Design Wall Monday

My design wall today is full of blocks for one project while I finish up another one. This bench pillow is nearly done.  To assemble this pillow, I put the front and envelope back together with a bound edge so it looks a bit like piping.  That bound edge is red (same as the inner border) and I'm determined to finish hand stitching it down later today. 

I'm working on the final 8 blocks for 6th Grade quilt.  I'm hoping to have those blocks done today or tomorrow, depending on my work schedule.  Then I can determine the final layout to distribute those colors evenly.  I did have plenty of the background left plus a few jelly roll strips, so I've replaced that really light block that I had in the first layout.     

Linking up with:  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Raspberry Cocoa is finally DONE!!

Raspberry Cocoa has been on my UFO list for 3 years and I can finally check it off.  I love the pink and brown combo in this quilt.  But the reason it was a UFO for so long is because I was hand quilting it.  And because I would set it aside for months at a time with no progress.  

I thought I had chosen a simple design, but it really got lost on this quilt.  My hand quilting choices need to be simpler when used on a busily pieced quilt.  So I ended up simplifying the border quilting - with loops in the corners only, and connected with a simple wavy line down each side. 

Raspberry Cocoa is a Kim Diehl Simple Whatnots design from a few years ago.  And ironically it was one of my #11 items from the APQ UFO Challenge.  Number 11 was announced this morning as the June UFO number. And I had just finished quilting it this morning.  The other 2 items list under #11 on my list are: Pick a Pig and Urban Cabin quilt.  I'm currently working on a PIG (6th grade) so that is good timing.  And the pillow top I showed isn't even on the list.  Guess my plan will be to continue with the 6th grade blocks, and finish quilting that pillow top so I can put it together this next week.   

A light bulb moment

While hanging up some blocks on pants hangers in my sewing room closet, I was distracted by the WIPs and UFOs draped over other hangers in there. Two different Row By Row projects were hanging there, including this row from 2017.  

All of my Row By Row kits, patterns, and license plates are in 2 overflowing project boxes.  After  pulling this row out of the closet I had to dig into the project boxes to find the pattern again so that I could figure out when and when it was purchased.  I picked this row kit up at The Quiltmaker’s Shoppe in Manchester, Iowa while on a road trip with my husband to visit his Iowa clients.  I think I made it soon after purchasing it - and then just hung it in the closet.  I even blogged about all of the goodies purchased on that road trip.  I love all of the  Row By Row license plates and it was a blast looking through those the other day.  

And the light bulb went off in my head about then.  Wouldn’t this row look good as a long bench pillow?  I hadn’t put away the leftover backing from Hayride yet and that soft brown fit in perfectly with the spools in this row.  I know - another distraction, but I just HAD to play with this.  After a little measuring, I cut a 1.5” inner border from a red, and then added 4.5” outer borders.  It’s ready to quilt before trimming it all down slightly to fit the pillow form. I went to The Pin Cushion and bought a little more of the brown for the pillow back.  I already have the long pillow form because I made a Kimberbelle Valentine cover for it this winter.  Hopefully this will be a finish before another 3 years go by, right?

But I promise I'm still working on those 6th Grade quilt blocks too.  

More RSC blocks

 Other quilter’s blogs are always giving me new ideas and inspiration. Earlier this week, The Academic Quilter showed the Ohio Star blocks that she is making for this year’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  She is making 2 different sizes, but more exciting to me was seeing that she is also making blocks with the colors reversed.  

A few of those reversed blocks would add some interesting spots in my own quilt and may be a great way to break up some of the white I’ve been using in the backgrounds.  So here is a pink block to go with the pink one already made, and then a light blue one along with it’s opposite version.  Light blue wasn’t one of this year’s colors - yet - but there was a fat quarter laying on top of the bin, so it seemed like a good color to add to the rainbow. 

I'm still working on the blocks for 6th Grade.  Two more blocks are completely finished, with another 6 of them just needing the final colored pieces and the side triangles.  I have been thinking however that I really don't care for the NAME of this pattern. Love the pattern, but just not feeling that name.  So I'm looking for inspiration for a new name for this quilt.  Any ideas out there??

This n That

I learn something new every day - I hope.  Yesterday on Facebook I saw a post about acronyms for quilting. Most were things I know and use frequently: WIP, UFO, WOF, HST, etc.  But there were a couple that I plan to adopt.

WISP - Work in SLOW Progress.  I'm binding a WISP right now.  Raspberry Cocoa is a Kim Diehl Simple Whatnots project from about 3 years ago that I've been hand quilting.  This is one of those projects that had been residing in a travel bag so I could quilt while sitting in the car or in a hotel room.  Then last winter I pulled it out to work on, and then it lay on a pile of UFO projects until this weekend.  The quilting is done now except for a narrow outer border, but I'm binding it and then will fit the final quilting into the border.  In my case, choosing to hand quilt a project almost guarantees that it will become a WISP.  

WHIMM - Works Hidden in My Mind.  This is the bulletin board in my sewing room.  It hangs between a little basement window (up high) and my ironing board.  It is my idea collection spot.  Notice the framed pinwheel blocks I've been working on - hanging there in a baggie.  And some tiny 9-patch blocks framed with the same type of triangles with hand written instructions.  Several patterns, my calendar, and hiding in there are my Tri-Recs rulers and Companion Angle rulers so they don't get lost.  And really hidden is my little flag that says FOCUS - which reminds me that I should focus more often.  

And I really need to make a sign for my sewing room with this acronym that I've seen before, but need to keep in mind.  SABLE - Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expentancy.  Every time I see that acronym I think about all the treasures living in my sewing room, just waiting for the right project.  And some of that stash is a WWIT - What Was I Thinking!  

Progress on multiple projects

A morning off work yielded a little progress on 3 different projects.  Another set of 8 blocks is gaining rounds.  That second round of colored pieces is now sewn on and they are ready for the second narrow grey round.  And all of the pieces for a last set of 8 blocks have been cut and organized.  I hope to have all of the blocks done by the end of May. 

The RSC color for May was dark green and I finally made my dark green Ohio Star block.  I didn't get all of my dark green RSC blocks made.  For some reason I wasn't excited about dark green.  But the color for June was released early and it's PINK!!!  Yay!  My pink Ohio Star block turned out great.  There are now 17 of these blocks, with some made in 2019 and some in 2020.  Not enough yet for a whole quilt, but we're getting closer. 

And . . . the blue sashing strips have finally been added to these 12" patriotic blocks.  I made the blocks a couple of years ago - at least.  I think it was a block pattern called Fireflies from Saturday Sampler back in 2017, but I'm not positive about that.  And I'm not sure when I made the actual blocks.  The centers were fussy cut to show off the flags.  I also have no idea what I had planned to do with these blocks, but the sashing was in the bag with the blocks.  I'm going to take this next time I go to The Pin Cushion and see if I can find an appropriate border fabric to make a table runner.  

Rainy day projects

A cool rainy day killed my golf plans for yesterday. And on a day like that it’s cold in my basement sewing room, so I spent the day hand stitching upstairs in front of the TV.  The binding on Hayride is finished.  This was a Sew Vintage group challenge - to make a barn quilt from Lori Holt's book Farm Girl Vintage 2.  Her patterns are always some of my favorites.

And the hand quilting on Raspberry Cocoa has had major progress made.  This is a Kim Diehl project from a previous year's Simple Whatnots Club.  I only have the final border remaining to quilt now.   Normally I would wait to bind this after the quilting is all done, but I am going to add the binding so I can make adjustments to how I line up that final quilting.  It’s a small piece so I’m not too concerned about distortion.  This has been on my UFO list for 2 years and I'm determined to finish it in 2020.  

I'm taking this morning off work, and plan to go down and sew while I have a chance.  I have a couple of Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks to make.  And the binding strips for Raspberry Cocoa is ready to stitch together, press, and attach to that little quilt.  I also have another 8 blocks cut and ready to sew for 6th grade.  And there is another UFO ready to add some sashing strips to.  Plenty to choose from so I'm not likely to get bored today.