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.