A bag finish

Tuesday was one of those days with lots of focused sewing time.  No laundry or genealogoy projects to cut into my day, although I did have to go get some groceries late in the day.  The sewing themed Hemmingway bag is checked off the To Do list.
 

The mini version of it is also done.  This is the 3rd set of these I've made.

The pieces are all cut for the Puff bag.  There will be 50 of those little puffy squares, 10 in each of 5 bright colors.  

To Do Tuesday

 Well, there is ONE of the circles sewn into that wine tote project.  Good thing I began with the lining because it didn't go well.  The kit instructions had you do fusible interfacing on the lining to give it structure, and batting quilted to the outer fabric.  Let me just say that the fusible interfacing makes it next to impossible to smoothly "ease" that circle into the bottom of the lining.  I plan to hand baste the bottom circle to the outer fabric because it needs to look nicer than that lining does.  

When I got frustrated with the wine tote, I switched gears to work on the Hemmingway bag because that is a fairly easy project.  The zipper is an interesting process for this bag, and really the only tricky part.  The bag body is all one piece, cut on the diagonal.  The zipper is taken apart so you only use 1 side and attach that to that diagonal seam.

The diagonal is folded around so that the zipper meets again at the edge.  And now the tricky part - getting that zipper pull back onto the teeth of the zipper.  Any little thread sticking out will cause a headache.  But both the large bag, and the mini made with the trimmed triangle are ready to finish with the binding added inside the bag.

And because I was still irritated by that wine tote, I decided to play with scraps for awhile.  Remember the orange Paint Chip block from my Saturday Post?  It was made with 2.5" squares, which I have in abundance.  But I also have a TON of 1.5" squares. 

See the cookie tins and sewing notion tins?  All full of 1.5" postage stamp squares cut from scraps over the years.  I've been using them in the Gameboard blocks to make the center 16-patch unit.  And yesterday morning I had this crazy idea (squirrel) to use some to make miniature Paint Chip blocks too.  Why not?  The tins are really getting full anyway.  

Maybe today I'll finish up that wine tote project.  Or maybe another squirrel will distract me, and I'll go off in another direction.  LOL

Design Wall Monday - June 16

 How is it already halfway through the month of June?  

My focus this week is to finish up some small projects before they turn into UFOs.  

The quilted wine tote bag is seeing progress.  The bottom of both the lining and the outside are ready to stitch.  Then the bag can be turned right side out to add the grommet handles. This particular step makes me think of easing in sleeves when I was doing a lot of garment sewing.  Didn't enjoy it then, and am dreading it now. LOL

Yesterday I layered the pieces with the batting for another Hemmingway bag, and got it quilted.  Once quilted the piece is trimmed to size, and the diagonal is cut.

The smaller piece cut off can be made into a little bag using the same process, so that piece isn't wasted.  This will be the 3rd one of these bags.

Once the wine tote and the Hemmingway bag is done, I plan to cut the pieces for another cute bag from the kit I purchased about a month ago.  The Sweet Potato Puff bag is a free pattern, and The Pin Cushion kitted up some very cute fabrics to make it.  This is a small version of those "puff" quilts that were popular back in the day.  

Of course I have some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks to make in between these projects, and a binding to finish on last year's Saturday Sampler.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #24

Buckeye Beauty blocks have been adding up quickly each month, and it's time to start laying them out to get a feel for how they will be used.  To begin the layout process, I'm sewing these into 4-sies, with the colors on the inside and outside corners.  

Once I had some in 4-sies I just had to start laying them out on the floor.  There are 23 single blocks in the little stack.  The 4-sies are 16" (finished).  Once there are enough for a quilt, then I can rearrange these to balance the color placement.  In the meantime, more Buckeye Beauty blocks will be needed, but it's closer to a quilt.  

One additional pink Give It a Whirl block was added to that set this week, bringing the number to 3 each for all of this year's RSC colors so far.  I'm in love with these blocks!!

Three more of the Triple Triangles happened this week, bringing the total to 9 of these.  These are about 15 x 6".  There are still a lot of those string triangle blocks waiting to be trimmed.  And I'll continue making more through the year.  

And then the 2.5" squares basket came into play . . . with a small squirrel.  I was actually only looking for enough orange squares to make a couple more of the Hollow 9 blocks, but I had saved a photo of the Paint Chip blocks shared by Cathy at Crazy By Design blog a couple of weeks ago.  They also use 2.5" squares, so know just what I had to do.  Two orange Paint Chip blocks were born, and the aqua one just happened because there was a little stack of aqua squares all together right at the top of the basket.  

One other orange project has seen some progress this week.  This is the wine tote that I'm making from a kit given to me by my cousin.  The lining is an orange plaid.  All of the parts and pieces are quilted and trimmed to size so maybe by next week I'll have it all finished

What RSC fun is going on out there this week?
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Friday check-in

This month has been really productive, with 2 quilt tops assembled plus lots of progress on other projects - quilting and beyond.  

The first quilt top was the Riley Blake challenge using my Tula Pink stash.  Lots of white and bright in this one.  One block a week was manageable.

The second quilt top is bright and bold with lots of black to make those colors pop.  The paper pieced Circle of Friends was a BOM project. Each block is 12" finished, and I added a 2" and a 6" border to all sides.  So it isn't huge, but it's a good size (52 x 64) to snuggle under on the couch.  So 2 very different sew along type projects are at the flimsy stage.  

The background of the blocks have 2 different black prints, alternated with no sashing to separate them.  I like how those come together with that subtle difference.  

The third Moda Blockheads 6 block was posted on Wednesday.  It's called Sunday Best by Anne Sutton (Bunny Hill Designs).  This is another 9" block and was a very quick easy one to make - once I cut the pieces the correct size.  My first cut of the red and blue squares were 2.5" instead of the 2.75" size in the pattern.  That is a lesson to read the pattern more carefully before cutting.  The extra squares went into the 2.5" square bin.

Border decisions

The outer border strips are now cut for Circle of Friends.  I debated with myself on exactly what to use but came to a practical decision.

I used 2 different black prints for the backgrounds of the blocks.  The "confetti" print piece didn't have enough to do all 12 blocks, so I alternated them with the black dot.  And I'm happy with the look.  There is a narrow bright yellow border added.  The quilt needed an outer border too.  I had enough of the black dot to do a 4" border, but really wanted to add a 6" border. 

I knew there was another 2 yards of that confetti print in a project bag with a UFO.  A really old UFO I kept thinking I would finish.  A decision needed to be made - keep that black print with the hope that someday I would decide to finish the UFO?  Or use it now for that border?

My decision was USE IT now!!  The UFO project itself might become a placemat in the near future, because I really have to be realistic about the likelihood of finishing it as an actual quilt.  It feels so good to Let It Go (the UFO), and to use that fabric. 

A fall flimsy & a book

Two of my goals for the week are actually done, and the week is only half over. Yay!!

The pumpkin door hanger for fall is now a flimsy, ready to quilt.  Once those gold flowers were done, the rest of this went together very quickly.  It's only 20 x 36, like the others I've done.  These have all been kits from Riley Blake.  This one and the Valentine one both need to be quilted and bound.  The binding for both is prepped and labeled.  

The genealogy project I've been working on involves a Shutterfly photo book about my late father-in-law's WW2 experience.  I've spent hours organizing and scanning the photos he brought home.  And many more hours have been spent downloading and printing a book written about his unit - from training through the end of the war.  Add in some time spent researching some places and events, and this has been a BIG task.  

Now I can focus on some other projects.  

Dinosaurs & project cutting

 The Dinosaur Quick Strippie baby quilt is finished, and I can check it off my UFO list.

The Quick Strippie is one of my GO TO patterns for baby quilts.  This is the 7th or 8th one I've made.  It's done with WOF strips and really is quick as the name says.  I think there are 2 or 3 more of these hanging in the closet right now, just waiting to be quilted.  The backing for this is a paint splash print and has all of the colors from the dinosaur print.  Carol quilted cute little dinosaurs all over it, and they even have smiles on their faces.  Now it's ready for the next time I need a baby quilt to gift. 

I have been working on the pumpkin door hanger, and am pleased with my progress. When I got tired of sewing little pieces, the blocks for Circle of Friends came out and are becoming rows.  I've even chosen a bright yellow for a narrow first border.  

When I needed a break from sitting at my sewing machine, I did some cutting.  There are 3 of those Wisdom (churn dash) blocks all cut and ready to sew.  Once done there will be 20 of those blocks made from a layer cake.  The pink and white pieces in the upper corner are for a pink Whirl block.  I've been trying to make 3 each month but only had 2 pink ones done prior to this week.
  

And I cut the pieces for the wine tote project.  The fabrics in the kit were both excellent choices.  This print was from a Minnesota Shop Hop several years ago.  I'm not overly impressed with the pattern included in this kit however.  I'm sure it will work out fine in the end, but the instructions are just not very well organized.  

Design Wall Monday - June 9

 Happy birthday to our oldest grandchild, Mason!  He turns 14 today. It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby.

My design wall this week contains a mix of things "in progress" and neglected projects not started yet.  One main project this week will be to get the top made for the pumpkin door hanger.  This will be a cute one for fall.  All the pieces are cut and labeled - ready to sew.  Because it isn't very large (about 20 x 36) it should take long to get the top done.

Another project for this week is getting the Circle of Friends blocks sewn into rows, and maybe even get the center of the top assembled.  My plan is to add a narrow bright color border before putting on a final black print border.  But I'm not sure what color yet.

I prepped binding for 2 things yesterday, at least to the point where it needs to be pressed.  The checkered binding is for the door hanger.  The solid black binding is for the 2024 Saturday Sampler quilt that I just picked up from the quilter.  It is 97" square so I'm dreading attaching that binding to the quilt.  And also dreading how long it might take to hand stitch it down.  

Two small kits have come out of hiding - as potential PIGS to work on if I finish the other goals I've set for this week.  Kit #1 is a wine tote kit that my cousin sent to me this spring.  She had purchased it but realized she wasn't going to get it made.  

And kit #2 is for another Hemingway bag.  I had gathered some fat quarters for this but hadn't actually done anything further.  It's time is getting near.  

There will also most likely be some random block sewing as there are a few blocks kitted up to be Leader/Enders in between all those small pieces in the door hanger.  We'll see what actually gets accomplished.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #23

Orange might possibly be the color I have the least of in my stash or the scrap bins.  This small paper bag is now sitting next to my sewing machine, and it contains ALL of the orange scraps that I have, other than the squares I've cut (2.5", 3.5", 5") from other scraps.  

I dug into those orange scraps to make 4 string triangles.

One orange string triangle is trimmed and framed with some colorful friends.  I'm calling these Triple Triangles for obvious reasons. There are actually 6 of these blocks so far, but lots more of the string triangles need to be trimmed and grouped into sets of 3.  

The little bins that hold 2.5" squares already cut from scraps didn't yield very many orange ones either. But I did find enough to make a couple of the Hollow 9 blocks.  Once I dig deeper into that little bag of scraps I'm sure I'll find a few more pieces to cut into squares.  I want to try out another scrappy block that uses 2.5" squares - and yes it is another one of those little distractions inspired by something I saw on a blog a week ago. 

The bin with the Buckeye Beauty blocks had some orange charm squares, but also has a lot of purple and other colors.  I'm trying to stick to really bright shades of each color.  I made the 2 orange blocks, and then just kept going to make 3 others that are not orange.  One more orange one was made yesterday.   

The Give It a Whirl blocks use 2 each of 2 different charm squares.  My charm square basket yielded a couple of options, but I will admit that I dug into fat quarters for more choices.  That lighter version has 2 Halloween prints, which was fun.  

My goal is to have at least 3 of each color so I made the extra yellow and red ones that I skipped before.  I still need 1 more pink one.  

One orange Gameboard block was made, but the second one will have to happen next week.  These begin with that 16-patch in the center made of 1.5" squares.  I'll have to look in the little cookie tins that are full of these postage stamp squares for orange ones.  I'm sure there will be plenty of any color I might need.  Those 16-patch units make awesome Leader/Enders. 

What RSC fun is going on out there this week?
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/  

The Riley Blake Challenge flimsy

One WIP is a step closer to finished.

The 2025 Riley Blake Design challenge provided 1 block per week for a total of 16 blocks, and this is the third year I've participated I think.  It's an easy sew along to keep up with because the last week of each month is a catch-up week.  This year's layout added one more block to the middle and surrounded it will a checkerboard.  I decided to use the RBD bird block in the center.  That bird block was shared a few years ago.  

My fabric choice for this was to dig into my stash of Tula Pink fat quarters.  So it's scrappy, but a controlled scrappy.  The background is scrappy white.  The top is about 65" square. 

This and that

Happy birthday today to my son-in-law Jamie.  He nearly had to share a birthday with his boy Jack.  We have 1 more June birthday coming up next week.

I've mentioned that we have feral kitties hanging around the past couple of months.   

One had 5 kittens about 6 weeks ago.  We found them once, but then she moved them and we haven't actually seen any of the kittens again - just the mama.  Until Tuesday morning when I went down to sew about 8:30 and heard pitiful meows coming from my 4' deep window well.  This poor scared little baby was shivering in the corner.  Hopefully it hadn't been in there very long.  Dave went out and set a ladder down into the well.  He picked up the kitten and set it on the grass.  It scampered right under the deck.  So maybe the mama has had them under the deck at some point because it certainly knew where to go to feel safe.  Late afternoon when we checked the kitten was gone, so we're hoping mama came and got him.  AND - at 5:00 this morning a little sibling was crying in the window well.  Rescue time!!

The second block pattern in the Moda Blockheads 6 was posted yesterday morning.  Of course I dove right in and cut the pieces for the block.  It's called Crossroads by Lynn Hagmeier (Kansas Troubles).  Neat block, but there was way too much wasted fabric as the pieces for the HSTs and QST could have been much smaller.  Like the first block last week, it was suggested to make 2 of them.

The Riley Blake project is another step closer to being a flimsy.  The 16 blocks plus some sashing make a wide border around that center checkerboard area.  One more purple border will finish it off, and the strips are already cut.  This quilt is square, which isn't my usual preference.  But I liked the layout that was used in the pattern so I'll be OK with square.

Birthdays & Goals

First of all - Happy Birthday YESTERDAY to this handsome young man!!  Jack turned 10 yesterday, so now all the grands are in double digits.  He is the only one still shorter than me.  The oldest one will turn 14 in just a few days.  They are growing up way too quickly.  

Summer has begun, but it doesn't seem like as much of a big deal as it did when I had kids at home and we planned for fun summer activities.  I've been trying to come up with ideas for a vacation this summer, but for now we'll just have STAY-CATION time.  That gives me plenty of sewing time, right?  And hopefully I'll get in at least 1 golf round per week. 

In preparation for some orange sewing I have the parts cut for some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  And I've made the 2 side panels for the Riley Blake project. 

Creative goals for the month . . . 

• #1 Priority - Finish the genealogy project!!

• Saturday Sampler - row for June
• Bind the Saturday Sampler from 2024
• Bind Dinosaur Quick Strippie baby quilt
• Bind Pyramid quilt - if it's ready
• Take Hummingbird quilt to long arm quilter
• Quilt the Sunflower wall hanging myself
• Rainbow Scrap Challenge - ORANGE is June's color
• Buckeye Beauty blocks
• Brighten blocks
• Triple Triangle (string) blocks
• Hollow 9 blocks
• Give It a Whirl blocks
• Gameboard blocks
• Quilt of Valor blocks - Spools
• Riley Blake project - flimsy
• Circle of Friends project - flimsy
• PIG - fall pumpkin door hanger

 The door hangers are only about 20 x 36, so one would think that I would have gotten them made almost immediately when they arrived.  LOL  I subscribed to these from Fat Quarter Shop a couple of years ago - 1 per month.  Like any subscription of this type I kept up for awhile, then there was one I didn't want to make at all, and of course the finishes were hit and miss after that.  I think this is a good one to work on this month, as I really like it plus orange is the color of the month for RSC.  

Riley Blake progress

 

One step closer to a finished quilt top.  I hope to get the blocks all layed out around this center section this morning. 

This looks so washed out in the grey light, but the purple is actually much richer in good light.  The checkerboard is definitely something different than anything I've done before.  

Design Wall Monday - June 2

Like millions of other people, we have an air quality alert here due to that smoke in the air from wild fires in Canada.  I'm not going to whine about however, because I'm just really grateful that we are not directly impacted by those fires.  The smoke has triggered my allergies, but that's better than being in a fire zone.

I did get 9 holes of golf in on Saturday, but spent a lot of the rest of the day indoors working on a genealogy project.  More time on the genealogy happened on Sunday too, but I did get some extended sewing time in.  And laundry, always laundry!

I'm hoping this week to get the Riley Blake Design challenge blocks all set into a finished quilt top.  There is a big checkerboard surrounding a central block.  I switched out the central block in the pattern for the Riley Blake bird block, framed by the purple sashing.  One side of the checkerboard is done, 3 more to go.

The strip sets for the checkerboard were quick to make using 3" strips.  Once the full checkerboard is made and attached there will be another purple frame.  Then the 16 RBD challenge blocks will go around the whole thing.  

One other project this week is to put the Circle of Friends blocks into rows.  There are 2 different dark backgrounds, so those are alternated.  Once this center part is assembled, then I'll figure out borders. This was a paper pieced monthly sew along by Carol Doak, and all on Facebook.  She plans to start a new set of blocks in July, which I may or may not make.  I do feel like making these blocks has improved my skills. 

Of course there will be some scrappy sewing in between these projects - more Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks and most like more Quilt of Valor blocks.  

A list of goals for the month of June is coming, but I needed to remove some things as it was totally unreasonable.  I need to keep working on UFO/WIP projects, and still have time to work on some new things too.  But I have to be somewhat realistic.  LOL

I'll be picking up one granddaughter from swim practice this morning, and then we will shop for a birthday present for her little brother who turns 10 tomorrow.  When I get home this afternoon I may sew or I may dig back into that genealogy stuff.  I'm kind of determined to have the genealogy project done by the end of this week too, but there are still a lot of old pictures to organize and scan.  It began as a secret project, but my husband noticed what I was working on.  I told him this was seriously cutting into my sewing time, but I'm excited to have it done. 

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog