Friday check-in

This month has been really productive, with 2 quilt tops assembled plus lots of progress on other projects - quilting and beyond.  

The first quilt top was the Riley Blake challenge using my Tula Pink stash.  Lots of white and bright in this one.  One block a week was manageable.

The second quilt top is bright and bold with lots of black to make those colors pop.  The paper pieced Circle of Friends was a BOM project. Each block is 12" finished, and I added a 2" and a 6" border to all sides.  So it isn't huge, but it's a good size (52 x 64) to snuggle under on the couch.  So 2 very different sew along type projects are at the flimsy stage.  

The background of the blocks have 2 different black prints, alternated with no sashing to separate them.  I like how those come together with that subtle difference.  

The third Moda Blockheads 6 block was posted on Wednesday.  It's called Sunday Best by Anne Sutton (Bunny Hill Designs).  This is another 9" block and was a very quick easy one to make - once I cut the pieces the correct size.  My first cut of the red and blue squares were 2.5" instead of the 2.75" size in the pattern.  That is a lesson to read the pattern more carefully before cutting.  The extra squares went into the 2.5" square bin.

Border decisions

The outer border strips are now cut for Circle of Friends.  I debated with myself on exactly what to use but came to a practical decision.

I used 2 different black prints for the backgrounds of the blocks.  The "confetti" print piece didn't have enough to do all 12 blocks, so I alternated them with the black dot.  And I'm happy with the look.  There is a narrow bright yellow border added.  The quilt needed an outer border too.  I had enough of the black dot to do a 4" border, but really wanted to add a 6" border. 

I knew there was another 2 yards of that confetti print in a project bag with a UFO.  A really old UFO I kept thinking I would finish.  A decision needed to be made - keep that black print with the hope that someday I would decide to finish the UFO?  Or use it now for that border?

My decision was USE IT now!!  The UFO project itself might become a placemat in the near future, because I really have to be realistic about the likelihood of finishing it as an actual quilt.  It feels so good to Let It Go (the UFO), and to use that fabric. 

A fall flimsy & a book

Two of my goals for the week are actually done, and the week is only half over. Yay!!

The pumpkin door hanger for fall is now a flimsy, ready to quilt.  Once those gold flowers were done, the rest of this went together very quickly.  It's only 20 x 36, like the others I've done.  These have all been kits from Riley Blake.  This one and the Valentine one both need to be quilted and bound.  The binding for both is prepped and labeled.  

The genealogy project I've been working on involves a Shutterfly photo book about my late father-in-law's WW2 experience.  I've spent hours organizing and scanning the photos he brought home.  And many more hours have been spent downloading and printing a book written about his unit - from training through the end of the war.  Add in some time spent researching some places and events, and this has been a BIG task.  

Now I can focus on some other projects.  

Dinosaurs & project cutting

 The Dinosaur Quick Strippie baby quilt is finished, and I can check it off my UFO list.

The Quick Strippie is one of my GO TO patterns for baby quilts.  This is the 7th or 8th one I've made.  It's done with WOF strips and really is quick as the name says.  I think there are 2 or 3 more of these hanging in the closet right now, just waiting to be quilted.  The backing for this is a paint splash print and has all of the colors from the dinosaur print.  Carol quilted cute little dinosaurs all over it, and they even have smiles on their faces.  Now it's ready for the next time I need a baby quilt to gift. 

I have been working on the pumpkin door hanger, and am pleased with my progress. When I got tired of sewing little pieces, the blocks for Circle of Friends came out and are becoming rows.  I've even chosen a bright yellow for a narrow first border.  

When I needed a break from sitting at my sewing machine, I did some cutting.  There are 3 of those Wisdom (churn dash) blocks all cut and ready to sew.  Once done there will be 20 of those blocks made from a layer cake.  The pink and white pieces in the upper corner are for a pink Whirl block.  I've been trying to make 3 each month but only had 2 pink ones done prior to this week.
  

And I cut the pieces for the wine tote project.  The fabrics in the kit were both excellent choices.  This print was from a Minnesota Shop Hop several years ago.  I'm not overly impressed with the pattern included in this kit however.  I'm sure it will work out fine in the end, but the instructions are just not very well organized.  

Design Wall Monday - June 9

 Happy birthday to our oldest grandchild, Mason!  He turns 14 today. It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby.

My design wall this week contains a mix of things "in progress" and neglected projects not started yet.  One main project this week will be to get the top made for the pumpkin door hanger.  This will be a cute one for fall.  All the pieces are cut and labeled - ready to sew.  Because it isn't very large (about 20 x 36) it should take long to get the top done.

Another project for this week is getting the Circle of Friends blocks sewn into rows, and maybe even get the center of the top assembled.  My plan is to add a narrow bright color border before putting on a final black print border.  But I'm not sure what color yet.

I prepped binding for 2 things yesterday, at least to the point where it needs to be pressed.  The checkered binding is for the door hanger.  The solid black binding is for the 2024 Saturday Sampler quilt that I just picked up from the quilter.  It is 97" square so I'm dreading attaching that binding to the quilt.  And also dreading how long it might take to hand stitch it down.  

Two small kits have come out of hiding - as potential PIGS to work on if I finish the other goals I've set for this week.  Kit #1 is a wine tote kit that my cousin sent to me this spring.  She had purchased it but realized she wasn't going to get it made.  

And kit #2 is for another Hemingway bag.  I had gathered some fat quarters for this but hadn't actually done anything further.  It's time is getting near.  

There will also most likely be some random block sewing as there are a few blocks kitted up to be Leader/Enders in between all those small pieces in the door hanger.  We'll see what actually gets accomplished.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #23

Orange might possibly be the color I have the least of in my stash or the scrap bins.  This small paper bag is now sitting next to my sewing machine, and it contains ALL of the orange scraps that I have, other than the squares I've cut (2.5", 3.5", 5") from other scraps.  

I dug into those orange scraps to make 4 string triangles.

One orange string triangle is trimmed and framed with some colorful friends.  I'm calling these Triple Triangles for obvious reasons. There are actually 6 of these blocks so far, but lots more of the string triangles need to be trimmed and grouped into sets of 3.  

The little bins that hold 2.5" squares already cut from scraps didn't yield very many orange ones either. But I did find enough to make a couple of the Hollow 9 blocks.  Once I dig deeper into that little bag of scraps I'm sure I'll find a few more pieces to cut into squares.  I want to try out another scrappy block that uses 2.5" squares - and yes it is another one of those little distractions inspired by something I saw on a blog a week ago. 

The bin with the Buckeye Beauty blocks had some orange charm squares, but also has a lot of purple and other colors.  I'm trying to stick to really bright shades of each color.  I made the 2 orange blocks, and then just kept going to make 3 others that are not orange.  One more orange one was made yesterday.   

The Give It a Whirl blocks use 2 each of 2 different charm squares.  My charm square basket yielded a couple of options, but I will admit that I dug into fat quarters for more choices.  That lighter version has 2 Halloween prints, which was fun.  

My goal is to have at least 3 of each color so I made the extra yellow and red ones that I skipped before.  I still need 1 more pink one.  

One orange Gameboard block was made, but the second one will have to happen next week.  These begin with that 16-patch in the center made of 1.5" squares.  I'll have to look in the little cookie tins that are full of these postage stamp squares for orange ones.  I'm sure there will be plenty of any color I might need.  Those 16-patch units make awesome Leader/Enders. 

What RSC fun is going on out there this week?
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/  

The Riley Blake Challenge flimsy

One WIP is a step closer to finished.

The 2025 Riley Blake Design challenge provided 1 block per week for a total of 16 blocks, and this is the third year I've participated I think.  It's an easy sew along to keep up with because the last week of each month is a catch-up week.  This year's layout added one more block to the middle and surrounded it will a checkerboard.  I decided to use the RBD bird block in the center.  That bird block was shared a few years ago.  

My fabric choice for this was to dig into my stash of Tula Pink fat quarters.  So it's scrappy, but a controlled scrappy.  The background is scrappy white.  The top is about 65" square.