Saturday Sampler flimsy

 

It always feels good to finish a quilt top.  The only thing I need to do yet on this Saturday Sampler is sew all the way around - to hold all those seams securely.  And I need to find a backing for it.  I'll share more about the pattern once it's all done.  

Another mini quilt

 I'm still plugging away on binding a big quilt in the evenings, while other projects are happening in the sewing room this week.

One more mini quilt - with spools that look like apples.  I should have been working on my Saturday Sampler on Tuesday morning, but instead I got distracted with finishing the September spool mini quilt.  The piecing went quickly after making that little checkerboard section.  Then I quilted it and bound it.  A quick and satisfying finish!  I've looked ahead and October has spool shaped pumpkins.

And because I was in the mood to quilt some small things, I didn't stop with this mini.  I also quilted a couple of autumn themed placemats that I had pieced from already cut squares.  And then I moved on to quilt a couple of Christmas mug rugs.  None of these items have binding attached yet, but they're 1 step closer to done and used up more scraps.

Now, back to the Saturday Sampler and the Rail Fence Quilt of Valor. 

Saturday Sampler progress

The final 2 rows of Saturday Sampler are done, so now I'm ready to start sewing all of these rows together into a completed top.

 

This is how the pattern has the rows layed out.  But because of the colors I used, I'm going to switch the 2 medium width rows with each other.  That is the arrowhead row near the top, and the chevron row just below center.  I think that will give a better color distribution.

On a side note - I've been given a plant to try to keep alive.  My son-in-law's 100 year old grandmother passed away last week.  They were given 3 Peace Lily plants from the funeral, and left one of them with me when they stopped to pick up the dog.  It's beautiful now, but we'll see how long I manage to take good care of it, as I've been accused of being a serial plant killer. For now it's sitting on top of the filing cabinet in my office where I can enjoy it.    

Design Wall Monday - August 18

 Normally I write my Monday morning post on Sunday evening, and set it to post automatically.  But for some reason it never crossed my mind yesterday.  So here I am, with coffee in hand, sitting at my desk.

There are 30 Flying Geese blocks in the final 2 rows in this year's Saturday Sampler project.  The geese themselves are all now sewn, and my task this morning is getting the actual rows put together.  Then I can lay it out for quilt top assembly.  That should not take too long as it's already sewn into rows.

A second quilt top that hopefully can be finished this week is this Quilt of Valor.  It's NOT sewn into rows already like the Saturday Sampler, but is pinned into rows.  Actually 3 of the 12 rows are sewn, so I guess that's a good start.

My reward for progress on the 2 quilt tops - the September mini quilt.  Sew Juicy is supposed to be 3 "spool" shaped apples in a basket.  Hmmm - that checkerboard spool top in the picture doesn't look quite right to me so there could be some changes as I get this one made.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog    

RSC25 - Week #33

Meet Ella.  Ella is a really good girl, but misses her people already.  

We're dog sitting for a couple of days while our younger daughter's family goes to a funeral out in Pierre.  Luckily we are right on the way so they could drop her (and her stuff) on the way through.  They will pick her up tonight when they are heading home.  She's a "Velcro" dog - sticks close all the time.  So I'm guessing that she'll follow me downstairs today when I go to sew for awhile. 

Not much time was spent in my sewing room this week.  But I did visit 6 quilt shops on a shop hop, and I've been working on some binding in the evenings.  And of course I'm dreaming up new projects to keep me out of trouble.  LOL

One of my favorite RSC projects this year has been Night Vision.  I got it back from the quilter this week, and now I'm ready to bind it.  

 

One of the things I bought while shop hopping was binding strips, already cut.  They were in a scrap bag bin, and I picked up 2 bags - yellow and this red.  I used 7 of the 9 red ones for this quilt.  It has a fun purple backing, so with this binding it makes me think of the Red Hat Society ladies in their purple and red.  

Last week I had made some aqua 4-Patch Fun blocks, and cut pieces for some other previous colors.  This block is Bonnie Hunter's leader/ender pattern for this summer and I've already made a lot of them in red, white, and blue.  And now the rainbow has come out to play.  These do make great leader/enders as you work on bigger projects rather than cutting thread between blocks all the time.  From the colors I had cut, only the purple ones remain to be sewn so far.  Then I'll dig back into the scrap bins to cut some more in other colors.

The flimsy for Town Square is done.  I took it out onto the deck for a photo and the dappled sun/shade has an interesting effect on color of course.  But there is a LOT of aqua in this, or maybe it's more of a turquoise.  The cute whale print has several shades of aqua. 

Let's see what else is happening in the RSC world . . .
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Shop hop goodies

The annual Quilt Dakota Shop Hop is going on right now, and I actually won a prize just for registering my shop hop "passport".  My prize was dropped off at The Pin Cushion for me to pick up, which I did yesterday.  Each shop also has you register for weekly drawings when you visit, and there are special prizes when you have visited 10 shops, and again for 20 and 30.  That's a lot of incentive.  

I was expecting maybe a small fat quarter bundle or something, but HOLY COW!  A layer cake of Kaufman fabrics in reds, blues, and pale greys - just perfect for a Quilt of Valor.  A jelly roll of gorgeous neutral batiks.  And a kit for an Elizabeth Hartman quilt called Lookout.  

There are over 40 quilt shops in North AND South Dakota that are participating in the 2025 Quilt Dakota Shop Hop in August.  Before Wednesday I had only gotten to the 2 shops here in town, but that number has grown with the 6 shops that Jo and I got to this week.  

We met up at 8:30 am with coffee and our shop hop passport booklets in hand, and headed east on I-90 toward Sioux Falls about an hour away.  I even had a list of things I wanted to look for to finish out some projects. We began the day by dropping off 3 big heavy seedless watermelons at my daughter's house (in Sioux Falls.)  We live in an area known for fabulous watermelon. Once those melons were handed off to my grandkids and I petted 1 dog - we had the rest of the day to shop.

Every shop is so different, and we both agree that it's really fun just to see the different samples in the shops, how things are displayed in unique ways, and the styles of fabrics carried are different too. Great selections and such friendly staff at every shop.

We visited all 3 shops in Sioux Falls before lunch - Quilters Headquarters, Jaqueline & Joyce, and Dutch Rose.  After getting some lunch we headed south on I-29 to 3 shops that Jo hadn't been to before.  Sew Storm (Alcester, SD), Shanty Stitchers (Beresford) and My Timeless Day (Canton) are all in a row of small towns along I-29.   

My haul includes 3 patterns, a variety of fat quarters, 2 neutral Christmas-y backgrounds for a Christmas project I have planned, 2 blue batiks to use with the blue jay print for the next 3-yard quilt, a couple of yards of fun prints, and a Halloween panel.  

Also - there is one kit. I couldn't resist a Sassy Sunflower "half pack" - and you could choose which free pattern to use with the kit.  Each kit contains 5 coordinated half yard cuts for a nice size throw quilt.  I chose an elegant metallic Christmas line with gold and silver on white.  Jo bought one with rich colors and picked a different pattern.  We're both excited to see how each quilt comes together. 

One of my best finds was 50% off yardage at one shop.  They had a horrible storm a couple of weeks ago, and rain water seeped into one area getting lots of bolts of fabric wet along the selvage edges.  It was not stained - just a little "ruffled" along the selvage edge, and the owner suggested getting it washed right away.  I got 6 yards of a nice dark blue print fabric for backing a project and washed it right away Thursday morning. It's just fine. 

So - a total of 6 shops in 1 day and lots of fun!!

Road trip

 

Yesterday was a fun day on a road trip with a quilting friend.  The Quilt Dakota Shop Hop is going on all of August.  We left town at 8:30 am and returned at 6 pm.

** 278 miles

** 6 fun quilt shops

Blockheads #11

 One of my Sunday tasks was to finish up that big block from this week's Blockheads post. 

This block is 27" finished.  It's called Folk Star by Lisa Bongean.  There are 72 HSTs in this one, which definitely took me some time.  The HSTs were each trimmed to 2" square.  After seeing these posted to the Facebook group I found myself wishing I had chosen some different fabrics in the star itself.  It's OK as is - but not exciting.

While in red, white, blue mode - I think this is the layout I'm going with for the Rail Fence QOV with the stars added.  As I picked up each row and pin (numbered pins) I had to make sure these all turned the correct directions - reds up or pointed right.  Not that I'm looking at the photo, this one may be too narrow.  Hmmm . . . maybe a long red strip added to the left side, and a blue strip added on the right?  

Donations

The large pile of donation quilts and stuffed animals that I put together in July has now been taken to the local safe house.  There were 10 quilts, 12 stuffed animals wrapped in their own quilts, and 5 draw string bags filled with travel size toiletries.  

Because the safe house was moving from their old building into this new bigger facility, they had put a hold on receiving donations of "things" until they were actually moved in.  So I waited, and yesterday morning I finally got things dropped off.

I even got a quick tour of some of the "public" areas - kitchen, playroom, conference room, etc. which was really nice.  They had an open house about a week before moving in, but I hadn't gone that day.  So I was tickled when offered a quick tour. 

Once I got home I refilled my car - with all the stuff I'm taking today to my daughter's house for her rummage sale this weekend. 

Design Wall Monday - August 11

 On Saturday the final row pattern for Saturday Sampler was shared.  There will be 2 identical narrow rows, and then we can assemble the flimsy.  Show and Tell will be in October at the Saturday Sampler session.  

This month's row design involves lots of flying geese.  The pieces are all cut and ready to sew this week.  This will be my top priority. 

Second priority this week is getting the 2 narrow borders onto the Whales 3-yard quilt.  The blocks are all sewn into rows, so the borders will bring this to the flimsy stage.

In between these 2 main projects there will be more Leader/Ender stitching.  I've been sewing these blocks (4-Patch Fun) in red/white/blue for a future Quilt of Valor, but decided to dig into the scrap bins and add some in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors too.  4 aqua ones for this month are done.  One purple, and 4 each of yellow and pink were kitted up on the design board.  One of the yellow and 1 pink are now sewn.

I'm not planning for this to be a very productive sewing week as it's going to be kind of busy.  Monday one of the grandkids will be here.  Tuesday I'm taking a load of things to my daughter's house in Sioux Falls for her rummage sale.  Wednesday I plan to do some shop hopping with a guild friend.  And either Thursday or Friday the plan is to get together with some friends for an afternoon of cards.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #32

Aqua came out to play this week, with 2.5" squares being used in Paint Chip and Hollow 9-Patch blocks.  So far these are in the lighter "sea glass" shades, but I'm sure I can find deeper teals for next week. 

I've been doing these 4-Patch Fun blocks in red/white/blue to use in a future Quilt of Valor.  This is a 6" (finished) Bonnie Hunter leader/ender pattern, and they add up quickly when used as leaders and enders.  This week I decided to make some in RSC colors as well.  These 4 aqua versions are the first ones so far. 

Two aqua string blocks happened too.  These also finish at 6", and are pieced on phone book pages.  I haven't removed the paper yet.  

The only bigger project with aqua that I've worked on this week is the Town Square 3-yard quilt with the cute whale print.  The colors are way off in this photo - it's navy and turquoise surrounding the whales in the squares.  All 12 blocks are done, but only half of them are sewn into rows.  Finishing this to the flimsy stage will be a goal for next week.

Let's see what else is going on in the RSC world this week.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/  

Friday catch-up

This has been a busy week, with less time sewing than usual.  But I've had time here and there to get some things accomplished in spite of the distractions.

On Wednesday I attended the monthly DAR (Daughters of American Revolution) meeting.  We had an interesting speaker this month who talked about proper cleaning of headstones, especially very old headstones.  I learned a lot.  For example:  soap contains solvents, so using soapy water isn't NOT a good way to clean them.  Who knew?  I didn't.

Wednesday, in between meetings and appointments, I played with a block set we've gathered for another Quilt of Valor.  Thank you to Vicki  for posting her beautiful quilt using Rail Fence and Star blocks.  It reminded me that there was a whole bag full of the same basic blocks in the QOV box.  And I hadn't thought of putting those stars into diagonal rows until seeing her quilt.  Because these are 6" finished blocks we'll maybe need more.  But I'm really liking how this quilt might look in the future.

One of the guest bedrooms has become the spot to pile things I'm too lazy to deal with - until we need the bed for guests.  Then I'm scrambling to move stuff. Do you have a room like that?  This small bedroom had a queen size bed, a nightstand, a big old antique dresser, and this crib which is full of quilt-y things. The youngest grandchild is 10, so it's way past time to give away that crib.  Last weekend my daughter and grandkids helped me empty this crib, take it apart, and take it to the garage.  

I actually sorted out the table runners, pillows, and wall hangings that I use.  A few that I do NOT use went into the rummage sale bin.  And I ordered a storage bench from Wayfair to replace that crib.  

I put it together yesterday morning by myself - except for getting the top attached to the hinges.  Dave helped with that as it required another set of hands.  It holds quite a lot, so far mostly the seasonal wall quilts and pillow covers that I change out frequently.

More sorting, purging, and organizing in that bedroom is still needed. But it's already a big improvement.

In the afternoon yesterday I returned to my sewing room to actually sew.  There has been progress on that 27" Blockheads block for this week.  There are still over 50 HSTs to press and trim for this one block. 

Half Square Triangles galore!

As I was making both of the Blockheads Blocks #10 earlier this week, my attitude was - too many Half Square Triangles.  Grrrr!  The result is great but I get tired of the trimming. 

And then on Wednesday morning Blockheads posted Block #11.

OMG - there are a gazillion Half Square Triangles!!!!!!  This is a 27" finished block, so at least those triangles are not teeny tiny ones.  

In between yesterday's DAR meeting and my pedicure appointment I did pull out my QOV scraps and did a little cutting.  With all my grumbling about HSTs, I must admit that the pattern for this block makes the layout very clear and easy to follow.  But this block may still take me the rest of this week to make.  

Beginning Town Square

 I actually spent a little time sewing while staying out of the way of the window washing team yesterday.  It's a husband/wife team and they do a wonderful job, inside and out.  My windows positively sparkle - until the next time it rains or the wind blows.   

Town Square is a really fast pattern.  This is actually the first time I've used this pattern, but it sure won't be the last time.  Two of the 12 blocks are done.  

A PIG and more

Task #1 for Monday was to make the President's block for guild.  We got the instructions and background fabric on Saturday at our guild meeting in a sealed envelop.  The blocks are a secret design that will be gifted to the past president at the Christmas party this winter.  I can't show it here in case she would see my post, but the block is very cute.  Mine is finished and ready to hand over to the committee member.  

My choice of a new project for early August is a 3 yard quilt mostly using fabric that has been in the stash for too long.  The cutting is done.  Let the sewing begin.

The whale print and the aqua meet that qualification, and I purchased the navy last week to go with it.  The pattern is Town Square, from a Fabric Cafe 3-yard quilt book.  This one should be very quick to sew as it uses large pieces done from strip sets.  

The other cutting and sewing that happened on Monday was last week's 2 Blockheads blocks.  These are blocks 10a and 10b, called What a Lark by Janet Clare.  By the time I get back into my sewing room again on Thursday the block for this week will have been posted.  I don't want to fall behind. 

And from some of that red I stitched up a quick Friendship Star for RSC.  The red was trimmed from a backing of a past Quilt of Valor, and has been very useful in making more blocks for future Quilts of Valor.  Nothing is wasted that way.

Today and tomorrow may be non-sewing days.  The window washers plan to be here today, after being rescheduled twice last week.  Can't wash windows in the rain.  And the guy who worked on our gutters last week is due to come back and fix at least one spot.  And I have a haircut appointment in the afternoon as well.  Wednesday is a DAR meeting, a pedicure appointment, then a customer appreciation picnic hosted by our bank.  

Design Wall Monday - August 4

Zero time has been spent in my sewing room since last Thursday, but some quilt organization did happen yesterday.  Later in the week I hope to share the before and after photos.  

I did resume hand quilting a very old UFO - probably the oldest one I have.  It's about 2/3 finished but will never be done if I keep putting it away.  

Besides the hand quilting, I have a fairly short list of projects for this week:

** last week's Blockheads blocks
** this week's Blockheads blocks
** cut out & begin the Whales 3-yard quilt
** make some aqua RSC blocks

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #31

One final dip into purple - 2 Friendship Star blocks.  Because I've finished up a couple of the RSC block sets now, it was time to choose a new block to add to the monthly mix.  I have a couple of other block ideas going forward, so we'll see what August brings for RSC plans. 

And then 2 more Friendship Stars with aqua and teal joined in.  These are 9" finished blocks.  But the more I keep looking at them, I feel that those star points are spinning backwards.  Are they backwards? Should I take them apart and reverse those star points?  With only 4 blocks it wouldn't take long to fix.  Or should I just keep making them all this way?

  I did make 2 aqua Give It a Whirl blocks on Thursday, but need 1 more.  I've been doing 3 each month with the RSC color.  These both lean toward the aqua, so maybe I'll look for pieces more on the teal side of the color.  That would give me 24 blocks so far, enough for a baby quilt.  Or I could just keep making lots more for a bigger quilt.    

The scrappy bowtie placemat is all done too.  Yay!  My donation stack of placemats for Meals On Wheels is growing.

This UFO will be one of my aqua projects for August.  The gingerbread people blocks were begun years ago, and it's time to do something with them. 

One more new project using aqua is on the list for August.  These fabrics will make a cute 3-yard child's quilt.  I haven't decided yet what pattern I'll use.  The whale print and the aqua have been in the stash for a couple of years.  I picked up the dark blue this week to "get ur done" finally. 

Let's see what else is going on in the RSC world this week.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/  

Planning ahead & looking back

 It's that time of month, when I begin to plan ahead for the next month's goals.  For Rainbow Scrap Challenge, our color for August is AQUA.  So - what UFOs or PIGS are living in my sewing room that have a lot of aqua?

I have a 3-yard quilt planned that has teal and aqua, but I'm rethinking one of the fabrics I had set aside for this one.  That tan fabric isn't speaking to me!  The teal on the bottom works, but now I'm thinking a lighter aqua would blend with the forest print better.  What do you think?

There is a small-ish UFO project that has a lot of aqua - the Gingerbread Joy blocks.  There were 5 of these applique gingerbread people blocks for a long past Saturday Sampler, mixed in with pieced blocks for a Christmas quilt.  I used the pieced blocks in a quilt at the time, but skipped the applique blocks.  Three of them are partially done.   I think I'll finish them up for a wall hanging.  All the parts are in this project box - waiting. 

No matter how much I work these UFOs it seems like I don't make much of a dent in my stash or the collections of kits.  Sigh!!

Reviewing July goals will prove to myself that I did make lots of progress however . . . everything cross off below is finished.  Yay!!

• Saturday Sampler - row 6 for July
• Blockheads blocks each week
• Binding projects IF READY
• Pyramid quilt
• Mickey Mouse Quick Strippie
• Pumpkin door hanger
• Valentine door hanger
• Quilt the Sunflower wall hanging myself - didn't happen
• Finish Sweet Potato Puff bag
• Rainbow Scrap Challenge - PURPLE is July color
• Buckeye Beauty blocks
• Brighten blocks
• Triple Triangle (string) blocks
• Hollow 9 blocks
• Give It a Whirl blocks
• Gameboard blocks
• Paint Chip
• Quilt of Valor blocks 
• Indigo Way
• Spools
• Misc other QOV block sets
• PIG projects for this month
• RWB mini quilt - popsicles
• Beach Bums wall hanging - not touched

Lots of red, white, and blue

A couple of years ago Bonnie Hunter introduced the Indigo Way for her winter mystery quilt, and as usual I played along.  But instead of making a BIG quilt, I only made about a third of the number of blocks in her pattern.

I finally decided to use Indigo Way for a Quilt of Valor, but needed to add borders to make it large enough.  It has been sitting around for about 2 weeks now with that final blue border all ready to attach.  Procrastination must be my middle name!  Border is on!!

  Another set of Quilt of Valor blocks is nearly enough for a complete top.  It looks like I need just a couple more of these Spool blocks. I might even get those 2 blocks made this morning before going to lunch with the retired group from school.