Quilty Adoption Offerings

My husband and I will be celebrating 19 years of marriage this May.  One of the triumphs of our marriage is the level of compromise we have reached when it comes to STUFF.  I am a packrat; he is a minimalist.  We've had a couple battles around this difference in approach, but I've gotta say, mostly it has been me drifting over to his way of doing things.  It turns out, letting go of things lightens me somehow.

My sewing room, however, is the place where I feel no guilt about keeping any and everything I want.  But looking at some of my UFOs lingering in limbo, knowing that I'll never get around to finishing them, saddens me a bit.  What makes me HAPPY is participating in Cynthia's Quilty Adoption Event twice a year!  I am able to give away my UFOs to people who actually finish them! (Really, I've seen pictures!)

This time around, I have three projects I am ready to release into the quilt-iverse.  If you are interested in adopting a project (or two or three!), leave a comment, making sure there is an email address so I can contact you if you are a winner.  I will draw winners using a Random Number Generator on Monday, March 25 with hopes of having everything mailed out by Tuesday, March 26.  I am happy to cover postage in the US and Canada (so sorry to all my other international friends).  There are no restrictions on what you do with your winnings - make something for yourself, for a friend/family or for charity.  I'd love to see a photo of the finished project if you think of it (closure, you know).  OK, here goes!  Ready for some scrappiness?

A.  PLUS Blocks

Back in the fall of 2016, I joined in the Charming Plus Quiltalong.  I enjoyed making these scrappy 6.5' blocks as a leader/ender project for a while, but I've lost interest.  There are 27 of them.

B. VIOLETS Blocks

Back in the spring of 2016, I won a bunch of Violets blocks in Block Lotto.  I love participating in Block Lotto, but I'm terrible about putting the blocks together if I win.  I should just participate without throwing my name in the ring to win.  There are 43 of these 6.5" blocks: blue, purple and pink flowers with yellow centers on black/white/gray backgrounds.  Note that they are made by a bunch of different people, so actual size may vary a bit.

C.  FLANNEL BUZZSAW Blocks

I'm not exactly sure when I started this flannel quilt based on Aunt Betty's Attic in the February 2003 issue of McCall's Quilting, but definitely by 2009.  It is now 2019.  Time to "fish or cut bait", don't you think?  Actually, I wanted every block to be a different pattern, but when you make a block, you actually get pieces for two blocks.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to make a quilt that was twice the size, or if I'd have pieces for two quilts.  I've decided I want to keep one set of blocks, and give one away.  If I am making the smaller size, I am more likely to finish.  Please note that only 31 of the 36 six-inch blocks are pieced, but there is material prepped for six more (an extra for some reason). 

 I'll include the magazine article with the instructions.

Please know that 1) this will only include the blocks, not additional fabric for the borders, 2) I just cut up whatever flannel I had at the time so there is no color scheme or theme and 3) this was early on in my quilting career and I think it was my first time using flannel.  The quality of the materials and my piecing are both questionable...

Be sure to visit Cynthia's blog for more items up for grabs!

Orphan Quilt Blocks Adoption Lottery Results

Thanks to everyone who showed interest in my quilty adoption projects.  You have really helped me clear out some projects that don't speak to me so there is more space and time for projects that do.

I interrupted my son's Spring Break plans to have him pull names from my favorite bowl.

 The winners are:

A: Carole W
B: Cheryl
C: Lisa Marie
D: Lisa C
E: Anita

I'll be emailing each of you for your mailing address and I'll get these into the mail right away.  Happy sewing, all!

Quilty Orphans Up For Adoption!!

Cynthia from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework is hosting a Quilty Orphan Adoption Event, and just in time for me and my spring equinox scrap purge deadline.  I have pulled out 5 sets of blocks that I know I'll never do anything with, hoping that someone out there in the blogosphere will be inspired to give them a new home and pull them together into a completed project.

If you live in the US (so sorry international friends!) and are interested in adopting a project(s) below (A thru E), please leave a comment by 9 AM EST on Tuesday, March 22 letting me know which project(s) interests you and your email address.  If more than one person is interested in adopting a project, I will have my kids pull a name from a hat.  There is no cost to adopt - I will ship the project to you free of charge.  There are no stipulations on how the project is used - make something for charity or for yourself or for someone else. My goal is to mail all projects by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 22 - I'm motivated to move things out of my space.

OK, here goes:

A:  Bountiful Blessings by Laurel Burch HSTs & scraps

These 14 4.5" HSTs along with 22 5" squares and assorted scraps up to fat quarter size were included in some fabric that was gifted to me.  I love the fabric, but I know I'll never use it - it isn't scrappy enough for me.

B: Block Lotto Steps Variation Blocks

I won these 9.5" x 6.5" Steps Variation blocks in Block Lotto in March 2014.  Unfortunately, it was probably my least favorite block that we made that year, so the winnings didn't excite me.  I've struggled to come up with a setting that pleases me.  I made about 9 of these blocks, but the rest were made by others, and you know what that means - there is some variation in size and precision of construction.

C: Neutral Strings Blocks

I don't know what these blocks are called - these, too, were included in a fabric donation.  There are 57 of these 5.5" string blocks, mostly creams/beiges and browns with some greens and reds.  None of the blocks have been trimmed.

D: Orange and Blue Sports Friendship Star Blocks

These 10 blocks and fabrics were donated to me as well - I get A LOT of donations.  I thought I might do something with this since I have two sports loving boys, but it has been YEARS and I haven't touched it, so it has to go.  The squares are 12" and there are scraps of both the orange and the blue, but not the white.

E: Blue and Red Indian Hatchet Blocks

This was one of my earliest quilting projects, thinking I'd make a simple quilt for my son.  Early on I realized I lose interest quickly if there aren't enough different fabrics involved, so this has languished for over a decade, I think.  There are 29 5.5" blocks and a 64" x WOF chunk of that blue basketball fabric.

I'm linking up with Cynthia's post - check it out for other adoption opportunities!

Goodies! First come, first served

I re-entered the public world of quilting today.  Our guild held an auction, and I brought in quite a bit of stuff - fabric, patterns, books, a floor-standing hoop - to auction off to raise money for the guild.  My goal was to come home with less than I took.  I did it, but barely.  The items were auctioned off in such large lots that it was impossible to get just what you wanted.  "No worries," I thought.  "Maybe someone who reads my blog will want some of it." 

So, here I am, re-entering the blogosphere today with goodies to giveaway.  But it isn't a giveaway.  If you see something you want, leave a comment to claim it - first come, first served.  I'll try to update/edit the post as things get claimed, and I hope to mail everything out on Monday.  I didn't even bring it in the house - took pictures outside and left everything in the car!  Here's what is up for grabs:

PATTERNS:

GONE! 3 Wool Applique Patterns - Primitive Pineapples, Thanksgiving Pumpkin and Weather Vane Roosters

GONE!  3 Bag Patterns - Fab-u-wear Purse, Triple Square Scrap Bags and Having It All Satchel

GONE! A whole passel of quilt patterns - Little Charmer by Karen Comstock; Bound to the Prairie and Charm Bracelet, both from University Moda; Flying Squares from Cobblestone Quilts; Homeward Bound by Bloom Creek; 24 Batiks by Jackie Robinson; Snappy Scrappy Stars by Augusta Cole; Confetti Stars by Atkinson Designs; Strippy Stars by Prairie Hands Pattern Co; Little Christmas by Donna French Collins; Western Star by Laundry Basket Quilts; Cranberry Sparkle by Lynette Jensen

FABRIC:

GONE! Five 1/8 cuts of batiks - beautiful, they are too hard to hand quilt through

GONE - Assorted fabrics - fat quarters of the green with multicolored pins and the light blue stars and stripes, just under 1/2 yard of the golden stars, 9"x36" of the red and white houses/hearts/stars/baskets and scrap sizes of the floral on gingham

GONE! Any Laurel Birch fans out there? 23" of her Holiday Celebrations (sorry about the shadow at the top)

BOOKS:

GONE! Do you like to make pillows and cushions?

GONE! Are you itching to try curves?

GONE! Something simple (Country Weekend Patchwork Quilts) and something not-so-simple (Feathered Star Quilts)

I'll be back soon to actually blog - share what's been happening in my life (a lot), and photos of what I kept from the auction.  I've also done a tiny bit of hand quilting lately, working on a quilt for MY BED.  Can you believe it?

It's good to be back.

Dare to Dresden & Giveaway

I had to join this blog hop - DRESDENS!  I've loved them since the first time I laid eyes on them!  Thank you to our cheerleaders, Mdm Samm and Christine, for organizing this.  I am honored to share my day with all these talented folks:

Gingersnap Quilts

Busy Bee Quilts

She Sews the Blues

Traveling Quilter

Grand Mama's Stories

Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio

Sew at Home Mummy

The Slow Quilter

Pig Tales and Quilts

Annie Oak Design

Jane's Fabrics & Quilts

Tea Time Creations

Mo Broker My Creative Side

Just Let Me Quilt

Words and Stitches

Just Keep Swimming

Sew Many Yarns

Sowing Stitches

Jane's Quilting

My Patchwork Life (me!)

2muchfun

Pumpkin Patch Quilter

Quilt Monster in my Closet

OK, back to me and my love affair with Dresden Plates.  It started about 8 years ago when my guild had a workshop to make stack and whack Dresden Plates from a single fabric.  I loved the variety of plates we could get from just one fun print, and I made a quilt for my younger sister for her college graduation.  I love that when I visit her now, I get to sleep under it.  I quilted the words "MY SISTER, MY FRIEND" in the yellow border around the center plate, so that's what the quilt is called.

This photo is from back before I added the binding. I really need to get better photos of my quilts!  Hand quilted. 

Next, I got excited about plaids and stripes and homespuns, so I made a Plaid Dresden for my twin sister's vacation home in the New Hampshire woods.  Unfortunately, that was two years ago and it is still just a top, not a quilt, but it is on the short list for quilts to finish.

forgive the wrinkles...

For this blog hop, I wanted to make several projects.  First, a Dresden Plate Color Wheel clock for my office.  I fear that I am a bit color challenged - it took me FOREVER to pick out the 12 fabrics for the color wheel.  I finally just said ENOUGH and stuck with whatever was on my ironing board at the time. Not perfect, but they would do.  I got it stitched down and wouldn't you know, I BROKE the clock that I was going to use!  ARGH!  But then I found a clock kit in my sewing room (there are benefits to being a hoarder who buys things on sale just in case I'll need them some day), and managed to make a clock anyway.  Again, it isn't quite what I had in mind, but it'll do.

There are corner tabs on the back to hang it...

...but for now, I just have it sitting on my mantle in my office. 

Then I found a stack of 5" charm squares of polka dots and stripes that I had pulled out to make something for myself.  Aha!  A Dresden Plate pillow!  I cut out all the pieces and realized there was still quite a bit of each of those charm squares left after those first cuts.  I decided to cut baby Dresden pieces from the leftover scraps.  They were so cute, I forgot all about the pillow and sewed them together and made a bib, backed with a green knit from a favorite t-shirt that I ruined with a bleach spot the very first time I washed it.  It seems every third woman in my life is pregnant so I'll have plenty of options when it comes to giving this away.

Speaking of giving away...I've been trying to straighten things up in my sewing room, and I've come to the conclusion that it just isn't going to look neat until there is less stuff down there.  Wanna help me out and take some of it off my hands?  I have two things to give away:

1) Victoria Findlay Wolfe's new book, 15 Minutes of Play: Improvisational Quilts - I bought a copy for myself, and then my mom bought me a copy for Christmas.  I was tempted to keep both copies - it's that good! - but no, I'll share.

2) Assorted scraps - I have so many beloved scraps that they are overflowing every scrap bin and bag that I have.  I've stuffed these into this cute Chinese take-out container.

What's inside?

An eclectic mix of scraps of various sizes - fun, fun, fun!

It's easy to enter to win - leave a comment letting me know which giveaway you'd like to be entered to win, either BOOK or SCRAPS or BOTH.  I'll get some computer generated help to choose random winners on February 1.  I'll ship anywhere in the world.  Until then, enjoy the hop!

Giveaway - Ring in the new year with new "old" fabric!

I hate to clean.  Perhaps you recall me sharing that once or twice here on the old blog.  But I've got to tidy up my sewing room or the photographer from the newspaper will just be taking photos of my mess and sending it on to some reality TV show about hoarders.  (Aren't ALL quilters hoarders?  Isn't that what our stash is?)

Anyway, I've been taking it slow down there, straightening up, sewing a few seams, folding fabric then pressing seams - you know, the old "mixing business with pleasure."

One pleasurable thing has been putting away my "new" fabric that I just washed.  You see, a few days before Christmas, I visited a friend whose mom had died and who had tubs of fabric she was trying to get rid of.  She warned me in advance that the fabric was old and that her mom had a lot of polyester.  She did, but that isn't all she had.  I came away with 13 different pieces of yardage, 2 pieces of corduroy (I've been wanting to make something with corduroy), and 11 pieces of either cotton or a cotton/poly blend.  And while I can't precisely date the fabric, I'll say it is probably all from either the 80s or the early 90s, based on some of the receipts that were included in the bins.

I can't wait to use some of this new-to-me old fabric (I'm not calling it vintage since I don't have actual dates), and just because I love giving things away, I'm going to give 2 half yards of some of my favorite new-to-me old fabric to one of you.  Just leave a message and let me know which two of the following 4 fabrics you would like to add to your stash.  I'll choose a winner, with the help of Random.org, of course, on Wednesday morning at 6 AM - you know, something to look forward to on my first day back to work.  Here are your choices - comment away!

Pretty multicolored flowers tossed on white - I've already got a quilt design using this fabric percolating in my little ole brain! 

Paisley flowers on yellow - for some reason the background color isn't true in the photo, it is more yellow than it appears here.   I love paisley, so I was tickled to see that the flowers were arranged in a paisley form.

The colors in this bird print scream 70s to me - which is fine because I love the orange/yellow/brown/green combos of the 70s.  The background looks almost tea dyed in person.

Winnie The Pooh and Piglet, too!  I literally squealed  when I saw this adorable little print! 

It's a party!

Quilter's Blog Hop Party, that is!  To celebrate the Quilting Gallery's 5th birthday, bloggers around the world are having giveaways.  Click the graphic below to see the list of other participating bloggers, but not until you keep reading to see what is happening in my little corner of the world!

Note that the party doesn't officially start until Monday morning, so if you are visiting on Sunday night, she may not have the list of links up yet.  If not, check back on Monday to join the fun!

For any new readers out there, here's a quick introduction.  My name is Erin, and I have been quilting for about 10 years now.  I adore working with scraps, and I cut my scraps into predefined sizes, using a system very much like Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System.  I rarely follow a pattern, either while piecing or while quilting.  I am a hand quilter, so it takes me forever to finish projects, but I do my best to always have something with me as I rush through my busy life to work on while waiting in doctor's offices or sitting on bleachers watching my kids play sports or even just during my lunch break.  In addition to being a quilter, I am a mom to 2 boys and wife to the most handsome man on earth, have a full-time job in college admissions, take and teach karate, am a cub scout den leader, and teach an after-school quilting class to kids grades K-5.

Recently I've undertaken an effort to provide some warmth and comfort in the form of quilts to those were affected by Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey, and I've been so blessed by quilters all around the world, sending enough blocks and completed quilts to donate more than 3 dozen quilts so far.  You can see an up to date list of all the ANGELS who have helped with my project over there on the right under the heading MY HEROES.  Understandably, I joined this Blog Hop so I could give a little something back and to say THANK YOU!

Since I've been working on the Hurricane Sandy Project, there have been quite a few projects that have been moved to the back burner for a while.  The longer they sit there, the more I want to get back to them.  One that has really been calling to me, and that also very much illustrates my quilting style, is my color quilt.  Using 1.5" precut squares of scraps, I have been spelling out color words with scraps of that color.  I have no idea yet how I'm going to put them together, but that is par for the course with me.  Here's what I have so far:

THE GIVEAWAY!

Do you have projects that you look forward to getting back to eventually?  If so, leave a comment letting me know what that project is.  Or are you one of those amazing people who has no UFOs, who always finishes what you start?  If so, leave a comment and let me know your secret!  Either way, I'll enter you into my drawing.  I'm a visual person so links to photos of projects are encouraged, but certainly not required. Just one comment per person, please.  I'll leave the giveaway open until 6 AM EST, Monday, December 17. That's when I get up for work.  It'll help me get out of bed on a cold, dark Monday morning if I have something fun to look forward to other than my job (which I love, but which I love a little less at 6 AM on Monday mornings).

The winner will receive a package of over 150 assorted 2.5" scrap squares,

plus, three approximately half-yard cuts of a fabric that a co-worker brought back from abroad for me (I believe from India) that I love, but can't for the life of me figure out what to do with.

She brought back a yard of each, so half goes to you, and half stays with me.  I'm hoping to be inspired by what someone else does with it.

I will ship anywhere in the world.  Please know that you cannot win if I have no way to get in touch with you, so please, either be a blogger with an email address in his/her profile, or leave your email address in your comment.

I hope you will come back to visit again!  Enjoy the party!

Baby quilt ideas

I have TWO friends who are newly pregnant and expecting their very first babies in the summer.  You know what that means, right?

I get to make BABY QUILTS!!!

I am so excited!  I have some ideas, but am always looking for new ideas.  If you see or know of something that would make a wonderful baby quilt (think unisex not gender specific), leave me a comment with a link to a photo of a baby quilt I can make.  It can be something you have made, or just something you have seen around.  The first 20 people who leave a comment with a link to a photo will receive a fat quarter of fabric from my stash.  If you have a preference (a particular color and/or type - stripe/floral/dot/novelty/juvenile/calico/modern print/etc) let me know.  Otherwise, I'll just surprise you.  If I don't already have your mailing address (I have already mailed things to a startling number of my followers, and keep all those addresses in a "quilter's addresses" address book), then I will email you to ask for your mailing address.  I'll plan on visiting the post office with my packages on Monday, so leave your comments before the end of the day on Sunday.

My ideas so far include:

Finishing up this Summer Breeze quilt that I started.  I only have enough of these fabrics for a baby-sized quilt anyway.

The Summer Breeze pattern is by Melissa Corrie - click the link above to see her entire quilt 

Making another Lil Twister quilt, but much more colorful and scrappier.  Lord knows I have enough scraps, and that quilt was awfully fun to make.

I gave this one to my newest baby cousin, born July 2012

I go back to visit this spiral log cabin quilt by Beth at Love, Laugh, Quilt all the time.  I could finally have a good reason to make one of these.

Photo from http://www.lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/2010/03/two.html

I look forward to seeing what ideas you all have!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Sidetracked!

I was cruising blogs yesterday morning, and came across a Pine Burr quilt block on the Nifty Quilts blog, Nifty Quilts.  Inspired, I rushed downstairs in my pajamas to start making one right away.

I got down there to discover that I hadn't yet unpacked the car from my booth, and hadn't yet cleaned up from the frenetic activity of preparing for the booth, so I had to put my enthusiasm for that block on the back burner while I unpacked and straightened up.  Honestly, it is nicer working in there when I don't have to move piles of stuff to get to the ironing board or the cutting table.

While cleaning, I came across a package of fabric scraps that I tried giving away earlier this year, but I never heard back from the person who won.

Determined to do SOMETHING with that fabric other than put it back into my stash, I whipped up a little top that used all of the yellow, all of the blue, and nearly all of the green dancing pigs. (I did put the green dot back into my stash.) It measures about 24" square, so now I just want to find a border fabric and finish it off as a baby or doll quilt.

I also realized that the fabric I wanted to use for the Pine Burr block hadn't been washed yet, so I threw that in the machine, and went upstairs to shower, eat and visit more blogs while I waited for my fabric to be ready.  And came across a cute little mini on Joe Tulips Quilts.

Back down to the sewing room I went, not to make a Pine Burr block, but to whip up this little mini.

Right now it measures about 9"x 13" without the outer border. There will be an embroidered vine with leaves around the outside and in the two background columns and hopefully some tiny button flowers.

The outside borders aren't sewn on yet, but I'll do that this evening and start the embroidery.  How cute and easy and fun!  I have a feeling I'll probably make another, too!

But first, this evening, I AM going to make a Pine Burr block.  Hold me to it!  Come back tomorrow to see how I did.

Finally, according to Random Number Generator (I don't know how to do the screen shots so you can see which number is chosen...if you want to let me know how, I'll be forever grateful), the winner of my last giveaway with the fabrics I bought in West Virginia (to which I added a half yard of a neutral from my last shop, making it a total of 1.5 yards of fabric goodness) is commenter #2 - Julie of My Quilt Diary!  I'm very happy to send this fabric to her as she is always helping me out with scouting ideas for my boys.  Send me your address, Julie, and I'll send this to you.  I've never sent anything to Japan before.  Fun times!  Seems like many of my giveaways are won by people outside the US.  My last winner was in Canada.  I guess I have international appeal...  :)

Enjoy your Monday, everyone!  I know I plan to!