Lazy Sunday

I’ve been goofing off.  I know, it’s difficult to tell since I’m retired and goof off a lot anyway.  I forgot to pick up April’s Project Linus tops to quilt the two for this month so I’ll have to get over there tomorrow to get those.  And it’s been a bit warm to pull weeds and get new mulch.  What?!  It’s only going to get warmer?  There goes that excuse …

But I did get my little Angry Birds top put together with the border on.  I have the backing ready to go and the binding cut, so there will be a UFO finish for Stashbusters this month and it’s #3 in the Numbers game so I’m on track for that, too.  That’s something.

We did see an unusual bird in our pond – a Roseate Spoonbill.  They aren’t uncommon in this area but where I usually see them is in the boggy the waste areas and ponds around golf courses.  This one might have been pushed down here by the controlled burn in a Preserve northwest of us:

We had rather large ash bits raining down on us due to the prevailing winds all that evening and maybe this guy took refuge:

He (she) didn’t stay long, but it was welcome to stay as long as it liked!

Stashbusters UFO Finish for March

I didn't do well in the Numbers Game in the Stashbusters yahoo group this month.  The numbers drawn for March were 7 and 17.  Well, I didn't have a #17 since my list only went up to 14 - and #7 was a creepy strippy that I just can't fall in love with.  I did sew it together from the cut strips, but it still doesn't strike my fancy.  I even bought a different fabric to add to it, but no inspiration there either when I got home.  Back in the bin it went ...

But I did finish quilting my low-contrast quilt top that was a UFO, so I accomplished something in the UFO Challenge for March.  That’s good for me!  This is the finished quilt:

Closeup pictures of the quilting were shown in this post.  The pattern is adapted from one called Chain Reaction in a recent Fons & Porter magazine.  The panto is called Delight.  I donated this one to Project Linus today since I am holding up one of their tops until I finish the embroidery - that could (and will) take me awhile to finish.

Friday’s February UFO Finish

This quilt was a finish from a homemade kit I had from December – only the blocks had been put together until now:

I had made up some kits for myself before my husband went in for surgery in December (it was successful) and they are coming in handy now to grab a kit and make up a quick quilt.  The Numbers Game in the Yahoo Stashbusters Group had pulled #2 and that was this kit on my list.  It was a fun finish for February!  It will go to a group called Wrap-a-Smile for children around the world who will have cleft lip/palate surgery.

I quilted using a panto called Paw Prints that were fun, too!

Easing into Scrappy - Part 2

Yesterday I described my current stash and scrap system (such as it is).  I expect it will not change all that much, but I am devising some ways of actually seeing what I have and some ideas for how to move forward.  If you didn't read it, catch that post here.

I had received some wonderful 2.5 inch squares from several members of my Sunshine On-line Quilt Guild (thank you, thank you going out to Beth, Joann and Cathy L!).  Those will be my starting point.  I know I can work with these and find some sustainable ways to work with this size leftovers from my work.

 

just some of the squares next to my sewing machine

I don’t want to make her blush, but I have found Cynthia Brunz’ website Quilting is More Fun Than Housework to be so inspirational for how to use scraps/yardage and have the quilts come out looking beautifully pulled together.  I recently went to her page for the Scrap-a-Palooza Quilt Gallery where she shows the step-by-step progress of some scrap projects and found the Zig-Zag Quilt (May 2014).  Please follow the links above to her site if you are looking for some great ideas.

Since I wasn’t sure if I had enough squares to make Cynthia’s Zig-Zags right off the bat, I switched over to this pattern that has smaller centers:

 

Pattern called Field Day

It is from the book "Seemingly Scrappy" by Rebecca Silbaugh:

I will go back and make Cynthia’s pattern after I have cut all of my own leftover binding pieces and created a special place for 2.5 inch squares.  Then I know I’ll have enough and the colorful squares will look wonderful in her design!

And this is the work in progress while I was auditioning for the big squares:

 

the blue in the background wasn't right and the yellow was too washed out

but the black with multi-color was just right!

I still have to rearrange some blocks to distribute the logs that were slightly lighter (I used everything from my stash after all) – but, I’m in love with it!  And they look way better after quilting...

Linking up to Oh Scrap!  on Sunday.  Check out what ideas others are coming up with for using their scraps (see the button on my sidebar).

Easing into Scrappy - Part 1

I have had trouble in the past with actually using my stash and scraps (yardage and small pieces) because I am so controlling.  No, I don’t mean I am an aggressive woman!  Just trying to be so matchy-matchy with fabrics and not knowing how to use bits of “this and that” has been my mental stumbling block.  Not that my quilts aren’t pretty, I just want to make more donation quilts (the need is so great) and maximize use of what I have.

I don’t have much of an organized system for scraps.  I have:

•     The Box:  this is where I throw leftovers after I finish piecing a top or quilting it.

 

      The Dream:  doing away with the box and putting pieces away in the right place the first time … lol.

•     The Bucket:  this is where I throw tail ends of bindings – all strips are 2.5 inches wide but are still ironed in half when I throw them in here.

      The Dream:  cutting these into useable 2.5 inch squares

•    The Basket:  this is where I throw pieces that are less than 2.5 inches but more that 1 inch wide.

      The Dream:  making string quilts from these, but in actuality I usually end up donating these to true scrap quilters when this gets full.

•   The Drawers:  this is the yardage, the fat quarters, the collections, the panels, the misc

      The Dream:  to make this ALL useful and make lots and lots of donation quilts for children and Veterans.

•   The What-in-the-World??  yes, it’s true I have lost control over this mess.  No, I don’t really know what-all is in there.  It is the first dumping place if I don’t walk around to get to The Box that is behind the longarm (an arduous trip of at least 6 steps)

      The Dream:  this has GOT TO GO – it’s in the way (I have said this for months years)

The saga will continue tomorrow as I  s-l-o-w-l-y  ease into the scrap thing – and yes, you'll see tomorrow that there is a method to my madness!

Continuing the Scrap Pursuit

I finished up the two tops that I was working on using scraps and fabrics from my stash today.  This is the top using bug fabrics (see this post for close-ups of the bug fabrics):

And I added the end borders and the corner pieces to finish up the monkeys top (posted about here):

These are now in the ever-growing and about to be over-whelming to-be-quilted pile.  I’m going to have to quilt next week for Project Linus (I try to do two a month for them), so I’ll get a few of these tops done then.

And this is the source for the next project on the drawing board (I think this issue was Jan/Feb 2013):

I often put post-it flags on pages of quilt magazines for projects that I want to work on in the future and literally have hundreds of pages marked.  Well, 2015 is the Year to get going on those!  So I selected this Quiltmaker magazine baby quilt – the ongoing series at the time was to take a block from a previously published quilt and enlarge it to make an easy Big Block Baby Quilt.

These are the fabrics I have pulled from my stash.  Cutting and sewing begins tomorrow … drum roll, please!

Linking up to Oh Scrap:  http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Check out what others are doing with their scraps!

Nuts About Bugs!

Wednesday’s Work in Progress is a small Trip Around the World quilt featuring bug fabrics from my stash.

ladybugs

dragonflies

butterflies

I sewed the squares together Monday night and then the rows together on Tuesday night, so I expect the borders to go on tonight and another UFO will have been created.  Looking at the photo, I might change my mind about the orange border and make it blue ... hmmm ... or maybe a thin border of both ... still thinking ... have to check the stash.

Time to get some of these UFOs on the frame and quilted up (I seem to say that a lot!).

First Finish of 2015

Another quilt using that Tropical Fish printed fabric and the Warm Wishes pattern.  I have one more to go and that fabric will finally be used up.  It’s nice and colorful, but it’s getting old!

I used a panto I hadn’t tried before called Bubbles (different sizes of circles) and I’m not sure I like how it looks on the quilt, but done and bound is always good …

 

This one qualifies as my first finish for the Stashbusters Yahoo Group.  It was No. 8 on my list and that was the first number they pulled.  Now on to squaring up that No. 35!

Busy as a Bee in the Sewing Room

I’ve been happily sewing away in the New Year.  I have vowed that 2015 will be the year that I use my fabric stash and scraps to make interesting quilts for children.

This is a low-contrast top I made on New Year’s Day from fabric I’ve had for several years.  The two colorways of the floral fabric look brighter in person and I like the design called Chain Reaction from a recent Fons and Porter Magazine.

I  joined the Stashbusters Yahoo Group for more incentive to dig into that stash of mine.  My first step was to officially join their 2015 UFO Challenge … and I actually dug out a few of those UFOs and counted them and sent in my entry.  Wahoo!  That’s progress already because I know now that I have too many UFOs (well, you would have thought I’d have known that before now, wouldn’t you?).  But now they are organized and readily available for me to sew them up.  And I joined the Numbers Game whereby they draw numbers and you work on that number from your list should you choose to do so.

The first numbers drawn were 8 and 35.  My #8 was a homemade kit for a kid-size Warm Wishes design using fabric printed with tropical fish.  It was in pieces before and I sewed up the top today:

And my #35 was strips that I had cut to make Mary Johnson’s Quick Strippie.  She says it is her favorite quick donation quilt and it really is so easy that I can’t imagine why mine is still a UFO.  Anyway, I sewed the strips all together today to make this quilt top (it’s actually straight, but I didn’t take the time to straighten it out on the rug):

 

The star print and the checkerboard are actually a dark Hunter green

I have desperately wanted to get rid of that checkered fabric that makes me dizzy looking at it – what was I thinking when I bought it?!!  They have to be quilted and bound before they are considered finishes for the UFO Challenge, so I have some work to do.

I also have a new button on my sidebar, Oh Scrap, that links to a blog that will have linky parties beginning on Jan 4^th where people will share their creative ideas.    Cynthia Brunz sponsors the linkies and has a blog titled “Quilting is More Fun Than Housework” (you had me at the title, Cynthia!), also with numerous ideas for how to use those scraps.

So 2015 should be great fun in the Sewing Room!