuts, then rearranging the order of the pieces to mix them together. 

I started out by making some smaller sample pieces with a single curve in each block, just to see how I liked the piecing. These blocks were made from 6" squares.

Those were okay to piece, so I moved ahead to the main event. There is a Creative Grids ruler available for cutting the curves, but it costs more than $40! Fortunately, the pattern includes directions for cutting without the ruler, and that is what I did. Here is my first group of blocks.

Well, that's not really what I was going for. I was hoping to make a quilt with a gradation of colors, but I'm not sure this is the right approach. It might work better if I cut multiple sets of pieces and mix more fabrics together in each block. This set of five blocks all contain the same six fabrics, and a wider variety might help. Back to the drawing board for me!

The schedule for Corinne and Cecile's QAL of Curves is January through May. The challenge requires that you make at least 16 blocks, and every block must contain a curve. If you are interested in joining them, you can find out more info at Cocopatch.

Linking up with:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA  

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 1, 2021

My final stash numbers for 2020 changed a little bit after I made two Scrap Magnet blocks for my newest Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. Here is my favorite of the two pink blocks.

Scrap Magnet block, pattern by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

I used 3/4 yard for the two blocks, and no new fabric was added last week, leaving me with a net usage for 2020 of a little over 100 yards. My goal every year is to use more than I add, and I am extremely pleased with my final numbers for last year. I don't have any usage or additions to report for the first two days of 2021. 

2020 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                               .75 yards

Used year to date:                    188.125 yards

Added last week:                             0.0 yards

Added year to date:                        86.0 yards

Net used year to date           102.125 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. The combination of retiring in mid-June plus spending 99% of my time at home because of the pandemic made it possible for me to consistently get in some quilting time every day. The last time I missed a day was at the end of May. I wonder if I can get 100% next year? So far I am 2 for 2.

15 Minute Challenge for 2020: 

12/27 - 12/31             5 of 5 days

2020 Total            357 of 366 days

15 Minute Challenge for 2021: 

1/1 - 1/2                   2 of 2 days

2021 Total                 2 of 2 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Rainbow Saturday--Week 1, 2021

Starting a new quilt project is one of my favorite things to do. It's too bad that I'm not so good at finishing them! The beginning of the new year means it's time to start some new quilts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC). For those who aren't familiar with the RSC, we are assigned a different color each month by our hostess Angela. Each participant can make whatever they wish, but the goal is to feature our scraps in the monthly color.

It's always difficult for me to decide which new RSC projects to start and how many to make There are far too many wonderful ideas and inspirations everywhere I look. It would be easy to try to do a dozen new RSC quilts, but that would make it impossible to get anything else done. I have to keep it to a "reasonable" number, but I haven't decided exactly what that number is yet!

This week's new project for the RSC 2021 is "Scrap Magnet," a pattern by Kirsty of Bonjour Quilts. Our color for January is pink, and I made two different pink Scrap Magnet blocks. My plan is to make two blocks per month through October, 20 blocks total. 

These blocks were not difficult to make, although I did have to be careful about precision so the seams would all match up at the intersections. I will be using the same grey and white background fabrics on all of the blocks.

Here is the cover photo from Kirsty's pattern. I first saw her version of the quilt a year or so ago, and knew that it would be an excellent choice for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The blocks for this quilt finish at 16.5" each, and the throw quilt measures 66.5" square. I'm planning to add an extra row of blocks to make the quilt rectangular, about 66" x 83". The pattern also includes instructions for an extra-large version of the block that makes a great baby quilt.

Scrap Magnet pattern by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

I am linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I hope you are all staying well and getting lots of quilting done!

Julie in GA