Sew Sunshine

Project Quilting has started the 14th season. P.Q. 14.1 theme is the 1st One. I went to my stash for this as again this year I would like to use some of the things I have. I pulled out my QCR Mini Wonderful Curves  book  and ruler.  Found a stack of FQs languishing in the back of the cupboard and started. My interpretation for The 1st One is to make One shape. This will be a half clamshell. The pattern I followed mostly is called Cider House. It was square but I managed to make an extra row so it is a bit bigger. Using the Quick Curve Ruler all I needed was to cut enough squares for the design. You can see my first cut. So simple and just what I needed to get my quilting mojo going.  The half clamshell makes a great looking pinwheel and it also makes the chain like apple core. So fun and easy. To get the extra row since I was using FQs, I had to be inventive. I was able to piece each of the scrap bits together to make the squares so I could cut the curve out. Some pieces are in the con

I am once again participating in Hands2Help comfort quilt challenge. This year Mari @  Academic Quilter  is hosting. You can find out more information by clicking on the link above.   I chose the  Little Lambs  Foundation for Kids again.  I am also working on several comfort quilts for my local  Quilts for Kids .  So far I am working on an idea for a scrappy quilt. I am using bright or solid 6.5" squares I cut out of a box of scrapped FQ's. I have just enough to make the quilt using my randomly sewn together scrap strips.  I think this is going to work and be fun!! I made a couple sample blocks and love the wonky mix mash of strips. We shall see. In other progress lately, I worked on a Kawandi quilt. This is handmade quilt starting from the outside in. I did not use batting in mine as I was not sure how it was going to work. I turned under the edges of the top most pieces and stitched it all down with big stitch.  I really liked the process but ended with a bit of extra fabric

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

This weeks  Project Quilting Challenge  13.6 is Flying Geese.  T his is an easy block to incorporate into a challenge quilt. I am still trying to use my stash and patterns and rulers and oh.....flying geese temperature quilt sitting and waiting on the corner of my ironing board...Yes please.  You see I made myself a birthday month quilt top back in 2019. I had big plans of making a bigger quilt with my birthday month, my husbands and our wedding anniversary month.  Then I made my birthday month using a book by Carl Hentsch published by  C and T publishing   called New York Beauties and Flying Geese. It is foundation pieced on paper but....I don't like to do foundation pieced blocks on paper so I made freezer paper changes. Okay so that worked but it WAS work. I loved the look of the blocks but not doing them.  I think I made my block long enough ago to sort of forget how much I didn't really like doing it. Ha I still don't have mine quilted and I am pretty sure I will not b

Well this week for  Project Quilting 13.5  the theme is Rhythm and Repetition. I dug into my pattern/ruler pile and came up with "Mountain Hiking" by Kate Henderson out of the book Scrappy and Happy Quilts. It uses Perfect rectangle rulers but I had EZ Tri Tool by Darlene Zimmerman made by simplicity and they were same size for the three smaller triangles. I had to make a template for the biggest.  This quilt measures approx. 72.5" x 80.5" I had to decide if I could do this large size in a week. I used all scrap or a variety of older low volume pieces for the background. I emptied out a bag of these red violet lovelies ( one of my favorite colors the last few years) that I had been saving for something. So the cutting took a little bit of time because of the scrappy pieces I had to deal with. Still I was able to make the top relatively quickly.  did have trouble with my large template size triangles because the top tip was so wide it never gave me a point. I decided

I am not sure what to call this finish. I have been emptying baggies of projects or ideas of projects that I have kept together. This week I found a bag with 2 animal blocks framed up partially with the animal print fabrics. They were left over from a kids quilt I made years....ago. I decide this would be easy to just frame up some more of the animals in the panel and ...USE...IT....UP! ha So I don't know if this is a UFO or a WIP but it is now something! Between the front and the back I used up all but a strip of zebra and cheetah fabrics. I can put that in the scrap bag for another day.  I had four animals left from the panel and was able to make them into little backpacks. One of my local quilt guild is making backpacks for little ones to use for medical purposes.  The packs are lined and just need the cording yet.  So another bag gone and done. Next up...new project quilting challenge coming out tomorrow.  linking up with  Put your foot down and  Wed weight loss  with Inquiring

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 this gray kon

Yay for me...another WIP bites the dust! This is the plaidish quilt tutorial by Erica @  Kitchen Table Quilting Such a fun quilt to do and mindless sewing of scraps except for light and dark.  64" x 84" approx scraps, serpentine quilting I was not sure I could quilt it myself so I tried to keep it simple. I used the serpentine stitch on my machine and with the help of the stitch in the ditch walking foot followed the lines. I did really good checking the back for tucks etc until the end of the rows. So of course I have a few at the end of the rows..ha Luckily the back is pretty busy and most you can't see only feel. sigh..... It is crinkly now because of that stitching and I hope when I wash it it will be even more! started in 2019 and made top 2020 and finished 2022...whew Linking up with Cynthia @  Oh Scrap   NTT with Kelly @ My quilt infatuation Midweek makers @ HERE   Jennifer @ Wed. Weight loss

This weeks  Project Quilting  over at Persimon dreams blog is 13.3 = Kitchen Influence 45"x 45" Quick Curve ruler pattern called Chic Picnic My challenge piece came about because I want to work through my scraps, by patterns and my rulers this year.  I didn't look far to find that I had Sew Kind of Wonderfuls Quick Curve ruler pattern called Chic Picnic and decided that was 'kitchen influenced'.  In the week between challenges I was working on cleaning up some baggies of scraps.  I have piles of bags and cases of scraps. I started on the black and white etc scraps cutting them up into usable bits before the challenge started. When the challenge came out I decided to see what partial FQ's and what not I had that could be cut up into scrappy goodness. I happened to find a shoe box in the corner that had just what I needed. I added some blenders and made it work.  All the remaining bits of those FQ's I used on the back and binding. All scrappy goodness AND I

47" x 54" Little creatures from Cori Dantini line of fabric  I have learned that I do not really do well by organizing my sewing area. I clean up a bit and don't let it get too out of control as I go. This works best because in organizing in the past I lose things? Am I the only one? I put all things nice and neat somewhere but that is not where my mind saw it last so I have trouble finding it again to actually use.  This year I want to use the patterns and rulers I have and of course my fabric stash. So on organizing...a waste of time for me because I am messy but not THAT messy. ha  One way I try to stay neat is to put projects together with fabric pattern and so on in a baggie. What I realized though is that I usually have all fabrics tied up then with the project just in case I may need them. So I plan to do some bag busting this year too.  One bag was this cute Cori Dantini creatures bag. Full of tons of matching and coordinating line of fabrics. My directions as to