Decisions, Decisions! Moving Forward!

This month's theme in my sewing room is 1930s.  Back in January 2011 I started making Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks with 1930s reproduction fabrics. I chose those fabrics because my grandmothers were farmer's wives and those fabrics remind me of them. 

The Farmer's Wife Sampler calls for 111 six inch blocks.  As I made blocks I just inserted them in the book. 

I haven't worked on this quilt for a very long time and I think I completed almost half of the 111 blocks. 

Back then I worked on the simpler blocks that did not require me to use the templates. And now all these years later I don't think I want to make any more sampler blocks but I do want to use the ones I have made.  I was thinking maybe I could use an alternate block.  And I figured if I did use an alternate block then maybe I could make a quilt with 10 blocks x 12 or 13 blocks which would be a 60 inch by 72 or 78 inch quilt. 

I do have some six inch orphan and swapped blocks I can use to supplement my Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks and so came up with 65 blocks to use with an alternate block. 

I tried a Quarter Square Triangle (QST) as the alternate block. I chose Kona Snow and Kona Spring Green to use as the fabrics and made sure I had enough of both of those before I tried some test blocks. I stocked up on those two Kona colors before I retired to use with the '30s repro fabrics. The green reminds me of the color green my paternal grandmother (of Irish ancestry) used in her quilts and the Kona Snow is a good alternative to muslin. Although I do think I have some whiter Kona than Kona Snow mixed together in the stash. I'll use whatever.  

Ok. So I guess I like the QST as an alternate block so guess I need to make a few more and move this really old UFO forward. 

And sew on...

 

One Thing Leads To Another

For several years I've sewn along with Julie and other Log Cabin Loonies to make a log cabin quilt. I decided to join in again this year and thought I would use a box of civil war reproduction scraps. 

But before I cut up all those scraps I decided to look at my UFO list to see if I had any UFOs that could benefit from those scraps. I found a box with some old Sunny Lanes swapped blocks.  The swap took place back in February 2015. 

In the box I had 15 blocks that finish at 12 inches.  I also had a little baggie of four patch blocks that I think were from a different swap. My first thought was that I would make five more blocks and with a

4  x  5 layout that would make a quilt 48 x 60 which is kind of a weird size. Most of the quilts I donate or gift for adults are closer to 60 x 80.  So...even though I didn't really feel like making 15 more blocks for a 5 x 6 layout and a quilt 60 x 72 I decided I would. 

So on breaks from quilting or top assembly I cut enough of those cw repro scraps to make 15 more Sunny Lane blocks.  

And after I had those parts cut and sewn I still had lots of scraps left so  I started cutting up those cw repro scraps to make my log cabin blocks. 

And then I sewed two rounds of logs on to my 48 log cabin centers. 

I still need to add three more rounds in order to end up with a 10 inch finished block. 

And now I have made 15 more Sunny Lane blocks, emptied a box and moved another UFO forward. 

This complete block set will now go into the big "some assembly required" box with other block sets and will be made into a top later. 

 

Playing with Clarissa

 I've been working on my Clarissa blocks for at least 20 minutes each day.  My March OMG (One Monthly Goal) was to complete at least five blocks.  I've completed eight. 

And now I have a total of 13 blocks toward my goal of 36. 

Inspired by a vintage quilt each block consists of 36 hourglasses (144 pieces cut from 1.5 inch strips). 

This will be an ongoing 20 minute a day project until I reach my goal of 36 blocks.  The 20 minutes includes cutting, trimming, ironing, and sewing. And although not always perfect ( I decided to be brave and show a photo of the back of a block) it includes twisting of the seams. 

Playing and twisting with Clarissa daily! 

So this is my March OMG finish post

and

my April OMG will be to complete 8 more blocks. 

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

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! 

Left Holding the Bag

 Left Holding the Bag

58 x 58

This is quilt #3 of 3 I recently finished for the Quilts Beyond Borders latest initiative to deliver quilts to teens and elders of the Navajo Nation in time for the cold winter weather. 

This is another real oldie that's been around as a top since 2011. It started as one of those gallon bag challenges where you exchange a bag of scraps with a partner and have a few months to add in some of your own scraps and make a lap sized quilt top. This was an online challenge with a block exchange group and I was assigned a partner that was new to the group.   She sent me a bag with mostly that blue and orange plaid, some small pieces of some stiff old lady florals and a piece of blue John Deere fabric.  My first thought was ewwww...this is definitely a challenge. 

 I had a bunch of 2.5 inch square scraps so picked through them for mostly blues and reds (because I didn't have many oranges ) to coordinate with that ewwwww plaid fabric. That plaid fabric also had a thin yellow line through it so I also added in a few yellow squares.   I also tried to add in a little love.   And then when it came time to send quilt tops back to the original bag lady I found she had left the group and disappeared and did not answer any emails.  So I was left holding (the quilt top that came out of ) the bag.  And so it goes...

I decided it was time to finish it and move it out where it can give someone a little lovin' and warmth.   

I quilted horizontal and vertical lines in serpentine stitch around the squares. The backing was a gently used and very soft sheet, And the binding was a blue that pretty closely matched the blue in that ewwwww plaid. 

This was goal #15

for

Q4 Finish-Along

The Final Chapter of an Old Mystery

 A really old mystery quilt. 

50 x 50

Ready for donation and ready to be crossed off the UFO list. 

 This was the first mystery quilt I ever made and I can't even remember when that was. It was before I made my first Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, Roll Roll Cotton Boll. 

It was before I did much in the way of free motion quilting on my DSM. 

It was before I had a fabric stash. 

I think I pin basted it three years ago.  And I could not figure out how to quilt it.  And I really wasn't sure what to do with the odd sized quilt if I ever did get it quilted. 

Now that I'm working really hard on that big UFO list I decided to just sit down at the sewing machine with it and sew. Diagonal lines at irregular intervals happened. 

This will be donated to Quilts Beyond Borders for their latest initiative to deliver quilts to Navajo teens and elders in the Navajo Nation in the US in time for the cold winter weather. 

And that's the final chapter of this old mystery. 

This was my goal #8

for

Q4 Finish-Along

Feeling Flowery

 The latest AdHoc Improv challenge is "Feeling Flowery" - make something flowery.   I have something in mind that I've wanted to make for a very long time but while I plan that out I thought I had better move along a few flowery UFOs. 

This is as far as I've gotten with this pansy quilt. I started making those six inch blocks in 2013 and stashed them away for a long time. In March of last year I combined those blocks with some squares of large print fabrics and ended up with a top 42 x 54.  Now I want to add a solid border and some broderie perse. 

 I don't have any large pieces of any one purple so I guess I'll piece together several different small and wrinkly pieces of purple I found in the stash today for a border. I just have to decide how wide. Six inches? 

 I have several scraps with large pansies I'm going to cut out for the borderie perse. I'm kind of scared to do this step and that's why this has been sitting around as a UFO. I love broderie perse but have never done it on a large scale - just a few bits and pieces here and there mostly on crazy quilt blocks.  Today I told myself anything I do will be better than leaving the darned thing laying around unfinished for several more years. 

 I think I have also found a use for these old worn out pillowcases I made long ago. There's still some good parts with flowers I can use for the borderie perse! 

 Flowery UFO #2 , Moon Garden, started out as a medallion quilt along where everyone starts with their own center block and then every month we are given instructions for a new border. I started out with moonflowers for my center. All went well with the first border but the instructions for the bow tie border were incorrect - bow ties were supposed to be made of 2 inch pieces and not 2.5 inch pieces. I modified my border to use the bow ties I made with incorrect instructions and notified quilt along hostess of the error.  After that I lost interest in the quilt along. 

So now this is a design opportunity. I can add what I want for borders. But I can never think of what to add and that is why I thought a quilt along would be nice to try out some new and different border ideas.  (Sigh). 

I had decided to make the entire quilt in black and white and call it Moon Garden and quilt it with some glow in the dark threads I've had glowing in my thread drawer for ages.  So today I dug out some black and white fabrics...

 ...and I decided the next border will be these little 4.5 inch finished flowers. I'm not sure I have enough of that black polka dot for 40 blocks but I'll use it until it runs out and go from there.  And I have an idea for the next border too.  I'm not sure how many borders there will be. I don't want a big quilt...maybe a nice throw sized one. 

Flowery  UFO #3 has been thrown in a box for awhile.  All the pieces and parts are cut and made but I ran into a problem when I went to assemble all those pieces and parts. (Boo hoo)

 Quilt is called Now and Later by Kathy Doughty. I don't think the instructions are right. I went looking for errata but found none.  I also searched for anyone else that had made this quilt so I could see if anyone else had problems with the instructions. But I couldn't find anyone else that has made it. 

The pieces don't fit together correctly.  Today I took out all the pieces and parts and measured them to make sure I cut the right sized pieces that are cut twice on the diagonal and I did.  I've appliqued all 12 tulips to the triangles and center square and I don't have much of that background fabric left but I'm going to try to figure out how to get all these parts into a top.  (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can). 

My reward for getting the three UFOS to flimsy stage will be a new start - that new flowery quilt I've been dreaming about. I've been taking lots of flower garden pics as part of the planning process. 

And Now For Some Snakes - UFO #64 - HISSS

 I just finished five Snake Trail blocks. (One is an old one from November 2015).

Getting this to flimsy stage is my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for June. 

 I finally decided on a layout for the Snakes that come in all colors of the rainbow.  I need to make 20 more blocks before I have enough to assemble the top - four each of red, yellow, orange, purple and blue.  I've been using 2.5 inch scraps for the snake and different browns (dirt) for the background. 

 My grandson who is ten now used to love to play HISSS  when he was younger.  I'm making the quilt for him and will put it in the hope chest along with the game and some pics of us playing the game. I'll gift it all to him at some later date when he's a young man.  

Pattern is from Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration by Denyse Schmidt. 

It's a Flimsy! Spider Webs

 Spider Webs

64.5 x 86

An old UFO has now moved forward to flimsy stage! 

I MIGHT be able to piece together all my remaining spider web fabrics for a backing. 

I used the Spider Web templates at Quiltville.

  I used 1.5 inch scraps. 

 When I do get to quilting it I'll quilt in some spider webs like I did on the one I made previously for my grandson. 

I feel like I need to start building an Ark.  It has rained almost every day in May.  Every once in awhile the sun comes out for a few minutes and I go for a walk through the flower gardens and catch a glimpse of some rain soaked flowers like this poor tree peony already loosing petals.  {sigh}

We are experiencing a severe thunderstorm right now. Guess I'll go sew. 

Some Assembly Required

 I now have 48 Spider Web blocks! 

An empty shoe box of 1.5 inch strips or 26 more Webs for my target of 48 was my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for May.   I made all my Webs and almost emptied the shoe box too. The remaining strips went into the bright strings box to be used in a couple of other UFOs. 

 This week's 16 blocks are on the left. The pile of previously made blocks are on the right. 

A total of 48 blocks...192 wedges...2112 pieces (if my pencil and paper math is correct).

It's about time!!! I started these webs back in October 2015 but ran out of 1.5 inch scraps a couple of times along the way.  When I decided to move this UFO forward this month I had 22 blocks and a shoe box full of 1.5 inch scraps accumulated over a few years to work with. 

Now there's some assembly required. 

Maybe I'll have a top completed for the next Wednesday Web report. Or this might be the last Wednesday Web report. Time will tell. 

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts