Some Scrappy Stuff and a Quilt Retreat

I do love a good quilt retreat.  This summer I was able to go to a retreat for the first time in three years.  (Darn that Covid!)  The Farmstead Inn and Conference Center in Shipshewana, Indiana saw almost 40 quilters who had met and become friends over the years in an online quilting forum, and we were happy to be there.  What a beautiful setting!

This group had a good time and got a whole lot of sewing done.

A few weeks before retreat I came across some projects I had forgotten about.  First was a stack of scrappy 16-patch blocks I thought would make a nice donation quilt if I added dark blue alternate blocks.  I had just the thing.  When my middle grandson was about six years old I made curtains for his room, and when the room was re-decorated I deconstructed them and put the fabric in my stash.  Perfect!  Project number one was kitted and ready to pack.

Here's a little bonus pic.  My grandson, Gavin, jumping for joy in front of his curtains.  I just had to throw that in. 

Next I found a ziplock full of scrappy 4" by 8" bricks I had originally cut for a "Bricks and Stepping Stones" quilt (a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site) and some black & white 4-patches I had made last year as leader/enders.    

I got a lot accomplished at retreat (in addition to visiting with friends, checking out what they were working on, and eating way too much!), and then got both tops finished when I got home  as well as using up some stash by making the backings. 

 

Now the challenge will be getting both of these finished and donated before the end of the year so they don't end up on the UFO list!

Linking up with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

August Goals and a Stash Report

I'm still so excited about meeting my July goal, that I'm ready to set another somewhat challenging goal for August.  So.  Here we go.

A while back one of my nieces asked me to make a quilt for her daughter-in-law, Cerena, who had loved one of her gramma's quilts so much and for so long that it was completely worn out.  At the same time my friend, Denise, was working on a quilt for her DIL and needed motivation, so we decided to make it a sew-along.  She was using the pattern "Mountain Horizon" by Brittany Lloyd.  Cerena loves all things "The Night Before Christmas", so that was my first fabric choice and coordinating fabrics were soon to follow.

Of course I had to make it my own.  That's the fun part of using patterns!  I made several changes in the main block, combining some of the pieces, because I didn't want to cut up the focus fabric.  That meant creating a new pattern for part of it and making a test block just to be sure.  Can you see what I did?  

Instead of doing curved piecing I just raw-edge applique'd the half circles.  

Getting that first sample block made is always so motivating.

  

My August goal is to have all the blocks finished and get them into a top.  You never know.  I might get even more done than that!

JULY

Fabric Added in July - 15.7 yards

Fabric Used in July - 29.8 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 52 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date - 138.9 yards

Net Used in 2022 - 86.9 yards

Days I sewed in July- 28/31

Days I sewed this year - 201/212

Percentage - 95%

Linking up with One Monthly Goal 

RSC-Purple Goal and OMG Goal Met

I was so busy sewing in July that I forgot to blog!  I set my goals for the month and posted them on the 5th, forgot all about blogging, and got to work.  I managed to dig up a few more purples for RSC2022 by looking through my Asian prints.  There weren't many there either, but my Sawtooth Star and Windmill blocks are done as are the 60 brick blocks.

My One Monthly Goal for July was to finish the One Block Wonder that has been on my UFO list for a while.  And I did it!  I had already quilted the center.

The hexies I'd started quilting in the borders looked better as tumbling blocks, so that happened.

It's quilted, bound, and washed.

The main thing I learned from this project is that even though I like the look of big-stitch quilting, I hate doing it.  I'm really over it.  

I do love this finish.  I'm not sure where it will end up, though.  It's a little small for a snuggle quilt unless I can find someone pretty short to give it to.  Hmmm, now that I think about it, I just might have someone in mind.

Linking up with So Scrappy

July Goals

Since I accomplished my June goals, after failing to do much at all in April and May, I think I might have enough mojo now to set my goals for July.   

I started on a One Block Wonder in September of 2019.  Yikes!  That's embarrassing.   Okay, it needs to come off the UFO list soon for sure!   I started quilting it around then, but got discouraged shortly after that (with Covid and life, not just with quilting) and set it aside.  I had quilted all the blocks in the center of the quilt but not the borders.

It is definitely time to finish it.  Hubby made a template for me to match the shape of the six inch hexagons.  (I tried, but mine was wonky!)  So far, I've stitched a few hexagons in the border, but it's going to need something else.  

I'm kind of figuring it out as I go.  I need to figure fast, though, because finishing this quilt is my July One Monthly Goal.  

Another goal for this month is to get my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks made using this month's color - purple.  This is definitely going to be fun since THIS is my purple stash .....

.....  all of it!

And this is everything from my juvenile/novelty prints that has any purple at all in it.

So.  Let the challenge begin!

Linking up with One Monthly Goal and So Scrappy

RSC-Blue Goals and OMG Goals Met, And Then Some!

What a month!  You would think I was trying to make up for the last two months, or something.  

I got all my blue Pinwheel, Sawtooth Star, and "brick" blocks made for the RSC-2022 scrap challenge. 

Then, I focused on the quilts I had started for my daughter-in-law's friend's twin grand babies.  I wanted them to be similar but not identical, so I made Pinwheel blocks for one and Broken Dishes blocks for the other.  

Huh.  The Broken Dishes blocks made a secondary pattern that looks like - guess what?  Pinwheels!  

They're pretty easy to tell apart, though.  The cornerstones and the backings are different.  More "Seashore Drive" from Moda.  Such a sweet collection.

\

My quilting friend and neighbor, Denise, made labels for me with the girls' names on them.  If that doesn't make them different, I don't know what would!

Back to the June goals.  The applique' stars baby quilt is finished.  I made it in time to call it a June finish.  Barely.  This will be a donation quilt for our local St. Jude affiliate hospital.

All that AND a good stash report!

JUNE

Fabric Added in June -  7 yards

Fabric Used in June -  31.2 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 36.3

Fabric Used Year to Date - 109.1 yards

Net Used in 2022 - 72.8 yards

Days I sewed in June - 29/30

Days I sewed this year - 173/181

Percentage - 95%

Linking up with So Scrappy! and One Monthly Goal 

A June Progress Report

I've gotten sidetracked by a few things, but my June goal is slowly getting there.  I was nearly finished appliqueing some blue star blocks when I decided to make it my June goal to turn them into a donation quilt.  I started making nine-patches for the alternate blocks, but got tired of that, so I ended up making a second kind, too.   Then somewhere along the way I realized I was using two different shades of gray.  It's a scrappy quilt, though, right? 

The blocks look good together .....

..... and I was able to pull the perfect backing fabric from my stash.  It's the same fabric I used for the background in Natalie's quilt - "Essentials" by Wilmington Prints.

 That project is set aside for now.  My daughter-in-law asked me to make a quilt for her friend's twin grand-daughters.  I was pretty excited to be asked to make such a special quilt, and maybe a little excited to buy something new and fun to work with.  I found this collection called "Seashore Drive" by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda Fabrics.  It was hard to pick out only ten of them.  I fell in love with all the prints in the line.

It's even prettier when you add some Kona White.

I can't get away from those Half Square Triangles, can I?

But, just wait until you see what I'm doing with them!