Sew Sunshine

Project Quilting challenge this week 15.4 Hourglass I recently finished an improv quilt and really liked the feel of sewing free form so when the Hourglass theme came up I figured I could do a simple half snow ball block with improv scrap corners. They look like tiny hourglass to me! Nice and bright and this one will go to local kids comfort quilt group.  I looked in my stash to see what I had. I found a baggie with a whole bunch of leftover FQ's from a group of fabric by Amanda Jean that used to blog as Crazy mom quilts. Her fabric line was made for Connecting threads I believe. It was time to pull out those cut up FQ's and get to work.  The fabric line is called " Good Neighbors"  I found a multi print and used up as many of the fall out scraps as I could to piece into the back.  44" x 50"  ziggy zag quilting made this a quick sew Linking up with Project Quilting over at  Persimon Dreams click on over and see all the entries for this week     ...

This is the last bits of scraps from the big bag I decided to tackle. My lqg had an improv challenge and I was not going to participate because I have several improv projects already started that would not qualify for the challenge. However, when I was working on my scrap bag, I had these few that sort of looked good together.  I was just stripping them with no real plan and then in the bottom of the scrap bag was a circle already turned back in the yellow/gold fabric I had used in the strips....Fortunate? I think so. ha You might think no after you read the poem I came up with below. I am not a writer of anything and I don't like to read out loud things I have written but I did at my guild the other night...who knows why? Sundown on Scraps I see you staring back at me, from the far back corner of the room. Ignored and chastised for your girth And cursed at when I dig through you, for  giving birth. Endless times I attempt to sew you only to create more fluff. I surely can ge...

Strippy Scraps quilt. Another all scraps all the way....scrap batting, scrap binding bits and scrap bag bits. I even went to an old machine I don't use often and emptied out most of the bobbins using up thread that was not getting much love.  This quilt was so fun to make just mindlessly sewing scraps of the same size together. I usually make the stripping about 15 to 20 inches wide then trim up. I just plunk the chunks on the wall and fit them together.  So much satisfaction to use these up.  Like I said in yesterday's post about the baby scrap quilts... sometimes you just get tired of some fabrics in your stash and you just want to use them up. So I used up some on the back too! Kind of crazy looking but so is the front. Yay...using my scrap stash....and the journey keeps on going.  Stay tuned for more scrappy things. 48" x 60" 2023 Quilt parade: 2 scrap bag  strip set quilts 2 More  Baby Hexi Quilts  including one giant flower garden QAYG =  Di...

Charade quilt by  Jitterywings quilt co This quilt was so fun to make and I made a throw size before the qal even started. I gave a talk at my lqg on the topic of improv and though this is a pattern it gives the appearance of improv. I wanted to share with the guild to show that improv is not just wonky cutting.  The week I finished my guild had a sew day at the International Quilt Museum so I took the opportunity to snap some pics.  50" x 56"  cross hatch organic quilting lines The qal doesn't start until March 25th I believe so if you want to join in there is still time.  2023 Quilt parade: QAL =  Charade qAL Scrap use =  Chain of Sunshine P.Q 14.5 =  Not Square - Hexi baby #3 UFO =  Scrap set in circles #2 UFO =  Scrap Coins Gallery show piece:  O Prairie Girl P.Q 14.4 #2 =  Novel - One room school house P.Q 14.4 #1 =  Novel -My Jane pillow #1 UFO =  Winners circle - Polka dot bikini P.Q 14.3 = 54-40 of flight QCR ...

One of my local quilt guilds had a chance to work with the International Quilt Museum here in town and Gallery 1516 in Omaha. The show is called Modern Quilting on the Prairie.  Modern quilts were paired with quilts from the IQM and some quilts were just in a themed section inspired by Prairie. This is my entry "O Praire Girl"  My quilt was inspired by part of the Carl Sandburg poem Prairie -  "O prairie girl, be lonely, singing, dreaming, waiting— your lover comes—your child comes—the years creep with toes of April rain on new-turned sod. O prairie girl, whoever leaves you only crimson poppies to talk with, whoever puts a good-by kiss on your lips and never comes back— There is a song deep as the falltime redhaws, long as the layer of black loam we go to, the shine of the morning star over the corn belt, the wave line of dawn up a wheat valley." and this photo I took several years ago of farmland by my home growing up My piece is improvisation, applique, with simpl...

I recently stopped in at the Quilts for Kids sew group to drop off some quilts I had ready to donate. On the table was a stack of reproduction 30's style fabrics. If you follow me you know that is not really my style but I knew that stack had been in the to do pile there for a while. I decided why not. I had two color groups and decided whatever I did I was going to use up every scrap in the quilts themselves.  My mom had given me long ago the Nancy Zieman plastic template for various sizes of tumbler. I remembered you cut a strip of the fabric then turn template to cut the angles. Perfect if you want to use up every inch!! For the pastels I picked the yellow and for the darker colors the blue green. I think they turned out pretty good.  I used whatever cuts I had left over to make the back wide enough. They each finished 45" x 54" so hope they can go to an older toddler maybe.  This is the first sewing and completing I have done in a long time. Still nursing back problem...

This is the Fingerpaints quilt by  Quiltfortco  from last summers qal. I used her pattern but made it improv style. I used a ton of scrappy solids and tone on tone pieces from my stash along with tons of strips in my scrap bins. I finished it out a little bigger by using a few more strips.  74" x 79" quilted by  Grace Elizabeths longarm I grabbed a few photos but it has been super windy the last couple of days.  This was truly a fun quilt to make. I love the play on light with the fabrics and I like how my photos sorta looked like the light from behind it was shining on the lighter spots. :) linking up with  Oh Scrap Wendys  Peacock Party from bolt to beauty

My bag eliminating continues. If you have been following me this year I have not been cleaning and organizing per say but I have been keeping things neatly together over the years. What I am finding out is that I have tons of fabrics filed away in bags waiting for whatever it is to be finished. I keep the relevant coordinates together or shades or whatever. This does have its advantages as I can pull it up and not have to rematch etc. However, it also has its pitfalls. I just commented to another blogger that I loved her blue quilt and wondered why I didn't have much blue fabric. Well, the answer = I have bunches of it packed away with projects! sigh.... Slowly I am pulling up these project bags and deciding to continue or let go of all the fabrics held hostage!  This bag was a bag of string cutoffs of AGF. I love their feel and texture and started a improv crib quilt with them. Then got busy and moved on.  While I did not empty the bag of strings I did finish up with thi...

  Today is the day........My turn on the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog hop for Kelly Young  @My Quilt Infatuation . My quilt is the "Improv Chapel Window" quilt. Very stained glass like improv scraps. Kelly used solids in the book for this quilt and I decided to use whatever was in my scrap bin. I made a sunrise rainbow-like style going from light to dark fabrics. I think it has a sunlight feel!   Measures 22" x 22"     Kelly's book is filled with improv mini quilts with easy to follow instructions. Kelly is a hero of mine when it comes to using up scraps after making beautiful quilts and this book really puts those scraps to good use! If you follow Kelly's blog you will often come across a post where she uses up ALL her remaining scraps from a quilt. I dream of being able to do that some day.  Check out all the blog hop schedule so far:  Scrappy Improv Quilting  Blog Tour Schedule - 8/31-  Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes 9/7-...