Make-A-List Monday - Things Just Keep Rolling Along!

Hi, all!

The first Monday of summer has arrived!  I love summer - beautiful warm days, sunshine, and usually, more time with my grandkids, although this year that part of summer started way early.  So I've been enjoying the weather and working in my quilt studio this week, and I've actually accomplished some things!

Last week, I wanted to find a back for this quilt, and maybe get it quilted.  I did find a really great backing - a total steal...

...and it's loaded up on the frame, ready to go!  I'll be quilting this one this week.

I also wanted to make a kawandi style quilt, and I did!  This was a fun little project and I enjoyed making it a lot.

I also spent a couple of days at church cleaning up - hauled a carload of stuff to the Goodwill, and swept up tons of dust bunnies!  There's still a lot to do before we can meet in there, but I made a good start on it.  I think I'll take Lilli with me to sort scraps the next time I go!  She loves to organize - although she tells me that does NOT include cleaning - so she could probably work on scraps while I keep cleaning and disinfecting.

And now for this week... I've already said that I'm going to quilt the postage stamp quilt, and I'm also working on a special project for an upcoming blog hop.  I'm "sewing by the seat of my pants" on this one, but hopeful that it will turn out great!

And since summer is here, that means it's time to start thinking about the grandkids' annual quilts.  I came across this great panel from Hawthorne Threads and knew immediately that it was destined to be Emmy's quilt this year!  It's a little out of square, so after I quilt the postage stamp quilt, I'm going to load it on the quilt frame to stretch it and get it square, then spritz it with water in hopes of blocking it to the proper shape.  I think that will work, and then I can start looking for a great backing.  Quilting it will be fun!

I have a plan for Lilli's quilt (Harry Potter) and for Nathanael's quilt  (yes, it will be green!) but I'll share more about them in upcoming weeks.

And this pool noodle represents an absolutely totally necessary project for this week!  The entrance to our walk-in attic is VERY short, and I am comparatively very tall - and last weekend I hit my head not once, but twice, really hard!  So enter the pool noodle, which I will be stapling over the inside of the door frame in hopes of avoiding serious damage when I whack my head in the future.  You'd think I'd learn, but no......

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?

Hi, all!

Friday is here once again, and that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I've been chasing a squirrel this week, so I've got something fun to share - and I hope you've been having fun sewing too.  Let's get started!

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Last week I saw a really cool little quilt on Instagram....

...and started doing a little research.  @mamacatquilts said that it was "kawandi" quilting, so I did a Google search, and found an article and mini-tutorial for a machine sewn version by Piece Love and Happiness called Modern Kawandi Making.  I discovered that kawandi is a traditional Indian method of quilting, using scraps, of which I had PLENTY!  And away we go!!!

After putting a backing on a scrap piece of batting, I set my corners in place...

...then started laying scrappy pieces in an overlapping fashion working towards the center from each corner.  As you can see, I chose to "pink" my edges instead of turning the underneath.  Maybe it's lazy, maybe it's a design decision - but whatever, it worked!  

Glue sticks are amazing!  That's how I secured all these pieces in place, and it held so well - I even used it to secure the back to the batting!  Keep layering pieces on, working in towards the center...

...and eventually, you'll get to the center!  As you can see, my center is a little off but I chose to embrace that because I really prefer things a little off-kilter anyway....

Next came quilting.  I chose to start near my off-center center and do a square spiral out to the edges, about 1/4" apart.  I didn't worry too much about perfection - perfection is highly overrated!  But I love the texture of close quilting, don't you?

The pinked edges float free in spots, but I'm not worried about it, as this mini-quilt won't be washed.  I rather like the additional texture it gives the surface!

You can see the quilting design on the back.  I also did a facing rather than a binding to the front, so the design goes all the way to the edges.

See those pieces on the corners?  They are called "phula" flowers, and a kawandi quilt is considered incomplete without them.  I made mine by cutting 3" circles with my pinking blade, then folding them in half and again in thirds accordion style.  

It was  easy to attach them to the back of the quilt so the "petals" peek out from each corner.  They're actually kind of pretty, aren't they?

Emmy Lou allowed me to take her picture as she modeled the finished quilt, even though she was sweaty from playing in the yard.  She's a cute little stinker, isn't she?

Here's a nice picture of the quilt hanging on the wall.  I love the texture-y shadows created by the quilting, and the play of colors and scraps.

But here's one of my favorite scraps in the piece - see the little crossed fingers?  It's a piece of a line called Lucky Charms that I got at QuiltCon, so it holds some fun memories.  I'll remember that every time I see those fingers!

And now it hangs on the wall coming into my studio with a couple of other minis I made and the beautiful quilt made for me by Sharon Vrooman and Sue Daurio.  Now it feels like home!

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... Chasing A Squirrel!

Hi, all!

Does it seem to anyone else that there have been some AMAZING scrap quilts on Instagram lately?  I guess people being shut in with only the supplies on hand has caused an upsurge in scrappy quilting, and I for one am loving it!  So much inspiration - which I'm going to share first - and then you can see what I'm working on at the end.  So let's get started!

Since it's the only pillow in the bunch, I'll start with Tracy's beautiful pillow made with leftover HSTs!

And then we'll go for the psychotically tiny with this super-tiny mini quilt.  I'm guessing those squares are about 1/2" across?  And it looks like most of them are fussy cut!

The next three quilts are all built on squares!  And each one, though simple, is stunning....

Feeling like you need to whack something?  Well, here are quilts made with "whacked" blocks...

 

 Sometimes, no matter how many scrappy quilts you make, you just can't get through all the scraps - but it's ok because you know there will be more beauties like these...

I love Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts (even though I've never done one myself) and this Wild and Goosey is beautiful!

 And you can't beat a rainbow, can you? 

And here's the photo that  inspired my current sewing project....

This little quilt is made with a technique called kawandi quilting, and I found a very interesting tutorial for doing one on Piece, Love and Happiness that used machine sewing rather than the traditional hand stitching.

In the tutorial, she talked about turning under the edges of each square.  I tried that - honestly I did! - but realized that (a) I wasn't going to be able to get enough done in time to take any good pictures for this post, and (b) it was going to drive me nuts!  So I grabbed my little used but very useful pinking rotary cutter and went to work whacking those squares!

Kawandi quilts are worked from the outside in, so I prepared a backing and batting, and choosing four fairly large pieces, set the corners of my piece.  I used glue stick to temporarily adhere the pieces to the batting (hooray for kids craft supplies!)

I kept cutting scrappy pieces out of my scrap basket, layering them over each other and working from the corners around the edges and towards the center.

It was fun to just keep adding little squares, trying to balance the colors and make it interesting.

And here's what I ended up with!  My next step will be to add quilting lines to secure all this to the batting and backing.  The writer of the tutorial did hers in a square spiral, going from outside to the center.  Because my piece centers a little off-center, I may do that from a point a little off center, working from the inside out.  Or I may do horizontal or vertical close straight-line quilting, mixing in a little matchstick quilting.  Oh the possibilities!  I'll dream about it tonight and get back to it tomorrow....  Updates on the blog soon!

Wish me luck as today I will be working in the quilt room at church, trying to get it cleaned up and safe for us to start meeting again in the fall.  At the moment it is a hot mess - fabric donations that need to be stored away, projects in various stages of progress lying around everywhere, and everyone's machines so close together that we are sitting elbow to elbow.  Lots of changes to be made, and it's going to take a lot of elbow grease!  Fortunately there will be several of us working, and that is good too, because it means more input on how to make it safe and comfortable.  Have any of you had a similar situation?  How have you dealt with it?  I'm up for any suggestions!

I hope you've found some inspiration in today's post - something that makes you want to jump into your scraps and play!  

Hugs!

Sarah