orange star

I forgot about scraptastic stars for February. So, I have an orange to share for the last Saturday of February for the rainbow scrap challenge. I had cut the pieces, but, forgot to make the block until I thought about the link up today.

I played with bitty pumpkins in orange using 3 1/2 inch orange squares just for fun.

I am ready for another color,
My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:
 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday

oh scrap

UFO busting - I am featured today

sand castle finish

I am not getting the comments in my email. I wonder if blogger is having a problem. I am sorry if I am not responding to comments. I think I may have fixed it.

I started sand castles early last year and have tried to stick to it until it is finished. It was a massive project to cut and sew 3648 pieces and a bunch of strings together, and, more importantly, to keep me on the same project.

It finishes at 80 x 80 and used 20 1/4 yards of fabric.

Funny story: Cleaning up around my treadle in the living room, and I found this bunch of green sets for the sand castle quilt. It couldn't be, then, I looked at the quilt and sure enough there is only one green in the whole quilt. sigh.... I wondered why I had to cut more sets at the end. Is there anybody working on this that could use a few green sets? I can send them to you.

I'm linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty

UFO busting

This was part of my One monthly goal for February and my goals for PHD 2020

florabunda again

Warning: this project is not anywhere on my goal list for the year. I was just straightening the project area.
Last week I shared florabunda quilt, and wanted to decide if I should finish the blocks and put it away for awhile, or just put it away. I had pieces cut, and, I was at least 4 blocks short of a quilt. While I was counting and figuring, my head said - all the pieces are cut, just...... sew a few.
Next thing I know, I have 52. Well, that doesn't make a layout for a quilt. If I cut a few more yellow strips and triangles, I could go to 56. Next thing I know, I have 61. Don't watch TV while doing this, folks. I am absolutely stopping at 63. Really, I am.

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

Oh scrap

flower box quilt

This quilt has been at the top of my list since the beginning of the year and, I feel pressure to do it right, so I have procrastinated. sigh...

I started cutting for this quilt. The colors and fabric is just scrumptious.

The pattern calls for sets of strips in light, dark, light, and, sets in dark, light, dark. I really tried to make these accurate. From here, I will be cutting diamonds for the tops of the baskets. I am a little intimidated to work with diamonds.

Once I get over the apprehension of cutting the diamonds wrong, It should go faster.

I am linking:

midweek makers - I am featured

boms away 

Oh scrap

to do shoofly

My hubby's heart catheritization went well - no blockages. But, it was a long day. There were 2 emergency hearts that were the high priority, so we did a lot of waiting. The prceedure was 15 minutes, but we were there from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm. Now, we wait to see if the back surgery will be rescheduled. My mind has been a little absent lately. I was grateful for the fun little bits of machine time I have had. It does soothe the soul. I have a few new shoofly blocks.

And the pile is growing. It helps that I have several hsts ready to go in sets of 4. I found a bag of triangles not long ago that made that easier.

I finished this cute little guy for my rug. There are 12 snowman, and, this is number 9. I have 3 sides of snowmen finished here.

last week's to do:
1. quilt sand castle quilt - done
2. finish another snowman for the rug. - done
3. scraptastic star in orange - done
4. put Linda's quilt on the longarm - not done 

Next week's to do:
1. bind sand castles
2. put Linda's quilt on the longarm
3. blog one monthly goal
4. make materials list for March workshop

I am linking to:
to do tuesday

chameleon color linky
oh scrap

frolic rows

My husband was scheduled to have back surgery today, but his cardiologist wanted to do a heart cath first, so the back surgery was cancelled. What a disappointment. But, we will still be visiting the hospital for the heart cath, and see what road that takes us down.

Friday group met, and I worked a little bit on rows for frolic mystery quilt. There is a lot of pinning involved in piecing these together.

And, there was no mention in the directions about joining the sashings together with the navy 1 1/2 inch square we cut earlier in clue 9. I had to scan the photos to see it.

I am linking:

Monday Making

design wall monday 

oh scrap

orange cross block

I didn't have very many orange squares, and the row x row quilt required 2 5/8 inch squares ( weird size for me). So I started cutting big chunks into 2 5/8 squares and 2 1/2 inch squares and whatever finished the scrap

The triangles called for strange sizes cut diagonally, but after doing one that way, I knew my accuquilt dies would work.

It needed a little trimming.

I only did one row this month, and will do the other orange row later, for the month of color that I don't need for the quilt.

so far I have done in orange
1. irish chain
2. country roads
3. wonky star
4. shine
5. houses
6. and the row by row

My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:
 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road i think I have finally found it again.

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday

oh scrap
UFO busting

spike and valley block

I am reorganizing my projects( always) that I keep in my sewing room. I keep long term ufos somewhere else, and like to keep on -going projects in my room for easy access. I still have last year's projects in the room, and hope to move them out to make room for what I am currently making.
Every time I am sure one needs to move, I am so tempted to drop everything else, and work on the old project "just" a little longer.
I started this block using a new bloc loc ruler. At the start, I cut, and cut, and cut scraps with the template. I had no idea what I was going to do with the blocks, so, I just cut.

They are so cute and fun. I quickly realized, I wanted to make the blocks with more matching pieces.
So, I at least needed to cut matching pieces. I made a few star blocks and then, I could let them wait for a better time.

ummm "just" a few more.....

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty

UFO busting

florabunda

It has been awhile since I have had this project out to work on making progress. Since it had been so long, I was planning to send it to the project closet and ufo official status. But, I wanted to see where I stand and maybe make notes.

I have 44 blocks finished and need at least 48, but, I have more cut. I'm afraid if I put it away, I won't remember how I want to make the quilt. Florabunda is a free pattern on quiltville.

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

Oh scrap

legacy quilt

I started quilting in the late 70s with a group of older, lovely ladies at church. My mother in law was just retiring, and caught the bug. She went on to make quilts, and I went on to have babies. We cut our pieces, at the time, with cereal box templates. She hand quilted everything, and made quilts for her sisters and nieces. I hand quilted just a few, and gave them to my mother and sister and my first son. Mine were color coordinated, and hers were scrappy. In my 20s, I thought the scrappy ones were a little ....ugly. lol
She started a quilting group at the local YWCA. She organized a little quilt show. I was proud of her. She made some great friends and made a yearly trip to Paduca. She passed away in 1989 at age 60. Her quilting group made a quilt as a memorial that hung in the YWCA , until the Y closed it's doors.
Her little quilt group went on to form a guild called piecemakers, to which I now belong since 2010.
This month, Karen, brought the little memorial quilt to guild as show and tell, and presented it to me. It was a big surprise and very much appreciated. I'm not the short one.

After years of raising my family, when I started quilting without distractions, I noticed that most of the quilts that we had made years ago that were color coordinated, were very dated and ....ugly lol. think avacado and gold. But the scrappy quilts were still relevant and...classic. I guess that is why I have evolved into a scrappy quilter.  My stash was very much a mix of fabric over the years, and I wanted to use what I had. I still do. I still prefer all the "rules" of a long ago. It was a struggle to accept machine quilting. But, my favorite part is the piecing, so I had to move into the machine quilting era, so I could make as many quilts as I wanted. I didn't want to have someone else do the quilting, so I bought a used longarm. When we downsize, I think I can change my mind about that, too and leave it behind. I like to make bed size quilts for the practical part of things, but, I notice, I am thinking smaller these days.
I often feel sad that I didn't get a chance to grow old with my mother in law, and think she would have been a fun quilting friend.
One little quilt and lots of great memories. That is the real magic of quilting.

I am linking:

midweek makers 

boms away 

Oh scrap

snowman finish

We have a new snowman living with us for my snowman rug. I have been back to my rug hooking guild and I spend a little time each week trying to move my snowman along. I started this nearly a year ago.

I had a chance to lay the whole rug out and check my progress. - so cute.
I am planning to hook the center like a night winter sky.

last week's to do list:
1. quilt woven  done
2. bind woven   done
3. sashings and corners for frolic   done
4. row x row orange   done
5. make shine blocks for orange   done
I finished the whole list hooraY

  Next week's list
1. quilt sand castle quilt
2. finish another snowman for the rug.
3. scraptastic star in orange
4. put Linda's quilt on the longarm

I am linking to:
to do tuesday

chameleon color linky
oh scrap

frolic 1/2 blocks

Yesterday I had some great comments and my hand spazzed and I hit delete. Is there a way in blogger to find them?

Ok, I think I have made it to the assembly stage of frolic mystery quilt. I think I can relax and set it aside for a bit. I could use the break for my brain. And it will be fun to think about other projects. I have had an Editya Sitar brand new quilt kit I have wanted to make since last fall. I keep postponing it for lack of brain power. And I need to finish a Granddaughter quilt. These are the half blocks and quarter blocks for frolic.

I have the sashings ready to sash.

I am linking:

Monday Making

design wall monday 

oh scrap

shine blocks

I have the orange blocks finished for shine quilt. I almost missed this second orange, because it was more coral to me. But, it really is orange next to pink. It definitely looks orange on the computer.

I fell in love with cathy's  at sane crazy crumbly quilts  tiny houses quilt.
She has been making houses with the rainbow scrap challenge for awhile, and, I had fun searching for them on her blog. And, then, I wanted to try them too. They are fun and dandy.

I think all I have left for orange is the row x row. I have cut the pieces and hopefully will have them done next week.


My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:
 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday

oh scrap
UFO busting

woven finish

We had the prettiest, fluffy snowfall, and, I was anxious to get a photo of this recent finish. What a fun combination. I started this quilt last year, as part of the rainbow scrap challenge. Every month I made the 4 patches in the color of the month from 2 1/2 inch squares. Otherwise, it would have been a quick and easy quilt to make.

I used a variegated thread and a free motion swirl pattern. It finished at 54 x 60 inches, and has 429 pieces, and used 7 1/4  yards of fabric ( mostly scraps ). I used my sewing machine for the binding. I am getting happier with the results of machine binding.

The back was a really nice sheet from goodwill. The legs were from my husband. lol

This quilt is part of my one monthly goal for February and one of my PHD 2020.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty

UFO busting

PHD 2020

rsc20 super saturday
one monthly goal

courthouse steps quilt

Slowly, I have been making Bonnie Hunter's wonky log cabin quilt using my strings and crumbs bins. Her pattern calls for 120 blocks and I have one done already that size, but this one, I have started putting it together with 72 blocks. I want to see if 8 x 9 looks like a decent size. I am sewing into blocks of 4.

I have decided to throw the frolic mystery quilt border pieces in as leader and enders along with my other projects. That way, before I know it, I will have the borders pieced and ready to go. I had also seen a border I liked on line and decided that is what I wanted for mine. It will make a ribbon around the edge. cool.

I am linking:

midweek makers 

boms away 

Oh scrap

tiny triangles and wonky stars

My friend Judy gave me this little pint size bag of triangle cut offs from a project she was making. I saw orange in there, so I dumped the bag. Orange is the color of the month for the rainbow scrap challenge, and I have a few blocks that need orange. I was specifically looking for pieces for a small wonky star block. Well that started me down a rabbit hole, again. Judy has the best scraps.

The triangles were all different sizes, since, she had just cut these with scissors from the back of a flip corner. I picked out the orange, and, I started sewing them together. I realized if I trimmed them down, I could use them for the shoofly blocks, too. With boxes and rooms full of lovely fabric, I don't know why these little bits were so fascinating. But,...they...were.

Last week's to do list:
1. borders for woven checkerboard - done
2. frolic blocks - done
3. row x row orange - I am still cutting
4. find a back for sand castles - done

This week's to do list:
1. quilt woven
2. bind woven
3. sashings and corners for frolic
4. row x row orange
5. make shine blocks for orange

I am linking to:
to do tuesday

chameleon color linky
oh scrap

frolic blocks

All of my frolic mystery quilt blocks are finished. They are not all matched sets. There were 4 blocks at the end that were only close enough. Those 4 will be buried in the mix and won't be that noticeable. We will say that they are part of the "charm". They are not my best work, either. I really just want them done, and I am not resewing any points. This mystery has seemed like a chore, but I am persevering. The aqua is very light and looks washed out in the pictures.

I need to make the half, and quarter blocks, and the sashing, before I can start putting this together.

I am linking:

Monday Making

design wall monday 

oh scrap

a bit of orange

I am using a new ironing philosophy to see if I like the end results better. I have more twisted seams than I would like at the final stages of a quilt top. I am going to wait until I piece the top to really iron my blocks. I want to see if waiting until the end helps me nest the seams better when joining blocks. So the pictures of blocks will look a little wonky when I share. Who knows, maybe all I will learn is that I have only postponed the inevitable.

I was surprised how quickly I wanted to make country roads in orange. It wasn't even a planned project for the year, but they are so fun.

I made 8 blocks for the irish chain quilt.

I had so much fun with country roads, I did some more and in green.

My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:
 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday

oh scrap
UFO busting

frolic block

Finally, I can see how a frolic mystery quilt block looks in my fabrics. It is a very involved  block.

I have made a couple of them, trying to get a rhythm going. I am very concerned that I am going to twist or turn something.

These are not done quickly. So, I will be at this awhile.
In other news, I have started rug hooking my snow man rug again.
The snowmen are so cute. I am trying to hook at least one wool string everyday. It's doable.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap

UFO busting