4 patches

I need 512 - 4 patches for sand castle quilt - a quiltville pattern. I am using them as leader/ enders for other stitching. I have only made 200 and I need more. My bucket was looking empty, and, I needed more variety.

I thought this was a good reason to dig through the 1 1/2 inch strip bin, and strip piece the odd stuff.
Now, I need time at the accuquilt to get sets of twosies cut, and then, I can mindlessly sew more tiny 4 patches. I am guessing I have not made enough even yet, but, it will get me started.

I have 2 more florabunda blocks to add to my collection.

One of my rug hooking friends brought this quilt in to show everybody. This was her husband's Grandmother's quilt project. There were pieces from a 1929 newspaper found in the back, used as foundation papers. It is really a beauty in person. The  diamonds were hand stitched but the blocks were machine pieced together.

I love all the different fabrics and shapes sewn together to make a piece.
Beth plans on hand quilting it. Just imagine the relationship she will form while she works on it, and thinks about the family member who made it.

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

I am linking to:

WOW

midweek makers

Oh Scrap

boms away 

borders and strings

I have the borders on smith mountain morning and it is a race to see if I can finish it before the end of the month. I have the backing material and a just emptied longarm. It could happen. It's a pretty quilt, and I hesitate, thinking I should do something special in the quilting. But, I know I prefer a more simple pattern, and I don't have to do what everyone else is doing. I love the piecing of a quilt, and I certainly wouldn't pay a longarmer to do the fancy stuff, so why would I take the time to do it. But, I have to admit, that a heavily longarmed quilt gets more oohs and ahs. I also feel bad for the quiltmaker who has made a beautiful quilt, and at show and tell, everyone wants to know who did the quilting. The longarmer didn't pick the colors or pattern, didn't buy or cut out the fabric, or sew it together, or apply the binding. I try to remind myself of that when I longarm for a client, even myself. Enough of a soapbox.

I have been working on this string quilt, every off chance I get. It is a bit like potato chips, you can't make just one. Every block will be the same but, no two will be alike.

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky

Oh scrap

I am linking to:

Monday Making

Moving it Forward Monday 

design wall monday 

boms away 

the end of the rainbow

This is officially the last Saturday in May and for orange at the rainbow scrap challenge. I am not really finished with the color yet. I haven't even started orange words for my quilt. But I did get the "made" fabric ready for the end of the rainbow quilt. Each month I make 6 blocks. I only have one more color and then all the pieces will be ready to assemble.

There are some rows that I had enough finished blocks to partially assemble them.

I made 32- 4 patches for an irish chain quilt I am hoping to make.

And orange was the last color I needed for wiggle time quilt. Next month, I can put that great quilt together.

I am linking:

lots of orange inspiration at:
rsc19 super saturday

oh scrap
UFO busting

progress

From pieces and parts, I am slowly making 72 florabunda blocks. I am mostly cutting the old florals if I come upon them in sorting other scraps. I need a 3 1/2 in strip to make the HSTs and a 2 inch strip for the 4 patches. If I find a piece that has that much fabric, I cut it, and stack it in the box. Finding the yellows isn't as easy. And I don't have that many yellows in my stash, it is time to shop for more. Bummer:).

I had enough for 3 of this fabric combo.

And I might get 3 from this one too.

My 3 1/2 inch strip drawer was full and wouldn't close. That is the sign I needed to sort into colors and launch them into the big tub. I keep an easily accessible drawer in my sewing room near the cutting table. I have 1 1/2 inch, 2 inch and 2 1/2 inch drawers as well. I just throw them in as I cut them. I keep a bigger set of buckets further away from the work area that I sort into by color.
When those are full it is time to cut a new quilt.

note

I am linking to:

TGIFF

Finished or Not Fridays   

Whoop Whoop

peacock party

offwall friday

Oh Scrap

beauty pageant

rainbow scrap challenge

pineapple new round

Yesterday was hijacked by my husband's heart and atrial fibrillation. They decided to shock him into rhythm. It was a long ordeal, and more waiting time than fixing time. It started in the morning, and, I thought we had circumvented the hospital by going to the doctor's office. Our doctor was out for the day, and his partner decided to be a bit more aggressive. So, we ended up spending a few hours in the hospital for a cardiac conversion.
He is much better and home. We have a million more medications and instructions, getting older isn't for sissies.

My little bit of sewing time, was to trim a new round of pineapple blocks using the creative grids template. I have never tried any other method for making a pineapple block, but this seems really easy. I started it here. There are squares in the center that line up the center square and them the angle of the template makes quick work of cutting.

I made a few alphabet letters in orange for the rainbow scrap challenge.

And a few more scrappy HSTs

I am linking to:

WOW

midweek makers

Oh Scrap

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky

Oh scrap

I am linking to:

Monday Making

Moving it Forward Monday 

design wall monday

boms away 

stash report May 19, 2019

I've added a few pieces to my civil war reproduction stash, since I am using them in my circa 1880 swap. I have many more prints than neutrals, and, it seems I am using a lot of neutrals. I really like the cheddar/ mustard yellows and poison greens, so I add them any chance I get. This sort of fabric doesn't seem to be popular right now with all the modern and bright colors available. I hope that pretty soon, people will be sending repro fabric to goodwill, until then, I have to buy here and there since they are rarely on sale.

Stash report 

Fabric Used this Week 35.75 yards

Fabric Used year to Date: 136.25 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 10.75 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 115.25 yards
net fabric: 21 yards used more than bought

I hope to work on my snowman rug today for my slow, enjoy the day "stitching"

It was great to get my sewing machine running again after an organization push, so I had no trouble spending 15 minutes a day at the machine.

I am linking to:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Oh scrap

sunday stash at quiltpaintcreate

15 min to stitch at life in pieces

rainbow scrap progress

Orange is such a great color. It can look great hiding among other colors (fall colors ) or jump right out at you. Still, I don't have that much of it in my stash. hmmmmm
I did make 2 flying home blocks.

And, 5 woven checkerboard blocks

and an orange crayon.

Notice the green grass that I can use as a background for photos. I couldn't do that at the beginning of this year's rainbow challenge.

I am linking:

lots of orange inspiration at:
rsc19 super saturday

oh scrap
UFO busting

organizing my sewing area

I have been in a cleaning organizing mood. It started with this shelf and turned into a complete rearrange. I had just stuffed anything up here that I didn't want to deal with deciding yet. Bad idea. I found so many wonderful surprises aka things I thought were lost forever. The shelves were over my sewing machine.

After the rearrange, my cutting table is under here to the right. So I moved all my frequently used templates to the shelves. Now we will see if I can keep it nice. The books and notebooks to the left are freguently used references. The books to the right are new and I want to remember I have them. On the lower shelf is a jar for leftover triangle bits and a crock for 1 1/2 inch squares.

I made the spinning star for the tiny Tuesday sampler and the rainbow scrap challenge. And I used the 4 patches for sand castles as leader/ enders. I did some other rainbow sewing that I will post later.

And since it had been too long, I made a lone florabunda block.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

Finished or Not Fridays   

Whoop Whoop

peacock party

offwall friday

Oh Scrap

beauty pageant

rainbow scrap challenge

swap blocks

I had a chance to work on my swap blocks for May. I am swapping with 4 other quilters to make our own version of circa 1880. Every month I make 30 blocks to swap, and I receive 30 blocks. It is like Christmas looking at what others have made. I haven't trimmed these yet.

I played a game with myself that for every block I finished, I could iron a languishing hst. I make them from leftover triangles but, I don't always get them ironed. This way I can do the boring part while making my blocks.

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

I am linking to:

WOW

midweek makers

Oh Scrap

pineapple round 2

As a way to chain piece my pineapple blocks, I used a  long strip of color for round 2. I could lay the pineapple centers on the strip and just sew. Then I cut them apart and did another side, and so on.

I have had an obsession with making these little 4 1/2 inch string blocks and creating larger blocks. It uses small bits and goes very fast. And you can't make just one. I did not enjoy making the larger
 6 1/2 inch blocks for sand castles. I took forever and it was more difficult to find the right size strip, but this was fast and fun.

I had cleaned up the string mess from sand castles, and vowed I was going to stop string piecing altogether - at least for awhile. This time the idea came while I was cleaning the desk, and found little squares of phone book paper. I had a nice stack of 4 1/2 inch squares so I laid them on the treadle. I walked by a couple of times, and, then, thought I would just try and see. I imagine it will take a million squares to create a quilt of sufficient size.

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky

Oh scrap

I am linking to:

Monday Making

Moving it Forward Monday 

design wall monday   

boms away 

tiny tuesday blocks

I am still rearranging my sewing room, and sewing on a project is a challenge, but I need to catch up on my tiny Tuesday blocks from the rainbow scrap challenge. At my age, finding a new, albeit a better place, to put something, takes a little time to remember it. I keep wanting to go back to the old place.
I turned my iron on and waited and waited for it to get hot, but it wasn't plugged in to the outlet...yet.
This is the courthouse square for April from so scrappy.

And the spinner block from Academic quilter

And the shoofly block from Bea Quilter that I just needed to frame.

The Tiny sampler is so cute and fun to make. I still have 2 aqua blocks and 1 orange block to do to be on schedule.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

Finished or Not Fridays   

Whoop Whoop

peacock party

offwall friday

Oh Scrap

beauty pageant

rainbow scrap challenge

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

pineapple template

I started the pineapple blocks with a long neutral 1 1/2 inch piece and chain stitched as many 2 1/2 inch squares on it as I could. I did that on each side until I had a framed 2 1/2 inch square. It was my way of chain piecing a block that can't be chain pieced.

I used the creative grids pineapple template to cut the corners. There is a square on the template marked center square, and it places a diagonal cut in just the right place. The center square on the template is just for round one. I had planned on a more traditional look with scraps, until, I found the monkey. It had to be included.

And, magically there were these...

I noticed that round one was really a triangle so I measured, and, a 2 inch triangle will work, if I need to cut more strips in the future. I think I will try a triangle next time just to see if I like doing it that way better.

I am linking to:

WOW

midweek makers

Oh Scrap

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky

stash report May 5, 2019

I have been sorting through my studio and finding many - what was I thinking -bags and bins. I don't know why I dropped the ball on some of them. I must have felt deadlines, and delayed decisions in favor of accomplishing what I felt needed done. Something about Spring fever makes it very soothing to slowly sort and cull the important from the mess. I wonder if it's much like our Mother's mothers felt when they would open the cabins doors and windows and shake the winter from their homes. I have found fabric that I didn't unpack and put away.

Stash report 

Fabric Used this Week 34.75 yards

Fabric Used year to Date: 135.25 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 3.75 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 105.25 yards
net fabric: 30 yards used more than bought

I found a buried jar full of empty thread spools. I had seen a quilter post somewhere that she kept the empty spool bobbins for a year and then had that as a record of how much she had sewn. I thought it was a great idea and started doing the same. But, I didn't take a picture and blog about it.
This is 2017 empty spools.

And this is part of 2018 empty spools before I forgot I was collecting spools. It looks unimpressive in a pile. It should be mounds and mounds for the amount of thread I think I have put through the sewing machine. haha

I stitched 15 min everyday, mostly treadle last week as I am rearranging the "studio" and the sewing machine has been unplugged.

I am working on hexies to fill in my big hexie quilt for slow sunday stitching.

I have been cutting bags of scraps from leftover projects.

I am linking to:

Monday Making

Moving it Forward Monday 

design wall monday   

boms away 

I am linking to:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Oh scrap

sunday stash at quiltpaintcreate

15 min to stitch at life in pieces

May one monthly goal

My May one monthly goal is a the same as the April goal only taking the next steps. I have made it more challenging by upending my sewing room for a remodel. I am not sure why I picked this exact time to try something new, but, it is a big mess right now as we put everything to rights. I had no idea how many little containers of little scrap pieces I kept shoving to the back and ignoring.  The big change is turning the corner with an ikea table. I am going to really like the space to the left of the sewing machine for borders and big quilts and bindings. The corner piece was bigger than I expected, so everything had to move around for it to fit.

The sewing machine has been silent but I have used the treadle to make this string block, even though, I had decided no more strings for awhile, and had cleaned up the area. But, all those little baskets of little pieces I found had to go somewhere.

The ironing board is at best all covered with undecided stuff from the sewing area, and I haven't really had a place to press anything yet. I did find the crayon for the rainbow scrap challenge accessible, and, I could sew the strip together for orange for the color for May.

I am making progress and hopefully, I will back to a regular quilting routine.

For May I want to assemble allietare, quilt and bind smith mountain morning, swap our circa 1880 blocks, and keep current with the rainbow scrap challenge. oh and hook up my sewing machine.

I am linking:

lots of orange inspiration at:

rsc19 super saturday
oh scrap
UFO busting
One monthly goal

I am linking to:

TGIFF

Finished or Not Fridays   

Whoop Whoop

peacock party

offwall friday

Oh Scrap

beauty pageant