Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Tale of Two Quilts...

Hi, all!

Wow!  How did Friday get here so fast!  But it's here, and you know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  I know I am (barely, by the skin of my teeth) so let's get started!

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These words kept rolling through my head as I worked on my most recent finish(es).  You know how sometimes quilts just name themselves? Well, this blogpost did just that - "A Tale of Two Quilts"!  And here's the full story....

You may remember the t-shirt quilt I wrote about last week, and my reference to the well-loved plaid comforter that is part of it.  It was originally intended to be the back of that quilt, but the fabric was so fragile that it was unsuitable.  I put part of it on the front of the quilt, but saved the rest to be used in a baby quilt which will be tucked away until needed!

Thankfully, t-shirt interfacing works just as well stabilizing stretchy or fragile fabrics, so the pieces of the comforter should hold up well in this quilt.

You can see how nicely it's coming along - pinwheels and focal fabric blocks, both turned into snowball blocks with the addition of white corners.  But when I started sewing the blocks together...

See how pucker-y the pinwheel block is where it matches the plaid block?  I couldn't figure out how in the world that was happening, because I had squared the snowball/pinwheel blocks up to the same measurement as the plaid blocks.  I knew I could "quilt it out", so to speak, so I continued on, easing the slight fullness in as I went.  But as I was sewing the last row together, it occurred to me where my problem started.  I had squared up the pinwheel blocks AFTER I sewed on the snowball corners, instead of squaring the pinwheels, then sewing on the snowball corners.   And of course, now that I knew what the problem was, and that I could fix it pretty easily - I had enough fabric to remake the pinwheel/snowball blocks - I knew I wouldn't be happy with the quilt unless I did.  And so begins the tale of two quilts!

The first step involved reducing the quilt back to a stack of blocks - but a pretty afternoon outside made that a not-so-onerous task! Making the new pinwheel/snowball blocks was easy too, and this time I remembered to square up before adding the snowball corners.  I don't think I'll ever forget that step again!

Assembly of the quilt top went much easier the second time, with no need to ease any fabric in.  The corners all matched up like magic!  Some pretty intense quilting, and this baby (quilt) was done!

I made this quilt using the Prairie Pinwheel Baby Quilt Tutorial by The Cloth Parcel, available for free on BluPrint.  It's an easy tutorial, although I think it's missing some steps (like squaring up!) and has at least one error that I caught, but nothing drastic.  It was my first experience with prairie points, and they were fun!

I used each of the solids and the plaid from the quilt top for the prairie points, and a nice "etch-a-sketch" print for the border.  It pulls the underlying color from the plaid nicely, I think!

Lots and lots of swirly quilting makes for a huge amount of texture in this quilt!  

And of course, what could be better than that favorite sheet for the back?  It blends so nicely with the colors on the front, and with the piece I chose for the border and binding!

But wait - - - I told you it was a tale of TWO quilts, didn't I?  Well, I had that pile of blocks and it seemed a shame to just put them in the orphan block tub... and I needed to make a quilt for the Patchwork and Pillowcases quilt drive, to go to the Socorro Foundation.  So....

This cute little baby quilt was born!  I used all sixteen blocks I made - which made me feel good because the quilt pattern only used fifteen of the sixteen (why did it have me make an extra? I don't know!)

I actually quilted this one first, so I could try out the swirlies and be sure the tension on my machine was correct before I started on the customer quilt.  I love this texture!

And isn't that spring green binding sweet?  I love that color, and I'm almost out of it.  Looks like a shopping trip is in order!

 

And I'm happy to say I found the perfect backing lurking in my stash - and that splash of orange makes my heart sing!  

So that's my "Tale of Two Quilts" - - - 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... Digging Out!

Hi, all!

Well, it's been busy busy busy around here (again!) but at least this week I carved out a little time to dig out from under the catastrophe at the end of my worktable...

That picture looks a little tame, and really isn't indicative of the true state of affairs....

Here's one taken from the other side!  Now you can see just how desperate the situation really was.

I don't really have time right now to do this job properly - take each piece, press it, and cut it into the many various sizes I keep on hand - so I'm going to do the "down and dirty" version of scrap management.  This involves sorting the scraps by color and storing them in tubs underneath my long arm machine.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but there are stacks for various colors, a stack for orphan blocks, one for batiks (which I store separately) and a stack for solids (one day I WILL make an all-solids scrappy quilt!).

Those stacks are now all tucked away in their appropriate storage tubs, and I have a nice clean worktable once again.

About time!

What scrappy things are you working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Back at Starbucks!

Hi, all!

Well, it's Monday, and I'm back at Starbucks!  No worries - the internet is working fine at my house, but we had a minor hiccup - my husband installed DropBox on his home computer (a program he uses at work) and it sneakily downloaded about 50 gigabytes of data before we knew it was doing it!  So for the next few blogposts I'll probably be relying on the kindness of others for my internet.  Starbucks is my favorite - have you tried their Sous Vide Egg Bites yet?  They are amazing even if you're not on a keto diet!  So I'll sit here happily with my iced Americano and my egg bites and write away.  Life is good!

OK, so now we get down to business.  Here's how last week's list went....

1.  Quilt the t-shirt commission quilt.

Done, shipped, and received!!  You can see more pictures of this beauty here.

2.  Plan a baby quilt.
Not only planned, but well on its way to being finished!  I had another request for a customer quilt, so I decided to jump on this one and get it finished.  

3.  Meet with a customer about another t-shirt quilt.
Done!  This is going to be a fabulous quilt - a cuddly history of her time involved with a multitude of church activities.

4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.
I didn't get to this one, because of the baby quilt, but hopefully this week!

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

Done!  We only gave away one quilt this week, to a church member's grandmother who is dealing with serious medical issues.

So not bad for last week!  I wish I'd gotten to the cutting item, but it's not the end of the world.  You'll see the real reason why I didn't get to it on Friday - stay tuned for a funny story!

And now, for this week...

1.  Finish the commission baby quilt.

2.  Cut out one of the annual quilts!

3.  Complete a quilt donation for the Patchwork and Pillowcases drive.

4.  Deliver a huge load of donated fabric and quilts to church.

5.  Sort and stash the scraps on my work table - they are taking over!

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

So that's what my week looks like!  I'll also be meeting with the new education coordinator at our local Joann's to talk about possibly teaching some classes there - fun!  I'm excited about the possibility.  If you've taught for them, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the experience!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Labor of Love...

Hi, all!

Fridays are wonderful, and fall Fridays are even better!  As I sit here (actually on Thursday) the breeze is blowing, the temperature is in the low 80's, and the sun is shining.  I could take this all year long!  So I'm definitely whooping about the lovely days that are ahead of us.  But there are other things to whoop about today too, I'm sure - so let's get started!

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I titled this post "A Labor of Love" and the quilt I'm going to share with you today truly is - but not nearly as much mine as the recipient's mom!

This wonderful scrapbook of a quilt is for Katie (obviously) and pretty closely reflects her school years. There's lots on here that's special to her, like the pillowcase with her name on it...

...the t-shirt from her senior beach trip, and the monogram from her bathing suit for that trip.  I had a lot of fun creating a "frame" for that pretty piece of monogram work!

There's lots of memories from her time working at Chick-Fil-A, too - including a copy of her name badge on part of her work shirt.  That was a labor of love on my part - after trying several different techniques to get an accurate copy of the real thing, I decided to take a photograph and print it out. That worked much better than the copier!  Then I appliquéd it onto the block.

Katie and I are in absolute agreement on this next sentiment, but according to her mom, running was a part of her life for a while, so she wanted this and some race t-shirts featured in a section...

Of course, school days are important, too, and your backpack is an integral part of those days!  I've never put a piece of backpack in a quilt before, but this one worked in well.  It's bordered by pieces from her uniform skirt.

And this cute little heart came from the text on the back of one of her t-shirts. It was so cute, though, I didn't want to just throw it away!  It's bordered with pieces from another uniform skirt.

And then there are the fun little bits and pieces that make a quilt unique, like the initials off the back of her volleyball shirt!

Here's another fun part - a piece of a well-loved comforter, decorated with a piece of daisy trim from her bedroom decorations.  The fabric on the comforter was too delicate to use as we first planned on the back of the quilt, but never fear - it will show up later!  I backed this delicate piece with t-shirt interfacing, so it's nice and stable.

But my favorite part of the quilt has to be the Project 410 section.  I don't know the whole story, but apparently this was a project that she created that took off and went for several years.  The mission statement, 1 Peter 4:10, should be a reminder to us all!  

And to top (or back) it all off, a favorite sheet on the back of the quilt!

So there you have it - a new memory quilt finished, and a new friendship started, as Katie's mom and I have been corresponding quite a bit over the creation of this one.  She claims to have been a borderline stalker on Instagram, but I have to say, it's been fun to have so much input on a customer's quilt, and to know that she likes what is being created.  It's also my first "long-distance" customer quilt, made for someone not local to me.  It's been a great experience!

I TOLD you there was a lot of beautiful sunshine today!

So - - - can we get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up today?

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... And A Time Problem!

Hi, all!

Well, once again I have not had time to do any scrappy sewing this week - but I don't feel too bad about that, because Instagram and Pinterest have been FULL of some fabulous inspiration that I really want to share with you!

First off, let's see what Instagram has to share...

Look at this fabulous string quilt Meredith made!!  And I have a feeling that wouldn't even make a dent in my strings...

And Meredith was really on a roll this week - look at this fabulous scrappy creation!  I believe she said she made it with 1800 2" x 3.5" rectangles - that's a lot of scraps!

Tracy, a fellow Middle Tennessee resident, was totally inspiring me  with her rainbow scrap challenge blocks and tops this week!  Solid scraps always abound at my place, but I don't think I could do anything as gorgeous as this!

This one, though, I think I could do!  Now to go dig through the solid scraps and see what I've got...

But first, maybe we should have a little heart - or a big one!  This quilt makes me so happy, not in the least because it would be so simple to make with stuff I have on hand....

And now let's turn to Pinterest - another treasure trove this week!

These two quilts have much in common, yet each has its own fabulous flavor!  Lots of little pieces - scrap buster score!!

 And finally, how about this fun triangle quilt?  I am pretty sure this one can be built on the kaleidoscope block pattern I used for the 12 Days of Christmas in July quilt.  Isn't it amazing how different color placement can change a block?  I want to make a whole quilt like this!  I love the vintage look it has.

Inspired?  Me too!  Let's go forth and conquer those scraps!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Doing My Happy Dance!!

Hi, all!

Welcome to Monday, and to September!  It's hard to believe that we are so far into this year, and so much to do between now and the holidays, but that's where we are.  Are you ready?  One of my friends (I use that term loosely - you'll see why) has this annoying habit of posting a 100-days countdown to Christmas on Facebook every year when I REALLY don't need to be reminded of how time is flying - and he announced his theme for this year yesterday (dad jokes) and of course, reminded us that it's only 115 days until Christmas!  Oh my......

Now that I've shared that wonderful thought with you, let's see how I did on last week's list....

1.  Open the big box of t-shirts I received today, and decide on a layout for a commission t-shirt quilt.

Done!  Here's a glimpse of my "plan" for this quilt...

2.  Make the blocks for that quilt.

Done!  Here's the stack that I started with when I made the blocks...

3.  Start putting the t-shirt quilt together.

Done!  I was determined to get this top finished before I wrote this post, and I actually managed to do that 10 minutes before supper tonight!  

4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.

Didn't get to this one - as I said, I was determined to get this done today!  

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

Done! It was an easy week this week - just one quilt, for a new baby!  Remember last week we gave one to a mom-to-be on bedrest?  Well, she had her baby, and this pretty flannel quilt was gifted to her for the baby.

So even though I didn't get to one item on my list, I'm still doing a HUGE happy dance because of all the progress I made on the commission quilt!  I've got so many other projects ready to go that I shouldn't work on while I have commission work - but that gives me a really good reason to knock these out fast!  

And here's what I've got on my plate for this week...

1.  Quilt the t-shirt commission quilt.

2.  Plan a baby quilt.

3.  Meet with a customer about another t-shirt quilt.

4.  Cut out another of the kids' annual quilts.

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

Once again, short and sweet - but hopefully this week I'll be able to carve out some time to work on some "fun stuff"!

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

Hugs!

Sarah