Mini Monday - The Quilted Cake

Welcome to another edition of Mini Monday!!  I'm here to share my most recent mini quilt finish.  It is SUPER special and was a fun and festive project.

I started a week before the BIG event, by pulling my purple scrap basket...

... And choosing a backing fabric:

Next, I selected the layers of my cake.  Patterning on the fabric on the top layer of the cake resembled an 80, which was SEW perfect for the birthday girl:

Then came the baking... er... sewing:

The candle and flame were a bit problematic, as I didn't actually FOLLOW the tutorial!!

... I auditioned flames for the candle that would be added:

Instead of piecing the candle, I ultimately chose to quilt it in and I appliqued a flame-shaped snippet of fabric on by hand:

I wasn't feeling the machine zig-zag thing, so I added a scrap of binding from the Binding Scrap Drawer and called it DONE:

The photo shoot ensued...

In the Black-eyed Susans:

With the blooming monkey (grass):

By the last of the white iris:

Amazingly enough, this interior shot shows off the quilting the best:

The design idea came from THIS tutorial from Sarah Ruiz Quilts.

I enjoyed making the piece my own way.

Whooping it Up with Sarah

at

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Until next time...

Celebrate with friends!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - LWR - Square Selection {Round Two}

 Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  In this week's post, I'm going to share Round Two of the square selection for the Lutheran World Relief Mission Quilt effort going on here at The Joyful Quilter.

After her contribution to the LWR Batting Fund, Knittingsuek commented:

"It's the least I could do. We know that if y'all waited for me to sew, they'd freeze to death :p!"

The following (email) conversation took place:

I don't know, Sue. Perhaps, you would surprise yourself if you would just take some squares and slap them together! Want to try?

Her response:

Sure. My only hesitation is that as much as I'd love to spend hours sewing, my back won't let me. I know it would be good for me psychologically but not physically  :o((

I encouraged:

Oh (ok)! Let me know when/if you want to pick your fabrics for the LWR quilt top. We could spend some (masked) time up in Sue's World.  :o))

After a phone call  to browbeat her into sewing for the cause explain that I'm not asking her to finish the quilt top overnight...

I took the bag of 400 squares over to Knittingsuek's house:

She sorted through...

... while I got busy knitting:

Once the squares had been chosen, Sue decided to lay them out on her design floor... Just to make sure she had counted correctly:

Another 48 squares OUT of the bag and on their way to being put IN a quilt top for a good cause:

Thank you for agreeing to help with one of the 15 quilt tops for Lutheran World Relief, Sue!!  I enjoyed spending some time up in Sue's World (as her DH refers to her new studio space.)  It was fun watching your creative process as you were picking and choosing the fabric squares to be used in your LWR Mission Quilt.

And then, some happy mail arrived this week...

Thanks go out to Suzanne in Alaska!!!  Her generous donation will assure that several quilts will have batting in them.  (Not that they won't ALL have batting in them!)  I appreciate the fact that I no longer need to be concerned about where those funds will come from.  Thank you, Suzanne, for contributing!

As you can see, I've been knee deep in LWR, but...

I just wanted to mention, that several weeks ago, Kat announced the September/October Block Drive for Covered in Love.  Her program is perfect for those of you who are only interested in doing a block or two.  EVERY block sent in helps her mission to cover East Texas end-of-life patients with a (quilted) bit of love.

Until next time...

Practice kindness!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC20 - Week 39

Welcome to Week 39 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This is the last full week of RED month.  Many of the RSC Quilters are releasing their wrap-up posts.  Me???

Let's see if that will be happening here...

SUNDAY - This morning, I released a new Sew Some Love Sunday post.  Just before lunch, Knittingsuek stopped by to pick up loppers for a little bit of gardening:

Before Sue left, Dee Dee stopped by to drop off a card:

Early this evening, I finished the special quilted postcard that I've been working on:

MONDAY - Today is my STOP on the Hello Fall Blog Hop!!!  I will finally reveal the adorable project created for the Hop:

I may be a tiny bit biased, but it is SEW seriously cute, ya'll!!

PLUS...

I'm hosting a giveaway, too.  I hope YOU will join in the fun!  You could win this art card (PHOTO LINK) from Soma @ Whims & Fancies.

Candy stopped by to pick-up a couple of Quilted Postcards:

With bits of RED in the background, I layered this quilt for a friend:

Guild night Zoom meeting with North Carolina quilt artist, Lyric Kinard, who presented her Playful Portraiture lecture/slide show:

TUESDAY - Just so you know, I spent my day standing over the longarm.  Ready.  Set!  DONE:

I also worked on Sapphires, No Stars.  Would you believe that I ran out of bobbin, just like I ran out of binding bits when sewing it on:

WEDNESDAY - Morning coffee with a side of knitting was canceled, again!  :o((

Don't ask me what I did instead, but during the midday...

I stopped by Needleb's to pick up her gift for the birthday girl:

Then gathered with friends for a special birthday surprise:

Late this afternoon, I enjoyed a Zoom call with LeeAnna:

THURSDAY - Bright and early this morning, I released a new Throwback Thursday post.  If you've been visiting for a while, you might remember this:

A little while later, ZoomBEE met.  The following quilting friends were able to join in today's meeting:

I spent the afternoon digging through these fabric squares for the Lutheran World Relief effort here on The Joyful Quilter:

More on that in an upcoming Sew Some Love post.

FRIDAY - ZoomKNIT met this morning with these four knitting friends in attendance:

(After doing a boatload of paperwork) The rest of the day was spent playing with my RED scraps.  I had hoped to finish up the Quilted Scrap Basket that I've been working on (in dribs and drabs) for most of the month.  Here's how far I've gotten:

You know what this means, don't you???

Judy @ Busy Hands are Happy Hands (is sure to have/ won) our friendly challenge this month.  That's OK!  I can't be the winner EVERY time.  :P

Here is her completed Quilted Scrap Basket:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Our hostess, Angela @ So Scrappy, has instructed us to work with our RED scraps during the month of September.  I'm headed there to see what fun things my RSC Quilter friends have been up to this week (once Angela releases this week's post and I return from my outdoor Quilt Bee meeting.)

Did anyone notice that I never mentioned my Scrap Buster Challenge blocks???  Well, late last night, I (finally) chose the fabrics:

Luckily, there are FOUR more days in September!  There is still time to get my remaining RED projects completed for the RSC.

Until next time...

SCRAP sew safely!!!

Throwback Thursday - Circa Spring 2019

Welcome to another edition of Throwback Thursday!!  It's been quite a while since my last post in this series.  I guess you are wondering...

Why now, Joyful???

Well, Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting left the following comment on last week's Mini Monday post:

Haha! You had me chuckling! Cute little finish! Make sure and link it up to the Show Me Something Mini link-up this month: https://www.sarahgoerquilts.com/2020/09/06/show-me-something-mini-linkup/

SEW...

I clicked on the link to find out more.  As it turns out, Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts was in the mood to see new or old mini quilts.  At first, I was hesitant to link an old project, but there is one little quilt that I made last year that is worth repeating.  I absolutely love this mini!

What better quilt to share than my TINY Supernova...

100 HSTs within a 5.75" square!!!

You can find the story on this time warp HERE.  That link is filled with process and progress photos, along with the BIG reveal, shown above.

Enjoy the flashback!  I certainly did.  :o))

(Hopefully, if Belinda checks in, she'll tell me if these colors are right for our 2020 swap.)

Sharing with Sara Goer Quilts

for

Show Me Something Mini Link-up

and

Whooping it Up with Sarah

at

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Until next time...

MAKE mini!!!

Hello Fall Blog Hop - My STOP on the Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Hello Fall Blog Hop!!  This event is hosted by Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks.  Here's how she lead off her Sign-Up post:

Yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown.

Apple, pumpkin, spider, hay, acorn, harvest, treats or tricks, football, leaf, gourd, and corn.

If any of these inspire you then you probably have some great ideas for the

Hello Fall Blog Hop.

Here is the list of participating bloggers:

Monday, September 21st

Just Let Me Quilt

Websterquilt
VroomansQuilts
Karen's Korner
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
QuiltFabrication.com
Karrin’s Crazy World
Seams To Be Sew
The Joyful Quilter
Kathleen McMusing 

Tuesday, September 22nd

MooseStashQuilting
Quilting Gail
that fabric feeling
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting
Kathy's Kwilts and More
Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
 Sew Many Yarns
Sunshine in the Attic
Becky’s adventures in quilting and travel
Food for Thought

Wednesday, September 23rd

Quiltscapes
Ms P Designs USA
Stitchin At Home
Just Because Quilts
beaquilter
Patchwork Breeze
Selinaquilts
Lily Patch Quilts
Not Afraid Of Color
Quilting & Learning: What a Combo!

Thursday, September 24th

Creatin' in the Sticks
Quilt Schmilt
Bumbleberry Stitches
Samelia’s Mum
Life in the Scrapatch
Storied Quilts
Songbird Designs
Quiltifications
Words & Stitches

for the love of geese

Well, Autumn just happens to be my favorite season.

SEW...

Of course, I jumped on board!  I also jumped right in and made this Hedgehog Thread Catcher:

It was the perfect project!  Orange hedgehogs for the Blog Hop, with tiny hearts of  RED for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, AND my friend Knittingsuek had all but requested another quilted thread catcher:

Here it is in its new home, taking pride of place in Sue's new studio space, on her brand new sewing table that she built herself:

Then, I recalled a sweet Fall project on my To Make list...

It's all Shawn's fault!  He was in charge of the BOM program at our Guild.  The September/October 2019 block was an adorable pumpkin that I wanted for my own (but didn't have time to make an extra when making the "raffle" block.)

If that wasn't enough, EmmeSpins shared this adorable project on Ravelry's Quilters Knitting group:

I've had this autumnal project stuck in my head for the better part of a year.  I'm excited to finally bring it to life in fabric!

At first...

I considered the decision to up the ante.  My Blog Hop project could stand on its own or it could become a "two-fer."  Two projects in one.  Gotta LOVE a BOGO!!  :o))

But...

I wasn't sure that I had the focus requires to turn this little quilt into a larger version of itself.  The appeal was there.  The design tickled the back of my brain.  However, implementing that plan requires MANY more fabric scraps.

Unless...

An alternative construction plan could be developed.  The challenge needed to include 10 Stars and 10 Flying Geese.  By multiplying the block times 4 and subtracting some of the elements, I think this just might work.  While it MIGHT have worked, that plan fell through.  :o((

With the clock ticking, it was time to begin the next project...

I started with these orange scraps:

Then grabbed a handful of white on white scraps and a few black and proceeded to draw up a plan based on Pumpkin Season from The Pattern Basket, which measures 25.5" square.  A handful of small HSTs were required, along with quite a few squares:

Next, I constructed some tiny star points...

... And began assembling those units into blocks:

Moving right along, we have 3 small stars:

Once all of the components were assembled, it was time to lay things out before beginning to construct...

 ... The quadrants of the quilt.  Here's how I proceeded.

One:

Two:

Umm, Two:

Three...

Three???

Finally... THREE:

Wait a minute!!  Here is the REAL section Three:

Whew!!  THAT was an ordeal.  By that time, I was in need of a break before pumpkin assembly could start...

First there was one half:

One more small section was needed...

... Before the 2nd half could come together:

The great pumpkin rises from the bits:

I gave my quilting friends this sneak peek:

The top one-third of the quilt was next on the agenda...

... Prior to the larger quilt sections being joined:

When borders were added and pressing time had arrived...

LeeAnna wanted to see the back of the quilt.  I explained that it's a bit of a hot mess, but she insisted:

I still need to draw in a couple of the areas that I left out:

I haven't decided if that will be done with Pigma pen or thread.  Can you find the missing pieces?  One is pretty easy to spot, but the other is not.

Thanks to my good friend, Knittingsuek...

The bird has a beak!!

She went through her cross stitch stuff...

... To find just the right shade of floss to go with the scraps making up my project for my bird's embroidered beak - the first embroidery I've done in decades.  She kindly allowed me to cut a length of 3 different colors ( and provided those along with a needle and threader.)  Thank you SEW much, Sue!!

SURPRISE!!!  Or not...

Quilter's, I shrunk the pumpkin:

My pumpkin measures 3.5" x 4.5"!

The completed Petite Pumpkin quilt measures 6.5" x 6.5"!!

What's a Blog Hop without a giveaway???

This is not my usual run of the mill quilted item prize.  Today YOU have a chance to win this gorgeous 5 x 7 Autumn Forest Walk - Greeting Card from one of my favorite artists, Soma @ Whims and Fancies:

Soma recently opened her NEW Shop right on her website to offer patterns, art prints, and greeting cards.  I ordered one for me and one for the lucky winner.  Mail it or enjoy it as art, which is what I plan to do with mine.  Winner's choice!  (Whims and Fancies quilt patterns are available HERE.)

Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the drawing!!  Entry comments will be accepted through 9 PM on SUNDAY, September 27th.  The winner (chosen by Mr. Random) will be notified via email, so make sure to include that in your comment if it's not attached to your Blogger account.

Linking up with Sarah

for

Show Me Something Mini

and

Sharing with Kelly

for

Needle and Thread Thursday

also

Linking up with Alycia

for

Finished (Or Not) Friday

Until next time...

Happy Fall, Y'all!!!

My crazy white iris is blooming for the THIRD time this year!!