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