Working on the red and white layout

 So far I'm having some fun imagining how this red and white quilt will end up looking.  

The schoolhouse and the diamond-stars were the beginning of my Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR) from 2022.  We started with a block and then got challenge clues to add things each week.  I did the diamonds the second week, and then hit a wall with it.  Each week I tried to add something - like the heart above the chimney - but it just wasn't looking good.  So it became a UFO, folded up in a project box along with some red scraps. 

And then along came the Sewcialites 2 sew-along in 2023, and I decided to do 3" blocks in red and white.  Somewhere along the way I remembered the schoolhouse project, and now it's getting some new life.  I'm not at all sure how this will play out but at least it's back on the design wall. 

Design Wall Monday - March 20

 It's always fun to pick up a quilt from the long arm quilter.  On Saturday - finally having Covid behind me - I got out of the house and ran lots of errands.  Picking up this quilt was the first errand, and definitely the best one.

This blue and white quilt is a scrappy sampler using the Riley Blake Design challenge blocks from 2022, and lots of blue scraps.  It makes me think of Delft dishes. I just love 2-color quilts, and this is my 3rd blue and white one.  It's not huge, so it shouldn't take too long to bind.

My plan for this week involves a variety of project tasks, including these:

• Bind this quilt
• cut out parts for Easter table runner  
• make the Saturday Sampler block for this month
• make next block for Scrappiness Is Happiness
• finish borders on a QOV (2 are in my UFO pile)

What's on your design wall today?
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Sewcialites fun

This week's Sewcialites 2 block was another easy one, much to my relief.  This is Fascinate by Sherri McConnell and it went together so well.  The pattern showed the 4-patch sections done with 4 different colors, but I didn't do that.  In the 6" batik version I did use 2 colors.  

I keep playing with ideas for how to set these blocks together as we get close to the finish line.  The only one I have a plan for so far is the 3" red/white blocks.  And that is still a work in progress too.

 

I have decided that 4 of these blocks will become the centers of Friendship Star blocks. I had a fat quarter of a white with little red dots, so that is the background. 

How those star blocks will be incorporated with the rest of this??  Still be be determined.  But I have the pieces ready to add to the top and left sides to mirror the bottom and right side.  That is one of my goals for this weekend.

RSC Saturday #10 - more green

Playing with green this month has given me some insight into just how much green I actually have in my stash.  Green and blue must be my Go To colors, because those are the ones that I have the most of right now.  Do you have certain colors that you tend to buy most often? 

A few little bits of green were used up from the scrap bins this week, in between working on getting that Framed 9-patch quilt to the flimsy stage.  There was plenty of green in that quilt top, so it counts for RSC as well, right?  

Then from a scrap of that floral border print, I made an Irish Chain block.  

I also just couldn't resist playing with a bright floral fat quarter that I picked up on our road trip last month.  More touches of spring were needed in my isolated little Covid world this week - plus there's green here too!  

This is the Invigorate block (Joanna Figueroa) from last week's Sewcialites 2 block release.  I knew I would want to make this block again and again.  I found some green from the scrap bin and pulled a couple of blue and yellow 3.5" squares from the box of leftover 3.5" squares, and added them to the floral fat quarter to make 4 blocks.  These are 9" blocks (finished size), so I'm thinking that 4 together with a simple border would make a great pillow cover or possibly a table runner.

Red, white, and blue may be the next version of that Invigorate block.  

Bonus - the 9" version of this week's Sewcialites block is green too. More about these tomorrow.

What else is happening in the RAINBOW world this week?
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Framed 9-patch is a flimsy

 Too much overthinking is what happens sometimes with my projects.  That is when a WIP has a danger of becoming a UFO.  In this case, I decided to just make a decision on width of border and get this quilt top finished.  My husband was reluctantly holding it up for me here.

So, the dark floral border is working well.  My long ruler is 6.5" so cutting that size strip from width of fabric is very easy, and it's a good size for most quilts too.  That border makes this quilt 66 x 78.  

The Framed 9-patch was definitely a "design as you sew" kind of project.  I had a half jelly roll, which had only 1 strip each of 20 different fabrics in the Country Rose (Moda) line. Originally my plan had been to make those 9-patch blocks with the colors reversed, and put the blocks directly together without sashing.  

However, it wasn't possible to cut the frame pieces (6.5" and 10.5") and the 4 squares needed from each strip.  I came up about 1" short each time I measured.  So I dug into the stash and found the white-on-cream background.  The 5 squares needed for each 9 patch were cut from the jelly roll strips.  Then the leftover parts of the strips were used to cut sashing to put in between blocks.

I think this works out just fine, even if it wasn't the first plan. 

Dogs & Cats Sew Together bag

Sew Together bag #19 is complete.  This is really the only bag pattern that I've made multiple times over several years.  Considering it has 4 zippers, I sometimes question my sanity. But they are very cute so that must be why I keep making them. 

On my PHD list I see that I listed this one as "cats", when the fabric is really dogs.  Or maybe it's cats AND dogs.  I just know I liked the colors and the whimsical look when I bought this fat quarter several years ago.  It's a Laurel Burch print. 

Inside are 3 zippered pockets to hold goodies.  And the long zipper across the top extends down into the handles.  Those end sections have a black dotted batik on the outside, and a bubblegum pink print on the inside that is picked up in the print I used for the lining. 

There is a basket in my sewing room with more parts for more of these bags - just in case.

Ready for a final border

I can't seem to get a photo that does justice to the soft springy colors in this quilt.  It's much prettier colors in real life.   

The rows are all assembled, and the first "stop the eye" border is on too.  I used the same fabric in that first border that is used for all of the cornerstones in between sashing. 

The plan is to add a 6" outer border using that darker print, but haven't cut any of those border strips yet.  I think I want to give it some thought about width.  The quilt is 54 x 66 without that outer border, so my main question is whether to use that 6" width or make is slightly larger.