Design Wall Monday - chevrons

I've started another baby quilt. This one will go to a niece in Australia for the baby girl due soon.

I have been looking at several different patterns for making a chevron, but finally decided on this one using simple half square triangles. My friend Pam made a teal and grey chevron quilt for a niece and when I saw how cute it turned out, I knew I would use the same method.

These started out with 6" squares so this top should come together fairly quickly. And I'm hoping for some sewing time in the evenings this week. I have a binding to finish this week too.

I'm linking up to Design Wall Monday at http://www.patchworktimes.com so check out what other quilters are working on today.

Sunday stash report

Do I count stash enhancement that came as a gift? I guess if I plan to count it when I used it, then I should count it as added to the stash. And these fabrics are so fun to add to my stash and will be loads of fun to use.

A dear friend sent me an early birthday gift because she knew I needed a little "pick-me-up" last week. And what a wonderful little package it was: 3 new fat quarters from the 2016 Row By Row fabric line and 2 yards of fun Halloween fabrics. And of course new fabric always gets the creative juices flowing so I have already spent some time imagining what I might make with these. I keep pulling out this house print and finding something new in among the houses and trees. See - fabric brings me hours of fun and I haven't even cut into it yet. 

I didn't purchase any fabric myself this week and I did get my RSC15 quilt bound. So I have some very positive numbers to add to the stash report.

In this week: 2.75 yds (gift)

In this year: 11.75 yds

Out this week: 6.5 yds

Out this year: 25 yds

It's inspiring to see that I've used twice as much fabric this year as I've purchased. 

RSC15 Sampler is finished

I finished the binding on this sampler on Sunday night and I am thrilled with how this quilt turned out. My photo on the deck early this morning isn't the best, but it doesn't show off the great design of the criss-cross squared and the stars. Thank you to SoScrappy for her great pattern!!

The quilting was done by the gals at The Pin Cushion and it's perfect - swirls and circles. I decided on the bright green backing and had the blue binding fabric in my stash. That blue is actually left over backing from a previous quilt.  So I'll be able to check this one off. It may end up on my bed for the spring since it's so bright and cheery.

Do these count as vintage?

I found 4 of these candlewicked muslin blocks folded up in a box in my closet. I made them in the early 1980s and originally planned to make them into pillows for our bedroom. Are these now old enough to be considered vintage? 

I was really into this candlewicking for awhile. Since it's all French knots, it goes pretty fast and there were lots of beautiful patterns available at the time.  But like so many things these poor blocks became a lost project and were never finished.

The muslin squares are about 18" although the stitching is only about 9" in the centers, so they could be easily any size in between that. I'm kind of thinking that I could make 5 pieced blocks using the same dusty blue (maybe a 30s print) and create a 9-patch wall hanging with these. 

I would really love some suggestions about pieced block ideas to go with these. Any ideas??

A small finish to add to my stash report

Wow!  I am so much happier with this mini quilt than I was when I first started it. And I finally got a photo that is fairly accurate with the colors.

Isn't it strange how sometimes when you have a project going in those first stages, it suddenly doesn't look like you imagined it would?  And then the disappointment sets in and that is when things are in danger of being set aside to never to finished. 

That is where this project was after I had about 3 of the sections made. I was seriously questioning my color choices and just didn't like it.  But I pulled it out this month and decided I needed to "suck it up" and finish it anyway. It has a lot of pink in it so it will meet our guild challenge to make something with pink. And now that it's hand quilted and bound - I love it. 

This pattern is from a book on paper pieced minis called Little Gems. And now that I have this one done I've already been looking through the book to figure out which one I want to try next. But not right away.

Now for a quick stash report. I forgot to do one last week so this is a 2 week report and I only have 1/2 yard of "used" fabric to claim - for this mini quilt. But I'm getting really close to adding some bigger used numbers as soon as I finish some binding. Last week I did add 3.5 yards of stash enhancement however.

In this week: 3.5 ydsIn this year: 9 ydsOut this week: .5 ydsOut this year: 18.5 yds

I am still ahead of my stash by 8.5 yards this year so far. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Another quilt to bind

My Cottage in the Woods quilt was quilted this week at The Pin Cushion and as always I love the results. Can you see the pine trees swirling through it?  I think this one may hang at the bottom of the stairs to my basement. It's time to replace the existing quilt hanging there that has been there for several years.

The binding is made and ready to be sewn on so maybe by the end of February I'll have both quilts bound and checked off my list.

Valentine charm squares

Last Saturday at our Sew Vintage group we exchanged Valentine charm squares. Nice selection isn't it? Plus there is one very vintage-styled 10" square from one generous gal. Now I need to figure out what these want to become.  Any ideas from my readers? I would love some suggestions.

Perfect cat nap spot

I had Monday off and managed to get the binding added to this quilt and also finished a paper pieced mini quilt. I even hand quilted the mini that evening. Anyway I dropped the quilt on the floor by my chair so I could start trimming and then do the hand stitching on the binding. The cat claimed it immediately.

And for the past couple of nights that is where he has been sleeping - a good spot to guard me while I sleep on the sofa. I woke up before midnight Monday night - sick as a dog. Guess I have the flu, so I've been sleeping in the family room. And sleep is exactly what I did for most of yesterday. 

The quilt is still on the floor and when the cat isn't curled up in the quilt pile, then he's snuggled next to me on the sofa. I'm a big wimp when it comes to being sick but I have eaten some toast today and except for the aches and headache I feel like I'm on the mend again. And the cat is happy because I haven't moved (or folded up) his napping spot.

Design wall Monday - column 2

The second column for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 is done and the best news is that it came out the exact same length as the first column.

This year's sampler is a column quilt. January gave us blue with a touch of purple. February was brown with some pink. And the columns will have a variety of different sized blocks. Very unique idea!  Just google RSC16 or go to http://superscrappy.blogspot.com . 

Check out what other quilters have going on this week at:  http://www.patchworktimes.com 

Paper piecing

It's been a week since I last posted and up until today that hasn't been much to share. Work gets in the way of fun these days.

But this afternoon I finally got back into my sewing room for a couple of hours of play. I finished up the paper pieced blocks sections for this one. It's only 12" square so you can picture the size of all those little pieces. I have it sandwiched and pinned so it's ready to hand quilt. This was a UFO and it was the one I decided to pull out for February.

Our guild is doing a scrap challenge this year, and we are being challenged this month to do something with pink - work on a pink UFO, make something new - whatever we choose. This has plenty of pink in it so this is the UFO I'm choosing.  I also have a new pink project I want to make, but I'm not sure I'll get that started yet this month.

RSC16

 The month of February is showcasing brown - with a touch of pink - as the color for RSC16. And the block is a cute little 6" one called Patience Corner. Very quick cutting and sewing for this one. I had time on Sunday to make 3 of the 12 I'll need for my February column. I'll need to do a bit of digging for brown in my scraps as I don't use a lot of that color.

Sunday stash report - Feb 7

It was a slow week in terms of sewing. I bought a kit for (and made) a fabric snowflake that's now hanging in my sewing room, and I made a table topper for a guild donation project.  I also dropped off my Cottage in the Woods quilt to be quilted. And I hemmed up a new pair of slacks - does that count as sewing since I used a needle and thread? The first half of the month of February will probably be a little bleak in terms of sewing/quilting because my work schedule won't leave me much time except for maybe a little handwork.

I've corrected my "out" number this week after double checking the spreadsheet I keep. And yes, I must admit I'm so anal that I keep a spreadsheet. Now you know what a nerd I really am.

In this week: .5 yds

In this year: 5.5 yds

Out this week: 1.5 yds

Out this year: 18 yds

My stash is not winning so far this year. I'm realistic enough to know that I'll be buying more fabric but it's fun to be ahead for a little while. 

Fabric snowflake

Do you remember making these out of paper in elementary school?  I've been seeing these online and also at my favorite local quilt shop. So this week I bought a kit with the instructions - and VOILA!  I've made a snowflake from fabric.  

Snowman table topper

Sunday afternoon produced a table topper - complete except for the binding. The center is from leftovers of a panel and the navy snowflake fabric was left over from the backing of a past quilt. There is enough of it left for the binding. All from my stash and I even machine quilted it myself.

Our guild will be donating some seasonal table toppers and hot pads to a local agency for disabled adults. I think this will be a fun addition to that donation collection.

I'm connecting to Judy's Design Wall Monday at http://www.patchworktimes.com .