I May Have a Scrap Problem - June Finishes

It’s nearly the end of June. Wow…how did that happen?

I worked on a variety of projects this month, but I didn’t complete everything I set out to do. What’s new about that? Nothing! Let’s look back at my plans for June…

Works In Progress (WIPs):

The projects I am currently working on and consider my WIPs are my two Gypsy Wife quilts.

I did finish Sections 5 and 8 for the neutral version…

But I have not started on Section 9 for either of my GW quilts. I actually have that written on my calendar to work on today and tomorrow, so maybe I can still make some headway on Section 9 in June.

UnFinished Objects (UFOs):

In June I hope to make more border blocks for the 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sawtooth Star quilt.

Um…thought about it, but didn’t even pull it out. Maybe in July.

One Monthly Goal (OMG):

For my One Monthly Goal at Red Letter Quilts, I would like to finish the top for the Vintage Skate wall hanging.

This one is done! Yay!

I May Have a Scrap Problem:

I will go through my blue/aqua and lime green scraps and get them sorted and cut unto usable pieces.

Well, I didn’t get any scraps out of my big scrap bin to go through, but I did cut some pieces for my Curves project and I even put some together…

I also decided to work on my 2-1/2” squares as a Leaders & Enders project, and I have 115 pairs of squares put together…

I am looking at ways to put these together into a quilt. I’m actually making a dent in my 2-1/2” squares, so I may need to cut more from the scrap bin.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC):

For the color of the month at RSC (blue/aqua with lime green accents), I got my fabrics from my bins and I hope to work on a Drunkard’s Path project. I will also be working on the RSC Sawtooth Stars.

As I mentioned before, no to the Sawtooth Stars, but my Drunkard's Path project is the Curves project above.

Quilting:

I have a couple of items I hope to get quilted this month.

Nope. Nada. Nothing quilted.

Stitching:

I always like to have some hand embroidery or stitching of some kind going on, and I still need to finish my Witches Hooray panel, so that will be on my list.

Yay! Witches Hooray is done…

I also worked a bit on my old cat needlepoint project.

Appliqué:

My current appliqué project is the Tuxedo’s Tales Block of the Month. Well, I didn’t work on Tuxedo’s Tales, but I did do some work on my Butterfly Sampler from Sue Spargo’s Craftsy Class.

I also made this Bluebird mug rug from a kit I picked up during the East TN Shop Hop earlier this month…

Charity Quilts:

Nothing to see here either…

Something New:

I was able to work on the new technique of sewing curved seams in my Curves project. And I made one Shop Hop pattern (out of 12!)…

During the Shop Hop I also picked up several packages of pre-cuts, and I made this Thanksgiving table runner from a Bernartex Charm Pack called Turkey Run…

I have enough strips made to make a second table runner. I also found this fabric in my stash…

And I even have enough of that to back both table runners. Yay!

The last new project (I think) that I have worked on this month is making these blocks from another pre-cut package…

This is from a Moda layer cake from Primitive Gatherings called Wool & Needle Flannels III. This is for my baby girl who is off to Boston in the fall to start her new adventure, and since she spent most of her life here in Tennessee, she is going to need a flannel quilt up there to help her stay warm in the winter! I’m expecting some yardage from this same line to arrive today for the borders and binding of this quilt, so now I just need to find the right backing and some batting. Not sure if I want to go with a wool batting or not. I’ll have to think about that…quickly! This needs to be done and ready to go with her in two months.

So that’s about it from here. Today is my birthday, so I am going to spend it however I want (after exercising, cleaning, laundry, baking muffins…) But once I’m done with those things, I will probably spend time in the sewing room putting the flannel blocks into rows. Who knows; maybe I will get that whole top pieced today. For now, I will be linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for the Finishes Party for I May Have a Scrap Problem. Head over to see what everyone else has been up to in June.

Design Wall Monday

These are the blocks I cut and pieced from this Moda flannel layer cake…

I finally got them all trimmed up and ready to put together. I’ll take another look to see if I want to move some of the blocks around before sewing them together, but for right now it looks OK to me. (Except I just noticed I have two 4-patches next to each other on the bottom...I'll fix that.) This will be my priority for a while as I need it to be completed by the end of August.

For today, I will be working on a Thanksgiving table runner and a needlepoint project. I will be linking up with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. Have a wonderful Monday!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Our guild charity quilt Sit & Sew was canceled for this afternoon, so I will be able to hang out at home (and out of the heat!) and do some Slow Sunday Stitching.

Last week I was able to finish up the Bluebird mug rug…

I also worked a little on this old needlepoint…

This is the photo from last time, but I have worked on it…probably 5 or 6 times. I will probably get some more done on it this evening. But this afternoon I plan on watching a movie with the hubby and working on finishing the appliqué on the butterfly wings for this Butterfly Sampler…

I believe I have seven more butterflies to finish. These are all pinned and ready to go. This sampler is from the Craftsy class by Sue Spargo. I started it a while ago, but I really would like to get it finished (just like everything else!)

That’s about it for hand work from here. I can’t believe there are no embroidery projects going on in this house! That may change soon enough.

For now, I will be linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Head over for some lovely projects.

One Monthly Goal – Finished!

I’m pleased to say that I finished my One Monthly Goal for June. My goal was to take this finished embroidery…

…make the blocks that surround it…

…and then get it all put together into a top…

Done!

I encountered a couple of problems, but nothing that I couldn’t make work. I also still have a few beads and baubles to add to it, but I will wait until I have finished quilting it before I add those.

Woo hoo! It’s a finish! Mostly J

The only other item I finished this week was this little Bluebird wool mug rug kit…

I picked up this kit during the June Shop Hop and worked on it while we were camping this month, then finished it up over last weekend. Yay!

For one last “finish”…I finished cutting the Moda flannel layer cake for a quilt I hope to put together in the next month or so. Here are all the pieces ready to sew…

I even got all of the 4-patches put together yesterday…

Maybe today I can get the quarter-triangle squares done.

I will be linking up with Red Letter Quilts for the June Finishes Link-up for One Monthly Goal, and also with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

Skating Along

I have all of the blocks done now for the Vintage Skate wall hanging…

These will surround the embroidered skate, but when I set them all together like this, I really like the light pink pinwheel that appears between the blocks. That won’t show in the finished wall hanging. Yesterday I was able to stitch the blocks together into their rows, and today I hope to attach them to the skate panel. I will probably add a small border (maybe) and then this top will be done.

I also spent some time this week putting together the large circles in my Rainbow Scrap Challenge Curves top, and I also spent time cutting and sewing together some of the smaller Curve blocks. Here is what I have sewn so far…

It’s getting there…slowly. I’m actually enjoying sewing the curved seams, and it is not as hard as I feared. The small blocks are a bit harder to sew than the larger curved blocks, but I am still able to get them done.

Finally this week, I started sewing together some squares from a charm pack I picked up during the shop hop earlier this month. It is a pack from Benartex and it is Thanksgiving themed fabrics. I placed two together and stitched up two (opposite) sides, then cut them in half parallel to the stitching. This gave me 5 inch squares again (or nearly so). I pieced together three sets of these “twosies” and now I have a few stacks of strips with 2” by 5” rectangles…

I will lay these out side-by-side and put sashing between them and a border around them to make a couple of holiday table runners. So far it’s been quick and easy. I have several more pre-cuts here (layer cakes and charm packs) and plan on making them into something soon.

That’s it for now. Today I hope to finish the top for the Vintage Skate wall hanging, and I will probably also sew some more Curves. Later today will be some hand stitching (not sure which project yet!) For now, I will be linking up at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday. Stop by to see some great projects.

Back from Vacation

It’s great to get away for a while, but it’s certainly nice to come back home again. I was able to work on a little stitching while out of town, but I didn’t finish up my project. I got the appliqué pieces stitched down on the wool Bluebird mug rug…

Now I plan on adding some embroidered embellishments, then stitch this to the bottom piece of wool. I will probably quilt it a little too so the top and bottom aren’t flopping away from each other. This is my plan for today.

Tomorrow, I hope to spend some time on an oldie but goodie.

I started this cat needlepoint project many years ago…probably 12 to 15 years. I pick it up, then put it down and don’t pick it up again for years at a time. Well, if I don’t work on it, it will never get done. So, I want to try to finish it sometime this year, which means I need to make time for it. Hopefully I can see some more progress on this soon.

For now, I will be linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Head on over to see some wonderful hand worked projects.

Needle and Thread Thursday

I’ve been running around a bit and working a little in the sewing room. I finally finished Section 5 of the neutral Gypsy Wife. Ugh. Did I say “Ugh”? Let me say it again…Ugh. I lost track of the number of seams I had to rip out of this while putting it together. My mind was really on other things, I guess, but I finally got is right…I think. Yesterday I worked on Section 8 and got it mostly done. Section 8 is on the far left and Section 5 is to the right of 8…

Section 8 is in three sections (vertically) and I have not sewn those sections together yet. You can see the middle section is very tan, and I just can’t figure out if I like it or not. I think I will wait until I make Section 9 (which goes to the left of 8) and see how it all looks together.

Tuesday I ran out to another quilt shop that is on my Shop Hop list. I picked up a couple of things, including this Moda flannel layer cake.

I have big plans for that, but I tell you what right now.

Today I will be heading out to a couple of quilts shops about an hour away from home, then this afternoon I have to take my m-i-l to an appointment. Maybe late today I can get some more work done in the sewing room. In the meantime, I will be linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation. Head over for some great projects.

It’s Monday Again!

We had a busy weekend and we’re ready for a new week here at the Pieceful Kingdom.

This weekend we ran to a few shops for the East Tennessee Shop Hop. I picked up the three block patterns and fabric kits from the shops, plus a few other items. First, here are my free fat quarters from two shops (the third wasn’t giving anything away)

And here is some fabric that I purchased…

The bottom left is a panel of quilt labels. I figured that would come in handy. In the bottom right are a couple of cotton fat quarters, and the other fabrics on the right are flannel fat quarters. The fabric in the left top corner has raccoons, squirrels, foxes, and owls…this is one of the things I was looking for to use in the Campers pattern. The ribbon in the center is Minnie Mouse ribbon. I don't know what I will do with that yet.

I also picked up a few notions while I was shopping. I picked up some short appliqué pins (I have always used long ones), some Machingers, and a seam guide for my machine. The two items on the top right, the hera marker and a lanyard with a measuring tape and magnet were freebies from one store.

Also, as we were leaving the last quilt shop, we walked past a cross stitch shop and went in to check it out. I found some great buttons to use for my HocusPocusVille quilt…

Yesterday, while hubby got some painting done in our entry way, I finished up the Witches Hooray stitching…

I am planning on adding some hot fix nail heads and crystals to this to finish it off. I hope to get to that later in the week.

Also, I have my completed centers for the Vintage Skate blocks to show off…

I will need to put those aside this week until I get caught up on the neutral Gypsy Wife. Hopefully I can finish Section 5 today, then get started on Section 8 tomorrow. The only other item I want to do this week is to prepare the wool bluebird mug rug kit to take camping next week. Once those two things are completed, I will get back to the Vintage Skate blocks and working on my RSC Curves. I also completed my first Shop Hop block...a quick and easy star and it's on my Design Wall…

That’s it for now. I may run out to another quilt shop about lunch time, but we’ll see where I am with housework and the like. I will be linking up with Main Crush Monday and Design Wall Monday. Head over for some great projects.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

For the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month I am trying a new technique for me – sewing curves on the machine. I have never tried this before, and I have been watching the Craftsy class “Playing with Curves” with Ann Petersen, and I decided to give it a try. So, I picked up a couple of Drunkard’s Path rotary templates…

These will create 7” and 3-1/2” finished blocks.

I’ve gotten some of the pieces cut. I think I am done cutting the larger pieces, so now I will concentrate on cutting more of the smaller pieces. Here is what I have cut so far…

I plan on creating circles with the blocks and surrounding the three large circles with smaller circles. At least that’s the plan now.

So, I got all the pieces done for the large blocks and I put my first one together…

Not too bad. This may not seem like much to some people, but I try to avoid sewing anything but squares and rectangles as much as humanly possible. This is an entirely new frontier for me. I also really like the colors for June, so instead of just using the greens for accents, I’m going full-on with them. Here is where I left them yesterday…

The first circle! I really like it - I think it's the colors.

Today we will be heading out to do a little Shop Hop-ping. We’re hoping to get to several shops today, but I’m not sure how many we’ll actually get to, but I’m excited to head out. I think this coming week I will go to three more shops that are in different directions, so there is a good chance I could get to all 12 shops before this thing is over. I’ll keep you posted.

I will be linking up at So Scrappy with Angela for the June Rainbow Scrap Challenge link-up. Head over to see some wonderful projects!

Friday Finishes

I don’t have much to show for finishes this Friday. I did finish pressing and trimming the half-square triangle squares for the Vintage Skate wall hanging (all 224 of them!) I then started in on the center pinwheel of the blocks and completed four of them…

Pinwheels

The “twosies” on the right need to be sewn together. I should be able to get that done today.

The only other thing I “finished” was getting photos of my dog printed onto some fabric. I’m planning on using the photos in a future project. And here is the photo of my dog…

Suki

She is such fun. She takes her job as a dog very seriously, and she goes at it with a great deal of enthusiasm. You gotta appreciate the effort J

Yesterday I went to a couple of nearby quilt shops who are participating in the East TN Shop Hop. I picked up these two block kits…

The theme this year is “Celebrating Freedom” and it appears all of the blocks in the quilt will be stars. They really look pretty simple, though I have seen one block on a shop’s website that looks a bit more challenging. So, I have two blocks/shops down, 10 to go. We have until June 11 to try to get to all of the stores. I don’t know how many I will go to because the remainder require at least an hour drive each way (except one that is about a half hour), but we plan on trying to make a trip Saturday to get some more Passport stamps. We just need to carve out several hours to make it happen. We can go up to the Smoky Mountains and hit 5 or 6 shops…but we have been up there a bazillion times (though I don’t believe I ever stopped in a quilt shop up there). Or, we can head out in a direction I have never been and see some new sights, but only hit three shops. Hmmm…what a dilemma. We’ll see what we decide. The weather will probably make the decision for us. If it’s bad and we decide to go, we will probably go for the familiar; but if it’s not very rainy we may head for a new adventure. I will keep you posted.

Of course while I was at the quilt shops I had to pick up some other things. The following photo is of the free fat quarter I got at one shop, plus the Campers pattern by Amy Bradley Designs that I have been coveting ever since it first came out. I decided to go ahead and pick it up (the dog photo may play a part in this quilt).

At the other shop (the one I shop at most often), I got to pick out my own free fat quarter, so I went with one that I might use in my Curves quilt top I’m cutting out. I also picked up a little pumpkin wall hanging pattern, a cone of off-white 50 wt. Mettler thread (I can never have too much off-white thread), and a little wool bluebird mug rug kit. We have bluebirds every year living in the bird house in our backyard, so I love to watch them. We actually have a duplex birdhouse (two houses back-to-back) and this is the first year we have had bluebirds nesting in both at the same time. Anyway, I thought it was cute and I think I will get it prepared over the next week so I can take it to work on when we go camping this month.

Today is a rainy day at home and leftovers for dinner, so that means I can pretty much spend the day in the sewing room (except for the laundry, the housework, dealing with the dog and the cat…you get the picture). I’m looking forward to a productive day and I will try to finish up the Vintage Skate blocks and get some more pieces cut for my Curves quilt. I hope you have a fabulous Friday!

I will be linking up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

Hopping into June

Today is the first day of the East TN Quilt Shop Hop. Yesterday I ran errands and picked up a Shop Hop passport. I also picked up a small cutting mat and ruler, and some more fabric for my HocusPocusVille quilt. Here is the fabric:

I had previously purchased some cream with black pin dots fabric, but I have picked at it and used it for other projects that came up (including the Witches stitchery and part of the neutral GW quilt), so I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough for HPV. I also figured that since it seemed to be a convenient “neutral”, that I would probably continue to use it for other projects. So, I think I now have the HPV fabric under control (and set aside so I don’t use it for something else!) I do hope to get to cutting the HPV blocks soon.

I also cut some pieces for my Curves project using the Drunkard’s Path templates. I used my aqua and lime green fabrics that are the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors for June (or at least the closest I have to them). I still have a lot more to go, but this is what I have cut so far…

This is not how they will end up. I have a lot more fabric to cut, so there will be different configurations and combinations of colors than what you see here. The more I look at it, the more I like it.

I also got all of the half-square triangle squares sewn for the Vintage Skate blocks. I have pressed and trimmed off the dog-ears on half of them (224 in total). I will get to the other half today and maybe even start putting blocks together.

Finally, I decided to try Leaders & Enders again. I have tried this in the past and I always end up stopping and just focusing on that and completing that Leader/Ender project…which is exactly the opposite of its purpose. I saw that Bonnie Hunter will be starting a new Leader/Ender “sew-along” in July, and it made me think of all of my 2-1/2” squares that I have cut and in these drawers…

I decided to go ahead and use these for Leaders & Enders. So, I’m sewing a dark and a light together. Who knows what I’ll end up with in the end, but I know I can always make cute little four-patches. I don’t know what Bonnie has in mind, so I may incorporate what she does too; we’ll see. I used this yesterday when I was sewing the half-square triangle squares, and I now have 5 or 6 “twosies”.

That’s about it from here. I have already run out to the store this morning and hit two quilt shops for the Shop Hop. I will report on that tomorrow. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thursday!

A Look Ahead to June

It’s a new month, so that means I get to come up with a new list of things I want to do this month. This week starts the quilt Shop Hop in East TN, we will get a chance to camp this month, plus we hope to get some interior painting done in the house, and the end of the month is my birthday. So there should be plenty to keep me busy outside of the sewing room. In the sewing room, I hope to work on some of the following…

Works In Progress (WIPs):

The projects I am currently working on and consider my WIPs are my two Gypsy Wife quilts. I still have Sections 5 & 8 to finish for the neutral version, then for the last week or so of the month (after my next GW class) I will have Section 9 to work on for both versions.

UnFinished Objects (UFOs):

This would be a project that I have put aside for a while, but need to get to work on. In June I hope to make more border blocks for the 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sawtooth Star quilt. This is where I left it last…

I need to put a piece of white sashing between the rows, and then finish up the border piecing. Hopefully I can get that far this month. (The pink spots in the middle of the blocks are Post-It notes)

One Monthly Goal (OMG):

For my One Monthly Goal at Red Letter Quilts, I would like to finish the top for the Vintage Skate wall hanging. I completed the embroidered panel…

And this past weekend I cut all of the pieces for the surrounding blocks…

They will all be pieced into half-square-triangle square units, so I think I can get those done pretty quickly. If I work at it, I may even get the blocks all put together this week.

I May Have a Scrap Problem:

I will work on taming my scraps with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict in June. I will go through my blue/aqua and lime green scraps and get them sorted and cut unto useable pieces. What remains will again be crumb pieced. I hope to come up with some idea of a project to put some of these scraps in this month. I don’t know if I will get to that, but I will try.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC):

For the color of the month at RSC (blue/aqua with lime green accents), I got my fabrics from my bins and I hope to work on a Dunkard’s Path project. I will also be working on the RSC Sawtooth Stars. Here are my fabrics for the RSC (the fabrics on the right are actually lime green, not yellow as they appear in the photo):

Quilting:

I have a couple of items I hope to get quilted this month. I would like to finish a panel quilt that I started in May for Ronald McDonald House quilts. It’s not that big of a project, but I need to take some time for it. I also hope to quilt the snowflake table topper that I made in May…

I will do both of those on my domestic machine, so I may try to piece a backing and put the orange and black & white quilt on the long arm and work on that.

Stitching:

I always like to have some hand embroidery or stitching of some kind going on, and I still need to finish my Witches Hooray panel, so that will be on my list. When I finish that I will have to see what I want to do next.

Appliqué:

My current appliqué project is the Tuxedo’s Tales Block of the Month. The next on my list is the March block, so I hope to get that cut out and started soon.

Charity Quilts:

For my Charity Quilts, I want to finish up a few Kennel Quilts that I have cut out. I also want to finish quilting the RMH quilt I mentioned above. When those are done, I have plenty of RMH quilt tops here that can be quilted.

Something New:

Like everyone else, I have scores of books, magazines, and patterns that I have never gotten around to using. I know that I’m a pattern addict! Anyway, between those things and the Craftsy classes I have, there are literally hundreds (probably thousands!) of project patterns and techniques to make or try. I really would like to get to some of them. I have recently starting watching Playing with Circles with Ann Petersen, so I would like to give sewing curves a try (I’ve never done it before). I have a Drunkard’s Path template, so that will be my new technique for June. I will make this using the RSC colors.

For a new project, I may start the Shop Hop patterns. I don’t know how many shops I’m going to get to (we have 12 shops within a couple of hours of here), but I do know I can make it to 2 shops this week. We may run out to a town about 1-1/2 hours away and hit 3 more shops on the way this weekend, but I don’t know if I will get to any others. We will see what happens with this. I’ve never done the Shop Hop, so I’m curious to see what it’s about.

And I recently picked up this little pattern by Elizabeth Hartman…

I love cats and this is so cute. So, this will definitely go up to the top of my New To-Do’s.

So that is it for now. Tons of stuff, but I do like to plan big! At least I have some kind of plan, plus some of these overlap in categories. I know I will do some of these, but not all, and I will probably pick up new things along the way this month. That’s just the way it is. But, at least I enjoy it all! I hope you all have a wonderful June!

Please check out the following link-up parties for some fun projects!

Links:

One Monthly Goal for June at Red Letter Quilts 

I May Have a Scrap Problem at Confessions of a Fabric Addict