Quilting is more fun than Housework...

Happy Quilting

Monday, March 23, 2015

Final Irish Chain Twist Blocks

It is hard to believe that we are already finishing up our last blocks on Happy Quilting's Irish Chain Twist Quilt Along. It seems like we just got started!

Here are all five of my appliqued chain blocks. Rather than follow the instructions for a raw edged applique, I decided to needle turn my seed shapes. It probably took a lot more time but hand sewing is something I really enjoy.

With all the blocks finished, I am assuming this week we will be sewing up the quilt top. I searched my fabric for a backing and didn't come up with anything I liked. But I did make a trip to my favorite LQS shop today and found that fun dark pumpkin printed with green Xs. I think it will be perfect for the back - this quilt needs some color!

To see the blocks made by other quilters, you can go here. There really some fun, bright fabrics being used!

Linking up:

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Oh Scrap! : RSC15 Progress

First, I want to thank everyone for sharing their scrappy projects with Oh Scrap! each week. I really do appreciate the support. Every week the party grows and seeing all that scrappy inspiration makes my "Oh, I want to do that" list grow too!

I thought today I would share my progress on the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks with So Scrappy. The color for March is yellow.

And here are all twelve blocks finished to date. January was blue, February was pink and the sunny yellow was this month. I think these blocks will make a happy quilt when December rolls around and all the blocks are finished.

Now it is time to link up and share what scrappy projects you have worked on this week. 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!

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking up:

Patchwork Times

Freemotion by the River

RSC15

Friday, March 20, 2015

So Happy it is Finished!

I can't tell you how happy I am that I finished another of these Sunbonnet Sue quilts! I think this one is the 7th one I made using a stack of blocks passed down in the family. I only have enough blocks for one more - which will be purple and green. But right now it is just a stack of blocks and some fabric so it will not be finished any time soon!.

I decided just to do a daisy all over quilt pattern on this one. Go ahead Quilting Police and come arrest me - I quilted right over the applique and decorative stitching. This one won't be coming apart for years!

For the backing, I had purchased a blue fabric many moons ago. The year on the selvage was 2005 so it shows you how long this top has been waiting to be quilted.

Finishing up this quilt was my A Lovely Year of Finishes goal for March. A big thanks to Fiber of All Sorts and Sew Bittersweet Designs for hosting the event and keeping me focused on getting these older projects finished!

Whoot! Whoot!

Linking up:

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

A Scrap-A-Palooza Mash-Up

A little secret is I kind of pride myself on being able to judge fairly closely how many blocks I can get from a pile of scraps. And most of the time, I am pretty accurate. So I was quite surprised recently when my scraps that were supposed to yield me over 50 blocks only made about 36 blocks. Hhmmm....Not nearly enough for me to make the quilt I had planned!

After I cut the required fabric for my Irish Chain Twist Quilt Along from all of my 1930's scraps, I decided to cut the leftovers into strings and make a baby quilt. I was going to use the same technique I shared on the Scrap-A-Palooza string quilt. Now with fewer blocks, I knew I would have to come up with a different layout.

Then I remembered the layout for the Scrap-A-Palooza Ripple quilt I made. So I decided to combine the quilts and make a Scrap-A-Palooza mash up!

I used Kona Snow for the solid and decided to add a few Snow strings into the blocks.

I really like how it looks.

Because I only had 36 blocks, I just kept playing with the layout until I was able to use almost all of the blocks. I think with this layout using 12 blocks in the center, I had two extra blocks that went into my Orphan Block Suitcase. I will hopefully find a use for them at a later date.

I was even able to stretch a 1930's print I had with the use of a lavender solid for the backing. I love it when a bit of creative problem solving results in a sweet finish!

And as awkward as it can look, I do sew my string blocks as a leader/ender project. Working on your own leader/ender project? Don't forget to link up with A Quilting Chick this week.

Linking up later this week with:

My Quilt Infatuation

Monday, March 16, 2015

Appliqued Chain Blocks

I have still been working diligently each week on my blocks for Happy Quilting's Irish Chain Twist Quilt Along. This week we started working on the final block which according to Melissa's instructions is raw edged appliqued. Being a fan of needle turn applique, I decided break from the group and use that technique to make my blocks.

Of course there were some challenges I had to overcome right off the bat. First, we cut our fabrics weeks ago so my squares for this block did not contain adequate allowances for me to properly needle turn the edge. So I had to slightly adjust the template. I also have small gaps between the shapes, which I would not normally have. In looking at the final layout, this shouldn't have any negative impact on the layout.

With all of my shapes now cut, I am working on getting my blocks hand appliqued. I have two blocks done this week with three more to go for next - which will still work with the schedule Melissa has planned.

Now to try and find something interesting on TV to keep me company while I hand sew.

If you are interested in more ways to follow me, you can find me on Craftsy, Facebook, Pinterest,Bloglovin', Feedly, Instagram, Google +, or get my blog sent right to your email inbox by entering your email address on the right sidebar!

Linking up:

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Oh Scrap! : Val's Quilting Studio

Today, I am so happy to feature one of my blogging friends who always has so much fun playing with her scraps. She is an Elementary Teacher and her projects are always brimming with color, creativity and playful inspiration. Yep, I am talking about Val of Val's Quilting Studio.

Val is sharing three great scrappy projects on her blog - one of which are these hexagon blocks where she is looking for input on what color blocks to use in place of the white. So before you take a look at all the scrappy links below, hop on over to Val's blog and see what she is up to. You won't be disappointed!

Oh, and Val's dog Jackson loves scraps too! (Look at that face - isn't he handsome!)

Here are the details for linking up your projects:

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!

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!

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking up:

Patchwork Times

Freemotion by the River

Quilt Story

Blossom Heart Quilts

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Sunday Stash - Feeling Ruler Rich

I admit, I have collected a number of rulers over the years. Long ones, square ones and quite a few those specialty ones that were supposed to make my quilting easier. So I haven't really been buying too many rulers in the last few years until I found the Bloc Loc rulers.

I have been using the HST ruler for a couple of years now. I have been wanting some of the other configurations but they are spendy and always seem to be one of the things that gets deleted from my cart before I hit the "buy" button.

Well, lucky me recently won a gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop from Simply Vanella (Thanks so much!) and I decided I really didn't need any fabric and chose treat myself to some rulers!

I have been really wanting one of the Flying Geese rulers. I went with the 3" x 6" size. As soon as I received it in the mail, I pulled some solid scraps and made these cute framed geese blocks.

I also treated myself to a set of the Half-Rectangle rulers. I definitely see some scrappy stars in my future!

I always love to get fabric in the post but getting these rulers has certainly filled my head with lots of possibilities and designs. I am looking forward to putting them to good use in the coming months!

Have you tried the Bloc Loc rulers yet?

Linking up:

Molli Sparkles

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Pineapple Progress

Last December, I took a hard look at some of the things I wanted to accomplish this year. One of the items was to start working on some of the quilts on my bucket list. The first quilt up on the list is finishing a Pineapple Quilt I started in 2009.

In my last progress report, I shared the completed blocks and some layouts I was considering. Each block measures 8" and is meticulously pieced (no paper piecing). Since January, these blocks have been moving around my design wall and awaiting a final plan. This week, I committed to a layout and started testing my quilt math for all the inset triangles. I have to admit it went together perfectly!

And a finished quilt top is born!

A few of my Pendleton wool blankets were the inspiration for the colors and fabric placement..

So many tiny pieces in such a small area! With all the many seam allowances, this quilt top is surprisingly heavy. I wish I would have taken a photo of the backside - it is quite amazing to look at!

I had played with an outside pieced border to bring the colors out to the edge of the quilt but I decided I really liked the blocks just floating in the black fabric.

I will have to shop for a backing for this one. It might take a while to find something I like. I am also thinking about the quilting already. I am considering a combination of dense machine quilting in the background and some big stitch hand quilting in the blocks. It is a bucket list quilt after all so I can't make it too easy!

While this might not be a finished quilt, I am celebrating the fact I have gotten this far. I don't even want to think about how many hours I have into this quilt to date.

Linking up:

My Quilt Infatuation