March Ends On A High

Already eight days into April and I haven’t even finished posting about my March projects. Bad Donna!! Bad. Bad. (Better late, than never, right?)

I had a GREAT March as far as sewing projects go even though I was so obsessed with not wasting thread that every thing I sewed had a “pause.” A pause for me to grab a scrap and sew it to something.

You’ve heard of Distracted Drivers. Well, have you heard of a Distracted Sewer? That’s me. I can get off track 10 times in an hour. But in my mind, my method of sewing is organized chaos. At the end of the day, as I am turning off the light to my sewing machine, I look around to visually tally up what I managed to start, move along or complete.

Here are those starts, move alongs and completes…

Charity Pillowcases

First off, speaking of “high” up there in my title post, I got it from this guy.

One of the twenty-four charity pillows cases for March. I have to say this batch, Batch 12, was for the guys. Spiderman and basketballs. I have favorites in every batch. Love these. That red, white and black one was my pieced pillowcase for the month. I am trying to do one a month that is patchwork.

Sixty-six made so far this year. I am six over target.

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ScrappyTripAroundtheWorld Quilt Blocks (STATW)

My STATW blocks are finished.

I am using 36 blocks (12 1/2″ square) for my quilt. I made more than the 36 since I couldn’t make up my mind on which shade of burgundy I liked best for the center of each block. So, silly me, ended up with 27 extra blocks.

I will either use the extra blocks for a charity quilt or give them away.

Also, the chopped off ends of each strip will be made into a pillow.

I am using the darker burgundy for sashing.

The plan is to make a long, long slender pillow. Will have to see how far I can stretch those chopped ends.

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Block of the Month Quilt

This quilt is a project from one of my quilt groups. It won’t be finished until around the end of November or early December. Each month I get a new block to make. For March we had to make two.

You can see I now have five blocks completed.

Seven to go. Going to be fun deciding on the sashing, borders and binding.

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Crumbs Quilt

I am LOVING this!! All from my little bits and pieces of scraps. My Crumbs. So excited to see it grow. I have been working on and off for a month. I need to set aside some time to work on it more this month. With the pieces so tiny, it takes a while to create.

What you see up on my design wall, took hours and hours and hours. Days!! 😀

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5 by 5 Quilt

Not sure what I will do with these blocks but I will add a few more colors and hopefully an idea will pop up. I had way too many 2 1/2″ squares cut and wanted to use up some of them. I have seen a few quilts made with these 25 square color blocks and they look really pretty.

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You already saw these. I quilted them in March.

So, that does it for closing out March. April will be about quilting some of my UFO’s and bonding with my new sewing machine. I have been practicing free motion quilting on it. Getting the setting and tension to my liking. Still learning what all it can do.

What about you? Are you on track to finish up some of your UFO’s? Do tell.

Crossroads Quilt Top, Leaders and Enders Quilt Blocks and Charity Pillowcases

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It’s been awhile since my last post. But I am still here. Alive and kicking.

Want to see what I have been working on?

I finished the quilt top for my Crossroads to Jericho blocks near the end of February. Nine rows across and eight rows down. 72 blocks. Each block is 9″ square. I ended up with 20 extras and could probably make the quilt top wider or longer. But for now, I think I will leave it as is. 78″ by 70″.

It wasn’t until I was sewing Rows 3 and 4 together that I figured out an easier way to get the points to line up correctly. It isn’t perfect but I am happy with how it turned out. Here are a couple closeups.

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And in between making that quilt top, I made all of these blocks.

I am calling them my Leaders and Enders scrappy quilt blocks because that is how they were made. Sewing this way slows you down a bit but time I have. I wasn’t in a rush. There are 56 blocks up on my design wall. Ready for me to sew together.

Each block measures 10″ square. Most are Log Cabin or my version of the Log Cabin. I let the fabric speak to me and placed it where I thought it looked best.

These are my favorites.

The BEST PART… I now have my scraps totally under control. I started off with a handful of each color (except brown, saving them for later). I thought about cutting and trimming each scrap, Scrap Management, and doing what the “experts” say to do. But then I would still be cutting and trimming. I decided to Grab and Sew working from a huge pile of scraps plunked down right in the center of my work table. I even used my stash when I ran out of longer strips for the last round (10″ strip). That felt really great. Scraps and Stash. Even selvages were used for several blocks.

Did I use up all of my scraps? Nope. Still have lots left. But I did take the time to somewhat organize what was left by size. Long strips, squares/rectangles/odd shapes. And bits. LOTS of bits. A huge bag full of them. Tiny pieces 1 1/2″ or smaller. I couldn’t part with them. I will use them for smaller projects like doll quilts.

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I also made my charity pillowcases the L and E way. In between everything else. Hubby said it looked like a tornado had hit my sewing room. I have to admit, I had stuff everywhere but it was organized stuff. I knew where everything was. Originally I was setting aside two or three days a month to make the pillowcases. But sewing them as enders has worked out great.

Don’t you love these fabrics!! Bright. Bold. I made 22 for February and already have seven started for March.

Sorry I didn’t do a February roundup to show you what I made. I didn’t make a lot of stuff. Mostly I worked on Crossroads to Jericho blocks, Scrappy Trip Around the World blocks and my BOM blocks. Oh, and I made a heart themed mug rug for a swap in one of my quilt groups. I will post photos on my sidebar.

Hope you have been crafting and doing what you love. Did you miss me? 😀

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Linking up to…

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/03/mini-sunday-morning.html

http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2013/03/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-little-designing.html

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com/2013/03/link-finish-friday-58.html

http://aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/03/really-random-thursday-31413.html

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2013/03/we-did-it-wednesday_12.html

http://www.conniekresin.com/2013/03/linky-tuesday_12.html

Charity Pillowcases: New Year, Same Goals

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Isn’t this THE Cutest Fabric!! Got it at JoAnn’s a few days ago. I have breezed down the novelty fabric aisles so many times, that anything new jumps off the shelf and into my cart. Even the lady cutting this for me said, “this must be new.” Yep. New AND cute. And soon to be made into charity pillowcases for February. Batch 11.

But first… let me show you the twenty I made for January.

You already saw the fabric one of my quilting buddies sent me in December last year. But since I was already past my goal (160 for 2012), I took a rest break and saved her fabric for January.

Cute, aren’t they. I really love how they turned out. Thanks again, Donna S. You are a sweetheart!!

This batch, Batch 10, had fabrics I hadn’t used before. Huge butterflies and macaroons.

These two soccer-themed pillowcases came out great. I used two FQ’s sewn together to create the band and black/white checkerboard for the body. When I can catch the FQ’s on sale for 99 cents, I stock up.

As you all know, I made 168 charity pillowcases last year. Eight more than my 20 a month goal. (I started in May 2012.)

This year’s goal will be the same. 240 pillowcases for 2013. Twenty a month. That number has worked great for me. I sat aside a couple days and work “assembly line” style. One right after the other. I get them all to the same step and then move on to the next step. I am going to try to make one Outside The Box each month. One that is different from all the rest.

Here is a photo of all twenty.

So… that does it for me. Just wanted to show you January’s pillowcases and bring you up-to-date on my charity project.

What are you creating? Do tell.

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Linking up to….

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/02/sock-monkeys.html

November Charity Pillowcases

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Just a quick post to show you my charity pillowcases for November. I made exactly 20 and I am already over my goal of 160 for 2012. 168 so far and there is still December.

Pink, blue, gray, yellow, black, red, brown, beige. I used up quite a few of my larger pieces I first bought when I was just learning to quilt. Feels good. And for a great cause.

These are my favorites in this batch (Batch 9). Elephants and cats.

I was saving this blue fabric with the hearts for something special. But I hadn’t come up with any ideas for it as yet so I used a bit of it to make this pillowcase. Who doesn’t “heart” little kitties. 😀

Well, that does it for my latest pillowcases.

Want a sneak peek at my next selvage project?

BBL. Hope you are getting some crafting in.

Last Of The October Finishes: My Pillowcases

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Yay!! This is the last of the stuff I made in October. I am excited!! Since I can begin to show you the things I have made so far in November. Order… got to have order. Can’t put the cart before the horse. 😀

A couple of you asked if I would do a tutorial on how I am making my pillowcases. I am working on it. Not finished yet but I am thinking I will have it ready to post early next week.

So this post will show you the charity pillowcases plus a few I made for my Etsy Shop.

OK… Let’s get started.

The two in the top photo are my favorites in this batch. Batch 8. Black and white. So crisp looking. If I had a black and white bedroom, I would use them myself.

Stripes. I found a great flat sheet at Salvation Army’s Thrift Shop a couple months ago for just 3.99. I was able to get five pillowcases from that one sheet. Isn’t the John Deere fabric the cutest!!

More stripes. I love these!!

Dots. Polka dot, splashes of dots and large dots.

Even flowers, vines and leaves.

And these I made from the leftover backing fabric from my Hugs and Kisses quilt. I don’t waste ANY fabric. I will make it work even if I have to piece the pieces together.

Well, that does it for the charity pillowcases. 20 in this batch for October. Yay!! I am still on track to meet my goal of 20 a month from May to December.

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I also made a few I will be putting in my Etsy Shop.

This set I am so in love with. I love the colors. The freshness of the white bubbles fabric.

BUT mostly I am happy with how the fabric strips lined up almost perfectly at the seam.

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This patriotic set was made from pinwheels I made in July.

They were some of my practice blocks just sitting. I used most of them.

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And this last pillowcase.. Purple, lavender and teal.

I made the band from some blocks I made some time ago. Blocks I made when I was on my scrap color blocks kick last year. They were just sitting in a plastic bag. I was delighted when I laid them out and they measured exactly what I needed to make the band.

Whew!! That does it for my October finishes. Sorry it took so long. Now I get to tell you and show you my November projects. Thanks for sticking with me. 😀

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Linking to…

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/11/we-did-it-wednesday_13.html

http://www.conniekresin.com/2012/11/linky-party-tuesday_13.html

My September Roundup

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Not many projects were finished in September. But if there had been a contest for pieces made, I probably would have won.

I made….

• 22 charity pillowcases
• 126 Hugs and Kisses blocks
• 12 String blocks
• 40 String Circles
• 3 Birthday mug rugs
• 1 Quilt top quilted

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This was my last finish for the month. A Birthday Mug Rug. When you last saw it, it looked like this.

I decided to go smaller and ditched the other half-square triangles (HST’s). Just went with the yellow dotted ones for the front. For the back, I used royal blue HST’s and fussy cut a square of balloons. I love how this turned out and probably would have made more but boredom forced me to move on.

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Whew!! Made it!! Met my monthly goal of 20 charity pillowcases. I actually made 22.

Here’s Batch 7.

My favorites in this batch are the basketball pillowcase and the yellow one. The yellow one is pieced and fabric strips sewn onto muslin. It took FOREVER so I only made one.

I like seeing them all piled high in a great big stack. Makes me feel like I really worked hard. 😀

Now I am up to 128 total pillowcases. I am 28 ahead of schedule. (I started in May.)

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These are up on my design wall. No clue YET what I will do with them.

I guess you would call them String Circles. I was just in a “get rid of some of these scraps” mood and made one, then another and another.

And before I knew it, I had been making them for two days. I do think whatever I make, I will separate the darker ones from the rainbow colors and make two different projects. No rush on whatever I will make. They can stay up on my design wall until I need the space for something else.

Cause…

Right now, this has my attention.

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Yep, working on basting it.

Do you see the purple quilt top I was telling you about? The one I made last year. It will now be the backing for my umbrella quilt. So glad to finally use it for something. It had been folded for so long, I had to press out the wrinkles.

Well, that does it for me. Got to go plan my projects for October. I know I want to make up a couple Halloween things. Maybe a table runner. Also I want to use up more of my HST’s. 16 down. 1000 to go. Plus I want to finish up at least two UFO’s. Lots to do. Lots for you to see. BBL

OHHH… I forgot… do come back in a day or two. I feel a giveaway coming on. 😀

Take care. What Fall projects are you working on?

Recycle #9: Ralph Lauren Sheet and Pillowcases

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If you have been following my blog for some time, then you know what I like to do on Wednesdays. I like to go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Senior Discount Day.

I was dropping off four of my beloved mother’s winter coats I was never going to use or wear. Made sense someone else could get some wear out of them as cold as it has been in my parts lately.

And of course, since I was already there, just had to run inside to quickly make my rounds. I have gotten so good at it. Unless they move the aisles or change stuff around, I can get in and scoop up what I want in about 10 minutes.

Yesterday, I only found one thing I could use. This Ralph Lauren twin sheet. For just 2.99. And with my 25% discount, only 2.24. A steal.

Not sure if that is how it is supposed to look. It looks like some of the color has washed out. But it feels great. Nice fabric. 100% cotton.

I washed it and cut it up to make my charity pillow cases. Batch 7 for my September count. I was able to get four pillowcase bodies and two tops out of that one sheet.

Counting those, so far, I have 15 pillowcases ready for French seams.

These fabrics are waiting their turn.

I need at least five more to make my 20 a month goal. That basketball fabric sure is cute. And I like those little birds and adorable cats too.

Plus I am making this band from fabric strips to go with this pretty yellow bottom. I may make a second one. I have enough strips cut.

Hopefully I get them all finished by month’s end.

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And in case you are wondering… I teased you in my last post about what was on my sewing table. Here it is.

But now you will have to guess what I am going to do with it. It is old, old old. A quilt top I made last year. You can read my post about it here.

https://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/quilt-top-is-finished-making-a-piano-key-border/

Didn’t really get all bubbly about it after I made it so it got folded and stored. NOW, it will have a new life as something else. So glad I remembered I made it. More details and photos coming up. 😀

Margaret’s Hope Chest and Pillowcase Project Update

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Six weeks ago I committed to making Ragged Square blocks for Margaret’s Hope Chest. They make quilts for children around the world in need. They even take requests for quilts for kid’s birthdays.

(I borrowed this photo from their website.)

I first heard of the project on AmandaJean’s (Crazy Mom Quilts) blog. She would be assisting with sewing the blocks together. The deadline was fast approaching and for some reason, in the back of my mind, I had been working on them. I saw them in my head. I saw me cutting the fabrics. I saw me sewing the blocks. Must have dreamed it. Cause they aren’t done!! Not even started!!

They needed to be sewn and mailed to Grand Rapids, Michigan by the end of this month.

So I started on them today. You know me. Queen Procrastinator. I think I do my best work with feet to the fire. And looking like a headless chicken running around.

Anyhoo… first thing I did… moved all the stuff off my craft tables so I could get started. I needed three squares for each block. 3 1/2″, 6 1/2″ and 9 1/2″. And the three needed to be in the same color family. Now you know from following my blog that I rarely work with just a single color. I love working with a variety of fabrics with lots going on. The busier, the better. So, trying to find three non-busy same color fabrics almost brought this project to a halt.

BUT after about an hour of playing sort and matchy matchy…

I think these will work. What do you think?

Pink, aqua and two shades of purple. Squares are cut and ready to sew. I tried to use some of my scraps but didn’t have pieces large enough. Did use a few for the smaller squares.

I think I will make two blocks from this orange group. And call it a day. Ten should do it.

Look at this one. It’s the first one I cut. I was thinking it would work. THEN I reread the instructions. So NOT going to work!! It isn’t monochromatic.

I’ll keep it for myself. I like it. And maybe make a few more. One day.

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Go here to read all about the program and how you can help. Or maybe you just want the tutorial to make some of these blocks for yourself. So cute and looks easy.

http://margaretshopechest.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-april-project-hope-ragged-squares.html

http://www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2012/06/can-you-help.html

http://margaretshopechest.blogspot.com/2012/06/end-of-summer-work-party-with-amanda.html

http://margaretshopechest.com/ways.html

Bookmark the site. Though the deadline for making these Ragged Squares is coming to a close, they are always in need of blocks/quilts/supplies.

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Update on Sweet Dreams, my charity pillowcase project. Batch 5. Twenty-seven finished and ready to mail off.

This is my favorite in this batch. I made two alike. Royal blue fabric with dolphins. An ocean theme for the band. With navy, royal and red dots on white background for the body. Love it!!

I have seven more cut and ready to sew. Will save them for the next batch. For August.

Well, that does it for me. What have you been working on? Do tell.

Pinwheels and Swirling Stars

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Uh, OH… I think I am in LOVE!!

Being the procrastinator that I am, it shouldn’t surprise you (or me) that I have spent the last two days working on a project that is due for mail out tomorrow. 😀

I am making pinwheel and swirling star blocks. For July’s Block Lotto in my quilt group.

I almost didn’t sign up. Since I suck at anything with points to line up. But decided how will I ever learn if I don’t try and go outside my comfort zone.

And guess what?

Making the pinwheels was easier than I thought. These were my first ones. Not hard. But I had to be oh so careful trimming them and making sure the seams matched perfectly to the 45 degree lines. Thankfully I have a revolving cutting mat. It worked great.

The amazing part about this project is how the same blocks produce two completely different looks. Sew four blocks and I get a pinwheel.

The leftover four blocks (from the original Half-Square-Triangles) PLUS four rectangles and one little square in the center and I get a swirling star. I love how the swirling star turned out.

I will make up a few more sets and get them mailed tomorrow.

Then I am going to make up some scrappy swirling star blocks. Just to see how they turn out. I have plenty of scraps. A boatload. I have enjoyed this project. Who knew!! Lesson learned. Try it. You might like it!!

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In case you are wondering how my umbrella quilt is coming along, I haven’t worked on the back yet. Still deciding on what I want. I tried these HUGE strips. For one huge umbrella. Hate it!!

I went to JoAnn’s a couple days ago and bought these purple fabrics. These might work.

At least they will add color. I really do want an umbrella for the back. Got to figure it out.

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And no, I haven’t let my pillowcase project fall by the wayside. Since I can whip them out pretty fast, I have been setting aside a couple days a month and playing catch up. I have 17 pillowcases ready for French seams.

And I gathered up a pile of fabrics for the next pillowcase marathon.

Probably will do seven more for an even 24 and then get them mailed off one day this week. It is still a fun project. So I will keep it going for as long as I can.

So… what have you been up to? Do tell. 😀

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Update 7-23-12: I finished three sets.

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Linking to…

http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2012/07/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-fun-in-sun-and.html

http://sewhappygeek.co.uk/index.php/2012/07/23/manic-monday-linky-party-44/

http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/2012/07/party-time-craftomaniac-monday.html

Pillowcases: Batch 4 Ready For French Seams

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I worked on these charity pillowcases last night. 12 of them.

All ready for French Seams.

I have a few favorites. Especially this fabric with the colorful doggie bones. I used it as the band for three pillowcases.

They should all be finished sometime today. I want to get them packed and ready to mail either tomorrow or Monday.

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What else am I working on? One of my UFO’s.

It is basted with quilting spray and pins. Ready to quilt.

This is the backing fabric.

I am thinking big loopy daisies. Or some sort of loops and swirls. I think I will use blue denim thread in the bobbin and cream for the top. Will do a practice swatch first to see if the blue thread pulls up to the top.

I have plans for this quilted tablecloth/picnic blanket. Two family outings in July. And then I will display it on my dining room table most of the summer. And I just thought of something. I get to count it as one of my SS Holiday table mats. Yay!!

Well, back to the assembly line. The French seams are calling!! Hope you have great plans for this weekend. Do something fun!!