CiL Blocks via A Substitute Blog

At the beginning of 2018 I made a promise to myself, that in addition to all the challenges that I had signed up for, I would commit to sending at least 6 blocks to Kat's CiL Block Drive every two months. You can read about Kat's wonderful event here. In Jan-Feb, I sent string blocks.

 Then for March -April, I made blue Hunter's Star blocks.

 May 1st I clicked on Kat's blog and read about all the quilts she and her helpers are putting together from the string blocks. At the end of the blog she stated that she was taking May and June off to finish up all the quilts and asked that we support Briawna at Purple Poppy Quilts efforts to collect blocks for her charity. She is collecting Cross Plus blocks with a few size and color limits. Read about it here.  

Well, I committed to supporting Kat, so if Kat wants me to make blocks for Briawna, then that is what I will do.
I made these 7 blocks

and will get them in the mail next week after my out of town company leaves. These blocks were more challenging for me, but after a few times with the seam ripper, I think the angles are pretty good. Pulling from my stash was a bit of a challenge. I am drawn to fall-like colors, greens, browns, dark blues. I hope Purple Poppy Quilts can incorporate these blocks with the others. It is always amazing to me, when I look at blocks made by many, how often they work together. How varied and different colors really do look good.

I continue to work on all my WIPs. Rainbow slab blocks, strips of bits and pieces for Colorful Birches, a crochet rug of scrappy strips, and of course my embroidered Calendar Girls.

So.... I am linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts: Finish It Up Friday
            and Busy Hands Quilts:  Finished or Not Friday

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Starts and a sort of Finish

This week, I got nothing completed. Unless you count getting mostly caught up on my home office stuff!  You know, filing, shredding, reorganizing for the new year!

I did work on 30 Blocks in 30 Days at Carla's blog, Creatin' in the Sticks. I mostly did one block each day according to her tutorials, but I did not read that she was presenting them in column order for layout. I just did my own thing for a week using the RSC 18 colors as my choices. Then I "woke up" and decided maybe I should have a plan. I liked the Rainbow layout, so I printed her EQ photo and put the blocks on my design wall to sort of replicate her color layout.

The blocks have now been taken down and placed in a project box. I have my CiL blocks to do for this time, my OMG for May to get done, the RSC18 = Pink slab blocks to do. So these will have to wait. I have no real plan for them, but they were so fun to work at every day!. When I put them into a flimsy top with borders, I'll post again.


I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday 
and Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

OMG = One Monthly Goal - May

GET ON THE STICK!
That's something my mom would have said!

I was sort of stymied as to what should be my OMG for May!.  I have several Challenge groups but have been chipping away at them since the first of the year. But this one has not been started, except to "know that I want to do it", " purchased some fabric and a pattern", " then changed my pattern idea", omg......just get started, Judy!

Our son turns 50 this fall. He is the only one of my immediate family that I have not made a quilt for. And I have made several for nephews, nieces, nephew's and niece's kids, friend's babies and grandbabies, former co-worker's babies....you get the picture!

So I was smitten with fabric from Cheryl Arkison  called Tag. I purchased it from Connecting Threads. ( I have no affiliation with Cheryl, or Connecting Threads). I first came upon Cheryl's name, through Amanda Jean Nyberg. They co-authored "Sunday Morning Quilts"

I bought a kit for a quilt using a pattern called Arithmetic.  It is black, grey and white. Urban in feel. Our son has recently relocated to downtown Phoenix. He is an IT Department Manager for a large retail company, specializing in inventory control.

I liked the pop of color in this version of the pattern. I hoped it would not be too pink. But when I received it, it is definitely a pink-ish melon. So that sort of stopped me. What could I substitute?

 This copy of the pattern from Jeni Baker called Arithmetic, came with the kit. This original pattern is very busy!  Not usually my thing!  But I have been doing some "outside the box" projects lately.

I have used the pattern to make a baby quilt for my newest great nephew. You can read my post about that one here.

Recently, I began seeing blogs featuring quilts from Modern Plus Sign Quilts. When I saw Intertwined, I knew that was the pattern. I ordered the book. 

 

But now I need a light background, maybe a really light solid gray, or silver, or pewter. I don't have a lot of experience with solids, I will have to go to my little LQS and see what she has. And I need another contrast color, not pink!  This pattern shows a fabric called Grafic by Latifah Saafir. I love it. The green brick fabric is called Sulfur.


My OMG for May is to cut the blocks for this quilt, and purchase the fabric for the background. If I get it to the flimsy stage, so much the better.

I am linking this post up with Patty's May OMG Goal Setting link up


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Five more little finishes on a Friday

One of the groups I quilt with has a annual Christmas party and gift exchange.   I received a wonderful bag of goodies. One of the items was a pattern and some fat quarters. The pattern is from June Tailor  and includes a panel of 7 printed inspirational sayings.

 

 Right after Christmas I made two mug rugs with Christmas like fabrics. 

I used scraps from my scrap tub and they both have a gold scroll backing. I posted about these here and noted how I had to use scrap binding and the difficulty I had in joining the short pieces ending the binding.

In February I decided to work on the remaining 5 mug rugs. Using the fat quarters that were in my gift and some of my stash. I pieced this one.

And there it sat, layered but not quilted! As with UFO's, I packed it away in a project box, knowing it was on a UFO list and I would get back to it.

Enter several bags of scraps from some friends that saw me making strip blocks for Covered in Love for donation in February. See my post about these HERE.  I sorted through the bags and started to sort according to color. Then an idea popped into my head. I decided to use the scraps from the four friends to make them each a mug rug. After all it's fabric that they liked!  So I began.

One top pieced for Eileen

 A second one pieced for Carol.

 This little piece is needing some fabric selected from the bag from Lynn.

At my machine with pieces on my small design boards.   This one will be for Maggie

 And now they are finished!  Plus the blue, aqua and green one will go to the giver of the gift, Sandy.  I had so much fun doing these. They each have a backing from my stash and all the other fabric is from each scrap bag.

I am linking this post at Busy Hands Quilts Finished or Not Fridays and also to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday. 


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

OMG April final link up

My April OMG was to trim, square up and get the binding on my Snow Flurries quilt. IT IS DONE!

 Plus I added 3 triangles ( 9" squares folded twice and stitched in with the top binding)   This will be the hanging sleeve. You can't see them here, but I use 3 crystal snowflake buttons to hold down the points of the triangles. 

 I haven't decided how I will hang this quilt or just where. I am leaning toward behind the headboard of the queen bed in our guest room. This will necessitate a rod installed as close to the ceiling as Mr Busy will put it. I could hang it with a long dowel and a couple (at least 4) nails.  But I would prefer a pretty curtain rod. I will look to see what is available at Wal Mart or Home Depot. My only options in my small city. 

I will now start to add beads to some of the snowflakes. I have watched several You Tube videos on the technique to add beads to an already quilted item and not have the knots or threads show on the back. I will not use this quilt on a bed, ever!  But I still want it to be attractive and do the best that I can. It will take some time.  

Stay Busy and Stay Happy
Judy B
Elm Street Quilts April OMG Finish

Mid April Friday Finishes or not quite

I've been in my sewing room every day this week. Of course, there were beds to be made, suppers to be cooked, bathrooms to be scrubbed and book club selections to be finished, but I did sew most days. Some days I just petted fabric, looked at patterns and even did some regular ironing!

Last week I came across a post about another zipper bag. I wish I could remember whose blog had the link. I thought I could go right back to it, but I cannot. Luckily I clicked the link to the Moda Bake Shop site and printed the pattern.  It is Vinyl Project Pouch from March 9th. I have been wanting to make one of these for awhile now.  We have 2 small great grandchildren who spend lots of time with us. Of course, I keep spare socks, an extra t-shirt and pants for each of them at our house. The smaller of the two is going on two and just about ready to be potty trained. We keep wipes and diapers here too. And in the car, in the event we are at the playground and in need. So I had a reason for an extra zipper bag.

I knew I had some vinyl in my stash and started looking for some fabric. I found some that I probably would never use in a quilt.  It was just a fat quarter. It is pretty vivid colors and balls of yarn and hearts. Not the best quality, not sure where it came from. I looked for some contrasting fabric and a zipper.

I found this maroon dotty fabric. Perfect.  

I pieced some batting, then pulled my drawer of pre cut 2 1/2" squares and found some that I thought went well. I arranged the squares sort of in a diagonal and added 6 squares of the "yarn and hearts" fabric.  I continued with the instructions. 

I even found a new 16" barberry red all purpose zipper !  Yea!!

 I quilted it with wavy wonky lines using my walking foot and the #4 stitch on my Bernina, set at the longest and widest. I used a old spool of red,white and blue variegated thread because I need to use it up.

I added the contrast fabric to the vinyl. I love the fact that wonder clips work so well on vinyl and there are no pin holes. 

 I have an old rotary cutter that I purchased way back when I first started to quilt. I don't like the way it feels in my hand, and the way the blade collapses , so I keep a used blade in it  just for cutting paper or in this case vinyl.

 Finished!  Isn't it cute?

 Here is the back. I wanted to try binding by machine and decided this was the perfect project to practice. Maybe not, because of the vinyl. I had to use the paper that came with the vinyl, between it and the machine bed. Then of course it had to be torn away from the seam.  It is not perfect, but it is cute and serviceable. When Miss B doesn't need extra diapers in Gwama and Pa's car, I will take it back and keep something else in it.

I found this cute little felt star on a string in my stash, it makes a perfect zipper pull.  It is packed now, with a 1/2 pack of wipes, 2 diapers and a square of plush fabric to put under her "bum". 

A Finish It Up Friday entry at Crazy Mom Quilts link up party!

and a Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Winter Quilt and Two More Snow Friends

Snow Flurries quilt is trimmed, bound with hanging triangles. Thankfully, the weather on Wednesday was partly cloudy and Mr Busy was available to hold my quilt for me, so I could photograph it. 

 This one looks suprisingly like a photo I have of the unquilted top. But as you can see from the next photo the binding is done.  

It looks a little wavy, but it was just breezy and I had my quilt holder stretching up and over the fence top. 

Here is the back, showing the hanging triangles. And a peek at the blue sky and fluffy clouds. 

  There is a sparkly snowflake button holding down the bottom point of the triangle. Do you use these hanging triangles or do you sew a sleeve the whole width of the quilt?
And in the spirit of transparency here is the entire back with the inset white strips to make the backing big enough for my long armer.

Olie and Leena will be joining Sven on my wall next winter. I usually hang these small narrow hangings in the space near my front door. However now with 3 that sort of go together, I'll have to decide just where they will reside. I may have to hang them all in a row and leave them up from November through March or April!!!

I am participating in the APQ 2018 UFO Challenge. You can read about it at their website, All People Quilt.  My UFO for April was to complete SVEN.

He was done early, so I decided to finish his friends Olie and Leena for April.

This is what they looked like the 1st of April. I needed to spray baste the layers together, and really wanted to do it outside. But the weather just did not cooperate. It has been cold, snowy and windy. Sometimes just one of those, but lots of days all three!  Ugh!  So I bit the bullet, covered my cutting table, turned on a fan and sprayed them quickly in my sewing room. Then I set to work to buttonhole all the applique down and get the binding and hanging sleeves on them. And lastly, finish the button eyes, embroider the mouths and add the other embellishments.

Now, meet  Leena and Olie.

Leena has a crazy quilted stocking cap, button eyes and blue and purple fringe on her scarf.

 I may add to her bangs, but I will look at if for awhile before adding anymore stitches.


Olie's top hat has a greenery backed star and some holly leaf buttons, also two color fringe on his green scarf.

The pattern suggested that the leaves should be embroidered. I was not confident in my ability to free hand the leaves, so I raided my stash of vines and silk flowers and found some silk ivy leaves. I think they look fine.

So two or maybe three finishes for this Friday. I will link up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday and  Busy Hands Quilts, Finished or Not Friday.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy