Love at First Sight - A Hand Quilted Finish

 Love at First Sight

74 x 82

A Log Cabin quilt inspired by a c. 1890 quilt. 

Details on the vintage inspiration, how my quilt got it's name, the size of pieces and blocks can be found on my October 30, 2019 blog post. 

Hand quilted with big stitching using red, black and white perle #12. I stitched down the center of each 1/2 inch log cabin strip and stitched Xs in the white patches of the center little nine patches. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Pondering Someone Else's Scraps

 I really enjoy sewing with scraps. It makes no difference if they are mine or someone else's. 

When I saw Alycia was giving away some 30s scraps I entered my name in the drawing and my name was pulled.  Lucky me! Said scraps recently arrived and I decided I should dig into them right away instead of put them on a shelf somewhere. 

 Most of the scraps look like that piece on the left.  If there is 2.5 inch in width I have been trimming them to 2.5 inches like the pieces on the right. 

Then I've been sewing them into 9 Patches. 

The remaining piece of the scraps are almost all the same size of wedge so I'm thinking I may use those and maybe that yellow solid to make some Half Rectangle Triangles (HRTs).  Or maybe not.  Not sure where it's all headed yet.  This is another one of those projects I work on for 15-20 minutes or so a day. I just can't seem to concentrate on one quilt at a time. 

Pondering a UFO: Blind Man's Fancy Tea in the Rose Garden

 I started Blind Man's Fancy Tea in the Rose Garden in May 2017.  I used an online pattern to make these 15 inch blocks.   It wasn't until August 2019 that I completed all 25 blocks.   I think the reason I took so long to complete the set of blocks is because there are lots of pieces- some very small and some that required odd sizes of cuts like 1-13/16.  It's not like I didn't know what I was in for when I started making this quilt because I have already completed one with hand quilting made in civil war reproduction fabrics.  I think the work is worth it; however, sometimes I just am not in the mood to do the work.  So that's part of the reason this continues to be a UFO. 

After I completed the set of 25 blocks back in August 2019 I was not in a mood to make the Flying Geese sashing so I stuck it in a project box and tucked it away on a shelf.  Each month I try to move at least one old UFOs forward so look at my list and choose one.  So that's where  I am now. 

The Flying Geese are small and finish at 1.25 x 2.5. Each sashing strip is made up of 12 of those little Flying Geese.  If my math is correct I then need a total of 792 Flying Geese. That seems like an overwhelming task so I started thinking of what I need in terms of sashing strips. So, I need 66 sashing strips. That's better. That doesn't seem like it's as much work. I can handle that. 

 I prefer to cut Flying Geese with the Companion and Easy Angle rulers but for some reason when I tried this method they didn't turn out the right size. So I decided to follow the instructions and use quarter and half square triangles to make them...

3.75 inch squares cut twice on the diagonal for the FG body and 2-1/8 squares cut once on the diagonal for the FG wings.  That's tedious and boring work and seems slower than cutting with the Easy and Companion Angle rulers but, like I said, I do want to move this UFO forward and not put it back on the shelf so I'm willing to do what needs to be done.   So I work on it every day for at least 15-20 minutes.  That includes cutting pieces, sewing, ironing and trimming. I start my sewing day with this task. Just 15-20 minutes and I can move on to something else. Sometimes I move on to another 15-20 minute task which may be but isn't necessarily even sewing related. 

When I have a little basket full of Flying Geese I trim them in the evening while watching whatever my husband decides to watch on TV. A few minutes here and there all adds up. I hope to have my sashings all made in no time. I have just had an attitude adjustment. I can do this. I think I'm already an eleventh of the way there! 

Wagon Wheel Flimsy

 It's a flimsy!

Wagon Wheels

in 30s reproduction fabrics and solids scraps.

 My OMG (One Monthly Goal) for January was to complete 24 more blocks so I would have a total of 63. 

I met my OMG and then went ahead and assembled the top with my 63 blocks. 

Moving old UFOs forward one little step at a time!

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Two More Finishes!!

 I had a little quilting marathon this week. 

These two are the last two finishes for this month I think. 

I have a LOT of UFOs so my goal is to try and quilt 6 quilts per month. I've already quilted 6 for this month so these two will go toward my February count of 6 finishes. 

These are donation quilts. 

 Backs.

Broken Wheel

40 x 60

 This is an orphan block quilt. The Broken Wheel blocks are leftover from a quilt I finished in July 2016.   I participated in a couple of birthday clubs and for my birthday requested twelve inch Broken Wheel blocks in makers choice of colors. (A "birthday club" is a group of ladies who makes blocks for each other as requested and sends them off to the birthday girl in her birthday month. )

 The sashing pieces and binding came from quilt back trimmings. 

 The four patches came in a box of quilty goodness from a friend. 

 The same friend sent what I used for the backing.  I quilted it on my DSM with horizontal and vertical serpentine stitch. 

 Strings and four patches in secondary colors.

40 x 57

 I used paper as the foundation for the string blocks. Blocks measure 8.5 inches finished. 

 Border is made of  three 1.5 inch strips of scraps. 

Backing and binding is this old piece of gingham I've had around here for ages. 

I quilted it on my DSM with loops and squiggles. 

And now I can cross two more off that long list of UFOs!! Woooohoo! Celebrate! celebrate! Dance to the music (of the sewing machine)!

Another Red, White, Blue Finish!

 It's a Finish!

It is made of red, white and blue orphan blocks

60 x 78

 Those Star blocks with a square in a square in the center are left over from a Quilt of Valor quilt I finished in July 2013.  The Star blocks are much older than that and were from a swap years before the 2013 finish. I sent the quilt to Alycia and a year later in 2014 saw a veteran wrapped in the quilt in one of her blog posts.   So, anyway, those Stars have been around a long time and I'm glad I finally found a good use for them.   The other Stars are some I made for a swap but decided not to send these particular Stars in because I figured out after they were made that I used sateen for the white and wasn't sure that fit the requirements of the swap.   I've also made several Happy Block quilts with patriotic fabrics and had some ten inch blocks left over that I threw in the orphan block box.  

 I filled in with a variety of other red, white and blue orphan blocks in different sizes. 

I quilted it with spirals on my DSM. I used natural colored thread on top and navy in the bobbin on that dark backing. 

This will be donated locally - probably to Humility Homes and Services

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished!

 It's a finish!

70 x 78

I made this one to use a lot of red, white and blue strings.

  Inspiration came from a quilt magazine as I blogged in my December 16 post. 

 The magazine instructions called for 5 inch finished HSTs but I made mine 4 inch finished so I could use scraps from the 4.5 inch scrap bin.   

 I used paper as the foundation for the eight inch string blocks. 

 The quilting doesn't really show up well but I quilted it on the diagonal with squiggles and loops. 

The backing and binding was yardage from a friend. 

And now it is ready for donation. 

False Positive

 It's a flimsy!

42 x 54

I started making these six inch blocks back in 2013 from 2.5 inch scraps. I made them off and on over the years as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project whenever I remembered. Looks like I usually remembered when the color of the month was green. 

I have so many sets of blocks that could be assembled into a top so sometimes it's difficult to decide which set to assemble. I'll tell you a little story about why I recently chose to assemble these particular blocks.

A month ago at my Wellness Check I decided to take a less invasive form of a screening test since the doctor has been bugging me for a couple of years to get screened and I have been putting it off. I thought the test would come back negative and that would be the end of that.  But it came back positive. Oh crap! Bum deal, if you get my drift. I had to go ahead and schedule the more invasive form of that screening test. Worry, worry. But...there was a chance I could be one of the 12% false positives. Worry, worry, wait, wait. I decided to do some mindless sewing while waiting for the follow up appointment for diagnostic testing. I saw the Plus Sign blocks. I have sometimes referred to the quilt I would make from them as The Power of Positive Thinking.  (In fact that is how it is listed on my UFO page. ) As I almost mindlessly sewed the blocks together my mantra was "I am a false positive. I am one of the 12%."   Well, I'm glad to say that is true.  It turned out all right in the end and I'm glad that is all behind me, if you get my drift. 

Finished!

 Patriotic Happy Blocks

58.5  x 78

Good thing I took this picture on Friday because since then we have had snow and ice. 

 These blocks have 4 inch centers and 2 inch sides and finish at 6.5.   A lot of these are from a long ago swap.  I belonged to an online swap group and this size of Happy Block in different themes was swapped several times a year. 

I quilted it on my DSM with vertical and horizontal straight lines. 

Backing and binding was this plaid fabric I bought several years ago when Hancock's went out of business. 

This is for a guy (Don) who used to work for my husband. My husband retired but Don still works at the same company.  My husband ran into him at the grocery store at the beginning of December and they chatted briefly. My husband suggested they meet for lunch the following week and catch up on old times.  My husband found out Don has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and his wife divorced him. Also he had to sell his house and he now lives in a small apartment and can barely afford the monthly rent because he can only work part time.  Then after lunch when Don went out to start his car it wouldn't start. My husband gave him a ride home and offered to pay for a tow truck but Don wouldn't accept the offer of any money.  My husband asked me if I'd make him a quilt.  When I asked what kind of quilt he would like my husband told me he's a veteran.  

Green Two Inch Scrap Edition

Little Green Houses Made of Ticky Tacky

3 inch finished

Actually these houses are made of 2 inch scraps.   I have been making these off and on since 2018 and have hundreds of them. Maybe it's time to take an actual count and decide what size quilt I want.  They are quick and easy to make. There are instructions for making the Quilting Company Home Sweet Home Bitty Block  but I don't make mine following those instructions. I use the Easy Angle and Companion Angle ruler to cut pieces for the roof instead of using "flippy corners". 

 Wonky Stars

4.5 inch finished

I've also been making these little stars off and on since 2018. I started making them to use up those little waste triangles left over from using "flippy corners" and some 2 inch scraps.  Maybe it is time to count these too.  Or maybe I'll just keep on making them. 

 Sixteen Patch

6 inch finished

These also came from the 2 inch scrap bin. I think I started making these last year. I was going to combine them with an alternate block like the Broken Dishes blocks I've been making from 3.5 inch scraps but then changed my mind and decided to make a large quilt with just Sixteen Patches. 

Single Wedding Ring

7.5 inch finished

I started these blocks last year as another way to use 2 inch scraps. I haven't taken count of these either but I want to make a big quilt from these so I will continue to make these as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project again this year. 

And that's it for the blocks I'm making from 2 inch scraps this year. 

 I sort most scraps by size and have 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 inch scrap bins.  I've been working out of them for years and this year I hope to empty them all.  So when I finish making blocks each month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color I have been cutting anything left in that color into squares. If there is not enough for a square I sew it into a strip to be used later on in a Chinese Coin quilt. 

Then next year if I need to make any blocks to finish any RSC project I will cut from my scrap chunks. I keep those all together regardless of size or color in a milk crate. 

So this 16 quart (why don't they just say 4 gallon?) bin of 2 inch scraps is what I hope will be empty by year end. 

And speaking of scrap chunks....

Double X Variation and Snowballs

4 inch finished

...I've been making these blocks since last year from scrap chunks because they require different sized pieces -- 2.5 and 1.5.   I always cut the pieces for these before any other RSC blocks so I can throw the remainder of the 1.5 and 2.5 inch strips into the appropriate scrap bin so those scraps are immediately available for use when I make my blocks that use 1.5 and 2.5 inch scraps. 

These Double X and Snowball blocks were inspired by a c. 1860 quilt.   

I only had that mint green piece of yardage in my stash to use for background so I guess I will make blocks until that piece of yardage is used up. 

Now I've made all my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for the month and will patiently await next month's color. In the meantime I will work on assembling a top (or two) made from RSC blocks. Or maybe I'll work on quilting a top (or two) made from RSC blocks. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday