Yesterday I started moving some of my stash and shelving out of my sewing room in preparation for the new window installation.  I got a bit side tracked and sorted out a few drawers of miscellaneous fabric.  Cut offs from backings, extra blocks, strips of other fabrics and archival fabrics.  The last bunch was stuffed in the back of a drawer.  I remember buying this fabric, I liked the colors and I thought it was a nice scene, buying it because I liked it, and it was not for any project in particular.  I think this was the beginning of buying fabric just for the fun of it, to collect it, stash enhancement.  At the time, I had three small children, and not a lot of free time or money to splurge on fabric.  I think there may have been a certain amount of guilt attached to this piece of fabric.  Twenty years later, I still don’t have a clue what to do with it.  It’s large enough to make a backing, with some creative piecing, but that seems like the easy way out.  I could make individual blocks out of the different scenes and surround it with similarly colored pieced blocks.  I could cut it up really small and use it for a neutral.  I could leave it up on the design wall, but the window replacement…

This past weekend I worked on finishing the Forest Floor quilt.  I got the ‘top to bottom’ quilting done, and turned the quilt on the frame to complete the ‘left to right’ borders.  Here are some pictures, this is all computer guided, a set of designs from Wasatch Quilting .  I just got a laser pointer and installed it on my longarm, it points to where the needle will pierce the fabric.  It made placing the designs so much easier.

Also, earlier this week I bound these two quilts.  The Cat walk quilt and coincidentally an older UFO that was a mystery quilt in which I used a Julie Paschkis line called Catkin.

I haven’t heard form the contractor yet, so I think I have another day to empty the room. My DH is home today, for past presidents day, might be able to get some help there.

Linking up with Judy for Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

This week I worked on this quilt top, “Place Your Bet” from a tutorial by Sarah at Confessions of a Quilt Addict.  She’s hosting a quilt-a-long called Rockin’ Rectangles for her upcoming Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.  It’s a quick to cut and easy to sew quilt, great for stash busting too.  I used two 5″ stackers, a yard of blue solid for the sashing and about 1 and 5/8s yard of white background.

I think it will be a good donation quilt for a young boy, space, planets, stars, and astronauts, but then again, I know a few young girls who are aspiring space explorers.  I’m sure the recipient will appreciate it 😉   This quilt is the first of the series, I really like the latest one, called Hip to be Square.  I need to find some more coordinating stash to make one.

I’ve been quilting on the Forest Floor quilt, I’m about 65% done.  All the ‘fun’ blocks are done, now just the multiple borders and corner stones.  Sorry no pictures yet.  The weather has been rain for the whole week.  The light just isn’t good enough for a decent picture of the quilt.

The rain also postponed the installation of the new window in my sewing room.  I need to empty out most of my stuff/stash before that project can happen.  A project in itself, but I guess I’ll do it this weekend.  I just need to put it all in the room across the hallway, which is my youngest sons room.  He’s at school, so he won’t mind.  It is very tempting to stage a take over though.  His room is larger, with a skylight and a bigger closet.  I’ll try to show restraint.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for  Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

 

The top is done. I think I have about a thousand more loose threads to clip off the back.  I used the two rolls of 1 ½ inch wide Kona cotton, about two yards of Kona white and 1/4 yard of Kona black.  The white I had to purchase, but everything else was in my closet.  The jack part of the title is due to the ripping that was involved, mostly with the borders. Forget measure twice cut once, it should be measure twice sew once.  I didn’t measure the first inner black borders, which was fine for the first three sides.  Every thing was going swimmingly, until that last square that should have been black, but was white.  That side had ‘grown’ an 1 ½”, so there was un-sewing and much pinning and sewing.  It all worked out in the end :). I need to figure out a quilting plan for this one.

I received the first installment of the Mrs. Millers Apprentice block of the month.  These blocks are small, 6 inches finished, and the 2 inch square four patches are to go around the center piece later in the making. I like the lay out of this quilt, its on point with sort of a medallion in the center.

The pattern has an interesting way to make the cats cradle blocks, using the Easy Angle.  Strangely, it doesn’t use the EA for any of the other triangles in the quilt.  As you can see in the above quilt there are many, I will be using it for all of them.

This past weekend I made some progress on the Forest floor quilt, I’m about ½ way done.  The quilting motifs are pretty intense, but I am getting better at placing them with the software and stitching them out where they should be.  I took that quilt off the frame to do a quick pantograph on a baby quilt.  Finished that quilt up during the big game (no interest from me) and now I need to put the Forest back on the frame.  It’s quite large, 108 square I think.  Here is a photo, but it doest really show the quilting much, my next post will.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today, a day late.

I made some progress on the pluses this week.  Made an additional 14 blocks and I think I need about six more.  They are fairly mindless to make, especially when using the 1 ½” strips.

The fabric that I ordered came in.  The Batik will do nicely, it’s the Snow color way, has just a hint of blue in it.  I also got the first installment of the “Mrs Miller’s Apprentice” BOM.  The pattern and the first blocks fabrics came along with a shiny new Easy Angle cutting ruler.  My current one is probably over 15 years old, so many triangles made with it through those years.  I also use it to join binding strips and borders, I have the other two bigger sizes but the 4 1/2″ one is my go to.  It has definitely seen better days though, the top flat side is a bit bumpy and the lower corner is nicked, the lines and markings have held up very well.

Speaking of useful tools, I should mention my Olfa cutter.  I got this one when I first started quilting as a hobby in 1991.  I had to buy a cutter, mat and ruler for a class I was taking in a local quilting shop near my home at the time.  I made a small Amish style/color-way double Irish chain quilt.  I remember being amazed at the ease of cutting strips and blocks.  In my previous quilting experiences we used cardboard templates and scissors.  I guess I should also mention that I was hand sewing pieces at that time, this class taught me how to use my machine too.  It was very exciting.  I think my Mom might still have that quilt, somewhere.  I have been looking at the new red Olfa cutter, and may just order one for a replacement.  Supposedly, it is designed like the first ones they made, like mine.  I have four or five other cutters, different sizes, brands, even an ergonomic one.  I always go back to my trusty old friend.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for design Wall Monday today.

I have been steadily working on the next block of the Christmas figs BOM.  This one is a Carolina Lily block with eight apostrophe-like leaves.  The leaves are backwards, not really noticeable unless you compare the books block picture to my block.  Once again its the whole backwards/forwards/flip of doing appliqué using the back basting method.  It usually doesn’t matter in the end though, as most designs have enough symmetry that it doesn’t change the design.  In this case they are all the same, so its perfect.  It has been raining steadily most of this week, so no outside activities, but for some reason I feel I should be out there, maybe I have cabin fever?

I have my black and white plus sign quilt on the design wall.  I think it needs to be bigger, maybe I’ll add more borders.  It has a stark quality to it, but then it just ends, it needs to be fenced in.  After playing with the design a bit, I came up with a larger version, but not really anything with borders.  I think I might try a tooth-like border of black and white, or more pluses in the corners.  This one is red and white, but mine is black and white (see below) in person.

While organizing last week I ‘found’ a box of blue batik scraps from the Storm at Sea and Chaos at Sea quilts.  I set to work weeding them out and cutting them into 2 ½ triangles and 4 ½ triangles, some useable strips and pieces.  Which then triggered the idea for a blue and white quilt of these pieces.  Which in turn triggered a need for white batik fabric.  I bought three yards, that ought to be enough to do something with.  Planning on using the white as a constant to unite all the blues.  There will be more EQ8 work on this one as the ideas percolate.

In the meantime, I have another order for a pink baby quilt.  I am hoping to use more scraps, I seem to have lots of pink, I have to find a pattern that they will all play nice in.  That’s what I’ll be working on this week.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday, check out her little basket quilt.