Design Wall Monday - July 6

We survived the July 4th weekend quite nicely.  On Saturday afternoon I helped out in our DAR booth during an event on the Corn Palace plaza put on by the local Masonic Temple.  The Masons did a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and also recognized local veteran's organizations and our DAR chapter.  It was a small crowd but well received.  For me it was a bonus because one of the Masons participating was a former student and I got to have a great conversation with him after the event was over. 

Multiple neighbors set off fireworks that night, and we just sat on our deck with a cocktail to enjoy their fireworks.  With the tiki torches lit and the solar lights in the flower pots it was a relaxing atmosphere. 

I had planned to work on the next UFO project this week, but I'm going to first deal with some random small projects from leftover fabric uncovered during my recent reorganization.  There is no point in putting some of it back into a drawer, right?

Lost and forgotten projects always seem to show up when I do some reorganizing in my sewing room.  One such project involved some South Dakota themed fabric in blue and red versions.  It was purchased a few years ago to make pillowcases, but the leftovers had been folded and put back into a drawer.  Sunday afternoon 4 Town Square blocks (Fabric Cafe pattern) came together with other leftover fabrics to make a lap quilt for donation.

Smaller pieces of the same print in red will make a couple of placemats.  I'll put off the UFO project until I've finished with these.  My sewing time will be limited this week, fitting in around several appointments.  And this afternoon a nephew and his family plan to visit while they're here from Colorado.  I'm excited to meet their new baby for the first time.     

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog 

RSC26 - Week #27

Happy July 4th!  Do you have fun things planned?  We have absolutely nothing special planned - as usual.  I love fireworks so maybe we'll drive over near the lake to see the fireworks display put on by the city.  

  String Stars is a flimsy.  It's 48 x 60, so a decent size for a couch quilt or for a child.  There are still a few string blocks in the basket, and I'm sure I'll keep making more here and there as the urge hits. String blocks are good for mindless sewing.

Early this week I did a lot of cutting to prep various Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks (and RWB blocks), and it paid off beautifully the past few days because I had plenty of sewing time while avoiding the hot humid weather.  Each day it worked great to choose a particular set of RSC blocks to use as Leaders/Enders.  

I love these Honey Bee (Lori Holt) blocks!  They are going to make a really happy quilt, or maybe I'll divide them into 2 smaller quilts since I've made 2 of each color. 

The Mardi Gras blocks are so fast to make that all 6 of these took less than 15 minutes to sew.  They're made with 7.5" squares, and end up slightly oversized so there is just a bit of sliver trimming to make the blocks a perfect 6.5" square.

Scrappy Stars were next, but I only had 2 of them cut out so far.  I'm going to find some brighter aqua to use in the other 2.   

Sc

Aqua Ticker Tape blocks came together quickly too.  I did end up making just one Hollow 9-Patch block from the smaller leftovers of these other blocks. 

Last but not least I finished a doll quilt this week, about 23" square. Two of the corner squares are kind of dark aqua.  LOL  All 9 of these outer space themed squares were in a bag of scraps given to me a while ago.  Now they've become a doll quilt.  The little alien stuffy was also given to me by another friend - actually a whole bag of various cute stuffies.  I'm planning to tuck the alien in along with a teddy bear wrapped in this quilt when I donate it. 

Let's go check out more Rainbow fun . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Finished (or not) Friday

There are no actual finishes to report, but there are some "nearly" finishes. 

 Because lately I've been working my way through some bags/bins/drawers full of scraps as I do some reorganizing . . . it felt right to just USE some of the things I had set aside.  Two placemats and a doll quilt are sewn, quilted, with binding attached.  These should be quick finishes in coming evenings. 
 

I kitted up a couple of new projects, using Villa Rosa patterns I already had and sets of fat quarters that were languishing on a shelf waiting to become something.  Even though I don't have a plan to start them both right away, having the pattern and fabric together in a clear zip lock bag makes it more likely to stay on my radar. I've done Ebb Tide as a baby quilt, but with this fat quarter set I'm thinking lap quilt.

But now I need to start putting things away rather than just step around the piles of things I've sorted out.  Easier said than done . . . I would rather sew.  LOL

One large quilt came back from the quilter this week, and the binding is all prepped.  In our Sew Vintage group several years ago we made the blocks in both of the Farm Girl Vintage books by Lori Holt.  Like a crazy person, I did both size blocks (12" and 6").  The small blocks were all used in a quilt right away but the big ones lay in a project box until this year.  Now this quilt is nearly ready to check off the UFO list.

One goal I set for myself this week was to choose the next UFO from my list to tackle once Farm Girl Vintage is done.  I've decided it's going to be Windy Day.  This was a free pattern from Tilda's World and I have some Tilda fabrics set aside to make it.  My plan is wall hanging size, so maybe the flimsy will actually be done by the end of July.  I have 3 projects on my UFO list for each month.  The Giddy Up baby quilt is already done and crossed off.  And the PIG (not started) for July is going to be the 2026 Liberty Box project.  I have even bought background fabric for it.  I hope to cut out both Windy Day and Liberty Box next week.  

For more finishes, please visit:  https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Another Quilt of Valor

Another Quilt of Valor award was made Tuesday night.  

This veteran served 2 tours in Viet Nam, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.  The quilt award was made at an evening gathering of family in his backyard. He lives in the same small town as my youngest daughter.  So I was able to combine a little family time along with the QOV award.  He was really tall which made wrapping him in the quilt a bit of a challenge for me since I'm height challenged.

I've continued to work on the Saturday Sampler applique.  The Dresden Plates are all stitched down with a blanket stitch.  My plan had been to do a simple outline stitch on the snowflakes but it doesn't really secure the edge very well, so I may do the blanket stitch on them after all in spite of how many corners and turns there are in each snowflake.

Moving along

More progress has been made on the Saturday Sampler applique, with one more of the larger Dresdens finished.  That section of the quilt also has a couple of large snowflakes.  Once I get that whole section stitched down I'll share another picture.

 I've also been working on the blocks I have cut out and arranged on the design boards when I need a break from applique.  A few RSC blocks in aqua have been made, and a few more RWB blocks too. Having the parts cut and laying on the design boards makes it easy.

There was a small stack of 6" Churn Dash blocks in RWB, just waiting to become something. The stack began with a couple of blocks in a box of goodies from Nann last fall.  I made a few more to go with them, thinking I might use them in placemats or maybe a doll quilt.  

But they also make very nice centers for star blocks or inside a bigger churn dash.  Only 2 have been used like this so far, but the rest are on a design board waiting for their turn. They will end up in a future QOV sampler quilt.  

The other task that is happening in between other things - sorting some fabric, and trying to improve the overall organization of fabric. I've been handed various bags of RWB scraps the past couple of months, and I'm determined to tame them - one bag at a time.  These block parts were cut from what was in one small bag - Gleam and Rail Fence parts. That little bag also had some large squares of some novelty prints that I put into the doll quilt pile.  

One more empty bag!!!  Yay!!!  And - I've started another box for a future rummage sale.  Our guild did really well on the April rummage sale, so we'll probably do it again next year.  My box is now labeled and even has a few quilt-related things in it already.

Applique progress & stash accountability

I've made some progress on the applique of the Dresdens for Saturday Sampler. These 2 quarter Dresdens were finished first, and sewn together with the 9-patch blocks.  This unit is ready to add to one of the big sections.

The color here is very washed out, but this one is also ready to attach to a different big section of the quilt.  Next up are the larger Dresdens, and the big snowflakes.  I'm using a blanket stitch on the Dresdens, but will do a simple top stitch on the snowflakes.  The thread is a grey that seems to be blending in with all of the colors.

Since the beginning of January I've been keeping track of the fabric I buy versus the fabric I'm using.  At the halfway point in the year I'm pleased to be able to show that the yardage OUT are slightly better than the yardage IN.  It's not a big number, but it is good to have used more than I've purchased.  I bought a lot of wide backs the past few months, but I've also finished quite a few projects.  Let's hope I can keep going and make that OUT number even bigger in the last half of the year.

Design Wall Monday - June 29

So . . . here it is midway through summer already and we haven't taken any kind of "vacation" at all this year.  Is retirement really just a Big Stay-cation?  I fear that would be my husband's choice.  There is a big shop hop starting this month.  That might have to count as my vacation this year.

We did spend the weekend enjoying some grandkid activities.  Youngest grandson Jack had a baseball tournament on Saturday about 100 miles away.  It was chilly, overcast, and windy most of the day - with an hour or so of bright sunshine mid-afternoon.  So there is some sunburn to report.  LOL  But they won their tournament, and we enjoyed supper at a great restaurant a couple of blocks from their house afterward.  A fun day!  On Sunday we left about 7 AM to attend the swim meet and watch Olivia.  She's aged up this year at she's 13, but still doing great and shaving time off various events.  

The main project I want to work on this week is to begin stitching down the applique for Saturday Sampler, starting with the Dresdens and then the snowflakes.  The Dresdens also need their center circles, which I haven't even cut yet. 

Some other goals for the week (and month) include:

 ** some cleaning/organizing in sewing room
** RSC blocks - new color for July is aqua
** add last row of string blocks to String Star 
** QOV - continue block making
** bind at least 2 placemats
** Next UFO on list - choose something!!

The first RSC blocks I want to make are the Honey Bees.  I have my 2 aqua fabrics selected, so it won't take long to make them both.  It's month 7 but I skipped the pastels for these last month because there were already 2 bee blocks that were pastel shades (pink and blue).  I want the quilt to have primarily bright blocks. 

I have dozens of RWB blocks all kitted up and layed out on design boards, ready to use as Leaders/Enders.  When we got home yesterday from the swim meet I did some cutting in the aqua scraps for RSC blocks, so there will be plenty to sew up quickly this week.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog