What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

but that means we'd have to raise the ceiling a few feet...
I've been making steady progress on my Orphan Block Soup quilt.  This morning I finished the pink slabs (they measure roughly 16.5" square):

So today, with some encouragement from Frederick and Chase, I'm working on this quilt.  I stripped away some of the blocks and a clearer design came into focus..

It's done, done, done!

Last night I put the last few stitches in the binding and I got pictures this morning before I left for work!

I dove right into this because, let's face it, I'm a paper piecing junkie.

I started working on my Round Birthstone Block from No Hats in the House. AND IT LOOKS AMAZING!

I decided to not make large blocks (the directions tell you how to make different sizes based on how you enlarge/shrink the pattern) and make the 12 inch blocks. You end up making 8 wedges so I printed two per page.

I was too into making this because I did not stop to take any pictures. Oops. Here's the finished "amethyst" gem:

My Contrary Wife quilt top is finished.  I love the setting I chose.  I made each border as wide as I could with the fabric I had left.  This was all scrap fabric except for the orange - that was a fat quarter I bought for Emily's quilt that I didn't use.  All the scrap fabrics are gone except for the brown. I'm loving this way of emptying the scrap basket!  The oldest fabric in this quilt is the brown and orange acorn print, which I imagine is a VIP from the 1980's.  The border and a ...

Because I have this laundry basket of fabric pieces not big enough to fold and put on the shelf - my definition of scraps - I decided to start participating in Kim's Scrap Basket Sundays.   I know if I don't commit myself to something like this I will always pull from the shelf rather than the scrap basket.

Because I spent all day today at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival,  and will be there most of the day tomorrow, I spent last night and tonight cutting and sewing scraps.

"1"

The last time I left off on Step 5 of my "Twelve Step Quilting Program" and unforutnately last week was taken up with doctor's appointments so I had to skip my WIP update. This week I have moved on to Step 6:  Cut all the string squares into triangles and trim to size.     Step 7:  Remove all the paper foundations pieces.  The instructions for this pattern called for a small stitch length

I asked the zebra,
Are you black with white strips?
Or white with black strips?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with sad days?
Or are you sad with happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again. 

At long last "Twinkle, Twinkle" is being bound, labeled, and added to the DONE list! This quilt is a perfect illustration for the phrase: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Before these scrappy stars were constructed they were merely small, seemingly worthless, fabric strips discarded into a scrap bin. One by one they were selected, stitched to a foundation for stability and

At long last "Twinkle, Twinkle" is being bound, labeled, and added to the DONE list! This quilt is a perfect illustration for the phrase: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Before these scrappy stars were constructed they were merely small, seemingly worthless, fabric strips discarded into a scrap bin. One by one they were selected, stitched to a foundation for stability and

  
 A week ago the path to Dead Dog Creek ravine was still snow-covered and slippery -- too slippery for me to walk down without a walking stick. Warm days have melted nearly all the snow so today I could easily go down the hill.  The alligator still lies in wait in the woods. 

The skunk cabbages have come up through last season's fallen leaves.




 Back in the studio:  here are my contributions for two of the five installments of the Progressive Swap.  Lori K wrote that she has a stack of pine tree blocks and wants houses and stars to ...

Since I didn't make it out to get a batting or spray adhesive, I worked on making some more scrappy baskets for my stash.

Still no plan on what exactly to do with them, but I think I might make a few baby quilts out of them.

Here are my new ones:

Seldom am I inspired to buy a BACKING fabric for a quilt that is not yet complete, particularly a scrap quilt. My normal mode of operation would be to complete the top and take it along with me to the store to find a fabric, usually one on sale, one that will fit the bill. As you probably guessed, that was not the case this time. I saw this fabric last week at my LQS and let out an audible gasp