Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Quiltopia 2018

I am just popping  in between a long list of preparation tasks to let those of you who will be in the Salem Oregon area this weekend, that I will be the featured speaker at the Quiltopia Quilt Show.
(located at the Willamette Heritage Center)


My presentation will be on using scraps in your quilting.
A topic near and dear to my heart!



I will have lots of my scrap quilts there to share as examples and discussing scrap storage, my design  inspiration and thought processes. 
 I hope to inspire every one to get out their scraps!



And if you can't make it to the presentation but are going to the quilt show, stop by my booth and say hello.  I think I will be right next to the elevator.
Hope to see you there!

Now...back to my chores!




Sunday, October 28, 2018

Oh Scrap! : My Trip to Crazy Town

I am beginning to think I have taken a trip to Crazy Town.
...and I like it!



Last Sunday I shared some scrap blocks I was making.  I simply framed some low volume slabs with various shades of grays from my scrap bins.

Well, all this week I have been working on the next step.




After a lot of cutting and a whole bunch of sewing, I am finishing up some 12" postage stamp blocks.  After a couple blocks, I began to think this was the craziest idea I have had to date. 



But I kept cutting and sewing and after a total of eight blocks, I can finally see the quilt that is emerging.  And I have to admit, I like what I am seeing!




I am just working on one block at a time, trying not to worry too much about where this quilt or the colors are leading.  I have no doubt I will most likely sew myself into a mess that I will have to problem solve my way out of - I just try not to think about that!

I lay a block out on one of my design boards and start sewing!



 So far, I have cut from my red, pink and orange scrap bins - purging out those small pieces first.  I wish I could say I was seeing a huge dent in the amount of scraps in these bins, but we all know that is not how scraps work!  :)



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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














Linking Up:



Friday, October 26, 2018

Another Log Cabin Finish

I have finished my second log cabin quilt made from some homespun fabrics I picked up months ago.  This time I used the fabrics in rusty red and tans.



My last log cabin finish was made with a traditional log cabin block.  This time, I went with a courthouse steps variation.



I wanted the look of a vertical strand of beads so I actually made my blocks a rectangular shape and left off the top and bottom strip. 



This small change gave the quilt a whole new look.  
If I had added those last two strips, the columns would have touched.



I recently picked up this wonderful plaid for the backing.  It is hard to see but for the quilting I went with vertical squiggly lines and some opposing loops for the columns of plaids.




 So now I have gotten log cabins out of my system and I am ready to move on.  The rest of the plaids went into my scraps bins so you will start to see them in future scrap quilts.  I enjoyed my time spent making log cabin blocks.  They are fast and easy to sew....my kind of sewing!

A big thanks to Julie for hosting the Log Cabin Loonies event which inspired my quilts.
It has been such fun to see all the log cabin variations!




Linking Up:

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

I am One Lucky Girl!

I haven't had a chance to share what showed up in my mailbox last week.  
As you can see, I am one lucky girl!



I was one of the lucky Bloggers Quilt Festival winners.  (Hosted by Amy Ellis).  Moda Fabrics sponsored this prize and you can see they were quite generous!  The fat quarter bundles is the Twilight collection by fabric designer One Canoe Two.  The fabrics are beautiful!

I am going to have a hard time opening this one up!

A big thanks to Amy and Moda Fabics!!





This post contains affiliate links.  I appreciate the support!

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Oh Scrap! : Cleaning up the Small Bits

Every once in a great while, I get to the point where I have to deal with the small bits that are floating around in my scrap bins.  



The bin that first got my attention was the big tub that holds all of my low volume scraps. I decided to sort out pretty much every piece that I could not cut a 2.5" square from.




As I was sorting all these scraps, I decided to also deal with a pile of solid grays that have been sitting on the corner of my cutting table.  They are all different shades and I decided I would somehow incorporate them into this project too.




I thought I would first sew up the low volume bits and square them up to 5".




Then I took the time to sort the various shades of grays and cut some strips to create frames around the sewn slabs.




It felt nice to know I was using up these small "crumbs" so I continued to pull these bits out of my color bins too.  I have been slowly purging and cutting pieces at 1.5" square.  While I don't have a firm plan yet, I do have a hint of an idea as to how I am going to sew all these together.  But I am going to make you wait until I get a block or two sewn before I share the next step.

For now, I will be slowly cutting up tiny scraps.....I know these aren't tiny in some people's quilting but I rarely deal with bits smaller than 2.5" squares.  So this seems a bit ridiculous to me!  :)

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





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





Linking Up:


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