The Last Two Weeks

I apologize for not posting last week but when I woke up on the 11th I was wiped out and felt like I had been run over by a truck. I ached from head to toe and had no energy, just climbing the stairs wiped me out. I had subbed all week doing testing and fighting the crud that was going around the school I was at. It hit me like a ton of bricks on Saturday morning and I was out for the count for about four days. All I did was lay on the couch and veg.  I did not have the energy to do more than about 10" of hand stitching on a binding. I spent a lot of time just laying on the couch and doing nothing.





Over the last two weeks between subbing every day for the one week, two days the next week, and a day of appointments and errands, and being sick, I did not accomplish much, but I did make some progress.

I picked the fabric for eight pinwheel blocks and actually cut out and pieced the 36 HST for the eight blocks. I pieced one heart block and worked on binding Barabara's Attic. I also cut out six other blocks and pieced a total of eight blocks for the Gypsy Wife quilt.

I should add that I am using scraps and small pieces of fabric less than a quarter or a half yard from my stash for this quilt. I did buy a couple of quarter yards to add in a little more color, but almost all of the fabric comes from my small pieces scrap box or my fat quarters.  To prove I am using up fabric this picture shows all that I had left after I made the block at the top of this post. This is all that remains of this fabric. Originally, I had bought a couple yards of it and used it in a couple of quilts in the past. I think I had maybe an 1/8th of a yard when I started on the Gypsy Wife if that. This is all that remains of the fabric. I think I can get a one-inch square out of that larger scrap.  It would work in the center of a block.  The other scraps are going in the trash.

I trimmed the blocks for the memory quilt.

I also had a few quilts come home to roost that are waiting on bindings.

March Winds

Winter Quilt

Christmas Star Swap

QMU Christmas Star Swap

Waters of Kauai

This next week I am not subbing except maybe a half day for one teacher so my plans are to work on putting the memory quilt top together, to finish the binding on Barbara's Antiques so I can have my second finish for February, and to piece some more blocks for the Gypsy Wife.  

Wishing you all a happy quilting week and good health.

Gypsy Wife and Twenties Treasures

This week I spent time cutting out more blocks for my Gypsy Wife quilt, including a few to substitute in for a block that does not speak to me, Nurse's Cross and a few to add to the quilt as I want to incorporate some additional blocks to increase the size.  I also pieced one 6" finished heart block to substitute or add to the quilt since I am modifying it some for me.

I also pulled out a quilt to work on hand stitching the binding down and have been making progress on it.  This morning I completed the binding, though my fingers were going numb today.  It is an old Debbie Caffery Mystery from the mid to late 1990s called Twenties Treasures.  I used Doreen Speckman's Provence Fabric line.  It is a little busy for me when I look at it now because I cannot find anywhere to rest my eyes, but I still like it.  The quilt was quilted but Shirley Jackson, my awesome quilter.

To quote myself from a blog post from April 25, 2013, "I made a mistake in this quilt but was consistent in every block.  I did so well that when we laid the quilt out at class, even Debbie did not notice that I put one set of points facing the wrong way on every single block.  I already had the rows sewn together when I noticed it. Debbie told me that I had made it my own.  I gave it my own unique twist. I may add one more border if I have enough of the blue fabric."


My Aunt and Uncle also received their quilts, which I could not post previously as they were surprise gifts. My cousin Janie sent me these pictures of them with their quilts.  They loved them.

Weekly Update - February 3

This week I cut out a couple of more of the blocks for the Gypsy Wife.    I am using my scraps and fat quarter or quarter yard pieces for the blocks. I am waiting to cut my strips when I am done with the blocks as I have not yet decided what fabric I want to use for the strips. I am thinking of using my black and white prints for the strips.  I have enough I could probably use one strip of each fabric and not have any two be identical.

Colour Wheel

Hope for Hartford

I have five of the larger blocks left to cut out for my Gypsy Wife quilt and then I will start cutting out the smaller filler blocks, though I do have some of the triangles cut out for them and one of them is done. I am having fun with the Gypsy Wife Quilt and look forward to seeing how it turns out. It is a long term project so will see how things go along the way and what it looks like when it is done.

I also worked on the heart blocks to finish the second ugly fabric challenge baby quilt. I completed the blocks and cut the sashing, cornerstones and borders on Wednesday afternoon and after dinner out with my hubby after I burned the onions for French onion soup because I was sidetracked I finished the top.  I can also share the first ugly fabric challenge quilt this week as the reveal was on Thursday.

I ordered a 16.5" ruler from Amazon that arrived earlier this week with a crack in it, so I had to return it. I am waiting on the replacement ruler so I can trim the memory quilt blocks as I hate trying to mesh two rulers together to trim larger blocks as they often slip and that causes worse problems. Hopefully, the replacement ruler will arrive later this week.

Wishing you a quilty week!

Wanda

Ugly Fabric Challenge II

Last fall a group of us in one of my online groups decided to do another Ugly Fabric challenge and I picked the fabric. Now I know that for some the fabric is not something they would consider to be ugly. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  The fabric I picked I am not even sure how it ended up in my stash. To me, it looks like a baby's bib after they have eaten when it is spattered with food.

Last time we did this I made a purse from a pattern I designed.  The floral was the ugly fabric that was sent to me.

This year's fabric is below:

I spent a lot of time thinking and looking for fabrics to use with the challenge fabric and trying to figure out what to do.  I saw a quilt with hearts and decided that would work, but I knew I had to find a pattern or design a pattern that would work with my 1/8th of a yard of challenge fabric, so I sat down with paper and pencil and began sketching out multiple designs. I finally came up with the design you see below.  I am not sure if there are others out there that have come up with the same pattern, but mine uses 2.5" strips. I made a test block using fabric strips left over from a quilt I made my niece.

After I figured out the number of strips I would need I went shopping for fabrics that would coordinate with the ugly fabric.

I pieced six hearts and have thought of using two of them on the back of the quilt or seeing if I can find more of the peach-colored fabrics I used to make a couple of other blocks and make another baby quilt.

I pieced the quilt top using 2.5" strips and the few squared I had left of the ugly fabric, plus two squares of the lightest color as cornerstones. The background is scrappy white on whites.  

I added the borders and pressed the top.  It is 50" square and will be put aside for the next time I need a baby girl quilt. It came out very nice and I am sure someone will love it.

Because I had the two extra blocks I had to go in search of a fabric that would work to make two more hearts that would coordinate with the first two and after a false start I found this fabric and was able to make two more hearts and then complete a second quilt top.  

It was more peachy or coral and the lavender in the hearts on the heart block and in the ugly fabric went well with the lavender that I used for a border.  I like both quilts and they will make great baby gifts next time someone I know has a girl.

I enjoyed this ugly fabric challenge and hope to do it again in a couple years. Who knows what bright ideas I might have for what to do with a FQ or straight 8th of fabric.

Weekly Update January 28

This last week I was subbing every day so did not accomplish as much as I would have liked to have accomplished, but still feel that I did pretty well-moving things forward and making progress.

I had two extra blocks from the ugly fabric challenge and bought more of one fabric I used and two others that complemented it so I could make two more blocks to finish the top. I actually tried to do this without having the blocks with me and bought fabric that would not work as the colors were too far off. So back to the quilt store, I went, with the blocks in hand this time. I bought fabric that works and more of the other fabrics I had bought, plus a border fabric for the new colors that also works as the third fabric I need to complete the blocks. I cut the fabric for all six blocks and began piecing them. I have two almost done and will hopefully finish up the top this next week since I am not subbing until Friday. I would love to also finish the third top. All three are roughly 45 to 50" square and will make great baby gifts once they are quilted. Hopefully, someone will have a girl as the colors and pinks and peaches or corals.  I will try to include the fabrics, but I cannot show the finished blocks or tops until January 31.

I also started on the Gypsy Wife quilt. I joined the 2019 Gypsy Wife Quilt Along on Facebook and have picked a bucket of scraps of various sizes and a few straight quarter yards of fabric to use to make the blocks in bright colors. I am still debating on my strips for the background.  The pattern is by Jen Kingwell.  I have been looking at it off and on over the last couple years debating if I wanted to do and since a friend is one of the admins, and that helped me make my decision.

I made one block from the Gypsy Wife Quilt. It is called Colour Wheel.

I finished a quilt this week that I am planning to mail today after an appointment.  It is a surprise gift for someone and there are actually two quilts in the box, one for her and one for her husband. Neither knows they are coming, so I am excited to hear their reaction and to post pictures after they are received. I always request a picture of the recipient with the quilt, so hope to get those posted also once I receive them.

Here is a sneak peek of the back of the quilt I am sending. 

Look for my post on January 31st with the Ugly Fabric Challenge Quilt and if I get it done, I will have both pictures of the quilts that include the Ugly Fabric.

Have a Quilty Week and for those of you in the storm areas, stay warm and safe.