Pages

Friday, July 31, 2015

Green Leftovers, Lottos, Bits, Bindings




40 x 60
Donation quilt
Made of leftover blocks (from swaps) , lotto blocks (some past winnings from Sunshine Online Quilt Guild),  and other bits and pieces. 

The batting was pieced, the binding was made from bits and pieces of leftover bindings.  It's a totally scrappy quilt from the inside out. 



I quilted it with spirals on my plain Jane DSM. 

After a spin in the washer and dryer it will go into a box and when the box is full it will be off to either Quilts Beyond Borders or Wrap-A-Smile

Speaking of Quilts Beyond Borders...
See that Crumb Bear Paw block at top? It is a leftover from...
...this green Bear Paw crumb quilt I sent to Quilts Beyond Borders ...

(photo by Ann D of Sunshine Online Quilt Guild and Quilts Beyond Borders)

...and then ended up going on a journey to an orphanage in Ethiopia..


(photo by Ann D of Sunshine Online Quilt Guild and Quilts Beyond Borders)

...and now belongs to this beautiful little girl.  

My heart always aches for kids without anything...even parents. 

And since it is the end of the month I will link up soon with Julie K's Binding Blitz. 

Today:
I am going to Whoop, Whoop it up over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Sunday: 



Monday, July 27, 2015

What's Outside Your Attic Windows???


Attic Windows
57 x 67
For my grandson, Jacob, for Christmas
Hey, it's actually a quilt I started and finished all in the same year! So, darn it...nothing gets crossed off the UFO list.  But I guess the point is to NOT have a UFO list.  


Some of the window fabrics are scraps from other projects and some are remnants I have picked up over the years.  I had the quilt top already made and found a Spiderman fabric remnant that would have been perfect for a window.  But it was not meant to be. 



I quilted it on my plain Jane Janome DSM with straight lines here and there hoping it would not ruin the 3D effect. (There is a 3D effect, right)? 
Yes, those are eyes in the dark peeping in in the bottom row.  My grandson wanted me to make him a quilt that just had eyes on it....kind of  a "here's looking at you, kid" type of quilt.  This is as close as I have gotten to that wish so far. 


I used some alien (or monster?) flannel on the back. 

That's what is on my design clothesline (no design wall here) this fine Monday. For other design wall inspiration visit Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. 

Fulfilling some goals:



3. At the end of the month I'll link up to Julie's Binding Blitz. 


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sunday Hand Stitching - Nursery Rhymes and Alien Invaders



The blocks for row 2 of the Ruby McKim Mother Goose Quiltie. are finished  While enjoying my morning coffee I finished up Little Miss Muffet.  Martha at Q is for Quilter  releases a new block each Sunday.  There are 20 blocks total and I am caught up with all 8 that have been released.  

These will go into a baby quilt and then into a hope chest for the next generation of babies. 



Either today or later this week I'll border the blocks and add them to row 1. 


Meanwhile those aliens in the Attic Windows quilt have been sending me some signals that I need to get to work on some binding.  This will probably be a project for later in the day.  I need to wait for my grandson to go home today so he doesn't see it before Christmas. 



Saturday, July 25, 2015

Dresdens in Red


I only managed to use my red scraps in four Dresden Plates this week for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

My rules: make four each month. 
1. all in color of month
2. color of the month plus it's color complement
3. color of month plus white on black
4. color of month plus black on white
applique to a gray background
centers should be polka dots surrounded by gray rick rack. 

I have more red scraps left and may get some of them used this week before the next color change. Or I may not. Stay tuned. 


Friday, July 24, 2015

Petunias?


A Flimsy. Not a finished quilt. 
72 x 90


I used a free Anna Maria Horner pattern that she calls Spinning Stars. 
I've been calling it Petunias because...

...for some reason it reminds me of some Petunias I had on the deck last year. 



Most of the fabrics I used are left overs and scraps from...

...a Pickle Dish quilt I finished earlier in the year. 



I like how when the blocks are joined a secondary pattern of a star forms. 


I was going to machine quilt this but I think it will be difficult on my dinky little plain Jane DSM so I will probably hand quilt in the fall when it is cooler since I don't have air conditioning.  I want to emphasize those secondary stars and the octagons for sure. 


I was going to give this as a Christmas gift to one of my granddaughters but maybe next year. 

I still have some fabrics left over after both of these quilts. .  Maybe I'll make a simple 16 patch with them. 

Linking to:

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

What If...



Earlier this year I joined up to participate in a Round Robin called Cotton Robin.  All members start by making a center block no larger than 8 inches and we send it off to our lovely hostess, Julie (Floribunda Quilts), who mixes and matches and sends us a block to add the first along with further instructions as to where to send the block when the first border is added, etc.  For some further fun we don't know who belongs to the blocks we are working on nor do we know who is working on ours until the BIG REVEAL months later after all quilts have arrived back home. 

This year Julie suggested we all challenge ourselves to make our starter block in colors outside our comfort zone.  Well, actually no colors are outside my comfort zone but I don't really like lime green so I chose lime green and purple - a wild combo.  AND I also chose to make the block with some freeform letters...free form being a challenge for me. 

So, above you see my starter block..."What if..." 


Tami of Lemon Tree Tales added the first border. 


And then Sophie of Sophie Junction added the second border and what a border it is!!!  Helen (no blog) added the backing, quilted it and bound it and added a hanging sleeve.   

Don't you just love Sophie's addition of  "Thinking Lady"?  She tells more about her method and has more photos on her blog post about the Cotton Robin. 


What a bunch of talented ladies worked on my little quilt!  I took it outside for photos but it hangs in a prominent spot in my sewing dungeon.   I sometimes look almost exactly like "Thinking Lady". I'm sure she has better thoughts than I. 


The first block I received to add a border to was Sandra's (no blog). 


I added the first border to it and sent it on to Jay to add the second border. 



Kate of Kate's Quilting sent in that center block in this pic of her finished quilt. If I remember correctly she requested we stay with neutrals.  Shannon of I'm Working on a Project added the first lovely border which didn't leave me much room to stay within the finished size guidelines to add a second border.  So I added some neutral scraps and HSTs for a narrow border along with some circles in the four corners.  I sent it on to Rachel (no blog) for quilting and finishing. 


I was only supposed to quilt and finish Cathy A's (no blog) quilt with the first and second borders added by others when it came to me. However, I thought the first border needed a fix so I added some embroidery and trim and blogged about it in an earlier post.    This is how Cathy A's mini quilt looked when I sent it home to her. 

If interested you can see all of the starter blocks and the finished quilts at the Cotton Robin Big Reveal. 

I'm waiting for the next one! 

Last year I started out with a jar of chocolate. Hmmmm...what should I start with next time? 

Monday, July 20, 2015

Someone's In the Kitchen with Dinah.

Summer Kitchen
Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah. 
(Possible quilt names if I actually named my quilts). 

Wheel of Fortune quilt block from the book "History Repeated". 
These finish at a weird size like 8-3/4 or something like that. 
I'm using kitchen themed fabrics on a pale yellow background. 
I think I have figured out what I'm going to use for the sashing - some chicken scratch embroidery just like you used to see on old gingham aprons.   I have a collection of some of those aprons I'll use for inspiration. 

Sunday, July 19, 2015

No, I'm Not Airing Dirty Laundry!


I've finished the embroidery on 11 dishtowels. 
I like to keep sets of dishtowels, crocheted dishcloths and potholders on hand for Christmas, wedding, bridal shower and/or birthday gifts.  Sometimes I make fabric grocery bags to use as the gift bag. 




 


The pile of dishtowels is finished. Here are the crocheted dishcloths to go with them. Now on to make some potholders to complete the sets. 

And later on this evening I'll work on catching up on my redwork blocks for row 2 of my Mother Goose quiltie. 


Hand stitching? 

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Seeing Red


Red is the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
I've made two nine inch Vintage Butterfly (Beggar) blocks for a total of 44. I need 56.
I also made a few six inch Twinklers from 2.5 inch squares.  


I made a few 3 inch spools from 1.5 inch scraps.  (They are made the same way as the individual Vintage Butterflies. 


And also from 2.5 inch scraps - Lozenges that finish at 2 x 4.5

Got Scraps? Red ones? 
Join us each ScrapHappy Saturday and show us what you've done with them.  

Friday, July 17, 2015

Small Stuff


Two Flimsies
About 40 x 58
Made from scraps made into string blocks during the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year and this year. 
I need to piece some batting and find some backings and I'll have a couple of donation quilts. 

(I wish I would have mixed it up a little more on  the one with the polka dot border but...
it was not meant to be). 


I normally like to make BIG quilts. 
But I don't have a/c at home. So, I sweat and I work on small stuff in the summer. 


So, I'm not sure if that means I sweat the small stuff or that I sweat ON the small stuff. 

(Mind you...I'm not complaining about the lack of a/c. I love where I live out here in rural Iowa.  And my wind chimes do tell me once in a while there is a nice breeze). 

and

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Red Hots


Red is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month. 
So...I made some 8 inch Kaleidoscopes from 2.5 inch scraps...


...and then I made a few more. 


Then I made some 8 inch string blocks.  I use scrap paper from work for the foundations.  I've been making these since last year so I need to see how many I have and get busy making some donation quilts (after I tear off all that darned paper). 


Thursday, July 9, 2015

What the Heck is the RSC?


Do you know about the Rainbow Scrap Challenge - RSC for short?
Each month Angela assigns us a color, we gather up our scraps and make stuff with that color, and then each Saturday we show off what we've made at a ScrapHappy linky party. 

Now it's time for a RSC mid-year update party. 

Above you will see my Wonky Logs top - 72 x 90.   I started making logs last year with my string scraps.  Good thing I finally have enough logs because I was dangerously low on neutral strings. 

I want to finish this up for my grandnephew. 


I also started making these "Vintage Butterfly" (or Beggar's) blocks last year from 1.5 inch scraps. I have 39 blocks and want 56. I will add sashing between blocks and a single border of butterflies.  Those red blocks are ones I made last year. This month's color is also red and I have some other scraps to make a few blocks this month. 


I also started making Dresden blocks late last year. I only made a couple of them last year but this year I've been making 4 each month.  These are made from 4.5 inch scraps. 


I started making these 8 inch Kaleidoscope blocks this year from 2.5 inch scraps. 


I also started making these 6 inch Twinkler blocks last year from 2.5 inch scraps.  I have 84 of them. 


Again, another project from last year - 8 inch Depression blocks from 2.5 inch scraps. I do have a LOT of scraps in the 2.5 inch size. 


I started these Pentland Cracker blocks this year after I participated in a swap of them. I decided I would add to the swap by making some of these Crackers each month. (I do like BIG quilts). 


I'm not going to stick my 3 inch spool blocks up on the cutting-matt-covered-with-batting design wall but I've been making these for a couple of years, I think. I know I have 524 of them. I am not sure how many I need.  (I do like BIG quilts).  These little spool blocks are a good use of 1.5 inch scraps. 


I'm also not going to stick my Lozenges (aka Suppositories) on the makeshift design wall. I have over 500 of them. These also use 2.5 inch scraps and will finish at 2x4.5 inches. For a twin sized quilt I figure I need 720 of them so that's how many I will make. 

So, now I've described how I'm using my scraps. What are you doing with yours? 
If you need ideas visit the RSC Mid Year Update and go see what everyone else is doing with their scraps.  Before you know it you, too, could have a Rainbow quilt made from your scraps. 

I'm going to go Whoop, Whoop it up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and see what everyone else happens to be Whoop, Whooping about. 

And, since these are WIPs I'm going to go party over at A Quilting Reader's Garden for WIPs Be Gone.  (Actually, I'm working more on Scraps Be Gone. Maybe these are SIPs...Scraps in Progress. )


And, how can we forget Scraptastic Tuesday???