February Finishes

February was a tough month for me. I had big plans but some things got in the way. I had a strong start with my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. February was orange.

I also got a mini quilt done for June. A little slice of watermelon.

I injured my back at the gym mid month which kept me out of work for several days and out of the sewing room. Additionally, the ruler table attachment for my Avante cracked and I have to replace it ($175) so the tops I planned on quilting had to be put aside until I get a replacement.

I did piece a little top which will be finished for next Valentine’s Day. I’m trying to replace some of my older seasonal wall hangings. I found a picture of this as a pillow top in Connecting Threads several years ago and decided to try to construct it on my own. I used 1.5 inch strips, all from my scrap. It will measure 20” x 22” when completed. A modern take on a heart ❤️.

Finally I shared this project on Instagram last month but not on my blog. I took a couple of tote bags I had, took them apart, covered them with scrappy strips and put them back together. I’ve had so many compliments on the bags. So simple and a quick afternoon project. I kept one for myself and a good friend who doesn’t sew raved about it so much I made her one as well.

I’m now on the lookout for bags like these to transform.

Overall, not too shabby but I hope to have some full finishes by the end of March. Based on my monthly goals, I did meet 4 out of 5 this month. I’ll try to post mid March with my progress.

January Finishes

Well, I didn’t come back with my goals as promised. However, I did finish quite a few quilts this month.

My monthly goals for 2020 are :

1. Quilt at least one top for the UFO bucket

2. Piece one top from the UFO or inspiration notebook

3. Make a mini quilt

4. Make blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

5. Make one quilted gift item ( can be one of the above).

I also have some long term goals but I will share those later. I did pretty well this month as my pictures will attest.

This is number 1. A queen and shams for my bed. The fabric and pattern was designed by Valori Wells called In Flight. I bought everything about 4 years ago at Pacific International. Her pattern was for a throw size but I expanded it to a queen.

#2 a pieced top. I not only pieced it but quilted it as well. Another pattern I’ve had for sometime. It is in memory of my kitty, Mr. B who passed a couple of years ago. He is on the left and his sister, who is still with us is on the right.

#3 the mini. I shared my snowman at the beginning of the month.

#4 blocks for Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I did this last year through So Scrappy’s blog and decided to do it again. I chose a block, actually two, and will make them in the color of the month hoping to have a quilt top by year’s end. January’s color was green.

Lastly #5, a quilted gift. I had these quilted pieces from an unsuccessful project and couldn’t throw them away so I made them into coasters. Perfect for a hostess gift!

Pretty productive month! Hopefully i won’t lose steam. Check back later for February’s progress..

Back to the blog 2020

My last post was in April 2019 and then I fell off the map. Not sure why but here we are a new year and a fresh start.

This is my first finish for 2020. Just a little mini to get the quilt wheels turning. This will be a quick post but I will be back with my 2020 goals in a couple of days.

Not sure if the blogging will last… time will tell.

2019 finish #4

Haven’t blogged in a couple of weeks but I have been busy! Here is my fourth finish! This top was done a year or so ago at a guild class. It’s called “Happy Quilt “. I’m loving pantos these days for getting some older quilts finished. This one is an Anne Bright panto called “Splat”. It is perfect for spring.

I also made a couple of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. April’s color was aqua.

My sister is here from Florida and we are having a lovely visit. This was taken from the observation deck of Heavenly’s gondola in South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday. Still lots of snow at 6000 feet.

My hubby will be out of town next week so I will have lots of time to quilt. Stay tuned!

2019 finish #3

I am on a roll!! This was a top before I moved to Nevada and is finally a quilt. I needed a Spring/summer update for our bed and with company coming soon, it gave me the push I needed. This is a Weeks Ringle quilt pattern called Share and Share Alike. I used an Urban Elementz panto called Cumulus to get this big girl (90 x 102) finished. Given more time or a smaller quilt, I probably would have done free motion but love that it is finished. I put the binding on completely by machine for the first time. I still love the look of a hand stitched binding but the machine binding is a huge time saver.

I’m waiting on a backing so I can finish 2019 #4 but until then I have some orphan blocks that will become a cover for my big hassock . Not sure how this will end up but it’s a starting point .

2019 finish #2

Another finish and not the one I anticipated in February. My Antebellum Album quilt top is complete but it got pushed to the side by this one.

I put this together in about 10 days. It’s for a special someone who lives on the east coast who needs a hug! Since I’m in Nevada, I’m sending a quilted hug. I love this Villa Rosa pattern called Tiffany which uses 2.5 strips. I usually would do free motion quilting but wanting to get it out quick I used an Urban Elementz panto called Cool Beans which looks fabulous. I will definitely be making one of these for myself.

In other news, an old quilting companion has died.

This old gal has been with me since 2006 She has been a bit leaky of late but on Sunday she just gave up. Goodbye old friend 😥! So today I replaced her with a Rowena who has big shoes to fill.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge-March edition

I waited anxiously for the RSC color to be announced in early March. I pulled my scraps and I’ve finally finished my blocks. This is the third month and I have worked out a system to get them done efficiently. I have 12 blocks so far.

A by product of the blocks are these little triangles.

The first month I didn’t notice them in the excitement of starting a new project. But in February they started whispering to me but I ignored them. This month, however, there were too many to ignore. I could hear my grandmother saying “waste not, want not”. Once I finished my blocks, I sewed them all together. I’m going to square them up and put them in a box. I’m not sure whether these little 1.5 blocks will be part of this project or a mini quilt but they have been saved from the trash bin. Head over and see what everyone is doing on Scrap Happy Saturday !

February finish

This is my first finished quilt of 2019. The panel was bought in Sonoma, California while on a girls’ weekend with my quilting gals from Connecticut in 2017. I started it in November 2018 on a quilting retreat with my new quilting gals from Nevada. There are a lot of memories tied to this quilt. It combines my love of quilting together with my long time friends and my new friends. It also reminds me of being in Sonoma just days before the fires hit that beautiful area and brought home to me one of the perils of living on the West Coast.

I knew immediately how I wanted to quilt it and the quilting turned out exactly as I envisioned it. I used a linen for the backing and binding which, with a little starch, worked out fabulously. I also used a new concept for the hanging sleeve which I found on YouTube. It was easy and used up some scrap fabric I had. I will refine it next time. It is now labeled and hanging in my studio.

With this finish, I am motivated to try and get a couple more quilts to the finish line. I’m setting up my design wall and plan to get my ” tree” blocks and my Antebellum blocks into tops. I like the idea of working on modern and traditional quilts in the same time frame. Balance, feels right. 🧘‍♀️

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Just a quick post so I can link up to the RSC on ScrapHappy Saturday! Yellow is the color of the month and much welcomed! It was nice to work with a bright springy color after the past two weeks of very wintry weather. I have been changing my work days to coincide with NON snow days since I travel 45 miles each way into the mountains which has been a challenge. The highway to work (I80 East to Truckee CA) has been closed off and on for several days the past 10 days so that the plows can clear the snow. But It has given me some extra sewing time. Looks like a clear patch of weather is ahead thankfully.

So here are my Cog blocks for this month. I love this block and this challenge is fun as I dig down into the fabric archives each month.

The Forest and the Trees

I am poking my head out like the groundhog to show you what I have finished over the last few weeks. Winter has thrown some snow days my way and I have used them productively.

I finished quilting one of the two wall hangings I am calling Counterbalance Sonoma. I’m glad I made two because I will be able to use a couple of my missteps on the first to improve the second one. Overall, I am happy with the results. I will change the thread weight and approach the quilting differently on the second one.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. The backing is a linen blend and I may use something else on the second. I still haven’t figured out what I will use to bind it .

My modern quilt group is doing raffle blocks every other month. For each block entered you get a chance to win all of the blocks entered. Generally there are enough to make a lap sized quilt. I was obsessed with this month’s free form tree block. Once I got the general idea, I couldn’t stop making trees 🌲! They measure 12 1/2 inches. I made 10 and used up a lot of scraps. I’ll enter a few and keep my fingers crossed. I am keeping at least 4 to make a small wall hanging for myself in case I don’t win. Now I just have to decide which ones to keep! I love them all.

Well that’s what has been happening here in Northern Nevada. I’m ready to start my RSC Cog blocks. This month’s color is YELLOW. I want to load and quilt the 2nd “Sonoma ” quilt and get both of them bound. Barbara Brackman is calling to me again and I have only 3 blocks to make and I can put the Antebellum top together! Maybe I’ll quilt my “old” and new together.

I hate winter but love that it keeps me indoors quite a bit and I can quilt til I wilt! 😏