Ready for the new year

Last year my resolution was to use more fabric than I bought because my stash was quite large.  I have done well at keeping that one.  In 2011 I want to get more organized and give away things I will not use again.  

I have spent some time the past few days organizing quilt patterns I hope to use and scraps of fabric.  I seldom throw away any scraps so they just seem to grow.  Everywhere I look I find more.  I sorted strips into bins if they were a consistent 2 ½” or 1 ½”.  I sorted irregular shaped scraps according to color and tone.  Now I 'm ready for the new year.

After sorting I decided to create some  more crumb blocks.  It is easy for me to play with triangles and create half-square triangles that are free formed with triangles of different sizes; but when I put them into stars or churn dash blocks, I still want to match the points in the center of the 9 patch.  Here are a few created in the past day or two.

Have a happy New Year and keep quilting ! 

Sewing crumbs

Yesterday I spent a lot of time sewing crumb blocks.  I have my scraps sorted by color and tone. First I used my stash of bold primary scraps (crumbs) and then I switched to pastel crumbs.


These will probably be used in 2 different quilts.  I was just having fun using crumbs.  Here are some examples of what I did. 
         
I will be teaching some crumb piecing techniques at Midlands Technical College – Harbison campus.  You can check out the quilting class schedule at http://www.mtctraining.com/programs.htm. 

I also sandwiched the 3D star quilt.  For quilts this size I use my kitchen floor at home.  In class we put several tables together. I like to spray baste and pin around the edge. Now it is ready to quilt.

Day After

The 3 D Stars top is together as you can see.  Since I still have more fabric, I think I will add a couple of very narrow borders and another outer border to give it more of a frame. 
It is a snowy day so a great day to stay inside and sew.

Jumping In

      Where to begin?  I want to share my sewing / quilting projects so I decided to blog.  Since this my first blog, I will be learning as I go.  I’ve been sewing since I was about 9 years old and made my first quilt blocks for my sister’s quilt about 45 years ago.  Quilting has really changed in the past 20 years with new tools.  Since I retired from teaching in 2003, I have been focused on quilting.  I’m a member of Greater Columbia Quilters and I teach a few quilting courses at Midlands Technical College – Harbison campus.  You can check out the quilting class schedule at http://www.mtctraining.com/programs.htm.

     The last week of November I visited Georgia and did a quilt project with Ms. Love’s second class and Mrs. Gardner’s third grade class at the Museum School of Avondale Estates.    The students used fabric markers on fabric to illustrate the plants and animals they were studying. For the third grade wall hanging I framed each child’s drawing with an irregular frame of greens and blues and then pieced them in rows.  For the second grade wall hanging I pieced an ocean background and appliquéd the students animal drawings on to the ocean. Here are the results.

 

  

     One of my granddaughter’s favorite games is I Spy with a small quilt I made for her.  I have made 5 using 3 different patterns for I Spy quilts.  I recently finished this one for a friend’s child.