Building Fences

November at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge means it is time to start assembling those piles of blocks into quilt tops. This week I pulled out the many little (3" finished size) Rail Fence blocks that I started making early in 2022. Before I could start joining them together, I needed to plan my layout, which I did with the help of EQ7.

I've started by joining the blocks together into groups of 4. The tricky part was figuring out which colors needed to go together into each group. Here's one of my first 4-block segments.

I joined groups of all of the color combinations, then tried them out on the design wall. This would be half of the total blocks in the quilt, so I still have plenty more blocks to stitch together. Actually, I've figured out that I need to make a few more blocks in some of the colors. Time to pull out those scraps again!

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. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 11/5/2023

I've been feeling a little lost as far as my quilting projects lately. After the push to finish projects for the guild Christmas market, I've struggled to figure out what to work on next. The first thing I should be doing is cleaning up the sewing room, but instead I've been bouncing around between a few different projects, but accomplishing very little.

Speaking of the Christmas market, it has been happening all weekend at the Coweta County, GA fairgrounds. I helped with the set-up on Thursday, and we have a fantastic mix of different products for sale. This is just one part of the display.

I missed filing a stash report last week, so my numbers cover the past two weeks. In that time, I used 1.25 yards for the blocks made from shirting samples, shared in Monday's post. I also used 1.375 yards for the two placemats shared in yesterday's post. There was no new fabric added to the stash over the past two weeks.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last two weeks:                2.625 yards

Used year to date:                  116.75 yards

Added last two weeks:                  0.0 yards

Added year to date:                92.375 yards

Net used in 2023:               24.375 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. Despite my problems with figuring out my next quilting project, I did get at least 15 minute of quilting time every day over the last two weeks.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

10/22 - 11/4          14 of 14 days

2023 Total          296 of 308 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

Table Scraps Challenge and RSC

Our November assignment for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge is to begin assembly of our projects. I have two complete sets of rainbow blocks ready to be turned into quilt tops, but I need to figure out my sashing and border fabrics for one set, plus come up with a layout plan for the others, before I can start sewing blocks together.

Our color of the month for October was light neutrals, and I did manage to make another scrappy placemat for the 2023 ABC Table Scraps Challenge at The Joyful Quilter, although I didn't finish it in time for the link-up. My scrappy beige strips were too boring alone, so I added random bits of blue for some interest.

The back and binding are a very old beige and light blue swirly print. 

After that was finished, I pulled out a stack of little squares that had been hiding in my box of orphan blocks. The fall colors seemed like the perfect project this week. I used them to make 24 little bowtie blocks that each finish at 3". They were all joined together into another placemat, which was finished off with the beautiful leafy batik for the backing.

Both of these placemats will be donated to Meals on Wheels through our quilt guild. I will have quite a stack of them to turn in at our next meeting!

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. I'm also linking up with the ABC Table Scraps Challenge at The Joyful Quilter.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Shirting Sample Fabrics

Last week seemed especially unproductive in the quilting room, after multiple weeks of pushing to finish projects for the guild Christmas market. I spent some time cleaning up a bit and struggled to figure out what project to work on next.

My clean-up efforts revealed some treasures that inspired me to try out some new ideas. Check out all of these beautiful fabrics. (Note: click on any of the photos to get a closer look.)

The pieces shown are all shirting fabrics from a sample book purchased in an antique mall. I've had them for at least 20 years, maybe closer to 25. Unfortunately, I don't have any idea of when the fabrics were made. I'm guessing they might be from the 1950's at the latest, maybe even earlier. Can't you imagine someone in a tailor's shop choosing which fabrics to use for his new shirts?

The fabrics in the sample book shown above each measure 7.75" x 21", and there are about 60 pieces in that book. I also have three smaller sample books, with 45 - 50 pieces per book that measure about 5.25" x 15" each. By my calculations, that comes to a total of close to 15 yards of fabric!

The question is what to make with these beautiful fabrics. I decided it was time to stop debating and just give it a try. My first attempt was Uneven 9-Patch blocks, aka Puss in the Corner.

I like the simplicity of the blocks with these fabrics, but wonder if there needs to be more contrast. Everything sort of mushes together. Maybe I should add some solids? I pulled some out to audition with the blocks.

After choosing the solid options, I made a couple of star blocks with solid backgrounds. The darker blue seems much too dark with all of the softer colors, but I like the lighter blue.

I ended up making some more blue blocks, then packed everything back into the bin for now. The blocks seem okay to me, but I was hoping for something that got me really excited rather than just okay. I'll wait for some new inspiration, then try again another day.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and at Monday Musings at Songbird Designs. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/22/2023

It has been a very busy week in my sewing room. Most of the action was finishing up the last projects for the guild Christmas market, but I also spent some time on other projects. One of the others was this block, which is part of the National Quilt Museum's block of the month. This block pattern is called Spinning Stripes. Making this block used 1/2 yard of fabric.

The other project that hasn't already been featured in a blog post was a set of Christmas placemats for Meals on Wheels. There are four of them, all the same. The fronts were a panel that I was given, and I used 1-1/8 yards from my stash for the backings and bindings. If these look familiar, it's because I made another set with the same design back in August.

The total stash usage for the week came to 5.75 yards. Besides the items shown above, there was 1.75 yards used for a tablerunner, plus 1.5 yards on a set of four wallets (all shared HERE,) and 7/8 yard for two sets of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, shared in yesterday's post. No new fabric was added to the stash.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                         5.75 yards

Used year to date:                114.125 yards

Added last week:                         0.0 yards

Added year to date:                92.375 yards

Net used in 2023:                 21.75 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 definitely got more than 15 minutes every day last week!

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

10/15 - 10/21            7 of 7 days

2023 Total          282 of 294 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 Neutral Blocks

We are nearing the end of October, and I finally have some new blocks to show for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. Our assigned colors for October are light neutrals, or we can catch up on blocks from previous months. 

My set of 16-Patch Stars blocks had a total of 18 blocks already made. I decided to add one in black and grey, plus another in brown and tan to bring the total up to 20 blocks.

After finishing those, it was quick work to get all 20 blocks stitched together. This quilt top measures 48.5" x 60.5".

Once that was finished, I moved on to my Jabberwocky blocks. I decided to make a few neutral blocks for this set too. I ended up with two in black and grey, plus one in brown and tan. 

Jabberwocky, blocks finish at 10.25"

pattern by Judy Martin in The Block Book

The next step for the Jabberwocky quilt will be to choose a sashing/border fabric. The blocks will look better with a little separation between them, but it needs to be something that won't distract from the piecing. Time to see what I have in the stash!

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. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Christmas Market Contributions

Thursday was the monthly meeting for the Common Threads Quilt Guild, and it was also the last meeting before the guild participates in the annual Christmas market. I finished up the rest of my projects just in time.

I made four more of the Diva Wallets, to go along with the others I'd done back in August (see the first group HERE.) My favorite part of these new wallets was using the ombre fabrics on the inside of them.

My other finish for the market was this border-stripe tablerunner. The fabric was one of the prizes I won at last month's guild auction. The finished size is 18" x 46". I also have a second runner cut out from the same fabric--maybe that will get done for next year's market.

For anyone who will be around the Atlanta area on the first weekend of November, you should check out the 2023 Christmas Arts & Crafts Market at the Coweta County Fairgrounds. There will be many wonderful treasures!

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/15/2023

Our quilt guild has a meeting next week, which will be the last chance to turn in items for the annual Christmas market. I've been working on finishing up this set of placemats made from some very old Jinny Beyer prints.

 

I repeated a couple of the same fabrics on the backs. They are quilted very simply in the ditch, and I turned the backings to the front for binding.

The placemats used 2 yards of fabric from my stash. I also used 1.5 yards for the Daytripper II purse that I shared HERE. No new fabric was added to the stash this week.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                           3.5 yards

Used year to date:                108.375 yards

Added last week:                         0.0 yards

Added year to date:                92.375 yards

Net used in 2023:                   16.0 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. My push to finish up projects for the guild market meant I definitely got more than 15 minutes every day last week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

10/8 - 10/14              7 of 7 days

2023 Total          275 of 287 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

Another Bag (This Time for Me!)

After spending much of the month of August making all sorts of bags and wallets to be sold at our guild's Christmas market (see them HERE and HERE), it was finally time to make one for myself. I had been needing a new purse, and I purchased the pattern for the Daytripper 2.0 Crossbody Case in April at the Paducah quilt show.

My first read-through of the pattern left me rather confused, but I had heard from others that the ByAnnie patterns were easy to follow. Once I started working through the pattern step by step, it all went very smoothly. I made one change, making mine a little narrower than the size in the pattern. Here is my version of the Daytripper 2.0 bag.

The front of the bag has a nice deep pocket that runs the full width of the bag.

The other side of the bag is plain and shows off the Jinny Beyer border print beautifully.

For the inside I used one of my favorite blender prints, Bedrock, in grey. There is one pocket on the inside, the perfect size for a cell phone.

I've been using my new bag almost constantly since I finished it last month, including during a recent trip, and I am very happy with it. I would definitely recommend this pattern, and I look forward to trying some of the other ByAnnie patterns in the future.

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/8/2023

I've been cutting and stitching every chance I get over the last week as I attempt to finish more projects for the quilt guild's upcoming Christmas market. The latest project to be finished was three more sets of Little Duffle pouches featuring nearby college teams. Making these used 3 yards from the stash.

Pattern is "A Little Duffle Do It" by Karen West

of For the Love of Fabric

There was some fabric added to the stash too. I bought a piece of wide backing fabric to use for my Blooming Onion quilt top. Since it is a wide back, I'm counting it as 5.5 yards added.

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                           3.0 yards

Used year to date:                104.875 yards

Added last week:                         5.5 yards

Added year to date:                92.375 yards

Net used in 2023:                   12.5 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. We are still dealing with the late stages of our kitchen renovation, but I managed to find time every day to do some cutting and/or stitching.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

10/1 - 10/7               7 of 7 days

2023 Total          268 of 280 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