Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Wonderful Wednesday - Winter 2021 (Ravelry) UFO Club Finish


Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Welcome to a celebration of my first completed UFO quilt of the year.  This adventure started many months ago.  Way back in August of 2019...

My "middle namesake" niece announced that she would be getting married April 2020.  We texted back and forth about if she might like a quilt for her wedding gift.  YES, please!!  Then we texted back and forth about what kind of quilt they would like.  Discussions of colors and patterns ensued, along with some inspiration photos.

About that wedding date...

We all know THAT didn't happen!  Then, there was a card that said same venue, different date.  Unfortunately, August 2020 still wasn't safe for a large gathering. Thank you, Covid.  :o((

Fast forward to the card stating all further updates would be noted on the couple's website.  Save the date for April 2021, third time's a charm!  That remains to be seen, but here's hoping.

This post is about the making of my niece's wedding quilt...

She had sent some photos of quilts that she and her fiance found appealing.  I was inspired by the photo of the Riptide quilt by Kelly Young @ My Quilt Infatuation.

A fabric shopping trip in October 2019 found me on a mission...

I was on the hunt to find fabric for a blue and green quilt with a Shenandoah Mountain/Modern vibe.  My niece asked for "floral/natural patterns that have good flow and geometric patterns to add pop."  It was a tall order, but the Warehouse Sale @ Pineapple Fabrics offered a selection of fabric that even a Bridezilla would love - which my niece is NOT!!  Just LOOK at these lovely fabrics:


I cut out a lot of the fabric at Friday Night Sew-In... the first (and last) event of 2020, as there was snow the day of the February meeting:


The bulk of the HST sewing was done leader/ender style throughout the Covid Lockdown period during the Spring of 2020:


The quilt top was arranged with the help of the design wall at G's Quilt and Craft Retreat in Hillsborough, NC during the Bee Sew/ Crafty Quilt Retreat 2 in October 2020:


Sometime between October and December, I assembled the top, then loaded the quilt on Christmas afternoon, just to get the ball rolling:


As a gift to myself, I finished the quilting that night, simply to have one more task marked off my To Do List:



Fast forward to February 2021...

I was looking for the "low hanging fruit" project for this month's (Virtual) Sew Day.  The binding was cut and sewn together...


All that needed to be done was press it in half...


... And apply it during the meeting.  I stitched it to the front for a hand finished binding:


The last couple of weeks, I stitched it down during my various Zoom meetings:



I am pleased to present my niece's completed wedding quilt:



Best of luck to the happy couple!  I hope this quilt turned out exactly like they thought it might:



Join me in a happy dance, won't you?  This is my 1st finish of the Winter 2021 (Ravelry) UFO Club.  I am SEW relieved.

Sharing with Kelly
for

and

With Alycia
for


Until next time...
Whew!!
Posted by at 18 comments:
Labels: , ,

Show Your Stripes Blog Hop - Day 3 - My STOP!!


Welcome to The Joyful Quilter!!  I'm SEW glad YOU are visiting my blog.  Perhaps, you have been here before.  If so, welcome back!  If you are new here, please heed the following notice.

WARNING:  Make sure you read the post through to the end.

Today is my STOP on the Show Your Stripes Blog Hop hosted by Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks.  This post is filled with stripy goodness.



The Challenge: 

Add a stripe, or two, or three to your project.
It can be striped fabric, striped binding (a favorite of mine), or strips of fabric to make stripes.
It's your interpretation of a striped project.  
Anything with a stripe.  You decide.
Just "Show Your Stripes!"


Carla offered some great suggestions...

I started getting in a stripe-y mood by adding a black and white stripe to my PQ 12.1 entry (just after finding out about the Blog Hop) last month:



This month...

It was time to get serious about the potential UFO finish for the Hop.  I ran through my list of options and chose to work on completing my niece's wedding quilt:



I was planning to bind it in a fun striped fabric, so it totally counts:




This week, it was time to make an actual Blog Hop project...

Thanks to a scrap infusion from Selina @ Selina Quilts, I also made a fun little last-minute striped project for the Hop:


I quilted it with lines sewn one-quarter inch apart and finished it with a fun swoop in the center: 


While the little quilted panel COULD have served as a small mug rug, I thought that it would make a darling pin cushion:


Stuffing was provided by Needleb, as she had barely dipped into her half of the last bag of crushed walnut shells we split:


Thanks, B!!  I was SEW happy not to have to brave the cold (and the pet store) in order to finish off this project:



What about a prize drawing, Joyful???

If you've visited during a prior Blog Hop, you know that when I participate, I also host a GIVEAWAY.  Today's prize is NOT this particular pin cushion, but it can be made with STRIPES!!!


Would YOU like to WIN a pin cushion very much like this one??


This one is mine, due to the technical difficulties experienced when filling it.  I forgot to use a funnel.  Yuck!  This sweet stripe-y pin cushion got dirty from the walnut shell dust:



Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite stripe looks like and Mr. Random will pick a winner on Sunday, February 28th @ 9 PM.  I'll make a new pin cushion in the color of your choice.  Good luck!!!

Sorry!!  This giveaway is CLOSED!!!

Have fun visiting the other participating bloggers on the Hop.  There are SEW many cute projects to see!  I'm going to be busy finishing my entry for the February 2021 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge and Link Party this weekend.  Once that's done, I'll check in with the others later today.

Sharing with Cynthia
for
Oh Scrap! (on Sunday)

and

Whooping it up with Sarah
@
Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Until next time...
Show YOUR stripes!!!


Posted by at 49 comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

{Tidy Up Tuesday and...} The Guest Blogger(s) - Vol. 5 - Jane from Australia


Welcome to another installment in the Guest Blogger series!!  I was just thinking about Jane yesterday, but didn't have time to pop out an email.  What did I find in my inbox this morning?

February's TABLE SCRAPS Challenge entry from Jane, who had the following to say about her project...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....I attended an appliqué class with Lois French, somewhere in Sydney at a needlework shop. Unfortunately that is as much as I can remember.
Well, I finished the hearts appliqué and was very pleased with it, but never actually did anything further with it:



Luckily I did put some of the leftover fabrics away together with the piece.
Joy’s challenge moved me to make the runner, which is machine pieced and hand quilted with big stitch and perle cotton, still not sure if I need more quilting around ‘February’:



The date is marked with a moveable gold ring.
With thanks Joy,
Jane


Thank you for sharing your lovely table runner with my readers, Jane!  I am SEW pleased to be able to post your project on my blog and will happily add it to the Table Scraps Link Party at the end of the week.


Share the quilty love for Jane's project in the comments below.  I know you enjoyed seeing her table runner as much as I did!  Thank you, again, Jane. 


Link Party Reminder...

For your convenience, February's TABLE SCRAPS Link Party will be open from 12:01 AM on Friday, February 26th - 11:59 PM on Sunday, February 28 (EST).  I'm SEW looking forward to seeing what everyone has made with their "table scraps."  Please join us THIS WEEKEND for the Link-up.  Remember readers, if YOU have a Table Scraps project to share, but no blog to share it on, drop me an email with photos and the story of your entry.

Until next time...
Run(er) off those empty tables!!!

Posted by at 11 comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, February 21, 2021

{Not so...} Mini Monday - SAHRR - Round 5

 

Welcome to Round FIVE of the Stay at Home Round Robin!!  This week's prompt was offered by Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life.  Her selection??  Wonky Stars.  I'm a fan of those, but I'm not sure how to make them fit in my slowly expanding quilt.

But first...

Let's see if I was able to stay caught up with the other SAHRR makers.

I actually did make some progress...

On Round 5.  I made ONE Wonky Star:


And then another:


That one was followed by its twin:



One more block rounded out the row:


How will you arrange those Wonky Stars, Joyful???

I'm glad you asked!  Needleb had an interesting suggestion.  Half stars like the Feathered Star.  (I actually had a dream about it that night and drew out a crown-like Wonky Star the next morning!)  My friend Maggie suggested the partial stars could be dancing in different directions.  I tried an on-point setting with full blocks, but that didn't feel right and also auditioned the half blocks that my friends suggested.  In the end,  this is what worked best:


I wasn't sure if it would happen, but...

I stayed caught up on my Stay at Home Round Robin (so I released this post a little early, again so I wouldn't miss the Link Party @ Wendy's blog!)  Here it is in its current completed five-"round" state:


Just in time to check out the Round 6 prompt from Susan @ Quilt Fabrication.

Until next time...
QUILT a round!!
Posted by at 9 comments:
Labels:

Project QUILTING - Season 12 - Challenge 4

Snail's Trail



This week's Project QUILTING challenge is the fourth for the season and the fourth that I've come up with a way to participate.  The challenge was released on Sunday afternoon.

By the time I finished reading the prompt, I had this week's design concept in mind and later got it down on paper fabric:


Will you come alongside me in this creative journey?  It's a wild ride, but oh SEW rewarding!  I'm dragging my friend LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color along this season.  She ROCKED the third challenge!  You can see it HERE.


Challenges are given and start to finish you have ONE WEEK to complete your project.  PQ 12.4 can be found at this LINK.


Step One...

Read the instructions to see what is required of the forth challenge.  Here's what Trish had to say:

This week, let’s do a block-based challenge. I’d like you all to explore the very traditional snail’s trail quilt block.

It’s a block with a simple start: a humble four-patch block. Then you add a lot of movement and drama with just a few triangles. You can complete it in two fabrics, or add a whole bunch. Use it alone or try it in tandem with other blocks.

Plus, it’s a block that always looks harder than it is – which is a fun way to make quilts!

I like to start by checking to see what quilt historian Barbara Brackman has to say about a traditional block and its evolution. (link: http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2011/08/snails-trail.html)

But that’s just a start. I can’t wait to see where you take this challenge: What does this shape stir up in your imagination?

Step Two...

When I finally read the rules for this challenge, I focused on the words INSPIRED BY.

Why, Joyful???

Well, I just happen to have had an idea right when I read the challenge title.  My idea WAS inspired by the Snail's Trail block, but it didn't (really) include an actual Snail's Trail block.

Step Three...

Gather supplies:




Step Four...

Review the rules:

RULE 1:

Your project must be inspired by the snail’s trail quilt block.

RULE 2:

You have one week to meet the challenge. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline – that is, started on or after February 14, 2021, and posted by noon Central February 21st, 2021. Please only link up ONE completed project. It’s awesome if you make more than one but choose just ONE to link up below.

RULE 3:

Each piece must stand alone as DONE to count toward prizes.

RULE 4:

Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these requirements: include patchwork, include appliqué, have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine.

RULE 5:

Incomplete or unfinished does not qualify. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline.

RULE 6:

To qualify to win prizes, link up at the bottom of THIS PAGE by Sunday, February 21st at noon CST (here’s a link to time zone converter to calculate for Central Standard Time: www.thetimezoneconverter.com)

  • Add to the linky the URL of your project’s blog post, public instagram picture, or public facebook posting.  This post – How to Link Up a Link Up may help  you. Please only link up ONE time!
  • Alternately, by 11:45 am on Sunday, February 21st you may email a picture and description to {lapaceksorchard@gmail.com} with PROJECT QUILTING in the subject line. Yes – that deadline is earlier because it requires more work for Kim.
Step Five... PLAY!!!

My glimmer of an idea needed some expansion.  And a firm design plan.  Or did it???



Here is an in-depth look at the construction process...


(Scroll down to the bottom of the post NOW, if you don't have time to basically watch me make my quilt.)


I started out with a stack of fabric out of the recent scrap infusion from Selina @ Selina Quilts sent:



I grabbed the "snail-ish" scrap and made a 4-Patch for the center of my design, but neglected to take a photo at that stage of the game:


After that, I laid down some scraps to continue the "trail"...


... And my trusty new Karen K. Buckley scissors (Thank you, Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt!) came out to play:




Ultimately...

I ended up with this quilt top, which I quilted through batting during the applique process.  The thread tails still need to be buried:




Once that was done, I was ready to choose a backing from my large chunk scrap bin and not too far down, I found this square that didn't end out working in my Rainbow Picnic Sew-Along quilt - way back in the summer of 2017:


 
With 24 hours remaining until the deadline, I still needed to make, apply and stitch down the binding (made from more of Selina's scraps):



Just less than 23 hours until the deadline, I present my completed entry for PQ 12.4, displayed on the Gallery Wire in my studio:


7.5" x 8.5"


There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...

... And this time, it's because Project QUILTING has become a habit.  I wasn't thrilled about a traditional block being the prompt for this week's challenge, but I wasn't ready to give up on participation!  I found a way to make the prompt work for me by using free form cutting and raw-edge applique.


There you have it...

Process, product, and the REAL reason for accepting this Challenge.

Follow THIS LINK to the Season 12 overview.  Check back on the Challenge release days (or sign-up to be notified automatically) and there may be one that YOU just can't resist.

It's a SHORT turnaround time!

Depending on the size and complexity of your project, that doesn't HAVE to be insurmountable.  With a little creativity and a few evenings, you really CAN do this!  (The design for...) My project was begun shortly after the prompt was announce but was finished with less than 24 hours until the deadline.

Until next time...
Challenge accepted!!!


Remember:  If I can do this, YOU can do it, too!

(Plus, there's a spot to post your completed Project QUILTING inspired projects AFTER the deadline for any of the challenges.)
Posted by at 13 comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)