Make-A-List Monday - Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'....

Hi, all!

Do you remember the original Blues Brothers' movie, where they had to perform in a country and western bar?  That's kind of what I feel like - rollin', rollin', rollin... keep those doggies rollin'... It's been a week of keeping things rolling - and it feels good! So let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Make a quilt back for the Have Faith quilt.

2.  Quilt the Have Faith quilt.
Done!  And I love love love this quilt!  Such a simple pattern, but it turns out looking much more difficult.  This one will be going to Emily for Happy Chemo.

3.  Quilt the first (of many) teacher quilts.
Done - unfortunately, the only pic I have is while it was on the frame - but it's a pretty little quilt!

4.  Start the prototype for the 12 Days of Christmas in July (12DCIJ) quilt-along quilt.
Done!  Not only is it cut out, but the top is finished!  Here's a peek at all the pieces, just to tease you...

5.  Keep working on the reclamation and reconstruction of my friend's turtle quilt.

In progress!  I've turned all the sets of four turtles into four separate turtles, because all of the 4-patch blocks were different sizes and also seldom actually rectangular.  Next I'll work on determining a size for each turtle block, and repairing the ones that are damaged.

6.  Keep working on setting up this year's 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  (If you are interested in participating, send me an email at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com.)

Done!  Info has been sent out to the bloggers who have indicated they want to participate this year, and we'll be working schedules soon!  It's gonna be AWESOME!!  (Note: if you told me you want to be part and DIDN'T get an email from me this week, let me know - I may have lost track of you and don't want to leave you out!)

7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Done.  This quilt went to a couple who lost their newborn son...

...and this quilt, unfortunately, went to a couple who lost their grown son.  It's been tough week.

This quilt went to a gentleman who lost a kidney to cancer.

So that was last week.  It felt good to work on some different things, and I'm excited about new projects!  Here's what's on the horizon for this week...

1.  Start rebuilding the turtle quilt.

2.  Write the pattern for the 12DCIJ quilt.

3.  Using that pattern, cut out another in a  different color way.

4.   Finish up the pillowcase dresses for the Haiti mission trip.

5.  Quilt two high school quilts for the ministry.

6.  Quilt a top for a friend.

7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Definitely enough to keep me out of trouble - especially since I am going with my grandkids to the zoo tomorrow (they are out of school for Election Day) and then to visitation in the afternoon.  Plenty of time for sewing later in the week, but the grandkids are only little once!  It's hard to believe the youngest is already six - where does the time go?

So now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Hands2Help - How is a quilt pattern like comfort food?

Hi, all!

Welcome to another week of the Hands2Help Challenge, and another great guest blogger!  Joanne lives in Canada, and blogs at Quilts by Joanne.  She is a prolific scrap quilter, and has a way with rectangles, which she will share with you now - so I turn the blog over to her....

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This year's Hands2Help Charity quilt drive will soon be coming to a close. The guest bloggers have shown some terrific ideas for quilts that anyone can make and that will provide comfort to those in need. In my post today I would like to share two ideas that use up the almost smallest bits of fabric and, while they may take a long time to make a quilt top, they work and they help avoid throwing out those still useable pieces of fabric.

I love bricks as a quilting shape. They are so very versatile. You can cut bricks from your leftover projects in a wide number of sizes. The photo shows different sized bricks.

The bricks in the photo are all the way from 3/4" x 1", 1" x 1 1/2", 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" (my personal favourite), 2" x 3 1/2", 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" ( my second favourite), 3 1/2" x 6 1/2", 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" to finally 5" x 9 1/2". 

When I am trimming my scraps to store them I trim them into strips and I have found over the years that I like to trim to 5" strips, 2 1/2" strips and 1 1/2" strips. Those are the sizes that I use most often. There are many "Scrap Saver Systems" and as you work with your scraps you will find the one that works best for you. These strips are then stored in containers and I can pull as needed. Bricks can be cut quickly and with relatively little thought. If as an example you are cutting 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" bricks then dig into the 2 1/2" strips and all your cuts are the same size. This is a great time saver if you are making up kits for a sewing day. And would likely be even more quickly accomplished with a cutting system.

The two brick patterns I am going to describe can be made with any size brick. You can imagine that the larger bricks will yield a larger block and will work into a quilt top much more quickly than a smaller brick.

To decide which of my two favourite brick designs I am going to use I need to look at the collection of bricks I am going to work with. If I have a wide variety of scraps of various numbers in a  range of colours then I decide on my favourite simple bricks pattern. If however I can arrange my bricks in groups of four that match then I look to the Windmill design as I first saw it demonstrated by Diane Harris on the Quiltmaker's magazine blog several years ago.

Above is an example of a simple brick quilt made with a wide variety of scraps. I did not have an even number to make sets of four so this was my best way to use this set of scraps. 

To make a simple bricks quilt you need to select the size of brick you are working with and them make the blocks needed to create a quilt the size you need. The steps to making a single block are very straight forward. First stitch two bricks together along the long side of the bricks and press. Second add a single brick to the top and the bottom of this pair. Third stitch two pairs of bricks together on the short side. Press these and then add to the sides of your block. This is a simple brick block. Note that you can keep going to make this block larger by sewing more bricks together on the short side and adding to the top and bottom and keep building the block up that way.

Simple brick block components

Once you have stitched together the number of blocks you need then arrange them so that the centre bricks are vertical then horizontal. As you can see in the picture above, this eliminates a great deal of seam matching and makes the block go together smoothly. 

Then let your inner designer show through. Make your centres light and your outer ring dark... use an established color scheme... go scrappy... the sky is the limit!

This little quilt shows the windmill blocks. I used a variety of colours with a consistent background, but for each block I needed four bricks that were the same color.

To construct the basic Windmill block you need two sets of four bricks.

Stitch together as shown. first stitching the pairs together on the long side then pair those up so that you are stitching a horizontal pair to the right of a vertical pair. It is really important to keep the components in the same relative position when you are stitching. Pressing each component in the same direction is helpful also.

To get to this point and have a finished windmill you need to rotate ONE of your pairs and stitch it to the other. I like to twirl my seams at the back of these blocks to help them lie nice and flat.

Quilts made from either one of these blocks are simple and comfortable - just like comfort food!

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Thank you for sharing these two beautiful quilts with us, Joanne!  Great ideas, and a wonderful way to use up those smaller scraps....

I've used Joanne's theory of rectangles in the past, to create one of my favorite quilts - the Gum Wrapper quilt!  If memory serves, I used 1.5x2.5"rectangles for the outside edges, and 2.5x4.5" rectangles for the center.  All scraps, and so much fun to make!  So grab your rectangles and see what you you can come up with  - as Joanne says, let your inner designer show through!

See you next week, when we'll have another great guest blogger to share with us.  

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Mermaid in the Middle!

Hi, all!

It's Friday again - I hope it's a little bit dryer where you are, we've had rain most of the week! - and that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's get started!

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When I saw Jamie's tutorial for the "Have Faith" block, I knew I needed to make a scrappy version - so here's "Mermaid In The Middle"!  This quilt was made using fifty ten inch squares and 25 random fat quarters, so it made a good dent in my scrap stash - woohoo!!

Here's a close-up of the center block, which I was happy to be able to fussy cut to showcase that adorable mermaid.  And that's where the name of this quilt came from.

When I got ready to quilt it, I started looking for a back and didn't see anything right off that I wanted to use.  Then the mail came, with a quilting subscription box.  Opening it, I found fabrics that really weren't my taste - but they were perfect for the back of this quilt!  (Really cute, just not something I would have picked out...)

It really was kismet, because the three yards in the box were exactly what I needed to back this 60" square quilt!  Score!!

And one last picture, just because it's pretty!!!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's making you whoop it up this week?

via GIPHY

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

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I May Have a Scrap Problem.. April Finishes and May Goal!

Hi, all!

Well, April isn't quite over yet, but since this is the last Wednesday, it's time to share what I've been working on this month for the Scrap Attack challenge!

Now, I will be the first to admit that I have a LOT of bonus HSTs - and while I was productive, it didn't make much much of a dent in the box.  But it was a lot of fun, and I've got plenty more to play with when I get inspired!

This little bear quilt was the first thing I made with my bonus HSTs. These particular HSTs were from the quilt I made for my oldest granddaughter this year for Christmas, and I didn't have enough to complete the design as they were.  Bummer!  But I turned them into 3/4 triangle blocks by pairing each with a white square and turning it into two "new" HSTs - and then there were plenty!  

And then I took some of the smallest bonus HSTs and turned them into seven pretty pincushions!  There's something so satisfying about a pretty pile of pincushions - I'm always jealous of Crazy Mom Quilts and hers!  These may or may not be giveaway items for Hands2Help this year....

And while that's all I made with my bonus HSTs this month, I did also do some more scrap sewing...

This quilt, made using the "Have Faith" block that Jamie Elbert shared with us for H2H, used up 50 10" squares and 25 stray fat quarters!  I'll be sharing more pics of this on Friday.  

So it's been a good month for scrappy sewing!  I'm finding I like sewing with scraps more and more - which is a good thing because I'm still drowning in them!  

I may keep working on bonus HSTs until the end of April, but I went ahead and drew my May goal...

...and this is what I drew out.  I started to draw again, because I've already cut the denim scraps up, and turned them into the background for my Wedge Play quilt.  But then I thought that this might be a great opportunity to finish that quilt - which has been languishing in a corner because I had other things that took priority!  So that will be my goal for May - to finish that quilt (which is going to be gorgeous, I think!) and that will give me the push to get it done!

Thank you all for keeping me on track and accountable - it's really helping!  Are you having fun playing with your scraps?  Link up below to share what's going on in your scrappy world!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Back to the Real World!

Hi, all!

Well, Monday has rolled around again, and unfortunately, I'm not at the beach any more - although I will say that coming home to our yard looking like this...

....was pretty amazing!  All the trees leafed out while we were gone, and the grass popped up - it looks like Ireland out there!  So maybe spring has final arrived - here's hoping!

Since I was on vacation last week, I didn't have a to-do list.  And this week I'm feeling at loose ends because I don't have anything pressing, so my list is very important to keep me on track.  Here's what's on it so far...

1.  Make a quilt back for the Have Faith quilt.

2.  Quilt the Have Faith quilt.

3.  Quilt the first (of many) teacher quilts. (More about this below.)

4.  Start the prototype for the 12 Days of Christmas in July (12DCIJ) quilt-along quilt.

Pretty fabrics!  Now to get them cut out...

5.  Keep working on the reclamation and reconstruction of my friend's turtle quilt.

There's 20 of these adorable blocks, but unfortunately this is one of the better ones - many are frayed, and the blocks are quite a variety of not-square shapes.  But I have a plan and my friend trusts me, so this quilt will get a new lease on life soon!

6.  Keep working on setting up this year's 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  (If you are interested in participating, send me an email at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com.)

7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

About the teacher quilts - we are hoping to make enough quilts for all the teachers at our local elementary school, to be gifted to them at the teacher appreciation dinner our church holds during the Christmas season.  We have about six months to make 41 quilts, in addition to all our regular ministry quilts.  It's do-able, but I'll probably try to quilt one or two of these every week or so.  

So I definitely think I'll be staying out of trouble this week!  And now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Scraps make Great Donation Quilts!

Hi, all!

This week our guest blogger is Cynthia Brunz, who blogs at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework - and boy, does she have that right!  She has some great tips for ways to make charity quilts using what you have on hand.  Many of us want to make charity quilts, but don't have the resources to spend a lot of money. Well, she has the perfect answer!  So without further talking on my part, here's Cynthia!

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I try to make a handful of quilts every year to donate to various causes like Sarah's Hands2Help quilt drive or locally to a couple of kids' organizations.  This year I am hoping to donate at least six.  To ensure I am always working toward my goal, I look for ways to get them done throughout the year.  And because quilts can get expensive to make, I like to keep the cost of these quilts down. 

My answer is to use those scraps!

One of my secrets is to participate in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge over at SoScrappy.  You pick your block design and how many you want to make each month.  On the first day of the month, Angela announces the color and those are the scraps you sew your blocks in.  By the end of the year, you have a scrappy rainbow quilt. 

Last year I made string blocks all year and ended up making this fun quilt.

And if you don't want to settle on one block, usually there is a Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt along.  This year Angela is teaming up with Mari over at Acedmic Quilter.  Here are my blocks for the first three months.  The instructions for each block are always easy to follow.

Participating in these two events usually yields me at least 3 rainbow quilt tops each year.  And they all come from the scrap bin!

I also try to make all of my donation quilts from 100% scraps.  Not having to go out and buy fabrics for the background or borders sure makes my pocketbook happier.  I have a whole Scrap-A-Palooza gallery of quilts over at my blog (Quilting is more fun than Housework) that has lots of ideas for turning scraps into quilts.  There are ideas for just about every size and shape of scraps.  And almost all of the designs are made from 100% scraps.

Another way I keep the costs down on my donation quilts is I always keep a stock of backings I was able to get at a great price.  I usually buy in 4 yard cuts and try to have a variety of colors.  In fact, I have been known to start with a backing piece and pull scraps to match for the front of the quilts.  This little trick ensures you have a backing you know works!

I have finished up my Hands2Help quilt and will be sending it off soon to Quilty Hugs.  I decided to go with some happy pinks and yellow to hopefully brighten a challenging day for someone receiving chemo.  It was made with large scraps, some leftover strings and a whole lot of good thoughts!

So I hope some of these ideas inspire you to turn your scraps into some donation quilts.  It really does warm your heart to know you will be bringing comfort to someone who could use a quilty hug.

And finally a big thanks to Sarah for organizing this annual Hands2Help event!

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Wow!  Thank you so much, Cynthia!  There's a lot of inspiration there - I especially love those log cabin circles!  And it's amazing how far scraps will go - I've made a bunch of scrap quilts this year, and haven't made a dent in my stash of scraps - it just takes a little bit of creativity and thinking outside the box.  I'm planning to check out Cynthia's Scrap-A-Palooza gallery of quilts, too - I bet there are some good ideas hiding over there!

Keep working on those quilts - there are lots of people who need a good quilt-y hug out there, just waiting for it!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - I'm looking for bloggers who want to participate in this year's 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop - if you've got a great Christmas idea you've been itching to share, drop me a line (salliesue57 at gmail dot com) and let's get together!

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Meet Blu the Bear...

Hi, all!

As I write this, I am gazing out over the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, looking at the dolphins swim by.  The sun is shining, it's 75 degrees, and there's a soft wind blowing.  I may stay here forever, because it's definitely whoop-whoop worthy!!  Unfortunately, there's only a couple more days before I have to go back to the real world - but for now, a girl can dream!  I'm obviously ready to whoop it up - are you?  Let's get started!

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Since our week started out cool, I was able to get in some sewing time earlier this week.  You've probably seen this quilt already, but I'm happy to say now that it is finished!

I've decided to name this little guy Blu the Bear.  He's so absolutely adorable - I was a little perplexed with what I would do with him when he arrived in my Stash Builder Box a few months ago, but I think he's found the perfect home!

If you'll recall, this month my Scrap Attack goal was to use up some of the bonus HSTs I had stuffed into a plastic shoebox.  Well, this didn't make a big dent, but it did use up almost all of the bonus HSTs I had left over from Lilli's dolphin quilt that I made before Christmas.

I did straight line quilting in the white diagonal lines, extending it through the center square for interest and to stabilize the center.  It still seemed a little bit "unattached", so I also stitched around Blu.  That should make him stand out a little more once this is washed.  I'm really happy that the diagonal quilting framed him without cutting into his lines - a happy accident!

The back is really cute, too - two more pieces that came with Blu.  I added a strip of the black checkerboard to make the paw print fabric wide enough, and also used that black checkerboard for binding.  

Blu will be heading to the Little Lambs Foundation for Kids as part of this year's Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  I'm hoping some little boy or girl will find him to be a good friend when they need one!  

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

via GIPHY

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you - 

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - I'm looking for bloggers who want to participate in this year's 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop - if you've got a great Christmas idea you've been itching to share, drop me a line (salliesue57 at gmail dot com) and let's get together!

I May Have a Scrap Problem... A Little Beach Sewing!

Hi, all!

Well, I'm behind a little bit on writing this post, because my husband and I went out on an evening "dinner and a movie" date - something we don't do very often!  Usually our movies are in the afternoon and we are vegging out in front of the TV by 7 - but tonight I'm getting a late start!  

I don't have a huge amount to share today - just the finished HST top...

...and I finished my "Have Faith" top using Jamie's tutorial from 4/8/18!  I love this pattern - so quick and easy, and it uses up a lot of scraps!  I meant to take beach pictures of the finished top today, but I was so excited by the sunshine I completely forgot!  So I'll get them tomorrow... which is supposed to be another beautiful day.  Hooray!!

So that's what I've been doing on the scrappy front.  On other fronts, I've been contacting last year's 12 Days of Christmas in July bloggers to see if there is any interest in doing it again this year - and I've had good response!  But some of them are unable to do it this year, so I've got some open slots - if you are interested in being one of this year's stops on the blog hop, leave a comment with your email address and I'll get in touch with you about it!  It's always fun to see what everyone comes up with, and I'm already working on another quilt for the 12-day quilt-along... oh the things we do on vacation!

Sorry for the short post - see you on Friday!

Hugs!

Sarah