February: 17ufosin2017 Progress

First item to report:  A Finish!  

All I needed for this finish was to complete the hand stitching on the binding.  Completed that today while recuperating from the flu and watching Mardi Gras festivities on TV.

The quilt was an attempt to use up a large portion of my purple and gold fabric scraps.  I still have a lot of purple and gold fabric (scraps and yardage), but that's OK, purple and gold are the school colors for Louisiana State University and there will probably be other school quilts in my future.

The back of the quilt features a purple bandana print.  Now that it's finished, it will go to my youngest son.  He asked for the first LSU quilt when he was in college - even designed it - so it's only fitting he gets a quilt made from some of the scraps from his quilt.

Now it's on to binding the next quilt in the pile/on the 17ufosin2017 list!

Next up:  Another Finish!

I have had this Joanna Figueroa pattern for over a year, and the fabrics (not hers) longer than that.  I put this project high on my 2017 UFO list hoping I would get motivated to finally turn the fabrics into a tote bag.

I was able to finish the medium-sized Feed Sack in early February.  The result is as cute as I expected, but for the next bag I think I'll make a few changes.  The outer pocket is too small to hold much (see the top picture of my iPod peeping out of the pocket).  The pattern included directions for a matching (half-round) inner pocket, but I didn't make that.   The next bag will have a deeper outside pocket and one or two inside pockets as well.  I already have the fabrics cut for the large version of the bag, so maybe I'll have that to show next month.

OK, that's enough with the Finishes.  

I've been working on assembling my Quilty 365 blocks.  I grouped the blocks into sets of 30, so they resemble calendar pages.  The last seven blocks (I made a few more than 365) will get spread out across the "bottom" of the quilt.  

I can't fit all the sets of 30 on my design wall at one time - here are the other 6 sets.  I'd like to get this to the completed flimsy stage by the end of March - wish me luck!

I'm still finding Meredithe's challenge inspirational and I'm excited to see what progress the other participants have made!

Last of the Aqua?

It's the last Rainbow Scrap Challenge Saturday for talking about aqua scrap projects.  I feel I've gone a long way toward emptying the aqua scrap bins - at least for now! 

 

As I was digging through the aqua scraps,  I found some chunks of this Natural Effects collection by Michele D'Amore.  I used the collection for the above RSC project in March of 2014 (still unquilted, BTW).  I really wanted to finish off the scraps, but I needed something that called for fairly large pieces of fabric to make the most of the designs.

 

I finally settled on a tote bag.  I wanted to keep a big piece of the multi-color floral intact, so I cut large strips for the top of the bag.  The body of the bag is made of 3 inch squares and the bottom and lining were made from a piece of Grunge (by Moda) yardage.

I used both fusible fleece and fusible interfacing on the body of the bag, then added straight line quilting to hold everything together. 

 

There was enough fabric to add a good-sized interior pocket.

 

I like long handles on my tote bags so I can sling them over my shoulder.   The finished bag measures 14.5 inches high and 16 inches wide.  This could become a go-to gift project, especially using slightly smaller dimensions.

 

I also made some aqua pinwheel blocks this week.  Here they are laid out with last month's purple blocks.  My ultimate plan is to mix up all the colors, but since I only have two colors so far, I just color-blocked them. 

I'm ready for the next round of color, but in the meantime I'll be checking everyone's Rainbow Scrap Challenge entries for today!

 

 

Aqua Bits

It seems this may be my year for really using up small scraps.  Two Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects this week involved finding uses for some of the smaller scraps in the scrap boxes.*

 

I have a lot of two inch strips and squares left over from various projects or just cutting up scraps into usable pieces following Bonnie Hunter's Scrap-Users System.  Last month I pulled a lot of purple squares and started piecing 4-patch blocks.  I did the same for aqua squares this month.  I don't have definitive plans for these right now, but 4-patches are a versatile quilt building block and I'm sure they will find a happy use eventually. 

 

This is a small portion of my very large collection of 1.5 inch strips.  Several years ago, I decided to start piecing 1.5 inch strips in anticipation of making a "Lego" quilt (tutorial by Tonya Ricucci).

 

Piecing bits of 1.5 inch strips into longer sections is great mindless sewing, and before long I had a laundry basket full of pieced strips ready to be assembled into blocks.

 

I finally stitched up some blocks last summer.  I came to the conclusion this was going to be a very long-term project, because assembling the blocks was just not that much fun.  Those pieced strips are going to age for awhile longer.  And in while they're aging, I'm going to attempt to use  up some of the un-pieced stash of 1.5 inch parts and pieces.

 

I pulled the shortest bits of aqua 1.5 inch strips I could find, sliced them into squares and arranged a 49-patch block with white squares on the diagonal.  Despite the number and size of squares, the block went together quickly.  I decided to go back and repeat the process for last month's RSC color.  Once I use up the short bits of 1.5 inch strips, I can do some speedier piecing by sewing longer strips together and slicing them up.  

For more scrappy aqua inspiration, check out the link-up at Soscrappy.

*Disclaimer:  I don't really like working with scraps smaller than 1.5 inches, so my version of "small" may not be the same as yours!

 

 

Aqua Wishes

I managed to do some serious depleting of my aqua and teal colored scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week.  I don't have a big collection of blue-green fabrics in my stash, despite several years of stash enhancement for the RSC.  That sounds a little backwards, but you gotta have stash in order to make scraps, right?

This week's scrappy block was Windblown Wishes from Diane Knott's Scrap Quilt Secrets.  These are fun blocks to make and I look forward to having a pile of rainbow-colored Wishes at the end of the year!

In other news, I have been assembling my Quilty 365 blocks more rapidly than I thought possible.  I started assembling on Monday evening and I'm halfway through already!

I decided to set them in chronological order in sets of 30 - kind of like a calendar page.  The RSC color of the month often influenced which fabric got chosen on any given day, although apparently not often enough you'd be able to guess that month's color by looking at my blocks!

My plan is for narrow, neutral sashing between the 30 block sets.  Right now I'm auditioning 2 different gray fabrics.  The one on the right is a Riley Blake Blender and it's a bit on the taupe-y side.  The gray on the left is a Grunge fabric from Moda and definitely reads as more of a true gray.  I'm leaning more toward the Riley Blake right now...

A Little Aquamarine to Soothe the Soul

It's Rainbow Scrap Challenge check-in day, and I have a few modest efforts to show.  Angela, our fearless RSC leader, used the word aquamarine to describe the color she wanted us to aim for this month.  I found that color to be a perfect description of the scraps I pulled to start my blocks. 

I started with the easiest of all projects:  selvedges pieced and cut into Rail Fence blocks.  Sally of The Objects of Design sent me a large box of selvedges last year.  Somehow it must be a magical box, because there never seems to be a dent in the contents! (Thanks, Sally!)

 Next I turned to the pile of Happy, Scrappy Houses I made as an RSC project several years ago.  My goal this year is to make wonky frames for all the house blocks so I can finally assemble them in a quilt.  I don't have a real plan for this, I just look at the blocks each month and try to find some that would look good with that month's RSC color as a frame.  I'm pleased with this month's results AND I got all the houses to go "down hill".  You may recall last month they all went "up hill" and not intentionally.

That's all my aquamarine until next week.  I spent most of today doing some long-neglected chores (yuck!) and now I'm too tired to be playing with sharp objects.  I think maybe a glass of wine and reading about everyone else's RSC adventures this week sounds like a good idea!

17 UFOs in 2017 Report

Is it already the end of January?  The month has been crazy and I'm glad I had plenty of quilty therapy to help keep me sane!  I've given attention to a good number of my 2017 UFO projects, but most don't have a great deal of visible progress, so I'll just pick a few to focus on.

My Bind-A-Thon has slowed a little this month.  This is quilt #5 of 5 that started the Bind-A-Thon back in late November.  I'm about to turn the corner and start hand stitching the 3rd side of this quilt.  When this one is finished, there are 4 additional quilts in need of binding by the end of 2017.

I need to get started on assembling the Quilty 365 blocks if I'm to have anything to show for Audrey's final linky party in May!  I originally thought I would set the blocks on point, but after doing some math, I realized I didn't want a quilt that large (over 100" x 100").  Back to the design wall.  I'll be thinking about this one for the next little while...

I did enough knitting on the Nae shawl to convince myself I need to purchase more yarn in order to finish.  Usually I over-purchase yarn for a project, but not this time.  Fortunately, the yarn and colorway are still available online, so getting more shouldn't be a problem.  I'll wait for the new yarn before I continue, so I can mix the two yarns and avoid an obvious demarcation between skeins.

 

Close to a finish here!  I've got all the parts and pieces done for the Fig Tree Feed Sack bag, just need to stitch everything together. 

Last, but not least - a completed flimsy.  This was kind of a cheat, because I only needed to add the final border.  Adding this top to the UFO project inspired me to "get 'er done!"  The Maverick Stars were a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  I was inspired by Julie Sefton's "Just Wing It" quilt to use some string pieced alternate blocks.  And the selvage Square in a Square blocks were inspired by Diane Knott's book, Scrap Quilt Secrets.  After all that piecing, the quilt was a little short on size, so I looked for some great fabric to add a final border.  The picture doesn't do it justice - it's a gorgeous magenta batik!  This one isn't high on the priority list for quilting, so I'm calling it finished for now.

That wraps up my January 17 UFOs in 2017 progress report.  I'm glad I joined the project - it's really motivating me to stay focused on finishing! 

A Plethora of Purple Piecing

Over the past two weeks I've spent a large amount of my sewing time playing with scraps and experimenting with ideas for projects I've had in mind.  Not everything I tried was successful, but that's OK - it was a learning experience!  On the other hand, I did make a serious dent in my collection of purple scraps (the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for January) and purple selvages.

I wanted to do another selvage project and used up most of my purple selvages on an experiment that didn't quite work out.  I salvaged the last of the selvages for these Rail Fence blocks.  I'll keep making these in the RSC colors through the year and see how many I have at the end.   

 

I really hadn't planned to start this project, but somehow I found myself making pinwheel blocks and I couldn't stop.  These finish at 3 inches.  I have a definite plan in mind for them, and will use the RSC as an opportunity to make more blocks as the year goes on.

After all that scrap cutting, I had quite a batch of purple 2 inch squares, so I threw them in a basket and began pairing them up as 4 patch block components.  Not sure where that will lead, but at least I have a good supply of leader-enders.

When I give quilts as gifts, I usually like to make a pillowcase for the recipient to store the quilt in.   For the recent t-shirt quilt I made, I wanted to try making a large drawstring bag for the quilt instead.  I found a pattern online for a lined drawstring bag, and decided to make a practice version using some purple scraps.  The bag went together easily and I loved the finished version!  I was able to adapt the bag "recipe" for a large version and gave it away with the quilt.

I spent a chunk of time this morning putting the finishing touches on an unfinished RSC project, but I'll save that for Tuesday's link-up.  Now it's time for tea and some time perusing other RSC projects at today's link-up.

String Star Progress

One of my goals for the 17 UFOs in 2017 challenge is to make significant progress on a string quilt that's been hanging around for awhile. 

My quilt was inspired by Brioni Greenburg's Spring Clean Quilt*.  I love string quilts and was quite taken with this block arrangement that created stars.  I purchased the pattern and decided to use fabric scraps and strings leftover from making memory quilts from my late father's shirts.  I knew my quilt wouldn't be as bright and colorful as the inspiration, but it would be full of memories.

 

I can't say for sure when I started constructing blocks for the quilt - definitely over a year ago.  I decided to use white cotton fabric as foundation for the blocks instead of paper.  Once I got the foundation blocks cut, I dug through the shirting scraps and started slicing pieces into strings.  I didn't think I'd have enough fabric variety, so I threw in some sliced up novelty fabrics I had also purchased with my dad in mind. 

All the string components and blocks are at our weekend camp, so I only get to work on construction occasionally.  This weekend was one of those occasions.  I finally finished enough blocks to lay out my first star.  Only 8 stars left to complete!   

As I worked on the individual blocks (light blocks, dark blocks and half & half blocks), I was concerned that some of my "light" fabrics weren't light enough.  I think I will have to be careful in how I use some of the lights, but when the quilt is done and quilted, I don't think it will matter all that much.  I'm looking forward to making more string blocks next weekend!

*The Spring Clean Quilt was published in Issue 8 of the online sewing magazine Fat Quarterly.  I've tried to find an active link for the magazine, or a stand-alone publication of the pattern, but so far I haven't been successful.  Apparently there are some issues with Fat Quarterly's website, and it's currently inaccessible.  I'll keep checking so I can add an active link to the pattern in case anyone is interested in making the quilt.

Scrappy Houses: Adding Wonky Borders

One of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects in 2013 was making house blocks using Bonnie Hunter's Happy, Scrappy Houses pattern.  I called my efforts the New Orleans House Project, and as I made my blocks, I tried to find New Orleans houses in the monthly challenge colors.  At the end of the year, I wasn't ready to assemble the blocks into a quilt top, so I put them away while I thought about how I wanted my New Orleans quilt to look.

 

These are my purple houses from 2013.  As you can see, I did not add the wonky borders Bonnie used on her blocks.  I finally decided those wonky borders were in keeping with how I wanted my finished New Orleans House Project quilt to look - so that's one of my RSC projects for this year. 

 

I don't want the wonky borders to be the same color as the house block, so I'll be picking the borders based on each month's RSC challenge color.  I looked through my purple scraps and matched scraps to houses.  I cut rectangles 3 inches by 12 inches for the borders.

The rectangles are cut diagonally lengthwise to create the border pieces.  The direction the lengthwise cut is made determines if the house runs "uphill" or "downhill".  The straight of grain side of each triangle gets sewn to the block.  

Plainly I need to be more careful about how I cut the border triangles if I want my houses to go uphill AND downhill!

There is more scrappy inspiration at the RSC weekly link-up.  I haven't had a chance to check out what everyone is working on, so I've got my evening's entertainment planned!

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Beginnings and Endings

It's the beginning of another year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  The RSC has had a great deal of staying power, thanks to hostess Angela and the scrap-loving participants.  This year's challenge will continue the theme of using up scraps following a monthly color dedication. 

Since I've vowed to try to finish a flock of UFOs (or at least make progress on them) this year, I'm keeping my RSC plans on the simple side.  I'll definitely be working on finishing some RSC projects from previous years.  However, I can't stay out of the boxes of scrappy strips and squares, so there will be at least one new RSC project, too!

 

I knew I wanted to use 2 inch squares for this year's RSC project, as I have a large box full of 2 inch squares and strips (see Bonnie Hunter's Scrap Users System).  I originally thought I'd do postage stamp blocks, but I wasn't happy with lack of variety of light and dark fabrics in the stash box.  Next I tried white/light fabrics mixed with the purple squares and liked the result much better.  

Then I remembered Diane Knott had a fun pattern based on squares and HSTs in her book Scrap Quilt Secrets.  The quilt is called "Windblown Wishes".  Diane uses strip-piecing to make her 25 patch block centers, but the same look can be accomplished with scrappy squares.  I used my scrappy 2 inch strips and the Easy Angle ruler to make the HSTs.   

I was so pleased with the outcome I was ready to start making more "Windblown" blocks in other colors, so I think this project will be a keeper.

This week Angela has also invited RSC participants to share previous scrappy rainbow projects.  

I have posted about unfinished RSC projects in the past, but I've not taken a look back at completed projects.  I counted up seven quilts that were a direct result of RSC inspiration.  All but one of these quilts (the green Trip Around the World) were gifted to family or friends.

 

I also counted up six flimsies that were created as a result of the RSC.  I hope to have the Scrap Jar Star in reproduction fabrics (top left), the RSC Sampler (top right) and the Carpenter's Wheel (bottom left) quilted and complete by the end of 2017.

 

I worked on the New Orleans House Project in 2013.  The blocks have been waiting for attention since then.  One of my 2017 goals is to get these blocks moving toward a finished quilt.

 

These 4 inch Sawtooth Star blocks were an RSC project from 2015-2016.  I want to set the blocks medallion-style with an appliqued piece in the center.  The applique center has yet to be started, so this probably won't get finished any time soon. 

There are a few other RSC-inspired projects floating around in my studio, but I don't have up-to-date pictures OR plans for finishing them right now.  

As always on Saturday, it's Rainbow Scrap Challenge link-up day.  I can't wait to see all of this week's RSC inspiration!