Pink Crumb and New Drapes

The weather here in South Dakota this Fall has been beautiful.

I did start a new quilt a pink crumb block set on point. A few shots of the progress.

How, why a new project. A trip to Goodwill and these drapes had to come home with me. I just loved them .

I have a lot of pinks in my fabric stash. Not good pink old county rose tinted fabric. Mixed in with a few good pinks they look a little better. So I came up with this to coordinate with the drapes. Not for the top quilt of the bed but for the layer on top of the sheets just sticking out of the top comforter under the pillows. The middle layer of the bed. I love a well dressed bed. Will improve my guest bedroom greatly once I get all the layers working together!!!!!

Bow Tie Blocks

All month I've been having this diction in my head. I should start a quilt. No finish what you started first. That's a neat quilt I should make one. No finish what you started. I have a lot of blue in my stash I should make a blue quilt. No finish what you started first. I'm sure you all have the same thoughts. But Bonnie at Quiltville had this challenge and I'm reluctantly playing a long. I'm not calling it a quilt it may only be a doll quilt. I'm just sewing a few blocks, I think. So lets not call it a new quilt project. I cut out a few and only sewing them as leaders and enders.

Here is her link. http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/07/sisters-sisters-2011-leaderender.html Bonnie's challange

Chain Sewing

I have been in the mood lately to just sew long chains of pieces. I started with the pieces for the quilt on the floor. Made 7 snowball blocks and 7 of the 9 patch blocks. I'm now ready to sew the blocks together for the quilt and start in on the sashing. In between I was running through pieces for the ocean waves blocks. I love the blocks. Love how they are sewing up. But it's a lot of pieces. I also have been doing some log cabin blocks and a few star blocks. I like switching back and forth. I couldn't get to sleep last night so I got up and pieced for an hour. Hope this mood lasts for a while and I get a few quilts pieced up.

Crazy Stars

I worked on this project for a few days last week. I have a bunch of these I think you call them mile a minuet scrappy blocks. I had first planed on alternating them with squares from old jeans. But after blocking up a few decided I didn't like how heavy the jean fabric was.

I came up with these star blocks. The weird thing is matching star points with center blocks. The center blocks have old fabrics from 4-5 years ago when I made them. The star points and sashing are from my fabric stash now. With a layout plan now in place I now know how many blocks I"ll need. Just need to do a little piecing.

Ocean Waves

This is what I've been sewing ocean waves blocks. I decided to make all the blocks at the same time instead of one at a time. So all 36 part 1's done and I'm working on attaching them to the center square. I'm also running through a bunch of HST every chance I get. This quilt will need quite a few. I still love this quilt!!!

Monday

Here is my UFO for Feb I have the sashing all cut and layed out. But, The Realtors keep calling to show the house then I have to pick it all up. So progress has been slow. My hope was to finish it and get it quilted yet this month. I'm guessing this will have to carry over into March. I am determined to get it done so I have to keep picking away at it. This is my least favorite part of quilting sewing the blocks together.

Design Floor

For the 2nd month of Judy L's UFO challenge I have this to finish. It's a star BOM that Judy did a couple years ago. I have the blocks done. But know a few blocks aren't big enough. So I got them out laid them out and decided I didn't like a few of the fabric choices either. I was losing ground. I bit the bullet and pressed them and squared them up and only 2 were too small. And one of those was the baddest fabric choice. I cut out 3 new blocks. Just in case one gets to small.The ones on the right side are the newbies. I am using the floor for a design wall these days because our house is on the For Sale Market and a piece of batting tacked on the wall is not a selling feature. If they call to show the house I can just toss this mess into a bag.

Today progress

Squared up blocks

Pieced replacement blocks

Started on sashing

New Year Start a New Quilt

Hey it's a new year why not start a new quilt. I really like scrappy quilts. But I try to control the color scheme a little. This is my tub of scrap triangles. I have a lot of the green ones more then what's in the picture. They are cut off from another quilt and one of my favorite fabrics from my stash.






I found this ocean waves quilt and thought I would try a sample block and see if I liked it or not.(I like it) The books directions uses a 8'" block in the center. But to use my green triangles I needed to adjust and use a 6" center. Means I'll be sewing a few extra blocks.

I don't know if you can see in the picture the quilt has lime green triangles that form a square when the blocks are put together. I liked this I love bright green. But my quilt will have a lot of greens and the squares would get lost and not show up.

So I'm going to use this red. Although I like the squares I hope It won't look funny because on 2 side the red is out of pattern. Hope it doesn't look like a mistake. This quilt is for sure going to have that home made old antiquey look because no way are all those points going to line up and HST sometimes can get a little wonky.

I copied the directions so I don't lose them. Thought I'd show this. Don't know how everyone else keeps track of their quilt plans. After I make a few more blocks I add my own notes/hints and shortcuts Knowing it may take years to finish this quilt. And I forget.

Snowbals and 9 Patches

I need to quit playing facebook games and get back to sewing. If you don't play games on facebook don't start it's way to addicting. I have to turn my addiction back to sewing so I at least have something to show for my time instead of a very nice zoo.

I have had this quilt on the design wall for a few weeks. It's a combination of about three quilts that I like. I'm working on the colors and layout. And really like what I've decided on so far.

not this one or the next one

This one 9 patches in the corner of the blocks. 9 patch blocks in the corner of the quilt.

Here is a picture of one of my inspiration quilts. I liked the small 9 patch blocks and how they blended in to the first border of small squares. I didn't like the alternate blocks or the applique border in this quilt a little to busy for me. and the applique would take me at least a year. So I used snowball blocks for alternate blocks in my quilt. I've wanted to do a snowball quilt for a while but never found a layout I've liked. Still working on a final border yet.

Freeze Frame Quilt

Design wall Monday here is what I have. These are the reject/extra blocks from Judy's Quilt for an Hour Project Freeze Frame. I'm going to work them in on the back.

Design Wall Monday

Design wall Monday and I have the border blocks up from Judy's 1 hour quilt. Hopefully I get can get them on the quilt today or tomorrow.

Design Wall Monday

Design Wall Monday
I have a designs wall at last. After thinking about it for a month or so. I know it's not much but it works. I decided to put it behind the door so its out of view when you look in to the room. If hubby doesn't see it I won't have to explain it to him.

Here is the string quilt blocks I am just starting. A month ago or so I bought a bag of sewing odds and ends(fabric, thread. lace, ribbon, zippers, and bias tape pkgs). The bias tape intrigued me. I will never use them for the purpose they were meant. Some are wide and I am going to use them as the center strip for the string blocks, see the grey. (I did wash a couple pieces and they didn't shrink so I'm safe on that front.)There are about 4 shades of grey and if they run out I could do the outside blocks in navy or light blue I'll wait to see what I end up with.

And on the floor is Judy's one Hour Quilt. I'm still a couple hours behind.

Hour a Day Quiltalong

Do you have any of these? It's the cut off edges of a quilted quilt. It's about 2 yards of fabric. What to do with this scrap......

Judy at Patchwork Times is having an hour a day quilt along. Every day she posts instructions for part of the quilt. I was thinking should I do it? Then I would look through my stash for the background fabric for the quilt. Not find any I wanted to part with and then think no I won't do it. After the fourth or fifth time I came across this lovely piece. This I would love to use up. So I am working on her quilt. The back grounds this lovely green and for the light, muslin the rest of the fabric is scrappy. I hope to catch up over the weekend.

Design Wall Monday Remembering Grandma

Ah lazy busy summer days.

Not a lot of time sewing. I have a few siblings that have migrated from Iowa to Arizona. The e-mails about which one is better get pretty deep. We have beautiful weather all summer they hide in the air conditioning out of the 90 plus degree weather. By November The weather here is chilly and they have nice weather. But today I'm thinking I'm ready for a season change. I love the cold for the holidays and in January when it's really cold I love being stuck inside so I can sew. Not complaining about the nice summer weather but I could use a few snugly warm inside sewing days.

Got the blocks all done this week. now to sew them up and add the borders. Can I get that all done by next Monday? And move on to something else.

Design Wall Monday Remembering Grandma

Not a lot of progress this week. I changed out the pinwheel fabric for a little darker one. I should of went with this one from the start but I love this fabric and try to save it. I'm thinking about making a real design wall instead of letting the blocks lay on the floor for weeks. Thinking out my options yet.

Design Wall Monday Remembering Grandma

I've been working on this one. Three post in a row now on this quilt. I almost have the blocks for 2 sides of the borders done. I sewed a few together to see how it looks. I like the border. For the alternate pinwheel blocks not so sure. I picked a creamy fabric that matched the flowers in the green fabric. I did one block. I like the way it looks except now looking at the picture I'm not so sure. I wanted them to be lighter then the rest of the quilt. So the other parts of the quilt stand out more not the pinwheels. I think after a good ironing and doing the rest it should look better not so washed out but, not the attention of the quilt, a quiet alternate block.

Stash Report

I missed last week so for the last 2 weeks I used 4 yds and 20" and the important part no new purchases so for the year I've busted 55 yds 17" out of my stash.
I've been working on the Remember Grandma quilt. Haven't decided yet on the alternating blocks so I started with the borders. Lots of sewing on them but I do think the borders will make the quilt.

I love short cut piecing but, the instructions in this book make you waste a lot of fabric. Here are the border units.

The squares are strip pieced into these units then a square is used to make the corners.

Then you cut off the waste. See the 2 triangles from cutting the square into a HST. The triangle I can throw in with the other triangle crumbs and make some thing someday. But the part with the red square. If I use it the white triangles are going to be to small to hardly show and the square won't come to a point. I think I can only salvage a 1 1/2 inch square from that piece it was a 2" square but the corner is cut off now, I am frugal with my scraps and try to use every last crumb and string. Wish the instructions didn't waste so much fabric I'm going to have 145 of these. I guess most people would just toss them.

Remembering Grandma

Remembering Grandma one of the 10 quilts I started at the first of the year. What was I thinking I couldn't stop starting quilts. So here I am. I am going to stick with this one now till it's done. I have the 7 main blocks done and need to start on the pinwhell alternating blocks. (I left that typo isn't it funny)Do I want to do all the work for the pinwheels or just use squares. What color /fabric to use. I wish I had used that other green in the blocks but I didn't have it then. Wish I had made the centers more of the same colors. Does any of that make sense I don't like what I have.

Here's the book I got it out of. Kim Diehl Simple Traditions. Ok just kick myself and get out of this funk pick some fabric and sew. I love the quilt in the book. Hope my scrappy version looks as good.

Basket Weave String

I've gotten all moved just not real organized yet. I've been trying to do a little sewing everyday it may only be 10 min. Here are some of the string blocks I've been working on I started these last winter. I always have a string project going other wise the strings just over populate. I fountained pieced these on fabric and don't think I will do it that way again. It makes the quilt heavy and this would be a quilt I would like to use every day and wash a lot I like a lighter feel to my quilts. The blocks need some kind of base to keep them from getting wonky. I've done one using phone book pages. And you tear off the paper when it's done. I liked not having that extra fabric in that one but, hated taking the time to rip off the paper. It also made a mess.

Here is one side of my new sewing room every day it looks different. I get it cleaned up and the floor clear. Then I get out another box and spread it all over and have a mess again. But hopefully I will end up with a organized space someday.

Design Wall Monday Hearth and Home

Judy at
Patchworktimes has Design Wall Mondays check out what every one is doing.

I started this one right after the first of the year. I just finished the last block and I'm working on the layout before I sew up the blocks. Then I will add a border.