Strippy Baby Quilts

At the end of the this month, our quilt guild is having a group sewing day to work together making baby quilts for a local pregnancy center. I had offered to make a sample of a quilt-as-you-go style quilt to show at our most recent guild meeting, and I ended up making two. They are so quick and easy, making this a very fun, satisfying project.

Quick Strippy baby quilt, 38" x 48"

The first baby quilt was based on the Quick Strippie pattern from maryquilts.com. I cut my largest strips, the swirly print, a little smaller than her pattern, but otherwise followed her cutting instructions.

This quilt has a pretty blue polka dot flannel on the back for a cozy finish.

Quicker Strippy baby quilt, 40" x 42"

The second baby quilt features a pastel print that I've had for at least two decades. This quilt was based on Mary's Quicker Strippie pattern, although again I changed some of the strip sizes. The wide strips of the pastel print finished at 9" high, so I added a couple horizontal lines of quilting on each to hold them in place.

I used the same pastel print fabric on the back of the quilt too. It feels good to finally have found a use for that cute fabric.

Making one of these quilts was my One Monthly Goal (OMG) for January. I will be joining the One Monthly Goal link-up, hosted by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room when it opens later this month.

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

One Monthly Goal at Stories from the Sewing Room

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 1/20/2025

It has been quite awhile since I joined the Design Wall Monday posts. There has been plenty of quilting happening, but I've fallen behind with photos and blogging. It's time to rejoin the Monday link-ups!

My design wall currently contains pieces for two very different quilts. The upper part has 5" flannel squares from a kit I received at our recent guild meeting to turn into a baby quilt. The lower portion shows all the blocks completed so far for my 2025 Temperature Quilt.

The new committee head for the guild's Community Service projects discovered several precut kits for baby quilts in the guild's stash, and I agreed to take this kit and finish the quilt. The two pieces along the right side are each about a yard long. I'm thinking about using them as shown, with a small border of the light blue solid and a wider border of the dots. The remainders of those two fabrics would be combined for the quilt back. I'm hoping to end up with a quilt that measures about 35" square.

I've been doing well at keeping up with the blocks for the Temperature Quilt so far this year. They are very easy to cut and piece, and it is fun to see the color changes. I'll be adding some new colors (more purples) this week because of the colder temperatures we are getting. You can read more about this quilt and see my whole range of fabrics in this post.

Linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report & Stitching Time 1/19/2025

It has been a busy week in the sewing room, with one baby quilt and two placemats being finished in the past couple days, plus other piecing has been done. Unfortunately, I haven't been keeping up with taking photos or writing blog posts about my quilting progress. That means no usage or additions for the stash report this week. I'm hoping to get caught up next week.

One of my current projects is making placemats in an attempt to use up a stash of 3" strips and squares. This is one of them in the works, with the placemat top ready to be machine basted to the batting. After that I will trim the batting to the same size as the top, then stitch them right sides together with the backing, leaving a small opening for turning.

 

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      0.0 yards

Used year to date:                  1.0 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:                0.0 yards

Net used in 2025:                1.0 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. I still need to do a serious clean-up of the sewing room, but instead I push the mess aside and keep on piecing and quilting. Maybe next week? It's going to be unusually cold here, the perfect time to hide out in the sewing room.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

1/12 - 1/18              7 of 7 days

2025 Total            18 of 18 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 1/12/2025

It is always a treat to start fresh on the stash reports for a new year with the numbers all set back to zero. I was happy with my final numbers for 2024 (137 yards out, 117.25 in,) and I hope to do even better this year.

My first stash usage for the year includes 1/2 yard for the sashing and cornerstones on my Hollow 9-Patch quilt top, plus another 1/2 yard for  the Pygmalion placemat, my first entry in the new season of Project Quilting. No new fabric has been added to the stash yet this year.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      1.0 yards

Used year to date:                  1.0 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:                0.0 yards

Net used in 2025:                1.0 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. I cut and pieced a quick baby quilt this week (blog post coming soon,) and made the placemat for Project Quilting at the end of the week. I really need to spend some time on cleaning up the sewing room next week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

1/5 - 1/11                7 of 7 days

2025 Total            11 of 11 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Project Quilting 16.1: Mythical Creatures

Season #16 of Project Quilting, hosted by Kim at Persimon Dreams and Trish at Quilt Chicken has begun! The first challenge was announced on January 5th, and our deadline is noon CST on Sunday, January 12th.

The theme for the first challenge of the year is Mythical Creatures, and I'll admit that I struggled with it. I wasn't inspired to do anything representational like an applique design of some kind of creature. It wasn't until I was paging through Judy Martin's book Scraps, Blocks and Quilts that I discovered a block design named Pygmalion.

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved a sculpture of his ideal woman that he named Galatea. He fell in love with the statue/woman, and the goddess Venus brought his statue to life. Pygmalion is also the title of a play by George Bernard Shaw, which later inspired the musical My Fair Lady.

Pygmalion placemat

I scaled the Judy Martin block pattern down a bit and used the block at the center of a placemat. I've been playing with pink scraps lately for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I used some of those scraps for this block.

The fabric in the border is also on the back of the placemat. There weren't any pieces big enough for the whole back, and I couldn't figure out a way to match the pattern. That fabric came from a bundle I've had for many year of pieces that had been cut out to make a dress. I don't know where I got the bundle of pieces, probably a costume shop where I worked at some point.

Check out all the different projects inspired by this week's Project Quilting theme at Kim's blog, Persimon Dreams. The next Project Quilting challenge will be posted there at noon CST on Sunday, January 19th. Come join the fun!

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Hollow 9-Patch Quilt Top

My new quilts for the 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge are still undecided, but for now I am concentrating on finishing up some of the 2024 RSC projects. For the first of my Hollow 9-Patch quilt tops, I joined the blocks into groups of four, then added sashing and cornerstones in between.

Hollow 9-Patch #1

40.5" x 53.5"

The sashing fabric is a fun black-on-white print, and the cornerstones have the whole rainbow of colors in a recent favorite fabric. I considered adding a border of that fabric, but I like the finished size of this quilt top. Instead, I will probably use that rainbow fabric for the binding.

After finishing the first top, I still had a stack of Hollow 9-Patch blocks left and have been playing with possible layouts for them. This is my current favorite.

When I first put the blocks up on the wall, they didn't have any spacing between them, and that really didn't work for me. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of that version. Trust me when I say that this is better. The next step will be to find fabrics for the sashing and setting triangles, then get these blocks joined together.

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

One Monthly Goal--January 2025

The beginning of a new year is a big time for making resolutions and setting goals. I'm joining in with the One Monthly Goal link-up, hosted by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room.

It was very easy to decide on my goal this month because I had promised to make a quilt-as-you-go style baby quilt to show at our next guild meeting. We are having a community service sewing day at the end of the month, and this is one of the options to make. I've pulled out a couple groups of fabric as options for my quilt. Both photos include a flannel that would be used for the quilt back (the blue and white dots in the 1st photo, and the multi-color circles on light green in the second.)

I've made a few baby quilts in the past using this same quilt-as-you-go technique. The design is based on the Quick Strippie pattern at maryquilts.com. She also has another version that is even easier: Quicker Strippie. I recommend you check out her website for tons of free patterns, and her blog, Making Scrap Quilts from Stash,  for endless inspiration.

Here are a couple of the baby quilts I've made before based on Mary's pattern. The  QAYG variation was my way to speed up the construction even more. The pattern is extremely flexible and a great way to use novelty prints.

Rainbow Strippy baby quilt, 2015

36" x 42.5"

One Fish, Two Fish baby quilt, 2017

38" x 41.5"

I'm linking up with the One Monthly Goal party at Stories from the Sewing Room. Check it out to see what other quilters are hoping to accomplish this month! I'm also linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 1/5/2025

This week's stash report crosses over from the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025. In my case, there's nothing to report yet for stash usage or additions in 2025, so my stash report will focus on the final totals from 2024.

I've been finishing up some blocks for the guild's BOM challenge. We are using the Sewcialites 2 pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. The pattern includes instructions for three different sizes of blocks, 3", 6" & 9". I started out by making all three sizes, but that didn't last very long. Two recent additions to the collection were blocks #11 & 12 in the 9" size, using 3/8 yard of fabric.

I decided to concentrate on finishing off my set of 3" blocks. I used 5/8 yard of fabric to make blocks #11 - 24 plus an extra block of my own choice. Here are all 25 blocks together, in no particular order.

Soon I'll be working on figuring out how to turn this set of tiny little blocks into a finished quilt. Our deadline for the final reveal is March.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      1.0 yards

Used year to date:               137.0 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:           117.25 yards

Net used in 2024:            19.75 yards

My final stash numbers for 2024 fit right in with my annual goals to use, donate or give away at least 100 yards of fabric and to use more fabric than I add to the stash. Maybe I can get up to 150 yards used this year?

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. It has been a very good year for getting in my daily time, with only five days missed all year, and those days were all when we were traveling. I'm looking forward to another year of tracking my days of quilting.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

12/29 - 12/31           3 of 3 days

2024 Total         361 of 366 days

Success rate               98.6 %   

The new year has gotten off to a good start for quilting time. It's unlikely I will ever have a 100% success rate for a whole year, but I'm very happy with my total for 2024, and I hope to come close to the same this year.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

1/1 - 1/4                  4 of 4 days

2025 Total                4 of 4 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

2024 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Review

It's the first Saturday of 2025, and I haven't yet figured out a plan for my 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. Before I worry about that, I'm going to look back at my projects for the RSC in 2024. It was my 12th year of participating in the RSC, and I have to start off by thanking Angela for continuing to host the challenge every year. I am also grateful for the encouragement and inspiration every week from the other quilters who participate in the RSC.

My RSC projects for 2024 included new projects plus a couple that carried over from previous years. That combination of new and old will also continue into 2025. For this wrap-up post, I'm going to start with the projects that were new in 2024, then work back through the older ones.

In looking back at my records from last year, I was somewhat surprised to discover that I started three new RSC projects in the very first week of the year. The first was the Birthday Quilt 2024 from Laundry Basket Quilts, a block-of-the-week series of patterns. I made my blocks using the RSC colors and alternating between light and dark backgrounds. After eight months, I decided to stop making more blocks, framed all the ones that were already made, and joined them together into a small quilt top in October.

LBQ Birthday Blocks

40" x 56"

Another sampler quilt was also started that first week of 2024. This one was the Hen & Chicks sampler, designed by our RSC hostess Angela. Each month I made four 6" blocks and four matching 3" blocks. You can see how Angela joined her blocks in this post. I decided to go with a different type of setting, and got all my blocks joined together into a top before the end of the year. 

RSC 2024 Hen & Chicks Sampler

41.5" x 55.5"

The third new project that was started in the first week of the year was Hollow 9-Patch. I used 2.5" squares to make 6" blocks in the RSC color each month. These were great to have as a leader/ender project. I ended up with about 80 blocks by November, and I have been working on getting them joined together. The blocks and sashing on the left half are stitched together, and the rest are joined into columns.

The last new RSC project for 2024 was started in February. That was the "Terry" blocks, inspired by Terry Rowland's colorwash quilts, featured in her series of three YouTube videos. These scrappy little blocks will finish at 3". I have approximately 400 blocks made, and I need to go back and make some in colors I missed, plus add more to a few of the other colors. Here are all of the pink blocks from last May.

One of my 2024 RSC projects was a carry over from 2023. I had been making Rail Fence blocks all that year, and by the end of the year I had two quilt tops (see them in this post), plus an assortment of leftover blocks. I discovered that joining four blocks together made a pinwheel-type design. That led to making many more rail fence blocks, and by the end of the year I had one quilt top and one finished baby quilt.

Rail Fence Spinners #1, quilt top

42.5" x 54.5"

Rail Fence Spinners baby quilt

39.5" x 48"

I have one quilt top from 2024 that features our color of the month from July, which was the aqua/turquoise/teal family. I was inspired by a herringbone design from a Kleenex box, and used that inspiration plus a stack of blue-green fabric scraps to make a little baby quilt. I am hoping to revisit the herringbone design this year.

Herringbone quilt top, 33" x 39.5"

One RSC project from 2023 was finished in 2024. I had taken a class in June, 2023, A Maze Zing with Candace Hassen. The original pattern produced blocks that finish at 16" x 24", but I scaled mine down a bit to 13.5" x 19.5". I made blocks using the RSC colors for several months in 2023, then finished them all off as placemats toward the end of 2024.

A Maze Zing blocks (before quilting)

My plans for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2025 are still undecided, although I am determined to finish some of the many rainbow quilt tops hanging in the closet. It feels good to see that most of my 2024 RSC projects are either finished tops or very close to that point. I'll finish up the Hollow 9-Patches soon, and get back to the Terry blocks at some point. I look forward to another year of colorful, scrappy adventures!

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

30's Pinwheels--First Finish of 2025!

One of my top quilting goals for 2025 is to finish more quilts. Like many other quilters, I am much better at starting quilt projects than finishing. To tell the truth, I don't really enjoy doing the machine quilting, and I certainly can't afford to have everything I make long-armed. That has resulted in a closet full of unquilted quilt tops, and this year is the time to do something about it.

One theory I've read about ways to reduce your number of UFOs is to start with the ones that need the least work to be completed. This little quilt was an easy choice from that perspective. The top had been finished back in May, 2016, and it was quilted later that same year. I even went ahead and made the binding back then too, but for some reason, it never got bound, until now. This is 30's Pinwheels Baby Quilt #2.

30's Pinwheels Baby Quilt #2

39" square

Here's a closer look at some of the fabrics in the current finish. I wish I had more of that diagonal plaid, but it's quite old. Actually, most of my stash of 30's fabrics is at least 20 years old, with the majority of fabrics purchased between 2000 and 2005.

For a bit of style contrast, I used a fun tie-dye swirl print flannel for the backing. That's another fabric I would use again and again if I had more.

This little quilt is a companion to another baby quilt that was finished early in 2016. At the time I made enough pinwheel blocks for both quilts, one of which got finished right away and given to a new great niece (now 8 years old!) I couldn't find any photos of that first quilt finished, but here are all the blocks for it on my design wall. The plaid in the large pinwheels is the same design as the border fabric in the new quilt, but the colors are different (more pastel, pink instead of red.) 

30's Pinwheels baby quilt #1, 2016

When I was checking my box of 30's fabrics to see what I had left of the border/sashing/setting fabrics, I made an amazing find--two Ziploc bags with still more 30's pinwheel blocks. According to a note in with the blocks, there are close to 150 of them! I looked back at past blog posts and discovered that I made them as leaders and enders at various times between 2018 and 2020. What a treasure trove to discover! I am envisioning several more pinwheel baby quilts to come.

Stacks of pinwheel blocks

Linking up with:

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA