Recap of my year on the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad

I have shown my versions of these quilts over the last year but as a recap, in January, 2015 I was selected as one of six members to join the Quiltmaker magazine blog as part of the Scrap Squad.  We were assigned quilts from an upcoming issue to make in scrappy colors.  I was delighted to be a part of this group, hoping to diminish my scrap collection.  That didn't really work as they keep multiplying, but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.  I invite you to go to the Quilty Pleasures blog and type Scrap Squad in the search and go back to February 20, 2015 and peruse all the quilts forward from there.  I only included the ones in this post that were from the same pattern I made to see the differences.  Other group members made another choice from some of the issues.

My first assignment was based on Pointed Prisms.  

Original Pointed Prisms designed by Kari Ramsey

Here is my version I named Gemstones and Kathy and Pam's quilts.

Julie's Gemstones

Kathy Wagner's Pointed Prisms

Pam Snow's @ the Circus

My next quilt was based on Chop Suey by Scott Flanagan.

Original Chop Suey by Scott Flanagan

Keri Blankenship Under the Northern Lights

My Chop Suey in Batiks

I loved the movement of our next assignment.  I played with ideas in EQ7 on changing the colors.  I made two versions of this one. Hero's Homecoming was designed by Janice Averill.

Original by Janice Averill

Donna Hanna

Emily Klaczak Hamptom Court

Kathy Wagner

My Dogwood Blooms

My Hero's Homecoming

Next up was Boxing Match by Nancy Mahoney.

Original Boxing Match by Nancy Mahoney

Emily Klaczak Colors of Summer

My version Deb's Oriental Garden

Pam Snow Summer Breeze

Quilt number five was based on Candy Cane Crush by Sandra Clemons.

Original Candy Cane Crush Sandra Clemons

Kathy Wagner Cool Hues

Donna Hanna

Keri Blankenship Quilt as You Go

My version Violets

I posted my last quilt yesterday!  Check it out at this link.

A Bright Finish and Quiltmaker Scrap Squad

Last week I showed the start of a very bright quilt top.  I was able to finish the piecing this weekend and I'm happy to share a photo!  I love how this turned out and seem to have drastically overcut the strips so I can play with more of them.  I was making a throw size pattern called Fair and Square into a queen size and kept cutting without planning ahead! My sister will be the recipient of this quilt eventually.  Sorry for the crooked photo.  

My year with the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad has come to a close.  This past year has been such a rewarding experience, using a provided pattern and making it scrappy.  For the last quilt we were allowed to choose any quilt Quiltmaker had published.  That was a hard decision, but one kept calling me, Vintage Sunburst.  This was the original photo:

Here is my version that I named Pie in the Night Sky.

Pie in the NIght Sky

In front of our old barn

I will be doing a complete Scrap Squad recap of my quilts later in the week so be sure and check back!

I am working on finishing the top of the Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks that were a year long monthly row quilt on their blog last year.  I decided to take my quilt apart and make the sashing a bit narrower.  I still have to get the last two rows down.  Here is the photo before I started taking it apart.  I have shown it before.  It was going to be too long and skinny.

Linking up with Main Crush Monday and Patchwork Times.

10 Year Blogoversary and Giveaway!

I can't believe it's been ten years since I started blogging!  It's been haphazard at best, but I enjoy sharing my quilts with others.  I spend so much time quilting it's hard to squeeze in the blog posts!  

Before I get to the giveaway (keep scrolling, I am giving away a quilt!), I will show my design table.  I can't show the project, but the pile of pieces in my last blog post is now 49 sashing units with 24 pieces in each unit. I look forward to being able to share the quilt after it posts on Quiltmaker's blog, but first it has to get finished!  Check out Patchwork Times for other Design Wall projects.

Now onto the giveaway!  The first photo is my linen closet.  I think I have a few quilts.  Believe it or not, I just refolded them all on New Year's Day.  There is everything from tiny miniatures to a couple king size quilts in there, lots of wallhangings too.  Yes, there are quilts sitting on the floor!  I have given away many, many, many quilts and I guess I am a quilting fanatic!  Really me?  I have about at least 35 on display in my house right now too.

SOOOOO.... I picked some quilts that I can part with and the random number selected from everyone who leaves a comment on my blog will get to pick which one they want!  Or you can tell me a type of quilt you are looking for and I might find it in my stash.  I have very few earthy colored quilts though!  Leave a comment about which quilt is your favorite and you MUST include your email address or have your profile linked to an email.  I know I have a few friends who won't be able to comment so contact me some other way (FB, email, etc.) and I can assign you a number!  

None of these are huge bed quilts, but are nice extra quilts to have on hand or cuddle with!

#1 Chop Suey - batiks 75 X 100

#2 Gemstones - Fairy Frost 68 X 88

#3 Deb's Oriental Garden - Asian fabrics with gold metallic 60 X 80

#4 Row Robin - 66 X 93 flannel backing

#5 18 X 21 Art piece - panel, heavily machine quilted and embellished with yarn and beads.  Hanging sleeve.

#6 Canyon Dance 51 X 69.  Thin batting, but very cuddly couch quilt.  Crooked photo!

#7 Old Glory 51 X 62.  Hand appliqued and has a hanging sleeve for a wallhanging

I tried to put in a variety for everyone, Enjoy!  I will draw the winner Friday, January 22nd, 2016!

Finish-a-Long

I decided to join in the 2016 Finish-a-Long.  For the first quarter I am listing six projects as my goals.  I hope to do a few more than this, but things come up and change my schedule.  Excuse the unpressed pieces, my tops cupboards are CRAMMED with tops waiting to be quilted and I didn't take time to press them.

First and foremost I need to finish my Quiltmaker Scrap Squad quilt by mid February.  I can't share what the pattern is until it's posted on their blog.  All I can say is the paper piecing is intense!  I love to paper piece, but somehow misjudged how long this would actually take.

parts of Scrap Squad quilt

 This project is so close to being ready to quilt.  I have just a few flowers on the border to hand stitch.  The DJB stands for Debra Jean Bepple, my good friend who passed away in 2010.  She had purchased the BOM but couldn't get it going so I inherited it.  I will do closeups when it's quilted.

This is a scrappy Fairy Frost leftovers baby quilt.  I think I will add one more border and then quilt it.  The scraps are from Gemstones shown in this post.

 Super scrappy 2" squares used as a leader/ender project made up this project.  It will also be donated.

This wallhanging was hand appliqued and will go in my main floor bathroom when it's completed.  The pattern was gifted to me and I used an earth colored batik for the applique.

I still have two months worth of blocks to add to this top, but I need to take all the rows apart and narrow the sashings.  It's just too long and skinny.  I totally mis measured and need to remove some length.  This is the Itty Bitty blocks project from Quiltmaker's blog in 2015.

There it is, six projects to finish before March 31st!  I am looking forward to getting some UFO's done!

Design Wall Monday

Time sure flies!  I forgot to post my Scrap Squad quilt.  Click the link and you will see my blog post about the process of making it. There is a lot of piecing in this quilt but I love the purple!  I named it Violets.

I have been working on many small projects, trying to tidy up some leftover blocks and pieces for doll quilts for charity.  I got borders on my Christmas quilt, cut out more Itty Bitty blocks and started plotting for a quilt retreat in November.  I went to a quilt show Oct. 17th in Spokane, WA.  It was awesome and very inspiring.  I hope to do a blog post on that soon.    

These are two doll quilt tops I made from pieces of Scrap Squad projects.  The green and white one is from a trial of adding green squares into the above quilt.  The one on the right is from leftover Fairy Frost fabrics from my Gemstones quilt I showed in this post.  Now if I could learn to take straight photos...  

doll quilt tops for charity

We went on a road trip to Utah last week.  1300 miles and 2 nights at our daughter's in Boise and 2 nights at our daughter's in Utah (and visiting our amazing grandkids in Utah) was a quick but fun trip.  I had started this project quite some time ago and at the Spokane quilt show I found the Pacific Rim Quilts booth.  It reminded me of this quilt and I went to a friend's to sew one afternoon and took this project.  It is now completely appliqued since my husband did most of the driving on our trip.  I can't wait to quilt it... someday...

Dragonflies

In July I was in McCall, ID and purchased some lovely fabric from the Jingle line at Huckleberry Patches quilt shop.  I love the aqua and red!  I was there in September and bought background and border along with a pattern I found pictured below.  I added a couple pieces from the Daysail line in the stash too.

Snippets pattern I found that fit the fabrics perfectly!  I love the classic look of this, although I may get tired of triangles!  It will be a perfect retreat project in November.

 

Check out Patchwork Times for more great projects!

Design Wall Monday and Retreat

It's been a super busy last few weeks.  We had our county fair, a family get together, work and a quilt retreat!  I finished another t-shirt quilt this month and delivered it for a Christmas gift.  I will take a chance on my boss not reading my blog.  She brought me a huge bag of her son's t-shirts and sweatshirts to make her a quilt from, but her parents were the ones paying me.  I love designing t-shirt quilt layouts.  This one was loosely based on a quilt I saw in Quiltmaker magazine this year.  I added a bit of pink here and there complement the one pink t-shirt!  For some odd reason the edges ruffled a bit, I think it's the polyester batting and not basting the edges together before binding.

I went on a quilt retreat in beautiful McCall, Idaho last weekend.  The hostesses, Corrie and Des are a sister duo that go all out for a wonderful time for Craft Taffy retreats..  The best part was my friend Valerie flying to Idaho from Colorado.  She and I shared a room and had a lot of fun.  This is the first quilt I worked on.  The colors are very different from my usual style.  Aqua, gray and coral.  The pattern is called Cotton Candy and it's about twin size.

There was a nice railing to hang quilts over.  These are some of the quilts others worked on.

Views of the kitchen where Des and Corrie made wonderful food and of the sewing area.  A little of it is out of view.

Kathy taught a Lone Star quilt class that several people worked on.  I did not take the class, but the results were stunning.  I have made Lone Star quilts before, but never out of a jelly roll!  Kathy did an awesome job teaching!  Check out her blog for lots of fun retreat photos at: kathystitchbystitch

 Flowers down the street.

 A young deer following it's mother.  I'm used to lighter colored white tail deer in my yard.

Beautiful Payette Lake at sunset.  Paddleboarders went by and the lake was cold, but one of our group couldn't resist jumping in the lake.  Some of us were tempted, but it was a ways to walk back to the lodge in wet clothes!

This is a preview of my next Quiltmaker Scrap Squad quilt.  Purples!  I slightly overcut on the purple strips, but they will be used in a border.  I can't show any of the blocks yet!

Check out other Monday posts at Patchwork Times.