Sunday, November 27, 2016

Oh Scrap! : I am on Scrap Control

My scrap bins over-floweth!

With the end of the year looming, I have been focused on finishing as many projects as I can. Once I finish a project, all the bits in the project box get put away. 
Which means handfuls of scraps are stuffed into my color bins!

So this holiday weekend, I have been sorting, pressing and cutting up a bunch of scraps with my AccuQuilt fabric cutter.



 I store my 2.5" squares in silverware trays sorted by color.  I am mostly focused on cutting up the odd shaped and older scraps.  I am teaching my Geese Migration quilt to a number of guilds starting in January - so having a bunch of pre-cut squares to share is always nice.

The greens are done, now it is on to the blues!



Want to take a class from me?  I would love to teach my Geese Migration quilt to your local quilt store, guild or sewing group.  Right now, I am focusing on just teaching in the PNW but it never hurts to check with me if there is an interest in your area.  You will look at scraps in a whole new way!


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Time to share what you are making with your 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

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)
Patchwork Times (Design Wall Monday)
Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
QuiltStory (Fabric Tuesday)


***This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking through and making a purchase may result in me making a commission, which I really appreciate!****
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Friday, November 25, 2016

My Courthouse Finish

I have a very special finish to share today.  It is not often I make a quilt just for myself.  I tend to just make quilts...some I will keep but most I give away or sell.  This one I fell in love with from the start!




I received these solids from Craftsy.  I had contacted them to ask for a sample of their Boundless fabric line.  I wanted to know what the quality was.  I have to say, when I received them and saw their beautiful saturation, glowing colors and lovely feel, I was instantly inspired to make something special.


I had the idea to make a variation of a courthouse step block - using both the hot and cool colors in each block.  From the beginning, these blocks made me smile!




I decided to also piece in both some light and dark chains, creating  a secondary design across the quilt.  You can see in this photo, the darks are both brown and black and the lights have a cream and tan color.




 Placement of these colors within the chains creates some additional subtle designs. 



The solids just really seem to glow!




When it came time to quilt it, I wanted to continue to add small subtle details.  I really did not want to over quilt it....this one really is about color!

So eight colors of threads were used. 






Cream and black threads were used diagonally through the chains.  Then I quilted a vertical rectangle in a dark thread, a horizontal rectangle in a light thread and then a square in a medium tone.  Lots of thread changes!







I am really pleased with the simple textures in the quilting - which still allows for the colors to come through.




The quilt is a nice lap size - about 56" x 70".  Another one for my personal collection...which seems to have grown a lot this year!



If you are curious about what I used on the backing, I pulled a blue print fabric I had in my stash.  Even on quilts made from solids, I always prefer a print backing.

I don't often make quilts in just solids but I really enjoyed this process. 
I think you will be seeing more from me in the future!


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With Thanksgiving over, it is time to take advantage of those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.  Both Craftsy and Accuquilt have some great deals going on.


Accuquilt

Accuquilt has almost ALL of their fabric cutters and dies on sale.  It is a great time to add a few dies to your collection or buy yourself a little holiday gift.  I love my Studio System!





Every Craftsy class is on sale for $17.99!  That is the lowest price I have seen.


Boundless Solids Fabric by the Yard



Craftsy has their boundless solids on sale right now.  They not only have their pre-cuts marked down but you can also buy yardage.  Perfect backgrounds to have on hand for those scrappy quilts.



Another great deal I saw was on this fat quarter bundle of Robert Kaufman Quilter's linen prints.  I really like these prints for when a solid just seems a bit too "flat" for a project.  I wish they had yardage!




These are all affiliate links so clicking through and making a purchase might result in me making a commission.  This is at no additional cost to you and it helps to support my blog and compensate me for the time and materials I put into making content to share.  I appreciate the support and know that I don't recommend any items I wouldn't use myself!


Linking Up:


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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Fall Table Runner

When I saw Carole's (From my Carolina Home) Maple Leaf block tutorial, I knew I wanted to use it to make a gift for one of my sisters. She loves to decorate and I thought having a fall themed table runner for her table would be perfect. Carole posted the tutorial in early October and here it is the end of November, and I am just getting to it!




I pulled some fall themed fabrics from my stash and made some 12' blocks.  The tutorial is for 6" blocks but I just cut my squares at 4.5" for big bold leaves.




I decided to use some of the scraps and make a pieced outer border.




Hopefully it isn't too big for her dining room table.  I think it finishes out at about 18" x 54".  It probably won't be used until next year as she is someone who gets out the Christmas decoration on the day after Thanksgiving. 

I am just pleased with myself for finally getting it finished!


❤  To all of you in the states, have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. 
Hope it is filled with good food and love!   💖






Linking Up:

Sew Fresh Quilts (Bee Social)
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Sunday, November 20, 2016

Oh Scrap! : RSC16 Sampler

With the end of 2016 coming up quickly, I have one more Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt to get finished up.  All year, I have been making the RSC16 column quilt blocks in each month's assigned color.  Now it is time to settle on a layout and get this one sewn up.




I had to lay these out on one of my smaller design walls that is tucked in a corner.  This is not going to be the final layout.  I was unable to get the gray blocks up on the wall but this gives you an idea as to how all the blocks come together.  I really enjoyed making these blocks and I think it is going to be a fun quilt once it is finished.

How about, are you finding time to move some scrap projects along?  I hope you share them!


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Time to share what you are making with your 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

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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Friday, November 18, 2016

Runway Block - Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol. 14 Blog Hop



Oh Happy Day!  It is time again for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Hop.  And I am pleased to announce that not only do I have a block in this issue but my block is even on the cover!

Today is my day on the Blog Hop along with many other great designers.  The hop has been going on all week so if you haven't checked out all the other designs, grab a cuppa and get ready to be inspired!


My Runway block is #1318 and you can see it on top there on the left margin.





My block is foundation pieced - so you do need to find the pattern pieces in the center part of the issue. You need two copies of each component.





I made my block from two colorways - aqua and orange.  Yum!  I used Karen Lewis' Blueberry Park for the prints and Kona Navy and Ash for the solids.



And here it is all sewn up!



Are you curious how some blocks look together?  I made up four blocks and put them up on my design wall for you.  Here I laid out the blocks to create aqua and orange focus squares.



But you can also lay the blocks out so the colors of the geese are grouped together.



I love how the geese come together in the intersections.




I decided to sew up a small quilt with the aqua all in the center and finish it off with some fun pieced borders using up some of the leftover scraps.
I think this will make a fun mini for my sewing room wall!


I hope you have been enjoying the rest of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour.  There have been some really great blocks being shared by some amazing designers.

***This giveaway is closed and the winner has been notified. Thanks to all who entered***



 One of my readers has the opportunity to win a copy of this volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner sometime Monday November 21st.  International entries are welcome!

For even more giveaways and other opportunities to win a copy of the magazine, be sure and check out the Quilty Pleasures Blog. You can find links to all the other designers participating in the hop.  Good Luck!


Thank you Quiltmaker!








Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

My Trunk Full of Quilts


Online Quilt Trunk Show | Whims And Fancies


Last November, Soma over at Whims and Fancies had the brilliant idea to host an online trunk show.  It was so successful, she decided to host it again this year.  Have you checked it out yet?



I wasn't sure I was going to be able to participate this year due to my busy schedule but here I am to share a few of my favorite quilts from the past year.








I finished this Park Bench quilt back in February.  It resides in my personal quilt collection.  To see the original post, you can go here.  I spent almost a year piecing all the blocks and finished it off with some custom quilting.





This colorful scrap quilt made from tumbler blocks is also one I am saving for myself.  The original post is here.  Thanks to so many of you, this quilt won the scrappy category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival this fall!






Even though I just couldn't stick with this quilt for an entire year, I do love the quilt I made from my Quilty 365 blocks.  I ended up donating this one to a kid's charity.  Maybe one day I will make a similar one.




Another quilt that I finished this year that made it into my personal collection is my Summer Solstice quilt.  The colors are bold and I just love the design.  The quilt measures 80" square.



And I certainly have to include my Bamboo Shoots quilt.  I love its clean fresh lines. 
This quilt is made using one of my patterns if you are interested in making one of your own. 



Another quilt I made this year that I turned into a pattern is my Spin! quilt.

There were also a number of scrap and stash finishes throughout the year but the above quilts are certainly the highlights.  It really was a busy year for me!



Online Quilt Trunk Show | Whims And Fancies




I hope you enjoyed my little trunk show.  To see many more, you can check out Soma's link-up.  In fact, if you have a blog, there is still time to put together your own trunk show!

Thanks Soma for hosting!








Linking Up:

Sew Fresh Quilts (Bee Social)
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Sunday, November 13, 2016

Oh Scrap! : Courthouse Steps

I am one of the first to say, Why use one fabric when I can use ten! 
I love seeing lots of variety in my quilts.




 But I seem to have slid down a very slippery slope!  When I pulled some thread to start quilting my courthouse steps quilt, I decided 8 thread colors were better than using just one.




I also decided on a quilting design that requires a LOT of starts and stops.  About halfway through the first  pass across the quilt I was already second-guessing myself!  :)

But I am committed now so I will have to see this through!


Even though it is a slow process, I am loving the beautiful colors in this quilt.  I made this quilt using the Boundless solids and couldn't be happier with their quality!

 If you want to read more about my review of this fabric, you can check out this post.  If you are ready to try some for yourself, there is a Flash Sale going on this weekend and you can pick some up at a great price.  The quilt above was made from the Modern Brights bundle.


They also have lots of thread on sale if you want to go "scrappy" with your quilting too!
Feel free to join me in my madness!


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

Time to share what you are making with your 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

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!






Follow Me on Bloglovin'          Follow me thru Email          Follow me on Feedly
Linking Up:

Love Laugh Quilt (Monday Making)
Patchwork Times (Design Wall Monday)
Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
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Friday, November 11, 2016

Getting a Jump on the Holidays

When I worked at a LQS years ago, one of the things I loved to do was to take patterns or parts of patterns and make shop samples showing how they can be used in different ways.  Needing to get a jumpstart on some holiday gifts, I thought I would play with my Rejoice tablerunner pattern and see what I could come up with.  Someone gets a gift and I get to play!



Here is my pattern as a simple table runner or wallhanging.

Cute, but let's get creative!



I recently came across a 16 x 38" rectangular pillow form from Crafter's Choice. When I saw the measurements were almost the same as my pattern, I knew I was going to have to make a pillow for a gift.  I really like how it turned out!  I did need to shorten my pattern by 4" but it was really easy to take out 2" on each end between the pinwheel and the letters.

This is going to look fantastic on an entryway bench!





Next, I had to go scrappy!  I used scrap pieces for the background and also used 2.5" squares to create the lettering.  It was a great way to use some of my Christmas scraps.





I was also inspired to make another project in the future.  As I was photographing these pieces, the song "I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my Heart" kept popping in my head.  Of course I instantly imagined a quilt.

Remember how Granny (of the Beverly Hillbillies) could never feel bad when she sang that song.

Too many ideas and not nearly enough time!






Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)
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