I May Have A Scrap Problem... Small World Progress and Inspiration!

Hi, all!

It's starting to get holiday-busy around here, as we plan and clean and decorate - but thanks to the #mysmallworldsewcial quilt-along, I'm managing to get in some scrappy sewing every week!  This week I did the easiest part of this month's blocks, the 2.5" x 4.5" flying geese.  Each quilt takes seven of these blocks, and here are mine for all three quilts...

Nathanael's...

Emmy's...

...and Lilli's!

The next blocks I have to make are a little bit intimidating - nineteen 1.5" x 2.5" flying geese!  I am thinking about paper piecing these - they are just so tiny, there's no room for error. So I'm thinking they might be more accurate if I paper piece them.  We shall see!

And there's been lots and lots of great inspiration on the internet this week...

I'm not quite sure why I love this quilt, but I do!  All those different blocks just make my heart happy.

And isn't this pretty?  I just learned how to do a herringbone pattern, and now I want to make this one!  

And this may be the next Christmas quilt I make - I just adore that giant snowflake!  Paired up with simple patchwork, too - just perfect!

Have you all missed Crazy Mom Quilts as much as I have?  I was so excited to see her pop up in my Instagram feed, especially with this beauty!  

I seem to be on a patchwork theme this week, but isn't this cute?  I love the scattering of traditional blocks in this quilt, too - it gives the eye a place to stop and rest.  

Last but not least, an oldie but a goodie - this quilt is stunning in purples, isn't it?  I could clean out a few tubs making these....

Inspired yet?  Go forth and use. up. those. scraps!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Crunch Time!

Hi, all!

Wow, last week really flew by, didn't it?  And we are now officially into fall and the busy season - Halloween is this week and then stuff starts happening fast and furious!  I've been setting up Christmas parties this week, getting them on everyone's "save the date" list. But all the regular stuff goes on at the same time, so let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Quilt and bind the t-shirt commission quilt.

Done!  More pictures soon...

2.  Paint a backdrop for my Trunk or Treat display.

Done!  And I have lots more pictures I'll be posting on Friday!

3.  Sew the centers on the special request quilt.

Done, and it's on the frame ready to be quilted!

4.  Make progress on the My Small World quilts.

I finished the rest of the blocks for the quilt-along (month of 10/15-11/15) and here they are in all their glory!  Top to bottom, they are: Lilli's, Emmy's, Nathanael's.

5.  Prep for my Joann's class this week.

Done!  And it was a great first class - a good way to dip my toe in the water of teaching.  These are the blocks we pieced!

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

Done!  We gave away a few quilts this week...

These three went to a father, mother, and sister of a young man who died very unexpectedly while on a mission trip with his parents last week.  The father is the pastor  of a church our church partners with in Oregon.

And this quilt went to a gentleman diagnosed with stage 4 cancer last week.

And just in case you missed it, I had a "squirrel" moment and made this cute little pinny from scraps left over from the blocks I made for the My Small World quilts...

So that was my week!  I got lots done, but still have more to do than I can possibly get done, so here's my list for this week...

1.  Quilt the dresden plate quilt.

2.  Make progress on the My Small World quilts.

3.  Make a back for my Patchwork Forest QAL quilt.

4.  Quilt one customer quilt.

5.  Quilt at least one quilt for the quilt ministry.

6.  Start prepping for the quilt ministry Christmas party - a special sewing day as we all work on our own Patchwork Forest quilts!

7.  Start deep cleaning the house before upcoming Christmas parties (oh how I hate cleaning!).  I should probably start by making a list - and checking it twice!

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

I definitely won't have time to get up to any mischief this week!  And there are so many things I could add to this list - but I'd rather have a list I can finish than one that depresses me.  So we'll stick with this, and if I have any spare time, I'll pull one of the other projects to work on.  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop - or Maybe a Whoops Whoops?

Hi, all!

OMG - I woke up this morning and (after my coffee and a little while to get my eyes open) realized that IT IS FRIDAY AND I HAVEN'T WRITTEN MY BLOGPOST!  So I get a big "whoops whoops" today, for sure!  But because it's Friday, that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on - so let's get started!

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It's been a very busy week around here, working on a bunch of projects, many of them not specifically quilting related.  I prepped for my first class at Joann's, which happened yesterday and went really well - I had one student (a good way to start out and not be nervous) who made her first quilt block and finished it off as a really cute pillow cover! 

I also finished a t-shirt quilt for a friend...

...and I'm happy to have that particular project off the "to-do" chart!  The only commission work I have left on there right now is stuff with no particular finish date, so I am now free to work on my own Christmas projects in between other things.  Whoop whoop!!

But I think this may be the most fun I had this week...

I needed to find a way to decorate my husband's truck for a "trunk-or-treat" celebration at our church, and after coming up with an idea, the first step was to make a backdrop.  I purchased a canvas painter's drop cloth at Lowe's, stretched it out on the dining room table (over a plastic drop cloth, of course!) and taped some outlines on it with wide painter's tape.

Next step, fill in the un-taped areas with color!  I'm grateful that it's now possible to buy sample sizes of paint - for most of these colors, I only needed one jar, so I don't have lots of leftover paint now!  

After moving the tarp to reveal more unpainted area at the bottom and pulling off one of the tapes, I added in the gold horizontal stripe and extended the dark blue at the bottom...

...and voila!  I have a fair copy of this image!  Our theme is "Life Was Good" and we have a full-size skeleton to sit in a camp chair next to a campfire, with a little dog skeleton to sit next to him.  A fishing pole and anything else we can find "outdoorsy" to go with it will complete the scene.  I'll post pics on Monday - I think (hope) it will all come together nicely!

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?

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

I May Have A Scrap Problem... My Small World and Squirrel!

Hi, all!

The leaves are falling, the temperatures are cooling down, the sweaters are finally out of storage - it's the best time of the year!  More time for quilting, too, and that means (maybe) working through some of those scraps that accumulate so fast.  And I've been working on it this week, for sure!  

I have finished this month's blocks for the My Small World quilt-along - five square-in-a-square blocks, three churn dash blocks, five orange peel blocks, and five bordered square blocks.  And since I'm working on three of these at the same time, one for each grandchild, I'm very pleased to show you all 54 finished blocks!

 Here are Lilli's, with a definite blue vibe....

Emmy's, as usual, are her favorite color - rainbow!

And here are Nathanael's - I may end up calling his The Emerald City!  But the boy does love green!

And after I finished, while I was cleaning up and putting the leftovers back in their place, I found a small pile of 1" squares. Now, I don't usually save 1" squares (yes, there is a size of scrap I will throw away!) but I've been seeing two things on Instagram repeatedly lately - tiny pincushions and talk about using interfacing as a foundation for very small grid layouts.  So I dropped everything (SQUIRREL!) and made this cute little teeny tiny pinny....

Isn't it adorable?  I purposely took the picture on my cutting mat so you could see the size - less than 2" square!  I can see how these little pincushions could be addictive - it took about half an hour to make and it's just so. darn. cute!  It will be handy to keep on the bed of my sewing machine to hold the pins for matching seams when piecing a quilt top, so that they don't get swept off on the floor.

If you're curious about the technique, you can find a quickie tutorial for it on this post.  That post contains a couple of techniques, and the fusible interfacing tutorial is the second one.

So - - - what are you doing with your scraps this week?  Anything interesting?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Halloween Is Coming!

Hi, all!

Here's Monday, all bright and shiny and ready for all kinds of new mischief!  I do love the feeling of a fresh start, don't you?  But before we look at new projects, let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Work on (and hopefully complete) a commission t-shirt quilt.

Well, I didn't complete it, but the top and back are ready to be sandwiched and quilted later this week!

2.  Bind and wash three quilts for church.

Done!  And of course, I forgot to take a picture...

3.  Continue working on the special request quilt.

Well on the way to being finished!  I still need to appliqué the circles on the centers.

4.  Make progress on the Patchwork Forest Q/A quilt when the prompt comes out on Wednesday.

Due to a failure to correctly read the instructions for the week, I more than made progress on this project - I finished all the blocks!  And then I couldn't resist laying it out!

5.  Prepare for, and teach, my first Joann's class (if enough students sign up!)

No students signed up for the first class (not surprising since they haven't had any classes offered at my Joann's in quite a while) but I do have some signed up for one this week!

6.  Make progress on the Birch Bark quilt.

I cut the strip set into blocks and rectangles, but I haven't had a chance to sew them together yet.

7.  Make progress on the My Small World quilts.

All my orange peel blocks are sewn together! Aren't they cute?

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

Done!  We gave away a few quilts this week...

This quilt went to a woman recently diagnosed with cervical cancer...

...and this quilt went to a woman who is a paraplegic, living alone without family.  She loves butterflies and bright colors, and I'm happy to report that this quilt has both!

And how about sweet baby quilts for two new babies?

Lots accomplished last week, but there's still lots to do!  But isn't that true for all of us this time of year?  And Halloween is just around the corner, which means I need to prepare for Trunk or Treat too.  Here's what I'll be working on this week...

1.  Quilt and bind the t-shirt commission quilt.

2.  Paint a backdrop for my Trunk or Treat display.

3.  Sew the centers on the special request quilt.

4.  Make progress on the My Small World quilts.

5.  Prep for my Joann's class this week.

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

Plenty to keep me busy there, but if I get all that done, I can always work on the Birch Bark quilt or start assembling my Patchwork Forest quilt!  So many options, right?  Ah, but life isn't boring, that's for sure!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Some People Never Learn....

Hi, all!

Welcome to Friday - the best day of the week, right?  The weekend is just around the corner, and we get to look back and do a little celebrating over what we did during the week!  Are you ready to whoop it up?  Let's get started!

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Just last week, my daughter and I had a talk with Lilli (my oldest granddaughter) sharing our experiences with following directions, talking about how we had learned the hard way to read the directions carefully, yada yada yada.  Which was about the reaction we got from Lilli.  Smart girl!

Because Wednesday, when the directions came out for the next week of the Patchwork Forest Quilt Along, I jumped right in and made these...

As I was making the star block, I wondered if I was supposed to make the medium star or the large star, and when I went to check Amy's blogpost....

This week your assignment is to make 4 Medium-size and 1 Large-size wonky star blocks.

Oops!  How did I manage to miss that?  Guess I should have 'read the instructions carefully'!  Oh, the shame.....

So Thursday I grabbed my fabrics and made the blocks I was supposed to make this week....

Aren't they pretty?  So not only do I have this week's blocks finished (all the star blocks), but I have also finished next week's blocks too!

So the silver lining to all of this is that I have ALL the blocks for my Patchwork Forest quilt finished!  I'd love to start laying it out, but I have a commission job I need to work on first.  I can't wait to see what it looks like all together, though, so I may take a few minutes tomorrow to lay it out on the sly.  

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

PS Please, no one tell Lilli!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

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