Last week of the month so time to quilt... or maybe not?

 Normally, in my schedule of things to do, the last week of the month is time to quilt the tops I made in the previous 3 weeks.  A slight modification this month because I did do a bit of quilting last week and I have got 3 of my quilt tops ready, with backing and batting, to be quilted on a long arm.  There are two of these scrappy log cabins with two different layouts plus my Running Doe July sew along using Double Delight as the pattern.  For this quilt, I dug out one of the plastic bags of fabric tossed in my direction at one of our modern guild meetings.  I added in a few more fabrics and this is the result.  The main fabric was a butterfly print with all of these colours.  

All bundled up and ready to drop off for quilting through a modern guild member who offers her time to quilt any tops destined for our community program. 

This is one of the projects that got completed with my last in, first out rule.  It is from a surprise box from Quilt the North and is a Vancouver pattern designer with this representing ocean, forests, water and mountains, all part of our landscape. Pacific Waves by Berry Hill designs.  
 

Another project finished is Bright Side Up.  This was also a wall hanging in a Quilt the North surprise box. I did the free motion free hand on my domestic and it was a challenge since I normally do my free motion on larger quilts on the frame.  

I did the binding on some placemats for a friend and realized that we could probably use some new summer ones on our table so pulled out some fabrics and got these two made using quilt as you go method. 

I have red potato chip blocks done as well as my yellow and blue.  I have enough blocks now for a quilt top so those will get laid out once I get some wall space.  

Making this potato chip blocks is addictive (I was warned) and a few weeks ago, did the binding on a quilt that I liked so much, I decided to make one.  I have all the leftover strips 2.5" x 4.5" from making these sets of coloured blocks so I charged ahead even it wasn't on my list of projects waiting. 

My strips are organized in piles of each colour and have since cut more green pieces.  I am not sure how large I will make it but will keep stitching unless some of these piles are really small or maybe even used up. 

I have been sewing along with Running Doe of Villa Rosa  for over a year and am accumulating more of the patterns with the difference being that normally the pattern is 4 x 6, like a postcard size but when she sends them out to us, they print off on regular printer paper.  I gathered them and took the time to get my patterns sorted alphabetically and cross them off on the master list from Villa Rosa.  

 

A special quilting friend died a few years ago and her husband finally decided to let another good friend pick up all the quilting fabrics that were left in her studio.  In her fabrics there were some blocks for Quilts of Valour started and I decided that I could make more, along with some help from my Wednesday Diva group, and complete a quilt top that she had intentions of making.  The block is simple with two four patches combined with two Canadian themed fabrics.  I am putting them on the wall so I can keep track of how many I have.  

I do have a quilt from a friend to load on the frame and get completed so that should be next on the list of projects.  Three days left in the month.  Our weather cooled off after living with a/c for a few weeks and the rain was welcome but it sure makes getting dressed a challenge... is it a tank top and shorts day?  Maybe t-shirt and capris?  Or, like today, changing at noon from tennis clothing to long pants and long sleeved shirt!  Meals have gone from menus that keep the kitchen cool to wanting something that requires the oven to give the kitchen a bit of warmth?  

Keep on quilting!  That is my daily motto!  No matter how fast I sew, the project pile doesn't seem to diminish.  

Last in is now first project out

 Normally we use the phrase First in/first out but I have decided to work on some of my projects waiting and am going with the last project acquired that entered my home is going to the next project to work on and finish.

So far, am loving this.  My last post showed a number of projects finished and a few were acquired fairly recently.  

Since my last post, I am a year older and feeling a bit like I need to hurry up and finish projects, complete ideas, and use up fabric since this is my eightieth year... lol... my dad always went by the year he was in, not by his actual number of birthdays.

Green potato chips blocks are now complete so that makes blues, purples and these ones done.  Six blocks per colour means 7 colours needed to get a quilt that is 60 x 70.  So, four colour families left to work on.   

Log cabin blocks are done but my math was totally wonky... I need 42 per quilt and now have enough blocks for almost 2 quilts?  I have no idea how I got an idea into my head that I needed to make as many as I did but am happy to only need 10 more to have a second top made.  This is a slow but steady use of leftover scrappy strips of fabric. 

I don't make these kind of scrappy projects often because it creates chaos and total disaster zone around my sewing machine. 

Canada Day was coming soon so the decor had to have a bit of red and white plus maple leaves and Canadian flags.  Kept it simple because it was only me that was seeing the decor... well my husband but not so sure he notices things like this. 

I am including this picture because it makes my heart so happy and great motivation.  This is a set of twins born who were living in our NICU and covered with their quilts ... both of which I made.  They only show the one quilt but that  is enough to motivate me to make more! 

Since I am showing baby pictures... this is my great granddaughter... so happy and now over 6 months old!  

This quilt is finished and was made from blocks I won in our guild January block lotto.  I kept it simple and it was quilted by the Mill Lake quilters and came back to me for binding.  

Another quilt that I did the binding on but took this picture because I loved the larger blocks and the simplicity.  This was made with Aunt Gracie fabrics and I am keen to make a few of these using this block.  I think I can figure it out... a bit of math and half square triangles with corner triangles and it will be simple and show off the chosen fabrics.  

Double Delight is the next quilt for the Running Doe sew along for July.  I have been slow to decide what/which fabrics to use so grabbed a bag of fabric I picked up at a guild meeting.  The Mill Lake quilters put together fabrics that they think might work well in a quilt and hand the bags out.  I don't like to admit that I have had a few bags hanging around under my table for too long.  I pulled out the fabrics from the bag and then added in a few of my own.  
 

I see idea on Pinterest and realized that if I didn't make something that I saw and liked right away, I would never remember.  This block is made from two 8" squares of fabric... some stitching, some slicing and rearranging and then more stitching to put it all back together.  Super simple!

More potato chip blocks made using aqua and teals plus a UFO from Quilt the North that came in one of their monthly boxes.  I have the top made, now I need to spend some time quilting it.  The pattern shows some great ideas, quilting a different pattern in each of the colours/blocks.   That will be time consuming but a good challenge for me to quilt "outside of my comfort zone".  

The first set of log cabin blocks is up on the design wall waiting to be stitched together.  It is always good to take a picture and see if a block is placed incorrectly and yes, one block is wrong in the bottom left corner.  Much easier to fix it before I stitch it.  

I worked on Sisterhood by Villa Rosa patterns and it is now quilted by Mill Lake Quilters and is bound and ready for donation.  This is such a simple pattern and love that I used up a package of Tonga batiks of unknown age. 

One more UFO that came in a mystery box from Cherry Tree Quilts in Kelowna, BC and it is now completed with quilting by Mill Lake Quilters and binding by me.  This pattern is a 3 yard quilt and so simple.  

One more quilt finished using Bonnie Hunter's leader/ender pattern.  I love this block because it uses leftover 2.5" strips of both neutral and colour and you need 19" of each.  It is mindless stitching and if you are a quilter and don't know what a leader/ender is, it means I never cut my threads... when I have finished stitching a block, I feed the first step of the leader in and stitch it.  I cut the thread between it and what I stitched previously and when I go back to my machine, I just start stitching on what I am working on.  It saves thread and you don't have to go back and trim off thread tails.  

I am adding a picture of the sunset a few nights ago.. the sky was a glorious pink colour bouncing off the clouds.  

One more set of potato chip blocks, in browns.  Am slowly getting there, working towards my goal of seven different colours.  

So that leaves me with my Running Doe sew-along to cut and piece plus a quilt I brought home today from a friend at my Wednesday quilt diva group that is for a survivor of residential schools and I need to choose my next colour and cut for potato chip blocks.  I only have one quilt to bind for the Mill Lake quilters so that will be a quick finish.  

Weather is warming up here in the Pacific Northwest... hot weather means a/c running, doors and windows closed and I am stuck here at my sewing machine (oh darn!!).  Stay cool where ever you are or warm if it is winter for you.  I have lots of clothes to choose from for this weather after having all my summer clothes come home to me after selling our house in Arizona.  Lots of shorts, capris, and t-shirts as well as skirts for tennis.