Empty Spools

At the beginning of last year I wrote a blog entry about using up threads - click here. I have continued my "thread busting" practise by only buying new threads once I have thoroughly checked my thread box and found nothing that will work for the project.
I am binding a quilt right now (one of my favorite things!) and plan to finish up these 2 old spools of Mettler thread.  Looking at my thread box today, I would estimate that I have approximately half the thread spools I had at the beginning of 2010! I gave away the threads that my machine didn't like, and I used up the spools with little bits left.
As a result of my thread busting efforts, I have a new problem...a large collection of empty spools.
This was my old, overflowing container for empty spools,  and I am wondering...why am I saving these? 
I have acquired a couple more spool containers and looking at these spools I feel some pride at using up all those bits of threads,  but also feel a bit shocked at the amount of money I have spent on thread...each of those orange Aurifil thread spools cost $10!
What possible use could these empty spools have?
Help me out here blog readers... should I save these old spools? And if so, what purpose could they serve?

First blog post on my new Mac

I have been struggling with my old computer for a while now and hoped that by buying a Mac that my troubles would be behind me. I treated myself to a new laptop, hoping I could do my blogging at the park and surf my favorite quilting blogs while drinking tea on the porch, if ever it is warm enough to sit outside!!! Click here to see my brand new little computer. It is a steep learning curve, but so far so good. I even managed to download some photos, although I need some work on the editing program.

I'll try to show you what I was working on last week. Click here to see all my pieces being assembled. I was working on a challenge with a couple of quilting friends...we challenged ourselves to use the spool fabric and make a mini quilt. So of course I made spool blocks! I sewed 1", 1.5" and 2" blocks trying to decide which ones I liked the best and decided that I liked them all, and would just stack them up. So I call it "Stacked Spools".

Then I got the idea to embroider my favorite words on the top as if the thread was coming off the blue spool. But is was a varigated thread that I used and I think that the word "quilting" disappears where the thread gets too light. I'm not sure what I will do about that yet. 

Here are the mini quilt that my friends made. On the left is Judy's quilt called "Mom's Spools", and it has the cutest little spools of thread sewn down the middle of the quilt. She found these spools in her mother's belongings after she passed away. 

And on the right is Joanne's quilt called "Simple Spools". I hope you will be able to click on the photo to enlarge it and see all the dense quilting on the spools. (Apparently I can't figure out how to enlarge the photos anymore! I'll work on it!) 

This was a fun challenge and we are planning another one in the near future.

First finish for 2010!

In addition to using up stash fabric this year (especially in pieced quilt backings - see the backing for this quilt here), I want to use up old spools of thread. When quilting a piece this large in the past, I would have gone to Triangle Sewing and picked out thread specifically matched to the project, and usually buy extra so that I would never run out.
However, this year I am going to use up spools that I already have....the year of "threadbusting"!  I used to worry about having enough thread to quilt the entire piece with the SAME colour. I'm over that now, since I have a large stash of partially used spools that need to be emptied, and since I realized that most people cannot tell that I have used 4 different shades of teal thread in this quilt!
I started with these 3 spools and quickly used them up.
Here is one of the spools dangling from the thread feeder on my sewing machine...time for another spool!
I had a great time with this quilting. Some people really dislike machine quilting, but I love it almost as much as the piecing (and sometimes more). I decided to quilt this disappearing 9 patch in straight lines, making it completely different from the pink and purple polka dot disappearing 9 patch that I made last year (click here to see it) which I quilted with wavy lines and circles.

Above is a picture of quilting straight lines across the diagonal of the blocks using my walking foot.

I also practised quilting straight lines using my free motion foot in these white diamonds. It was a lot of starting and stopping (as opposed to continuous line quilting) and it required focus and concentration, but I was happy with the results.

Here is a picture of how the blocks were quilted.


And...drum roll please...
here is my first finished quilt of 2010...
the red and aqua disappearing 9 patch!
Thanks to Jane for hosting the block swap in November and to those quilters who contributed blocks for my quilt!

Scrappy Saturday Spools

Since returning from quilt camp, I am continuing to work on piecing together my scrappy rainbow spools. However, my design wall is not big enough to hold all these blocks and rows, so only part of the quilt can be on the design wall at one time. This is how it looked while I worked on the top edge. It's such a pretty photo... the rows look like ribbons of colour hanging down, don't you think?!? 
Maybe I should just leave it like this?!? LOL


I had enough extra coloured spools pieced to fill in the setting blocks across the top. But I did not have any extra grey/black spools made to fill in the right side of the quilt so I have to make more spools. 

I also do not have my friend Barb here today to organize me like she did when I was at quilt camp! So this is how it's looking at the moment. 
Two edges of the layout are done (left and top, and currently sitting on the kitchen floor), and I have two more edges to figure out (right and bottom). Today I will work on the right side, and eventually will tackle the bottom edge of the quilt.
Then I will finally join all these rows together, matching the bazillion seam joins. As always, I did not anticipate the amount of time and effort this layout is requiring. Hopefully I will find that it is all worth it in the end :) 

While sewing the setting blocks, I have made a few more brown leader/ender Alamo Stars.

To see how the other Rainbow Scrap Challengers are coming along with their projects, hop over to SoScrappy.

Scrappy Saturday Spools #1

For the rest of the year, my Rainbow Scrap Challenge focus will be to sew together my spools quilt.
In 2012 Bonnie Hunter hosted a spool block leader-ender project using a 3" spool block. I didn't start my spools until the summer of 2013 because I had so many other leader-ender projects on the go at that time. Each month I sewed a few spool blocks in the colour of the month with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I did that for 2 years and then sewed them into colour blocks of 4 spools each.
Then the blocks were put on point and roughly organized into colour ribbons.
I worked on it at quilt camp in February and made a lot of progress.
Here is how it looked on the design wall. Where to start? 
I decided to start on the left side and work on filling in the setting blocks.



While working on the edge blocks, I realized there were too many brown Sweetwater fabrics with text. Can you see that there are 3 of them right there? I was hoping that this spools quilt would be like a traditional charm quilt, which features a repeating block and never repeats a fabric twice. And for sure it doesn't have 3 blocks from the same fabric right near each other!! 
I will have to fix that by either separating those blocks or eliminating them from the quilt.
To see what other scrap quilters are finishing up this month, hop over to the RSC link up.

Spools Link-Up at Quiltville

Last summer Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville inspired her quilting fans to try the spool block as a leader/ender project - click here for the tutorial. Well, I already had a number of leader/ender projects on the go (like this one and this one) and was able to resist making spool blocks for quite a while. 
But then some of the Rainbow Scrappers started making pretty scrappy spool blocks and showing them every Saturday, until finally I couldn't stand it any more...I had to try one.  

I thought I'd sew just one little block to see what all the fuss was about.

And they were fun! 




Spools are great stashbusters for using small scraps, which I hoard collect. I even have sewn some blocks in a scrappy manner when I don't have enough of one fabric to complete a block. This yellow block has bits from three different yellow fabrics, and from two background light fabrics!

So I was late to the join in on the spool challenge, but still have a fair sized pile of spools to share. Here is my yellow spool collection that I sewed in June. 



I am part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so when Angela announces the colour of the month, I go to my scrap bin of that colour and start cutting for my spools.
Then over the course of the month, I use the pieces as leader/enders between whatever else I am sewing. It really does work great and no thread is ever wasted!

This is the layout I am leaning towards right now ...four blocks of the same colour sewn together in a 4 patch block, then sewing 4 of those into a large block, then putting them together scrappy style when I have enough.
This week Bonnie is hosting a link up for anyone sewing spools to show their collection, so hop over to the Spool Review and see the amazing spool quilts being created.
A big thanks to Bonnie for yet another great addiction idea!

Scrappy Saturday Spools #4

For the rest of the year, I am really trying to finish my scrappy spools quilt. You can read more about it in my post from the beginning of the month here. The picture does not reflect the effort, but it was a lot of thinking to get those bottom blocks right!

Once I finished the bottom of the quilt and filled in the setting blocks with spools and neutral squares, I moved over to the grey and black spools on the top right of the quilt edge.
Major progress! 

Here it is so far. I am really happy with it! You can see how it is bigger than my biggest design wall! There is only the bottom right corner to sort out now!

It's hard to keep focused on this huge project and I am constantly distracted by other more fun projects I could be working on. 

Wow I am easily distracted! 
Squirrel! 
Must keep focused!

To see more RSC finishes, hop over to the weekly linky party.

Scrappy Challenge Review

I have been participating in Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge since 2011 and have made many wonderful blocks and quilts as a result of her inspiration. Over the past year I have focused on 6 scrap projects and have successfully made progress on each one. AND I have not started any new ones, which is a miracle! 
Let's review:
1) Palm Branches 

This block pattern ("Red Herring") is a free pattern and tutorial from Kristy at the Quiet Play blog. The blocks finish at 6" x 7" so they use up a lot of small scraps. Although I haven't worked on this recently, I still really like it, and enjoy having a paper piecing project that I can play with from time to time. This project will continue next year.



2) Carrie Nation
I made my first block as part of the Votes For Women project and enjoyed it so much that I started making a scrappy rainbow version. I have my layout in mind and now am making extra blocks to fill in the colour gaps. Orange blocks have been made since this photo was taken, and now I am working on more green blocks. This should become a finished quilt in 2015.




3) Alamo Stars

This project has been in production for over two years now. You can read about the Alamo inspiration here. I still love making these tiny blocks. They are 2.25" and are like little sparkly jewels. I always have a few blocks cut and sitting on my sewing table to use as a leader/ender. I try to sew a few each month, and this project will definitely continue into next year.


4) Pumpkin Seeds
This has been my "learning to applique" project and it has been great practice. I am filling in the missing colours, and am finishing some orange and some blue blocks this month. This will be up on the design wall in the new year to make more decisions about size, layout, borders and colours needed. I think I am ready to progress to a more challenging applique project soon.

5) Omigosh
This project is a life time commitment! The blocks are so tiny and the quilt needs a bazillion, so it will be added to regularly. I love that it uses up the 1" scraps that other people throw in the garbage. I have made over 50 of these blocks and plan to double that number this year.

6) Spools
I also really enjoy sewing the spool blocks, but I think I have made more than enough for a large quilt. I started putting them on the design wall and discovered that there were enough blue and purple spools to make a quilt! I think it's time to work on a layout for the spools.






7) Crumbs
I haven't worked on this one much this year. I have enough blocks now to finish it, but just haven't. It could be a quick finish if I set my mind to it. I wanted to make a scrappy rainbow border for this quilt. Maybe I should put this one on the UFO list?








8) All Tied Up in Knots
These blocks have been finished for a while, and I have been contemplating a layout for them. I finally got some inspiration when at a quilt show in the fall. I plan to make a pieced border of on point 9 patch blocks between the knots. I need to create a floor plan to figure out what the colours for the 9 patches will be. This will be a task for January, so I can sew up the sashing blocks throughout the year.

So that's my Scrappy Rainbow Challenge summary. I didn't finish anything from my scrap blocks this year, but added a lot of new blocks to my various collections. Time to get some of these turned into finished quilts!

Scrappy Saturday - Spools

June is yellow month for the Rainbow Scrappers. I found some yellow strips that my friend Barb shared with me to use up ...so fun, love the bananas! 
I was getting organized to start cutting  some yellow Alamo Star blocks, and got completely distracted with the idea of trying some spool blocks. Last summer Bonnie Hunter suggested making spool blocks as a leader-ender project, but I already had a couple leader-enders on the go, so I resisted starting spools. Until now. 


I realized they are the perfect blocks to use up leftover 1.5" strips. Many scraps can be cut to this size and used up in this kind of block. I sorted scraps from my bin and started putting pieces into a "spools" box to cut when I have a chance...and look at the pile that is ready to sew! I even started to feel very organized and hopeful about organizing my sewing room and getting control of the scraps.
So now the problem is that my two "leader-ender" projects are vying to be my primary sewing project, and that is totally defeating the purpose!  Maybe the novelty will wear off and I can get back to the projects I'm supposed to be working on!
Hop over to SoScrappy's and enjoy more yellow postings.

Design Wall Monday - Spools

On the design wall today is my spool collection, which is over 200 blocks now. This was the leader/ender project over at Quiltville in 2012 - click here for the instructions. If you want to see what other quilters made with their spools, you might want to check out the "spool review" link up post. 
I was a little late in starting my spools, but better late than never, I suppose! Now I am making up for lost time and loving this project. It uses 1.5" scraps, which is the perfect size for the small leftovers that I seem to have in abundance.

I am only sewing these as leader/enders in between other blocks and seams that I am sewing. 

I always have a stack of blocks sitting beside my machine cut out and ready to sew. It is a great way to make a "free" quilt! I learned about this from Bonnie Hunter, and she is writing another book about leaders/enders, which I think is being released this spring.

Each month I focus on sewing up scraps that are the colour of the month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so we haven't done orange, green, pink or purple months since I started making these spool blocks. I will be adding a lot more to my collection as the year goes on.

To see more design walls, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Scrappy Saturday - last aqua week

For the first time ever in participating in the Rainbow Challenge, I can report that I used up almost all my scraps in one colour! Woohoo! 
I am having great fun with the spool blocks and sewed up my last aqua scraps into 40 of these 3" spool blocks. Did you see Bonnie's Spool Review last week and see all the great quilts being made?!  Many of the 'Rainbow Scrappers' posted their progress and I was cheering for them! Great job!



I even received a donation from my friend Barb to add to the scrappy mix this month! I used every one of them...can you find the spools from these scraps?

I think this is the block format I am going to make... 4 spools of one colour (makes a 6" block). Then I might sew 4 of these together to make 12" blocks, but am not sure if I want to do that randomly, or have more control over block/colour placement by keeping the blocks of 4 separate until layout time?

I also sewed 9 pretty Alamo Stars over the month.
I wonder when I will get sick of these blocks? They are still so fun for me to sew here and there as leader/enders.





It is time to put the July blocks away and prepare for August sewing. What's the next colour up? 
Any guesses?
Thanks to Angela for all the fun with Scrappy Saturdays. Pop over to her blog and see what other quilters are sewing today.

Scrappy Saturday Spools #3

For the rest of the year, I am really trying to finish my scrappy spools quilt. You can read more about it in my blog post here.

Add caption

This week I am working on the bottom left corner. I have to make the right colour of spool block to fit in the spaces of the setting triangles at the end of the diagonal rows. Then each of those spool blocks needs two neutral squares added to either side. 
I'm really tempted to put this away and make some fun scrappy blocks! Part of my challenge is that I had been working on Allietare which is also an on point layout and I am tired of tackling these long seams. I keep getting distracted by thoughts of wanting to start something new, but am really committed to finishing this quilt top.
Must. Push. On.
To see more RSC projects coming to completion, hop over to the Saturday link up.

Scrappy Saturday Spools #2

For the rest of the year, I am really trying to finish my scrappy spools quilt. You can read more about this project in last Saturday's post.
Progress has been made and I have completely finished the top left corner. That was a lot of work filling in the setting blocks on the edges and sewing the diagonal rows together.

I think I procrastinate this stage of quilt making because it is challenging to sew the long rows together and the whole thing is just unwieldy and not fun. I am pinning every seam join as I go along which takes a long time. Sometimes I don't use pins at all, but this project just needs them.
Linking up to RSC over at SoScrappy and Oh Scrap.

Scrappy Saturday Spools week #5

For the rest of the year, I am trying to finish my scrappy spools quilt.  You can read more about it in this post.
I really put a push on and forced myself to sew those long, unwieldy diagonal seams. There was a lot of matching to do, and lots of fabric to shove, push, and pull through the machine. It's hard to man-handle all these blocks and it is surprisingly heavy with all these seams!

This week I focused on the bottom right corner of the quilt top. I was making good progress until I noticed this. There are too many blocks made from the same purple with dots fabric. There are 3 of them in the same area. I had this problem when working on the left side of the quilt! I decided the block in the middle had be extracted.



There we go... see the spool block with the pin in it? It's a new import to replace the extracted purple dots block. Much better. I can live with that. 
Now to finish up the remaining long diagonal seams. I may need to bribe myself to get it done and chocolate will likely be involved!
To see more RSC finishes, hop over to SoScrappy.

Scrappy Saturday - Rainbow Scrap Challenge Report

I am enjoying the energy of the red scraps scattered all over neatly piled on my sewing table. However, I haven't been inspired to do many Alamo Stars  this month, because I don't have many red batik scraps. Luckily this is a 5 week month, and I do plan to sew up a couple stars, so look for that next Saturday.

Mostly I have been obsessed with spool blocks because they are easy and mindless, and the perfect size for using up piles of small scraps.
These are my latest red spools. I am sewing 4 spools together to make a 6" block. I am trying to group together 4 similar kinds of reds in each block. I think I only will need about a billion trillion to make a decent sized quilt!
And did you notice that lovely orange peel block in the top left corner of the photo? That's my new applique project, and by the end of that quilt, (circa 2025) I hope to become an expert appliquer! I am using the needle turn technique, and am enjoying it so far. I think I am getting a little better at sewing the points and the curves. These orange peels are being appliqued onto 4" squares.
Hop over to SoScrappy to see what other quilt bloggers are sewing with their red scraps this week.