Design Wall Monday~June 24

Boy are we having some unusual weather! And I'm not talking just about Oregon.

I'm so excited! I ordered my first whole roll of cotton batting! And with the special promo from JoAnn's Fabric, I'm only paying .21 in shipping!  I will have to use it up quickly as I really don't have a good place to store all that batting.

On my design wall is a picnic quilt. I saw this posting and thought "I need to make one of my own".
http://ididntsaybanana.blogspot.com/2013/06/potluck.htm  I had baggies and baggies of 3 1/2" squares and I was more than willing to use them up.

I told myself from the beginning that I was not going to plan, other than where the white needed to be. Obviously. I was just going to sew pairs and then sew those pairs and so on. And did this bother me?  Not so much in the beginning. Being" blind" to repeats of color became more and more difficult for me to ignore. But I stuck with the "no plan, plan.". Now that I'm at the end and sewing all the rows together, the top should be finished today, I have to admit it is still difficult! I keep reminding myself," it is a picnic quilt, it is a picnic quilt". So when you see pockets of pink, or groups of green, or heaven forbid, even the same fabric twice in the same quadrant of the quilt, be kind. Know that it bugs me too!

But, once it has been quilted and washed, I'm sure I will be just fine with it!

Don't forget to visit Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork times.
Enjoy!
Toni

Design Wall Monday~June 17



 

Blame it on my sister! I love my sister Joanne and often ask her advice on my ideas. I wanted to do another scrappy quilt and asked Joanne to look at my "Scrap Attack" board on Pinterest and "vote" on some candidates for my next quilt.  She looked at the board and said "Whoa! I didn't know you had pinned so many." and even tho' it was a task my sister came through with three favorites. One of them was a fan quilt. I've never made a Grandmothers Fan Quilt. So while I had, in the back of my mind, thought I would be using up already cut to size scraps, once I got this quilt in my mind I had to make it. Or am I making two? Sooo, as you imagine, I'm cutting lots of blades.

Why am I considering making two?  I started with the blocks in the first picture. At first I was going to limit the colors to  green, blue, red, yellow and purple. I liked those together, a little darker than I first pictured it but they felt rich.. But I wondered what would happen if I added one more color to each fan? So I took a blade off of each and added one more color to each. After that I found I preferred them without the addition of another color but this is what a design wall is for. (Pssst,originally I did have them on the design wall. I took them outside to try to get truer colors for the purpose of this post.) Then I asked myself if maybe I didn't need something a little lighter/brighter. So I did these four blocks.

And I like these too! To me the first blocks and the second blocks are so dissimilar that I can't see using them in the same quilt. Do you think I should make one with richer, deeper colors and one with the lighter, brighter colors? Or just integrate those darker blocks into a lighter quilt and hope the don't stick out like a sore thumb? Of course I could always use one set as part of the backing, or I could just make two quilt tops. What do you think?

And here is a picture of the top I made last week. I had better get to quilting. This years goal was to reduce the number of flimsys waiting to be quilted but between this month and last, I'm not managing to acccomplish that!

 

 

Don't forget to visit Judys linky Design Wall. http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Enjoy!
Toni

Design Wall Monday~June 10

For today, a few pictures a few words

Block Lotto Blocks. This is the pattern for this months Block Lotto. Come join us!

http://www.blocklotto.com/list-of-blocks-made-this-month/

Several people have won as newbies!  And you can enter as little as one block and still win. I already have too many projects in the queue so I am donating my chances this month but it was fun to learn to make eight HST at once. Sophie has prepared a wonderful reference on making HST. All the way from making one at a time up to making eight at a time. You should keep this reference. 

http://www.blocklotto.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Sophies_HST_Tips_v2.pdf

Raspberry Lemonade. I know there are other colors in there but that name just resonated with me. the top is finished. Now it will go on the to be quilted pile. Whew! That pile keeps growing! I love to play with colors, techniques and blocks. I less like layering the quilt top, batting and backing. At least I have already pieced the backing for this one.

This is a Doll Quilt that I just whipped together. I know it is an unusual layout. If I were to do it again, I still might make just that row of pink but I would put them all the blocks on the design wall and maybe play with better a better arrangement. Oh well! I have had these blocks for YEARS and they were going to go to Beth, who takes orphan blocks for donation quilts, 

http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/

but there were some fabrics that I love and no longer have so couldn't give up the blocks. Sorry Beth!

Sneak Peek. Four of seven iterations of the block. Boy I hope that is spelled correctly. My batch of green scraps was overflowing. I decided I wanted to do a scrappy quilt  and use up some of those greens. I found Faiths tutorial. She used pinks, yellows, oranges and white but I think it will work in a green scrappy version. It was so nice that she has the blocks, A through F, with all measurements included. Behind each of these front squares are the other six blocks.  I am anxious to get them all finished and on the design wall.

http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=561

List for this month? Short and sweet. Get Joel's quilt finished. I now have the backing and new batting I just need to get those layered. This old quilt was tied so I will retie it. His birthday is coming up and I would like to give it back to him then. My only problem is I need to pull the kitchen table into the middle of the room for a day or two. If only hubby would go fishing I could leave the table "in the way" for the length of time it would take me to finish. Keep your fingers crossed that he, the husband, makes it to the beach this week.

Visit Judy's Design Wall Monday for more inspiration

http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Enjoy!
Toni

Festival of Strings Second Entry

Here is a picture of the second entry for the Strings Festival. I struggled with the proportions of the quilt top. I had originally planned on having two more colors, black and brown strips, but once they were done I didn't like them in the mix. That meant that the top was proportionally too long for the width. Aesthetically speaking that is! 

I know that having a longer quilt is certainly a boon for some but it just looked awkward to me. Sooo, I cut off ten inches and will use this as part of the backing piecing.

I'm sure enjoying the Festival of Strings. Be sure to visit! http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2013/05/festival-of-strings.html

Enjoy!
Toni

Design Wall Monday~May 27

Read the rules! Read them more than once. Understand the rules. Simple basic concepts but obviously something I failed to do. Until Saturday. Amy is going to have a Scrap Attack Festival with, and I don't say this often, AWESOME prizes.

Visit here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1846806@N20/

I read the rules weeks ago and had a plan that would allow me to enter three quilts. One new, and two from my UFO pile. Yeaa! Three would Increase my odds of winning something. I knew they had to be new, as I first read it, finishes from 2013. Yep! Got it covered!

But then! Saturday I re-read, and this time correctly read, the rules. And the rules state that it does not have to be a finished quilt, tops qualify. Again,Yeaa! That is generous! But then.....tops made in 2013. Gulp! Not finished in 2013? My UFO's were definately not made in 2013. Oops!

So here is the dealio. I did complete a new strippy zig zag for this challenge.

And I do have another  that will qualify as it was made from strips in 2013 and as the rules allow tops I can enter this. It is an almost completed top. Borders on each of three sides and I'm just trying to decide if I should cut to make it shorter, so the proportions will be better, before adding the fourth white border. Which I can do before the deadline.

I have a UFO that I thought would qualify, but it won't, so it is well on it's way to a finish this week. And the other UFO that I had hoped to enter can be put away and I won't feel pressured to finish it before Friday. So, two chances to win a prize, one UFO off the pile and one newly completed quilt. I call that winning! (psssst, but still, keep your fingers crossed for me, it would be fun to win a prize!)

Be sure and visit Judys Pathwork Times for other inspiring quilts
http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/27/design-wall-monday-17/

Enjoy!
Toni

 

Design Wall Monday~May 20

Progress? Sure I'm making progress. But at a snails pace. A quick review of my May list.

Work on Joels Quilt
ReQuilt Trip's Doll Quilt
Borders for the RowAlong
Finish Hexie Doll Quilt
Finish Scrappy Zig Zag

My only finish from the list?

Small, but cute, no?

I've made progress on each but I'm being stopped on two projects due to the "fabric diet". On Joels quilt I was going to use the old backing. Remember, I'm repairing and redoing parts of this quilt. But, the old backing is just too flimsy. I need to buy 8 yards of purple. Eeek! Even with a coupon this is going to increase my blood pressue.  On the RowAlong. I did finish the last pieced border but I want/need an inner stop border. I've auditioned many fabrics from my stash but I just can't find "the" one. I've given myself permission to buy new fabric for this. It's just getting into town to shop.
The Trips doll quilt? I've just not gotten there but I will. I still have, what eleven days? And the scrappy ZigZag WILL be finished this month. I don't want to miss out on a chance to win some of the wonderful prizes being given by Rachel of Stitched in Color.http://www.stitchedincolor.com/

Visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/1846806@N20/ for some pictures of other scrap, strip, quilts. I would love to win the roll of batting, swoon!, but where would I store it? Beyond that are many other wonderful prizes. She has generous sponsors. If you have a strip scrappy project almost done, you might consider entering. Remember, eleven days left in this month.   Pssst, notice earlier I said "strip scrappy project". It doesn't have to be a full size quilt but it must be a new finish, not yet having been posted.  Quick! Finish one up! I might even get a second one done!

Earlier I said "my only finish" from the list. Because....tah dah!

I should be working on UFO's but new projects just excite me. So I made these Wonky stars from scraps and finished up this doll quilt last night.

And I was inspired by a class listing from the Pine Needle in Lake Oswego. The colors were so pretty.  I sorted through my fabric scraps and this is what I have on the design wall. Lots of rearranging of fabrics to be done but I will get this pieced this month. Pretty combination of colors don't you think?

Need more inspiration? Visit Patchwork Times, Design Wall Monday. http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/20/design-wall-monday-16/

Enjoy!
Toni

 

 

 

Design Wall Monday~May 6

Some projects become UFO's because you have made a mistake that you don't want to correct. At least in my experience. I have been working on a scrap quilt, made from my own stash of scraps (which I thoughtfully keep pre-cut in to specific sizes) and also remember my friends have been giving me free scraps because they don't want to be bothered to cut strips and squares from their left overs.  This scrap quilt was supposed to be fun and easy. No planning on colors, just make nine patches out of my 3 inch blocks and alternate with snowballs. Easy, peasy and pleasing to me.

But! The snowballs. Cripes! We all know you just add squares and fold and cut those into triangles and then (of course) take those little triangles and made them into half square triangles. We don't want anything to go to waste. They are easy blocks. Unless you use the wrong sized square. I promise I did two practice blocks and they were fine with my taking my 3 1/2 inch squares and neatly trimming those to 3 1/8 inch squares (I mean, who precuts anything to 3 1/8"?). Yesterday when I went to put all the finished blocks together the points on the snowballs did not line up properly with the seams on the nine patchs. Eeeaghghhhaa!

Trust me. I am not a perfectionist, at all! This will be a donation quilt, but still, EVERYONE would notice that the points don't match....by a lot! I was tempted to take the blocks off the wall and donate them, to two individual groups/people. Snowball balls to one group and nine patches too another group. Who would know that there were originally enough blocks for a whole quilt but that the quilter was not a math whiz?  Nor smart enough to use references available on the 'net? Instead, I decided to find a solution. Now. Not make it a UFO for later. My solution? Mark snowball blocks with a deeper seam, match those marks appropriately on the nine patches, pin and sew. My thinking was that people would be less likely to notice that the outside nine patches were slightly more of a rectangle than a square than they would notice the points didn't match.  So I marched forward with the mantra of "mark, match, sew, examine, trim" and although it is not completely pieced I think my solution worked. I certainly do have points that don't match but it is much better. What do you think?

As always, making a mistake helped me learn new things. First, an 1/8 of inch difference on the ruler looks pretty small, but when you are used to sewing 1/4" seams and then go to 3/8" seams, the difference looks huge! Secondly, these wider seams are easier to press open. I don't usually press open but I thought I would try this and hopefully find that pressing open would make for a flatter quilt. As it turns out, I didn't like the larger "shadowing" that showed through on my Kona white so after the first two rows, the shortest in an on point setting, I decided to sew at 3/8', trim to 1/4" and press to the sides. Still out of errors come opportunities for new experiences.

I hope you are having success with your projects! Visit Judys page for other Design Wall Monday inspiration. http://www.patchworktimes.com/

Enjoy!
Toni