#FreeFallQAL Link Up #2

I finished the first 8 blocks for my FreeFall QAL!

I love the way they are turning out.  These are leftover scraps form at least one bed quilt and a few fat quarters that were stashed some time ago.

However, I was not paying attention...and here are a list of the errors of my ways:

1. made 2 sets of flying geese (only needed one),
2. didn't trim my half square triangles,
3. didn't trim the flying geese, and
4. don't try to put an off center block together with the two sets of flying geese (I did it, but much faster to take them apart.

Here is a picture of some of the trimming along the way.

Helpful hint#1:  

 When paper piecing, you can glue the first piece to the paper to keep it in place, easier than dealing with pins.  For this project, I "chain-glued" - glued all the 8 points at one time.

Helpful hint #2:
When trimming squares you can trim on two sides at once, and if you have a turntable mat, this is a good time to use it!

Linking up with FreeFallQAL #2 at mmmquilts.com

Spring Fling Update - a week later

This post is a little late but, I did want to share a little of what spring fling is like.          

As usual, it seems like a lot of packing for spring fling. I brought an ironing board and iron to share, as well as, my sewing machine, clothing and projects.  There's also an extra large bag of scraps from last year, which will eventually become a benefit quilt.  Not the best picture, but here's what the back of my Rav4 looked like with just my stuff in it.

We arrived and the weather was gorgeous.  It was nearly 50° and the sky was so blue.  The sun, snow, shadows and sky were truly inspiring.  I loved the shadow of the trees on Lake Winnipesaukee, in NH.  The house is a modest - a camp called Geneva Point - but sleeps 20, 2 to a room with a bathroom in each room.  The downstairs has two large rooms; one with a fireplace where we setup 10 tables, 2 people per table.  We also have cutting and ironing stations around that room (and snacks too).  The other room has tables we use for our dinners (catered/brought in for 2 nights) and projects where you might want a design wall or need to spread out.  It is not luxurious, but, it has everything what we need for the weekend and some mighty good views - mountains nearby and the beautiful lake.  Most years there is still some ice on the lake when we arrive.  This year, we had a little snow (10" on Saturday).



I got a fair amount done.  I worked hard on two quilts which are very nearly complete tops.  I also worked a little on some Sew Together bags that were previously cut out for a class sample.

The first quilt I focused on was "Heading South", a pattern by Material Girl Quilts.  I won this pattern a year or so ago, as I did some of the fat quarters.  I merged them with a few other pieces I had left and voila, here is my version.  I expect borders, but didn't do that during the weekend.

Displaying the quilt on the upstairs bannister.

The second quilt that I spent a lot of time on, I refer to as my "typewriter quilt".  It has quite a few novelty fabrics (typewriters, glasses, old fashioned typewriter keys, and text messaging abbreviations.  I am pretty excited about one piece of the the plan I have for the quilting.  It too needs borders and here's how far I got mostly because I left a piece home - ARGHHH.

Testing out the newspaper border

Testing out a gray inner border, still waiting for
 bubblegum pink fabric for the one row

Blooming quilters

As I mentioned on March 11th, I am a part of the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers group.  We are led by Yvonne @quiltingjetgirl, Leanne @she can quilt, Beth @Cooking Up Quilts.  We have been using Slack to share ideas about blogging and to learn tips and tricks.  We have been split into 3 groups, each with a queen!  Yvonne is our leader and the hive  is calling themselves the Blooming Quilters!

We each get a turn to showcase our blog.  Mine comes up the first week in May (better check the exact date) and I will be linking to my hivemates blogs in their weeks.  

• Amandy @Mommy’s Projects
• Bobbi @Snowy Days Quilting
• Fi @living cloth
• Jennifer @Inquiring Quilter
• Laura @Slice of Pi Quilts
• Anita @Domestic Felicity ~
• Cate @Chaos Theory Quilting
• Liz @My Sew Called Life
• Olusola @Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co.
• Karen @Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
• Kathleen @Kathleen McMusing
• Sandy @Sandy Star Designs
• Sarah @Designs by Sarah J
• Tami @Thrift Shop Commando
• Danette @Nettie Sews
• Debbie @Quilt Knowlogy
• Olivia @Pumpkin Hollow Quilting
• Raylee @Sunflower Stitcheries and Quilting

March UFO #APQresolution

This is a pillow I made from a sample block for a large quilt.  The quilt was being made from a limited number of French fabrics, so I wanted to be sure my changes made sense and worked. The fabrics auditioned like the real ones and I continued with the quilt.  I thought I'd use the block for a pillow.  It uses the same border fabric and the cornerstones are some of the French fabric leftovers.

The pillow form is a little small but it does still make me happy.  I also love that this fabric was waiting to join the rooster on the front! I'm sure a chicken lover will love this pillow!

 

Planning for Spring Fling!

My annual quilting weekend is coming up!  We leave Thursday for Moultonborough, NH.

Guess what is there....

But I have to focus so I thought I'd write a little list (I'm in Maine and will pack Wednesday).

• Bernina 440QE & manual & feet & bobbins
• iron/board -beacuse I said I would
• some new magazines to browse
• Basic sewing equipment
• rotary mat
• rotary cutter
• rulers
• pins
• pencils
• seam ripper (I never need this (HA HA)

Projects to bring:

• Batik half squares (stash busting)
• Batik flying geese  (started last year from stash)
• Selvedge bag
• Placemats for a quick finish
• La Passacagalia   (maybe one or two centers)
• Fat quarters for game
• Sew together bags
• Strip project from last years fling

Clothing [the only trip where this doesn't hang me up!]:

• Pajamas
• Robe
• Slippers?
• 3 day change of underwear, socks
• 3 day change of shirts/sweaters
• a jacket or vest 
• mud season footwear (SNOW this weekend)
• toiletries - deodorant, shampoo, toothbrush/paste, hairbrush, moisturizers

Miscellaneous:

• snacks/evening drinks/coffee mug filled
• vitamins/meds
• ipad
• electronic cords (phone/ipad)
• extension cord (orange wheel)
• ott light for table 

Free Fall Quilt Along

I am a member of the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers and found a new pattern to do.

First, it fits into my goals of using up fabric that I already have.  In fact, I had been gathering my batiks to do a quilt with half square triangles and ran into this.  Funny thing, I was pulling a blue/purple combo from my pile and had a fall pile leftover.

Second, I needed a new project that excited me.  I have a lot of UFOs I am working on but was looking for something new.

Serendipity!  You can find the instructions for this quilt along at mmm! Quilts.  There is a button too on the right side of my blog.

I thought I'd link up to Sew Fresh Quilts and her Let's Bee Social Group today.

Scrap quilting

This is a project from the UFO list last year.   I had  some leftover flying geese and scraps from a Block of the Month quilt I made a few years ago.   I am making a table runner with it. I saw a pattern called "Elegant Runner" by Terry Albers in Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts, Fall 2012.  I put it in the bag with the scraps and this uses her pattern.  Of course, the dimensions are all different, but the idea is Terry's.

                  

Some lessons I learned:

1. There is never enough fabric in your scraps in the colors you need
2. Thangles can help you squeeze half square triangles ⬕ out of fabric that is too short to do it the normal way.
3. Keep on working with what you have

So far I have:

1. Flying geese assembled into four pieces with some border fabric
2. 4 stars made with thangles and
3. more scraps

The plan is to make the the 8" block be surrounded by some of the leftover fabric and maybe a black inner border to finish the table runner.