Many Scrappy Batik Strips

I managed to get the blocks all turned the right direction this time.

Now to decide how to quilt it!

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–January 27, 2014

Still on my design wall is my Smokey Mountain Stars.  I need to figure out how it goes together.  I believe the rows on the bottom, along with some others are the top left side.  It would have been nice if I had made notes when I stopped so I have some idea of how it goes together.  I did print out the EQ7 drawing so hopefully that will help.

For more exciting design walls, go to Patchwork Times.

Melinda

Working on Scrappy Trips Again

In the background, I have been working on the scrappy trips blocks.  I got all 64 of them sewn into two block units and am starting to sew them into four block units.  Once I get that done, I will play with the placement a little and hopefully get it all sewn together soon.  I don’t think it needs a border but it will be easier to quilt if I have something around the outside.  It is be 96 inches with just the blocks.

Here are the stack of blocks sewn into two block units.

Here are the first two four-block units.

I am really liking how it is turning out. 

It has been too cold to work on the longarm but it should be a lot better today with a high in the 40’s so hopefully I can get down there and work on some customer quilts so that I have time to work on the NYD quilt.  I am excited about quilting it but have to finish up some customer quilts first.

I taught the first classes of beginning machine quilting yesterday but forgot to take photos of their fabrics.  Oh well, next week I will get it done and share all the delightful quilts in progress.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–November 18, 2013

Today on my design wall is my Scrappy Trips blocks.  I have made 64 of them and have started sewing them into 2’s.  I think I am really going to like this quit when it is finished.

I used batiks for this quilt – any and all batiks.  There are some duplications but I don’t think more than 2 or 3 of each strip. Once I get them sewn into 2’s, I will put them into 4’s and then I need to find space to lay them out.  I am not going to worry about it until I have blocks of 4.

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times.

Melinda

Progress on Scrappy Trips–Blocks Done!!!!!

Here are the last four blocks for my queen sized Scrappy Trips.

Here is the whole stack of 64 blocks.

I am mixing them up and sewing them into sets of 2.  Once I get that done, I will make blocks of 4 and so on.  Hopefully it won’t take too long. I am just starting sewing them together.

Of course I made more bowties while working on the scrappy trips.

Looks like I need to press them a little better.  I now have 260 blocks that will finish at 3 inches.

Melinda

More Progress on Scrappy Trips

I am now at 50 blocks finished and only 14 more to go.  Here are blocks 41-50.

As I am sewing, I am working on my leader/ender project – bowties.  Here are 10 bowties and I now have 240 done, only about 600 more until I can start making a quilt!

I work on them until I have 10 on the mini design wall and when I get 10 done, I pin them together.  When I get 5 sets of 10, I put them in a sandwich bag.  So far I have 4 sandwich bags plus 4 sets of 10 waiting for 10 more to go in a bag.

Today is my birthday – we are going out to breakfast then I am teaching a class.  Tonight we are going to Longhorn for birthday dinner.  Should be a good day, even if it is cold.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–November 11, 2013

More scrappy trips blocks on my design wall this morning.  One more and this will be 40.  On to the next 24 and I will be able to piece the top.  I am getting anxious to get this one made.  I think it will look great on my bed.  I am thinking of allover feathers for quilting.  I have been wanting to use what I learned in Kimmy Brunner’s class that I took in Houston.  By the way, my box of stuff arrived from Houston and hopefully I will get it unpacked this week.  Lots of goodies in there.

My scrappy trips is all batiks – I still have lots more strips that can be used.

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times. 

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–October 14, 2013

My design wall still has the spool quilt top on it.

But I have another design wall.

This one was taken at Tiny Stitches yesterday during the first meeting of our Bonnie Hunter Club.  We had about 15-16 people join so far and start getting their scraps under control.  Although I led the group, I certainly can’t say that my scraps are under control.  We talked about the Scrap Users System that Bonnie uses and shared how we sort and save scraps.  Several people brought scraps and stayed to cut them into strips and squares.  We also talked about the upcoming mystery quilt and have decided to have somewhat of a mystery support group as part of the club.  By the next meeting, the fabric requirements for the mystery will be out and we will talk about perhaps sharing fabric so everyone will have a bigger selection to work from.

We also talked about using the Fly Lady system of setting your timer for 15 minutes and cutting up strips and squares – kind of like eating an elephant one bite at a time.  I spent about 20 minutes today taking one bite and cut some bowtie kits for my leader/ender quilt and a few strips and squares for my containers.  It felt good to start on getting it under control.

We also decided to do Scrappy Trips, which is why my few blocks are on the design wall.  This are the blocks I made last summer and I have 26 done.  I have decided I want to make it large enough for my bed, which I can do with 36 blocks and borders or a lot more blocks without borders.  Borders are sounding good.  This quilt is all batiks.  Lots and lots of batiks.  I have lots more batik strips in my 2 1/2 inch strip container.

I really want to make another one using random strips, but having a common center for each – not the same fabric but the same color.  Need to get this one done first.

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times and check them out.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–January 7, 2013

I finished Easy Street and it is actually off the design wall and ready to go on the longarm.  I was planning on putting on a border but when I put it on my bed, it was obvious that a border would make it too large, so it won’t get a border.

One of the other projects on my list of four for this month is my scrappy trips.  I got it out and put the finished blocks on the design wall.  I have several block strip sets put together and actually sewed one more block this morning.  Making progress.

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times.  I am also linking to Bonnie’s blog.

Melinda

More Progress on Easy Street

I sewed and sewed and sewed.  I have the first three rows of Easy Street put together.  It is now to big for the design wall so here it is on my bed – excuse the mess on the side table/sewing machine.

This is a big quilt.

I am thinking I will go ahead and put a border on it even though it will probably be large enough for the bed without one.  I am going to stop by the shop today and will pick up backing and borders.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–August 6, 2012

I showed what was on my design wall last week.  I started putting Smokey Mountain Stars together.  It doesn’t go together as blocks so I decided to put it together in quarters.  Here is the upper left side that is all sewn together.

I took this down and replaced it with the upper left side.  This one is just on the wall, not sewn together yet.

Actually, now that I look at it, it isn’t correct on the wall.  I need one more row and either have an extra column or need to take one off.  I will check it later and fix it before I start sewing it together.

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times and check them all out.

Melinda

One Quarter of Smokey Mountain Stars

My design wall is not large enough to hold the whole Smokey Mountain Stars quilt so I decided to make it in quarters.  I have one more seam in the upper right side to do and then I will move on to the upper left.

Lots and lots of black and white fabrics in this quilt.

I finished piecing the Mama Says Sew jelly roll quilt and picked up backing for it this afternoon.  Need to quilt it next.

Melinda

Quilt Progress Report

I have been playing with my Smokey Mountain Stars blocks.  Here is what I posted on Design Wall Monday.

After looking at the design wall for a day or so, I decided I wanted to try something different in the center of the stars.  I cut a few black centers and this is what it looks like now.

I am really interested in opinions.  What do you think?

While pondering this, I decided that I need to get started on my Scrappy Trips Around the World that  I am going to teach in Las Vegas next month.  Here is the first block.  I am using lots and lots of batiks.  I can’t wait to get a few more blocks done.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–June 4, 2012

I finished the Halloween quilt and it is next to be quilted.  First I need to finish the Urban Cowgirl jelly roll quilt.  I was going to do a quick overall on it but once it got on the machine it demanded feathers so I only got about half done last night.  Will finish up this afternoon.

On my actual design wall is the start of a Bonnie Hunter quilt – Smokey Mountain Stars as well as the progress on the GFG.  Last time I showed it I had seven flowers sewn together and now there are thirteen.  Lots more to go.

At the Allatoona guild, members have been exchanging civil war fabrics to make Smokey Mountain Stars.  If you have read my blog at all you know the chances of me making a civil war quilt are less than me winning the Lotto.  Since I never buy tickets, that is impossible.  A civil war quilt is even more impossible coming out of my sewing room.

I do have a bit (whole big bunch) of black and white and bright colors in my stash so that is what I am going to use.  Also, the pattern is a good sized lap quilt and I enlarged it in EQ7 to a queen-size.  You would think I would learn better.  I have been cutting squares of both black and white and bright and started making a few squares.  Here is the start of the quilt.  I am planning on using these as leaders/enders.

For more design walls, go to Judy’s Patchwork Times.  Lots of fun there.

Melinda

Design Wall Monday–May 28, 2012

My actual design wall looks the same as last week.  I have sewn a few more blocks together but it still needs work. Hopefully I can finish it this week.

I did finish a quilt top and a quilt this week.  First the quilt top.

This started out last week as a Urban Cowgirl jelly roll.  I sewed all the strips together end to end and then did the jelly roll race sewing.  First sewed the long strip together in a long 800 inch seam.  Sewed again making a 400 inch seam, then 200, then 100, then 50.  At that point, I cleaned up the edges and cut the whole thing into three strips.  I added sashing and turned the middle strip upside down.  Sounds confusing but it was very easy and gives it a different look – also makes a larger quilt.  Added borders and it is ready for quilting.

Lastly, I quilted and bound the Scrappy Bargello quilt.  I actually made it in 2008 in a class with Bonnie Hunter.  It sat around for all this time waiting for a border before I realized it didn’t need one.  Quilted it with overall feathers and it it finished!  Here it is hanging out in the front yard (the neighbors think I am crazy).

For more design walls, go to Patchwork Times.  Lots of eye candy!

Melinda

Community Service at Allatoona Quilters’ Guild

Yesterday was a community service day and we worked on string quilts.  I brought a bolt of muslin that I had bought a few years ago when I was under a delusion that I was going to make a cathedral window quilt.  I came to my senses but still had the fabric so I decided to use it for the foundations for string blocks.  I cut kits for several kits and managed to use more than 10 yards that I can report next week.  Of course the bolt was a 50 yard bolt so I still have plenty of muslin left.  I need to cut a set of foundations for my own use so I can work on a top from my scraps.  I forgot that I also took my 1 1/2 inch strip bin and donated all of them.  Here are a few of the blocks that were completed today.

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Melinda

Red and Aqua

We had a UFO challenge at guild to finish a UFO this year.  I had participated in a red and aqua disappearing nine patch swap last year.  At the guild retreat earlier in the year, I put the top together.  When we had to choose a UFO to complete I decided on this one. Here it is at the retreat.

Now we have to move forward through time to this last Sunday.  I decided that since the UFO challenge was due on Tuesday, I better get moving.  I purchased an extra wide batik backing – bright red.  On Monday afternoon, I quilted it, bound it Monday night and was ready for Tuesday morning.  I had planned on making pumpkin roll to share but ended up making a Chess pie Tuesday morning.  It must have gone over well because there was none to bring home.

Here is the finished quilt.

As you can see, I didn’t put the blocks together in the usual way.  I put four blocks together with the large pieces in the center and then surrounded them with white sashing.  I had one fat quarter of an aqua print and that was enough for cornerstones.  When I finished the top, I had thought I would add a border but the more I looked at it, the more I realized that it did not need a border.  I am happy with it.  It is about 70 inches square.

Melinda

Retreat–Day Four

Saturday was the last day of the retreat – I got another project finished.  About a year or so ago I participated in a Red and Aqua Disappearing Nine Patch swap.  We each made 25 blocks, cut them in quarters and mailed them to the organizer.  We got back 100 quarter blocks and they sat in a baggie.  A couple of months ago, I started sewing them back into blocks of 4.  I put the resulting 25 blocks in a project box and took them to retreat with me.

I cut white Kona Cotton into strips and found an aqua fat quarter to make cornerstones from.  I have a border of Bliss but somehow I don’t think it needs one.  I think it is finished already.  Perhaps I can use the prospective border fabric on the back.

While working on this, I finished one more of the Moda leader/ender blocks. This one is from a Christmas line by Sweetwater.

This one is block eight.

Melinda

More Bright Stacks

I received blocks from Julie W and Becca for the January Block Lotto.  I just have four more to receive.

These keep getting better and better.

Melinda

Block Lotto

Here are my blocks for Block Lotto this month.  I made nine blocks.  These will made a very cute quilt for a child.  I hope I win some.

Melinda