Scrap Attack!

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has put forth a Scrap Attack challenge for 2018.  Here's how it works.  I have chosen twelve scrap projects for the coming year, written them on slips of paper, and put the  strips in a little gift bag in my sewing room. At the beginning of each month I'll pull a slip from the bag and that will be my scrap goal for the month along with whatever else I'm working on at the time.

Here are my twelve.

1.  Make something using some of these 2.5" batik strips.

2.  Make a string quilt from my strings basket.

3.  Use up all the strings in these large containers, then recycle the containers. 

4.  Make at least one baby quilt from these Tom and Jerry prints.  (I cut out pajamas for my grandsons about 9 or 10 years ago and never made them!)

5.  Make at least one quilt from my overflowing supply of novelty prints.  (Yes, there are stacks behind the stacks!)

6.  Use these leftovers from Savannah and Sahara's baby quilts in a project.  (You can see their quilts HERE.)

7.  Use strips to make a quilt like this one on Carmen Geddes Quilts Facebook page.

8.  Make something with these fat quarters given to me by a friend.

9.  Cut up green scraps into squares.

10.  Cut up blue scraps into squares.

11.  Cut up pink scraps into squares.

12.  Cut up yellow scraps into squares.

All this is in addition to my plan to finish Josh's T-shirt quilt, finish Debbie's batik quilt, make Aaron a rag quilt, and make A.J. a black quilt.

Whew!  I think I should probably ask you to wish me luck. Looks like I'm going to need it!

I'm linking up with Sarah's Scrap Attack 2018.

The Quilts of Christmas Past

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost three weeks. Well, I guess I can, really.  This has been a crazy-busy December!  I have barely been in my sewing room at all. Since I don't have anything new to share I thought I'd show some of the Christmas quilts I made in the past.  

This one is probably my favorite.  I made it in 2007 from blocks I received in a quilt guild row-robin.  Each person in the group made a row using the Christmas fabric I had provided.  When I got it back I didn't love it.  Naturally, there was only one thing to do - take it apart and put it back together in a different layout.  It took a lot of imagination to come up with this plan, and I had to add the piano key border make it more balanced.  It's about 47" by 57".  I call it "Christmas Hodge-Podge" and it's the perfect snuggle quilt!

In 2004 some friends and I exchanged 5" squares of Christmas fabrics and I used mine to make this 33" by 34" Tumblers quilt.  (There I go again - adding appliquéd holly and stars in the border to make it my own!) 

I love how it looks draped over the chair next to the chair with my snuggle quilt!

I started this one at a retreat in 2001.  I had to spruce up the negative space with some appliquéd and embroidered poinsettias. You know I can't just make a pattern the way someone else says I should!  This quilt is about 44" square.....

..... and makes a great table topper!

When my son was setting up his own home in 2002 I made a tree skirt using a pattern from American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine for him.  

I also made him this little snowman wall-hanging from a McCalls Quilting Magazine pattern.  It was one of the few times I worked with homespuns, and I really like how it turned out. 

The third thing I made for him is this 28"  by 43" wall-hanging called "Cranberry Township" from Quiltmaker Magazine.  Like all the quilts above it's hand-quilted! 

About the time he was turning 5 years old our grandson, Gavin, asked me to make a quilt for his stuffed kitty.  He specifically asked for candy cane fabric.  Lo and behold I had some in my stash!  This little quilt is only 14" square .....

..... and just the right size!

In 2008 when our grandson, Aidan, needed a Christmas stocking, I found the perfect pattern in the 2002 issue of Quilt It For Christmas. I used some lame' fabrics in Christmas colors along with a few cotton prints and appliquéd his name and some gold stars to make it extra special.

I really hope you've enjoyed this Christmas Show and Tell.  I sure had fun putting it together!

A Pillowcase Bonanza

On occasion, my online quilting group likes to make pillowcases for a worthy cause, so when we were looking for a new group to sew for, Lonnie suggested her niece. Not just her niece.  Her niece, Elise, and the other brave soldiers serving with her in Kabul, Afghanistan.  In order to include everyone we needed to make a total of 66.  We got right to work and had them in the mail in no time.  

Part of the fun for me was seeing how many combinations I could put together using just my stash.  The challenging part was finding three coordinating fabrics for each pillowcase.  Here's what I ended up making.

Needless to say they were very happy with our gifts.  We got these photos today.


































Just in case you're curious Elise is in the front row in the first photo, third from the left, holding the light green pillowcase.  

I think I can speak for the rest of our group when I say that gifting the things we make is always fun, but seeing those smiling faces makes it even better!

Linking up with "Sew Some Love" and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

A "Simple Stripes" Finish

I came across a cute pattern from Diary of a Quilter (by Amy Smart) called "Simple Stripes" and decided it would be perfect for my 10th quilt donation to Choose Life of North Alabama, my 14th finish for this year.  The tutorial is free on her site or as a PDF if you want to print and save it for later.  I decided on blues, greens, and yellows (brights, of course!) so into the stash I went.  I cut enough for way more than one quilt, mainly because I got caught up with all the fun fabrics and forgot to keep track of what I was cutting.

The blocks went together fast.  It took me longer to decide which fabrics to put together into blocks than it did to sew them!

After the first few blocks were up on the design wall, though, I wasn't loving it.

Quilty friends recommended that I throw in a few blocks using large prints.  That was a great idea except that this is pretty much the extent of my "large" prints!  Not so many, and not what anyone would call large.

 I used the yellow with curly ribbons, and it worked.

My stash came in handy again.  I had the perfect thing for backing and binding.

Because it was such a pretty day outside I had a good time with the photo shoot in my courtyard.

This was a fun quilt to make - really simple, really quick, and all from stash.  Gotta love it.

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Sew Some Love.

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Christmas Sewing

As usual at this time of year my quilty friends are talking about their holiday sewing - looking for new and interesting ideas for their gift making, sharing photos of their projects, making a list and checking it twice (or checking things off!) I rarely, if ever, make Christmas gifts.  First, the stress turns something fun into a chore.  Second, I have to start early in the year to get it done on time, and once I've completed something I cannot wait that long to gift it!  So, for the first time in a very long time I made a Christmas gift for this year.   

I love this "Quilted Totebag" pattern by Elaine Waldschmitt for The Quilted Closet.   I was first introduced to it by my friend Darlene (check out her blog!), and it has become one of the patterns I have gotten a lot of mileage from.

I made it scrappy using batik strips .....

..... and used a tiny bit (compared to how much I have!) of this pretty blue batik for the lining.

Straight line quilting along the bricks and stippling in the center panels went pretty fast.   Then, since I'm a little (okay, okay, a lot!) OCD, I can't stand for the unfinished seams to show .....

..... so I stitched a little casing over the side seams .....

..... and stitched down the triangles that make the bottom corners.

I absolutely drew the line though at any more seam finishing, and I did not encase the bottom seam.  I'm not that crazy!

The first time I used this pattern was in 2006 when I made this bag for myself.  It has toted a lot of quilty stuff since then!

I liked it so much I made one for each of my sisters as gifts on our Sisters' Trip that year.

When I mentioned it in an online quilt group yesterday my friend Faye (check out her blog!) reminded me that I made her one that year, too!  She sent me a photo -

This was fun, and I'm ready for the gift exchange at my stitching group next week.  It may be a while before I make another Christmas gift, though.  After all this pressure I need a nap!

I'm linking up with Quilting is More Fun than House work for Cynthia's "Oh Scrap!" Linky Party and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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The Rest of the Retreat Story

I prepped all my projects ahead of time for retreat so I could just sit and sew and talk and not have to cut or think too hard or do any "dreaded math."  Each project was cut and put into a ziploc bag along with the pattern or instructions. The first thing I worked on was this "Cross Weave" pattern by Sweet & Simple Quilts from Martingale.

In case you haven't noticed by now, lately I've really been into using a complementary color in the sashing or border. I think it makes it more interesting.  (And different -- you must know I like my quilts to be different!)  I had a really cute backing fabric I had bought when I was in Paducah in April for the AQS Show.  

Except for the backing this quilt was made from stash and scraps.  In fact, this is my entire supply of oranges now. I've been doing some serious stash-busting!

The second thing I worked on was this pattern, "Easy Starburst", by Missouri Star Quilt Company's Jenny Doan.  

I had never made Half-Square Triangles using the method in her tutorial.  Starting with two squares, one print and one white-on-white, right sides together, I sewed a quarter-inch seam around the edges then cut from corner to corner to make four HST's.  It worked well and went together fast, but I ended up having to work with all bias edges which is not my favorite thing.  

(Note:  I used 7" squares instead of 10" squares in order to end up with a smaller quilt.) The HST's were then stitched into four large blocks, using the same layout .....

..... then, starting at the top right, each block was turned clockwise in order to create the star.  

I added a border and used fabrics from my stash for the back and binding. 

How about that?  Two finishes in one week!  Not only that, but two more quilts for Choose Life of North Alabama.  

See what happens when you get to go on a retreat?  

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  Check them out and read about the projects others are working on.

Also linking up with Sew Some Love at Kat & Cat Quilts.