DWM 8/31/15: Writing, not sewing this week

My actual design wall looks the same today as it did last week. I did make some progress cutting pieces for the sashing and borders of the two BOM WIPs.

I don't expect to get much time for sewing this week. Instead, I'll be working on this design wall:

I'm participating in the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop. My day to post my block and tutorial is Wednesday, Sept. 2, so come back then and see my block. The blog hop starts today over at Quilting Jetgirl, so go check it out. There's a giveaway, too.

My Fabri-Quilt block tutorial is mostly written, just needs a few tweaks, so I'll work on that and have it ready to post Wednesday. As an added bonus, I've used by block in some EQ quilt designs. I'll post a tutorial for my favorite design on Friday, so come back for that. It's pretty cool, very versatile depending on the coloration. Spring, Summer, Christmas, Quilt of Valor, or whatever you want depending on the colors you choose. Writing that tutorial will keep me busy this week.

The other deadline item I need to have written by Friday is the supply list & pre-cutting instructions for the workshop I'm teaching at Sew Me St. Louis, an STLMQG event being held in October. I'm teaching blocks and my fun and easy method for constructing them from my soon-to-be published book, Cut and Shuffle Quilts.

So even though my design wall is electronic this week, I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times. Check out everyone else's real design walls over there.

August Stash Report & Goals Update

Stash Report:

August:
IN this month: 12-7/8 yards   (STLMQG Free table - 3 yds.  QF FQ - 1/4.  Borders, sashing, binding for QF blocks: 9-5/8)
OUT this month: 18-3/4 yards   (KBFG Flimsy - 13 yards;  Basketball Plus Donation Quilt, 5 yards for top, backing, binding;  Extra QF blocks, 3/4)
Net Change this month: 5-7/8 yards out  Yay, moving in the right direction!

Year to Date:
YTD In: 125-1/4 yards
YTD Out: 112-7/8 yards
YTD Net Change: 12-3/8 yards added to stash

I'm moving closer to my goal of breaking even for the year. Mostly I've bought fabric only for specific needs, but the goodies from the free table at guild added up this month.

Here are my additions. The first two photos are the guild freebies and a LQS FQ freebie. The second two photos are borders & sashing for current WIPS.

Goals Update:

August Recap:
1. Piece Flying Geese blocks into completed top. DONE
2. Piece basketball donation quilt.  DONE
3. Layer, baste, quilt, & bind one quilt (one of the above, or last year's bee project).  DONE, Basketball donation quilt.
4. Decide on layout for QF blocks and organize as needed for piecing in September. May need add'l fabric. DONE. Purchased add'l fabric for borders & sashing. Cut sashing for assembly in Sept.
5. Keep up with bee blocks & resolve the problem from May. DONE and problem resolved.

Other: Made block and wrote block tutorial for Fabri-Quilt Block Design Blog Hop. Posting Tuesday Sept. 2.

September Goals:
1. Write tutorial for piecing a quilt top using my Fabri-Quilt block. Post on 9/4.
2. Start prepping demo materials for teaching Cut & Shuffle workshop in October. Supply list due 9/4.
3. Piece QF Alt. Block top including borders to a finished flimsy.
4. Piece sashing for QF main blocks and if time permits, assemble top w/ borders to a finished flimsy.
5. Keep up with bee blocks.

So what's on your plate for next month? I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times; check out the other stash reports over there.

Basketball Plus Quilt

In last Sunday's stash report I mentioned that I had finished the basketball donation quilt. I was able to get some outdoor photos this week.

 

 

STLMQG is having a donation drive for kids' quilts, due in November. I'm not sure if it's officially Project Linus or a similar charity, but same purpose. There's always a need for quilts for boys that don't look too babyish.

 

Basketballs and masculine prints. This should do for an 8-12 year old boy, I think. It's 44" by 56".

 

The backing is the same solid brick orange as in some of the pluses on the front. You can see a glimpse of it in the top photo. It's the last of a 200 thread count sheet I bought pre-2000. With the simple SID quilting, the back looks like a puffer jacket. The binding is the last of a versatile stripe I've had in my stash for several years. I've used it so many times I'm tired of it; it's good to finally use it up.

 

This is #26 on my personal list of donation quilts for kids. 74 more to go in my lifetime! Guess I'd better get busy - I'm not getting any younger.

Linking up with Friday Finish at Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop-Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

WIP: Borders

The QF First Saturday BOM series that ended in July generated 12 main blocks and 24 alternate blocks. Their suggested layout results in a ginormous quilt, 105".  I have a different plan.

I'll use the main block, Maple Leaf Star, with sashing & borders for one sofa-size quilt.  I'll use the alternate blocks, giant Shaded Four Patch, for another. These will end up as gifts. So, 2 quilts from one year's worth of BOMs.

I shopped for border fabric earlier this week. Yes, my stash report will have to take a hit, but sometimes you have to buy fabric to finish UFOs, and these purchases will be used right away.

First up, the alternate blocks* and their borders. I'm using 20 of the blocks and the finished quilt will be 63" x 75". Here are the blocks on the wall with the border fabrics. The outer border print is used in two of the blocks.

1st Sat. Alternate Blocks with Border Fabrics

A closer view of the border fabrics:

Border Fabrics

Since there are only 12 of the main blocks and the piecing is busier, I'll need to add sashing. This is the layout I'm planning, which will finish at 60" x 75" :

Planned Layout for 1st Sat. Main Blocks

Here are the blocks with the sashing & border fabrics on the wall. Keep in mind the sashing will be pieced so it won't look as heavy as this solid gold. With all that white going on in the blocks, I knew I needed a border print with some light tones in it, or the borders would look way too heavy. I think I found the perfect option.

Blocks with Sashing & Border Fabrics

And a close-up of the sashing & border fabrics. I see mitered corners in my future. The color is a bit flat in this photo; it's actually much more golden, less beige.

Sashing & Border Fabrics

Next up, cutting, prepping, and organizing these to work on in September.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.



*For local friends who might recognize these QF blocks, you'll notice that I left some out and added a couple using my own fabrics.

DWM: The Layered Look

The flying geese top is still on the design wall because it's pressed and I don't want it to get wrinkled. So to use the wall, I pinned up a flannel-backed tablecloth over the FG top. Voila, the layered-look design wall. DH noticed and commented that I need a bigger studio.

So, what's on the wall?

Projects layered on design wall

 

The blocks laid out are the alternate block from the last QF First Saturday BOM. I swapped out a couple of blocks I didn't like and added a pair made from stash. I can see that I need to move the blocks around a bit for better color placement.

The plan is to add a dark narrow stop border and a 6" wide leafy print border to make a sofa quilt. I'm thinking of changing to a 4 x 5 layout instead of 4 x 6.  With a 4 x 5 layout the finished dimensions will be 63" x 75" which is a good size for a sofa quilt. It may become a Christmas present. If I find a not-quite-camo woodsy or leafy print for the border, it'll be perfect. I'll need to purchase inner and outer border fabric for this one.

The main blocks from the same QF First Saturday BOM are these:

QF First Saturday Main Blocks

 

My plan for them is to do something like this, again a sofa quilt which will finish at 60" x 75":

 

I need to get ivory tone-on tone and something dark for the sashing for this one. I have a border print that might work for the outer border, or I may have to purchase additional fabric for the border.
My plan is to get these planned, purchased, and cut so I can assemble the tops in September.

Planned fabric acquisitions in order to move projects from UFO status to finished are acceptable (even though my stash report takes a hit), right? 

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday. Check out the other quilty inspiration over there.

Stash Report 8/23/15

Nothing in again this week, yay!

And, I finished the basketball donation quilt yesterday so I get to count it out. 2-5/8 yards for the top, 1-7/8 yards for the back, and 1/2 yard for the binding.

OUT this week, 5 yards. Still moving in the right direction! Totals at the end of the month.

This week or next I may have some acquisitions, but all planned for specific purposes. I'm planning to use my blocks from the last QF First Saturday series for two sofa quilts for potential Christmas gifts. I'll need sashing and borders for one, and borders/setting triangles for the other. Also, I'll need to purchase backing for my flying geese quilt. With all those seams and the weight of the top, I want a no-seam wide backing. So, some yardage will be coming in, but for specific usage, not merely stash enhancement.

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times; check out everyone's stash management progress over there.

Thanks, Marie!

Awhile back I was whining lamenting to my friend Marie about pin basting.

Because of the arthritis, etc. in my hands, I can't manage safety pins. I've been using straight pins. They're okay, but they sometimes pop out before I'm ready, and they snag on other parts of the quilt. They often scratch my left arm and neck when I have a quilt draped over my shoulder for machine quilting.

I told Marie about something I had seen but couldn't find, and didn't I know the name of them. They were little caps to put over the points of the pins, about the size of pencil erasers. If I could put caps over my pins, they would solve my pin-basting problems. She suggested craft foam, but I found that it's too thin.

Marie recently gave me something to solve the problem: a foam puzzle (bargain!) that she thought was thick enough to work, and soft enough foam that it could be cut and would slide over the pin points easily.

Foam puzzle, cut into pin caps

Yes! The thickness is perfect, a full 1/4", and as you can see, I've already started cutting it into caps for my pins.

Generous 1/4" thick

These little caps are working great! It didn't take much time at all to slide them onto the pins as I was pinning the quilt sandwich together.

Pin basted with foam caps on the pins

So far they're working well - no scratches or snags! I'm almost halfway done with SID, then I'll take out the pins and quilt a diagonal grid across the patches.

SID going smoothly with capped pins

This is another Plus quilt, a donation for STLMQG's quilts for kids drive in November. I thought the basketball print and the masculine colors would make it suitable for an older boy.

Anyway, Thank you Marie for giving me the solution to my pin basting woes!
This is definitely whoop-worthy, so I'm linking up with Whoop Whoop Friday over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.