When You Work at It ...

... it gets done! Who knew?? the more I work on a project, the more it progresses! Lol.

 

This is a picture from my last post. My multi-coloured scrap basket could barely hold its load. It lost a lot of weight and now it looks like this. 

I dumped everything on the floor, sat down, and sorted. Folding the bigger pieces neatly uses less space so the basket is not as full. I also removed a lot of scraps like that pile behind the basket. Those scraps are odd shapes and will be cut into usable sizes and store in their respective bins (1.5", 2", 2.5", etc). 

I've also removed pieces to make more Framed 9-Patch Block like these: 

There are probably 7 or 8 more waiting to be cut from the scraps I pulled out. 

In the top right corner, those are triangle scraps. Yes! More triangles! 

I also have this one which is bluer in person. I might have enough to make two blocks, but what colour should the solid be? Haha! 

I also pulled the fabrics for the Tulip Block. (Not from the scrap basket.) I don't carry a lot of purples so my choices are limited. 

These are the rejected ... so far, although I do love that polka-dot one. 

Purple tulip no. 1 

Purple Tulip no. 2 

It is so dark. I'm not sold on this one yet. 

Purple Tulip no. 3

It looks pinkish but it not. Will the stripes work for a tulip? 

I'm not impressed with my lot. I know it goes again the Rainbow SCRAP Challenge never-spoken rules, but I might go shopping. 

On to something else ... 

Remember the mysterious block I saw and couldn't clearly recall? I tried to reproduce it and it looked like this in a previous post. 

I've tried different fabrics before stopping at this one. 

I like it but something is still not right. Then I got an email from a quilting friend, Marly Quilts, sending me a link to the mystery block. Thank you so much for telling me about your find. 

The picture I saw was not a magazine's front page but I'm pretty sure it's the same quilt. 

Here's the link to the magazine, in case you wish to purchase it. 

https://jacquelynnesteves-shop.com/products/quilts-you-can-make-in-a-day-book?ck_subscriber_id=264522043

I like the fact that the block asks for lots of slim pieces. My 1.5" log box is pretty heavy at the moment. I'll continue to play with this block on and off. 

Last but not least, when you work at it, it gets done! Second time around. 

I pressed, and pressed, and pressed some more, all those seams open til I thought I would never see the end. 

But the end came nevertheless. 

And look who is a top now! 

Not all the points are perfect but it is done. (Dang! I just spotted one HST flipped the wrong way!) 

Gosh! It's really a scrap overload! I'll make another one like this as I keep finding more triangles. 

Happy sewing! 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Denise at For the Love of Geese
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch

Purple's Happening

Well, between finishing Smile and volunteering for the vaccine clinics, I did manage to play with fabric. Yay!

First, I had to clean my sewing machine which didn't appreciate it, I guess because it wasn't sewing properly after. !!

It broke two needles and bent one out of shape! It would sew just fine when I tried it without the plate. Every time I screwed the plate back on, the thread would catch on something and everything went to hell from there. I let it sleep on it for a couple of nights while I finished Smile. One morning, I put the plate back on and everything was fine. It sews perfectly now. Go figure!! 

My Personal RSC for Purple is the Framed 9-Patch blocks. I have a collection of 16 blocks made back in 2016. Don't remember why I stopped making these. Probably too many projects on the go. Nah! That couldn't be it. 😝

So I got the multi-coloured basket out and dived in. A piece 12 X 6 inches (like this happy, bright, colourful one) is big enough to make a block but which colour should the solid be?? (Answer at the end)

My multi-coloured basket is overflowing. Hopefully, making these blocks will reduce the bump a little. 

Please note that I have a SAFE PLACE now for the fabric I want to keep for a specific project. The last quilt taught me sooooo much! Smile indeed! 

Five more Framed 9-Patch are now done. Three from the multi-coloured scrap basket ... 

... and two from the purple scrap basket. 

And the answer is ORANGE! Orange goes so well with purple even though it isn't in the print. 

And some more HSTs, of course. What would my life be without some HSTs? 

I hope to get the purple tulip blocks going soon. I will pick and choose the fabrics for these this weekend. Enjoy everyone! 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch

Finally! A Friday Finish

It's been such a long, long time since I've finished something quilty, 

and then, 

POW! 

I got three!

I finished my little SuperNova. Super proud of that one! But it's really not big. 13 inches square. 

I finished the Curve Challenge hosted by Cécile and Corinne. Thank you, ladies, for this fun challenge. 

Overjoy with this one. 

AAAnnnnndd, I finished ...

S M I L E

Ecstatic over this one. 

It wasn't easy. I found the fabric for the binding and I barely had enough. Phew! But I couldn't sew it on because my quilting on the last border was horrible! 

This fold was pretty deep, enough that I didn't even come close to the backing fabric when cutting the edges off. It involved removing the quilting in the center of the quilt, not just the last border. 

Atrocious! 

This ridge is like Mount Everest compared to the other bumps. Again, missing backing fabric after cutting the edges. Sigh! 

Unpicking for a few evenings and re-quilting for a few more evenings got the job done nicely this time. 

I had run out of pink thread when I did the pink block. So I finished that too ... only to have it unpicked too. Bigger sigh! 

Everything that could go wrong with a quilt happened with this one. In the end, I still get to have a wonderful quilt. 

Smile has the seal of approval from our black monster. 

One more just for the heck of it. 

I still have many threads ends to burrow. 

The label is ready for Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy. Come and join us. 

I'll leave you with some purple. 

I wish they lasted longer. 

;^)

Joining friends 

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Kathy at Kathy's Quilts
Denise at For the Love of Geese
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch

The Curve Challenge - Done

On May 30th, Sunday night, bedtime, and it dawns on me that I have to finish the Curve Challenge hosted by Cécile and Corinne. It is due on May 31st! 

I decided to applique leaves for the Curves Challenge as I am not that great at sewing curves. My wallhanging hasn't moved one inch since ... I finished applique all the leaves. 

Monday morning, I measured the quilt, found batting and a piece of old yellowing muslin. Good enough for a wall hanging. Since I'm working from home, I had enough time to baste it too. 

During lunchtime, I started quilting. The wind first ... 

... and then the leaves. At break time, I cut the binding. I picked a white binding at first but I didn't like it. I turned to my favorite binding fabric, a nice brown that makes everything looks framed. I like that.  As soon as the clock hit 4, I shut down the computer and sewed the binding pieces together and onto the quilt. I unstitched a leaf to restitch it over the binding.   

Sorry, no pictures, as I was racing against the clock by this time. 

Ta-daaaaahhhh!! It is done and, here, in Canada, it is still May 31st.  Took pictures in the last sun rays but most pictures were not that good. You can really see the quilting of the "wind" in this one. 

A picture on the deck in the shadow of the house. 

Here's a better picture of the leaves quilting and the one sticking out of the frame. I love it. 

It's the first time I do this. A little bit tricky but fun. 

Thank you so much to Cécile and Corinne for this fun challenge. À l'an prochain, les filles! Bisous! 

;^)

You can see Cécile blog here; 

https://patchworkinspirations.fr/

Enjoy! 

Joining 

Denise at For the Love of Geese
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

My Red May

Even though I got this project out on the 17th of the month, I managed to do 21 more units. I'm happy but I can't stop. I caught the bug of sewing little pieces again and I just want to continue. 

I need 192 units (I think) 96 of block A and 96 of block B. Only 160 units missing. I'm almost done. LOL!

Although they are their own leader-ender most of the time, I did assemble some HSTs too. (For the rest of my life.) They are parts of the HSTs Quilt #2. 

I also tried to work a little bit on HSTs Quilt #1. Not done, but progress is good. 

Then, I took a break and spent some time on the Internet. I went to bed and ... this block kept running around in circles in my mind. I didn't pay much attention when I first saw it. I mean it was a nice quilt but not particularly an I-need-to-make-this-now. 

It obviously had another thought for me as it kept coming back. It's nagging me. 

I don't really recall it ... well not clearly. I remember the 5 whites squares, like a nine-patch and bigger squares ... but the image is not clear. 

Of course, I can't remember WHERE I saw this quilt or block. Pinterest? Blogger? If you know, please tell me so I can have a look at it again. 

If you know the name of the block, I would appreciate that information too. Thanks. 

Meanwhile, I'm playing with  ... 

Nope 

Nope

Getting warmer ... 

... but something is wrong. Will I ever get it right? What if I try ... 

I've signed up for some volunteering work again. It really cuts on my sewing time but it is so good for the soul. 

There are still a few more days left in May. I can probably get some more Shoreline blocks done. 

Enjoy! 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Denise at For the Love of Geese
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch

Little Bits of Red and a Big Rainbow

I got my Red Personal Challenge out and assessed where I was and what was left to do to get this quilt finish. Ha! Finish! Hahahaha!

It is still very much in pieces. 

Only 11 little log-cabin-style blocks are made so far ... 

They stand at 5.5 inches and will finish at 5 inches. 

 

They use up a lot of blacks so I need a great variety of it to avoid too many repeats as I am doing now. So, if anyone out there feels like sharing their scraps of black, charcoal, or very dark greys, I'll give you my mailing address. Small pieces are welcome as the smallest piece in the block is 1.5 X 0.75 inches. That is correct. No typo here. :^D  I am having soooooo much fun!! 

Before that, I finished the blue tulips from last month. Or was that the month before? Anywho! Here they are with their little sidekicks. 

One tulip made me curse a little bit. 

See how the right leaf points to the right and the left leaf points to the left? Easy, right? 

Well, I forgot that and sewed the corner pieces with the same slant on both leaves. Since I had already cut the "bonus HST" (for the shoofly block), I had to cut another piece of white. 

Sewed it up, ironed, and cut it, then I realized that I done the SAME mistake!! Whhaaat!?? (Can someone please bring me some coffee, I gently asked in my head while the left side of my brain went #$%*&@*#^#$!) 

Okay! Let's try again. You know the third time is a charm. Well, it didn't go so well. 

Look, I got it on the right side. Yay!! But ... Wait a minute! Whhhaaaat!!! No!! You're kidding me! I didn't use the right fabric. 🙄

That's right. My second and third attempts were made with the white fabric that I pulled out for the NEXT tulip. At this point, I was starting to be smart. (Yes, just starting to be. Must have been the coffee.) I hadn't cut the bonus triangles yet, so I can use this one in another tulip.  Ha! I cut another piece from the white fabric selected for THIS tulip and then finally moved on. Talk about being the Queen of Bloopers! Hahaha! 

Now for the rainbow part of this post. 

I've set the blocks down in a random layout. Should I use a rainbow layout? Sashing? Which colour? Should I add the little Shoofly to this quilt or keep them for a quilt of their own? 

When making a quilt, the questions seem to multiply at the same rate as the blocks. 

Have a great weekend. 

;^)

Joining
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at SoScrappy
Frédérique at Pachtwork and Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Denise at For the Love of Geese
Pat at Life in a Scrapatch