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

Bits 'N Pieces

This has been a very good week.  I completed my 10th finish of the year and checked off another UFO, leaving only five on the list.  "Bits 'N Pieces" is done!

Quilting this one was not a good experience.  (I was going to say that it was a huge challenge, or maybe a real hassle, or maybe even a pain in the neck, but I'm trying not to be too negative.)  First, I spent an hour trying to get the tension right.  I was trying to use a light grey thread on top and black thread on the bottom, but it was not working at all.  I knew it would be better to use the same thread on the top and bottom for the tension to work out.  My friend Faye at Mimi's Passions told me to think about using chartreuse or orange thread.  Now, why didn't I think of that?  I'm always suggesting that to other people, but I didn't think of it for myself.

You know what?  I really liked the orange!

Then, I had a lot of trouble stitching through all those layers.  In some spots with all the slashing apart and sewing back together, there were so many thicknesses it was really difficult to get smooth curves or keep the needle going without it getting hung up.   To top it all off, I managed to do this - 

Take my advice.  Don't do that.

I felt better once I decided on a binding color (with the help of Hubby) and I knew I was almost done.

Hand stitching the binding down is my favorite part of making a quilt!

Now that it's finished I really love this quilt.  There are so many fun fabrics in it, from plaids and selvedge edges .....

..... to thirties prints .....

..... to juvenile prints.

Even watermelon!

So, tonight I'm sitting back and enjoying my accomplishments (when I'm not doing a happy dance!)

I haven't kept a quilt for us in a long time, so I'm looking forward to snuggling up in this one, drinking coffee, and reading a book.  

I may just do that every morning!

If you want to see how the blocks were made look at this blog entry then read this one.

I'm linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Can I bet a Whoop Whoop?
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All Kinds of Progress

I've made a lot of progress on three of the projects I shared with you in this post.   The baby quilt I've decided to call "Strings Around the Block" is actually quilted .....

..... and the binding is ready to be stitched down.

"Craving Color" is also quilted .....

(even though there was a little collateral damage when I took my eyes off the bobbin while I was binding it!  There was no way to salvedge that thread.)

..... and the binding is partially stitched down.   I may get both of the bindings finished during the Super Bowl game this evening.  (Fingers crossed!)

As for the Old Wedding Quilt, I finished putting it back together .....  

..... and it is ready to be basted.

I set goals to finish these three quilts by the end of February.  What has helped me get so much done is another one of my goals - getting out to my sewing room for at least 20 minutes a day.  I must admit that "20 minutes" often turns into more, but one of the reasons for the goal is to bring me joy.  It's working!  

Oliver's Quilt

Now I can tell you about the most recent baby quilt I made.  The last time I posted I was getting ready to mail it to our newest great-nephew, Oliver.  I had actually started this one in plenty of time instead of waiting until the last minute, I just couldn't post about it until now.  I wanted to make his quilt with black and white and brights because I had given this quilt to Oliver's mama, Nikki, when she was a teenager.

I decided to appliqué stars onto a black and white print marked off in 5" squares.

Then I found a great black and brights print to use for the alternate blocks. 

Love the green I used for a little accent border!

Hand-quilting is one of my favorite ways to relax in the evening.

I wanted to use another shade of green for the binding, but after I made it and started sewing it on, I decided I really didn't like it .....

..... so I tried out a red and a yellow and didn't like them either.

Do you ever find large pieces of yardage in your stash and you can't remember why you bought it?  I didn't think so.  Anyway, I found five yards of this in my stash, and it looked perfect.

I really love this quilt.  Hubby smiles when I say that.  I say that after every quilt.

The backing is pieced with a few bright strips to make it wide enough.

I think little Oliver likes his quilt.  I know his mama does.  

That makes this quilter really happy!

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and WIP's Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden. 

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June Goal -- Outta Here!

I set my goal for ALYoF with the utmost of confidence that my doctor would allow me to get rid of this sling and use my arm -- which means I was going to start sewing up a storm.  Ahem..... he didn't, and I couldn't.  What can I say?

Actually, he did say I could remove my sling while being seated to watch TV or something, and that I no longer need to wear it while sleeping, but to only really use my arm from the elbow down until I see him again in 4 weeks' time.  So ..... I managed.  That's all I'm gonna say about it.  

It took much longer than it would normally, but I got the quilt made from start to finish.  I forgot to take any photos until I was ready to bind it.  That's okay, though.  Binding is my favorite part!

It's finished, photographed .....

..... and in the mail.

I'm pretty happy, but really very tired.  Knowing it will be a well loved quilt makes it all worth while.

I am linking up with Fiber of All Sorts for their June Finishes Party.  

February Stash Report

This stash busting thing is going great!  I have been so motivated since the New Year that all I want to do these days is sew.  (Ask Hubby.  He's feeling a little neglected in the area of clean shirts and home cooked meals.)

I'm also excited and looking forward to my first Project Linus Sew Day at the end of this month, so I'm getting kids' quilts ready to quilt and bind that day.  Since I made a blue kids' quilt last month,  I decided to make a pink/red one for February.  I kept it simple .....

..... and pieced the backing.

I even made the binding.

Pillowcases, quilt backs, applique, charity quilts, and working on UFO's made February a really good stash busting month.  Here's my report:

February

Fabric Added in February - 0

Fabric Used in February - 22.56 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 0

Fabric Used Year to Date - 35.81 yards

Net used in 2015 - 35.81 yards