Lots of Progress to Share

As I work towards having things ready for the month of June when our seasonal decor theme will be blueberries and daisies, I have gotten Reverie (Macnas series No. 2) pin basted.  It has only been waiting for eleven months now . . . 

To clear off the sewing machine table, I finished up Young Man's journal cover.

He finishes second grade next week so I'll give it to him when he spends the first day and a half of summer vacation with us.

In the background I've been quilting the slabs for June's placemats and utility mats.  This is the final (largest) slab and I need only another hour or so before it will be ready to trim out four more placemats and four utility mats (end tables and hearth mats).

A few days ago I prepped the binding for all 11 mats (shown escaping from the green basket - I set it on the floor beside my machine when I'm attaching the binding).

The cedar chest mat (left) and the first two placemats (right) are cut to size and waiting to be bound.

The new wall quilt for June is pin basted and its thread chosen.  I had originally thought I'd use light blue but the soft amethyst actually suits the quilt better.

While the cutting table aka pin basting station was clear, I went ahead and cut batting for the new July wall quilt.

And, since the top and back for Haru have been on the noodles for a while now, I cut and rolled batting for that quilt as well.  (Haru will be gifted early next year)

* * *

One step at a time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."

Voltaire

Works in Progress

Shirts and Such has reached flimsy stage (started in August 2024). 

This is one section of the top laying on my pressing table - I will get a full shot of it on the design wall over the weekend.

I don't know why this one is so hard to photograph - the colors are so much softer and prettier in person.

Last time he spent the night, Young Man saw one of my fabric covered journals in Uncle A's room.

YM asked if I could make one for him - well, of course.

This is the pieced (but not yet trimmed) slab for the outside - the gold print at the top will become the lining.

(and yes, the slab was pieced with strips left after making Dragon Fyre)

I've pin basted the three slabs for June's 5 utility mats and 6 placemats, but haven't had a chance to start quilting them.

Also for June - this is the newly-pressed panel for the dining room wall quilt along with its backing and binding fabric.  I'll get them pin basted and ready for quilting in the next few days.

* * *

Wishing all of you who are moms a Happy Mother's Day weekend and for those of us without our moms,  may the good memories surround us with love.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Simplify, slow down, be kind.  And don't forget to have art in your life -- music, paintings, theater, dance, and sunsets."

Eric Carle

Scattered - Another Form of Progress

The big roll of batting has arrived . . . 

As soon as I use the last of the current roll

this one will be loaded onto the storage bar

underneath my drafting/cutting table.

For now it makes me happy waiting in the corner.

I've been going to make these journal covers

since early spring . . . 

The best part is that all seven are now D-O-N-E.

Two went to younger son,

two will be Christmas gifts,

and the other three are mine.

(there's a permanent link in my sidebar

to Wanda's journal cover tutorial)

The second half of Yuletide's blocks

have been taken down off the design wall.

20 wide x 24 long is a LOT of  small blocks,

hence all those pins now back in their pin cushions.

I put a major effort into combining the many short 

lengths of segments for Dumpster Diving 10 - Do Tell

into two continuous lengths so I could sub-cut and 

assess how many slabs I could make.

Turns out I have more than enough of the aqua

and I need enough for only two more slabs in pink.

Each slab's strips are in one quart size bag

ready and waiting to be stitched together.

Then the real fun can begin.

With the design wall empty it was time

to create the scrappy back for Jingle Bells.

I used the leftover Yuletide squares bordered with

leftover binding strips for the vertical insert.

* * *

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

really added up to quite a bit of progress.

I'm finding that smaller short term goals

are working better for me right now,

despite the fact that I'm also gathering ideas

and envisioning fabric pulls for a wide variety

of future quilts that may or may not be made.

Keeps both sides of my brain happy 

which is no small feat these days.

Quiltdivajulie

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“The pains you feel are messengers.  Listen to them”

Rumi

March Goals

The quilt top of the month for March

will be Dumpster Diving 5 - Catharsis.

After two design changes, a third one is in process

and I'm finally ready to rock and roll

to get this to flimsy stage by 3/31.

My number one quilting project for March

will be the 70273 Project's Quilt No. 697

from last fall's Davies Manor quilt show.

The top currently measures 56" x 77"

and commemorates 86 lives.

I also need to put away all of the quilts

from the cancelled trunk shows.

They were heavy before and they're still heavy

so I'm dealing with them in very small groups

since my stamina is still recovering.

When I teach at John C. Campbell Folk School in September,

(class project photo pending on their website)

I want to take 12-14 journal covers to sell in their Craft Shop.

The outsides are assembled and linings have been chosen.

Next steps will be to assemble the covers and quilt them.

Hopefully they'll all be ready for the final steps

by the end of the month.

If not, these might spill over into April.

I'll be teaching Lynne's Liberated Birds

 at our local quilt shop on March 18 and 25.

(day and evening classes)

AND I need to prep enough quarter square triangles

 to assemble forty blocks for my RSC Mosaic project.

This month's color is GREEN - which should

look really good against the blue backgrounds.

* * *

And in my non-quilting world,

I need to prepare for and chair my first 

Davies Manor Association Board meeting,

and get things ready for our tax guy.

One thing at a time . . . 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent."

Venus Williams

May's Green RSC Project Goals

The new color for May is GREEN.

I love green.

I checked the pile of waiting scrap projects

and decided to line one of the 

black and white journal covers

with a bright green aboriginal print.

I'll also quilt the cover with green thread.

This innocent pile of green scraps

will turn into a placemat slab.

It needs to be 17" x 24" before quilting.

There could even be two slabs hiding in that pile.

And I need to make the required label 

for my challenge quilt - D is for Dots.

I'll border it with green.

* * *

A quick note for those of you who have 

enjoyed The Free Pieced Barn Project,

Build a Barn, 

The Secret Society of Barn Builders,

and See Rock City's adventures.

Check out this post 

from the AQS On Point blog

to see 12 brand new barn blocks!

* * *

Linking up with The Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

CLICK HERE to see how the others are 

using their green scraps this week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"I never met a color I didn't like."
Dale Chihuly

Journal Cover for DS

DS-the younger recently chose strings for a new journal cover.

He arranged them in the order he wanted

and kept me company while I stitched them together.

Created using Wanda's tutorial.

(permanent link in my sidebar)

Here is the outside (with the composition book inserted).

This is the interior view (without the composition book).

He likes it and so do I.

 * * *

There are more journal covers listed for sale

over on my Possibilities blog

if you'd like one for yourself or to give as a gift.

Quiltdivajulie

No. 36

Over the weekend,

younger son spent some time

sorting through my string boxes.

He chose these pieces for his customized journal cover.

Here's a flat view of the outside.

And this is a view of the inside.

Counting this as Number 36 for my 101 Scrappy/Stash Projects.

* * *

We also spent a lot of time working in the yard.

ALL of the flower pots in the back yard 

have fresh potting soil AND plants!

(DH and younger son did the heavy lifting.

 I chose colors / varieties and did the planting.)

White gerber daisies, 

caladiums, 

dracaena spikes and purple feather grasses, 

a couple of sun-patiens,

a flat of white begonias,

and 3 candy corn plants.

Also known as a firecracker vine,

these will be trained onto the teepee trellis

beneath the big oak trees.

These vines are supposed to be great for 

attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

WOOT!

Quiltdivajulie

Scrappy Saturday - More Purple!

This is the inside of April's scrappy journal cover.

And this is the outside of the cover.

Here's the front with the composition book inside.

And this is the back.

Ta da!  

There's a permanent link in my sidebar

for Wanda's journal cover tutorial.

This counts as project number 34 in the quest for 101 scrappy projects!

Three more arrowheads are also finished.

* * *

Linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge -

click here to see what the others are stitching!

Quiltdivajulie

Scrappy Saturday - Progress!

This is the front of my journal cover for March.

(Several of this month's project pieces include scraps

from scrubs I purchased three years ago)

Here's the back . . . 

. . . and here's the inside front.

Again, I used Wanda Hanson's tutorial for making my cover.

These 6.5" squares will eventually be used in the Fruit Loops quilt.

As will these scrappy flying geese.

Four more crumb-pieced snowball blocks have been finished.

(including the very last scrap of funky monkey fabric 

purchased over 10 years ago for one of my very first quilts)

I also cut enough HST corners

and pieced / sub-cut enough strip set segments

for the next nine months.

WOOT!!

* * *

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Click here to see what others are working on this month.

Quiltdivajulie

Scrappy Saturday

Here is the finished journal for January.

I use Wanda Hanson's tutorial.

Here is the outside.

 (taken before inserting the composition book)

And here is the inside.

 (taken before inserting the composition book)

* * *

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

* * *

Click here to see what others are doing this week.

Quiltdivajulie