Design Floor Friday - Challenged {Again!}

Welcome to another installment of Design Floor Friday!!  This week, we find my "Challenged" Quilt in a different form.  The plan has solidified and now decisions must be made regarding color disbursement.


Would YOU like to take a look at the choices?


Sure, Joyful.  Bring them on!


Option One (which DS1 said resembled a box of fancy chocolates) seems to call for an addition "layer" of color, be it purple or brown:

Option Two brought the purples together, but placed the gold/brown sections in a repeating arrangement at either end on the quilt:

Option Three placed both browns by the purple (leaving the golds on the ends):

Option Four changes the color placement once again (with the browns on either end):

What do YOU think?!  Do you have a favorite?  PLEASE share it by posting a comment!!

I'm looking for suggestions of which layout appears to work best for a modern aesthetic.  (Not necessarily block placement, but background color flow.)  I have an idea, but I'm not willing to commit to it at the moment.  I will say this much, when DH walked by he said that it looked like a Modern Quilt.  (He also threw in, "and not like one of your quilts AT ALL.")


My response???


"PERFECT!!  That's JUST what I was going for!!"


SEW...


I feel like I'm on the right track.  The goal of the Paint Chip Challenge portion of this project (besides using the colors of the color cards drawn from the bag) was to use a technique that you haven't used before.

That particular requirement took some serious thought because I've been quilting for a LONG time and I have tried a GREAT NUMBER of techniques along the way!


MODERN.


That opens a whole can of worms, but I'll leave it at this...  In all of my years of quilting, I have NEVER before set out to make a Modern style quilt.




Until next time...
Step outside your comfort zone!!!




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general impressions
1 choppy
2 out of balance
3 open and airy
4 seems to leave the quilt feeling a bit boxed in
interesting... the art bee unnanimously voted for option three

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC15 - Week 23

Welcome to Week 23 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  It's been another busy week.  I'm REALLY beginning to wonder if there is any other kind!!

SUNDAY was spent in the car.  Hour after hour (after HOUR)!!!  It's a LONG way from Florida back to North Carolina.  We didn't get home until midnight.  :o((

Back to work on MONDAY... an extra long split shift.  (With my FIRST chiropractic appointment in between.)  I found myself feeling a little out of sorts and looking forward to 5:30.  I made sure to make it an EARLY night!!

By TUESDAY afternoon, I was ready to spend a little time in the studio.  I started by cleaning up the rest of the GREEN and pulling out the bag of LIGHT BLUE that I collected as we were sewing DARK BLUE back in January.

I will, once again, be using a variety of BLUE fabric this month:

WEDNESDAY, before dinner, I actually SEWED... until I was too hungry to sew anymore!  I got a good start on the beginnings of one Maverick Star Block:

And... you know it's time to stop for the night when...


... the 2.5 LIGHT BLUE String Blocks that you made look like THIS:

Can YOU spot the problem with that center block???  Looks like I lined up the WRONG line on the ruler when trimming this block down to size...  Oops!!!

That's OK. I've already cut it into 4 to make the centers of some Maverick Stars. :o))

On THURSDAY, I worked a LONG day at one job and followed it up with working my evening job, too.  Can you say TIRED???  That's what I was at day's end.

FRIDAY was a half day for work, followed by my 2nd ever chiropractic appointment.  Today's visit was less traumatic than Monday's.  Apparently, doing my "prescribed" stretches cuts down on the number of visits needed to correct "diagnosed" problems. :o))

When I got home, I spent a few minutes of quality time with my sewing machine.  Here's what we accomplished...  ONE Slab Block and ONE Tiny Nine:

And... Before dinner, I went back up to assemble ONE Maverick Star Block that I prepped earlier:

SATURDAY began WAY earlier that I would have liked, but after getting DS2 off to take his SAT Subject Tests, I finished up this post and joined the LINK Party over at So Scrappy blog.  Be sure to click over to see what all of the other RSC Quilters have been working on during this first week of LIGHT BLUE.  (Since I was up with the chicken this morning...)  Look for me at link number FIVE (5) while you're there!

I'm heading up to the studio to start on a NEW project today, so my RSC sewing will be put on hold for the day.  Don't worry!  I'll get back to my Rainbow projects tomorrow.

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Design Floor Friday - Challenged

Welcome to another edition of Design Floor Friday!!  I've got an Art Bee meeting coming up tomorrow and it was requested that we bring any progress on our Strip Insertion Challenge quilts.

This is a problem because...

 I haven't really made any progress!!

Until now...

Therefore, that project is the one that occupies the design floor today:

You can see my color cards for the Guild's Paint Chip Challenge in the lower right.  I'm combining the two challenges into ONE quilt.  While that is a challenge in itself, I'm also trying to make it MODERN... a technique that I have very little (read NO) experience in designing.

Here's a reminder of where my entry seemed to be going originally, a scattered "waterfall" effect over the surface of the quilt:

It appears to want to be BIGGER and BOLDER than I originally thought.  I've sketched out some ideas and THIS will be my submission at tomorrow's meeting:

The first design is (loosely) based on my friend Candy's recent Convergence Quilt (which was inspired by Ricky Tims' book on that technique):





The second design was inspired by Angela at SoScrappy blog.  Her blog is filled with MANY wonderful quilts and she used this background technique on her 2014 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilt.  Click to see the quilt.  It gives a TOTALLY modern feel to a sampler quilt!

I have another idea, but didn't draw it out for you (or me!)  As you well know, the completed quilt may end up looking COMPLETELY different, anyway!!  Such is the nature of designing a quilt of one's own, as opposed to using a commercial pattern for a quilt.  At least, that's how it works for me!!

:o))

Until next time...
Be creative!!!

Scraphappy Saturday - RSC15 - Week 22

Welcome to Week 22 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!!  This week is not a typical week for me.  Memorial Day holiday may have added some sewing time, but along about Wednesday, RSC production ended for the week.  Alas, also for the month.

Here's the overview of the week:

SUNDAY morning came and went.  I was feeling a bit lazy, so instead of making the trip up to the studio, I started this post and visited all of the lovely bloggers who joined last week's RSC Link Party.  Later, instead of heading out to the grocery store, I made ONE Slab Block:

MONDAY (in America) we celebrated Memorial Day.  Thank you to all who gave their lives in the name freedom and patriotism.  I took advantage of my day off (schools and offices are closed)  by sleeping late and meeting a friend for lunch.  I also remembered that I had neglected to post the fabric "basket" that I made on Sunday:

TUESDAY, after work, I packed my suitcase for tomorrow's trip... and finished up the embellishment on a couple of quilts:

Shown with the fabric "baskets" that I made over the Memorial holiday weekend.

WEDNESDAY, after work, the family and I left for Florida.  Watch out, Angela!  Here we come!!!

Oops!!  While we were traveling, Angela made the Color Announcement for June.  (As usual) I totally missed it!!

On THURSDAY morning, we woke up in South Georgia, headed for the east coast of Florida, but by the afternoon I realized that we were on the WRONG coast!!  We'll just have to visit with friends and family (and spare ScrapHappy the trouble of cleaning up for guests.)  :P

FRIDAY dawned to find a FREE day.  If you discount the tour of USF and taking the boys go-cart racing at one of the only indoor tracks in the area!  (Let's not forget the boardwalk hike in the swampy park that we squeezed in between lunch and the races.)  We were supposed to go rock climbing at one of the only rock climbing gyms in the ENTIRE state of FLORIDA, but we were all too tired after our racing experience.  Who KNEW that carting was SO exhausting!!

Some of my favorite shots from our FREE day in TAMPA:

 A potted bougainvillea on the campus of USF.

A walk along the boardwalk through Lettuce Leaf Park.

So glad that the gator is sleeping on a log (instead of trying to eat us!)

There was even GREEN at the indoor go-cart track! (The GREEN track was the FAST track.)

Relaxing in the GREEN-tinged water of the hot tub.  It was late in the evening and our feet could barely carry us another step. Ahhhhh!!!

On SATURDAY morning, I woke I thinking that there was something that I needed to do.  Guess what??  It didn't take me long to figure out that it was RSC Day!!.  While the RSC Quilters were busy linking-up with Angela, I was busy getting ready for a party.  My day will be spent with extended family at a 50th wedding anniversary.  Congrats! Grammy & Grandpa O.

Here is the inventory of GREEN month's block production:

FOUR (4) Maverick Star Blocks:

EIGHT (8) Slab Blocks:

NINE (9) String Blocks:

TWENTY-ONE (21) Tiny Nines:

For a total of FORTY-TWO (42) GREEN blocks during the month of May.

And... a fair amount of trimmings, too:

Let's not forget the monthly composite photo:

I'm ready for BLUE and LINKing up, too!!  Head over to see what other GREEN wonders await with all of the other RSC Quilters.  COOL!!!  You'll find me at link number 22 for Week 22 of the RSC.

:o))

Hope you don't might that I tallied up the month a couple of days early. I knew there wouldn't be time when I got home from this trip.  Another busy week is just around the corner.  Are YOU feeling BLUE???

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

May = GREEN = Productivity

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC15 - Week 21

Welcome to Week 21 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!!

This week got off to a great start (even though I didn't have much time for sewing.)

SUNDAY came and went in a blur.  Angela posted another TUTORIAL for the 2015 Sampler - Green Block 2 - Split Pinwheel.  If you haven't made one, follow the link and give it a try!  No time for that for me today... I spent all afternoon gathering items to take to Quilt Guild tomorrow night.

Why, Joyful???

Because our Quilt Bee IS the program!!!

Gathering, checking, packing...

MONDAY, I obviously had no time for RSC sewing.  (See Sunday's entry.)  Here we are on stage preparing to begin our presentation:

TUESDAY afternoon, between work and MORE work, I trimmed a few GREEN scraps.  Significant, but not photo worthy.  When I got home, I thought that I would sort the scraps that were gifted to me last week, but the bag was DOWNSTAIRS and I was UP... so I did some RSC sewing instead!!

I finished ONE String Block:

And ONE Slab Block:

WEDNESDAY was filled with work.  For a paycheck and for personal satisfaction (or because the quilters are coming over tomorrow!) :P


THURSDAY morning, I hosted my weekly quilt group.  I have a love/hate relationship with my turn to host.  I love having my friends over, but I hate the feeling of my home not being as neat as my fellow quilters' homes.  They CLAIM not to feel that way, but I have 2 teen aged boys and 2 part time jobs, so it's hard for me to make housekeeping a priority.

After lunch, I put away my Show and Tell then putzed around in the studio.  I trimmed and sorted some GREEN scraps, then I prepped some Tiny Nines... NINE of them, to be exact.  LOL

Before heading off to DS2's Spring band concert, I...  have NO idea what took up my time, but I can tell you that it wasn't RSC sewing!!!


On FRIDAY, I was gone all morning.  I love Knit Group, but it cuts into my QUILTING time.

When I got home, there was "paperwork" to be done before heading out to dinner with the guys and more of the same until bed time.  Although, I did manage to take a quick photo of the trimmings that I took care of on Tuesday afternoon:

Look for that bottom fabric in tomorrow's entry!

SATURDAY morning I happily snoozed, with no alarm to wake me.  The afternoon was spent quilting with a friend.  I tackled a few different projects, starting with some straightening up to give Needleb a place to sew.

Next, I moved on to a bit of cutting.  The prep work that I did earlier in the week didn't include any white background squares.  After cutting the 36 squares that I needed, I sewed the NINE Tiny Nines that were shown laid out on Thursday:

LOOK!!  Needleb liked my Tiny Nines so much that she is making her own:

I also finished up ONE Maverick Star block:

Then I worked on a batch of fabric "baskets" for storing additional scraps.  Pinning and sewing:

Presto - chango!  Turning it right-side out:

ONE "basket" for PINK scraps:

The baskets begin like THIS:

And ONE "basket" for Multi-colored prints:

After completing TWO of the fabric baskets and dinner, I set about finishing this post.  Follow this LINK to see what all of the other RSC Quilters have been up to.  You'll find me at link number 27 this week.  Go on!  What are you waiting for?  They've got some REALLY great projects!!!

I took longer than expected working on this post, so...  the third basket didn't get put together...   Oh, well...  Tomorrow is another day!

Angela reminded us that there is still ONE more week of GREEN sewing remaining.  Unfortunately, I only have HALF of the week to work on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects.  Don't worry!  I'll still try to check in with you all, though.

Oh!!  Did you spot that trimmed scrap???  I've already put it to use.  It was just the right size for the center of this week's Maverick Star block!!!  See!?!?  I told you those trimmed squares would come in handy for future sewing projects.  I just didn't realize I would be using it so soon!  :o))

ETA... Thank you to Carol at Quilted Fabric Art for reminding me that I neglected to credit my source for the fabric baskets!!  Several years ago, I came across the Fabric Basket Tutorial found at sometimecrafter.com to create my scrap storage containers.  There is one BIG difference!!!  I don't use interfacing or batting in my baskets... they are stuffed with fabric, anyway (and I wanted to be able to fold them up when I use up all of the scraps!)  Plus, I prefer the soft-sided look.

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Design Floor Friday - Return of the Travelers

This is not your average Design Floor Friday post.  If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you may be aware that 8 of my quilts went on field trip at the end of 2014.  That trip was extended through the end of March and the quilts were returned to me sometime in April.

You may also recall that, during the month of April, those travelers were the LAST thing on my mind!  (THREE commission quilts due by the first week of May!!)  I have NOT forgotten that I promised to post pictures once they returned home.  (I just didn't remember until the dust settled on the last BIG thing... Monday night's Quilt Guild presentation - Follow this LINK.)

Here, in all their glory...  The Travelers Return:

Zentangle

Original Design

10.75 x 15

(Can be hung from any side.)

Visit the King... aka... Remnants
Quilted by Jan Struble

11.25 x 11.25
(Award winning miniature quilt made with a Traditional Pattern, using an original setting.)

Blue and Yellow Woven

Original Design

10.5 x 12.5
(Made using commercial fabrics and free-form weaving techniques.)

Flying to the Candy Dish

Original Design

8 x 10

(Machine appliqued with personally hand-dyed and commercial fabrics.)

Fractured Friendship (Stars)

8 x 10
(Original Design created from a Traditional Pattern)

At Loose Ends

Original Design

8 x 10

(Made using machine couched, commercially available yarn.)

Autumn Tread Play

Original Design

8 x 10

(Machine quilting on commercial fabrics.)

Shades of Patriotism

Original Design

14.5 x 9.5

(Machine quilting on personally hand-dyed fabrics.)

These items were available for sale, but most were listed at premium pricing.  I wasn't sure if I was ready to part with them.  If you see one that you would like to purchase, please contact me.