Placemats and August Recap

Younger son asked if I could make him

some new placemats,  so I went 

with a whole-cloth reversible approach.

This is the front of placemat one.

(in yoga and meditation, there are multiple references

to squirrel brain leaping from branch to branch

instead of staying focused -- 

so he found this fabric quite amusing)

And this is the back of placemat one.

Stitched using Leah Day's Loose Weave design.

This is the front of placemat two --

And this is the back of placemat two.

This is one side of placemat three --

And this is the reverse side.

I stitched Jamie Wallen's swirls 

as a long diagonal through the center

with matchstick fill on both sides.

It took a while, but I like the results!

Now for the sake of continuity,

here is my August recap for 18 in 2018.

As shared in a recent post,

I have started work on Panelmania -

this year's Davies Manor annual challenge. 

The top is sewn together

so I'm ready to start on the scrappy back .

For my 2018 Comfort Quilt project:

(a) I completed and shipped off the last of 

the eight doll quilts for A Doll Like Me;

(b) I've received a sweet thank you note 

from Misty in MN for her very purple quilt;

and (c) the final group of 5 quilts for Jack's Basket

have been shipped which brings their total to thirteen.

I also created two unexpected quilt tops 

in Amanda Jean Nyberg's Scrap Vortex style 

that were not on the list at all:

sCRUMBtious and Flummadiddle.

And after three months, 

I am now finished with my PT sessions -- 

with the caveat that I continue 

to do the stretches and exercises

two to three times a week here at home.

Given how long it took to get back this far,

I'm pretty sure I'll be compliant with that request.

Quiltdivajulie

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"At the end of the day, Mother Nature has only one question for us: 'What life did you nurture today?' "
Robert Brault

Scraps Abound

The RSC color for May is PINK.

I have LOTS of pink scraps.

Last week, I ran some of them through my die cutter

using the 3" finished HST die.

This stack has already been sewn together

as leader-enders while I was stitching the blocks

for my LQS class sample quilt.

(the blocks for the class sample are pieced

and the sashing segments/corner stones are cut -

hoping to get it assembled and quilted

so I can deliver it to the shop on Tuesday)

This pile of half-HSTs needs to be sorted,

paired, pinned, and then stitched together.

For a Jack's Basket quilt top 

I'll need 144 3" HSTs

to reach the 36" x 36" size.

I haven't counted, but I'm pretty sure

there are at least that many between the two piles.

(if not, I'll cut up more scraps)

For the back of that donation quilt,

I have lots of these two kinds of 5" squares 

and some sassy leftover striped binding.

The squares will be pieced into four-patches

which will be laid out four wide x four long.

I'll add extra fabric around the edges

so the back is slightly larger than the top for quilting.

Speaking of quilting -

I have this quilt top pieced and pin basted.

It will be counted as April's A Doll Like Me quilt.

(the colors for April were yellow and gold)

And for May's A Doll Like Me quilt,

I have this box full of pink scraps

ready for sorting to see just what I can create.

* * *

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Be sure to click through to see what the others are making.

Quiltdivajulie

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"BB King, hearing slide guitar as a young man, tried to emulate the sound using his fingers and invented a whole new style of guitar playing. Try on another style - you may end up using your brushes or colours in ways you'd never considered previously."
Michael Epp

April Recap - 18 in 2018 Efforts

From the Piecing List

Snowballs became Geese for Misty

Destination was scrubbed from the list and

replaced by a Low Volume 25-Patch project

The Spotted Winkel

(my current AHIQ Challenge) 

grew by leaps and bounds

From the Quilting List

There were four lap quilts finished during April:

Scrapbook Quilt

Painted Daisies

Groundhog Day

Stacked Squares

I also participated in Angela Walter's

online Free Motion Quilting Along

and learned SO SO much.

From the Comfort Quilt category

For Jack's Basket:

Gerry's Moons and Stars No. 1 and No. 2

were quilted and finished.

Scrappy Trips Coins quilt was quilted and finished.

My RSC Purple/Lavender quilt was quilted and finished.

My RSC Yellow/Gold quilt was designed, 

pieced, quilted and finished.

For A Doll Like Me: 

I quilted and finished this whole cloth quilt

which is DLM004 in my tracking system.

I also pieced, quilted, and finished a reversible quilt

using lots of RSC purple scraps now known as DLM005.

I really like the texture of the

liberated free motion Topographic Spirals.

Otherwise, lots of scraps were pulled and sorted

for more 20" x 24" quilts using RSC color prompts.

(pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, greens, etc.)

And I cut squares from four different solids

(two greens and two yellows)

for a future four-patch DLM quilt.

(shown in the collage above as pinned-together pairs)

* * *

And in response to a special request from younger son,

I quilted this reversible 37" x 21" dresser runner.

Once again, the topographic spiral design worked beautifully.

(easier to see if you supersize the photo)

* * *

You can see more April accomplishments

by others participating in 18 in 2018

by clicking HERE. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Nothing gives quite the satisfaction that doing things brings." Sherwood Anderson

Comfort Quilt Update

This is JB006 - my sixth finished quilt for Jack's Basket.

I started this one in February when the RSC colors

were purples and lavenders.

Quilted with the Woodgrain design

(unmarked liberated free motion)

using Mulberry Glide thread.

This was practice for a larger lap quilt

that I want to quilt with the Woodgrain design.

I like it and will be quilting the larger quilt in the next few days.

I ran the design vertically

although I've seen it done horizontally.

Given that DH is a wood guy,

it only made sense to me to orient the design

the way it would look in a real tree.

This is JB007 created with this month's

RSC colors of yellows and golds.

6" finished HSTs laid out six by six for a 36"x 36" top.

(Thanks, Mari for that heads up about 

the correct size for Jack's Basket quilts!)

I quilted this one using Lori Kennedy's 

Loose Screws design - my first time to try it.

I love the texture and it stitched out easily.

I backed the quilt with a rich golden floral print

and used the last of my KF diagonally striped binding.

I like the texture just as much on the back as I do on the front.

Quilted with Military Gold Glide on top 

and Bark Glide on the back.

JB008 was pieced using the last of the scraps

from the Scrappy Trips quilt I pieced earlier this year.

I added the green column dividers 

to increase the width of the quilt

and bound the quilt with 

another rich green stripe.

I used my variation of Christina Cameli's Wayward design

but oriented it vertically to fill the columns of coins.

I did a simple loop and spiral in the green strips.

Quilted with Pink Glide thread.

I absolutely love the print on the back.

A couple of notes:  

All of these photos were taken in late afternoon

when shadows were unavoidable.  

I was happy to have the quilts stay flat on the ground

since we have had several days with gusty winds

that whip everything around the yard.

And all of these quilts had been folded

for a while before this photo op

presented itself - so please excuse the creases.

Again - the quilted texture is just wonderful.

* * *

I have three 20" x 24" quilts in the works 

for A Doll Like Me.

Hopefully I can share those next week.

(Reminder - there are permanent links 

for both organizations in the sidebar)

* * *

Over the weekend, I'll link this post with

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."  
Mitch Albom

First Quarter RSC-Inspired Comfort Quilts

One of my goals this year is to make comfort quilts

for Jack's Basket and A Doll Like Me. 

inspired by the RSC color prompts. 

(see permanent links in sidebar for both organizations) 

This is my March quilt for Jack's Basket.

(approx. 30" x 36")

This month I used the Star Bright pattern from Swim Bike Quilt

and pieced the LOVE block into the center of the star.

I love the swirl texture - front and back.

This is my scrappy doll quilt for March.

(approx. 20" x 24")

I quilted both of these using Kiwi Glide thread.

This doll quilt was also my Week 6 stitch-out 

for the Free Motion Quilting Along 

featuring Angela's Wavy Lines.

(see link in sidebar for more on the QuiltingAlong)

I rescued this Jane Sassaman print last fall

and it has now found its forever purpose

as the backing for March's doll quilt.

Here are the two March comfort quilts together.

I also quilted my Jack's Basket quilt from January

when the RSC color prompt was light-medium blues.

I am thrilled with the texture 

created by these parallel rows of wavy lines.

(the backing was another rescue from last fall)

I quilted the scrappy doll quilt 

using Graphite Glide and straight lines

stitched 1/4 inch on either side of the 

vertical and horizontal block seams.

I've seen this done by others

but it's the first time I've tried it.

It won't be the last.

Here are the two January quilts together

with their back sides facing up.

The colors and textures make me happy.

With these two comfort quilts 

completed earlier this month,

I'm now caught up 

for the first quarter of 2018.

* * *

And in keeping with this spirit of paying it forward,

please CLICK HERE to visit Preeti's blog.

She's offering a VERY generous giveaway

to help raise funds for a special little boy.

I agree with her that small efforts 

made by lots of people 

can make good things happen.

* * *

Over the weekend, I'll link this post with

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Click here 

to see what the others are sharing this week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"No one has ever become poor by giving."
Anne Frank

RSC for March - Bright Greens

This is the box of green scraps and partial fat quarters

that I pulled for this month's RSC comfort quilt making.

I edited the mish-mash a bit 

and came up with this plan

for a Jack's Basket donation quilt.

I'll use the noisy checkerboard for backing,

multiple greens for the background, and

the daisy print to frame the pink swirly star.

I'll use this group of strips, strings, and bits

to piece a doll quilt for A Doll Like Me.

I'll include the colorful Jane Sassaman scraps in the top

and partial fat quarter with the green print on the bottom 

for the quilt's backing.

Hopefully there is enough of the pink polka dot binding

leftover from a previous project to bind this doll quilt.

I also found another small stash of light-medium blue scraps

(January's RSC color prompt)

that I'll piece together for another Doll Like Me donation quilt.

But in perhaps the biggest decision of all

was to re-purpose this stack of KF charm squares

that had been planned long-stalled for 

a snowball-designed lap quilt top.

Instead, I will pair the colorful charms 

with the pink/purple print squares

and make lots of half square triangles.

(they'll each finish at 4")

There will be roughly 160 HSTs to play with

once they're stitched, separated,

pressed, and the corners are trimmed;

which means I can make 2-4 small comfort quilts.

These will be counted for February's purple prompt

as well as the not-yet-called-out RSC pink prompt

that will happen later this year.

I found this image online 

(no credit attached to it)

and I quite like the random layout.

I need 63 blocks for a Jack's Basket quilt top

(7 wide x 9 long)

and 30 blocks for a Doll Like Me quilt top.

(5 wide x 6 long)

so . . . 

there are lots of comfort quilt possibilities 

lurking in those colorful HSTs-in-the-making.

* * *

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

CLICK HERE to see lots more 

of this month's scrappy GREEN goodness.

AND . . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Quiltdivajulie