What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers.

Life got in the way this week, and I didn’t finish Mosaic.  I did finish quilting it though.

I’ve also worked on Christmas Cottage.  It’s tiny – maybe 2.5 x 3 inches here. The fabric is 18 count.

The goal this week is to finish Mosaic for the Guild meeting Saturday.  I also want to start the pants.  I washed the fabric, but I still need to buy elastic.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.  Maybe next week.

Because it goes better for me, I’ve switched to working on fewer projects at once.  The paint chip challenge, which I’ve named Mosaic, is the new focus.  I finished adding designs to all the squares.

I’ve also pulled batting and backing fabric.  I have a general idea of how I want to quilt it.  The goal is to get it done before the Guild meeting on the 19th.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week ...

No change in the numbers.

This week I worked on Christmas Cottage and the paint chip challenge.  The paint chip challenge is my focus piece.  It’s time to finish it and move on to another project.

Neither piece changed much in the last week.  Instead, it’s back to the haul from the sale last weekend.

Top row:  Sulky variegated embroidery thread (two spools each color), Christmas pattern books (embroidery & cross stitch), and a Heaven and Earth Designs pattern.  That one is so large I doubt I’ll live long enough to finish it.  I may try stitching a ...

No fabric out this week.

We went to a crafter’s garage sale yesterday that a local quilt shop hosts every August.  I bought mostly stitching items, but some fabric came home with me.  If anyone is interested in the stitching haul, let me know in the comments and I will post it.

The large blue piece is fleece to make new yoga pants.  I can’t find pants I like in the stores.

The other pieces are from a quilt kit.  Imagine my surprise when I unpackaged it at home and discovered there was no picture of the finished ...

No change in the numbers.

I think I touched everything I have in progress this week.  I sewed the next sashing block and added to the row on Moondance.

I added crayon over rubbing plate and paint to the Paint Chip Challenge.  I think I added five blocks.  I’d really like this quilt done and out of the way. 

I also spent a lot of time on Fairy Tales, another project I’m ready to finish.  In hindsight, this project would have been easier if I used Pattern Keeper or something similar.  Live and learn.

Fabric Added: 13.625 ...

No fabric in this week.  I’m counting out the fabric I passed for the swap a few months ago.  If it ever makes it back to me, it will come as a finished quilt.

I had the urge to piece this week and pulled out an old UFO.  The pattern is Moondance by Beth Ferrier.  At the time, it was a free block of the month.  Now it’s part of a book.

I decided years ago that I wanted the background fabrics in the stairstep sashing blocks to match the background in the adjacent blocks.  It took me ...

No change in the numbers.

I feel like I misplaced July.  I’m not sure what happened to it.

We were all under the weather this past week.  Nothing happened in the sewing room, although I did work on the stitch project I started when we were on vacation.

It’s a Bucilla kit I bought last summer at a crafter’s garage sale.  I chose it for vacation because it’s small with blocks of stitching.

I got a good start on it.  The fabric is 18 count aida.

I look forward to getting back in the sewing room ...

No fabric out this week.

I bought a half yard of fabric on vacation, because you can’t go to Alaska and not buy fabric.

I haven’t worked on any quilts since we returned home.  It’s been a bit of a struggle to get back to a normal routine.

Fabric Added: 13.625

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  7.125 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

We’ve been on vacation with no time at home this week.  If I bought anything on our travels I will add it next week.

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

Work continues on the Paint Chip Challenge.  I’ve completed three more squares.

I decided to jump around a bit and see how that goes. 

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

I finished two more squares of the Paint Chip Challenge, paint stik and oil pastel over rubbing plates.

Both squares will fade a little when I heat set them.

With all the painting and stitching, I haven’t had time with my sewing machine lately.  I miss it and may need to shift to a different project later this month.  Summers are so short and incredibly busy.  It’s hard to fit everything in. 

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week ...

No change in the numbers.

I spent some time on the paint chip challenge this week.  I added embroidery to block 4 and stamped with the larger bubble wrap in block 5.  The bubble wrap was older and the bubbles had deflated a bit.  That resulted in great texture. 

I created a freezer paper stencil for block 7.  I wanted thicker stripes and a stencil big enough to cover the whole square.

In addition to having fun, I’m learning a lot revisiting so many surface design techniques.  I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it.

Fabric Added: 13.125 ...

No change in the numbers.  I only wish I had enough sewing time to finish something.

I worked some on the Paint Chip Challenge this week.  Block 2 is oil pastel over a rubbing plate.  Block 3 is stamped.

I skipped blocks 4 and 5 because I wanted to continue with painted blocks.  Block 6 is stenciled.

I will go back and pick up blocks 4 and 5 this week.

Fabric Added: 13.125

Fabric Used:  6.5 yards

Net Fabric Added:  6.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

The runner I call Harlequin is now basted.

The blocks came from a class I took in 2017 on improvisational curved piecing.  This is the third quilt from the blocks made in that class.

A lot of the fabrics are my hand dyes.  I didn’t have enough of the blue or green for the border.  I got lucky and found the blue solid at my Guild’s fabric sale.

I could do simple quilting and finish it quickly, but decided to play around with the quilting on this one.  Except for the black and ...

No change in the numbers.

I finally started the paint chip challenge project.  I found fabric that comes as close to the paint chip as I’m going to get.  I masked the outside border with painter’s tape and gridded the center.  The paint chip is in the upper right corner.

My first love in quilting is surface design.  That’s the place where I lose myself, where time passes unnoticed.  If you are a regular reader, you’d be hard pressed to know that based on recent projects.  It’s time to fix that.

I have a sketch ...

I apologize for combining everything in one post.  An internet outage prevented a separate OMG/PhD post.

No fabric in this week.  I had another finish for one yard out.

My May goal was to finish K’s quilt and possibly finish the beach runner.  I’m pleased to have finished both.  K’s quilt has been gifted.

The background fabric is one of my hand dyes.  When I cut the pieces, I made a huge effort to have the pink areas flow into one another.

The beach runner will go in the dining room until Fall.

I’m also ...

No change in the numbers. 

Work was really busy this week, and I had a few late nights.  The beach runner is quilted with a goal of finishing it this weekend.  Many other projects wait in the wings, and continuing to buy things doesn’t improve that.  Of course, that didn’t stop me.

The patterns came from the thrift shop and the DVD from the free table at Guild.

The cross stitch booklet is a Hallmark pattern book from the 1980s.  I had no idea they published cross stitch charts.  The quilt pattern intrigued me with its three sizes ...

When my numbers change, they change big.

I finished K’s quilt this week.  I can’t post pictures until she sees it at the end of the month.  No big usage because a lot of the fabric in the top was hers.

Yesterday was my Guild’s annual fabric sale.  I needed to replenish light fabrics in blue, green and yellow.  I also looked for binding for the beach runner and border fabric for a UFO.  I found fabrics for both and a whole lot more.

I also picked up a Nancy Halvorsen panel.  I love the whimsical nature ...

Happy Mother’s Day!  Do something nice for yourself today.

No change in the numbers.

I finally came up with a quilting plan for K’s quilt.  I’m about half way through the quilting.  I’d love to get the quilt finished this week.  I don’t like that I have to keep it a secret. 

I’m also looking forward to working on other projects and starting the paint chip challenge.  As a reminder, this is my paint chip.

In addition to the beach runner, I also started working on this UFO from a class several years ago ...

No change in the numbers.

I started quilting the beach runner this week.  It’s not complicated and shouldn’t take long.

I moved back to that project because I can’t figure out how to quilt K’s top.  I’d hoped something would come to me while basting it, but not so much.  I browsed several of my quilting design books, and nothing jumped out at me.  I’ll spend a little time every day auditioning designs until an idea steps forward.  One always does.

Fabric Added: 1.375

Fabric Used:  4.625 yards

Net Fabric Used:  3 ...