Fly away, Flutterby!

Tonight was the fundraising event where my Flutterby quilt (based on the Jen Kingwell pattern in the Quilt Lovely book) was auctioned off to raise money for Project Horizon, a non-profit organization in Lexington, VA (my old stomping grounds) dedicated to reducing domestic and sexual violence in the area.  I've donated items before for the silent auction and brought in a couple hundred dollars, but this year, they wanted my quilt to be in the live auction.  I was super nervous - was my quilt good enough for the big leagues?

This is what it looked like when it left my house as a flimsy.

One of my friends from my old quilt guild volunteered to quilt it on her long-arm machine.

She also added the binding by machine.

My friend who attended the fundraiser (which is a fabulous dinner and dancing plus silent auction and live auction) videotaped the auctioning of the quilt for me.  I was on pins and needles watching.

Nine hundred and fifty dollars!?!  I'll be honest - I started to cry.  I'm so humbled.  I hope that whoever won the bid loves the quilt and that it brings him/her many years of comfort and warmth.  And, more importantly, I hope that the money it raised helps someone make a new, violence-free start in her life.

Flutterby Flimsy!!

This past week was a blur - I traveled to Salt Lake City for a conference while operating in a DayQuil and NyQuil induced haze.  Storm related delays in connecting cities gave me time to complete my third POCC sock, finally giving me a matching pair,

They are the same size!  Yay!  I had already made two of these socks, but they were completely different sizes because I did the gusset wrong on Sock #2.  That's what you get when you work out of your crowded head instead of from a pattern, I guess.

but the highlight of my week was finishing my Flutterby flimsy!  I love it! 

Based on pattern by Jen Kingwell, final size 86.5" x 98.5"

It is on its way to a long arm quilter and then off to join other donated items in a silent auction to benefit Project Horizon, an organization that assists victims of domestic abuse.

It is letter writing time for me as a College Advisor, and I am woefully behind.  I'm afraid I won't have much time for sewing in the coming month, but I'm going to do my best to find moments here and there to create.

I'm linking up with Monday Making and Oh Scrap!

Plodding along

I've been plodding along with my Flutterby quilt, staying focused by keeping my eye on the calendar and the silent raffle that is coming up for which this queen sized quilt will be one of the offerings.  My goal is to have the top completed by Saturday, as I'm headed to Salt Lake City for a conference next week.  I know I can do it!  I've completed all 168 blocks, and sewed them all into 42 blocks of 4.  I love the variety in every single block.

I've begun sewing them into ever larger chunks.  The pieced borders are already constructed and ready to be added.

I happily realized that Frances O'Roark Dowell's quilt podcast, Friendship Album 1933, is back with new installments as of September 7, so I got caught up with that while sewing.

https://quiltfiction.com/

I'm excited to share the seven Orphan UFOs that I have up for grabs through Cynthia's Quilty Orphan Adoption Event.  If you want to throw your name into the ring for any of them, visit my previous post - I'm drawing names tonight (Tuesday, September 18).

Stay safe and dry, everyone!

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap.

Proud of my perseverance

I almost don't want to blog because I've been working on the same project for so long that I almost bore myself.  Except there's nothing boring about making scrappy blocks!  Each one is an adventure!  I bit the bullet and started the 28 extra blocks I need to make my Flutterby quilt queen sized.

I've started joining the 6.5" blocks into 12.5" blocks

And I finally found and put up a design wall (which, for me, means a flannel backed tablecloth - the least expensive and most sturdy design wall I've ever used!  When I lived in Virginia, I used the same $2 tablecloth as my design wall for 13 years!).  I'm so happy to be off the floor!

The other thing that has been taking up my time is an upcoming event, The Home Sewing Exchange, at which I have signed up to be a vendor.  It's the 27th year this local church has hosted this, and folks bring fabric and yarn and notions from their own stash that they want to unload for cheap.  Since I used to own a yarn and fabric store, and since I no longer have lots of space, I have been collecting things to take, many of which are already in my ETSY shop.  So the collecting, as well as the expanding of my Clearance section and slashing of prices in the shop, has kept me busy as well. 

I'm proud of my restraint in not starting another project until I finish this Flutterby.  It is so unlike me, but I do have a deadline if it is going to make it to the silent auction fundraiser for a battered women's shelter in November.

Today was also my first day back to work.  I was dreading it, which was silly because I love my job and the people on my team.  We had a great day!  I'm just sorry to see summer end.

I'm linking up with Monday Making and Oh Scrap!

Time to go BIGGER

I finally finished all my Flutterby blocks, but I think I need to go bigger.  As it now stands, all sewn together the quilt would measure 72" x 96" (once the final scrappy white border is included, which I haven't yet laid out below). 

Note to self - make it a priority to put up a design wall; this designing on the floor is for the birds!

If I add two more columns of blocks (28 blocks), it would measure 84" x 96", which is a much more usable size, don't ya think?  I'm donating the quilt to a silent auction fundraiser this fall, but to be honest, I think I'm going to bid on it.  I just love its scrappy loveliness!  And at the larger size, it would work perfectly on my bed!

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.

A Flimsy Finish!

I spent nearly the whole weekend sewing.  Remember that box of scraps I got in the mail?  I raided it for strips to make more 9-patches for the centers of my Sister's Choice blocks.

3.5" 9-patches - I LOVE small piecing!

It turns out I got carried away and made one Sister's Choice block too many - oh well, it'll find a home in an orphan block quilt one day.  But all the others ended up here, in my completed Sister's Choice flimsy! 

5" blocks, so it measures 55.5" square

I used all but a few crumbs of the neutral I used in the alternate blocks and pieced border blocks.  I have about half a yard left of the navy.  At first I thought I'd use it for a border, but it would make such a skinny border that I decided against it.  Instead, I'll use it for binding.

I'm so tickled with the way this turned out - scrappy just makes me smile!

I'm also pleased with myself for sticking with this one project to its completion.  (Of course, I'm still making my daily blocks for my temperature quilt, but that's different.)  I now give myself permission to get back to my Flutterby quilt.  I may have to rethink that one and make it bigger than I first intended because I love it so much I think I want it on my bed!

6" blocks - I have a long way to go before this will cover my queen bed

These quilts would be quicker if the blocks were bigger, but I love the look of lots of little blocks.

And while I am tempted to fire up the machine and get sewing on those Flutterby blocks, I signed myself up for guitar lessons this summer, so I'm off for my first lesson.  Woo hoo!  I love summer as an educator!  I can't remember the last time I had so much time however I want to fill it!

I'm linking up with Oh, Scrap and Monday Making.

Every little bit

The end of the school year is like riding a panicky, runaway horse with no reins or saddle; all you can do is entwine your hands into the mane, hold on tightly, and try to enjoy the ride.

In the meantime, I've been trying to make sure to carve out moments of quiet sanity for myself, time to sew.  It hasn't been much, but as we all know, every little bit adds up to a lot eventually.

My temperature quilt is moving along well - I enjoy having just one block to make each day.  On Ringo Lake is sitting silently, willing me to notice it again.  The trouble is, despite the fact that the fabrics are scrappy, they are all in the same four color families, and for me, that makes it just a bit too predictable to compel me to work on it.  One day...

The Flutterby blocks are the ones that excite me the most.  I have 67 of the 140 blocks that I plan to make done, with about 11 more partially done.  As you can see, I've been making the borders as I go.  I really want this quilt to end up on my bed!

I miss my design wall!  The floor just isn't the same.

The Sister's Choice quilt's final size will be determined by the amount of blue and neutral fabric I have for the the alternate blocks.  I've started to make border blocks for that, too, so I can figure out how many more blocks I need to make.

A couple of rows are sewn together, as are the outside borders.  I'm hoping I'll have enough to make this lap sized, but it might end up being a baby quilt.

Both of these quilts have enjoyed an infusion of new scrappy fabric after I received a box of scraps from a a friend back in Virginia.

Is there anything better than someone else's scraps?

So far, I've only made it through one baggie of scraps from the box, but what fun to discover them all while cutting them down into my precut scrap sizes.

Hmm, I need better light in my sewing room!

And when I'm not home, I've been diligent about bringing some handwork along, making more hexie blooms during meetings and sewing them on while attending campus sporting events.

Enjoying softball in the sunshine while putting in a few stitches.

In one month, I'll be on summer vacation.  I am so excited about all I should be able to do over the summer - sewing to my heart's content!

Then, by Brad Paisley

I love the song, Then, by Brad Paisley.  It encapsulates how I feel about my husband so well.  Turns out, it also speaks to how I feel about this Flutterby quilt!  I loved my first block, then loved it more once I had a number of blocks laid out together, then this weekend I laid it out with some border strips and some pieced border, and, I tell ya, I love it even more now!

Then I did the math and realized I need 140 blocks to make it the size I want.  Oh well, they go together quickly.  50 down, 90 to go!

I'm linking up with Monday Making and Oh Scrap.

Forward motion on FOUR projects!

My kids had a half day of school on Friday, so I picked them up and took them snowboarding for the afternoon, and then out to dinner with my mom, brother, and younger sister and her family.  It was a fun day, but I didn't get a lick of sewing done.  I had prepped some hexies to work on at the ski lodge, but my 2 year old niece was there, so I spent the time hanging with her.

In light of my family-heavy Friday, I had no qualms about sequestering myself in my sewing room this weekend.  Not only did I do a major re-organization and cleaning in there (my brother is spending the night tonight, and since my sewing room is also my home office and my guest room, it needed attention before it was ready for a guest), but I was also able to move four projects forward.

On Ringo Lake now has 28 completed blocks:

22 left to go.  They go together quickly since I've already made all the components, but the monotony of the color scheme slows me down.  Yes, it is scrappy, but I'm used to scrappy with all colors of the rainbow, not just four colors.

Flutterby now has 36 completed blocks:

I am LOVING this!  Definitely making it big enough for me to use!

I've finished 4 Sister's Choice blocks:

5" blocks - I LOVE small blocks!  They are just so cute to me!

But in doing so, I got to thinking how many 5" blocks it would take to make a useable sized quilt - A LOT!!  That's what alternate blocks are for, right?  I've always wanted to make a quilt with QST blocks/hourglass blocks as the alternate block, so I made four alternate blocks to see if I like the look - I do!

My question, though, is this: Since the blocks are so scrappy, should the QST blocks be scrappy, too?  I mean, instead of using one constant neutral and one constant navy blue (although it looks black in the photo, doesn't it?), should I use a variety of neutrals and blues for the alternate blocks?  If you have an opinion, please chime in!

And finally, today I rearranged my Starburst quilt a bit so I can start to quilt it.  When I finished the flimsy in October 2016, I noticed in my photograph that the yellow and green blocks in the bottom right corner should probably be swapped, but ugh!  Unstitching?  Yuck! 

So I just let it sit.  And sit.  And sit.  But the baby I've decided to give it to is due in less than two weeks, so it is time to stop sitting and start quilting.  So I swapped the green and yellow blocks (in the lower left corner in this photo). 

It's been packed up for months - excuse the wrinkles.

Does it make a big difference?  No, but it isn't niggling at the back of my mind now.  My goal is to piece a backing and have it basted no later than the end of the day Tuesday.

Tuesday is also the day that I'll be choosing recipients for my 5 quilt projects that are up for adoption.  If you haven't checked out the quilt adoption items at Cynthia's blog, be sure to hop over there - there's some fun stuff up for grabs for free!

I'm linking up with Monday Making and Oh Scrap.

Vacation Sewing

I know that there are some folks out there who can knock out a quilt in a weekend, but I'm not one of them.  I am S...L...O...W...

But I'm having a great time sewing away on my school vacation so far!  Saturday was a no-sew day because I took my boys snowboarding and then had dinner at my twin sister's house.  On Sunday, I finished adding the hexies I'd made so far to my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  Time to prep some more hexies for travel and meetings.

Monday didn't include much sewing, as my younger sister taught her final yoga class before my new niece or nephew arrives (yeah, she's 9 months pregnant and still WAY more flexible than I am) so I drove to NH to take her class.  By the time I got home, I was in need of a nap, and then I had to (gasp!) cook.  The only drawback to vacation is that the dining hall is closed.  I am SO SPOILED not having to cook for my family anymore.  Well, except for vacations. (sigh)

But today, I went in to work for a couple hours in the morning, and sewed ALL AFTERNOON while binge watching Psych.  I thought I was getting a lot done, but when I laid out my blocks, the total seemed a bit paltry for the hours of sewing I put in.  Maybe I should listen to a story instead of watching a show...

Oh well.  There are many days of sewing left in this vacation.

I am linking up with Monday Making and Oh Scrap.

More of the same

My creative life this week was much like last week - a couple more On Ringo Lake blocks completed, staying up-to-date with my temperature quilt, and a few more Flutterby blocks sewn up.  These Flutterby blocks are right up my alley - precut scraps and free rein when it comes to combining colors and fabrics!

About half the fabrics I put in my ETSY shop last week sold already, so I added more this week. 

Maybe, one day in the far off future, all my remaining fabric will actually fit in my sewing room. (Ha, who am I kidding?)

I'm getting ready to head to St. Louis for work for a few days, so I'm hoping to prep some hexagons as a handwork option for the flights and my hotel room at night.  If only I could find my Grandmother's Flower Garden hexagon quilt WIP...

This photo is from 2013 - and is probably the last time I worked on this.  It looks really washed out in the sun, and wrinkled because it had been tucked away in a bag, but I love the scrappiness.

...moving is so disruptive!  It's been six months and I still can't find things!

I'm linking up with Monday Making and Oh, Scrap!

Reluctantly letting go

The frustrating search for the remaining yarn for my sweater has made it crystal clear - I have TOO MUCH STUFF!  My fabric stash is not only in my sewing room, but also in our storage unit and on shelving in the garage.  It's more than I need, and more than I can probably ever use.  As a scrap quilter, I rarely reach for yardage when it is time to make a quilt (reaching instead for pre-cut squares and strips), and as one who never wants to piece a backing (reaching instead for a wide backing), my yardage just sits and sits, appreciated, but not utilized.

It's time to let more of it go.  I started with the floral drawer, and pulled out 10 one-to-three yard cuts  to put in my ETSY shop.  Within hours, it started selling.  Bye-bye, beloved fabric...

On a happier note, I found a few moments to sew during my whirlwind weekend.  I'm up to 20 completed On Ringo Lake blocks, I'm up to date with my Temperature Quilt blocks, and I love the way the Flutterby quilt is coming along.

Here's hoping I find even more time this busy work week for both de-stashing AND sewing.

I'm linking up with Oh, Scrap and Monday Making.

I blame Pinterest!

I set big goals for myself two weeks ago when I had a long weekend.  And I did a pretty darned good job of keeping them...

I finished my hat and have been wearing it non-stop.  It is made from Mega Merino, a soft, warm and squishy yarn that I used to sell in my shop.

I removed the offending neck from my sweater, knit on a new neck CORRECTLY, and am about halfway done with one sleeve.  The only problem is, I can't remember where I put the remaining skeins of yarn to finish the sweater.  Doh!

Sweater is based on an old cotton rolled edge sweater that I love to throw on for weekend lounging.

I finished reading Raven Threads, but am only now starting Unraveled.  It's very unlike me, but I didn't read anything for a week and a half.

I'm up to date on my Temperature Quilt, and I'm liking it.  It's going to be an odd quilt, for sure, but it'll be colorful, and sometimes that's all I need to make me happy.

I hate not having a design wall! This is most of the first two columns, but I can't put them together until February is over so I can add in the February average temperatures in the right place.  The yellows are the freakishly warm days we've had.  The darker the blue, the colder it was!

I didn't quite make my goal of 20 On Ringo Lake blocks completed, but I've got 18 and am slowly assembling the rest. 

The problem is this: I opened one of those darned emails from Pinterest with some Pins they think I'd like and they were right.  I saw this pin:

Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/457819118351516579/

and had to start making one right away!  Scrappy...check!  Will use up some of my overflowing pre-cut scraps...check!  Will challenge me...since I am new to Half Rectangle Triangle Blocks, check!  I haven't gotten far, but I am having fun seeing these blocks come together. 

I'm using this as a Leaders & Enders project for my On Ringo Lake quilt...or is it the other way around?  Either way, I'm at my machine every chance I get, which, unfortunately, isn't as much as I'd like.

That's OK, I have a two-week break coming up in March.  I'm going to name my goals for that now - finish piecing On Ringo Lake and baste/start hand quilting my new niece/nephew's quilt before his/her arrival at the beginning of April.

In the meantime, I have a busy weekend ahead of me - running the clock at three different basketball games for three different teams, watching my husband's team compete in the conference quarterfinals (send winning thoughts our way on Saturday afternoon), and driving a vanload of kids to the movies to see Black Panther (we, as a school, rented out a theater and buses to take our students).  I hope I can find some time to sew and knit this weekend, too!

Oh, and I spent an entire day last weekend watching Alias Grace on Netflix.  It was darker and had less resolution and clarity at the end than I typically like, but oh the quilts!  Beautiful!!!