Block #11 - Riley Blake Challenge

Stars are my very favorite type of block, and this one sure doesn't disappoint! 

Pop Star by Heather Peterson is block #11.  There are 5 more to go in this Riley Blake Challenge.  This block had some many ways to arrange the colors, that it was hard to decide how I wanted it to look.

I am totally thrilled with how these blocks are looking in crisp blue and white.  But I've been seeing some amazing color combos and fabric choices online too.  

Farmers Wife Sampler progress

After almost 14 months of block sewing, I am very excited to see all 111 blocks coming together into a nearly finished quilt top.  A friend and I did these together as a challenge - 2 blocks per week.  And now we're both at the assembly stage.  Doing this together with a friend was probably the only hope I ever had of getting this quilt made.  We're so close!! 

I want one more border on the quilt, but haven't decided what color I want.  Right now I'm leaning toward a dark red or a warm gold because there is a lot of both colors in the blocks.  What do you think?  I'm open to color recommendations for that final border.  I have the dark brown for binding.  

Down in that lower corner I've pinned a note with the dimensions on it so I don't forget what size it is.  Right now it's 76 x 94, and I'm not sure how wide I want that final border.  It's huge, no matter what size border I add.  

Oops!!

 The picture is a bit fuzzy, but can you see my mistake?  Oops!!!  

I was working away on Farmers Wife Sampler rows, and getting excited to be closing in on a finish.  HaHaHa!  Then as I was pressing this row, I noticed that I was missing the sashing section next to that top block.  This is what happens when I get in a hurry.

And . . . that was only 1 of the 3 spots where I missed the sashing piece next to the side setting triangles!  Three spots before I noticed - how aggravating!  Out came the seam ripper to remove those setting triangles to fix it.  And I really needed to work on something else to push away that frustration.

What's better than some "happy" stitching?  I can't show the whole block right now, but this is for a block collection I'm participating in.  I wanted something that said happy - and SPRING - so I pulled out the Lori Holt books for just the right block and dug into the 30s stash for happy fabrics.  And yes - sewing on this cheerful block changed my whole attitude almost immediately.  I'll show the whole block some other day.  

Tuesday this and that

 It was a wild weekend, and it seems like I'm still tired. First of all - the Jackrabbit women won the WNIT championship on Saturday afternoon, beating Seton Hall by 32 points!  We were there, in a sold out arena, and it was fun.  Obviously the team would have preferred playing in the NCAA tourney but didn't get one of the at-large spots this year, so . . . they played 6 games in the WNIT instead. They beat Ohio, Minnesota, Drake, Alabama, UCLA, and Seton Hall.  We were at every single one of those games cheering them on.  It's been a really great season. 

However I'm also happy that the season is over, and I can have some Saturdays open for other things - like sewing, and quilt guild, and family stuff. 

I was tired and not very ambitious on Sunday.  Binding seemed like a good activity.  I have one side done so far, binding the Summer Soiree quilt.  I went with an orange batik for the binding and the backing is a grey and white flowery-looking print.  That is very fitting since the blocks all have florals and batiks in them.

Parts are cut and ready to sew for 3 more pink heart blocks for RSC.  Once I get them sewn I'll have to lay out all 20 that are done so far and see how they look together.  I think these will make a very sweet quilt once there is a whole rainbow of blocks.

Monday - I had to work in the morning, but then finished stacking the remaining rows of the Farmers Wife Sampler to take them to my sewing machine for assembly.  I pinned the setting triangles onto the correct sides, and stacked each row into sewing order.  My goal is to have this ready for borders by the weekend.  We'll see if that is realistic or not. 

On a side note - I crawled around on the floor while working on those FWS blocks.  And honestly thought I would be stuck there until my husband showed up for lunch.  How embarrassing!  Even with furniture to use for leverage, I had a horrible and painful time trying to stand up again. The cortisone shots I got in both hips about 10 days ago have helped the pain, but I've learned my lesson that those shots didn't cure the problem and crawling around on the floor was a BAD idea.  Trying to buy time, but I am facing 2 hip replacements at some point.  And that scares me!!

Design Wall Monday - April 4

 Home Is . . . one of the UFO projects I have on tap for the month of April.  I plan for this to be a wallhanging, and the blocks themselves are sewn together.  Now I'm looking for some advice from new eyes. 

Since all of the house blocks have little hearts above the chimney, does that center cat block need a heart too?  I keep wavering about it.  I tried getting my husband's opinion and that was a complete bust because he refused to HAVE an opinion. 

I welcome any and all advice on this. Thanks in advance.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday: 

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

And with Monday Making:
https://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/  

First touches of pink

Every month the introduction of a new color for RSC is exciting.  This month we have pink, which is every bit as cheerful and Spring-y as yellow.  

The first 2 pink Falling in Love blocks happened even before the calendar page was actually turned to April.  Once the color was announced I just had to start playing. 

 

I even made a pillowcase with a pink cuff.  This was made from fabric donated to our guild by a lady who was moving away and didn't want to have so much to move to her new home.

What fun is everyone having with pink this weekend?
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

April goals & UFO Challenge projects

The APQ UFO Challenge number has been drawn for the month of April.  There are 3 choices for each month on my list, with an asterisk next to my highest priority projects.  Summer Soiree (floral) was the priority project from February, and I managed to get the top made. I did a bit of swapping around on my list yesterday, and moved some things into April that I'm really determined to make progress on.  That may be cheating, but the other projects aren't OFF the list - just moved to a different month. 

Getting Summer Soiree bound is my #1 goal for April.  It should be achievable to get the binding onto ONE big quilt, right?  The binding strips are all cut. Now I just need to get busy. 

Home Is - this was one of my favorite RSC projects in 2021.  The house block was a Pat Sloan pattern, and I made 8 of them.  The cat block in the middle is also a Pat Sloan pattern and seemed like a good tribute to the kitty we had for 19 years, and still miss.  The blocks are made and I just need to sew them together, and then decide what kind of border (if any) to add.  

Midnight has been sandwiched and ready to quilt for a couple of months.  Time to just get 'er done!

So, back to the UFO Challenge list . . .   Those priority projects are the 12 that are also on my PHD list for the local shop, and I'm happy to say that I have already finished 4 of those priority/PHD projects so far through the end of March.  And that fifth one (Summer Soiree) is ready to bind.  So, I refuse to feel any guilt that I've swapped some projects into different months.  

The most recent of these UFO/PHD projects finished is this one - Windmill.  This quilt is also called Roll On, depending on the pattern designer.  This one is a baby quilt made from 30s reproduction prints. There is one more Windmill flimsy hanging in the closet waiting to be quilted that is made with brights.  And there is a set of additional blocks in progress.  It's a pattern I've used often over the years.  

The backing of this one is a simple yellow with little white hearts, and it's bound in a light blue-ish aqua 30s print.  I love the texture of the quilting design too.  I think this one will go right into the Hand2Help donation stack.