Design Wall Monday 08/12/13



Above are the three latest blocks for the Mystery Mondays quilt along.  These were fun little 6" blocks.  All still coming out of my fabric stash - which accounts for the busy one in the lower left hand corner.  It has all the right colors, but I think the scale of the print is a little big for that block.  It was actually a scrap from one of the past Mystery Mondays projects, that I had used as my focus fabric.

Above are my sister's blocks.  Is it wrong that I want to raid her stash after seeing her blocks each week? 

Other than that, I'm still working on finishing up some class projects.  I'm making a pillow with a paper pieced block on the front, but it's a little bigger than the ones I've made in the past.  I find that sometimes the pillow ends up a little bigger than the pillow form, so the edges/corners are empty.  I think today I'll make a quick "practice" one out of muslin and play with the size a little.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else has on their design walls today!

Design Wall Monday 08/05/13

The lighting is not great on this one - I had a lamp shining in the upper left.  Oh well.  I still need work on my picture taking skills!  Here is where I am on the Mystery Mondays project.  We added a checkerboard strip at the top and put the parts together that we've made so far.  There should be another clue today.  This is a fun one!

Above are my sister's blocks.  Looking good!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 07/29/13

I finished the Mystery Mondays block for the week.  It is another pumpkin block, but in a bigger scale.  I can't wait to see what next week's block with be.

Here are my two blocks together.  Other than the pumpkin, and finishing the quilt top I posted yesterday, I didn't do much sewing this week.  I did choose fabrics for a pillow I'm about to make.  Haven't cut into them yet, though.  They are calling to me, so I'll probably have part, if not all, of it finished by next Monday.

And here are my sister's blocks.  So far we are both on track!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Stash Busting 2013 - Week 30

This past week I finished putting the top together that I've been working on.  I have a hard time taking pictures of my bigger projects, so today I decided to take a cue from some of the other bloggers and took it outside pinned to my fence.  It worked out perfectly.  I took the picture from a few different angles, but in all it took less than 10 minutes.  I had to wait for the sun to move away from that part of the fence.  I think the colors are fairly true - they are maybe a little warmer in real life.

I'm approximating the yardage on this one.  I think it took about 4 yards total.  I used 2 charm packs along with yardage, so this is an estimate.

Fabric used this week: 4.00 yards

Fabric added this week: 0.50 yards

Fabric used this year: 11.50 yards
Fabric added this year: 20.25 yards

Be sure to check out Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing with their stashes!

Design Wall Monday 07/22/13

After a bit of a dry spell, I did a bunch of sewing this weekend.  Above is the project that I've been working on recently.  I got a little road-blocked when I decided it needed an extra row.  I had used up my charm packs, and so I had to pull fabrics from my stash that were similar in color to the charm packs I used.  Sometimes too many choices make it harder to choose.  Above are all of the blocks laid out.  After I took the picture, I sewed them all together and put on the first narrow border of solid red.  At the last minute, I decided to wash my final border fabric, so I called it quits for the day on that project.  I wanted to finish the top, but I'm pretty pleased with how far I got.

Next I worked on the new Mystery Mondays project.  This week was the first "clue", which was a pumpkin block.  My sister is also going to do this project, and I didn't want to fall behind on the first week!  Below is my sister's block:

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 07/01/13

So I've been working a few more of these blocks.  They are called Window Pane Disappearing Nine Patch (D9P) blocks.  First you start with making a nine-patch block with sashing strips to look like a tic-tac-toe block.  I used charm pack squares (5" squares) and 1 1/2" cut sashing strips (1" finished).

Next you cut the block in half horizontally and vertically.

Then you twist and turn the quarters to make a new block.  It looks like you did a lot of piecing, but it was actually very easy.  I've used up one charm pack already, which makes 4 blocks (16 quarters).  I have another pack of the same fabric to make more blocks.  Then I'll put them together to make a small quilt.

You can go here to see the video tutorial for this pattern.

This is what is on my Design Wall today.  Go to Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Design Wall Monday 06/24/13

I found a link to a really neat tutorial on Pinterest.  It is a variation on a Disappearing Nine Patch.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I just had to make one.  The sample was made with beautiful batiks and narrow black sashing, which is what I was also going to do, but then I saw a charm pack of pretty Christmas prints, and I changed my mind.  Hopefully this line will work out well.  I'm excited to be working on it.  I haven't been sewing much lately and it's fun to be motivated once again!

This block will be cut twice to make four smaller blocks.  You can watch the You Tube video to see how it's done.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Stash Report - Week 25, 2013

Oh boy.  It looks like I'm failing miserably at stash busting this year.  Oh well.  I've been really good in the past.  I bought a total of 7 yards of fabric this week!  But I have plans for all of it!  The Christmas fabric in the top picture are for a project that I've already started (see Design Wall Monday post tomorrow for more on that).  Two of the fabrics in lower picture are for a "mail sack" type bag that I'm going to make.  I'm going to be traveling, and I think this style of bag will work well.  Then there is a piece of London print fabric that was on sale and I thought I'd pick up.  Okay, I really don't have a plan for that piece at the moment!

Hopefully the Christmas quilt will be done soon so can count that out of my stash.  It's a pretty quick quilt that I'm really excited about.

I'm linking to Judy L's stash report today.  Now I'll go and see if everyone else has been as bad as me!

Fabric used this week: 0.00 yards
Fabric added this week: 7.00 yards

Fabric used this year: 7.50 yards
Fabric added this year: 19.75 yards

Design Wall Monday 06/17/13

A few more hexagon flowers are done.  I'll add these to the (short) pile I've made.  The one on the lower right has a couple of different fabrics in it.  I'm trying to use my scraps, but a lot of times the scraps are too small to make six hexagons.  So I experimented with mixing fabrics.  I think it looks pretty cute that way.  The one at the top uses a fabric I thought would be too busy for the small hexagon, but I like how that one turned out too!  I'm going to get a little bolder with my fabric choices now that I know these two worked.

Tonight is the last night for my quilting class until September.  I taught the wall hanging above this session.  It is just a quilt top, but I really want to hang this in my office, so now I'll work on layering it up and doing a little quilting.  I'll start with some stitch in the ditch to outline the shapes, and then maybe I'll try something a little more creative in the background spaces.

It really is square, but the corners folded in at the bottom when I took the picture.  It measures approximately 31" square.

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone else is working on today!

Dear Jane - L3

I got another Dear Jane block finished this week.  It was a pretty straight forward paper pieced block.  It looks like I have 46 blocks finished now.  I think that puts me at about 20% done.  I have a few more blocks prepped, so hopefully I'll have a few more done soon!

Design Wall Monday 06/10/13

Still just hexagons on my Design Wall today.  I did finish a Dear Jane block during the week, but these are what I have out as my ongoing project.  They keep me motivated to make more.  I prepped a bunch of single hexagons that aren't shown.

My Monday night quilting class is winding down, only one more class after tonight's class, and then we are off for the summer.  We usually start the Fall session in the beginning of September, but it looks like we'll be traveling at that time, so I'll start it up about mid-month.  This usually means I end up taking a bit of a sewing break around this time of year.  Of course I shouldn't, because I need to have the projects and patterns finished before we travel.  We'll see.  I need to get inspired again.

I'm sure I'll get some good inspiration from Judy L's blog - hop over there to see what everyone else is working on today!

Dear Jane K13

I finished a Dear Jane block last night!  It had been all prepped and kitted up just waiting for a few spare moments.  This was a fairly easy one to piece and I like how it came together.

Now I really need to start doing some applique blocks.  I think I say that after every block!!

Design Wall Monday 06/03/13

I've been in a bit of a sewing slump lately.  Just haven't been feeling it.  I didn't sew at all over the long Memorial Day weekend.  And this past weekend all I did was prep a Dear Jane block.  I am continuing to work slowly on my hexagons while I watch tv at night.

I'm sure I'll get back into it soon!  Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging away at these small projects.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is working on today over at Judy L's blog!

Design Wall Monday 05/20/13

Today all I have to share on my Design Wall are a couple of hexagon flowers.  I haven't done much sewing lately, except for these hexies that I've been hand sewing in my down time.  I'm not really sure where I'm going with these, but I'll definitely do something with them eventually.  At least I don't feel like I'm completely wasting time while watching tv anymore!

I do have a quilt top that is nearly complete.  I bought some border fabric over the weekend (add two yards to the stash report!), but it's packed up to take to class so I couldn't take a picture of it.  Hopefully I'll have a picture of the completed top soon!

Meanwhile I'll be working on my hexies!

Be sure to check out Judy L's blog to see what everyone is working on today!

Blogger's Quilt Festival May 2013

Today I'm linking up with the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  The quilt I'm sharing is very special to me and my family.  Back in the 1970's, my Mom started quilting.  She decided to make a family quilt to present to my grandmother (her mother-in-law).  She got everyone in the family to make a block that represented themselves and my grandmother.  She gave each person a packet of fabric, including several purple fabrics (Grandma's favorite color).  My Mom and my aunt Shirley made some filler blocks to round out the setting.

The upper blocks of the quilt depict my Grandmother and Grandfather, Viola and Lee Parham, and their seven children.  My grandmother was originally from Australia, and my grandfather was from Indiana.  They settled in San Francisco, where they raised their family.

I love looking over the quilt and seeing the story in the blocks - those of my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  My sister and I each have a block in the quilt as well.  I was the youngest contributor at 8 years old!

The quilt was presented to my grandmother in the late 1970's, and it hung in her bedroom until she passed in 1981.  I recently took the opportunity to photograph each block, which I posted to Flickr, so everyone could see the quilt and blocks at any time.  Head on over there to see each one!

Thanks to Amy Ellis at Amy's Creative Side for allowing me to share this very special quilt.  It looks like this time around the quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival are split up into categories.  You can find this quilt posted on the Group Quilts page.

Be sure to check out all of the amazing quilts in the festival!