February is Pink

 Angela at So Scrappy has selected pink for the February colour.  I'm not much of a pink type of gal so the pickings in the scrap bin is pretty slim.

I noticed that the first February block for the Sampler Quilt Along is a pretty little nine patch.  And I mean little.  Angela is challenging us to use 1 inch strips to make the nine patches.  I think I just might have some wee one inch bits in there.  Check back to see my attempt.

My Last Go At Blue

Last weekend I tidied up my blue scraps and found I had a lot of little bits.  I've been intrigued with the Spool Blocks so many have made and posted on Saturdays so figured I'd give them a try. 

Those spools are pretty wild but ..... I managed to use up all the little bits of blue.  I'll have to scrounge through the brown scraps and see if I can find something a little tamer.  LOL

Super Sewl Sunday

While many are watching the Super Bowl on Sunday a group of avid quilters will be foregoing the game and snacks and joining QuiltBug and sewing up the Appian Way Mystery.  The instructions call for greys and shades of grey, black and white but all I have  in those colours are fat quarters and they won't do for the cutting instructions.  So.... it was off to the stash to see what I could find. 

I've cut all of the fabrics except the border and I'll have to wait for the finished top to see how to cut the borders - dancing cows, cats and frogs in tutus no less. 

The instructions will be posted on Sunday during the game, with one clue revealed every few hours and the quilt top should be finished by the time the game is over.  Can't wait!  There are prizes for the first three finished posts.  Wonder who that will be?????

Thanks Kathy for writing about this unique opportunity. 

Filmstar

Last June a group of fellow quilters met for our monthly get together and tried our hand at some Crazy Quilting.  We worked together sifting through piles of scrappy fabric and lace and selected bits we liked.  Then the fun began.  We cut a piece of canvas to use as our foundation then cut a 5 sided shape from one of the fabrics and positioned it on the foundation.  Then we were to work our way around it joining on additional strips.  I started with the star burst in gold and continued.  Because of the initial positioning of the starburst fabric, I soon ran out of places to go to the right and had to continue working only to the bottom, left and top of the piece.  Talk about challenging but the canvas was finally covered and then it sat.  And sat.  And sat.  Yesterday I decided to try out some of the embroidery stitches on my new sewing machine and figured I might as well do that on the Crazy Patch. 

 

Here's a peek at some of the stitches I tried.  I used Kimono silk thread in red.  It's very fine and has a lovely sheen.  The photo doesn't really show it off. 

What fun to finally get the project finished!

Scrap Happy Saturday Check In

It's a blustery and cold day here and I'm slow getting started. 

Here are my blocks for January's challenge.  Finding fabric with blue and green presented a bit of a challenge and I'm not sure if I like the rather blah medium colours in the block but it just might work with all the others once they're done.  I'm even hanging on to that busy anvil block hoping there will be a spot for it in the quilt - if not on the front then incorporated into the backing.

As this is the last Saturday for blue I've sorted out my blue bin.

 

All of these little bits are left to be tackled.  I'll be doing some cutting of  strips, rectangles and squares to get this sorted out.

But first I'll have to tackle the snow that fell overnight and this morning plus all the drifts that piled up because of the strong winds.

It's a winter wonderland here to day.

Mat and Ruler Tote

It's done! 

  I machine quilted around all of the hearts and flowers then put the tote together. 

 

Just the right size for rulers and cutting mats.  I even divided one of the smaller pockets so my rotary cutter can fit inside.  Now when I go to a workshop all I have to do is take my sewing machine in its case on wheels and my handy tote and I'm set to go.  The handles are long enough that I can easily sling this over my shoulder and wheel the sewing machine along behind me.  One trip and a free hand to tackle doors.  Why didn't I do this sooner?

Practising my machine quilting

One of my goals this year is to improve my machine quilting.  I saw a pattern in Fons and Porter's Fall 2013 Easy Quilts for a Mat and Ruler Tote.  There was a fabric sale at a local fabric store and don't ask me what possessed me but I bought some pretty ugly fabric.  Zebra stripes with some browny-beige florals and hearts.  I figured this would be good fabric to practice machine quilting on and then use it for the Mat and Ruler Tote.

 

I went astray in a few spots but not too bad.  I'll post the finished product when it's done.  It will be great to carry my quilting tools to the PPM (Past President's Mystery) next month.

RSC Sampler Check in

Here are the blocks I've made to date.  The only one missing is the tic-tac-toe block and I'll have to go scrounging about for a large enough bit of fabric to start out with a 7" square.  You'll notice there are two anvil blocks.  The one all on its own at the top is the one I was so disappointed with last week.  I just didn't like that fabric in the middle - it made my eyes dance so I made a second block and am so much happier with it.

RSC Sampler Quilt

I've managed to make another of the 6.5 inch sampler blocks - the anvil block.  I think I will be digging into the scraps and remaking the block.  I don't care for the movement in the block with my fabric selection.  A calmer fabric is needed for the anvil.  I'll hang on to this block and may use it. Surrounding blocks may calm it a bit depending on the colours.  We'll see.

That anvil looks like static on the television screen!  My eyes just vibrate up and down.

Scrap Happy Saturday Check-in

Another week and I've managed to complete the quilt top I started in 2013.  After completing the friendship stars in the border I auditioned a piano border.



 It looked pretty good. I liked the repetition of the colour in the border.  The black and brown keys helped to contain the quilt so the stars didn't continue to float off into space and take the eye with it away from the quilt.  Here's the finished flimsy.

Now on to 2014!

I scanned through various magazines and web sites looking for a block I would like to try for the Scrap Happy challenge and have narrowed it down to two possibilities.  They look similar but the size of the centre background square and the framing rectangles vary.  Both have merit and I'll have to make a decision. 

This is the first box block.  It allows me to us eight different scrappy blue strips.  I like the dimensional movement it provides- like looking through a box.  The starry points are an added bonus feature.

This second block is the boxy star.  The look is similar - it also uses eight different scrappy blue strips and gives the sense of perspective and movement but the starry points are more pronounced. 

 

Which do you prefer?  Hopefully the fabric selection won't influence your choice.  It is Scrap Happy after all.

 

 

 



RSC sampler quilt blocks

Brrr! Baby it's cold outside.  Wind chill brings our temperatures down to almost -40 C.  It's a perfect night to stay in and quilt. 

I checked out the last three blocks posted on RSC and here are my version of Attic Windows, Patience Corner and Snowball.  I made a small adaptation on the snowball block. 

Patience Corner





Attic Windows

Snowball

I like the look of the snowball block using 1.5 inch squares in the corners instead of the 1.75 inch squares.  When the blocks come together they look more like snowballs stacked to make a snowman.  I don't think it will make a difference in the sampler quilt but is a personal preference.



It's a new year and I'm starting a new adventure in cyberspace - blogging. I don't really know what I'm doing but hope to learn and improve as the year progresses.

Beginning in January of 2013 I followed a number of blogs faithfully and even participated in the Scrappy Saturday Challenge.

 

Here's the almost finished flimsy.  I used Block #396 Best Friends by Paula Stoddard found in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol. 4 but adapted it to the colour of the month rather than the three colours suggested in the instructions.  To complete the sashing I added friendship stars to try to keep the movement flowing.  I must add one more border sashing to complete the friendship stars and then decide on a final border. I  used charm squares that were exchanged with some quilting buddies and some white fabric that has been in my stash forever.

 

I enjoyed checking what everyone had completed every Saturday and hope that starting the blog I too will be encouraged to post my progress.  I'm trying the blocks for the sampler and so far have one of each.

 

 

I'm considering several different blocks for the Scrap Happy Challenge and hope to post my choice next week.