Friday, June 23, 2017

More CiL Love

I am still working away on all of the blocks for Covered in Love that have been sent in. 
So much generosity!



For quilt # 6, I grouped the colors in a plus layout, with red as the focus in the center.  I still have not had to repeat any designs!


For the quilting, I did some big easy loops.  On the back, I used some dotted leftover backing fabric from previous quilts and added a strip of floral for a fun detail.


 And I just finished piecing up quilt top #7.  It shouldn't surprise anyone that I used some blocks to create a colorwash effect.  I hope to get this one quilted up this weekend.  The backing will be a series of horizontal strips of leftover fabrics also going from light to dark.

I think this one is my favorite so far!

There are two more quilts up on my design wall just waiting to be sewn up for a total of NINE quilts made from these blocks.  

Thanks you, Thank you, Thank you!




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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

More Sewcial Bee Sampler Blocks

As I watch others working on their 4" - 6" quilt along blocks - I am so glad I chose the nice big 12.5" blocks in the Sewcial Bee Sampler (hosted by Maureen Cracknell and Sharon Holland).

I am always tempted to start something smaller but I really do enjoy a slightly larger scale!




There are 25 blocks in the series and this one is block #19.  It was a lot of HSTs but when it was finished, it quickly became one of my favorite blocks.

I also finished block #20.  It was a hard one to capture the real colors in this one.  When I go to set the blocks, I may change the outer frame to something darker so I don't lose it in the sashing.



Here is another photo to show that the darks in the chain block are actually two different fabric. 
Only five more weeks and I get to start sewing this one together!


I have also been playing with my #junequiltqal and making some final decisions on my background fabric and cornerstones.  I hope to share my plans soon!






Linking Up:

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Sunday, June 18, 2017

Oh Scrap! : QAL Strip Sets

I love sewing up scrappy strip sets!
You can sew super fast and they go together so quickly!




This weekend I completed all 36 strip sets I need for the quilt along that crazy mom quilts is hosting.  I made mine slightly larger - they measure 6 x 12.  A lot of my strips are on the wide side and I didn't want to trim them down (which I felt would be necessary if I went with a smaller 4 x 8 rectangle).

I always find these dark fabrics are hard to use so I jumped at the chance with this quilt.
I think it will turn out pretty cool!



All that sewing on Saturday leaves me to play outside on Sunday.  Thought I would share a few photos I took during a quick cruise through my gardens.

A few of my birdhouses (which usually have some residents but so far none this year.)



One of my shade gardens.  These gardens mostly bloom in March but I love how lush and green they are all summer long. A soft mossy pathway meanders through them.  You can just see it in the lower right.  I love walking along it barefooted on hot days.



 You never know who you will meet along the way.



On the other extreme, I also have a fairly big sedum/succulent garden.  This one blooms usually all summer long.



But I am most excited right now about my edible gardens - my blueberry bushes are packed this year.  Any day now, I will be munching on these lovelies!

My perennial english gardens are just getting ready to put on their show.  Maybe I will share some photos of them later.  With over 30 varieties of daylilies and lots of lavender, it smells amazing!


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It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!

Quilting is more fun than Housework
<a href="http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XTyeCeIcFJ8/VJSHulTzvkI/AAAAAAAAGCc/O_OPzksuV2s/s1600/Oh%2BScrap%2BButton.jpg" alt="Quilting is more fun than Housework" width="125" height="125" /></a>

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!





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Linking Up:

Love Laugh Quilt (Monday Making)
Small Quilts and Doll Quilts (Design Wall Monday)
Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
Last chance to take advantage of Craftsy's Supplies Sale this weekend.
Check your thread and solids stash!

Craftsy

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Friday, June 16, 2017

More CiL Finishes

Not one...two...but three finishes to share today!

As I work through the donation blocks I have been receiving for Covered in Love, I have been trying to come up with unique layouts for all the quilts.  As I get each package of blocks, I write how many blocks are in the envelope.  So another challenge I have given myself is to grab enough packages that contain about 37-40 blocks (I need 35 for a quilt) and I have to come up with a layout design using only the blocks that were sent.  So far I have been able to make them all work!


This quilt was made from blocks sent from one person.  There were a few more in the package but the color combination worked out perfectly to make this horizontal row quilt.



I was able to use some leftover backing from a previous CiL quilt by adding this red orange and purple piece I had in my stash.  It worked perfectly!

I am also trying to give each one a different quilting design.  So this one was given a blocky spiral in white thread.




This one I used the colors of the blocks to create a (somewhat) balanced pattern.  

I admit, this group of blocks had me scratching my head a bit!



Kat had sent some backing for me to use so I put a fun polka dot fabric on this one.
I quilted it with big dahlia flowers.




A few people had emailed me to see if they could make some pink blocks.  Having them allowed me to play with 5 colors and use them in a vertical design.




 I used another backing from Kat - this one was a pink dotted fabric.  For the quilting I made vertical lines with triangles going in different directions.

 So that is five quilts completed to date using these blocks.  I have one more quilt top completed and enough blocks for two - maybe three - more.  If you have blocks to send, please send them off soon.  I hope to finish all these up and send them off to Kat in early July.

Thanks so much for all of you who contributed!

(You can see previous finished quilts here and here if you are interested...)





Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)
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Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Scrap Busting!

Lately, I have been spending quite a bit of time thumbing through my stash and digging though my various scrap bins.  In some way, I am looking for some inspiration for future quilts but I have also been trying to come up with some plans to attack fabrics that have been hanging around for far too long.  Over the last few weeks, I have come up with a few ideas.


First, did you see that Crazy Mom Quilts is doing a scrappy Quilt Along again?  She announced it about a week ago here.  I knew I would participate but I have been trying to decide what fabric/colors I wanted to use in my quilt.



It has been years since I dealt with my multi-colored/black scraps.  The last quilt I made was this scrappy beauty.  So rather than start with a background, like Amanda Jean suggest, I decided to start with these scraps.



From there, I chose this black and white cross hatch to use as the background.  I think this will work nicely!  I will also need one other fabric for the cornerstones but I will wait until I have a stack of strip sets sewn up before I make a decision. 

I am looking forward to this quilt - it as been a while since I have been really inspired!



To bust through even more scraps, I just received three new dies for my Accuquilt fabric cutter.  They recently had a 50% off sale so I picked up the 6.5" Tumbler, the nested Triangles and a 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle.  All of these dies can be used to make scrappy one block quilts so I will just need to choose colors and start cutting.  I hope to share something more on this soon!

BTW - If you are looking for inspiration or ideas for using your own dies, Accuquilt has a great free pattern library full of lots of quilt ideas.

Time for me to get to cutting!






Linking Up:

Freemotion by the River (Linky Tuesday)
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Sunday, June 11, 2017

Oh Scrap! : 9-patch Block Decision

Thanks to a cold and rainy weekend, I was able to spend quite a bit of time playing with my scraps.




One of the projects I worked on was to sew up my yellow 9-patch blocks for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts.  Thanks to the 2.5" squares I keep on hand, these are pretty simple to finish up each month.  So I was also able to tidy up my sewing room a bit. 




I have been contemplating for months how to use my little blocks when the final answer came to me Saturday.  As I was trying to put some fabric away, I struggled to squeeze some folded solids into their drawer and decided it was time to make some room.

I decided to just add a simple frame to all of the blocks.



Once the decision was made, I spent some time finishing all the blocks I have sewn to date.  I have so many different shades of solids that are less than a fat quarter in size and it is nearly impossible to remember where they came from.  It is definitely time to purge them a bit!

hmmm...Now I am thinking it might be fun to add a very narrow black sashing.  Guess I will leave that decision for later!  😎



******************************************


It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!
Quilting is more fun than Housework
<a href="http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XTyeCeIcFJ8/VJSHulTzvkI/AAAAAAAAGCc/O_OPzksuV2s/s1600/Oh%2BScrap%2BButton.jpg" alt="Quilting is more fun than Housework" width="125" height="125" /></a>

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!
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Thursday, June 8, 2017

Covered In Love Progress - Two More Finishes

First, I really want to thank everyone who have generously sent in blocks for the May/June block drive for Covered In Love.  The response has been so heart-warming.  I can't believe how many blocks come in almost every day!

Please forgive me if I don't respond to each of you individually.  As I am sure you can imagine, finishing up these quilts as I still meet my quilting client needs has me on my toes.
But tucked in one of the block packages was a little gift from Rhode Island that has me now working under a sugar rush!  (Thanks)

The label says it is the "Official State Drink of Rhode Island".  It also says to make milkshakes with it or pour it over ice cream, pudding or cake....Who am I to argue?!




I have two CiL finishes to share with you today.  The first is from some blocks from the drive.  I was sent a whole bunch of beautiful red blocks in one package so I was able to use them to create a fun weave pattern with the other colors.




For the quilting, I went with soft curvy lines in a white thread.



I was also sent an entire quilt top filled with scrappy goodness!
The same quilter also included more than enough yardage for the backing.  Once I got it quilted up, I remembered a binding I had cut months ago that is always the wrong color for my quilts.  It worked perfectly on this one!



I have two more quilt tops pieced - one is on my quilt frame right now.  I also have blocks up on my design wall for quilt #6 just waiting to be pieced.  And based on the overflowing box of blocks I still haven't gotten to, there are at least a couple more quilts to come.

All this generosity makes my heart sing!

(And for those tracking my US map, I forgot to take a picture so I will need to share next time.  But states are filling up quickly!)



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