This N That Week 6

First, the Grow Your Blog giveaway is still on - ends February 14th.  Go here to enter to win the book. 

Second, my stash report is not much to crow about - used only .02 yards for another block for my friend: 

I saw this Twinkle Star at Angela's SoScrappy blog and fell in love with it.  I'm putting together a Christmas quilt and I wanted to find a star and this is it! This one is 6 inches square when finished.

I also now have a photo of those three blocks I made last week.  I was trying to use up two fat quarters and was able to get three blocks out of them.  

I did donate some fabric to my Guild - another 1.5 yards out, so my new YTD total is 15.48 yards. Not bad for week 6.

Hope she can use them:

These are on my design wall.  The quilt that was there is being quilted.  I've finished the grid and SITD work.  Now I will start the FMQ.

Let me show you how I hope to fill in some of those larger spaces:

I wanted to use as motifs some of the elements of the background material. So before I cut up the last of the fabric for the last border, I photocopied the length of fabric.  Then on the front side, I matched up partial flowers and stems to fill out with ghost quilting - Linda of Linda's Landscapes heard of this technique in a Martha Ginn article, example seen here.  After finding some spaces and the motifs I wanted to add, I traced them on freezer paper and cut them out.  Because I abhor taking out those itty-bitty pieces  when I stitch over it, I cut apart my motifs whenever I can so that I am stitching around the motif than through the FP.

Here's one I've cut out and you can see the cuts.  I have to keep the paper in tack so that the pieces stay together.  Here it is ironed onto the quilt top.

The one on the bottom left needs to be cut out. The one on the top left doesn't have to be completely ironed down as half the flower is there to guide me.  Hmmm. Looks like I need to continue that stem in the center top.  Photos are so helpful as we make quilting design decisions.

I'm linking over at Judy's Patchwork Times,  Esther's WOW, Lyn's BOMs Away, and Lizzie's Free Motion Mavericks.  Go check them out.

Blessings as you start your new week.

This N That Week 3

Now let's see:  I added 2.48 yards to my orphan block quilt in borders and blocks. Made two charity tops for another 3.3 yards. That includes one back.  Made some of my border for WIP #1 for another .10 yard for a grand total of 5.88 yards - that's a lot for me. So my total YTD is 7.88 yards, nothing in and nothing donated yet.

Nothing has changed on my design wall as I was quilting a different charity quilt - one for St. Anne's.

This is quilted around all the major elements of the panel and the straight lines of the blocks and strips.  The pins you see is where another member will tie it using orange yarn to the back, so all one will see is the stitch on the right side. I used warm and natural which can be quilted up to 10 inches apart.  With the ties it will be more like 5 inches apart.






Here's a closeup of the
pternanodon.

My part is done with this quilt.  I then started another one.  This one is a panel I deconstructed and put back together again.  I showed it before.  Here it is getting quilted by Ms. Juki.  Center is almost all done - then to the border.  It measures 36" square.  I hope to be done with it by Friday.

Alas no applique but I did cut some 1" hexagons from my scraps.  I don't know why I didn't think of using some of my scraps to make hexagons for a scrappy quilt before.  I have now and last night I cut out 14 as I worked my way through a pile of scraps.  I'm cutting them ala the Bonnie Hunter method. I filled a basket full of the sizes Bonnie recommends.  She has given so much to the quilting world!

So how goes it at your quilting studio?  Leave me a comment and I'll come over to see your eye candy.  I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times, Esther's WOW and Connie's Linky Tuesday Party.  Lots of goodies there!

This n That Week 2

In my efforts to reduce computer time and have more time for other things, I'm combining Stash Report, Design Wall Monday and Applique Tuesday into one post.  I'm calling it This and That.

First off, I used 3 yards last week in putting together a B³Quilt.   B³ stands for Baby's Big Block.  In 2013 Quiltmaker had a Big Block Baby quilt in each issue for that year and I was very intrigued with the idea.  Go here to read more about them.  I even made one (mine has one large square in the middle):

  At first I called this my ugly quilt, but then I found the blue for the border and dropped that title. I like it now. I'm renaming it Feline Mug Shots. It's 30" square and will be given to the neonatal unit for which our guild does community service.  Here's the back:

Since, besides WIPs, I planned to again make charity quilts this year - I think I will work on making a "Bcubed" quilt each month.  I'll even write out directions and share them.  All part of my making my quilting my own. Thanks QM for inspiring me. You can go here to buy their patterns.

Jan 8th we met at my friend Torre's house and held our annual St. Anne's Sewdality Potluck brunch.  We always have a White Elephant exchange.  Here's what I got by chance:

Isn't she cute?!  She's pretty banged up and probably not worth much, but will make a great decoration to my sewing room.  I'm thrilled with it.

So my stash report is now 3 yards out, nothing in.  A good way to start the year.  My design wall hasn't changed.  I've figured out a border for my WIP, but no real progress to show yet. As far as applique - alas, none to report.

I'm linking to Judy's Fabric Report, Lyn's BOMs Away (I did make a few units for that border), Connie's Linky Tuesday and Esther's WOW.
Have fun this week and let's make those WIPs be gone!

Blessings!

This N That

Was so tired yesterday after the marathon day from 6:30 - 3PM yard sale/booksale (2 different events) plus dropping off some e-waste. So came home, ate lunch, and went to bed for an hour nap.
Today I'm still a little punchy. But on to other things.

Destashing:  Recieved the kit I bought from Hancock's, but since that's for a specific quilt I'm not counting it as stash.  So nothing in.  Quite a bit of sewing done in the last week, but most was with St. Anne's fabric. I did manage to finally paper piece the three blocks I was behind on for the Block Lotto sampler. That used 1/4th of a yard because there is so much waste (at least for me) with paper piecing.  I'll talk more about them on Friday. So my numbers almost stay the same and  I will be changing the total on the sidebar.

New on my Design Wall are two blocks for the next charity quilt I'm making:

I'm calling these blocks bordered log cabins. We have so many scraps from making St. Anne's quilts that I brought some home to make a quilt with them.  I'm going to make them as a leader and enders quilt a la Bonnie Hunter.  I'll be constructing two blocks at a time to always have something to end with on my machine and not have thread tails to cut off, and therefore save thread.  These blocks finish as 9 1/2" unfinished blocks using 2 1/2" strips and 1"strips for the borders.  These two are similar. However I've run out of the yellow and the solid blue, so the others will be different.

I'm linking to Judy's Patchwork Times and Lyn's BOMs Away.  Lots of eye candy there. Leave me a comment and I'll come by and see yours.

Blessings as we start this new week.

This n That #1

We're leaving tomorrow for a 3 day visit to Palm Springs, so not much quilting is getting done.  I did hem a curtain for my DDIL in CO so she can try out how they hang and what length she wants them (got it off in the mail, too), finished my secret block (more on that later) and  unstitched my 4 inchers to replace the large block.  So I'm leaving you with a photo or two:

 Here's Alan at 2 months.  Last weigh - in said 7.9 pounds so he's right up there where he should be if he had been born Dec 20th instead of Nov. 11th. He's so precious!

Then here's a scrappy quilt tip - when I'm making a scrappy quilt I use left over thread and partly filled bobbins to sew them together.  If the quilt is most one color - I'll try to use color in that family, but for truly scrappy quilts, it's whatever partial thread is on hand for blocks making AND quilting.