Goals and Progress

    First off, Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict has turned over leadership of the Hands 2 Help challenge for 2022 to the Academic Quilter.  Sign up to participate will start soon. Find details and the schedule for activities on her recent post.

     I spent several days quilting last week and made great progress on projects which I shared in Friday's post. It also felt good to organize some scraps, orphan blocks and UFOs. In the process I found some great fabric for a couple of placemats for a cat loving friend and got them finished.

    I made block 2 of A Quilting Life's BOM and I'm using the churn dash frame pieces for leader/ender. I am loving the project and you can easily join in.

Major goals for this year are to:

1. finish UFOs

   I quilted and bound my “Pastel Play” quilt.(photo on Friday's post)

2. decrease stash fabric

Stash fabric used or added:
         this past week- Used:  1.25 yds   Added: 0 yd
      So far this year- Used: 22 yds       Added: 1 yd

3. control and use scrap fabric

I organized some bags of scraps, orphan blocks and UFO projects. I found 29  6” finish crumb and scrap blocks in my files of old class sample blocks. I pieced 11 more from scraps and now have 40 that along with a plain alternate block will be enough for a small lap quilt.





I used donated home decor fabric and cut up fabric and batting scraps to make 2 shelter dog beds.





4. make charity/comfort quilts for church quilt group

   I quilted Martha's Union Square quilt. (photo on Friday's post)

     Around Christmas I was gifted 2 amaryllis bulbs. They both bloomed and then I was surprised to see a second stalk emerging on both. It is wonderful bonus to enjoy them for longer.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Scrap Management

     When I am at my home away from home in between painting, spending time with granddaughters or free time, I like to work on scrap management. One type is sewing crumbs together into “made fabric”. I am working on rainbow pieces for a future quilt.  Here is some purple “made fabric”. 

Second type of scrap management is cutting down fabric pieces less than a fat quarter.  I cut strips to 6 ½”, 4 ½”, 3 ½” and 2 ½”.  Strips less than 2 ½” become strings.  Too short to be a string pieces are grouped as crumbs.

I also finished a couple of painting projects during this visit. The bathroom cabinets have a new coat of paint.  Here is a photo of work in progress   

 

 and after.

Enjoy some time sewing and quilting!

One of Those Days

     I recently had one of those days when several things just did not go right.  I planned to add a wide border to a top of made-fabric blocks.  I was inspired by a quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe in her book 15 Minutes of Play – Improvisational Quilts. I measured and had fabric to cut the borders lengthwise without piecing.  It sat for a few days until I decided to add them.  Wouldn’t you know, I did not think about my plan and cut strips crosswise. Once I cut one I had to continue and seam pieces together. The top is done even though it does not look as neat as I had planned.  It is a full size bed version of my green made-fabric lap quilt.

     I finished quilting the large block comfort quilt for my church.

 I quilted in a large simple meander but it was a struggle because of thread breaks and tension problems at the end.  I changed the needle a couple of times and I am still not sure what the problem is so the next quilt top will wait until it is solved.

Enjoy some time sewing and quilting!

Working On This and That

  Not too much sewing going on here, mostly a little of this and that.

The Circle Back quilt binding and label are sewn on and it is ready to be gifted.

I tried out a half swirl flower motif in the 2" border and like how it looks.  

      A member donated a whole lot of her stash to my church quilt group.  It has been stored a long time and we decided it needed washing.  I have done 2 loads and this remains with me to be washed; another has washed several loads, and there is MUCH more waiting at church.  I spent most of the day Wednesday at group sorting and trimming up pieces that were odd sizes.

  I had a little time to sew and played with crumbs to make fabric.  I have made crumb hearts as I learned from Bonnie Hunter.  Recently on P’s blog The Way ISew It she showed a lovely quilt for Pulse survivors made of rainbow hearts. You can see it here.  

                                                                                                            

Her work inspired me to make some. I found a very helpful chart for making hearts of various sizes on the Cluck-Cluck Sew blog here.

Here are a couple that will finish at 8” with bonus HSTs that will finish at 3”.

Enjoy some time sewing or quilting!

Weekend of Piecing

     I enjoyed a Mother's Day brunch prepared by son Will and weekend soccer games for each granddaughter.  I also found time to piece blocks for a couple of scrappy projects.  A couple of years ago I made a class sample with black, white and red.  With a few blocks left as orphans and some improvisational piecing with the scraps plus a couple of paper-pieced hearts from another class, I now have 20 blocks.  Here is the layout so far.

I may move a couple of blocks, then add a scrappy red and black border and call it complete.

   I also pieced these 7 scrappy anvil blocks (inspired by a quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe).  I think that gives me 20 blocks.  I am planning to use scrappy sashing.

Have some fun piecing and quilting!

Big Block Comfort Quilt Tops

   This is my week with 2 days of comfort quilt sew days – one for guild and one with church group.

Knowing that today would be guild comfort quilt sew day, yesterday I started gathering the pieces to sew at the meeting.  Then I decided to put it together so today I took the top for batting and backing to be cut at the meeting. 

I really like this quilt pattern.  This is the second time I have made this design.  It is fast and a good size. It finishes at 48” by 54” with a 3” border.  I pulled 3 ½” squares and strips from my stash.  You do have to be careful to piece 2 A blocks and 2 B blocks. 

A                                                                                                         B

 

    Tomorrow is sew day for my church quilt group.  I have 2 tops ready for backing and batting so they can be sandwiched.

The first is another great big block pattern of 18” blocks using a large print fabric.  You can see more about the pattern by watching the video from Nancy Zieman and “Sewing with Nancy” at http://wpt.org/SewingWithNancy/Video/sew-big-quilt-blocks-part-2

With only 12 blocks the quilt will finish at 54” by 72”. A border would make it larger.

     Here is my second top ready to be sandwiched.  When I trimmed the blocks for a Stack and Slice quilt, I saved the scraps and used them along with a few other scraps to improvisationally piece blocks.    

Playing with Scraps ( aka Crumbs)

My Stack the Deck quilt top is together and waiting to be sandwiched for quilting. 

I had a pile of scraps left from the trimming of the blocks.  You know I can’t throw those away and most are also too large to be put in pet beds.

I started sewing pieces together, then found some block units that have very similar fabrics and decided to use them. 

I loved playing and have made 20 blocks that will finish at 6”.   The Stack the Deck blocks were easier and quicker so make a good beginner project. However, I like the crumb blocks better than the Stack the Deck blocks.  

There are so many ways to use them.  I can sew them together to make 12” finished blocks or use as “made-fabric” ( I love  and am inspired by Victoria Findlay Wolfe's work.)

They would make an interesting border.

I still have more scrap pieces so I may continue to play for a few more blocks.

   I better take a few minutes to clean house and then I'll be back to piecing.

Playing with Made-Fabric

     I enjoyed a visit with my sister, made a presentation to ACPQ guild and led a workshop on creating and using made-fabric. 

I have been inspired by the work of Victoria Findlay Wolfe and her book, 15 Minutes of Play: Improvisational Quilts.  You can find many tips on her blog   and also many made-fabric tutorials and challenges at http://www.15minutesplay.com/ .

In the workshop the ladies had fun creating their made-fabric.  Here are some photos from their play with scraps. 

Sue was not 100% because of eye surgery so she acted as assistant. 

Sue has also been busy playing with her green crumbs.  Isn’t it lovely? 

Second Crumb Piecing Class

     Last night was the second of 2 classes I was teaching for crumb piecing. One SUPER achieving student, Rita, went home with her blocks from the first night and a handout with more directions.  She came back a week later with a full size quilt.  WOW! 

She spent class hand sewing to finish her binding.  

Here are samples of blocks students made: free- pieced, stars and hearts. 

      One more lovely quilt I want to share was from GCQ Tuesday's Show and Tell made by Dee D.  The blocks were paper-pieced.  Her special use of a border print for the border was wonderful. I LOVE the circle print.

Playing with Irregular Scraps

     Several years ago I took Bonnie Hunter’s workshop on crumb piecing and fell in love.  A crumb is a small, maybe even irregular shaped, scrap of fabric.  I save down to 1 1/4”.  Then I found the work of Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  She extends the use of scraps to create not just blocks but larger pieces of fabric ( which she calls “made-fabric” ) from which you cut units for traditional quilt blocks.  I will be teaching a 2 evening class at Midlands Tech - Harbison campus starting Thusday, Aug. 14. Click for details. 

     I am inspired by the work of Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  Not long ago I created “made-fabric” and pieced a giant hexagon flower.  The flower is sewn together but I have been struggling with background and border.  I am definitely playing with this quilt top.  There is no pattern and the plan keeps changing.

First I tried piecing 3 D tumbling blocks but the ”made-fabric” flower become lost.

Next I thought I would simply applique the flower to a dark blue background or add another ”made-fabric” round to make it larger.  I spent a day or two playing in my blue crumbs and scraps to piece blue ”made-fabric”.  It was too strong next to the hexie flower. 

I still LOVE ”made-fabric” so decided to try red ”made-fabric”.  I like it better but again too strong.

Sister Irene suggested a softer background color so I finally pulled a light green print from my stash.

The flower edges have been turned over 2 layers of freezer paper and starch basted so it is ready to be sewn to the background. 

   You may remember the tumbling block hexies.  Well, they have been sewn together and appliqued to a print background fabric.  They may become a lap size comfort quilt or I may add borders to make it twin size.  It just went into my UFO pile.  

     Hope you find some time to play with your fabric. 

                   Elizabeth

Scrap Play and "Made-Fabric"

      Bonnie Hunter is on Quilt Cam and I am sewing crumbs to create “made-fabric” using Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s technique.   Joan contributed a large piece of made-fabric which has been added to mine. 

I used my new huge hexagon template with 5” finished sides to cute hexagons. 

I will live with this a few days during the 4^th holiday while I decide about background. 

I saved the parts that were trimmed away.  I did remove slivers so there won't be so many seams and tiny pieces.  

         I have been busy this week getting my house ready for company.  I did find time to put a simple border on this simple bargello quilt top.  I think it will make a good beginner bargello class for a small quilt that finishes 45 by 60” so it will fit a crib size batting.  

I also finished a comfort quilt top.  The components have been one of my “leader/ender projects.  I tried to use up all the pieces of these fabrics so I added the border of squares.  I still have a few of one fabric but they will go into my box of 3 ½” squares. 

Company (granddaughters and family) will arrive tomorrow so I will not be sewing for a few days.  

I am enjoying watching the baby birds in my airplane plant.  I can see 4 heads.  I am afraid to water the plant so it is suffering.

Hope you enjoy the July 4^th holiday.