Making Progress!

I'm finally making progress on Natalie's quilt.  I no longer want to give up on it and throw the whole thing into the trash.  Well.  I probably wouldn't do that now that fabric costs about $13 a yard!  

I got all the blocks trimmed over the weekend.  That was fun.  (She said sarcastically!)  The 5" ruler I bought last week was the perfect tool for this job.

It took a while to get through the whole stack .....

..... and look how much fabric was wasted!  Yikes!  Remember I just mentioned above what fabric costs these days?  This is so sad.  

I know some quilters use their scraps to stuff dog beds, so I'm going to find someone who can use them.  

I spent the entire day sewing today, and got all the rows made .....  

..... so, on to sashing now.   I wonder if I'll be able to make my April goal (which was also my March goal!)  With four days left, I'm hopeful.  For a while there this was feeling a lot more like work than fun, but I'm starting to love this quilt!

RSC-Pink Goals Met!

It's almost the end of another month and time to report on April's RSC2022 progress.  The color for April is pink, and even though pink is not very high on my favorite colors list, I've managed to find enough pink scraps to get my blocks made.  Here are my Windmill and Sawtooth Star blocks.  

I added a third monthly RSC project which I haven't mentioned before now.  I want to use up as many scraps as I can in this challenge, so in January I found a stack of sixty red 2.5" by 4.5" bricks and decided to turn them into a third project.  I added the aquas/teals in February,  golds/yellows in March, and of course pinks in April. I have no idea where I'm going with this idea, but I'll come up with something!

And speaking of pink!  I was attracted to these Kaffe Fassett "Agate" fat quarters when I was "supporting my local quilt shop" the other day, and they ended up coming home with me.  I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

Much to my surprise when I unfolded them later I found out they're both from the same print.  How fun is that!  

So that's my "April Pinks" story.  Onward to May and whatever color that brings!

Linking up with So Scrappy!

The Current Plan

I've been really struggling with Natalie's quilt.  I started with one plan then changed to a different plan.  Now I have come up with yet another plan.  Actually, another step in the plan.  Or something like that.  I needed to do something interesting with the 3.5" squares I ended up with after all that cutting, re-sizing, and trimming.  Maybe setting them on point, or putting sashing on two sides, or just about anything!  I got to thinking about a quilt I made a while back with tilted string blocks.  That quilt is one of my favorites. This just might work!

 

My inspiration quilt ("Lemon Licorice Twists") did not have a pattern.  I just sort of made it up as I went along.  I took a close look .....

..... made a sample block .....

..... then got to work.  I couldn't find a blue batik I like so I bought a sky blue Wilmington Prints design called "Spatter".

Hmmm.  Not bad.

I have 212 of these made and ready to trim .....

..... and I really don't want to change plans again.  So.  Fingers crossed!

Linking up with Oh Scrap!

April's "One Monthly Goal"

My March OMG was to get the top made for Natalie's quilt, and I fell far short of that.  I had made more than four-hundred 2" by 9.5" units like these .....

..... and I was certain I could easily make them into a top during the month of March.  Well, what can I say?  I could not come up with any kind of design I liked, so I changed gears and decided to find a way to rework it.  I cut them in half and stitched them back together into wide rectangles like this -

These should be easier to work with, right?  Nope.  I still wasn't feeling it.  So, for April's One Monthly Goal I am cutting them down again.  From 3.5" by 4.5" rectangles to 3.5" by 3.5" squares.   Like this -

Surely, I can come up with something now.  My April goal is to make Natalie's quilt top from these blocks.  Fingers crossed.  I can't keep cutting them down hoping for inspiration to strike.  I won't have anything left to work with!

Linking up with "One Monthly Goal"

A Finish, Some Donation Projects, and a Stash Report

A lot has been going on lately in this sewing room of mine.  After spending two solid days of spring cleaning I spent some quality time in there last week.  

First, my "Lazy Eyes" quilt came back from my quilter (the fabulous Shirley Jackson), and I got the binding on it.  It was nice to finally check off something from my UFO list.  I love how it turned out, but I need to rename it.  I'm still thinking about that.   It might be inspired by the Post-It Note look!

 

I didn't realize how grainy the photos are until I had already shipped it, but I'm pretty in love with this quilt, so I'm going to overlook the blurry pics.  The most important thing is that my niece loves it.   Removing something from the UFO list isn't bad either!

I got five pillowcases made for the North Alabama Foster Closet, keeping up with my goal of making five each month this year.  

Then I decided to use up some fat quarters that were gifted to me a few years ago.  I added a teal print and a light aqua solid from my stash .....

..... and used a pattern designed by a friend.  Fun quilt, right?

It needs to be backed, quilted, and bound.   That should get done soon.  I am not going to let it end up on the UFO list!

With all this work I thought I would have a better stash report for March, but I knew I'd better buy the backing now for a Christmas Block of the Month I'm working on while matching fabric is still available.

MARCH

Fabric Added in March - 7 yards

Fabric Used in March - 11.7 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 21.3

Fabric Used Year to Date - 60.3

Net used in 2022 - 39 yards

Days I sewed in March - 30/31

Days I sewed this year - 89/90

Percentage - 99%

Can't wait to see what April brings!

Linking up with TGIFF!