Wonderful Wednesday - The Beast Comes Alive - A UFO Club Finish, too!

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today is a special day here in Joyful Quilterland.  If you visit often, you know that the longarm was recently reassembled and had assumed pride of place in my new studio.

Well, after some minor adjustments and a short trip...

The Beast has come alive!!  For those of you who are new here, The Beast is my longarm's (affectionate) nickname.  You see, it's a bit of a space hog and ate up more than its fair share of the room!

Leading up to this point, several things had to happen...  

It started like this at the beginning of the month when I added the border of my great niece's baby quilt...

At that time, I also pieced the backing and (a few weeks later) loaded it on the rails:

Finally...

The quilt top was pressed to prepare it for quilting:

I pulled an ancient package of Thermore batting that was just the right size for the project...

And layered it up on the longarm:

Not without issues...

I hit a button (accidentally) and the stitch regulator stopped working.  Not normally a problem, as it should simply reengage.  Unfortunately, not this time!  I had to turn the machine off and back on, which still didn't work, so an encoder wheel adjustment was necessary:

What on Earth?!?!

(While cleaning the bobbin area...) The cover plate for the shaft fell off... Twice... Before I realized that I needed to call in reinforcements.  Fortunately, my in-house tech support was on duty:

(Insert screaming here.)  I only had TWO passes left to complete the quilt:

But at the end of the night...

I had (somehow) managed to finish the quilting:

The next day I trimmed it up:

Testing out binding options...

The backing or the border fabric were the two main contenders:

Ultimately, I went with the border fabric:

~ 40" x 50"

Needleb's suggestion was taken under advisement and implemented.  It looks great:

Special thanks to Angela @ Thread Waggle Quilting!! She answered my frantic late night text and helped my in-house tech guy solve the problem.

Enjoy the porch swing photos above and below.  Yes.  The colors really are that vibrant:

Another big thank you goes out to LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color for the layout suggestion!  I'm not sure that I ever would have thought to blend the colors of the rainbow as rows progressed.  (Orange in the red row, as well as in the yellow row, etc.)  It really made the entire quilt sparkle!

And that, friends, is my ONE finish for the Winter 2022 (Ravelry) UFO Club.  Just in the nick of time.  Rainbow, Baby! is a wrap.

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh, Scrap!

Until next time...

Let's go QUILT!!! 

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC22 - Week 12

Welcome to Week 12 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week I'm on staycation, but that (unfortunately) doesn't necessarily mean that it was all quilting all the time.

Let's see how I did with my YELLOW/GOLD scrap sewing...

SUNDAY - My final PQ 13 challenge reveal post can be found HERE.

I enjoyed a Zoom call with Knittingsuek:

(Does it count that) I used my little "yellow" scissors when working on my SAHRR:

MONDAY - This week's Mail Call Monday post was released (a bit behind schedule.)

(A backlog of...) Paperwork occupied much of my time today, but then I set out for my Quilt Guild meeting where...

I saw my old friend Karen for the first time in several years:

And...

Delivered a copy of Goodnight, Darlene! by Kevin the Quilter to my friend Marian.  We were both signed up for the class back in April of 2020, but you KNOW what happened then!  Sadly, Kevin is no longer blogging and the pattern is not currently available.  Special thanks to Kevin, as I feel SEW fortunate that he was able to scrounge up a copy for us:

TUESDAY - Housework and a nice long walk kept me busy today.  I did spend a little time in the studio, but I'll tell you about that later in the week.

WEDNESDAY - Wonderful Wednesday edition of The Guest Blogger(s). You will NOT want to miss this one!!!

More studio time was followed by my weekly Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Stay at Home Round Robin Reveal POST.

ZoomBEE field trip to Pineapple Fabrics/Keepsake Quilting... without me.  :o((

I stayed home and worked with these small YELLOW/GOLD scraps:

This afternoon, I prepped a quilt back for loading on the longarm and enjoyed a lovely chat with one of my knitting friends.

FRIDAY - The March 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge LINK PARTY went live overnight.  There's time to start (and finish) a project between now and the time the link-up ends on Monday, March 28th @ 11:59 PM.  All are welcome to join!

This morning was my weekly ZoomKNIT meeting.  With me!!  :o))

I was late, missed a photo with one friend and did a terrible job of getting a good shot with the others, but it was great to see everyone, even though it was only for a short while before everyone had to leave:

What a delightful surprise it was (late last year) to find that one of my blog readers lives SEW close to me!  Once I discovered that, I began thinking of her as my quilty neighbor.  This afternoon was cool and breezy, but after 3 months of waiting, I enjoyed (finally) meeting Sherry at the local park for a walk and a wonderful chat:

Thanks for the meet-up, Sherry!

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will join me in visiting Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  The forsythia are in full bloom for YELLOW month:

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

March 2022 - TABLE SCRAPS Challenge - Link Party

Welcome to the March 2022 edition of the TABLE SCRAPS Challenge here at the Joyful Quilter!!  I'll start with a little backstory, in case you are new here.  (Apologies to my regular readers since you already know all about it.) I'm a scrap quilter who had been setting up individual challenges for several years in conjunction with Angela's (RSC) Rainbow Scrap Challenge @ So Scrappy.  Last year, I went global when I offered the 2021 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge.  There were participants from around the corner, across the country and around the world.  It was SEW much fun and we all have MORE scraps to use, so I changed the "rules" and am pleased to offer the...

Button credit to Susan @ Desert Sky Quilts, updated by me.

In 2022, we have a broader range of quilted items that are appropriate for linking to the Challenge.  Baskets and bins, along with pillows and pin cushions, are qualifying projects.  Not just the toppers, runners, and mug rugs we focused on during the 2021 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge.  This year, basically, ANY small quilted item qualifies.  The main premise is that you USE the (new or old) SCRAPS from your cutting table (or your friend's cutting table - since that's where the majority of my scraps come from!)

There will be a prompt each month to help get your creative juices flowing.  While you are NOT required to use it in your project, the guiding word will be revealed at the end of each month's LINK PARTY post.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see February's focus.  It, along with the RSC Color of the Month (as soon as Angela releases it - around the 1st of the month.) will also be added to the 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge page at the top of the blog.

March's theme was...

FLOWERS

Here's what transpired as a result...

The Color of the Month was YELLOW/GOLD so I brought out one of my scrap bags as the basis for my entry:

Then...

I used the leftover background bits from Sunday's Project QUILTING entry...

Paired with a sweet floral scrap on a YELLOW ground found in the very bottom of my scrap bag:

What happened next, Joyful???

I cut out some 1.5" squares and got to work:

That's where I veered off the "traditional" path!!

I noticed a T-shirt scrap from my current commission and it looked like it might be the right color for a border, as my piece had turned out rather small:

Once the scrap was stabilized, cut into strips and attached to my little quilt top, I layered it up with a piece of scrap batting:

OK that left only the quilting and binding to be done...

~ 5.5" x 8"

Boom!  Done.  :o))

I hope you like my latest mug rug.  It was a fun little project!

But WAIT!!!  There's more...

I forgot to add this for the early readers, but YOU get to see the alteration that I made (and neglected to share before the post went live.)  I decided to go back in with some quilting in the borders:

Then...

Felt that it needed a bit of embellishment.  I used the same sweet floral print and free cut half-inch circles to add flower "buds" to the leaves that I had quilted around the borders:

To my eye, that filled out the border fullness perfectly (while adding an unexpected element to the piece.)

What's next, Joyful???

April will be here before we know it.  Since we have a few days, we may have to wait to discover the Color of the month, but...

April's theme is:

WORDS

However YOU decide to interpret that!!  You may have the perfect scrap of wordy fabric in your stash.  Have you tried free piecing letters?  It's fun!  Maybe you haven't tried quilting words into your projects.  SEW many options!

NOTE:  A single word counts.  And Angela announced PINK for April.

And now...

It's time for YOU to link up your YELLOW/GOLD and/or FLORAL project in the LINK PARTY below.  All entries MUST be submitted by Monday, March 28th @ 11:59PM (EDT).

Until next time...

USE those table scraps!!!

#tablescrapschallenge2022

Linking up with Alycia

for

Finished (Or Not) Friday

and

Joining Cynthia

for

Oh, Scrap!

Stay At Home Round Robin - SAHRR 2022 - The Reveal

Welcome to a happy day here at The Joyful Quilter!!  This may or may not be the finale of the Stay at Home Round Robin.  There are still a few more days for participants to link-up their finished quilts or quilt tops, but I missed a couple this time around.  I might be slow, but... I really, really, REALLY didn't want to miss this party!  Most of the participants joined in on Monday when the parade started.

Which will it be, Joyful???

You'll have to wait and see if mine is a quilt or a top.  :P

Gail @ Quilting Gail introduced the Stay-at-Home Round Robin.  She recruited some of her blogger friends to multiply the fun.  I took another chance that I might be able to find time to work on the project this year.

Here is how my quilt progressed...

I found my Center Block in a scrap bag found from a friend:

Apologies that I no longer recall which friend.

Here is how my SAHRR progressed from there...

Round One - Curves with Anja @ Anja Quilts

Round Two - Diamonds with Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Round Three - Wonky Stars with Roseanne/Sue @ Home Sewn by Us

Round Four - Signature Blocks with Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts

Round Five - Applique with Gail @ Quilting Gail

Round Six- Shoo Fly with Chris @ Chrisknits

That brings us to the big reveal!!!  Oh, how I was hoping for a completed quilt top...

Only days before this post, and with little hope of getting my act together, I once again turned my attention to finishing up the (somewhat altered) Shoo Fly blocks for "Round" Six:

While I was at it, I snapped a photo of the working layout...

Drum roll, please...

Round Six has been added and suddenly I was only two seams away from completion:

I'm pleased to be able to present (the TOP of) my 2022 Stay at Home Round Robin:

Whether a wall hanging or a table topper...

~22" x 22"
Don't worry about that fullness... It will "quilt out"!!  :P

I am SEW with my (abbreviated) SAHRR!!

Special thanks to Gail @ Quilting Gail and friends, Anja, Emily, Roseanne/Sue, Wendy and Chris, for creating this fun internet event!!  I started with someone else's cast off and really enjoyed building a quilt around that lovely little (rejected) Star in a totally different way than I might normally work (and in a totally different way than I did during last year's event!)  Look for one final update once the quilt has been completed.

In case YOU would like to give this method of construction a try, I've sprinkled all the links for the 2022 Stay At Home Round Robin throughout this post.

I'm off to join the Link Party!!  I hope you will visit, too.  You won't believe how different they all are!  Here's the LINK.

Sharing with Alycia

for

Finished (Or Not) Friday

...Lucky for me, she accepts projects that are NOT finished into her link up.

Until next time...

Sew aROUND!!

The Guest Blogger(s) - Vol. 32 - Cindy J. Takes My Breath Away

Welcome to another edition of The Guest Blogger(s)!!  I heard from Cindy J. last night.  I posted this as soon as I could, knowing that YOU would want to see what she's made this month.

Are you ready???

Her email was brief, but it really packed a punch.

This is what Cindy had to say...

Here is my March table mat—a Bird of Paradise flower:

It’s 9 1/2 “ square. Due to it’s small size and pointy petals, I used a raw edge fusible technique.

Rather than a traditional flower, I seem to gravitate to the oddball side of the table. Growing up in the southwest, my family would go to San Diego for vacations to beat the heat. These seemed to be planted everywhere.
Cindy J

When I asked about the veining on the leaves (because readers will want to know) Cindy responded with the following:

I hand couched a rayon(?) fiber after the quilting was done. I think it’s called chainette and was from an Oliver Twists bundle. It was quite delicate so I didn’t want to run the machine feet over it.

I’m not totally sure about the fiber content.

Give Cindy's project some quilty love in the comments below.  I know that you enjoyed seeing her  realistic FLORAL table mat.  I certainly did!  Thank you for sending a photo for the blog, Cindy.  I'm SEW thrilled to share your project so that others may be inspiring!

Link Party REMINDER...

The March 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Link Party starts on Friday, March 25th @ 12:01 AM and closes on MONDAY, March 28th @ 11:59 PM. (EDT)  At this posting, you have about 5 days to start your own YELLOW/GOLD and/or FLOWER project.  I hope that YOU will join in the scrappy fun!

Until next time...

SEW those table scraps!!!

Mail Call Monday - Keeping You in Stitches and More

Welcome to another edition of Mail Call Monday!!  On a Tuesday.  Again!  (I'm not sure what's up with that.)  A few weeks ago or so, mentioned that I had used my very last sewing machine needle.  

Much to my surprise, I got the following in an email from Mari:

... What size needles do you use? I have a few packs of size 80 I'd be happy to send. I use 70 for stitching and 90 for quilting. I messed up and didn't double-check an order, and got 80s. They're yours if you want them!

My response:

Yes, please! I use a variety of sizes, so those 80 needles would be great!

Thanks, Mari!

Not long after...

I received this package in the mail:

Of course, Mari being Mari, she sent needles:

... Along with this darling Fat Quarter:

A quilty pencil and this lovely notecard was also enclosed:

SEW...

Mari sent needles, etc. and when I grumbled that she wouldn't let me pay for them (or even for the postage!) she did request...

... I wouldn't say no to a few scraps. I'm low on purple and orange, or anything you don't want. No obligation, though! I'm happy just to have someone using those needles.

Did I take a photo of the stuffed envelope I sent???

No!!!  :o((

Oh, well... It went out in Wednesday's mail, so she should have had it by Saturday.

And on Saturday...

These were left on our front porch...

The package...

Was from Zazzle.  It was an order I placed last week (in a moment of weakness.)  I got a magnet for the mini fridge in the studio library...

... And for my "quilt pin holder" (which is still somewhere in a box from the move), I got a button that is currently being housed on my bulletin board:

I just couldn't resist some fun Project QUILTING "swag"!!

The box came from...

Julie @ JulieKQuilts.  She was having a fundraiser on her blog to benefit Ukraine.  (She still has one antique quilt top left.  Go look!)  Many of her items had been sold, but a stack of magazines remained.  Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for a influx of quilt magazines.  It's nearly as bad as my scrap addiction desire to collect fabric scraps!  The box arrived quickly.

What was in the box, Joyful???

Well, there was a lovely pink fabric rolled up to "fill out the box", along with...

The stack of magazines that I was expecting:

But, WAIT!!!

There was MORE fabric to "fill out" the bottom of the box:

That blue fabric was included in the Ukraine flag heart coasters that Julie just made for her nurse friends.  You can see one of them in the final photo of THIS POST:

She also enclosed a beautiful Spring-themed card:

Here's what Julie had to say:

Thanks, Julie!  I really LOVE the way you "pad" a box!  I also appreciate the fact that you allowed me a chance to help support Ukraine in a small way.

Until next time...

STITCH for peace!!!