Design Wall Monday

I haven't gotten to do much quilting lately but have dreams of new projects and I'm working on my first quilt for the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad.  Sorry can't share pictures of that one!  I have sewn a few rows on the scrappy 2" squares quilt.  Its fun and bright.  The Itty Bitty blocks are still on the wall.  I'm linking up with Patchwork Times.

Here is a new project I want to start at a retreat in early March.  I fell in love with the Fire Island Hosta pattern and struggled with fabrics.  This isn't the final selection, but I'm loving the blue and green.  The colors aren't showing true on this one.  The light fabric is a Fairy Frost pale aqua.

I have been working on cleaning our rental house instead of quilting.  Bleh!  We purchased the property in 2010.  Doug's grandparents had owned the property and sold it in the 30's after putting up a windmill and building a grainery.  All these years later we were able to acquire it.  The house is different, but still an old farmhouse.  We had been renting it to Doug's brother for four years and after their dad passed away New Year's Eve BIL moved back to the family home as he is inheriting it.  We hired a few things done but I'm sort of a fanatical cleaner.  We have had some interest in renting without advertising so I hope those pan out.

side view, we had the windows put in instead of screen for circuit break safety

We also had a new front porch built.

Design Wall Monday

A couple weeks ago I posted a picture of some of my 2" squares sewn together into strips.  I put up some purple with the pieces and although it's strong and some of the color washes out I am going to go with it.  This is a charity quilt and the darker colors won't show dirt as easily.  We don't know how the quilts will be taken care of when they are gifted and somebody will love the bright colors with purple.

I made a few more Quiltmaker Itty Bitty Blocks and the new block for February was posted last week.  I need to get going on some baskets, this month's free pattern.

I am working on binding this queen size quilt for my late son's roommates.  They are a great couple with two young kids.

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times.

More Favorite Color wallhangings

leftover strips from log cabin.  quilted throw size 

I found the strip quilt made from leftovers of the log cabin quilt (I cut and cut and cut for that one).  I thought I donated it, but there it was in my linen closet with the other 200 and some quilts (mostly wallhangings).  I also found a LOT of other projects in similar colors.  Yes, definitely my favorites!  I know there are more hanging around if I look.  The guest bed quilt is a blue and purple and green bear paw quilt.  It's fun to look at some of my projects from over the years.  I was in a LOT of Round Robins between 2000 and 2007.  Back in those days it wasn't as expensive to mail a box of fabric!

wallhanging made about 10 years ago

Round Robin, I made the center and quilted it.  20" square

Round robin.  I made the center and quilted it.

Butterflies from a kit.  Pieced and quilted in 2014.

Mariner's compass class many years ago.  

Quilt Guild challenge quilt.  We were given the multi colored background piece 1997.

Flora and Fauna class with Terri Kralick June 2008.

Round Robin.  I applied the center flower and butterflies and quilted it.

I quilted this but the top was a gift from my friend Valerie in of course my favorite colors!

Mystery quilt from an online group.

Puzzle Star. This was made many years ago!

Round Robin, I made the center Carpenter's Wheel block and quilted it.  

Mystery quilt with Clearwater Quilters Guild 1997.

Favorite Colors

Apparently I have some favorite colors as I have several quilt tops using these colors!  These are my go to colors!  I looked at a collection of fabrics I have sitting there to make "Fire Island Hostas" and yes, they are pretty much the same colors!  I have one quilt that isn't shown.  I quilted it and donated it last year without taking a picture!  It was leftover strips from the Log Cabin pictured below.

Crown of Thorns - top pieced in Sept. 2014 at a retreat sponsored by Quilt Taffy.  Pattern by Judy Niemeyer.

Stars and Scraps.  Pieced in 2013 and 2014.  Currently almost finished quilting and it will be a gift.

wallhanging with scaled down blocks 4" for 4 1/2" tall rows

Log Cabin - pattern by Judy Martin  pieced in Nov. and Dec. 2013

trees - some of the blocks were made by friends with fabrics I provided

Round Robin turned into a shower curtain

Canyon Dance - finished quilt is on my bed

leftovers - will add border, quilt and donate

I am on the new Quiltmaker Scrap Squad!

I am so excited to be selected for the 2015 Quiltmaker Scrap Squad.  Here is the blog posting announcing the new team.
http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2015/02/qms-2015-scrap-squad-announced/
I will say having my picture taken was difficult, and we took a lot of shots!

I have my first assignment and I'm excited about it.  My first thought in any quilt is always batiks.  They are my favorite fabrics as I love the colors and designs of batiks.  I dumped out my bin of batiks and soon discarded them and I'm going a different direction.  You will find that out eventually!

mountain of batik scraps

scraps contained back in their bin

Design Wall Monday Plus!

Even though things have been crazy, I have made some accomplishments.  Last Monday I posted fabrics for a Quilt of Valor and I am happy to say before the end of that day I had the top completed!  This was a donation kit and not my normal style at all.  I am just not sure of the striped fabric, but I followed the instructions.  I wanted to make sure I had enough fabrics that were included.

Quilt of Valor

This week I also finished the top to Gentle Moments, but realized I messed up the outer borders going vertical.  I had measured but not written the measurement down and thought I knew the correct length and sewed the border on.  With all the bias it sewed on great, but now makes the quilt wavy!  It's 2" too long on each lengthwise side so that will be fixed.  I can't believe I did that!  I will still add another border around to make it queen size, but don't have yardage so that is in the thinking stages.

Gentle Moments

During the process of sewing Gentle Moments and other blocks I have been sewing 2" squares together.  I sewed most of them in groups of 8.  I was originally going to make a block that was 8 X 8 squares (12" finished) and then sash them but started doodling on graph paper and came up with this.   I have some of the pieces on the design wall below.  I need to sew more pieces and the fabric in all the blank areas will be the purple shown.  It will be a donation quilt for a child or teen.

bright strips and background

The other big news is my new sink and faucet.  I asked for a new faucet for Christmas (Doug needs help in the idea dept.) and thought I asked in plenty of time to get the faucet for Thanksgiving when we hosted his family.  Nope, then because of the care needed for his father, it didn't happen at Christmas either.  Doug's dad passed away New Year's Eve and January has been rather busy.  We are also now fixing up our rental house and went off to Home Depot Saturday.  Sunday was spent installing the new sink and faucet!  I LOVE it!

old sink

new sink and faucet!

 Linking up with Patchwork Times!

An Amazing Gift

I realized I had not posted about this incredible gift of a quilt we received from my friend Melissa Devin in December.  Last year she asked if she could make us a quilt out of my son Brad's t-shirts.  For the story of his death in 2013 go here.  Brad was not a super involved person but had shirts from track (districts and state), U of I shirts, Mexico trip shirts, Geography Bee shirts and other miscellaneous ones.  I got the shirts to Mel in August and in December an incredible package arrived.  She was so worried about the quilt because she somehow has the idea I can quilt well, but she did AMAZING!  I LOVE the design, I LOVE The fabrics and I LOVE The quilting.  Yes, I am yelling!  The wheat fabric she used is phenomenal.  She used dog prints and outdoorsy flannels on the back, two of his great loves.  For the story of Brad's involvement in wheat breeding go here.  Thank you Mel, we love the quilt and it's very snuggly.

backing and one leftover shirt

wheat fabric sashing

Design Wall Monday and Day of Service

I have today off work and to remember MLK I will be making a quilt for Quilt of Valor.  I have made many quilts for the American Hero project, but this will be my first QOV.  I received the fabrics last year in a kit from Idaho Public TV. It will be a rail fence quilt.

Last week I showed the pattern and strips for this quilt.  This is what I have so far.  I sewed and sewed and sewed!  Since I was enlarging the pattern I needed more squares.  There will be a white applique strip around the center, pink frame around the whole top and another applique strip on the top and bottom to elongate it to queen size.  I will need to add one border around the whole top.

 I am linking up to Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday - New Projects

I have been saving this pattern since June 2001.  It was in McCall's magazine.  My late friend Deb loved it and we each planned on making it for the other one we found out later, although neither of us started it.  She came closer, buying the pink fabric which she gave to me.  I am in the process of making some quilt tops to give as gifts, letting the recipients pick from a selection.  I am altering the pattern somewhat and making it queen size so we will see what it looks like in the end.

image from the magazine

It's hard to tell, but there are 15 strips hanging there.  They aren't pressed yet.  I am making 5 more to make the center.

This is another new project!  Quiltmaker started Itty Bitty Blocks this month.  Each bow-tie finishes at 3".  The idea at the end of the year is to have a row quilt.  I made 8 blocks very quickly out of bright and black and white scraps.

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times, a fun place to find more blogs to read!

Grand Illusion Mystery Finished!

I finished the top to Quiltville's Grand Illusion Mystery!  I chose to not go scrappy with this quilt and I also wanted to enlarge it a bit to be rectangular.  I somehow had extra pink and blue half squares so I incorporated those into expanding a top and bottom border.  I love the graphics of this quilt.  I coudln't get away from adding purple somewhere, it's in the polka dot black print!

I'm linking up to Quiltville Mystery Monday and Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday.

Quiltville Mystery and Design Wall Monday

My design wall is pretty blah.  I still have the wool quilt on there.  So much for my goal of finishing it by the end of the year!

I am all caught up on the Quiltville mystery!

 This is a quilt top I made at a retreat in November.  I used a jelly roll pack and finally got borders added.  I used a pattern in the book Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott.

 I bought the kit for this quilt about six years ago.   It is called Snow Day and was a Moda Layer Cake project by Kansas Troubles.  These are NOT my normal colors!  I finally pieced it at the November retreat and fused on the snowflakes.  I will be stitching them at the same time as quilting and then adding a few buttons.  I finally got the borders added to it also!

I am linking up to Quiltville Mystery Monday and Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday.