Is it too much red?

I have been wanting to do a Red & White quilt  for a long time.  I finally found something I wanted to do and so I started around February.  It was my Red & White houses quilt (SEE HERE) 

Then I found another Red & White quilt I wanted to do (SEE HERE) and got busy on that.

I thought I was finished with the house top but the quilt kept calling out from the closet. . .

  "I need a word strip border on my left side!" 

So, I finally gave in and have been working on it between company, summer, quilting at the frame, and just being SO DANG HOT!

I having trouble deciding whether to cut out and applique the center of the two O's or leave them  whole.  The "O" above is whole.

I cut out a white circle and put it over the "O" to see what it would look like appliqued open.  I don't know which I like best. . . 

 i

 The other quilt, the Aunt Daisy quilt is making progress.  I sewing the blocks in strips first and you can see that I'm working on the bottom and top row of the block.  I've got the only finished block close by so I can prevent myself from making mistakes.

I love red and I know I'm going to love both of these quilts but I'm getting anxious to start something (or even finish something else) that has a variety of colors in it.

It's like having white lights or multi-colored on a Christmas tree.  Sometimes I want the bright crispness of white lights and other times I want the fanciful happy multi-colored ones.

The good news is that both of my Red & White projects are coming to a close soon and I can get a little more color in my life😏

Robin

I did sneak in a multi-colored purchase.  I bought this curated FQ bundle of Art Gallery Fabrics.

                                                                          Luscious!

Summer stays busy

I decided to make the Blockheads 4 blocks using my Minnick and Simpson scraps or maybe I should say my red, white, and blue scraps. I got caught up last week and it only takes one week to get behind.

The lower right block is just a filler until I get this weeks block made.  I haven't made the appliqued Jan Patek block yet but I want to.  I like the way there is a bonus block every few weeks so I can get more made or exchange one of the bonus blocks for one of the others.

I'm participating in the Aunt Daisy Quilt SAL.  I finished the first block today.  I'll make 8 more for a full sized quilt top.  My points certainly aren't perfect but I love the stark contrast of the red and white.  The white looks more like snow but it's really Kona white. Those triangle blocks are tricky to get all the angles lined up properly.

I finished the Scrap Tease quilt top.  I'm not really happy about the placement of colored strips but I didn't have an area to set it all out to prevent colors being close together,  It's going to be a picnic quilt so it doesn't really matter.   I've always had a sheet hung up for a design wall or a large space on the floor in my family room.  But, now that I've got my son and family living downstairs there is no place to spread out.

Since I have discovered how awkward block placement is right now - I'll choose projects that don't require that kind of thing.  (Like the Aunt Daisy quilt where all the blocks are the same.)

Last week at my quilt group "Bound Together" one of the ladies (whose house was where were meeting) showed us her stash and how she has been working hard to organize it.  She has a huge stash and is folding all the fabric into a uniform size.  I decided to try it with my messy shelves that have become my storage since moving upstairs.  So far I've done the purple and pink (I have tons more pink elsewhere) and I really like how it looks.  The surprise is how time consuming it is to do this because all the fabrics have to be pressed first.

I wonder if I do all the fabric . . . will I really keep it that tidy going forward?

 Hope your summer is fresh and pretty as these hollyhocks in my neighbors yard.  I just had to take a picture.  I love the color of pink.  It's interesting that no bees were there.  When I have had hollyhocks, the bees love them.

Robin

Summer sewing

You know how sometimes your just get a "bee in your bonnet" and sew. . . . and sew . . . until you're done with a project?  That's what I have been doing on this "Scrap Tease" quilt,

I just want to sew and use things up. 

The stack of strips at the front of the photo above were a bit of frustration.  I cut them out 6 3/8" instead of 6 5/8" so I had to recut about 50 pieces.

I completed the sewing on these 54 blocks this morning.  I still need to cut and sew the corner pieces for the blocks to make them square.

This is the 3rd time I have made this pattern.  I like it because it uses up lots of 1 1/2" strips and it sews up quickly.  And it turns out cute every time.  The original quilt has sashing but I like it better with just blocks side by side. 

The pattern is by Bettie Hammock and there is a digital download here

 My original goal was to use up all the Pam Kitty Morning scraps which I did.  I used up a lot more than that but my large scrap box looks just as full as before.  Isn't that always the case?

Do any of your have a pattern that you have made multiple times because you like it so well? 

 If you do, please share.

Robin

The Proxy Quilt

My sister's first great grandchild was born last month.  My sister has been gone almost two years and she would have been so happy to hold that sweet little girl.

She was a great gift giver, even when she couldn't really afford it.  The remembrance of an event had to be acknowledged .

So, when this baby was born I knew I needed to do something.  My sister had purchased this American Jane Crib quilt kit years ago when I was still quickly accumulating grandchildren from my five children. (After a five year hiatus the sixth has since added two.)  But, I never got around to making up this kit.

I decided that since my sister had picked out the quilt kit. . . I could make it up and then it would be like a gift from the baby's great grandmother.  I just put the label on this morning.  It says; "From Great Grandma Pamela Hatch".

 It doesn't photograph well but just imagine the bright American Jane crayon box colors.  I made it up just like the instructions but I had to unpick the sashing and put in something that calmed down the busyness.  The neutral is actually a very very light peach.

It was a fun project and I hope the new parents enjoy this quilt with their little bundle of joy.

Robin

Urban Indigo 2007

 When I was moving my sewing room upstairs I came across projects that had been tucked in boxes and in the back of shelves - that needed to be moved out.

I figure if I make them up then that will mean my sewing space will slowly become less crowded.

I finished the first top today.'

The first one was this cute quilt made out of an Urban Indigo jelly roll from Fig Tree Quilts.  I also had the sashing and border fabric to go with it.  It went together pretty fast.  The unique border was fun but it's certainly not perfect.  

I need to piece the backing, buy some batting, and give it to a donation place for quilting.  

It is a blustery day today as you can tell.

One down at least. . .  and I've already decided on the next one. . . a kit from American Jane that my sister gave me years ago.  

Robin

It's not pretty but it's done

Well, it's definitely not something Joanna Gaines would create. . .   but my sewing room is upstairs now.  I had a tracker on my phone and it only took 78 trips up and down the stairs to get all my sewing paraphernalia transferred.  Whew!

Nothing is permanent - I was just trying to get it all in.  I've already had to pull the stack (to the right of the pillowcase full of scraps) apart to exchange the contents of one of the under-the-bed boxes.  That meant taking out all the stuff in front of it, pulling out the 2nd box from the bottom, exchanging contents, putting it back along with everything I had to take out.  My lower back complained the whole time - it's time to give it a rest.

I've tried to arrange things so the items I use the least are on the bottom and in the corner.  I have a number of projects in front or on top so I can just work on what's most available.  And, as I get things finished and empty some boxes - the room will not feel so full

Gotta be positive~

 This is no beauty shot but I've got my "go to" stash open and available.  It's on a shelving unit in front of a door.  Hey, it works~    The greens and blacks on the bottom shelf are the reason I had to make the exchange this morning.

So glad to have this task behind me.  

Robin

Would anyone be interested in these patterns?

This is the All Around  the Town set of patterns.  It is by Sue Garmen.  I made the quilt, as you can see below, and would like to give the patterns away.  This set of patterns has found a home.

I also have the full set of the Moda Mystery from 2007 called Piece & Plenty. that I would like to give away.

Below is the only picture I have of my quilt.  As you can see I put in flags on the right and left sides instead of the rectangles that the pattern calls for.  I love making this quilt but I no longer own it so I couldn't get another picture.

This picture was taken at a Halloween meeting.  We were supposed to dress up.  That is me on the right supposedly dressed up like a tourist in Hawaii.  I don't have my camera around my neck.  But, just so you know, that wasn't my shirt and I never wore it again.

I am having to clean out my sewing room downstairs because our 2nd son and family are moving in.  The owners of the condo they rent is selling it and with the housing market the way it is here in the Salt Lake Valley . . . there was no other alternative.  I don't blame the owner.  They bought the condo for $130,000 and can sell it for $400,000.  But they only gave them 6 wks. to move.

So I'm completely dismantling my sewing studio after 23 years.  I have so much stuff (that I love) and  will have to fit in a smaller space.

I'm putting all my current projects on a different table so they won't be hidden under something else as we move everything upstairs.  I've got two quilts layered and ready to quilt.  One applique project, the Aunt Daisy SAL, and Blockheads 4 is in another room on the ironing board.

As you can see above there is still a lot to go.  These shelves are deep enough that an under-the-bed box can fit nicely end to end.  There is so much stuff.

I decided to give away these patterns.  I was just keeping them because I really had fun making the quilts but I'm never going to use them again so they are just taking up space.

I grieving a little for the loss of my sanctuary.  Silly me.

Robin