Back in the Scraps Again!

My weekend project lies ahead!

I have a very simple attainable goal in front of me.

I need to make 12 more of these.  They will be mixed with the blocks that have purple bonus triangles around the outside edges.  I am just LOVING sewing with the recycled fabrics again.  They always call me back, you know?  It’s an instantly vintage looking quilt with all of those soft stripes and plaids and muted colors.

12 more.  By going home time Monday morning.  That’s the plan.

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All The Pretty 16-Patches! (And Quilt-Cam!)

A veritable mountain of 16-patch scrappiness!

This was hands down the most “brainless” quilty fun I have had in a long while – in my book things like 4-patches, 9-patches and 16-patches are just THE BEST and are right up there with string piecing.

Look ma, NO TRIANGLES!

And better yet – I am using up a bunch of OLD OLD blues – from 1980s and 1990s calicoes to florals and geometrics to recycled shirts and batiks.  It’s all in there.  And it is the mix – the complete and utter no rhyme no reason variety that makes me so happy.

By the time we started Quilt-Cam last night I only had the last batch of 10 to complete, I had 8 1/2 done by the time Quilt-Cam was over – I stayed and finished the last two after hitting STOP on the camera.  I just couldn’t leave them until they were all done and packed in a bin.

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On This Valentine’s Day, 2019

I am wishing you pretty patches and creative time!

Exactly what is on my own plate today!

More block kitting is happening – These are the Fancy Basket blocks from a 2016 Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker, and I LOVE for once (or at least in a long while)  playing with a dark background in these blocks.  They feel like spring to me.  And a great way to dig in the scraps.

This block can be built in a couple of different ways.  You could use “chisels” with stitch-n-flip corners to do the long angled pieces instead of a 4-patch center, but I chose to do it this way so that my background pieces wouldn’t have any seams in them.  

Whatever method of construction your eyes see, this block comes from 2 widths of strips directly from my own Scrap User’s System thanks to my Essential Triangle Tool.  It makes kitting up the blocks so so so easy!

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Just a Bit Tanked!

I could have cropped this photo.

But I wanted you to see the entire perspective -

Does this remind you of the hot tub acrobatics from  year?? LOL!

It really wasn’t all that bad, but it was complicated a bit by a very squishy mountainside due to loads of recent rain, mist, drizzle, sleet and fog.

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Gettin’ Quilty ‘Round Here! (And 2 Winners!)

Top Done!  Yahoo!

I actually feel like I accomplished something – after a long dry spell!

I just love how scrappy and fun it was to make this quilt as our current Leader & Ender challenge project – Jewel Box Stars.  It’s not too late to jump in.  This challenge continues until July when we throw our NEXT project into the ring.  What will it be?  Just wait and see!

All of the 2’’ squares for this quilt came from my pre-cut 2’’ squares box – that’s what makes the variety so great!

All of the triangles were cut from 3 1/2’’ strips from my Scrap User’s System using my Essential Triangle Tool to cut matched pairs of triangles from strip sets already placed right sides together, so they are ready to sew.  This project was pure pleasure.

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The Last Good Fortune Mystery Monday Link-Up!

Imagine my joy and happiness in SEEING these beauties!

You have all been SO busy over the past month since our last Mystery Monday Link-Up for our Good Fortune quilt – and I am so happy to see the progress and the finishes being shown using our hashtags #quiltvillemystery and #goodfortunequilt!

Even though our reveal happened in Early January (Were you surprised that it went to the 4th instead of the 1st?! We needed just that one more clue to make it not so overwhelming.  Sometimes you just can’t cram it all into the “normal span of time”  We have to give it just a bit more.  And I’m so glad we did.

I’ve heard from many that they felt this year was easier, more enjoyable, and I’m so glad.  That was my plan, not only for you, but for me too.  I needed it.

Now that 2018 is in the rear view mirror, and we are a few weeks further into 2019, I’m wishing for the “A bit easier and more enjoyable” to continue.

Starting right here, right now!

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Serendipitous Saturday Sewing!

May there always be Saturdays to Sew!

It has been long – so so long since I have been able to just settle into a project on a Saturday, just feeding pieces through to the hum of the machine, the warm pressing of the seams by iron next to me, some silly chick flick Netflix on in the room playing for me – only for me.

Bliss!

At first I wasn’t sure I could even settle into it!  I was spinning around with nowhere to land and no idea where to start.

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A Blue Ridge Mountain Weekend Ahead!

Good Morning from Virginia!

I made the great escape yesterday afternoon – barely missing the rush hour traffic that has gotten worse over the years in Winston Salem – I-40 begins to crawl about 4pm in both directions.  Those coming from Greensboro headed west, and those leaving Winston, heading east –

And it was a Friday afternoon which can make it that much worse.  Just a quick stop at Barnes & Noble to pick up a book Dad had ordered for me for my birthday and we were off!

All I had on the brain was a long soak in the hot tub and a good night’s sleep in complete darkness and silence. 

No traffic noise.

No uncontrolled barking at 5:30am from the crazy neighbor’s dogs. (This story for another time.)

Just utter rest.

Not even any stitching happening – just pick up a smattering of groceries on the way, enough to see us through the weekend, and GO.

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Quiltmaker March/Apr ‘19 Gift-Away #2!

A Strange thing happened on the way to the mailbox!

(Wouldn’t that make a great title for a quilty murder mystery? LOL!)

I went through a mountain of mail yesterday.  And I’m not joking!  3 weeks of mail covered my dining room table and overflowed onto any horizontal surface in the kitchen.  It was quite the undoing!

Of course most of it was junk mail and found its way quickly to the recycle bin, but THIS!

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