May RSC Green Goals Met!

This has been an interesting month.  Partly because I finally overcame all the obstacles and finished Natalie's quilt (Hooray!), but mostly because I couldn't keep track of what day it was, and the month was almost over before I got around to making my green Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  Green, any shade, is my favorite color.  (I'm especially partial to chartreuse!).  So I had lots of greens in my stash to work with and got all my windmills, stars .....

..... and bricks made in one afternoon.  Whew!

I don't want you to think I was busy doing nothing all month.  I put binding on four donation quilts for my guild.  I really have fun seeing all the fun quilts the ladies in this group make and then putting the finishing touch on them.  Plus I get to use up some of my stash making the bindings.  By little and by little, right?

I made a donation quilt from my stash as well.  The zebra batik was given to me by someone downsizing her stash.  The rest of the fabrics I used were all from my stash!

Like I said.  It was an interesting month.

Linking up with So Scrappy

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!

Isolation Charity Sewing - Part 1

During the Covid isolation I didn't just sit around doing nothing.  Well, actually I did for the first six or seven months.  Once I came out of my funk I did get into my sewing room.  I managed to make several charity quilts for Project Linus to be donated through my guild, the Rocket City Modern Quilt Guild.

First up are two super simple quilts I made from my stack of 5" brights.  I have so many children's prints, novelty prints, and brights that every once in a while I cut up a bunch of them into 5" and 2.5" squares.  It really comes in handy having a ready supply when I need to whip up something in a hurry.  

I inserted a small yellow border to give it a little interest and used yellow for the binding to end up with two really cute toddler quilts.  

I did a few virtual sew-alongs with some online friends during isolation, and this was one of our projects.  It's a simple "Economy Block" (or as someone who didn't know that once called it "a-square-in-a-square-in-a-square block").  

Look at some of these cute fabrics!

Next up is another virtual sew-along using the "Beads" pattern by Donna Jordan.  I wanted to use some of my Asian fabrics on this one.  (Gotta bust that stash whenever I can!)  

This basic block set on point results in a really nice pattern.

Leftovers made the backing special, too.  

 

The last charity quilt I made during isolation was this "Easy Does It" pattern by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio.  I used even more stash on this one.  I bet you're not surprised!

I had fun seeing how many scraps I could use in the backing.  I do love a challenge!  I started out with this .....

.....and ended up with this.

So that's it for the quilts.  I did a few more charity projects but I'll save those for next time.  See?  I told you I'd be back!

Linking up with Tish's Adventures in Wonderland and So Scrappy

A Yummy Prize

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has posted the Hands 2 Help Challenge results HERE.

It turns out I was one of 150 quilters participating this year donating 416 quilts around the globe.  

Because of all the wonderful sponsors of the event everyone's a winner.  My prize is .....

..... this beautiful Layer Cake by Moda.  That's 42 (10" x 10") fabric squares from the Hushabye Hollow collection by Lydia Nelson.  You can see the entire collection in this image. 

So, what does a quilty girl like me do when she receives a gift of 2.5 yards of gorgeous fabric? She orders more, of course!   I mean, no matter what I decide to make from my prize I'll probably need borders and backing, right?

Seriously, though, I think this collection will be perfect to make a couple of "put back for the grands" quilts.

Thank you Sarah for organizing such a great charity quilt drive, and thank you Moda and the rest of the sponsors for providing such wonderful prizes.  I'm already looking forward to next year's challenge. 

Throwback Thursday (on Tuesday)

Only six weeks into the year, and I've blown two of my goals -- sewing every day and blogging more often.   I have, however, done a lot of coughing, moaning and groaning, and sleeping.  Can you say, "I think this might be the flu"?

Rather than keeping my tens of followers hanging, I decided to dig into the depths of Excel and do a little show and tell from days gone by.  Included in my Excel spreadsheet is information on each quilt I've made including whether I've posted pics of it on Flickr or blogged about it. So, I chose a few quilts I haven't yet written about and here goes.

In 2007 and 2008 my designated charity was CASA, a national association that supports and promotes court appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. People love making baby quilts for charity, but teenagers are often overlooked, so my heart goes out to them.   I love teenagers.  They can be real stinkers sometimes, but most of them are good kids.  

I made this quilt using a lot of brights. (Surprised?) A basic square-in-a-square block with black sashing and colorful cornerstones make it a fun quilt.  At 68" x 82" it's a nice size even for a pretty tall teen.  My friend, Angela (Quilted Joy) quilted this for me.  

  















This one is a smaller twin (60" x 72").  I did very simple straight-line machine quilting .....

..... and pieced the backing with leftovers from the front.

The third quilt for CASA is fun, too.  I used batiks this time and a pattern called "Spice Market" from the April 2007 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  It's 68" x 83", another large twin.  Angela quilted this one as well.  

That's my Show and Tell for today.  Hopefully I'll have something more current to share real soon.  

Strings Galore

Another one of my goals for 2018 is to set aside a week out of each month to work on donation quilts.  Kat's Covered in Love project provides comfort quilts to the families of East Texas hospital patients who have passed away.  For this year's block drive they are asking for 10.5" string blocks with no restrictions on colors or prints.  (If you're interested in sending a few blocks their way check out the details HERE.)

For the foundations I'm using up some fabrics I doubt I will ever use for anything else.  You know - those fabrics you don't know what you were thinking when you bought them, or those mystery pieces you don't even remember having at all.  Starting with a center strip and then using the flip-and-sew method I added strings working towards the corners.

They look like a real mess, not only from the fronts .....

..... but also from the backs. 

Until they're trimmed.

I finished ten blocks this week, but I hope to have more made before the end of next month when I mail them off.

I'll try to incorporate some not-so-bright pieces in the rest of the blocks.  Oh, who am I kidding?  No, I won't!

I'm getting my Whoop Whoop on and linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Check out some of the other bloggers' work there!

Also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More fun that Housework.

The 70273 Project

One of the donation projects I've decided to work on this year is called The 70273 Project.   Jeanne Hewell-Chambers is gathering 70,273 quilt blocks to commemorate the 70,273 disabled people deemed "an economic burden on society" and murdered by the Nazis in 1940 and 1941. Each quilt block has a white background and two red X's to signify the two red X's placed on someone's file when Nazi doctors determined that they were "unfit" and sealed their fate.   You can find more information at her website here or on her Facebook page here.  

I volunteered to sew some blocks together and two sets came in the mail the other day.  

You should see how well documented this project is.  Each block donated is assigned a number, and each quilt is numbered.  A record is kept of who made each block as well as who quilted each quilt. 

Today I started putting blocks together for quilt number 409.  I settled on a layout knowing I would have to increase the size of some of the blocks to make it work.  

I found a ziploc bag full of small white scraps in my stash that will come in handy.  See why quilters don't like to throw out odds and ends of fabric bits?

I only got the first row put together today, but I think this is going to go quickly. 

   
Look at this photo from The 70273 Project Facebook page (used by permission).  It shows just  a few of the quilts on display. 

Just as soon as I get quilt 409 and 410 pieced I'm going to volunteer to do more.  I would definitely like to make at least one entire quilt this year for the project.

Please check out the website and Facebook page for more information and to see if there's some way you can help.

Feeling Charitable.....

.....and it feels good!  I love making charity quilts, and I've had several finishes lately.  In February I was working on a purple baby quilt as well as one in teal for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  You can see some of the process in this post.   Both quilts have been completed, and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  The purple one is really cute with that little pop of orange.

The teal pinwheels are fun.  So fresh and bright!

Another recent finish is this Zig-Zag quilt.  The credit for this one is not entirely mine.  Several quilters made the blocks, then I put them together, quilted, and bound it.

The block itself is super simple.  It starts out with a square and builds from there using strips.  You can probably figure out how to make it just by looking at the back.

A different look is achieved depending on how you lay out the blocks.  It's kind of fun to play with.  Not as much fun making a decision!

I added these three quilts to some I finished earlier this year - the Finding Dory quilt, the Strings Around the Block quilt, the Craving Color quilt, and the Every Day is Valentines Day quilt.

All stacked up and ready to go to Choose Life of Northern Alabama.  They look so fun and colorful.

I added fifteen pillowcases I'd recently made for Women and Children's Hospital here in Huntsville .....

..... stacked them up and threw them into the back seat of the car to deliver them.

What a fun day!

I'm linking up with Kit & Cat Quilts for "Sew Some Love!" 

Also linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?