The Joyful Quilter

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

The 100 Day Project - Week 11

Welcome to Week 11 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!! I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th. I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it. It's particularly popular on Instagram. I have been hesitant to participate before now. I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door.

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most. You can read about it HERE. That link will tell you all about my project.

While I have exceeded my goal...

I'm still NOT stopping!! I am continuing to declutter my home and studio for the entirety of the 100 Day Project. I really want to free up MORE space for more creativity.

Here's my progress for Week Eleven from all around the house, studio and garage:

22 balls of yarn gifted

1 shopping bag

1 old magazine

2 outdated food items

1 handful of fabric scraps

12 buttons

Week 11 Total: 39/100

Updated Project Total: 293/100

Here we are with a number REALLY close to another milestone...

So I went on a hunt for 7 additional items and found the following:

1 duplicate nail polish

1 ball of yarn

1 gift bag

1 package of dried out pigment ink

3 unused eyeglass cases

Revised Week 11 Total: 46/100

UPDATED PROJECT TOTAL: 300/100!!!

Thank you to those of you who continue to encourage my weekly decluttering efforts! I appreciate your kind comments and your willingness to cheer me along! Jeanne @ Loving Retirement responded to my post with the following:

I am so impressed that you are still decluttering! I did get through two closets of clothes and added another box to donate along with a little more in the garbage bin! I finally got things donated today - some of the kitchen items really wanted to stay but I got them to the thrift shop just in time!

I replied with something like this:

Thanks, Jeanne! Congrats on getting more out of the house!

Please know that...

I will continue decluttering through the end of the 100 Day Challenge. My goal for the past week was to focus on the studio. While it doesn't sound like it, I'm calling the week a success because the majority of the items listed came from there. Come back next week to see what goes in the box during the next 7 days.

@dothe100dayproject

#The100DayProject

#DoThe100DayProject

#100Days100Things_TheDeclutterEdition

#100Days100ThingsDecluttered

#filltheboxjoy

You can follow me on Instagram @thejoyfulquilter.

Until next time...

Do the 100 Day Project!!!

Saturday, May 4, 2024

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 18

Welcome to Week 18 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!! This week is going to feel like it includes extra hours. I'm hoping that means I might find time to sew. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Let's see if that happened...

SUNDAY - The day began with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom, but there were only only bits of paper to show for it and then I scooted up to Britt's for an ARTventure:

MONDAY - Before work, I brought out my PINK scraps to see what I have available to use in my projects for this month...

Work was followed by a bit of art:

TUESDAY - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered

Today was the beginning of my "mid-week weekend." Having chosen bits of PINK yesterday to use, I did a bit of reorganizing:

WEDNESDAY - After running errands, it was time for my weekly Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Work

While watering my new plants this morning, I was thrilled to find this one blooming. Thanks again for sharing with me, DeeDee:

FRIDAY - Work was preceded by Knit Group, but I forgot to take a photo. My work hours got downgraded this week. Let me tell you, it was so refreshing! Two extra hours of free time was much appreciated. I actually came home with enough energy leftover for some art-ing! :o))

The work week ended with my Weekly Evening Art Zoom. I shared the journal spread shown above and did a bit of drawing with Posca pens.

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. There was a mandatory Team Meeting at work this morning. None of us were thrilled, but I was home well before lunch so I had some time to finish writing this post.

I'll be adding to these PINK scraps this afternoon:

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The 100 Day Project - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered - Week 10

Welcome to Week 10 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!! I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th. I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it. It's particularly popular on Instagram. I have been hesitant to participate before now. I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door. (This one just didn't get scheduled properly so you are seeing it a little later than normal.)

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most. You can read about it HERE. That link will tell you all about my project.

Saturday, April 27, 2024

ScrapHappySaturday - RSC24 - Week 17

Welcome to Week17 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!! This week felt like a big blur with all of the regular activities and some artsy things thrown into the mix.

Here's how the days passed...

SUNDAY - Sew Some Love Sunday

My week began with some art. The first drawing/painting on the journal page below was created during a class hangout on Get Messy. The second one was done during my Weekly Morning Art Zoom:

The background scribbles were added while waiting for my Weekly Zoom call with Knittingsuek:

MONDAY - Work

TUESDAY - The 100 Day Project

Today was my day off work. It was filled with errands and not a minute to spare. I did shoehorn in a moment to snap the following photo of an unidentified plant in my garden with my RSC Quilters friends in mind. The centers are YELLOW which April's Color of the Month...

These Iris were just planted last Fall. I was surprised to see them blooming:

WEDNESDAY - The Guest Blogger(s)

Another day off and I spent some time in the garden planting a number of plants that my friend had set aside for me. (Thanks, Dee Dee!) The hope is that they will happily spread and camouflage the stump of a fallen tree. I realize this doesn't make for a great picture and it may be difficult to distinguish the new plants from the weeds. Just look for the disturbed clay in the photo below:

In neighborhood construction news...

Doors and windows were delivered for the first four houses this morning:

After gardening and yet another errand, I enjoyed my Weekly Zoom call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Work

Afterwards, I stopped by home to find that another new house popped up today. It's the first one they've added on the other side of the street:

Once home, I worked on this art journal page from a lesson with @ivynewport:

And...

Grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to my Monthly Evening Quilt Bee meeting with the following in attendance...

But...

What an ordeal it was actually getting to the meeting! I "lost" my water bottle and searched the house for it... And the car, TWICE, because the first time I had something in my hands to drop in the seat and FORGOT that I had gone out to look for something!! Apparently, I left it at work, which is completely unheard of. I carry that thing with me EVERYWHERE!! :o((

FRIDAY - TABLE SCRAPS Challenge - Link Party

Work

Today, the construction crew added a roof to the house that went up yesterday, but they didn't manage to finish wrapping the downstairs:

Tonight, during my Weekly Evening Art Zoom, I did some more work on this little quilt:

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 and just so you know, her "soft announcement" for the May Color of the Month is:

PINK

I think that's a great color for the upcoming month, but let's close out this post with the little bit of YELLOW sewing that I did this week:

I hope you will follow the links for this week's posts on the entries for Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, if you didn't see them already.

Also...

Thanks SEW much for stopping by! Please accept my apologies if you didn't receive replies (or received duplicate replies) to any comments you might have left recently, as Blogger's "Notify Me" button was broken and before I realized it, my normal method for responding got all mixed up.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

Friday, April 26, 2024

April 2024 - TABLE SCRAPS Challenge - Link Party

Welcome to the April 2024 edition of the TABLE SCRAPS Challenge here at the Joyful Quilter!!

I'll start with a little backstory, in case you are new here. (Apologies to my regular readers since you already know all about it.) I'm a scrap quilter who had been setting up individual challenges for several years in conjunction with Angela's (RSC) Rainbow Scrap Challenge @ So Scrappy. Participants from around the corner, across the country and around the world have been having SEW much fun and we all have MORE scraps to use, so I am pleased to offer the...

In 2024, we have a broad range of quilted items that are appropriate for linking to the Challenge. Baskets and bins, along with pillows and pin cushions, are all qualifying projects. Not just the toppers, runners, and mug rugs. Basically, ANY small quilted item qualifies. The main premise is that you USE the (new or old) SCRAPS from your cutting table (or your friend's cutting table - since that's where the majority of my scraps come from!)

There will be a prompt each month to help get your creative juices flowing. While you are NOT required to use it in your project, the guiding word will be revealed at the end of each month's LINK PARTY post. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the following month's focus. It, along with the RSC Color of the Month (as soon as Angela releases it - around the 1st of the month.) will also be added to the 2024 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge page at the top of the blog.

The theme for April was...

UMBRELLAS

I was slow to decide what I wanted to do with this theme, but...

Since the Color of the Month was YELLOW, I took a stroll through my overflowing basket to see what I could find and what ideas the fabrics might spark:

Fabric selections:

Layered for quilting, but cutting it close because of the scraps of backing and batting I chose:

I went with...

Minimal quilting which is really had to see in the photos:

The details and binding...

Will had to wait. I got a late start on my project, worked yesterday, had a meeting last night, and simply didn't have any more energy for the remaining details. Additionally, we were away for nearly a week in the middle of the month so preparing for that, recovering from travel, and catching up on missed chores ate up a lot of me "free" time.

Life sometimes gets in the way of our quilting!!

Thanks for understanding. I would have been SEW pleased to present my completed entry for the April 2024 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge, but it will just have to wait until tomorrow.

What's next, Joyful???

The new month is still a few days away so we will probably have to wait a little bit to discover the Color of the Month, I'll reveal it as soon as Angela posts her announcement.

UPDATE:

In Saturday's post Angela made a soft announcement releasing the May Color of the Month:

PINK

May's theme is:

KENTUCKY DERBY

I first thought horses and then entertained the idea of ribbons and/or bows. Ultimately, I decided that the Kentucky Derby theme will allow for those and more. I'm looking forward to seeing what YOU will do!

And now...

It's time for YOU to link up your YELLOW and/or UMBRELLA project in the LINK PARTY below. All entries MUST be submitted by Wednesday, May 1st @ 11:59PM (EDT).

Until next time...

USE those table scraps!!!

#tablescrapschallenge2024

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The Guest Blogger(s) - Vol. 52 - Jane's YELLOW Umbrella?!

Welcome to another edition of The Guest Blogger(s)!! I returned home from a trip to New England to find an email from Jane in Australia last week. She has completed her entry for the April TABLE SCRAPS Challenge.

This is what she wrote...

Hi Joy,
A block is a finished item if that is what is requested yes?

In 1975 the United Nations designated 8th March as International Women’s Day, with the themes of Equality, Development and Peace. The colours chosen were purple, green and white. A Queensland quilter (probably more than one) has decided to have 50 quilts made by the 50th anniversary of the founding date, and has invited quilters to send in 10 1/2” blocks made with only those colours.

Concerning her entry...

I have several other blocks ready, but the idea of an umbrella- shelter from the storms of life- seemed appropriate. Obviously I could not include yellow but more necessary for the block to be correct (and the umbrella handle is a verrry dark green).

I hope this is ok for my Table Scraps entry for this month - they really were all scraps except I cut the white background. Love wandering around the blogosphere but don’t think I will ever dip my actual toes in the actual water - thanks for posting for me.
Jane in Australia.

Give Jane some quilty love in the comments below. I'm pleased to share the creative way she incorporated this month's challenge into a donation block for her entry. I know that you enjoy seeing her work as much as I do! Thank you for sending a photo for the blog, Jane. I'm thrilled to post your projects (and anyone else's without a blog.) They serve to inspire others to USE their scraps that we quilters continue to accumulate!

Link Party REMINDER...

The April 2024 TABLE SCRAPS Link Party will be opening on Friday, April 26th @ 12:01 AM. I hope that YOU will join in the scrappy fun! You haven't started sewing yet? No worries. Small projects are quick to make and entries can be added until Wednesday, May 1st.

Until next time...

USE those (table) SCRAPS!!!

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The 100 Day Project - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered - Week 9

Welcome to Week 9 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!! I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th. I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it. It's particularly popular on Instagram. I have been hesitant to participate before now. I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door. (This one just didn't get scheduled properly so you are seeing it a little later than normal.)

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most. You can read about it HERE. That link will tell you all about my project.

While I have met my goal...

I'm NOT stopping there!! I am continuing to declutter my home and studio for the entirety of the 100 Day Project. I still need to free up MORE space for more creativity.

Here's my progress for Week Nine from all around the house, studio and garage:

32 balls of yarn donated

12 balls of yarn gifted

But, WAIT, there's more...

Another trip through the closet turned up the following items:

1 tote bag

2 prs. pants

1 dress

1 flat sheet (without a mate)

Week 9 Total: 49/100

Updated Project Total: 195/100

When I realized how close I was to 200, I decided to take another wander around the studio and found the following items that could go:

1 gift bag

1 sticky ink pen

1 bottle of smelly paint

1 empty bottle of hand sanitizer left sitting on the counter for weeks

1 FQ of fabric that I will never choose to use

Additional Items: 5/100

Revised Project Total: 200/100!!!

Thank you to those of you who encouraged me in my decluttering efforts last week! I appreciate your kind comments and your willingness to cheer me along! Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing had the following to say:

KathleenApril 18, 2024 at 7:56 PM

Hooray. Just pulled 2 sets of sheets and a set of towels for the recycling pile! Congrats on your decluttering - its commendable!

This was my response:

That's a great start, Kathleen, because every little bit helps! I know you just had a big clean out at the apartment, but there's always more to part with, isn't there?

Nann @ With Strings Attached reported with the following:

NannApril 18, 2024 at 10:33 AM
I have two boxes of stuff to take to the church rummage sale.

To which I replied:

Excellent, Nann! I'm glad you were able to gather that much stuff for a worthy cause. The question is... Can you see a difference in the space where the items have been removed? In my case, the answer is usually a resounding NO!!! That just means I'll need to head back to that area for another pass, which is what I plan to do with my closet over the weekend.

I'm thrilled to report...

I managed to follow through with another pass through my closet over the weekend, but I didn't get rid of as many items as I had hoped. Come back next week to see what goes in the box during the next 7 days. While my main goal in the coming week is to focus my efforts in the studio, I may wander through the clothes again and part with a few more items.

@dothe100dayproject

#The100DayProject

#DoThe100DayProject

#100Days100Things_TheDeclutterEdition

#100Days100ThingsDecluttered

#filltheboxjoy

You can follow me on Instagram @thejoyfulquilter.

Until next time...

Do the 100 Day Project!!!

Welcome

I'm SO glad that you stopped by to see what I've been working on! My blog was started at the request of some Ravelry friends. We were starting a UFO Club and they wanted to be able to see the projects on my list.

Each term, I'll post "The List", along with pictures of new additions. Subsequent posts will show the progress I've made and any quilts that I complete. Hopefully, you'll enjoy reading a little about these projects, too.

From time to time, I may post additional works here, too. Feel free to comment. I'd be happy to hear from YOU. If you would like to follow my blog by email, scroll down to the bottom of the page. The link is in my sidebar right before the archives.

Thanks for visiting and have a quilty day!