Monday, February 26, 2024

QuiltCon 2024 and Family

     Last week Alycia posted the last clue for “Stars Like Spaghetti” QOV mystery. Before I left for QuiltCon I put as many blocks as would fit in the layout on the design wall. Hopefully this week I will get them pieced together and add a simple border. I love Alycia's design and enjoyed the mystery.

     I met up with 2 sisters and visited more family in Winston-Salem. They had an early birthday celebration for me which was fun and special.

    Friday and Saturday my sisters and a niece enjoyed QuiltCon 2024 in Raleigh. There we met a friend from my church quilt group. We also visited with friends from my sister's guild. It seamed much more crowed than last year; however, the venue was very different. I wonder how the attendance differed. I was not excited by most of the winning quilts; although, it was interesting that many winners were men. Following are a few of my favorite quilts from the show. I especially enjoyed the piecing category and the maximalism special exhibit.





At a QuiltCon vender I picked up 2 small free fabric pieces so they are the only change to my stash this past week.

Stash Report for 2024

this past week- Used: 0 yds Added: 0.125 yds
So far this year- Used: 26.1 yds Added: 4.875 yds
Net decrease 21.225 yds

Have a great week and enjoy some time for quilting.

When life leaves you scraps, make a quilt.”



Monday, February 19, 2024

A Little Progress Is Good Enough

      Where did the time go this past week​? I am not sure; however, as I look at my calendar, I see. I worked in my yard 2 mornings, had quilt group at church one morning and Women of the Church activities a few mornings. So that is why I didn't spend much time sewing or quilting.

     Wednesday at church quilt group, we put together the blocks for the center of our “Faux Feathered Star” (free from Fat Quarter Shop).

This is a joint project and we are making ours totally out of upcycled cotton shirts that were donated. I used EQ to plan a layout with extra borders so that it will finish at 52” by 64”. There is one more narrow plain border to be added and the top will be finished. I am loving it and would like to make one for myself.

      Sunday afternoon I pieced the blocks for Step 5 of Alycia's “Stars Like Spaghetti” QOV mystery so I am on track and loving the blocks.


Stash Report for 2​024

this past week- Used: 1.25 yds Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 26.1 yds Added: 4.75 yds
Net decrease 21.35 yds

      I don't expect to get much quilting done this week because I will be meeting 2 of my sisters for our trip to Quilt Con. I know we will have lots of fun, plus I hope to share some great quilt photos next week.


Have a great week and enjoy some time for quilting.

When life leaves you scraps, make a quilt.”


Monday, February 12, 2024

     I started last week with work on small projects and ended with a nice comfort quilt finish. At least my part is done. I pieced the top using Pat Sloan's free “Traffic Jam” pattern with the addition of a row of blocks so it would finish as a rectangle. I finished the quilting and will let a church quilt group member stitch the binding.


     Part 4 of “Stars Like Spaghetti” QOV mystery was posted. Since we only made 2 blocks, it was fast to complete and keep on track. I'm looking forward to seeing how the variety of blocks will go together. I'm sure Alycia has a great plan. I will be excited to get the top together. My guild is presenting 5 QOVs the end of February so I'm sure they will appreciate the top as soon as it is finished.


    My checkbook cover was looking sad so I decided to make a new one. I used an easy tutorial from Crazymomquilts.blogspot.com. I used some purple "made-fabric",  added fusible interfacing and did some quilting /embellishing with decorative stitches before assembly.

       

The 3 green placemats for guild have been quilted and finished.  I simply used the walking foot and serpentine stitch. 


Stash Report for 2024

this past week- Used: 1 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 24.85 yds Added: 4.75 yds
         Net decrease 20.1 yds

     It would be great to make as much progress every week; however, that is probably expecting too much.

   I'm going to Quilt Con 2024.  I will be going with 2 sisters and a niece.  I also plan to meet up with another quilt friend.  I expect a fun couple of days.  Less than 2 weeks away.  


  

Have a great week and enjoy some time for quilting.

When life leaves you scraps, make a quilt.”


Monday, February 5, 2024

Staying On Track

     So far I am on track with Alycia's "Stars Like Spaghetti" QOV mystery and have all the blocks for part 3 finished. Here are the stacks of blocks for parts 1-3.

     I had a kit from church and finished piecing the top. I have seen this pattern with a couple of names. Eleanor Burns calls it ”Piece of Cake”. Someone else calls it “Garden Party”. The units are an uneven 4 patch, just like the ones created when you cut up a “Disappearing Nine Patch”. This kit was cut into 10” squares, 10 by 5” rectangles and 5” squares so could be made using a layer cake.

     When I went through my Valentine fabric box, I found a large piece of Valentine made-fabric perfect to finish into a placemat. It didn't take long.

     My guild is collecting placemats all year for Meals on Wheels clients so Sunday afternoon I played in my scraps and have 5 tops. For a couple I used some orphan paper-pieced leaves which need stems and veins stitched.





Stash Report for 2024

this past week- Used: 3.375 yds Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 23.85 yds Added: 4.75 yds
Net decrease 19.1 yds

     I'm not sure which UFO I will work on next. I have one sandwiched to quilt and a comfort quilt in the process of being quilted.

Have a great week and enjoy some time for quilting.

When life leaves you scraps, make a quilt.”