Quilted Jonquil

It’s Design Wall Monday time and Judy’s DWM post has lots of links you can check out.  Here’s my wall……yep same as last week but only because there isn’t room to show all that I’ve done!

I’ve been busy this week and it’s not due to Thanksgiving preparation as we are going out of town   I completed sewing together all of the Prickly Pear and string blocks for Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll…..did you catch that…..all 30 Prickly Pear, all 20 string blocks and all setting string blocks are finished!! 

Not only that, but I’ve gotten all the pieced border units pieced and ready to iron.  After that, I’m ready to start sewing everything together, woo hoo!

This weekend I went to Scrap Club and Sarah completed her Exploding Star quilt.  Now the Exploding Star is one of Teajuana Mahone’s patterns and Sarah began her’s before the pattern was even available.  Sarah wanted her’s to be a true charm quilt (same shaped pieces, each piece from a different fabric) so she made the light/dark squares out of half square triangles so the entire quilt is completely made of triangles!!  After starting, the project languished for several years (6 maybe??) as Sarah didn’t have enough different light fabrics to keep going.  After telling this story a bunch of us brought in light squares for her to use and now it’s finished.  It was such fun looking to see if we could find any of the fabric we gave her.

Yesterday was rainy and cool and when you’ve set aside your doll sized work-in-process and it looks like this:

This is what happens:

Cats just love quilts, even small ones not hardly big enough for them

I also got the alternate First Saturday block for November finished.

And snagged a couple of nice shirts for re-purposing from the Goodwill. 

Lots of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and quilting and quilting friends are high on the list.

Stash Report – No Change from previous (I haven’t washed and cut up those shirts yet, so they don’t count )

• Fabric out: 0 yards
  
• YTD Fabric in: 165 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 86 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 79 yards accumulated 

Happy Thanksgiving, Cherie

Another late, late design wall Monday posting for me   Be sure to check out Judy’s DWM post to see all the links.

I’ve gotten 27 of the 30 prickly pear blocks completed and about half of the string blocks under construction.  I can’t wait to get this top together……it will feel like such an accomplishment!

I also finished the applique on Barbara Brackman’s civil war block 40, Order Number Eleven.

I’ve been hand quilting a small project during my train commute and it’s getting a bit easier, but not much faster

Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  6  yards (Backing for a First Saturday top and some fabric on sale, both purchased with a gift certificate from the thoughtful people who work for me.  I HAD to use it, right?)

• Fabric out: 0 yards
  
• YTD Fabric in: 165 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 86 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 79 yards accumulated 

Happy Quilting, Cherie

Due to computer issues, I’m quite late with my design wall post.  On the bright side, probably everyone else has linked up to Judy’s DWM post so check it out here.  Lot’s going on on the design wall…..civil war BOW, First Sat blocks and Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll (RRCB) blocks.

I got the main Nov first Sat block finished and the alternate block in progress.

My upstairs sewing spot is busy with RRCB units as the parts are finally coming together

Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  1  yard (Fabric from Italy that Lily brought me & I missed on my previous reports)
  
• Fabric out: 0 yards
  
• YTD Fabric in: 159 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 86 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 73 yards accumulated 

Happy Quilting, Cherie

I had a great time at the Shipshewana Threads of Mine quilt retreat.  There were somewhere around 56 quilters but I’m not sure we were ever all in the room at the same time.

I sewed on Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll……I learned that squaring up my HST was well worth the effort because the block units are fitting together just about perfectly.  Here are 600 HST ready to be sewed together 5 at a time.

And sewn together with my leader/ender project sitting in front.

Then I started sewing the units into bigger units…..and here they are back at home waiting to be sewn up into completed blocks.

Like this one

I did a little stash enhancement shopping while there but I also de-stashed a bit too

And that brings me to the design wall for this Halloween Monday:

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll is going to be finished, completely finished by next year’s retreat because I’m going to show that I didn’t waste the whole retreat sewing and sewing for nothing (even though all I had to show for it was bigger block units than when I started, lol).  I may never do another Bonnie Hunter quilt again

Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  8.5  yard (Shipshewana purchases )
  
• Fabric out: 4.5 yards (Shared at Shipshewana)
  
• YTD Fabric in: 158 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 86 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 72 yards accumulated – just wait until I get the RRCB top together, that will bring down the total!

Happy Quilting, Cherie

Check out Judy’s Design Wall Monday post  and see what cool projects are going on around the blogosphere.  Here’s my design wall:

Yep, exactly the same as last week.  Then why is it a happy DWM post, you ask?  Well, I did finish a couple of things like this blanket for Lily.

That’s Minky on the back which Lily’s mom (DD) loves.  DD picked out the cute owl fabric from the remnants at JoAnne’s and asked if it could be made into a blanket with the Minky I had.  Since Lily is soooooo cute, here’s a picture of her on a quilt, well the back side of one anyway.

I also finished crocheting the rag rug for our bathroom.

I like how cushy it feels underfoot

Lastly, it’s a happy DWM post because DD has need of flannel for projects she and her fellow AF wives work on back home at Aviano Air Base (Italy) and guess what I’ve gifted her?

Drum roll, please………………….

Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  1  yard (oops, a Kona remnant jumped into my arms at JoAnne’s)
  
• Fabric out: 32.5 yards (donated to DD )
  
• YTD Fabric in: 149.5 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 81.5 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 68 yards accumulated — woo hoo

Now I know you’re saying, is it really fair to count donated fabric and the answer is emphatically YES!!!!

Happy Quilting, Cherie

It’s Monday, do you know what’s on your design wall?    I have something new on mine!  I finished the First Sat blocks for Sept.  Next I’ll start catching up (again) on the civil war BOW blocks.  Judy’s Design Wall Monday post is here so click on over for more eye candy.

Our quilt guild directs a quilt show every other year and this is the year.   I took last Thursday off for quilt show judging and, wow, there are some wonderful quilts submitted this year.  The quilt show, Quintessential Quilt, is open to anyone to enter.  It is a judged and juried show with prize money.  It hangs in the University City Public Library for the month of October and it’s wonderful to hear everyone exclaim over the quilts.   This year members were challenged to make a Priority quilt for AAQI to put in the display cases at the library’s circulation desk.   Anyway, this week we’ll hang the quilts and the opening lecture is Sunday.  After that, I think I’ll need a vacation   

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Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  4  yards (cut up 3 GW shirts purchased at the beginning of Sept…..I’d better not visit the clearance center again for awhile)
  
• Fabric out: 0 yards
  
• YTD Fabric in: 148.5 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 49 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 99.5 yards accumulated  

Happy Quilting, Cherie

I added a few things to my design wall since last week.  Check out Judy’s DWM post to see other design walls. 

The blue/green/purple block backing is for the Stay-at-Home-Robin (SAHR) piece I’m starting to quilt. 

I finished #19 and #22 of Barbara Brackman’s civil war BOW blocks.

Can’t believe it’s nearing the end of August already!!

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Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  2  yards (cut up the last 2 GW shirts)
  
• Fabric out: 0 yards
  
• YTD Fabric in: 144.5 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 49 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 95.5 yards accumulated  

Happy Quilting, Cherie

It’s Design Wall Monday.  Hop over to Judy’s DWM post to check out all the links

My design wall looks the same as last week so today I’m having design ironing board Monday

These 2 1/2″ crumb blocks keep stacking up as I sew them leader/ender style while sewing on more civil war BOW blocks.

I’m working on the applique star on this one so forgive all the threads. 

I’ve also got another nursing cover in the works as well.  My daughter selected the fabrics and gave me some modifications to the tutorial which includes using “D” rings rather than Velcro for the straps.  Suits me just fine as I don’t enjoy sewing down Velcro.  She’s also asked that the length of boning be about 2/3 of the pattern length.

A went with a couple of fellow quilters (hi Darlene & Marilyn) to the Goodwill Clearance center last week.  In a surprisingly short amount of time I managed to gather up 18 pounds of goodies   One of which was a 3,000 piece puzzle!?!?!?!  I bought some more sheets for making rugs and these:

Marilyn spied the wonderful gold shirt.  One of us, and it obviously wasn’t me, only purchased one item.  Of course the one item was a silk shirt is a  lovely green color which could just very well be the start of a silk collection for quilting.  Delores Keaton entered the most fabulous silk quilt in our Quintessential 2009 quilt show (it was also in the AQS Paducah 2010 quilt show) so I can see the attraction   All in all we had a great time and we all found something we were happy to bring home.

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Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  1.5  yards (I’ve cut up one of the GW shirts)
  
• Fabric out: 0.5 yards (Water Works SAHR top & back) 
  
• YTD Fabric in: 137 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 49 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 88 yards accumulated  Now more than half way through the year and I’d better finish a few things FAST and, yes, I know I could stop buying GW shirts but it’s just way too much fun and I am still working on a broader variety of colors.
  

Happy Quilting, Cherie

You know the song by The Bangles, Manic Monday?  Ah, a time of big hair!  I was throwing my blocks from scrap club on my wall about 2 seconds before taking my Design Wall Monday picture

The pattern for this quick quilt doesn’t have any sashing and I’d anticipated following the pattern but then I saw several completed ones that had narrow sashing and they looked good.   You can see Tea’s blocks here.  I was thinking about using a medium green.

I finished appliqueing pieces to my Stay At Home Robin and will layer it with batting and backing tonight so I can start the big stitch quilting.  My Sept 1 deadline for the Quintessential Quilt 2011 show is fast approaching!  By the way, if you’d like to enter the Quintessential Quilt 2011 show, more information can be found here.

I’ve tentatively titled this Water Works.  It’s been fun to make and a good learning experience.  We had an idea how big this project would end up up but didn’t know how all the bits would fit together.  I might not have done so much piecing in the first two blocks or at least wouldn’t have put them next to each other if I’d known how the places where the blocks were positioned overall but there you go.  

I spent some time yesterday cutting fabrics for blocks from Barbara Brackman’s civil war block-a-week  project and expect to get back on track with them during August.  Yep, I’m going to catch up on all 13 of them!    

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Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  0  yards
  
• Fabric out: 0 yards 
  
• YTD Fabric in: 135.5 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 48.5 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 87 yards accumulated   No changes, just keeping the numbers in front of me
  

Hot, hot, hot!!  It was an excellent weekend to spend some time hanging out in the cool basement   I finished cleaning my sewing room.  There are a couple of more thing I want to do (get the mattresses out, refold some reclaimed fabric, etc.) but I declare the cleaning done.  For Design Wall Monday I forgot to take a straight on picture so here’s one cropped from a cleaning picture.   

Those 9 patches on the left side are made from 2.5 inch crumb blocks that I found while cleaning……I vaguely remember working on them

Here is the conference table before:

And after:

There’s still a lot of stuff under the table, including 4 sewing machines and 4 boxes of stuff from the quilt guild quilt show but it doesn’t hurt anything.

The cutting table was cleaned up and then a few projects were strategically placed.

Cutting Table before:

And cutting table after:

The fabric shelves before – notice the stacks of fabric on the floor as well as several bags of reclaimed fabric:

Fabric shelves after – nothing on the floor in front of the shelves now :

And last, before a recap of the chip racks, I have to say there’s a rumor running around my house that one of the chip racks may be recalled. Chip Racks  Before:

And chip racks after:

Happy Quilting, Cherie

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Stash Report:

• Fabric in:  0  yards 
  
• Fabric out: 5 yards (donated to the quilt show )
  
• YTD Fabric in: 135.5 yards
  
• YTD Fabric out: 48.5 yards
  
• Net Fabric In/(Out): 87 yards accumulated Down from from 92…..I know it’s not from finishing projects but it’s still gone from my stash so it COUNTS!!!