Sunday, November 12, 2017

Oh Scrap! : RSC2018

Most of my week was spent teaching and performing trunk show presentations.  So there was not much sewing going on at the home front.

But I sure had a ball sharing my passion with other quilters!



I did find a few fabric bits around my cutting table that fit the criteria for one of my next year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt blocks.  I "sashed" a couple with white/black fabrics and am wondering if it might be better if I just stick with mostly black fabrics.

What do you think?


Oh....And sorry I didn't get a chance to leave comments on those of you who linked up last week.  I updated my phone and now Blogger is no longer compatible so it won't let me leave a comment.  I hope they release an update soon!

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Please share your scrap projects.  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)
    Small Quilts and Doll Quilts (Design Wall Monday)
    Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
    Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
    So Scrappy
    Posted by at 19 comments:

    Sunday, November 5, 2017

    Oh Scrap! : This and That

    Lately, I don't seem to have any real focus on any single project.  I pull a stack of fabric, but never start cutting - I pull blocks out of a project box but they never make it onto a design wall.  I have had a few simple finishes but I haven't made any big progress on the long list of finish hopefuls.




    I did whip out ten brown bowtie blocks for one of my RSC quilts. The scrap fabrics were already pulled, I just needed to cut and sew them.  They really take no time at all to finish up.



    So I went in and added them to the growing collection on one of the design walls in my quilting studio.  I enjoy looking at them as I quilt away on my longarm.  I would guess at this point, I am about halfway done.  It definitely needs more greens, blues and purples!

    As I was admiring my blocks, I realized that of my 4 design walls (please don't hate me), this one is the only one with blocks on it.  It occurred to me this might be why I was not feeling inspired!
    Me being a very visual person...



    So the Burgoyne Surround blocks went up on the second wall in my studio.
    (I instantly wanted to make a fourth block!)





    And in my sewing room, I put these long forgotten blocks back up on the smaller wall.  I am so thankful for cameras so I could see what I had planned!
    I love the bright colors in this one!!



    I even put the "brown" blocks up on my fourth wall.  I will say I am a bit more inspired to work on this after I saw Emily's very cool variation on her blog. 
    Maybe I just need a new layout to get me going!

    Hopefully all this visual stimulation will inspire me to get moving on one of these!
    Fingers crossed!


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

    Now it is time for you to share your scrap projects.  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!





      Posted by at 22 comments:
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      Friday, November 3, 2017

      A Tree Skirt Finish

      A few Christmas's ago, I noticed one of my sisters wrapping a blanket around the base of her tree and decided she needed a quilty tree skirt.  My plan was to have one made by the following year, but - well, that just didn't happen!



      I decided to go with just a simple patchwork and keep it in a square shape.  I used 4" pieces so the skirt measures 48" square.  I sewed and quilted a BIG square patchwork piece.  After it was trimmed, I cut into the center and used an 8" bowl to create the circle.  I didn't want to mess with cutting a bunch of biased binding, so I cut just enough for the center AND used straight grain binding for the rest.



      I used a low loft poly batting and just quilted some easy echo quilting.  This created the look of little pillows for the gifts to rest on. My sis loves traditional and this piece really has a vintage vibe to it.  I think she is going to really like it.



      I used up a bunch of fat quarters on the back.  I would have preferred one big piece but I didn't want to go buy any fabric.  Besides, who notices the back of a tree skirt!

      My sister has a birthday in November so I plan on sending this off to her soon.  It is nice to finish something that has been on my list for a while!




      I did use my AccuQuilt fabric cutter to cut all of these squares.  I see they have some great deals on both Cutters and Dies through the weekend.  It sure makes cutting so much faster!






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      Linking Up:


      **This post contains affiliate links.***
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      Sunday, October 29, 2017

      Oh Scrap! : Patchwork

      A couple weeks ago, while I had my AccuQuilt fabric cutter out, I chopped up a bunch of Christmas leftover fabric into some 4.5" squares.  Some of the smaller scraps, I turned into 2.5" squares.  



      I love that my cutter turns out these standard cuts so quickly!
      I can get to the sewing right away and the pieces are so precisely cut.

       The few 2.5" squares, I sewed up into 4 patches.
      I always try to find ways to use up all of the bits and pieces.



      This project is starting out as a large piece of patchwork.  I quickly laid out the larger squares on my design wall, and then scattered the 4 patches throughout the piece.

      I wanted to sew this up quickly so I decided to chain piece more than one row at once.  This can get a quilter in trouble pretty quickly so I thought I would share a little trick I use.  


      I pull all the pieces off the design wall by row - with the far left square on top.  I place one pin in the center of the top square for the first row and two pins in the square for the second row. (you can add pins if you want to work on even more rows...)


      I then place the stacks in front of my machine with the first row to the left and the second row to the right.  I then start chain piecing.  I start with the stack on the left, sewing the first two squares.  Then I piece the first two squares on the right.  I then grab the pieced row one off the back of the machine and sew on a square from the left stack.  The pin always goes to the far left so you never have to worry about sewing to the wrong end of your strip.  And if you loose track of what stack you are supposed to trim from, you just have to look at the number of pins in the strip.  

      Even if you are working on lots of projects at one time, you will always know where you are at.
      It works great!



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

      Now it is time for you to share your scrap projects.  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)
        Small Quilts and Doll Quilts (Design Wall Monday)
        Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
        Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
        Posted by at 25 comments:
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        Thursday, October 26, 2017

        Pretty in Pink

        All of  my quilting projects seem to follow one of two paths.  Either they speed through the process or languish away half way completed for years.



        Lucky for me, this pink string quilt chose the first path and is already quilted, bound and ready for a home!




        I decided just to keep the quilting simple with some unevenly spaced horizontal lines in a soft pink thread.


        I didn't have a lot of larger pink yardage in my stash so I had to piece it a bit.



        I have been hoarding this cute scooter print for years but decided it was time to use it.  Someone who is young at heart and has a passion for pink is sure going to love this one!

        Maybe I should spend this weekend working on one of those projects that have languished....





        Linking Up:



        Posted by at 23 comments:
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        Sunday, October 22, 2017

        Oh Scrap! : Too Little Attention to Detail

        There are just some projects I should only work on when I can go slowly and give them my undivided attention.  The Burgoyne Surround blocks are one of them!



        This is the third block I have sewn.  I usually have all the pieces laid out on one of my design boards so I can see where I am at and make sure everything is configured correctly.  This time I decided to just chain piece a bunch of things at once.  

        What a mess!  
        I think I ended up ripping out and re-sewing almost every seam.

        So it is not the flattest block.  Due to a bunch of handling, squares are stretched a bit and not all of my points match.  I am hoping it will still make it into the final quilt.

        But I definitely learned my lesson....
        and my seam ripper got a workout!



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

        Now it is time for you to share your scrap projects.  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!





          Posted by at 15 comments:
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          Friday, October 20, 2017

          A Pink String Top

          For those who love pink!


          A big thanks to one of my quilting clients who held up my just finished pink and gray string quilt so I could get a photo with natural light.  The weather here has been wet and gray so the help was much appreciated.


          The quilt top was made from rectangular string blocks measuring 10.5 x 8.5".  I did make one block per row at 11.5 x 8.5".  When you place them on alternate sides in each row, I didn't have any seams to match up and it also hid the blocks to ensure a more improv look.

          The finished quilt will measure about 51" x 64".  Now I have to try and find a backing for it from my stash.  That might be a challenge!

          Have a great weekend!





          Linking Up:

          Posted by at 26 comments:
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