Autumn Scrappy Celebration, Finished

 Linda, Edna and I, along with Bev this time, made another Scrappy Celebration, this time in Autumn colors. Linda quilted it and I bound it in time for us to show it at the PCQ meeting Monday night. This photo was taken by Ronda for the club's website:

Because it's seasonal, we asked that it be donated as soon as possible so that the recipient can enjoy it this fall. 

The fabrics all came from our various stashes plus the club's stash. Quite a variety of prints in Fall colors!

We're going to take a break from making another Scrappy Celebration for awhile. We all have too much else going on this time of year. The Creative Arts building is scheduled to close in March for remodeling so we'll save the next bee project for when we can't meet there and have to meet in small groups in each other's homes. 

Meanwhile, this one is a twin bed size and it will go to one of the charities we support that needs bed quilts for their clients. The client will get to keep it when she moves on. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts

Lozenges Flimsy

After making blocks at retreat in July, making more at home afterward, finding additional fabrics in my stash or purchasing more and making more blocks, and arranging and re-arranging the layout multiple times, I finally have a finished flimsy. Plus a few leftover blocks that didn't make the final cut. 

With the blocks set on point, the dominant shape in them is the lozenge portion. Because of the variety of prints of various scales and values, some layouts looked very chaotic. To control the chaos, I strung them vertically like beads, creating columns of light, medium, and dark. The black frame holds it all together.

It's still very busy, and not my most favorite quilt ever, but it's good for its purpose. It will be a donation quilt for the local family services agency. We were told that some of the teenage clients prefer quilts with black in them rather than sweet pastels. 

I have a backing already made for it, and time booked on the club's long arm later this month, so it'll be quilted and finished soon. 

Link ups: Alycia Quilts 

Comments

Hi friends, 

Blogger is at it again and has not been sending your comments to my email. This means I haven't been able to reply to them in a timely manner, if at all. I'm annoyed that this is happening. I've checked all the settings and directed that all comments go to my email. I'll try to go into Blogger and look for comments periodically and reply to them if I can. I'm so sorry to not be able to acknowledge your comments promptly, but please know that I do appreciate them. 

Happy quilting,

Jan 

Friendship Stars

Last month I had time on PCQ's long arm so I was able to quilt the ginormous Friendship Stars quilt. Now it's bound, labeled, and finished. 

The blocks are huge, 18", so piecing the top went together very quickly. The backing is a bold black-on-white scroll-like paisley. I quilted it with a loose allover meander so as not to distract from the graphic piecing. It was hard to decide on a thread color because black was very bold on the white fabrics, and white showed up too much on the black fabrics and the red. Medium grey showed up too much on everything. I went with an off-black, not as harsh as jet black, and it worked well. I'll have to remember that for future black and white quilts. 

The quilt finished at about 72 x 90", a generous twin bed size. It will go to a local women's halfway house and the resident who receives it will keep it when she moves on. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts 10/4 and My Quilt Infatuation 10/10

September Stash Report and Goals Update

I had a busy month including a week at our favorite beach, so I didn't accomplish everything on my goals list. But that's okay. We went to Perdido Key (near Pensacola) at just the right time, between hurricanes Francine and Helene that just hit the Gulf Coast. 

View from 4th floor, The Mariner, Perdido Key FL

While there I did some shopping at my favorite Pensacola fabric store, so a few yards were added to my stash. But I used some yardage this month, too, so my stash report is looking pretty good. It helped that I quilted and bound my giant Friendship Star quilt so I can count out the backing and binding. I also quilted Road Trip so I can count that backing, too. 

Quilting the Friendship Star quilt

Stash Report: 

IN this month: 4-1/2 yards (4-1/2 yards from A&E in Pensacola)
OUT this month: 12-1/2 yards (Friendship Stars back, 2-3/8 yards wide backing; binding 5/8 yard. My fabrics used in Storyboard Stacked Slabs, 2-1/2 yards. Backing for Road Trip, 7 yards.)

IN YTD: 65-1/2 yards
OUT YTD: 67-1/4 yards
YTD Net Change: 1-3/4 yards OUT

I still have three months left in the year so I'm sure I'll use up more. We'll see about adding - I need more khaki Grunge to bind Road Trip so a trip to the LQS is in order. What else might come home with me? 

Storyboard Stacked Slabs top

Goals Update: 

September Recap: 

1. Prep for and teach lessons 2 and 3 of my color class. DONE

2. Quilt the black & white Friendship Stars top on the long arm. DONE, also bound and finished. 

3. Piece backing for Kaffe Gradient. No, not touched. 

4. Continue piecing and assembling the black and white lozenges project. The concept for this has changed a bit from the original inspiration. Yes, revised the layout, made side triangles, and started assembling rows. 

5. Repair blocks and piece backing for Autumn Scrappy Celebration for Linda. DONE

6. Continue piecing the Storyboard stacked slabs top at social sewing. Yes, it's now a finished top.

7. Prep a backing and batting for a personal quilt (Road Trip???) and quilt it on the long arm on Sept 25. DONE

8. Continue making blocks for the Black and Tan project. Yes, made the last two Churn Dash blocks and cut pieces for the border. 

Autumn Scrappy Celebration layout, blocks made with friends

I had forgotten how much time it takes to prep for teaching a class. Even though I had taught my color class before, there are six lessons with materials and hand-outs for each one. Even though I have a binder with the lesson plans, I had to refresh my memory, as well as make sure I had all the visual aids needed. So quite a few hours were spent doing that this month. More of the same will take place in October because I have three more lessons scheduled. 

October Goals:

1. Prep for and teach lessons 4, 5, and 6 of my color class. 

2. Make a label for Road Trip. Shop for khaki Grunge for binding for it and bind the quilt. 

3. If Linda gets it quilted, bind the Autumn Scrappy Celebration quilt.

4. Continue assembling the rows for the black and white lozenges project. 

5. Piece a backing for the Storyboard Stacked Slabs quilt and quilt it on the club's long arm on Oct. 24. 

6. Make the last four blocks for the Black and Tan quilt; start assembling border units. 

7. Piece the backing for the Kaffe Gradient top.

Revised layout for the Lozenge blocks. 

Sides will be squared up after rows are sewn together. 

Again, a busy month planned. It's still unbelievably hot here, smashing temperature records day after day. I guess I'll be staying inside and sewing. When it's still over 105 degrees out and the sun is still brutally strong, it's hard to believe it's fall!

Autumn Scrappy Celebration

Linda, Edna, and I have been at it again, with the help of another friend, and we made blocks for another Scrappy Celebration. This time we used Autumn colors and prints. 

I think this is the final layout we ended up with. Linda is assembling the top. I sewed the backing together and put in a request to the club's charity committee for batting. Linda will quilt it, and I'll bind it when it's ready. 

Since it's seasonal (although it sure doesn't feel like fall here yet!) I'm hoping we can finish it and deliver it while it's still timely. It will go to a local women's shelter. 

Linking up with Desigh Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Storyboard Stacked Slabs Top

In July, Quilt Diva Julie sent me two boxes of fabric, donations for PCQ's charity quilts. Wow, I was blown away! Thank you, Julie. 

The chair of our charity committee asked me to make up "Blank Kits" with the donated fabrics plus others from the club's stash as needed. I was able to make up about 8 kits from the fabrics Julie sent. We don't include patterns in our Blank Kits, but let the maker choose their own pattern. 

Included in Julie's donation were some FQs from the Storyboard collection by Seth Apter. Very cool, kind of urban and masculine. The local family services agency we donate to occasionally has needs for quilts for teen boys, and I thought these fabrics would be perfect for an older boy. I held them aside to use for my next donation quilt.

In order to feature the prints I didn't want to cut them up too much, so I chose my Stacked Slabs* pattern. The FQs had been prewashed and shrunk, so they were a little undersized. I modified the cutting sizes of the slabs in the pattern to fit the fabrics and added additional fabrics from my own stash. 

After two sessions of Social Sewing, a pieced top is now finished. It measures about 58 x 68", a good teen size throw. 

Fast, easy, and the prints do all the work. I was not familiar with fabric designer Seth Apter, but he produced a line last year for Free Spirit with the same vibe, and has a new one just out, Live Out Loud. I think his fabrics would also pair well with some of Tim Holtz's Abandoned and Eclectic Elements prints. 

I found backing for this top in the club's backing stash. This will get in line for a future quilting session on the club's long arm. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and My Quilt Infatuation

* You can find the Stacked Slabs pattern and other free charity quilt patterns the tab above. If you would like a PDF, I'm happy to send it but you must include your email address within the text of your comment. 

Blocks on My Design Wall

Some time ago I had seen something on Pinterest that intrigued me. It's attributed only to Kathie C, no other info. I think some of the prints are Tula Pink. I found the image inspiring. 

Image from Pinterest attributed to Kathie C

I simplified the triangles at the sides of the lozenge shapes, making them one color instead of two, then started making the blocks for the on-point setting at retreat in July. 

They looked very busy when laid out on the wall. I soon realized I didn't have a good enough assortment of lights, mediums and darks, so I put the blocks aside. After making more at home, removing some of the original ones, and laying them out on the wall I had this:

Still looks like a busy mish-mash, so I need to bring some order to this chaos. I can do that by placing the lights, mediums, and darks in columns. 

Better. Still busy, but less chaotic. The side blocks will be trimmed and squared up at the corners. Then I'll add a 2" black border all around to further contain this.

This will end up as a large throw and will be a donation quilt for the local family services agency. Some teenager will love it. 

Link up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Belated August Stash Report and Goals Update

Wow, August just flew by and I can't believe it's September already. Fall? Hardly, it's still over 110 degrees here each day. Remember the rule about not wearing white after Labor Day? Those Boston and New York arbiters of taste a century ago never experienced an Arizona summer. The wearing of summer clothes - including white - continues. 

Anyway, it's September so my August update is overdue. I had a busy month, but my stash report took a hit because I ordered some fabrics to use for backings and to supplement my stash. I had already counted the top and backing for Referee Stripe, so all I could count out for this project in August is the binding. 

I finally finished the Kaffe Gradient top so I could count out the yardage used in it. 

August Stash Report:

IN this month: 18-1/4 yards (13-1/4 yards B+W prints from Mulqueen's sale. 5 yards black Kona.)
OUT this month: 6 yards (1/2 yard binding for Referee Stripe. Kaffe Gradient Top, estimated 5-1/2 yards)

IN YTD: 61 yards
OUT YTD: 54-3/4 yards
YTD Net Change: 6-1/4 yards added

My goal is still to break even for the year. We'll see if I can make it.

Goals Update: 

August Recap:

1. Quilt the Referee Stripe top Aug 2, and bind it in time for next PCQ meeting. DONE, although I didn't show it at the meeting. 

2. Prep for and teach Lessons 1 and 2 of my six lesson Color Class. Schedule change; taught Lesson 1 on Aug. 24 & wll teach Lesson 2 in September. 

3. Make more blocks for B+W Slanted Stars; determine layout. Assemble top, add borders. Some progress but still working on blocks and revised layout. 

4. Finish the Kaffe Gradient flimsy. Finally DONE !!!

5. Make more blocks for the black and tan project. Yes, several blocks made. Awaiting more black fabric for HSTs. 

Other: 
 - Made a lot of blocks for Autumn colorway of Scrappy Celebration with friends. 
 - Cut, laid out, and started piecing a Stacked Slabs top featuring donated Storyboard fabric.

September Goals: 

1. Prep for and teach lessons 2 and 3 of my color class.

2. Quilt the black & white Friendship Stars top on the long arm.

3. Piece the backing for Kaffe Gradient.

4. Continue piecing and assembling the black and white lozenges project (formerly slanted stars). The concept for this has changed a bit from the original inspiration. 

5. Repair blocks and piece backing for Autumn Scrappy Celebration for Linda before her trip. 

6. Continue piecing the Storyboard stacked slabs top at social sewing. 

7. Prep a backing and batting for a personal quilt (Road Trip???) and quilt it on the long arm on Sept 25. 

8. Continue making blocks for the Black and Tan project. 

That's a big list, and I have some non-quilty stuff going on in September. The to-dos with hard deadlines will get done, but some of the other items may not. 

Kaffe Gradient Flimsy

 Finally, after being on my to-do list for months, the Kaffe gradient flimsy is finished. 

Years ago I inherited a stack of five inch charms of Kaffe Fassett Collective prints but I never knew what to do with them. Then last year Rachel Hauser of Stitched in Color posted a remake of her Teeter Totter pattern in which she used a lilac gradient for the gridwork. Ah-ha, that would be the perfect concept for my little Kaffe squares. While inspired by the concept, I did not use her pattern due to the size of my squares. 

Since my squares were so small, I used 1" finished strips which I cut using the 1-1/2" die on my die cutter. A lot of cutting made easy! I cut each square in half on the diagonal, laid them out on the design wall and clipped them in pairs with their sashing strip.  

Upper left corner

At retreat in 2023 I started piecing the blocks and arranged them on the design wall. To smooth the transition between the blues and the pinks, I needed to add a few non-Kaffe prints, but they blend so well you would never know. 

Right, halfway down

As I assembled the quilt from the bottom up. it became apparent that I didn't have enough of the solid purple I was using. So I went shopping and found a similar purple I thought could replace it. After replacing the diagonal strips in multiple blocks and assembling several rows with sashing, it became obvious that the purple was too light and disappeared into the blocks instead of providing the same degree of contrast as the blue and the burgundy. So, back to the store for a darker purple, and much seam ripper activity to carefully take out and replace the offending fabric. A lot of those bias seams got ripped out twice. 

Lower left corner

Other projects and priorities got in the way, and this project languished as a UFO until recently when I finally added the top row of blocks and finished the flimsy. I didn't realize I was so close to a finish! 

Later this fall, a friend will help me spray baste this quilt, an outdoor task better left for cooler weather.  I'll quilt it on my domestic machine with in-the-ditch stitching using invisible thread. Then my friend will teach me how to face it instead of using a visible binding around the edges.  

I have a wall in my sewing room where I want to hang this quilt. The size came out to 48" wide by 78" long, perfect for the space available. And it will be dramatically visible from the hall and through the sewing room doorway.  This one's a keeper. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts 8/30, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 9/2, and My Quilt Infatuation 9/5

The Referee Stripe Quilt

Earlier this month I had time booked on PCQ's long arm and I was able to quilt the Referee Stripe top that I pieced at retreat in July. 

Yes, it's bold, wild and crazy, and very vibrant. I love how this quilt turned out! 

The piecing design using half-hexies made of strips combined with a bold referee stripe was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest attributed only to "Kathy." Thanks, Kathy whoever-you-are, for the inspiration. I already have another striped fabric in mind to make the same pattern. 

The back is a combination of black and white prints from my stash, cobbled together. 

This quilt will eventually go to a local family services agency where it will be perfect for a teenager. But first, I'm going to hold onto it and display it in PCQ's quilt show in the winter, then donate it afterward. 

Referee Stripe, 62 x 78"

Linking up with Alycia Quilts 8/23 and My Quilt Infatuation 8/29

Black and Tan Blocks

 I've been making blocks for my Black and Tan project. After making a few and rejecting them, I think I finally have all the values placed where I need them. 

Here's what the blocks look like on my design wall. I need to make four more of the blocks with hourglass units in them, and three more red churn dash blocks. I should probably stop calling this the black and tan project and start calling it the brown quilt, because that's how it's ending up so far. 

Along the way I've been looking at the project in greyscale to adjust the value placement. Here's the final version:

The border will continue the black star points out to the edges against the beige background. 

Here's the top half without the distraction of the empty spaces. Lots of diagonal movement! 

Good progress, finally. There are several rejected test blocks in my orphan block drawer; I'll have to figure out something to do with them later. 

Linking up with Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

July Stash Report and Goals Update

A lot happened this month, but not a lot of blogging. Pardon the indoor photos in this post - it's just too blasted hot (107 degrees) and sunny to take photos outside here now. 

Retreat was a lot of fun, and I got one top completely pieced, started blocks for another, and sewed squares together for a third. The finished top was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, attributed only to "Kathy," which showed an interesting way to use stripes. I used a bold black and white referee stripe with bright colors for my version: 

This was so much fun and I like it so much that I hurried to cobble together a backing for it and booked time on PCQ's long arm to quilt it. It will eventually go to the local family services agency (I think a teen will like it) but I'll hold onto it to put it in the club's quilt show next winter, then donate it. 

Also this month I finished the Friendship Star top that was laid out on my design wall. This is a twin bed size donation quilt and I've ordered backing for it. I like it too much to put ugly backing on it! 

Last but not least, Road Trip is now a finished Flimsy. I switched out the two blocks that had been sewn in the wrong places, and swapped in a blue block for a green one in an area that needed more blue. It's been about 15 or 16 months in the making, with a few hiccups along the way, but now it's finished. I have fabric for the backing, and batting for it, so maybe I can get it quilted soon. The top measures 87 x 90", and if my husband likes it enough, it can hang in our foyer. 

(Note to self: for the stash report, I counted the fabrics visible in the finished top, even the parts and pieces in the rejected blocks not used, so I won't count them again if/when I do something with them. I did not count the fabrics that didn't make it into the final top, even though there are a lot of pieces, parts, and rejected blocks in those fabrics too. I'll count then when I use them.)

With these finishes, I get to count out a lot on my stash report this month. BUT - I won 27 fat quarters at game night at retreat, not to mention my purchases this month, so quite a bit of yardage was added, too. 

July Stash Report:

IN this month: 19-1/2 yards (5-3/4 yards pre-retreat shopping. 7 yards from Sheila's shop at retreat. 27 FQs won at retreat game.)

OUT this month: 28-5/8 yards (5/8 yard Charley Harper prints sent to Wanda. 1/4 yard used in SC blocks for Shiela. 3 FQs for game. 4 yards of my own fabrics for Friendship Stars top. Referee Stripe - Top, 5-1/5 yards. Back, 5 yards. Road Trip top: 12-1/2 yards (includes leftover parts & unused blocks in these fabrics))

IN YTD: 42-3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 48-3/4 yards

YTD Net Change: 6 yards out

A big month, because several projects just happened to get to finished flimsy stage so I could count them this month. 

With these finishes, I met some of my goals.

July Goals Recap: 

1. Prep projects for retreat. DONE

2. Bind the May-June community service quilt, Woven Bricks pattern with daisy print. DONE and donated. 

3. Make two Scrappy Celebration blocks in autumn colors for retreat hostess Shiela. DONE

4. Revise Road Trip top. DONE

5. Finish the Kaffe Gradient flimsy. Not done.

Other: 

    Worked on Black & Tan blocks.  

    Worked on Friendship Star blocks and assembled the top. Ordered backing for it. 

    Made blocks and assembled Referee Stripe top at retreat. 

    Started blocks for B+W Slanted Stars at retreat. 

I think all that I did get done makes up for not getting the Kaffe Gradient top done....

August Goals: 

1. Quilt the Referee Stripe top on Aug 2, and bind it in time for next PCQ meeting.

2. Prep for and teach Lessons 1 and 2 of my six lesson Color Class to PCQuilters. 

3. Make more blocks for B+W Slanted Stars; determine layout. Assemble top, add borders. 

4. Finish the Kaffe Gradient flimsy.

5. Make more blocks for the black and tan project.

6. If possible, quilt either Friendship Stars or Road Trip (depends on getting time booked on the long arm).

Link ups: My Quilt Infatuation 8/1,  Alycia Quilts 8/2,  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 8/5

Ready for Retreat

I've been working on planning and cutting for projects to take on retreat. The two new projects are not design wall ready yet - blocks or parts have to be assembled first. But I always take along an extra project in case I finish everything else and still have time. This project has been cut for a while with the layout partially planned in EQ8. It just needed the layout tweaked and finalized, so here it is. 

Do you recognize those colors? Scroll up to my blog header and check out the quilt with the white background, and the fat quarters. Those colored squares are left over from that quilt, which was made in 2012. 12 years is long enough for extra squares to sit in a drawer. With the recent donation to PCQ of several black and white prints, I was able to supplement my own B+W prints and find a use for the colored squares. 

It's hard to tell in this photo, but there are actually two turquoise shades. In the blog header they look different enough, but in this photo they look the same. So I swapped out the lighter one for a paler one for more differentiation. Now I still have a handful of leftover turquoise squares from 2012, back in the spare parts drawer. 

The rows and columns have been numbered and kitted up for retreat. I also packed a black-on-white print for the inner border and a white-on-black print for the outer border. We'll see if I actually get to this project on retreat, or if I'll bring it home untouched. This will be a throw size donation quilt when it's done, so there's no rush.

My other projects for retreat are kitted up and packed in project boxes, ready to leave bright and early Thursday morning. My friend Cherie is flying in from PA to go with us. Bonus - the retreat ranch where we go is at a higher elevation and about 20 degrees cooler there, so it will be nice to get out of the Phoenix heat for a few days. I'm so looking forward to this getaway!

New Project on My Design Wall

Tired of seeing Road Trip on my design wall? Yeah, me too. Now that it's in one piece I've taken it down, although it needs a couple of fixes. With the design wall empty and available, I could lay out some projects that I'm prepping to take to social sewing or retreat. 

For social sewing on Wednesdays, I'll work on the PCQ community service project for July-August. We're using the large Friendship Star pattern again to make kits. Someone recently gave a generous donation of black and white fabrics; our chair passed them to me and asked me to do something with them. Since the pattern relies on strong value contrast, black and white prints will work well. I supplemented with a few pieces from my own stash and a quarter yard from a neighbor (thanks, Linda). I couldn't resist adding a bright red accent! 

Here are the black and white pieces laid out on my wall. This will be a twin bed size quilt when finished. Since I took this photo I swapped the placement of a few squares, but I didn't take a new photo. You get the idea.

The pattern as written is much scrappier to take advantage of the very random fabric stash the club has. The pattern has an alternating block layout, but if I can change up the layout to make it more striking in the black and white version, I might as well, right? 

I'll take the pieces off the wall and package them up into blocks, numbered and labeled so I can work on them as time permits at social sewing. My hive friends and I are also working on a couple of other things at social sewing, one of which has a deadline of next week, so these blocks may not get attention until later in the month, but at least they'll be ready to go when I need them. 

The Friendship Star pattern is one of the Free Charity Quilt Patterns on the tab above. While these patterns were designed to be kitted up for PCQ Community Service sew days, I'm offering the patterns for any charitable purpose. If you would like a PDF of Scrappy Friendship Stars, leave a comment and be sure to type your email address within the text of the comment so I can send it to you. 

Link up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Woven Bricks, Daisy Version

 I was able to get time on PCQ's long arm at the very end of June, so I was able to quilt and finish my daisy print version of Woven Bricks.

Woven Bricks is a very simple charity quilt pattern* that we used for making kits for the May-June Community Service sew days project. So often the donation quilts I make are twin bed size because that's what several of the charities PCQ supports require. This one is a smaller throw, and it was refreshing to make and quilt something smaller this time. I think it came out about 45" by 60". 

Among the donated fabrics in PCQ's Floral bin, I found this red and gold border print stripe but there was only a yard of it. The red floral and gold tonal also came from the club's stash, as did the two sashing fabrics. 

With careful placement I could make the daisy print work, supplemented with the gold tonal for the horizontal rows. The red print used for the vertical columns gives it the woven look. 

Two of the charities we support can use throw size quilts, so this will go to one of them, a local family services agency that serves victims of sexual violence. I hope this cheerful quilt brings a measure of comfort to the recipient. 

Linking up with Alycia Quilts (July 5) and My Quilt Infatuation (July 11)

* If you would like a PDF of the Woven Bricks pattern for any charitable purpose, leave a comment and be sure to include your email address within the text of the comment so I can send it to you. 

June Stash Report and Goals Update

 Wow, I can't believe it's the end of June already. It seemed like June was busy, but I don't have much to show for it. I was out of town for a couple days and then came down with a nasty virus, so I've been out of the sewing room a lot this month. 

No fabrics were purchased this month, and none of my own fabrics used, so no change to my stash report. The only complete finish I had used all club fabric for the front and back.

Mostly this month I worked on assembling my Road Trip top. A few partial seams, but not as bad as I expected it would be. I actually have the top all sewn together. And then I discovered I switched the placement of a couple of blocks so I'll have to fix it. Here's what it looks like before fixing: 

I haven't figured out the fabric usage in Road Trip yet. I'll figure it out and count it when I get the top fixed. I have quite a lot of leftover blocks and components, probably enough for smaller throw size quilt. I'll figure out what to do with them and count all that fabric separately. I'm tired of looking at Road Trip now, though, so I may put dealing with the leftovers on hold for a while. 

Another thing I finished this month is my community service top from the May-June kit. I had time on the long arm yesterday so I was able to quilt it. I haven't blogged about it yet so it'll get its own post later, after it's bound and finished. Again, the fabrics used were all club fabrics, so none of mine to count for my stash report. 

I actually accomplished more in June than I originally thought. I have a retreat coming up in mid July, so my goals and priorities have to switch over to retreat project prep now. 

Goals Update: 

June Recap

1. Finish the Road Trip top. Yes, but... It's all sewn together but I've noticed a couple of changes I need to make, which will involve ripping out a couple of blocks and replacing them. 

2. Quilt and finish my Tropical Stacked Slabs charity quilt. DONE and donated. 

3. Plan for making kits for the July PCQ Community Service sew day. Work on finishing the May-June top. DONE; directed the kitting up of the July project and finished my May-June top.

4. Prep projects for retreat in July. Started, more work needed. 

5. Finish the Kaffe Gradient flimsy. No

6. If time permits, prep a backing for something and book quilting time for early in July. Yes, got long arm time on June 29 and quilted my May-June community service top. 

Other: made six more Periwinkle blocks for Edna's hive project. 

July Goals: 

1. Prep projects for retreat.

2. Bind the May-June community service quilt (Woven Bricks pattern).

3. Make a couple Scrappy Celebration blocks in autumn colors for retreat hostess Shiela. 

4. Revise Road Trip top.

5. Finish the Kaffe Gradient flimsy.

Hopefully I can publish more blog posts in July, too. 

Stacked Slabs

Although I haven't been blogging much lately, I've been working on PCQ community service projects behind the scenes. 

We revised our schedule this year. Last year we were a little too ambitious, - and productive! - and we had a new quilt project for each month's Community Service sew day. Our batting budget couldn't keep up. Some of us felt pressured to finish a charity quilt top each month. This year we're allocating two months for sewing a given pattern. 

Our March-April project was a new pattern for us, Stacked Slabs. After finishing the top in May, I had time booked on the long arm at the beginning of June and got it quilted, and now it has been finished and donated. It's twin bed size because that's what several of the agencies we support need. 

When we made up the Stacked Slabs kits, I chose from the overflowing Novelty fabric bins and pulled everything with an ocean/beach/tropical/water theme: dolphins and whales, surfers and surfboards, palm trees, mermaids... I had made my Sea Turtle toddler quilt then, so I added in the turtle print leftovers, too. Then I pulled from the blue, teal, and green fabric bins to round out the palette. 

This pattern is super easy, just 4-1/2" wide strips cut either 20-1/2" or 10-1/2" long, laid out in rows staggered like bricks. No blocks, no seams to match, and the fabrics do all the work. 

After I had pulled all the fabrics for the top, we received another very generous donation of fabrics which included this stunning African print and some watery prints in matching colors. With careful planning, I was able to piece together a large enough backing featuring the African print. This could almost be a two-sided quilt. 

If you would like a PDF of the Stacked Slabs pattern for any charitable purpose, leave a comment and be sure to type your email address in the body of your comment. When I get a chance to update my Charity Quilt Patterns tab above, I'll add this pattern to it. 

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts