Design Wall Monday - June21

Last week I stayed focused and actually got some tasks done.  My reward - pulling out some PIGS!  I'm going to work on a couple of new projects, both mini quilts from kits hanging out in my sewing room.

I began with a cute little mini for fall, with acorns and leaves that I bought because it was so darn cute.  But then you get it home and realize it requires cutting LOTS of pieces only 3/4" square.  Yikes!!  So it has been waiting until now.  First step - make those 4 acorns.  And right off the bat I'm not happy with the pattern.  Holy cow - it's written in 10 point type!!  Small type doesn't make me happy.  Neither do instructions that guide you to something that looks nothing like the picture.  Acorn #1 was a failure!

There was plenty of fabric so I recut that bottom green section and made the little corner pieces smaller.  The pattern called for 1.5" background squares, and I changed them to 1" squares.  Much better.  These 4 acorns are 3" (finished) blocks.  That is insane!!  Now on to making the 3" leaf blocks with their gazillion tiny HSTs.  There will be 5 leaves.   

The other mini quilt kit should be much easier to make.  These kits are from 2023, so they've been laying around too long too.  This one is so cute!

All of the pieces are cut, and labeled on a design board so it will be ready to start sewing.  I will point out there are 56 little 1" squares for the corners of all those sunflower petals.  Maybe it won't be as quick as I thought. 

A lot of cutting happened on Sunday, including plenty of parts for more Quilts of Valor blocks.  The final borders for Indigo Way are ready. And a whole bunch of the 4-Patch Fun leader/ender blocks are cut. Two more of the Spool blocks are half done.  And strips are cut for a couple more of the 25-Patch for the Ribbon QOV.  No chance of getting bored this week.

As for hand stitching, I'm so excited by the quilting that the long armer did on these 2 door hangers, and they are now both ready to bind.  Because these are small they are quick to bind.  I'm starting with the pumpkin door hanger. 

OK - full disclosure - I bought a kit for a bench pillow during Crazy Days on Friday.  So, maybe this will be started this week too.  We'll see how it goes.  We have 2 really nice little quilt shops in town, and I checked out the bargains at both.  A few items came home with me besides that pillow kit - a scrap bag of Halloween fabrics, a few fat quarters and 1 yard cuts, a charm pack, and a couple of patterns.  The only other stop I actually made for Crazy Days was a clothing store where I bought 2 shirts at 50% off.    

There will definitely be more block making in between to keep up with Blockheads, Quilts of Valor, and Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #29

First of all - I'm not 100% sure anymore what number of week this is.  I noticed that in June I had said it was Week #24 - TWICE!!  That means we're further into 2025 than I thought. Yikes!!!  It's flying by isn't it?

One more RSC set of blocks has become a flimsy.  I'm really tickled with how this one turned out.  A rainbow of scraps can become a really beautiful quilt.  The Buckeye Beauty blocks are known by a few different names.  I do believe these blocks have become one of my favorite blocks this year and so I just kept making them.  This flimsy has 80 blocks in it.  A couple of extra ones are in the orphan block box - seed for another quilt in the future quite possibly. 

Two purple Gameboard blocks happened, one more lavender, and the other deeper in color.  So far I've been making 2 of these each month.  The first ones began with the 16-Patch units that were left over from a previous project.  But now I'm having to pull out the cookie tins full of postage stamp size squares to make those centers.  No worries - I'll never run out of 1.5" squares to use in these or any future projects. 

With only 2 blocks made each month it will take quite a while yet to have enough for a quilt.  But these do look pretty cute together already.  I'm thinking of a future baby quilt. 

The Paint Chip blocks arrived on my RSC list just this summer, so the collection is still pretty small.  I did a test block in aqua - just because those 2.5" squares were on top in the bin.  But once I did a bit of sorting by color, the other blocks were quick.  I've only made 1 purple one so far this month (not counting the miniature version) and will eventually go back to making the other RSC colors too. These would also make a cute baby quilt.  

Because I got a little carried away with the miniature versions last month, I used most of them in this topper for my front porch table.  It doesn't lay very flat because my quilting wasn't done very well.   

Let's see what else is going on in the RSC world this week.
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Red, white, and blue

I had a couple of WIPs on my To Do list for this week, and made myself a promise to finish those tasks before playing with anything else.  I'm happy to say to both the Buckeye Beauty quilt top, and the row for Saturday Sampler were finished.  

Indigo Way also has 1 border added.  As is, the top is only 51 x 64 and for a Quilt of Valor it needs to be a little larger.  The plan is to add a dark blue outer border.  

And since I'm determined NOT to fall behind with the weekly Blockheads sew-along, more red, white, and blue was on my agenda. 

Sandcastles, by Sherri McConnell is the Blockheads block for this week.  This was another quick block to make.  It's a 9" finished block, and I made 2 versions.  I'm using scraps for these blocks, and will most likely use them in a future Quilt of Valor.  I think there could even be enough for 2 Quilts of Valor.  And because I had the RWB scraps out . . . I kept right on playing with some current QOV blocks.

There is a QOV sew-along beginning on Alycia's Quiltygirl blog and I just HAD to join in.  I have no delusions about keeping up each week.  But I can keep making the blocks for The Ribbon as time allows.  Besides - I really like her design for this quilt.  So far I've made 2 (of 18) of the 25-Patch blocks for this one.  Again, the plan is for scrappy.  These use 2" strips.  

Bonnie Hunter posted her annual Leader/Ender pattern earlier in the month, and I've made a few in . . . red, white, and blue.  She's calling it 4-Patch Fun.  While playing with RWB scraps last week, I cut a bunch of parts for these little (6" finished) blocks and did use them this week as a Leader/Ender in between my other projects. It's nice to slide these through before and after, rather than cutting thread each time I end a seam.  Guess it's time to cut another stack of these.  I layed them out together on the front porch, but also am thinking these could look great used as a border around a patriotic panel.  Hmmm . . .   

Saturday Sampler row #6

This month's row for Saturday Sampler was a little tricky, but it's done.  And I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.  The previous blocks used 2 or 3 of the 6 fabrics, but this one used 5 of them in the blocks.  Next month should be the final row design.  It looks like it's a narrow row, done twice - both above and below this center row. 

Midweek progress

The Buckeye Beauty blocks are now a flimsy.  Yay!!  It's so easy for me to procrastinate on long-term projects, but I finally just dug in and finished it.  There is even a backing selected I think.  I made myself a promise that nothing new could be started until I got a couple of WIP moved forward this week. I can check off one of those now.

Next up is Saturday Sampler.  This month's row has 2 different block designs alternated in the row, using 5 different fabrics.  Block A is all done - 4 of them.  This row is 15" tall, so each of the blocks are 8 x 15. 

Block B has a good start. 

The parts are cut for 2 purple Gameboard blocks for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and there are some 2.5" squares sorted out for Paint Chip blocks.  Hopefully they will all be sewn by the end of the week.

Donations

 

On Sunday afternoon I emptied out the closet where I store quilts that will be gifted or donated, and sorted through those quilts.  There are now 8 quilts ready to go to the local safe house.  And there are also 12 soft little "stuffies" wrapped it a small quilt ready to be donated as well.  

I'm very happy to be able to give these to someone who could use a hug - and hope with the gift of a quilt or stuffed animal they feel that hug. 

Design Wall Monday - July 14

One task I set for myself on Sunday afternoon was to sort through the quilts I planned to donate and get them ready to go.  More on that later this week.   

I'm getting tired of seeing these blocks layed out on the floor.  Are you?  Actually there are 2 rows sewn together so far, but it's time to get this project moved forward to the flimsy stage.  Unfortunately I've been procrastinating on it - and playing with other things.  Someone needs to kick me into gear!!

All of the parts are cut for the new row of Saturday Sampler.  This will be a wide row that sits in the center of the quilt.  I think next month will be the final row.    

The first wide border for Indigo Way is also cut, so this is also on my list of projects for this week.  I haven't decided on the outer border yet, but am leaning toward a dark blue.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #27

The second Saturday of the month is always my favorite one because there is Saturday Sampler in the morning, and then our Sew Vintage group meets after lunch.  Yay! 

The only purple thing I can report for this week is a doll quilt using lavender/cream HSTs and squares left over from a backing.  The back of this one is more of that pink print.  The binding is leftover binding, and it's also purple.  It's now wrapped around that cute little pink pig stuffy, and ready for donation.

There is an RSC finish to report however, and I really really really like how this turned out. Pyramids was a block set from 2023.  Each block is made from one large colored equilateral triangle, plus 3 smaller colored ones, and 9 small background triangles.  

The small triangles are sewn into 3 identical units that are the same size as the big triangle.  I saw this block online but with no pattern.  I did the math to make these end up as 12" tall.  The blocks were actually pretty easy to make and all together they made a cute scrappy quilt to be donated.  

One more RSC project is a Work In Progress now.  A couple of the Buckeye Beauty rows are now assembled, and maybe by next Saturday it will be a complete flimsy.  

There is a LOT MORE inspiration out there in the RSC blog posts.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

The end of a week

I've fallen behind in reading blogs the past few days, and also in commenting or responding to comments on my own blog.  Life happens. 

Monday I played golf.  Tuesday I had appointments.  

Wednesday morning began early as I had to make a quick trip to the clinic for a blood draw prior to my annual physical.  But just before I left we both got phone calls from friends to share some very bad news.  In the tiny rural town we lived in previously there had been a house fire, just 2 doors from our old house.  The husband and wife living there both died in the fire.  We were neighbors for 2 decades, I taught with her for many years at the same school, our kids went to school together, she gave both of my girls piano lessons.  I just had lunch with her 2 weeks ago.  It was just so shocking and so sad.  The loss of these 2 fine people will leave a big hole in the community. 

Honestly, I never set foot in my sewing room Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday this week.  Yesterday morning was sewing time, and I worked on some binding in the evenings.  There will be a UFO finish to show off for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge post tomorrow.  

Yesterday involved making this week's Blockheads block, another 18" block.  It's called Bellissimo Star by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree.  The block went together nicely but there was a lot of waste left when making it.  

I used some of that waste to make a 6.5" block to use as a mug rug.  

One row was assembled for the Buckeye Beauty top, and I made several of the QOV blocks that I had kitted up for Leaders/Enders.  Today I hope to get more rows sewn with the Buckeye blocks.  

Buckeye Beauty layout

 

The Buckeye Beauty blocks are all set into 4-sies (16" finished), and are ready for a final decision about placement.  Next step is to sew these into rows, and then into a completed flimsy which will be about 64 x 80.  This was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year.  

A sew-free zone

 

First of all, I need to wish a very Happy Birthday to my firstborn today!!  She's a busy working mom to 3 kids and 3 dogs, and wife to 1 husband.  Hope she has a really good day!

My house was a "sew-free" zone on Monday, and might be again today.   Yesterday I played 18 holes of golf with my husband.  He wanted to get in a practice round at the course (45-60 minutes away) his tournament will be on Friday, so we made a tee time.  It was a gorgeous day for golf - low 80s for temps and not windy.  Yay!!  

Today is a haircut and manicure day, but maybe I'll find time for a little sewing.  Tomorrow I have my annual physical, and a DAR meeting.  Seems like a really good time to take a day off from blogging.  See you Thursday - maybe. 

Design Wall Monday - July 7

 I've been on a roll lately with sewing nearly every day for at least an hour or 2, some days a lot more.  It really adds up. But today will hopefully be spent on a golf course and not in the sewing room.   

It will be a semi busy week, so I'm being more reasonable with my plans for the week.  I picked up the Scrappy Pyramids quilt from the quilter last week, so I'm hoping to get that one bound.  The binding is scrappy too, and all from the leftover binding chunks in a drawer.  I got a start yesterday hand stitching that binding down, so hopefully it will easily be finished by the end of this week.  

The other 2 projects I plan to work on this week are also UFOs that need attention.  One is another doll quilt, and the other is a Quilt of Valor.  The doll quilt just needs binding too, so that should be a quick finish as it's only about 20" square. 
 

The other UFO that needs attention . . . Indigo Way. This was a Bonnie Hunter mystery a couple of years ago.  I made some blocks at the time, but never actually put them together.  The blocks and lots of parts of blocks have been languishing in the project box.  This is my plan for using the blocks so far. The corner triangles still need to be cut.   In order to make it large enough for a Quilt of Valor I'll have to add a couple of wide outer borders.  

The Buckeye Beauty blocks all need to be sewn into sets of 4 before laying them out for final assembly.  There is a small stack yet that need to become a 4-sie.  That would bring this project one step closer to being finished. 

And of course there will be various block sewing - like always - RSC blocks, Leaders/Enders, Blockheads, more QOV blocks.  Maybe some other small things like mug rugs or placemats.  Whatever strikes my fancy, right?  There are parts already cut for more QOV blocks, and for more RSC (purple) blocks.  Kitting up block pieces makes it really quick to sew a bunch of new blocks.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #26

Halfway through the year already!!!  That means we're on color #7 already, and I dug right into the purples with glee this week.  Once I pulled out the purple scrap bin, a lot of cutting happened all at once.  I may have gotten carried away with purple and July is just beginning. 

The first purple blocks were the Buckeye Beauty.  I'm hoping to have enough of these blocks now to start assembling the quilt top.  I haven't counted them yet but I'm getting close I think.  I've been sewing these individual blocks into 4-sies.  By the end of July, I'm hoping to have a completed flimsy of Buckeye Beauty. 

Three purple Give It a Whirl blocks came next.  There are 3 of each color so far, meaning there are 21 of these.  They add up quickly.  

Then came some Hollow-9 blocks, and a couple of string triangles.

And finally just 1 Brighten block was added to that collection.

I'm not worried about having nothing purple to make the rest of the month however, because there are other RSC block sets hanging in the closet that need purple.  And if I were to look through the UFOs, I'm sure there is purple there too.  

There is a LOT MORE inspiration out there in the RSC blog posts.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

July 4th

 Happy 4th of July!!

One of my husband's cousins had a funny post on Facebook yesterday . . .
On this date July 3rd 1776, Thomas Jefferson historically said "holy crap!! Is that due tomorrow?"  

Sorry - I just couldn't resist sharing it today.

The June row for Saturday Sampler is finished.  Some of the rows have been narrow, with lots of small (like 4") blocks.  And a couple of rows have been this size - 12" finished - with only 5 blocks in it.  We're over halfway through this program already.

Since I was in a red/white/blue mood a good share of the week I continued to play with the leftovers from Quilts of Valor.  That lead to pulling out some 6.5" orphan blocks from the bin - some are patriotic and others were just random ones.  These will be more mug rugs and the bonus - uses up more orphan blocks. 

To continue on with my focus on red/white/blue, one of the UFO projects on my July goal list is to do something with the Indigo Way blocks that have been languishing in the project box.  This was a Bonnie Hunter pattern from a couple of years ago.  If there aren't enough blocks done for a Quilt of Valor I may end up making a few more.  

Blockheads and Leaders/Enders

The Blockheads 6 program is chugging right along.  This was week #6 already, and so far I've kept up with the weekly blocks. 

Last week's Blockheads blocks were Dew Drops by Chelsi Stratton. 

This week's block is Moonbeam by Robin Pickens.  It's 18" finished, so twice as large as the previous 5 weeks' blocks.  

So far, we've made 2 blocks each previous week, except for one.  And now we've added one big block to the mix.   Because I'm doing scrappy red/white/blue these blocks are all destined to end up in a Quilt of Valor.  

Ironically about the same time yesterday morning that Moda posted the newest Blockheads block, Bonnie Hunter posted her new Leader/Ender Challenge block.  She's calling this 4-Patch Fun, and it's very similar to the Bento Box block our QOV group has used in the past.  So my brain immediately went to red/white/blue.  While I was cutting the parts for the Moonbeam block I also cut some pieces for some of these.  And I also used some other patriotic fabric scraps.  They did make perfect Leader/Ender pieces while working on the Blockheads block.  These will be very fun to make.