Rail Fence Quilts #14 and #15

 Whew!

I made it to the end of the rail fence block drive!  I still have about 30 blocks that I will use at a later date with some leftover fabrics that coordinate beautifully.

Here is quilt #14 - it measures 55 x 65".

At this point, I am running on empty in my brown stash so luckily a friend donated two very alike pieces that I was able to finish off this one.  The binding was made from the trimmings from a previous back - nothing goes to waste!

And finally, quilt #15 -  measuring 50" x 60".

This quilt used up 5 different brown pieces to make its backing.

So there you have it.  We will all enjoy seeing something new here on this blog.  We are already working on the next block drive.  I have started piecing tops and even have one quilted already.

If you would like to read more about these Compassion Quilts, you can look up and select the Compassion Quilt tab for the page with all the details.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped make these quilts!

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My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

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Alycia Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

Rail Fence Quilts #12 and #13

Getting so close to the end of the Rail Fence quilts.  

These two quilts are the ones I enjoyed the most!  Gail was gracious enough to make all the blocks AND sew them into tops.  Then she put together kits with the backings and the prepared bindings.  All I had to do was load them on my machine and go!

This one is quilt #12.  It measures 60 x 70.

I knew the quilting was going to show nicely on the ack so I alternated round spirals and square spirals.  I really loved how it turned out.

Here is quilt #13 - also 60 x 70" in size.

I quilted this one with the same design because I loved it that much!

Thanks so much Gail.  Yor workmanship was beautiful and your kits went together perfectly!

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My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

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Oh Scrap! : Some Progress

 I actually feel like I made some progress on the scrap front this week.

I finished up my big 18" heart block in pink so that I could finish my second heart quilt.

I also dug through my pink scraps to see if I could make any more stitchplate blocks for my RSC quilt.

I am trying not to repeat any prints.  Here are all the pink ones I have finished to date.  My pink scrap bin is looking pretty sad.  I might need to replenish it with some fresh fabric from my stash.

Having made all those rail fence blue and brown quilts, I ended up with a lot of brown scraps and leftover binding pieces.  So I made these twelve 16-patch blocks.  I still have a few more browns to add and then maybe I will add in some greens and maybe a few blues.

I thought these would make a nice scrappy quilt for a man.

I still haven't gotten out my green bin to complete my RSC blocks for March.  I think I will try and do that this week.  I know I have a LOT of green scraps!

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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! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Some Quilty Love

 Today I am sharing a quilt that I worked on start to finish - no help from anyone!

This quilt all started with an overflowing low volume scrap bin.  It was full of rather loud low volume prints.  So I decided to come up with a quilt plan that would use a lot of them up.

So I made a bunch of 9 patches out of 3.5" squares.

Then I made a big 18" heart block from some red scraps and floated it in all those nine patches.

I found a red and white backing fabric that I picked up at Connecting Threads and I bound it with a red and white rickrack print.

I really love how this quilt turned out.  It measures 54 x 63" and looks so much better than it does in these photos.  In fact, I am already working on a second one made with cream based low volumes with a pink heart.  I thought these would make great Compassion quilts so it has already been added to the growing pile.  I am going to have to make another delivery to the hospital later this month!

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My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

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Alycia Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

Time to pick up some thread?  Connecting Threads has their essential thread on sale.

Rail Fence Block Drive Round up

 As promised, I have added up the rail fence blocks, counted the quilts and identified all the different layouts made in the first Compassion Quilt Block Drive.

Thanks so much to all of you that donated.  Your generosity far exceeded my expectations.

The blocks were a 5.5" simple rail fence made with 1.5" strips.  I wanted the color scheme to be gender neutral so I went with browns and blues.

A whopping 43 quilters from two countries (thank you Canada) made a total of 1823 blocks.

I took those blocks and made 15 quilts.  I still have a pile of 30 blocks which I plan on using with some stash fabric to make a final quilt to bring the total up to 16.  I am just not sure when that quilt will happen - the next block drive has already started!.

I still have 4 quilts I need to share on the blog - they are quilted but I need to finish sewing on the binding.  My little elves are working away on them.

In an effort to make each quilt look somewhat unique (and keep me from going crazy working on the same quilt design day after day), I came up with 5 different block layouts.

This "boston commons" layout was probably my favorite.

This vertical layout was a very close second.  I wish I would have had more background fabrics in my stash so that I could have made more of this design.

I also played around with a couple horizontal layouts.  I was able to do this because with some blocks, I received some donated yardage.  I was not expecting to make as many quilts as I did so my brown stash was absolutely depleted!

I grouped the blocks and added sashing to a few quilts too.

By far, the layout that I made the most of was a simple layout of alternating block directions.  These quilts were made in three different sizes - 50 x 60", 55 x 65" and 60 x 70".

Two of these quilt tops were actually pieced and sent as a kit with backings and bindings - which I greatly appreciated.  To make all the backings for these compassion quilts, I had to use everything I had and hit up all my friends for any unwanted brown fabric.

My dream was to get enough blocks to make 6-8 quilts - so that was what I prepared for.  Ooops!

I am much more prepared for the second block drive!

I am already starting to receive packages in the mail....Thanks so much!

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Another way you can help out, if you make a purchase at any of these companies, use my affiliate links on my blog.  The money I make in commissions goes right back into buying backings and batting for the Compassion Quilts.  Thanks so much!

Oh Scrap! : More Low Volume Blocks

 This week just really flew by!  

Most of the things I worked on, you will have to wait a few days to see. 

You might remember I have been working on finishing up the 9-patches for my white based low volume heart quilt.  The quilt is now finished and I just need to sew the binding on it.

I really like how it turned out, so this week I cut and sewed 40 more blocks with cream based low volume prints.  My plan is to put a pink heart on this second quilt.

I didn't sew all the blocks myself; I had the help of a couple friends who came over to my house for a gab session - yes, even some sewing occurred!  But I did have all the squares cut before they arrived!

Now I just need to cut and sew the pieces for the big 18" heart.  Hopefully I can get that completed this week.  I am hoping on Friday to share the red heart quilt.  

I am just happy my low volume bin is no longer overflowing!

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

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! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle (Wiggle)

 One of the first things I did when I decided to make Compassion Quilts for my local hospital, is make up some kits out of my stash so other local quilters can grab if they want to help me out.

One kit I made a lot of (because it is made with cuts easily found in a stash) is my Wiggle Time pattern.  Well, they have been in high demand and today I have a bunch of completed Wiggle Time quilts to share.

I was given some coffee themed fat quarters, so I pulled a nice pumpkin colored background to go with them.

I was given this book themed fabric to use on my donation quilts and I thought this coffee themed quilt was perfect - Coffee and reading goes perfectly together!

A big thanks to a friend of mine for sewing this one up!

I was given the light green, lavender and light blue fabric - I received two fat quarters of each.  I found a Brandon Mabley print in my stash that looked amazing with them.

I was able to put together two kits and both kits were completed with the help of friends.

I used up the rest of the Brandon Mabley fabric framed in an orchid purple blender on the back of one.

When you assemble the front, you end up with a few strip sets.  I used them for an inset on the back of the second one.  I didn't have any one fabric big enough, so I used a light blue on the top and a purple on the bottom.  The purple really shows off the quilting.

This last Wiggle Time quilt I shared previously on my blog.  It is one I made quite a while ago and it still hasn't found a home.  I decided to include this one to my Compassion Quilt stack.

I did complete a Compassion Quilt page (you can find the tab above) if you want to learn more about the program.  I will also list all of the blocks (with links to their initial post) there.

I know many of you are working away on the newest block drive - we are making patriotic Churn Dash blocks.  I am just finishing up the last two Rail Fence quilt tops so I will be ready soon to start working on something new!

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My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

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Alycia Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

A Trash(y) Finish

 One of my clients called me to set up an appointment to bring by a king-sized quilt.  She asked me if I could use some of the leftover strip sets from her quilt.  She was going to toss them otherwise.

Of course I said "Yes Please!"

First thing I did was chop up the leftover sets into 4.5" chunks.  There were a few pieces I could also get a 2.5" piece out of.  I didn't know if I would be able to use them but at the very least, they could go into my orphan block box.  Nothing goes to waste!

Thankfully she also gave me a few leftover strips of both the prints and the gray solid.  I was able to use these to make enough strip sets to put together a cute little quilt.

I did end up using those 2.5" chunks.  I used them to create a stagger to the "bricks" I made from the strip sets.

I also used a few of the gifted strips to bind the quilt and I found a fun green print to go on the back.  The quilting turned out fun.  I did a serpentine along the horizontal seams and then did a simple travelling loop between the serpentine.

Isn't it cute?  Not bad for a bunch of bits that were destined for the trash.  I will be sending this one off to the hospital where it will probably be given to comfort a child in the pediatric center.

 It isn't real big - it measures just 40' square.  

But it was made with love and stitched with well wishes! 

💗

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Oh Scrap! : More Low Volume

 Where did this week go?

I had great plans for the week but I found myself just trying to get prepared for the next Compassion Quilt block drive. I spent some time organizing my sewing room, pulling out possible backings from my stash and cleaning up surfaces.  I did finish one of the last tops from the December block drive so that is ready to get quilted.  

Right now, I believe I have 6 or 7 Compassion quilt tops just waiting to get quilted.  

I had better get busy!

I did get the last 12 blocks sewn for my big heart quilt.  It sure has used a lot of my "not so low" volume scraps. Now I can get this one put together and off my design wall.  After looking at my scrap bin however, I decided to also make one using cream scraps.  

I now have a big pile of scraps to cut into more squares.

My RSC blocks will have to wait until next week.  I haven't even put away my pink scraps - let alone get my green ones out!

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

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! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Follow Me on Bloglovin'                 Follow Me on Feedly