Last fall a friend and I issued a challenge to our quilt guild. We each purchased enough yardage of a different fabric to cut 10 fat quarters. We took the fabrics to the guild and challenge people to join in the challenge. There were two groups since there were 2 different fabrics. Nine people (besides Lynn and I) signed up for each group. We handed out the fat quarter fabrics.
At the next meeting, each of the participants were to bring 10 fat quarters of a fabric that coordinated with the focus fabric. These fabrics were passed out to the respective challenge groups. We are to bring our finished flimsy to show & tell at the June 2018 meeting. We were allowed to add some fabrics if we wished to.
I could not come up with an original idea for my project. I had decided I was NOT making a large quilt, I wanted something small, maybe around 36" square. In January, Country Lane Quilts started a mystery BOM called Friendship Garden. This mystery started in January and ended in June, and it was for a 30" finished wall quilt. I also like the name Friendship Garden, it was my friends from guild participating in this challenge.
I've followed the mystery and this is my quilt. She measures 26-1/2" square. This is smaller than what the instructions said it would be, but everything went together fine and I didn't want a large wallhanging.
These are the fabrics my group used. The focus fabric is on the left. The right fabrics are the challenge fabrics from the group. The separate black at the bottom is only I added from my stash.
I've linked to Country Lane Website and the mystery quilt. The mystery was a free BOM. I don't know how long the free pattern will be posted.
I don't know when this wall hanging will be quilted or what I'll do with it but I accomplished the challenge!
This challenge wallhanging is #8 on my list of projects for the year.
It was hard to get the true colors in the pictures. All that shiny gold is hard to photograph!
Linking to Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Em's Scrapbag, Design Wall Monday, Love Laugh Quilt, BOM's Away even though this wasn't really a scrappy project.
I've finished hand quilting row 5-1/2 of Nearly Insane. I know I took pictures of the individual blocks quilted this week but they weren't there when I downloaded them onto my computer!
I didn't unroll the quilt but just took pictures of the partial blocks. Sorry.
There was a lot of quilting on this block but it turned out nicely.
I added some curves to the corner HST's.
Left side triangle and zigzag border which is the as the right side.
Sorry the pictures are dark. If I turn the overhead light on, the blocks look too light.
After I rolled, I realized I can see the start of the top zigzag border so I've taken a picture to show you.
I won't be posting much this summer. I will keep you updated on any finishes that occur.
Happy Stitching!
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap
The applique borders are finished! Star Dance is now a completed flimsy!! Another project to cross off my list!
The center stars were pieced in 2017 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
Before I started the border applique, I had toyed with the idea of making the border stars coordinate with the color of the pieced star closest to it, rainbow borders. That would have been interesting but I decided to mix the colors.
I did add more circles to the border than the pattern called for but I don't think I overdid them. When I auditioned circles for the center of the bottom border there, I didn't think they looked right so I didn't add any.
The stars finish at 4" and the flimsy measures 60" by 70". I made several changes from the original pattern. When I started this project, I had thought this would be a nice crib quilt but it is too large for that now.
I took several more pictures of the flimsy. I couldn't decide which one was the best so I'm including them all.
Now the flimsy has moved into the next phase, waiting to be quilted because I'm going to hand quilt this one of course.
Linking to Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Let's Bee Social, Whatever Wednesday, Sew, Stitch, Snap SHOW, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished Or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Finish It Up Friday, Scrap Happy Saturday, Show Off Saturday
A full row of Nearly Insane did not get quilted. As I said in my last post, I've been spending more time outside
Here is the hand quilting that happened last week starting at the right side and working my way to the left. These blocks finish at 6".
Right side triangle, stitched fast.
Easy peasy stitch in the ditch quilting
Instead of stitching in the ditch on this block, I quilted a fan design.
This block had the most stitching of the week. I like how it looks.
I like the simplicity of this block and it quilted easily too.
I'll never receive a prize for my quilting stitches on this quilt. There are so many different fabrics, it's hard to be consistent with the stitching. Oh well, finished is better than perfect.
Star Dance has moved into first priority this week. I'm so close to having her completed and I think the finish will come this week.
Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh Quilt, BOM's Away, Esther's Wednesday WOW!
The rain system that had been over northern Indiana for the last several weeks has finally moved out and we've got sunshine!
After several days without any precipitation, we can finally get into the fields. Spring planting has been seriously delayed and every farmer in our area is going as hard and fast as they can.
This week we big baled our 18 acre hay field. Normally we are able to make four cuttings of hay a season but that may not happen this year because of the late first cutting.
I was not able spend as much time on hand work this week because of being outside. I'm not complaining, I'm very thankful we can be in the fields and I enjoy being outside after the long, long, long winter.
Star Dance is almost finished. I need to add the circles to the center of the flower star blocks. I also want to add more circles to the border. I think the applique looks rather bare in some places.
She measures measures 60" x 70". I've changed the pattern by piecing more blocks and I putting the stars on point.
I've mentioned several times in posts that Star Dance was my 2017 RSC quilt. Actually Star Dance was not my only 2017 RSC project. I had a second project, a 4-Patch summer quilt which we are using now since it has finally warmed up.
Linking to Scrap Happy Saturday, Sew Can She, Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday
I've tested the reduced size foundation paper pieced pattern for the Baskets & 9 Patches quilt just to see how piecing goes. Very straight forward but I did make a few changes to the pattern.
Look at the blue bottom piece of the blue basket, that section is made from three triangles. Why? You can't even see there are three triangles there.
I've changed the pattern and now there is just going to be a rectangular strip of fabric with the corners cut off with the background fabric. Other than that change, the pattern is ready to go.
I'm going to make 40 baskets so I've pulled 20 fabrics, making two baskets from each fabric. I'm slowly prepping the pieces so I can sit and piece all the baskets at a time without having to stop to cut more pieces. This is a very slow, tedious and boring job. I have to force myself to go do it! As I type this post, I've prepped enough for 12 blocks so far but I'm planning on cutting more today. There is always a part of quilting that bogs us down. * * * I've got them all prepped now!! * * *
The baskets finish at 5" straight set or 7" on point. Forty baskets will probably be more than I need but while I'm sewing them, I might as well sew a few more. I've done the math, 40 should definitely be more than I need but math and I don't always agree.
Hopefully I'll have lots of baskets to show you next week. I'm not dreaming about have the quilt progressed to the flimsy stage but if I do, that would be wonderful.
Here is a link to a post about this quilt if you want more information.
Linking to Let's Bee Social, Whatever Wednesday, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished Or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Finish It Up Friday
It is now eight weeks of hand quilting and I'm over halfway finished quilting Nearly Insane. These blocks are 6" blocks.
Believe it or not, this is a scrappy quilt. There are probably 50 different blue fabrics in this quilt and several different yellows.
I'm including a picture of the flimsy before I started quilting just to refresh your memory, mine too.
I still have many weeks of quilting ahead but I'm looking forward to seeing what my Nearly Insane looks like when finished.
Here are the blocks I've completed this week. This is row 4-1/2.
Left side triangle.
The center of the triangle has a fussycut flower.
I've included a close up of the center at the bottom of the post.
I like this star with the fussycut center flower.
I've included a close up of the center at the bottom of the post.
I didn't get this star quilted quite like I wanted but it will have to do. Removing small stitched hand quilting is difficult.
The blue star center is quilted too but the stitches don't show even though I've used white thread.
Despite the quilting not being quite what I wanted, this is my favorite block of this row.
This block took a long time to quilt. I didn't think I was ever going to get it finished!
I did quilt the tiny HST's though, that's what took so long.
This block was a straight forward easy block to quilt.
Added a design to the center square.
This block didn't take that long. I added the same design in the center square as the above block.
Right side triangle.
Have you noticed or perhaps I've mentioned it before. The rows with triangles have the same half block on each side.
When I was piecing the blocks, I had a choice of 2 ways to make the triangles. Either sew 1 block and cut it in half or piece 2 triangles blocks. I chose to piece 2 triangle blocks, I wanted the 1/4" seam. I was afraid if I didn't have the 1/4" seam, the edge of my border would be goofy.
This fabric had cute little blue and pink flowers and were fussycut for several blocks throughout the quilt.
Sorry, it's a little blurry.
The other fussycut, not as colorful as the other fabric but I liked this one too.
These blocks may not have been in the correct order. I have a new photo program and for some reason Blogger and it seem to be having a relational problem.
I like to write my posts ahead of time right after I've finished whatever I'm posting about. I finished quilting row 4-1/2 on Wednesday. Thursday I started quilting the the left border and a block. Friday I quilted several more blocks. Saturday I finished row 5, I had a twofer again!
I was able to do all this quilting because we had another rainy week, no farming happened.
Here are the blocks from row 5. I'm not showing any of the borders this time. You can't see the quilting in the outside border and the yellow border always looks the same.
When I pieced this bloc I made a mistake and the block was smaller than it should have been. I thought of Jane Stickle and added sashing to the block to make it full sized.
Stitched this block in the ditch except for the HST's.
Favorite block of the row. Who doesn't love a basket?
Stitched in the ditch again. Just one of the original blocks in the quilt.
Another original block of Salinda's design. The little HST's are less than 1/2", they're not quilted.
This one is completely stitched.
Another pretty block stitched in the ditch again.
Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh Quilt, BOM's Away, Fiber Tuesday, Esther's Wednesday WOW!
