Sew Some Love Sunday (Monday?) - H2H 2020 Edition

Welcome to the H2H 2020 edition of Some Some Love Sunday!  I'm here to share information concerning this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Charity Challenge.

This is my 2nd year of joining in Sarah's Challenge.  It is a wonderful event which has served nearly 2400 people over the past 9 years.

How can I help, Joyful???

Sign-ups began on Sunday, March 22nd.  YOU will want to sign-up  by Saturday, March 28th to be eligible for the sign-up giveaway!!!  (Prizes will be awarded on Sunday, March 29th.)

Where do these quilt go, Joyful???

Sarah has lined up six primary recipients for this year's Quilt Drive.  If you follow the link provided at the top of the page and scroll down past the stats, you will see a list of the following organizations who will be getting the bulk of the quilts made:

1.  Quilts of Compassion
2.  Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo
3.  Caregivers Quilt Initiative
4.  Mercyful Quilts
5.  Quilts for Cure
6.  Little Lambs Foundation

Each of those organizations have their own list of requirements for the quilts they hope to receive.  You will choose based on the quilt size and style that you prefer to make.

Watch for the following updates:

4/26 - Progress Check-In Post
5/17 - Progress Check-In Post
5/31 - Finished Quilt Link-up Post

This is quick to make.  I used Sarah's pattern for a quilt to donate to Little Lou Quilts earlier this month:

I hope that you will consider joining in this special event.  It's SEW much fun and does a world of good.

Until next time...
Quilt to GIVE!!!

Project QUILTING - Season 11 - Challenge 11.6

Vibrant and Vivacious


Here we are.  The FINAL challenge for Season 11 of Project QUILTING!!  It's been a fun exercise in creativity and speedy sewing.  Thank you to Kim and Trish for offering this to their quilting public.

Challenge 11.6 did it, again!  The stars aligned and something I had JUST seen on the internet (and wanted desperately to try) managed to meet the criteria for this week's prompt.

Care to explain, Joyful?

Well, I typically spend Sunday mornings following the links on Cynthia's Oh Scrap! link-up.  This week, Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal linked up with another of her wonderful faux trapunto quilts.  It looked like a fun technique and I reallyreallyreally wanted to give it a try!  Sprinkle in some BRIGHT colors and you've got the recipe for an awesome quilt.

What to SAY...

Hmm... That might take some thought.  Or, would it?  I think I have an idea.  Now, to see if it will work.

What were this week's restrictions, Joyful???

The Vibrant and Vivacious prompt is a good one for the current state of affairs around the globe.  We all needed to add some cheer.

Here's an excerpt:

...be bright – think crayon basics, macaw birds, fields of flowers, or the rainbow! I want to see day-glow, eye-popping combinations to create a bright today...

The words I've highlighted will be my guiding light for several aspects of my challenge piece.

Here is my process...

First, I tried COLORFUL, using my own free-cut lettering made from a selection of Fossil Fern scraps given to me by my friend Gayle (Thanks, Gayle!)...

... But the "C" didn't work for me.  Let's try lighter and brighter:

That's brighter and brighter equals better, in my book!!  :o))

Now, let's switch gears.  For this portion, check out my recent Design Floor Friday post.

Combining those elements, along with the word "Be" stitched on, I present Be SEW Colorful, prior to quilting:

The quilting  was another challenge:

... And the outcome - with a preview of the binding that came from January's Silent Auction at my local Quilt Guild:

This was my first foray into matchstick quilting.  I meant to use my neon bright threads from Hollis Chatelain, but forgot once I got to that part of the process.  By the time I was done with SEW, I was over the excitement of trying out the technique!  Can you stop with only the middle of the quilt fully quilted?  The new-to-me matchstick-ing was tedious, in my opinion.  I really didn't want to continue.

After contacting my "quilting consultant", I decided I would choose an alternate path.  Needleb suggested switching to quarter-inch lines, instead of the super tight spacing.  That MIGHT work.

Ultimately, I decided...

... To just leave well enough alone.  My quilt would not be judged by the Quilt Police!  If the patrons of Project QUILTING are in agreement with Britt, I will consider additional quilting the NEXT time I try the technique.  For this time, it feels done.  Maybe a tad bit rumply, but DONE:

Here is my challenge piece hanging on the Gallery Wire in my studio (just above my colorful thread rack.)  It looks right at home:

6.75" x 10"

The reason...

... for participation in the season, was simple.  I participated in the challenge to express an idea that came to me when reading that first prompt.  The challenge aligned with a desire to make a quilt for the new baby that would soon join our extended family.

That continued with each release.  Not the SAME reason each time, of course.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, when this prompt was released, I was chomping at the bit to try Jayne's faux trapunto technique.  PQ 11.6 gave me the PERFECT opportunity to play AND use some lovely bright colors.  Which, most of my readers know, are my favorites!!

Along the way, something happened.  My original idea for this prompt changed.  Something different came to mind.  Then another idea came to mind.  It took some time, but I think I condensed the ideas into a piece that I will be happy to see in my studio everyday.

Thank you, again, to Kim at Persimon Dreams and Trish at Quilt Chicken for running this fabulous challenge.  It was great fun to stretch my creativity (to the breaking point.)  Thank you to all of the wonderful sponsors.  The prizes make the event that much more compelling.  Even without, I think Project QUILTING is SEW much fun:

Next year, Farm Quilter, remind me to clear my calendar!  (My participation was thanks to your encouragement.)  It was quite... umm... challenging to fit the prompts into an already full schedule.  The sense of accomplishment made the effort worth it.

Joining with Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

and

Show Me Something...

With Stripes (Old or New)

@Sarah Goer Quilts

Until next time...
Be SEW Colorful!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC20 - Week 12

Welcome to Week 12 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I'm hoping this post finds all of my RSC Quilter friends well and happily quilting away the hours using some of their TEAL scraps.

SUNDAY - Yesterday, I mailed off my donation for Little Lou Quilts, a brand new preemie quilt collection charity in honor of Everett and Jamison, currently 4 lbs. each:

If you are new to the blog or would like to get another look at the quilt that I made, please visit THIS post.

Today, I am preparing for Season 11's final challenge of Project QUILTING.  The 11.6 challenge is...

Vibrant and Vivacious

I think I've GOT this!!  :o))

On the quilting front...

I finished another row, advanced the quilt, and began, again.  Things were going fine, until I hit a bump and walked away:

You can (almost) see the red pin marking the spot where I need to remove some stitches to begin again.

MONDAY - I spent the morning planning and scheming my next mini quilt.  The last of Season 11 for Project Quilting.  We're going out with a BANG!!  In a good way.  :o))

New guidelines were released by the CDC yesterday.  No gathering of 50 people or more.  For the next EIGHT weeks!!  I'm guessing that means we can kiss Kevin the be Quilter's visit to DOQ goodbye until further notice!  :o((

TUESDAY - I realize that it's necessary, but ALL of my quilt groups have been canceled until further notice and, as if that wasn't enough, restaurants have been closed to inside seating.  :o((

After dinner, I did some more quilting on the current quilt on the frame... AFTER doing this:

It's the "starch trick" that can help when borders need a little be of taming.  The GOOD news is now that border is ALL that I have left remaining to quilt!!  :o))

WEDNESDAY - Well...  The bad news (good news) for today is that my niece's wedding has been postponed until August.  I just MIGHT have a snowball's chance of finishing her wedding quilt on time, now!!  :P

Even better news is that I finished the client quilt that I've been chipping away at row by row.  Whew!  What a relief.  You can't really see the quilting in the border, but this is the tail end of the quilt, waiting to be removed from the frame:

THURSDAY - Today is my first day of all home, all the time.  True social distancing.  I've got a LONG list of items to complete, so I don't think the isolation will bother me all that much.

And for my first trick?  Looking for contributions to Cynthia's Spring 2020 Quilty Orphan Adoption!!  The event runs from today thru Saturday.  Be sure to link any projects that you are no longer in love with.

Next up?  Burying the thread tails.  (Or not!!)  I looked everywhere for a hand sewing needle, but couldn't find one.  :o((

Then, it was time to remove the quilt from the frame.  Look at all the beautiful Swirl-y texture:

FRIDAY - Quilt delivery day!!

But first...

The news.  The pandemic has made it to small town America.  My county has its first reported cases of corona virus.  :o((

And, in other news...

A blog post went live this morning.  Check out what I've been up to in THIS new edition of Design Floor Friday.

Quilty Orphans unite.  Well, that was the plan.  Instead, I made a new mug rug using scraps from the baggie at the top of this post:

One of my in-town quilting friends might recall using those scraps in a quilt.  Thanks for sharing the leftover bits with me, Maggie!!

The TEAL (turquoise) fabric to make a sample block of a pattern that my friend drew up from a quilt she saw on the internet the other day was nowhere to be found once I was finally ready to give it a go.  That's OK!  There is MORE fabric where this came from:

Instead of trying out the pattern, I wrote up a blog post to share the construction method with YOU!!  Look for that post on Tuesday.

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day over on Angela's So Scrappy blog.  If you are a fan of scrap quilting or if you love the color TEAL, you are in for a treat.  Head over, now, to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  I'll be there in a minute, as I need to brew another cup of tea.

Until next time...
SCRAP safely!!!

Insert Word Here - Trapunto Jayne's Way

Welcome to another edition of Design Floor Friday!!  Today, I'm here to share one of Jayne's super cool techniques from Twiggy and Opal, a quilt blog that I visit regularly.  Her INSPIRE quilt prompted me to think of a word.  This older CREATE was also a source of inspiration.

For the purposes of this adventure...

I chose SEWvibrant!  Then entertained COLOR-ful.  What to do?  What to do??  Once, doubt crept in, I floundered back and forth for quite some time.

Let's see how it all played out...

If all goes as planned, this exercise may end up overlapping with the 11.6 challenge for Project QUILTING.

SEW...


I present the beginning of SEW...

I went a little narrower with my batting strips than Jayne suggested.  My reasoning was that I was working with a smaller space.  In my mind, that meant I needed narrower lettering.  In retrospect, that might have been a mistake.  I accept that, but worked with it anyway.


The photo below shows how it looked with the outline quilting and another experiment (which may or may not stay) pinned in place:

The letters really POP! with matchstick quilting:

It was a fun experiment.  Thank you, Jayne, for the mini tutorial.  I can see myself trying this again.  Someday (in the distant future) when the trauma of the matchstick quilting has subsided.

Check out my upcoming Project QUILTING post on Sunday to see the completed project.

Sharing with Alycia

for

Finished (or Not) Friday!

Until next time...
Be SEW inspired!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - {Wrap-up for} #bushfireblocks

Welcome to another Sew Some Love Sunday!!  Today, I'm here to share the final result of my collection of #bushfireblocks.  Well, that AND the final package to arrive.  The Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild put out a call for tree-themed blocks.  As you will see below, my quilting friends answered that call.

Drum roll, please...

Here it is!  The final delivery for inclusion in the package to be mailed to Australia:

Inside that Priority Mailer...

Were these blocks from Sandy @quiltpraylove on Instagram:

Thank you, Sandy, for sending these fun blocks!

Let's see an overview of those blocks, Joyful!!!

OK, since YOU requested it...

What?!  Why do I hear grumbling?

They're ALL there in the stack shown above.  :P

Oh, I see...  You want to have a look at all FORTY-SIX (46!!!) blocks (arranged by group.)  Feast your eyes on these beauties...

11 Local quilting friends contributed TWELVE (21) blocks:

6 Blogging friends made FOURTEEN (14) blocks:

4 Ravelry friends sent TEN (10) blocks:

WAIT!!!  That doesn't add up, Joyful!!!

My Nimble Thimbles Bee Mates - 21
Blog readers/Blogging friends - 14
Fellow Ravelry Members -10
For a total of 45

What am I missing, you guys???

Oh!  That would be my Stand of Trees block:

Bringing the total to FORTY-SIX (46) #bushfireblocks.

Who sent all of those blocks, again, Joyful???

My various circles of quilting friends were kind enough to share their time and talents for the collection effort.

Thank you to the following BLOCK contributors:

Britt P.
Candy H.
Ruth S.
Gayle S.
Deborah H.
Ruth B.
Jean F.
Joanna G.
Carol K.
Cheryl K.
Maggie S.
Karen L.

Deb A. @ Happy to be Scrappy
Dawn @ Quilting by Dawn
Joanne @ Cats in the Quiltorium
Dagamar @tedagmar on Instagram
Susan @ Knitty Quilter
Sandy @quiltpraylove on Instagram

Siberspinner
Barbara C.
Bitord
Bluewolfwalking

Postage FUNDS were provided by these generous quilters:

Candy H.
Ruth S.
Jean F.
Carol K.
Deb A. @ Happy to be Scrappy
Libby @ The Hillside Quilter
Dagamar @tedagmar on Intsagram
Louise @ Quilt Odyssey

Thanks again, to all who participated!  I'm sure the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild thanks you, too.  While I'm sad that this natural disaster occurred, I'm SEW thrilled by your outpouring of love.

Can we see the box you prepared, Joyful???

Sure, you can!  I took a photo just for YOU.

This box was shipped out:

Six (6) zippered bags were stuffed with as many blocks as could fit in each one.  The folded blocks were accompanied by a slip of paper with the mailing address of the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild, in the event that anything should happen to the box.

Speaking of the box...

Thank you to Kim @ Persimon Dreams for hosting Project QUILTING and to Oliso for their sponsorship of the Challenge.

Bear with me.  There really IS a connection.

You see, I have been participating in the challenges this Season.  I'm having a great time stretching my creative muscles and was the lucky winner of a Mini Project Iron during the Notably Numeric challenge.  That iron was shipped in the box that you see above.

Remarkably enough, it fit the six baggies of #bushfireblocks.  PERFECTLY!!!  It's funny how things work sometimes.

Of course...

None of this would have happened without Raewyn's post @ Stitching Farm Girl back at the end of January.  I'm really glad that I stumbled across her little corner of the internet from Angela's (So Scrappy) Rainbow Scrap Challenge link-up.  Raewyn made a weekend out of making Tree blocks, and because of it, I decided that I would make a Tree block, too (and thought to ask some of my quilting friends to join in!)  Not only did my quilting friends accept my invitation to participate, they surpassed any thoughts of how many blocks we might be able to collect.

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

Until next time...
Sew Some Love!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC20 - Week 11

Welcome to Week 11 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I was really hoping that I might be able to actually SEW with a few of my TEAL scraps this week.  That is the Color of the Month for March.  Let's see if that happened.

Wait for it!  Wait for it...

SUNDAY - I finished a quilt and released TWO blog posts.  Now, I can relax.  For a minute (and then I need to head up to the studio, a a client quilt is begging to be finished.)

Instead of more about my quilt break, you might like to check out this week's Project QUILTING post.  There's even a TINY bit of TEAL included for my RSC friends!  :o))

Once you have read that one, please check out this new edition of Sew Some Love Sunday.  It outlines a new charity effort for sweet little preemie babies.

MONDAY - My voice sounds like a croaking toad and I was skirting a fever all day.  :o((

Of course, that didn't stop me from releasing a new edition of Mail Call Monday!!  Lots of goodies in this post.  :o))

TUESDAY - A local Tree Service is coming to take down two trees in our front yard this afternoon.  As such, there was a job for me to take care of beforehand.  The Junior Quilter was on-hand to help:

She was a VERY good helper, indeed!  She dug with "her" shovel and carried flowers to the appropriate piles around the yard.  When she was getting in the car to go home she said, "That was FUN!!"
Evening Quilt Bee met without me, as I've got "the crud"... Again.  :o((

As an alternative to that group setting, I entertained myself with another pass (or two) on the lovely B9P currently on the rails:

WEDNESDAY - This morning, I released a new Wonderful Wednesday post.  If YOU were curious about what was in the bag of goodies from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, you should go see.  A little diversion from today's reality.

Things are getting crazy!  Have YOU tried to buy bathroom tissue this week?  The grocery store shelves are bare!  The World Health Organization declared Novel Coronavirus to be a pandemic.  I know you don't really want to read about this on a quilt blog (and I'll apologize right now), but... this blog also serves as my diary, so there you have it.  Please forgive me, as I don't expect to write much more about the subject.

SEW...

Let's get back to the quilts!!

THURSDAY - Ugh!  Sorry... It was a crazy day!!  Reports are coming in from all over the world about novel coronavirus (COVID-19.)  Social distancing is the new buzz word.  Many businesses are have employees work from home and a number of universities are extending Spring Break, with some even canceling the semester.  Entertainment events are being canceled across the country.

Broadway in NYC has gone dark.  The lights are out and there will be no performances until the middle of April.  The NBA has canceled its professional basketball season, the NCAA tournament is canceled and, closer to home, the ACC has canceled its "March Madness" tournament.

The trickle down effect has even grown to include my local Quilt Guild canceling this month's meeting, FIRST Robotics (DH is a mentor) is canceling the competition season, and Orange County Schools (NC) are closed through the middle of April.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, it was time to go SEW... Stash Buster Challenge blocks to the rescue!  The first order of business was to sort out some TEAL scraps and cut 2" strips for a new block...

... And stitch them up before bedtime:

Hoping for a better photo tomorrow of my completed, but not pressed, 6.5" TEAL block with it's green partner from January:

FRIDAY - The end of the week has arrived.  It's been a stressful one, with growing concerns over COVID-19.  I'm fortunate not to be in a high-risk category.  Well... Except for the fact that I am highly susceptible to catching any airborne illness.  Whoops!  (I guess I'm at greater risk than I originally thought.)

Our local public library and the Senior Center where my Evening Quilt Bee meets has reported that they will be closing for the foreseeable future.  This means no meetings will be held for the next month or so.  We will be switching to a Virtual Bee format.

Anyway...

Here's the photo I promised last night, with a complimentary look at the Snow Iris that bloomed this week:

Here is a special Thank You to my good friend Libby @ Hillside Quilter!!  She recently posted about her RSC progress.  When I saw her blocks, I noticed that she used an alternate piecing plan.  After emailing back and forth, I decided to try her method.  It worked SEW much better for me!!  Not ONE misplaced seam.  NO incorrectly placed units.  Color me a happy quilter!  :o))

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day over at Angela's So Scrappy blog.  The RSC Quilters will be gathering to share their TEAL progress for the week.

If you had asked me 6 days ago, I would have told you that I would need to catch up with RSC friends later in the day.  As it turns out, I'm staying home.  :o((

Even though, a few members of my Monthly Quilt Bee are still planning on getting together.  I've had a cough, compliments of the Junior Quilter's older brother and don't want to scare my bee mates.  (No worries.  It's nasal congestion and a post-nasal drip cough without any sign of a fever or shortness of breath.)

Until next time...
Stay well. And... Get Scrappy!!

Wonderful Wednesday - What's in the (Festival) Bag???

Welcome another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today, by reader request, I'm here to reveal...

What's in the bag, Joyful???

You may recall THIS bag shown at the end of last week's Wonderful Wednesday post:

Well, a number of readers were curious to see just what was in that bag from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

So.  You REALLY want to see what's inside???

OK!  Here we go...


Because I make it a habit NEVER to pass up a good yellow:

Non-Slip Spray (recommended by a friend) for quilting rulers:

A selection of yellow fabrics to (hopefully) coordinate with my new great-nephew's wall handing that I made:

He will be welcomed by a family of cats, so this one...

... Along with this background (paw) print had to be purchased:

I also bought a hard copy of this adorable Sweet Kisses pattern from GiGi's Thimble:

After a demo of THIS ruler set, Needleb was SOLD!!  The elongated leaf shapes were calling her name:

Lynda Mac jumped on board immediately because of these Kaffe "lemon" shapes:  

I took a bit more convincing, but the speed at which a quilter could cut shapes would boggle your mind.  Tulips and dragonflies included:

I was briefly lured by the Hearts and Flowers set, as well:

We each paid a third of the price for a set of rulers to share.  The large ruler will live at Lynda Mac's house (since she has mounds of Kaffe fabric to cut.)  The medium sized ruler will live at Needleb's house (as she is most likely to use that one.)  Since I tend to quilt small, the small ruler will live at my house.  All in all, it was a VERY fair deal and the other sizes will be available upon request.

All in all, not the most damage done is a single day.  :o))

Edited to add...

The fabric I won in one of the bus trip games:

And the hand dyed shirt that had already made it through the wash and into the closet:

Until next time...

Shop, Stop, and QUILT!!!