Design Wall Monday 03/28/16

I got two more Farm Girl Vintage blocks finished this week.  Just one more to go!!  Above is the Honey Bee block, which is a block pattern that I purchased separately from the book.  I just love it - I think it is one of my favorite blocks in the whole quilt.  The pattern had blue fabric instead of black for the bee's stripes.  I decided to go with black, although I was a little concerned because I don't have black anywhere else in the quilt.  I still love it and I think it will look fine.  There are little antennae that I'll embroider later.

I also finally finished the strawberry block!  Boy, when a block isn't going well, it ends up being difficult all the way to the end!  First I had trouble finding enough reds for the block.  Then I lost some pieces.  Then when I was sewing it together, the rows were coming out crooked and the wrong size.  It was a bear, but I think it looks great now.  I took the time to un-sew a few times to get it right - otherwise it would bother me forever.  It's funny because it is very similar to the pumpkin block, and that one went together like a dream.  Go figure.

This week I was able to grab a picture of my entire design wall.  Once I get the Farm Girl blocks sewn together with sashing and cornerstones, I still need to piece an inner border which consists of lots and lots of flying geese units.  I'll worry about those when I get to them!  Also on my wall are the four house blocks for the Crossroads quilt along.  I'm using scraps/stash for this project and all the blocks will be made with blue fabric and the alternate/chain blocks will be in reds.  The backgrounds will be scrappy as well, so I'm hoping I can get the entire quilt made from stash.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today. Also linking up with Quilt Story and Let's Bee Social later this week.

Design Wall Monday 03/21/16

I finished another block for my Farm Girl Vintage quilt.  This is Barn Cat, which is a pattern that Lori Holt is selling separately from the book, but will work in the quilt.  This version finishes at 6" square.  I still need to embroider the face, but I'll do all of the embroidery on this quilt at the end.  Boy, there were some TINY pieces in this one.  There were several 3/4" squares that I needed to cut to make corner triangles (like at the bottom of the head and on the tail).  I usually throw pieces that small away!  They were too small to pin in place, and they kept shifting when I put them in the machine to sew, so I found that if I put the tiniest dab of fabric glue in the corner that gets trimmed away, it held perfectly while I sewed it.  This is the type I use.  What a revelation!  I only have three blocks to go, and I wish I had figured this out at the beginning of this project!!

My phone was dead this morning (I forgot to plug it in last night), so I couldn't get a photo of my entire design wall.  I have the Crossroads house blocks up as well. I'm working on the second set now.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today. Also linking up with Quilt Story and Let's Bee Social later this week.

500th Post & National Quilting Day

Welcome to my 500th blog post, just in time for National Quilting Day!  I used to post a lot more often, but I try to stick to at least one post a week.  Life gets in the way sometimes, but I always come back!  I've been blogging for nearly 10 years now (started in August 2006).  I was inspired by all of the blogs that I read every day and decided that I could do that too!  Sometimes it has been blogging that kept me quilting.  I needed something to blog about, so I would sew a little something.

I don't have many followers, but I want to thank each and every person who visits my blog.  I don't always have time to respond to comments, but I really appreciate you dropping in.

Blogging also serves as a journal for my quilting, and for my life in general.  I recently scrolled back through my first year of posts and had forgotten a lot of the things I had done back then.  And I have a picture of every Dear Jane block that I've made.  Which was very helpful when I started making them again.

But back to National Quilting Day...  It is observed on the third Saturday of March, and I try to take at least a few stitches that day each year.  The Quilt Show website is having a huge celebration this year.  For three days (March 18 - 20), they have opened up all episodes for free.  I've been a member since they started and have enjoyed their shows for years.  They also tons of prizes (including a Bernina sewing machine) for the event.  (I am not affiliated with them - I'm just a happy member and want to spread the word about their free shows this weekend).  Go to The Quilt Show to get more information.

Thanks again to everyone who stops by.  See you next post!

Design Wall Monday 03/14/16

I've been having trouble getting motivated to sew lately.  I decided to put my Farm Girl Vintage blocks back up on the wall.  Only four blocks to go!  I still need to make that darn strawberry block.  I found the pieces that I had already cut out for it, so I'll be working on that soon.  I also cut out all the pieces for the Barn Cat block, which is what I'll be working on in class tonight.  The next Crossroads block will be out tomorrow and then I'll be working on that one. Slowly but surely I'll start sewing again.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today. Also linking up with Let's Bee Social and Quilt Story later this week.

Dreaming of quilts...

I haven't done much sewing lately.  I've been in a quilting slump. Not sure if it is the weather or because I've been feeling tired - probably my body trying to fend off another illness.  But I do continue to cruise my favorite quilt blogs (my list of favorites grows longer daily it seems).  And I dream of joining in with all of the sew alongs I see on various websites.  They all look like so much fun, and I really enjoyed sewing along with the Farm Girl Vintage quilt last year.  But when I get home from work I just don't feel like sewing, and the weekends aren't much better.  However, I thought I'd make a list of all of the current sew alongs I've been keeping my eyes on.  I have no affiliation with any of these sites, just projects I've found around the internet that I've been thinking about making.

The Splendid Sampler.  Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson are releasing two blocks a week for a total of a whopping 100 blocks.  They and various quilters designed the blocks specially for this project.  When all of the blocks are finally released, they will also release a book of all blocks.  The blocks are free to download on the website and I'm loving what I'm seeing so far.

The 365 Challenge - The Ultimate Sampler.  A block a day for 365 days to make an incredible sampler quilt.  This one is right up my alley, but would be very challenging.  Most of those blocks are 3" square finished.  Whoo boy!  It is free, and if you sign up, you will get the block diagrams sent directly to your e-mail daily.

The 2016 Crossroads Quilt Along.  This is hosted by The Fat Quarter Shop, designed by Joanna Figueroa.  Each year the FQS has a quilt along to raise money for charities.  The patterns are free, but they ask that you donate to the chosen charity (this year is the March of Dimes).


Circa 2016.  Temecula Quilt Company is hosting another mystery quilt along with small blocks.  There are not many of each block so I feel like I could still get in on this one.  I followed along with their 12 Days of Christmas mini this past December and loved how it turned out (I added a few blocks).

Moda Sampler Shuffle.  The Fat Quarter Shop also hosted the Moda Sampler Shuffle recently.  I believe all the block patterns have been released, but it looks like you can still download the patterns.

Craftsy 2016 Block of the Month Quilt.  This is a free class on the Craftsy website.  You will need a login to access.  They also have a deeply discounted kit for this quilt, but you don't need to purchase that to see the lessons.

That Quilt blog.  Anina of That Quilt blog and Twiddletales blog is making another Jane Stickle quilt.  She already has a step by step tutorial for each block and has a BOM program through her shop.  I looked back through my blog and it looks like I haven't made a block for this quilt since 2013, so this would be a good time to get back into it and make them along with her.  I started a block about a week ago, but I still haven't finished it yet.

My sister and I are also making a row quilt by Amanda Jean Nyberg that is a Craftsy class, but I only have one row finished on that one.  I did get out my colored pencils this weekend and I marked up where I want the colors in the quilt, so I feel like I have no roadblocks on that one anymore.

I have so many options of projects to work on, and yet I don't seem to be working on anything.  Truth be told, I did make two house blocks last week for the Crossroads quilt, but I'm being realistic that I probably won't finish the quilt. Of course, maybe that's the trick - if I am sure I won't finish it, then that will be the one that I finish!  We'll see.

Excuse me while I go dream about some quilts...