The Guest Blogger(s) - Vol. 15 - Jane from Australia

Welcome to another edition of The Guest Blogger(s)!!  I got an email from Jane the other day.  In the midst of all that's going on here, I neglected to post it on time.  She wrote to share her June 2021 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge entry.

Check it out...

Hi Joy,

You and your team are doing so very well with the quilts for Lutheran Relief. Well done.

My runner for June has a funny background. A while ago I was thinking of a runner with poppies for Remembrance Day. I started with some rather large poppies, maybe 6”, and lots of much smaller crumbs. 

As the pieces came together I felt the size of the poppies overwhelmed the size of the runner. 

But what about a quilt? Hmm?

Yes, I was off chasing a Bilby, which is our version of a squirrel in Australia.

The quilt top was duly finished, I loved it, and finally got around to quilting it. But still no runner.  I then used much smaller pieces of the poppy fabric as a second version and have now finally finished my June runner.

As all the fabrics are floral fragments I have named the quilt and the runner Potpourri.

Thanks Joy for once again posting my runner for me. Jane

(Sorry I don’t know how to include smaller pictures )

Thank you, Jane!!  When asked if she used a pattern for her runner, she explained the following:

No I didn’t use a pattern at all, but I do a l.o.t of crumb piecing and have become a bit of a dab hand at it. I just start joining the smallest pieces together, trim one side straight and add another piece. Sometimes I have a size idea and make blocks to that size.
Maybe I’ll find a pic or 2 of a couple of my crumb quilts for you.
Jane

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

Link Party Reminder...

The June 2021 TABLE SCRAPS Link Party will be open this weekend with extended hours!!  Friday, June 26th @ 12:01 AM - MONDAY, June 28th @ 11:59 PM.  I'm hoping that YOU will join us.

Until next time...

Run(ner) off those empty tables!!

Wonderful Wednesday - Top 100 Quilting Blogs You Must Follow in 2021?!?!

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Have YOU seen this list?  I'm awestruck.  I have no idea how this happened or if it actually means anything.  (Rest assured, I did NOT nominate myself!)

Here's the email I received and nearly deleted without reading:

Hi There,

My name is Anuj Agarwal, I'm the Founder of Feedspot.

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog The Joyful Quilter has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Quilting Blogs on the web.

https://blog.feedspot.com/quilt_blogs/

I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Quilting Blogs on the internet and I'm honored to have you as part of this!

We'd be grateful if you can help us spread the word by briefly mentioning about the Top 100 Quilting Blogs list in any of your upcoming post.

Please let me know.

Best,
Anuj

PS: Upgrade to Feedspot Pro to add an additional 100 character description for your blog and brand in the list.

Once I actually read the email, I was curious about the list.  I played it safe and DID NOT click on any of the links in the email!!!  Instead, I googled the list, clicked over, and started scrolling.

Imagine my surprise...

... When I got halfway down the list, which reads like a who's who of movers and shakers in the quilt world, I was shocked at what I saw:

While it might just be a marketing ploy, I certainly was pleased to be placed in such good company!  I'm number 41 on the list right beneath Christina Cameli.

What?!?!  How is that even possible???  

That prompted me to follow a path to see if what additional information could be found:

Thank you to my awesome readers, for choosing my blog as a place that you like to hang out.  I'm honored that you spend a portion of your day reading what I have to say.  (I'm still not quite sure what to make of the list.)

Until next time...

Color me AMAZED!!!

Mail Call Monday - Oops! It'sTuesday - Oh, Gifty Day!

Welcome the late edition of Mail Call Monday!!  Yes. I do realize that it's no longer Monday.  I was busy quilting and completely forgot that I had a post to finish.

What was in the mail last week, Joyful???

First...

A gift to myself:

A gorgeous new book... Scrap School:

Next...

My H2H gift arrived from Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict:

I received two magazines from Missouri Star Quilt Company:

Thank you to Sarah and her wonderful sponsors!!

And, last, but not least...

A rather large box from Mari @ The Academic Quilter:

Hmm... What's under this wooden lid???

This beautiful card...

With this hand written note:

Look at the sweet little Longaberger baskets:

She even included some fun PURPLE fabrics in honor of this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge:

The main item in the box was this lovely Longaberger Envelope basket:

Thanks SEW much for thinking of me, Mari!  I'm glad you remember that I was a Longaberger collector.  My collection didn't include these three baskets, but now it does.  :o))

Until next time...

Hooray for happy mail!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Quilt Top #20!!!

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  Last weekend, Britt and I enjoyed a Sew Day.  We began the day with donation quilt tasks.  Our focus was the Lutheran World Relief quilts in our queue.

Augmented with fabrics from her stash, Britt used a selection of fabric squares provided by Nann @ With Strings Attached to make this fun set of blocks:

Once the top was all laid out on my design floor...

Assembly went quickly and by the end of the day Quilt Top # TWENTY was ready for its big reveal!!!

Here is a shadowed inside photo:

And...

... An outside in better light:

Thank you to Britt and Nann for providing the labor and materials for the making of this lovely quilt top!  It went back home with Britt for a ride on the rails of her longarm during the next break in her schedule.

The LWR project is still chugging along.  Additional tops are in the works.  Hopefully, those will come rolling in by summer's end and we can get our stack of completed quilts off to the organization.

Until next time...

SEW some love!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC21 - Week 25

Welcome to Week 25 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I'm here to share my PURPLE sewing for the past seven days.

Yep.  That's as close as I came to doing any PURPLE sewing for the RSC!!  Keep reading to see what else kept me busy this week...

SUNDAY - Sew Some Love Sunday

This afternoon, we were off to an outdoor graduation party at a local park.  Congratulations, E!!

MONDAY - This morning was consumed by paperwork and the afternoon was eaten up by an appointment.  I did manage to get a quilt back loaded on the longarm.  No photo, though.

TUESDAY - Tidy Up Tuesday

More paperwork to catch up on and a trip to the airport and back this afternoon.  DS2 had a flight to catch.

While I was waiting for the traveler to finish packing, I loaded this quilt top on the frame:

WEDNESDAY - Wonderful Wednesday

My Zoom call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color occupied my afternoon:

THURSDAY - Although (weather-wise) an outdoor meeting might have worked, my Weekly Quilt Group met online today for ZoomBEE, as our hostess had just returned from vacation:

I (finally) got started on this beautiful quilt for my Quilting Swap with my good friend Needleb:

FRIDAY - Design Floor Friday

These ZoomKNIT friends enjoyed today's gathering...

... But I forgot to take another photo when Pat joined the meeting.  :o((

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.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!!

Design Floor Friday - Nature's Progress

Welcome to another edition of Design Floor Friday!!  You will never believe what I did this past weekend.  I completed the top of a baby quilt the very week that baby was born!  Remarkable, right?

Have a look...

I shared a sneak peek on Wednesday, but after cutting some components:

The remainder of the blocks for the border...

... Of my great nephew's baby quilt were pieced on Saturday:

I planned for the "spacer" to be between the panel and the geese, but it looked better as an outer border:

I'm pleased to present the completed top of Nature, Baby! 

Now, I just need to add the borders to Rainbow, Baby! and get them both quilted and mailed off to those sweet babies (before their first birthdays.)

Until next time...

Progress is SEW good!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - Lemonade

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Would you believe that Sew/Craft Friends-zy was canceled this month?  At the last minute, no less!  :o((

What's a quilter to do???

 

I don't know what YOU would have done, but I decided to make lemonade!!  Well, what I mean is that I still needed a Sew Day.  Needleb and I had been looking forward to the trip to Raleigh.  Knittingsuek was even planning to attend!

Unfortunately...

Something else came up at the last minute.  Tiffany was out of town.  Denise accidentally made other plans and Lois had her grandkids for the day.  When Lisa ended up deciding not to attend, that's when we opted for Plan B.

How did that work out, Joyful???

Fairly well, thanks!  After weighing the options, Needleb decided to come sew at my house. That's how I ended up dragging half my studio downstairs for the day.  Well, maybe not really half.  It was more like a quarter of the room.  :P

But, you know what???

It was SEW worth it to have Needleb here!  We both made lots of good progress and thoroughly enjoy each other's company:

First, we worked on donation projects for Lutheran World Relief...

A new quilt top (which will be revealed on Sunday) for her:

And binding a quilt (revealed this past Sunday) for me:

Then...

We each made progress on the Quilt Swap that we are doing:

Since her donation project was more involved...

I was also able to make progress on a UFO:

You'll have to come back Friday to find out more about that, though.  Trust me!  It will be worth the wait.

Until next time...

Be SEW flexible!!!