A very strange 3 weeks. After my June quilting marathon and then lots of time spent binding the first week of July, I slowed down and hard a time getting myself accomplishing much. Of course, when I look back, I have done quite a bit, just not as much as in June. First I worked on getting my Patterns by Jen block for July made. The colour she chose was gray/silver and since I had to dig out my bin of those fabrics, I thought I would continue and make some rail fence blocks for my on going Bonnie Hunter Oopsie leader and ender challenge.
I put those away and then got out the scrap bins of aqua, the color chosen for the Rainbow Scrap challenge in July and away I went, working on far too many blocks and hopefully lesson learned for 2025? There were the garlic knot blocks which I use a method by Preeti for making them. It involves make a 5" center of the main colour and the background framing it and then reverse using a white square in the center and framing it with the color. Those are then cut in each direction and matched up to make your blocks.
Criss cross star was next and I always wonder about aqua versus turquoise. Is there a difference? I am wondering if technically, aqua is more of a green blue? I mixed and matched because I am not a perfectionist.
The small arrow tip blocks were made.
Simple L blocks made and this block uses up strips of fabric quickly.. so how come there are so many left?
My strip pieced scraps of aqua are done and I also made some L blocks from the gray fabrics while they were out on the cutting table. Rail fence blocks are also made.
I also stitched up some bundles and bows blocks and also wrote myself a note about making these because even though this is the 7th time making them, I forget a couple of things when choosing fabric. In a perfect world, I would have two 10" squares of the same fabric and then another two in either a lighter or darker fabric.
This is a 3 yard quilt that I started called Crossroads. I was going to use 3 different fabrics for the center squares but I thought it looked boring. And then I realized that they were cut 9" square and I needed 9.5" squares... so out came a variety of Canadian themed fabrics and the correct size was cut from each of them.
I had these blocks in a container and needed to do something with them. They were an odd size and there were 6 of them. I made more blocks (and now have 2 extra blocks waiting for the next time I want to make some of these - and, I put notes in the container of what I figured out so next time won't be a guessing game!
This is my crossroads quilt top on the design wall, still in progress.
Theses were all the squares I cut and lots of leftovers for another quilt. If you are going to drag out fabric and do some cutting, you might as create total chaos, cut lots of blocks and then clean up the disaster zone.
This is the final week of July and that means 'quilting' week. I was slow to get started but two are quilted and the third one is loaded, waiting patiently to be finished. One of these is "Duffy" the pattern chosen by the Villa Rosa/Running Doe quilt along... I would love to have this bound before the end of the month and before the pattern for August is sent out to us.
I have three rainbow quilts made from my scrappy strips every month (for the last 5 years). This one is the third one, waiting to be pressed and then it will go on a hanger for August quilting.
The fourth rainbow scrap challenge waiting to be put together.
This is the second one and the first is hiding but has the backing made and the batting cut.
Plus is the fourth one I made using plus squares from Rainbow scrap challenge in 2023. The best part is that it is the final one. Another lesson learned when making RSC blocks - think about the size and how many blocks you need to make each month. I got very carried away.
The first two quilted projects waiting for binding.
I had time off from quilting when the date of our 60th high school reunion happened last week. This picture is of our 10th reunion... 50 years ago!
This quilt got made and finished for my sister. She has a good friend who is about to become a Grandma and this baby born will be the first grandchild in their circle of friends so they are all going to be surrogate Grandmas. She chose the fabrics (and loved shopping at Hamels though sadly they are moving to Prince George and leaving Sooke, BC) and the pattern and I stitched up with a lot of collaboration on the layout of the blocks. Done, finished and waiting for the new baby to arrive.
I took the ferry to Vancouver Island for the reunion and it was a fabulous day. It really was too hot for us in the Pacific Northwest and the ferry was packed with tourists, all enjoying the outside decks as we sailed between the islands to get to our destination.
My other project that I am working on is a Quilt of Valour sew along with a shop in Newfoundland who is giving us instructions and motivation each week with a new block. She is starting off slow because I know that the next few weeks will be making lots of the maple leaf block. I dug out my bins of red fabrics rather than cutting into yardage so my quilt will be a variety of reds.
The first 2 weeks of blocks.
I have 4 quilt tops waiting to be quilted and am stitching the Crossroads blocks together and still have my oopsie blocks to get the corner triangle stitched on. But is only the 28th so 4 days left to get busy and one of those 4 quilts is pinned and ready for me go full steam ahead.
The really good news is that my sewing room has a clean floor and everything is reasonably tidy though I keep digging out ideas for August. I think one of them will be to make pillowcases for kids. I have been collecting fabrics for a few years because we used to make them for kids going to burn camp. That is not an option anymore but, there are other places that would love pillowcases to brighten a hospital room including Ronald McDonald house and Canuck place. Pillowcases use a meter of fabric so if I can get 12 done, that is 12 meters of fabric gone! And, all for a good cause.
Our garden is flourishing with loads of cucumbers and zucchinis plus very green tomatoes. The weather is perfect here at the moment... 24º/78º with lovely, cool temperatures overnight. And so much to play tennis in the cooler mornings and be finished before the sun has us sweating profusely!
Hope your July was as good as mine.
