November Recap for 18 in 2018

Someday is Now (shown above) 

is the last project on my

18 in 2018 Piecing List.

I haven't touched it in the past week

as I've been finishing two shop sample tops.

* * *

I have quilted eighteen quilts since January

so I'm calling my Quilting List DONE.

* * *

And I've finished with the comfort quilts for this year

so I'm also calling that list DONE.

* * *

Over the next few days I hope to

get my Colorwash 360 top sewn together

and a scrappy back stitched together for

Dumpster Diving 4 - The Christmas Edition.

Beyond that, I also have four quilts that need sleeves.

Once I get the sleeves made 

I can hand stitch them in place

during our Wednesday morning

quilt group gatherings.

And I really do want to get 

the top for Someday is Now

assembled before the end of December . . .

Quiltdivajulie

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18 in 2018 - October Recap

On the PIECING list,

I completed my Shibori do-over 

which is now known as Shift Happens.

I've also started working on

Someday is Now -- the last project 

from my 18 in 2018 Piecing List.

On the QUILTING front --

I completed Tea Party,

my challenge quilt for our 

rapidly approaching local quilt show.

(I've also prepped six more of my quilts

to hang in the show Nov. 2-3-4)

AND I finished sCRUMBtious.

The squirrels in The Squirrel Club

 encouraged me to make thirteen autumn pillows 

and a new table runner.

I am participating in

 Wanda's Colorwash 360 class.

My own version is currently stalled 

on the design wall until after the local quilt show 

is set up, held, taken down, and the quilts returned.

I really want to work on this,

but there just aren't enough hours in each day.

I taught two two-session classes on

Sujata's Peppermint Pinwheels

at my local quilt shop.

You can read about that HERE.

I've washed, ironed, and cut into blocks

the many yards of donated white fabric

for the 70273 Project block drive

that will happen during our local quilt show.

I've also sliced and diced a lot of different reds,

and gathered a goodly assortment 

of red trims for the pairs of red XXs.

I even did my first-ever podcast 

with Jeanne Hewell-Chambers,

the woman behind the 70273 Project.

I wrote and shared three more posts

for the mapping of my own quilting journey

as part of the current AHIQ 

maps and mapping challenge.

Years 5 and 6 are HERE

Years 7 and 8 are HERE

Years 9 and 10 are HERE

And while you are visiting

the AHIQ group blog,

be sure to check out the other posts

to see how others are handling

this particular challenge.

* * *

And finally, since today is Halloween,

HAPPY and SAFE Trick or Treating 

to all those who will be out tonight.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap 
but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson

sCRUMBtious - The Quilt

sCRUMBtious is a finished quilt!

48" x 64"

Striped binding and Tula Pink's squirrel print backing.

Quilted with lots and lots and lots of 

large open spirals and echoing lines ala Dwirling

(a style taught by Dawn Ramirez - the Pajama Quilter)

using Glide's Nickel thread on top and in the bobbins.

That striped binding includes a flange -

this is the second time I've attached this kind of binding

and it went on much more easily than the first time around.

Thanks again to Cathy L. for a such a super quilt name.

* * *

I am delighted with this gloriously scrappy quilt!!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Only after looking and listening closely can one make these various subtleties work magic."
Lu Chi

Tea Party - The Quilt

My challenge quilt is quilted and bound - hooray!

You might remember the flimsy reveal post

when I shared that no matter what the challenge

I needed to LIKE what I was making.

I rarely work with panels

other than piecing them into a quilt back

so turning one into a quilt front

with pieced and appliquéd borders

was a conundrum to be solved.

I'm very pleased with the end result

but still thinking I shall resist future challenges.

Quilted with liberated swirly fans and flowers

using Glide thread in Warm Grey 4.

Finished size is 47" wide x 63" long.

(challenge requirement was for sides 

greater than 36" but less than 74")

The sleeve and label are made

and will be sewn on today

and I'll fill out the paperwork before the weekend.

When turn-in day arrives next week,

I'll be more than ready.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the gift is yours."

Noela Evans

September Recap for 18 in 2018

For this month's recap, 

I'm starting with three projects

that seemed like marvelous ideas

but turned out to be less than I'd hoped.

The first involved a bundle of scraps from Mari.

I had planned to keep them all together,

plus adding in a few more from my stash,

to make a scrappy string-ish kind of quilt.

The more I worked with it,

the less it spoke to me . . . 

So I am going to share 

the low volume strips and bits

with a friend who is short on those 

and the rest is now back in my stash.

The second involved these fabrics 

from the Outback Wife line.

I love their stories and textures,

but no matter how I've tried to use them,

they came out dark, off-balance, and un-inspiring.

As a result, they've been handed off to someone else

who is wildly excited about them.

The third change-of-direction this month

involved my autumn tree quilt.

These untrimmed blocks left me disappointed.

The individual fabrics are okay,

but the feel of the mix just doesn't work.

It doesn't help that autumn is not 

my favorite season of the year, either.

This idea will return, but not in this form.

(go check out  Lynne tree plans shared here)

On the QUILTING front, 

I quilted and finished two quilts this month.

Scrappy Bow Ties (above) 

and 

Flummadiddle (below)

I didn't get to the other two 

that were on my September goals list,

but they will happen during October - 

one way or another.

One the PIECING front:

I pieced this top and donated it to 

a local guild's Hospice project

as part of my 2018 comfort quilts effort.

I converted my 25-patch low volume project into 

Just Because - a modified scrap vortex style quilt top.

This one really helped empty the neutral crumb boxes.

I finally finished piecing the London Fields quilt top.

AND I finished piecing the top of Tea Party

for our local show's annual challenge.

(this one MUST be quilted during early October

since turn-in days are October 30-31)

And last but not least, on the Squirrel Club front:

I spent a lot of time rearranging the stash

(and the studio itself)

due to the arrival of this bookshelf.

I spent time putting together 

annual photo books for the quilts I've made

during the last fourteen years.

I celebrated a major milestone birthday

and our older son celebrated his 40th.

I turned these into a series of step-out blocks

for the two Freeform Pinwheels classes

I'll be teaching in mid-October.

(design from Sujata's Cultural Fusion Quilts)

After week one's classes,

these step-outs will be turned into a quilt top

so I can use it in during week two's classes

when we talk about layout and assembly.

I also cut out pieces and parts to make

four additional Christmas quilts.

* * *

It was a busy month for so many reasons

and October promises to be even more hectic.

One stitch at a time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

Steve Jobs

Changing the Plan

This project has finally found its conclusion.

Last year during the Cyber Monday sales frenzy,

I bought two discounted jelly rolls

intending to make a quilt for myself

using the Two x Four tutorial.

(originally shared by Film in the Fridge 

and later adapted for 2.5" strips by Cluck Cluck Sew)

The tutorial worked very well.

But I was totally not in love with the fact 

that these were pre-mixed matchy-matchy colors

that blended a bit too well for my taste.

Lovely soft colors.

Great low volume alternate prints.

But they just weren't scrappy enough to make me happy.

By the time the flimsy was sewn together,

I knew what I wanted to do.

I contacted a friend whose guild has a Hospice Quilt project

and asked if she would like the top with backing

for their comfort quilt efforts.

She was delighted to accept my donation.

So the 48" x 63" top, 

gray gingham binding strips,

and an older green floral print backing

have been handed off to become 

what I hope will become 

a much appreciated comfort quilt.

Quiltdivajulie

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" Man is We are born for deeds of kindness."
Marcus Aurelius

On Second Thought . . .

I liked this approach a lot when there were only a few blocks.

But as I finished ten of the 25-patch blocks

and laid them out with the different alternate 10" squares,

I liked the look less and less and less.

In fact, I didn't even take any photos of the mishmash-mess.

I just started tinkering with alternate ideas.

In the end, I didn't want to go to all the work of designing

and then making a quilt top that didn't excite me.

Instead, I decided to make a totally scrappy low volume quilt

using the 25-patch blocks and a large section of 

already-pieced low volume scraps 

leftover from making Zinderella last year

plus more bits and pieces from the resource box.

It took only a few  hours of power stitching

to create this deliciously scrappy 49" x 72" quilt top.

(it really is square - the photo makes it look skewed)

There are so many awesome fabric scraps in the mix.

Bits and pieces from here and there plus 

some from long distance online friends.

The top was designed/constructed with a bit of symmetry -

if you look closely, the grayish rows of squares 

form dividers between similarly sized sections.

Just a bit of calm within the chaos.

I'll use this long-stashed piece for backing.

With a horizontal seam and a 6" insert row of scraps

leftover from the front,

it will play beautifully with the front of the quilt.

I have named this one JUST BECAUSE.

* * *

SO much better than the original plan!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Reading inspirational and motivational quotes daily 
is like taking my vitamins."
Rosanne Cash