sunshine yellow

Yellow is the color of the month for the rainbow scrap challenge. Yellow is my favorite color, but, it doesn't look as lovely in my patterns as some of the other colors. hmmmm

country roads

tiny houses

I've been working to finish a couple of ufos. I finished Aunt Mary's double irish chain yesterday.

I ran into a snafu with the patriotic ufo. I discovered that I had 3 sashing strips for the inner border attached, but, not the fourth. It was nowhere to be found. I made the decision to unattach one of the borders, and make 2 new ones for the top and bottom. I think it looks ok. I would have preferred they all match. So, all borders are on the top, and, it is on the longarm frame ready for quilting. I hope I get to that today.

My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:

 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road
and now
postage stamp psp20

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday
oh scrap
UFO busting

thoughts on finishing

I made a commitment to finish this quilt and a patriotic one, before, I would do any random sewing or work on wips. I did this because, I had reached overwhelm, with too many plates spinning in the air. With the additional end of the year approaching, I am losing steam. I have had a great finishing year, but I have started too many new projects, too. 

I bought this quilt kit at a blog hop a couple of years ago. I spent time making the pieces, and, eventually, assembled the top. It was much smaller than I had pictured in my mind... much smaller. I knew I needed to add to it, so, it went into the ufo closet. Last week, I was looking for a project I was hoping to finish at a workshop, and, I was confronted with how many ufos were actually in the closet. Hang my head in shame. It was classic out of sight out of mind. I have many really great projects that just need a little attention to be finished and marked off the list. 

Friday might - pull the quilt out of the box and take stock - no ideas

Saturday - an idea came to me, and, I made the first hourglass block

Sunday - I added the inner border - no thinking there.

Monday   made hour glass block using suzies scrap hour glass tutorial. The only math I did was deciding that a 4- 1/2 inch block would make a nice size border.

Tuesday - did a head calculation for how many hour glasses might fit on the quilt and made 55 of them

Wednesday - made half lengths of border, thinking I might have to do an insert in the center to make them fit

Thursday - the border fit perfectly, even making the corner the way I wanted. But, still not big enough.

Friday- decided to add the rest of the scraps in lengths around the outside, and, used all that was left minus a 3x5 inch piece

Saturday - I quilted it. 

Monday -I added the binding

I really like it, and it will have a special spot in my heart for all the "experimenting" and working on it until I liked it.

61 x 74

What I learned about myself during this experiment.

I really don't care if I ever finish, I like the process and being creative. Therefore, I don't have an inner voice prompting me to finish.

It was hard not therapeutically sewing, but, I did feel more in control of what I was doing.

I need to trust my feeling that something isn't to my liking, and work on that.

I renewed my appreciation for just how much time it takes to make a quilt.

I have more than enough wonderful ufos to last a lifetime. I need to make them the go to for a new project

I'm linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

Whoop Whoop

creations

phd 20
peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty
UFO busting

one monthly goal

shoofly done

It's official, I have used all the 1-1/2 inch hsts that I cut and made for shoofly. I have 170 blocks of last year's leader/ender challenge. Bonnie Hunter does a challenge every year. This year is easy breezy. I have a few sewn of easy breezy, but, I wanted to sew all the shoofly blocks before I get busy on those.

the last ones..finally

and a few easy breezy

I am linking:

midweek makers 

boms away 
Oh scrap

I am linking to:

creative compulsions

needle and thread Thursdays

to do: sort

A clean cutting table is such a tempting notion. first, I seldom see such a thing, why mess it up? But, that won't do.. it is a playground of exciting potential messes.  What can I cut? mark? pile? Unfortunately, it is hard to get to my clean table, there are a "few" bags of undecided "things" in front of it on the floor. So, there is the boring place to start.

I have a bag of  leftovers from other quilters gifted to me a while ago. I need to make sense of it. After, sorting through these pieces, I think there is more than enough to make this into a donation quilt. I took a picture, and, put it into a labeled project box. I added the date. If, I don't get to this in a year or two, I need to find some other hapless quilter who might want it.

I have another bag, with orphan blocks, from who knows where. I have another box with orphan blocks. I have seen so many great scrappy quilts that have started with orphan blocks, and, I really want to try it "someday".  But, I really don't have any idea where to start on that. I have started adding dates to any project, I put away, so I can see later, by the passage of time, if I need to let them go. 

more to do?: mess up the cutting table

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky _

oh scrap

October goals

 October has arrived and so has chilly weather. It's time to set my goals for the month. I want to quilt 3 quilt tops that have been waiting a long time.

1. quilt big easy Christmas -   I don't have a start date for this one, it was a class at a quilt store that has been closed a long time. I was in love with the Christmas fabric. One of the owners had made a quilt with the fabric and offered the class. I have the back pieced and the binding made.

big easy Christmas

2.- quilt star gazing -  started july 2017 - this quilt is in Bonnie Hunter's book. I have the top finished.

star gazing 

3. finish traffic jam - I started this at a retreat in early January 2020. It was supposed to be a quick and easy donation quilt. But, I didn't pick it up again after the retreat.

traffic jam

But, first, I plan on finishing this older ufo Aunt mary's double Irish chain. I have committed to finishing this before anything else. It's small and needs borders. These projects will also help with my phd2020

I am linking:

Monday Making

design wall monday 

oh scrap

phd2020

one monthly goal

rsc yellow ps

I am starting the month with the tiniest pieces for the rainbow scrap challenge. I am hoping the color is yellow. I had been adding yellow psp20 blocks as I was making other psp20 blocks, if I found yellow in my scraps. Otherwise, I would not have made them, since, I am committing to finishing a quilt before I work on anything else.  So far, it's been a week, and, I have kept that commitment.

Yellow is my official favorite color.

I have already started looking ahead to next year's rainbow scrap challenge, and, decided it will be a finish year. I still have country roads, tiny houses, and psp blocks to work on making.

My rainbow projects for 2020 with links:

 Irish chain
Shine
row by row
scraptastic star
country road
and now
postage stamp psp20

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday
oh scrap
UFO busting

project box

Last week was a workshop with our quilt guild. Our resident quilt queen had agreed to teach her 2 nd last time 4 patch posey class. I needed to find the two I had already started, to take and finish at the workshop. I, certainly, did not need to start another one with the class, but, it was a committed time to work on finishing. I went through every ufo bucket twice and no luck finding it. I gave it one more try Friday night, and found the bucket. All my buckets are labeled, why was it so hard to find "the" bucket? - too many buckets.

The black floral was Sharon's 1st last time to teach the class in 2016. 

This was the 2015 class, and, my first 4 patch posey quilt. The fabric I chose, wasn't busy enough to make some of the really awesome combinations that make a 4 patch posey unique. That is why I took it again with a different  fabric.

While I had the bucket out, I decided to reacquaint myself with the projects that were stored together.

I guess I was hoping they had become friends and finished each other. sadly, no. But, I had learned one thing, I have too many ufo projects. I had an actual number, and it was scary. I can't share kind of scary. It's time to make the tough decisions.

This was a cute bug quilt kit I purchased a little while ago. I had forgotten about it. I still want to make it. I think I will make this next year's rainbow scrap challenge. Any color that comes up in a month that is in this fabric, I will at least get started that month. I should have plenty of months as options.

This was an I spy quilt made like a polaroid picture. I hadn't gotten much done on it. I have a large quantity of I spy fabric and scraps. But, do I want to work on it? yes and no - that is always the problem. First, I think I will ask my friends if they want to take it, and see if I can pass it along.

This is a zigzag quilt that uses 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pieces. I think I have 49 blocks. I bet there is enough of the blocks for a baby donation quilt- undecided.

This was a veggie jar quilt kit, that I thought was already made into jars, but, no. I will offer this to friends first.

These are the string blocks for Bonnie Hunter's blue skies quilt from her book string fling. I definitely plan on finishing this someday. It goes back into the project box.

I have 2 of these panels that I had hoped to make into donation quilts. Asking friends if they want to make a donation quilt from these panels.

And a quiltsmart package for the double wedding ring. I looked at the plan for this, and, I have leftover wedges from my dwr quilt that I could make use of with this. This needs to go, and, I need to move on.

I had cut for a book quilt for my daughter who has always been a  bookworm. I do want to do this. Another rainbow scrap challenge by color and month.

And, finally, this project was a kit I bought and spent more money than I should have on it, and, it is all pieced. I just need to decide how to finish it. It is smaller than I like, so it stalled. I will finish this and not work on anything  else until I do. No cutting, no piecing, no other quilting fun, until I have this finished. Let's see if I can do it. This will part of my one monthly goal and phd 20

I'm linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

Whoop Whoop

creations

phd 20
peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty
UFO busting

one monthly goal