Design Wall Monday

How shocking to be writing a design wall blog post! It has been a while since I have done that - maybe about a year?! 

My design wall had been covered by pieces of a quilt that my dear friend Diane started before she passed away, and I just couldn't get going on it. I guess the timing wasn't right and maybe I had some grieving to do first?

This is how far I got on the project while at retreat. 

Diane had all the background fabrics cut, and there were no more of those in the bag, so it will become as big as those beige squares allow.

I got working on it again this weekend and am close to finishing this lovely scrappy version of Bonnie Hunter's free pattern for Smokey Mountain Stars. I know this pattern as "Stretch Stars".

It's so bright and scrap happy, and has been fun to work on, while I pour over my memories of Diane.

I love that this quilt is something we have worked on together - my scraps mingled with hers, just as our lives and quilting adventures were mingled together over the years. Here we are visiting Ben and Jerry's in Vermont 15 years ago!

I plan to finish this quilt in her honour and donate it to one of the charities that she enthusiastically supported.

Linking up to Design Wall Monday

Design Wall Waffles

The focus of my sewing time should be the "Oh say can you sew" mystery blocks. But when I was cleaning over the weekend I came across my bag of waffle blocks and became obsessed with them again. Squirrel!

This is a typical photo of my work table - 2 projects being sewn at the same time. One project that I want to finish and am slogging through, and one project that is fun and distracting.

I was looking at one of my waffle blog posts and trying to sew the blocks together according to the photo. Then I realized that the pile of blocks included many blocks that weren't in the photo layout. So I ended up putting all the blocks up on the design wall, and rearranging until I was happy with the layout.

Here are the waffle blocks sewn into columns.

I love this photo of scrappy waffles on the design wall! It's well on it's way to becoming a quilt top!

Thanks again to Nann for the inspiration for this project. She has made several waffle quilts which inspired me to make my own.

Don't even ask about the "Oh say can you sew" blocks! They are suffering from neglect at the moment but I have until the end of the month to get them sewn :)

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Bitcoin Quilt Top

I am so excited to share my RSC version of Bitcoin! This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern released last summer.

I started sewing the scraps together in June last year and each month I sewed more ladders together. That was so fun and I'm sure I will make another random scrappy version of this pattern.

Then came the day when all the colours I wanted in the quilt were sewn, and it was time to put the ladders together in their colour sections. That was the hard part. But I stuck with it and now it's done!

There are 1,380 scraps in this quilt top, cut and sewn a few at a time in the colour of the month. And now they have become a quilt top! This is my favourite way to make a quilt and I'm thankful to Angela for the weekly RSC linkup that has encouraged me to make scrappy quilts that I love one month/colour at a time!

Do you have any quilting suggestions for me?!

Linking up to this week's RSC party

Baggie Challenge

Block construction

Well I am way past the deadline for this project, but I wanted to blog about it anyway. Last year Rogue Quilter Janet issued a scrap baggie challenge and I got started on mine in October - see my starting point here.

Then the blocks were ignored over Christmas, and they resurfaced again last month.

I started with 1" squares and strips from my friend Jackie, and made these sweet blocks. Would you call this a quarter log cabin block?

I made 9 blocks and they were supposed to be 3". Some of them needed trimming which means my 1/4" seam allowance was not consistent. UGH. A difference of 1/8" - 1/4" is a big problem when working with miniature quilt blocks and I should have checked/measured more frequently during construction, but I was having too much fun.

I set the blocks with a 1" sashing and black cornerstones. It was fiddly work getting the rows together and having the seams match up, and I often had to say "close enough".

Here is the finished quilt appropriately called "Jackie's Scraps". It measures 10" square.

You can read more about the bloggers who met the deadline here.

Even though I made a hanging sleeve and sewed it into the  binding at the top of the quilt, for some unknown reason, I am currently enjoying hanging it this way!

I love the scrappy neutrals!

Thanks for the challenge Janet and I'm sorry I missed the deadline :)

A Rainbow Scrap Challenge is FINISHED!

It's always so exciting to finish a quilt... but even more so when it's a long term scrappy project that was 8 years in the making! November's UFO began in April 2014 and was inspired by Bonnie Hunter's Maverick Stars pattern. Each month I made a couple of blocks with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

The quilt top was put together at a retreat in September 2019. And then it needed to age sufficiently in the magical UFO closet.  (You have one of those don't you!?!?)

diagonal wavy line quilting

The quilting was inspired by Preeti's serpentine quilting and I quilted horizontal, vertical, and diagonal wavy lines.

I used up some leftover grey scraps for the binding, most of which were trimmings from backings. I love that fabric with the glasses that was in a scrap bag - it looks like the block is supervising the binding process!

And when the quilt was finished, we went on an adventurous outdoor photo shoot. 

Here is the "stars on the wood pile" shot.

Finished size: 48" x 66"

The fall leaves were a carpet, crunching under foot as we searched for good locations for photos.

Here is the "quilt over the rail" shot.

And my favourite photo is "stars on the oak leaf path"!

Proudly linking up to One Monthly Goal and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Finished Quilt!

Did you remember that I have been trying to finish my Sister's Scrap Challenge this month? I was successful and here is the finished quilt! I used only the scraps in the envelope that was sent to me and the blue background fabric. The scraps were sewn using a confetti piecing method (learned from Lady Harvatine) and then the framed scraps were joined together in an improv kind of way.

Here is a photo from the back to show the wavy  machine quilting on the diagonal, with random loops.

I like how it looks like waves in the ocean, hence the quilt was named "Scraps Swimming in the Sea".

The finished size is 52.5" x 57.5" and this will be donated to my guild's comfort quilt project.

Linking up to One Monthly Goal and Hands2Help Challenge

Scrappy Quilt Top on the Design Wall

When I was gathering the supplies for my UFO of the month project, I found a few more hidden treasures in the closet. In one bin I found some very old orphan blocks and became captivated by the challenge of putting them into a quilt.

1) The pinwheel blocks were from a class I taught several years ago on unique block construction ideas. These were made using charm squares. You can see a tutorial from Missouri Star here. These blocks are the actual practice blocks of the students and some are a little wonky and incorrectly trimmed, and they are spinning every which way. But that's how we learn, so all the good, bad, and ugly are in this quilt!

2) The bowties were from a 2011 class I taught showing 3 different construction methods - connecting corners, set-in seam, and 3D.

This is how the quilt centre looked with the bowties set around the hourglass blocks.

3) In the 1990's when I was a new quilter and the internet was new (do you remember back that far?) I participated in a 9 patch block exchange by mail. Every month we made 9 patches in a certain colour and put them in the mailbox. About a week later we would receive 9 patch blocks from all over the US. I was usually the only Canadian in those swaps. I have a lot of 9 patches still waiting to jump into a quilt. For this project I used up the gold and green blocks.

The sashing and outside border was leftover from the backing of this month's UFO. This quilt top truly is an old school scrappy quilt! Now it's off to someone else in the guild to finish the quilt to donate to the comfort quilt collection.

Finished size: 52" x 70"

Linking up to Design Wall Monday

Finished Shoo Fly!

It's been a while since I finished a larger (not miniature) quilt and in this crazy pandemic life, it's a miracle that anything quilting gets accomplished!

Finished Shoo Fly!

I'm just so happy with how this quilt turned out! This is my favourite kind of quilt - made slowly over time with lots of scraps of all the colours, and full of memories 💜

This quilt started with the 2019 Quiltville leader-ender challenge. I sewed a few bocks every month from scraps on my cutting table, and from the scraps donated by my friends.

machine quilted loops

I am slightly annoyed by the random direction of the loops. I wanted it to be consistent, but my quilting brain couldn't concentrate enough to make it happen. So now I am saying "I meant to do it this way"! Also, I wasn't sure if it was finished or not as the centre of the blocks are kind of puffy. But it really grew on me and I decided not to add any more quilting to it.

quilt backing

The backing is just a plain grey piece of yardage and I like how the quilting design looks on the back of the quilt.

Size of quilt: 51" x 71"

binding scraps

I also love the random pieces that I was able to use up from the leftover binding scraps basket. I wasn't sure what colour the binding was going to be, but there were a lot of turquoise/aqua/green strips so that's what it became.
Linking up to Finished (or not) Friday!

Pin Basting

Shoo Fly quilt top

The Shoo Fly blocks have become a finished quilt top! This project was started last July as the Quiltville leader-ender challenge and my version has 140 Shoo Fly blocks that finish at 4". Some of the sashing is white and some is a light floral. I decided not to add a border and just proceed to quilting.

I would like to give mention to Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting who has inspired me by making incredible complex scrappy quilts using her totally scrappy approach. 

Ready to pin baste

I used her random layout technique in this quilt... picked 4 Shoo Fly blocks and sewed them together with white sashing, then I randomly sewed the sets of 4 with floral sashing. I love how it turned out!

There are A LOT of small pieces of fabric used up in this quilt, the blocks did not all measure exactly 4", and there are A LOT of seams. It's a little wobbly and hilly in spots, so I'm a bit worried that it might be challenging to quilt. 

Kwik Klip tool

I started the pin basting during a family zoom, and this photo shows me using my favourite Kwik Klip tool to insert and close the basting pins. It makes quick work (less than an hour) of putting 140 pins into the quilt. 
I will post tomorrow about how I prepare for machine quilting.

Design Wall Monday

Finally all the Shoo Fly blocks are on the design wall and the quilt top is coming together. Many sections are sewn together, and I hope to finish the quilt top this week. There are 140 Shoo Fly blocks in this quilt! 

I started this quilt last July with Bonnie Hunter's leader-ender challenge and made 4" scrappy blocks each month following the colours announced at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

some of the fussy cut blocks made last week

Many of the scraps came from leftovers from friends' projects and most came from projects I have worked on over the past year. I have had a great time making these blocks, but now there is a new leader-ender project to start, so this one must be finished!
Linking up to Small Quilts

Shoo Fly on the design wall

The Quiltville leader-ender project from last July was the Shoo Fly block. Bonnie gave instructions for two blocks sizes and I made the 4" size because smaller blocks use up all the littlest scraps. A new project will be announced next month, so I have been motivated to get the 2019 leader-ender project finished. 

Auditioning sashing fabrics

You can see the list of leader-ender projects from the last 10 years here. Some years I have resisted starting something new, but on 4 occasions I have joined in the fun. Shoo Fly has been one of my favourite long term projects using up random scraps throughout the year. 

Once I had sewn 120 blocks, I decided to join 4 blocks together (chosen randomly) using white sashing. Then I attached a light floral sashing on 2 sides of each set of 4 shoo fly blocks.

💗 120 blocks sewn together in groups of 4 💗

I just need 20 more blocks to make another row and then it will be the perfect size and I can get the quilt top together before the next leader-ender project starts...woo hoo! 
Linking up to Oh Scrap and Small Quilts

Those Darn Flies!

These Shoo Fly blocks (from Bonnie Hunter's leader-ender challenge) are driving me crazy! I can't stop thinking about them! 

Shoo Fly pile

They use up little pieces for the HST corners and feature a larger scrap in the centre. They are like eating chips... you can't just have one or two!
Here's the handful of blocks I've made so far... 70 plus (over 800 scraps sewn) but still a relatively small quilt. So many more blocks to make!

I really enjoy piecing these little blocks and always have one at the ready to put under the needle at the beginning and end of sewing other seams. Here I am sewing borders onto the "Home Grown" quilt top and sewing a leader ender Shoo Fly block from scraps from this quilt. See the parts sitting on the sewing machine bed waiting to go under the needle?

Add caption

Here are some of the recent blocks I've made from scraps of other projects. The red print was the border on "Scrap Dance Tango", the brown on the bottom left was from "Almost Reproduction", etc. 

That is one of the things I love about scrap quilts. I know where most of these pieces are from. Some are from quilts I've made and some are from scrap bags from friends. Scrap quilts are memory holders and connect us to each other. 

November UFO

I'm taking on a doozy of a UFO this month!
The project is my RSC spools quilt. I sewed spool blocks for 3.5 years and they were finally sewn together at the end of 2016. The quilt top has now aged to perfection and is ready to become a finished quilt by the end of 2019 (hopefully).

I'm certain I could not finish the quilt in one month, so I will make my goal to complete the pin basting and finish HALF of the machine quilting in November.
This is one of the largest quilts I have ever made and because it's so heavy with all the piecing in it (612 blocks) it will be a challenge to machine quilt on my DSM. 
But the evenings are long, dark and cold in November, so if I have a quilting goal then maybe I will (hopefully) use my  time constructively instead of hibernating.

This is the wonderful wide backing fabric I found - a  Wyndham Fabric from the  "Be Mindful" line called "Friendship". I adore it!
Linking up to One Monthly Goal.

October UFO

Do I dare suffer the humiliation of choosing the same UFO for the 3rd month in a row?!? 
Yes, I'm swallowing my pride and I'm doing it!

Scrap Dance Tango

October's UFO goal will be the same as August's and September's - the Scrap Dance Tango which is a mystery quilt pattern by  Carole. Progress has been made since it became the UFO of the month. The problem has been that my monthly goal has been too lofty.  All my spare (non working) time has been spent judging and entering fall fairs, which did not leave much brain power or time to work on my UFO.
Enough of the excuses!

To date, the border was cut and attached, the backing, batting and quilt top was prepared, and the pin basting completed. 


These are the chosen threads for the quilting ... a dark taupe for the bobbin and a creamy neutral thread for the top. You can see the backing on the lower right side of the photo (under the thread).  The quilting has been started with a stitch-in-the-ditch grid on both sides of the sashing, and I don't know what is happening after that!

The goal this month is to finish the machine quilting, put the binding on and actually finish this beautiful quilt once and for all! Linking up once again with One Monthly Goal.

September UFO

A teeny tiny bit of progress has been made on my Scrap Dance Tango quilt. This was a 2016 mystery quilt pattern by Carole at From my Carolina Home.
The quilt was stalled at the border stage because I didn't buy enough of the fabric I wanted to use for the border. A lot of thought was required on how to cut the fabric because it is directional, and there was no room for error. 

I procrastinated the task for almost 2 months. And finally I took the bull by the horns so to speak, did the math, recalculated, and remeasured, cut carefully, measured again, used a thousand pins, and sewed slowly (see the cute little leader-ender block ready to be sewn at the beginning and end of each border seam?)

Scrap Dance Tango

And finally the borders are on. 
It was not a fun job but it all worked out okay and I'm so relieved. I think the fabric  looks better in real life than on the computer screen. 

Pin basting

And now... the fun part can begin. The pin basting is started and soon it will be time for machine quilting which is my favourite.

Obviously this won't be finished by the end of the month, but it's going in the right direction for a fall finish!