DWR Finished

Thank you for all of your comments, it really helped. I ended up making my block 20 inches square so that I could enter it in the small category.

Wedding Ring

I finished the block for my DWR challenge. Not sure where to go with this. The block is 18 inches square. Thinking of possibly turning it into a baby size quilt with this block as the center. What do you think? Or should I just bind it and submit it as is? If I go bigger, would do some sort of made fabric border with all of the leftover fabrics.

Double Wedding Ring Play

I've been working the Double Wedding Ring Challenge. Started off with the idea of white on white as the rings and then started making fabric for the center. Now I can't stop! Might use solids for the squares, but will decide as I go.

Progress - 15 minute style

I decided on a red background instead of white - because it's dark and seemed more fitting.
Plus, I love red and have wanted to see what this looked like for a long time.
Making the 9 patches with mini's was very time consuming and this is about an hour's work.

I have to feed the patches in slowly so they don't go all wonky.  Sometimes they did that anyway and sometimes they got completely stuck.  That's when this came in handy.  A stiletto.  Does anyone else have this in their bag of tricks?

 

So, this little quilt is still developing and maybe take a wild turn yet...stay tuned!  More next week-

Still Playing!

I have finished up two of the blocks I was working on in Victoria's

15 min play class last week.

We had so much fun!

The colors is this photo are so off!  

I add in some spikes to the center, and then cut out 

the very center because it was a mess!

I had cut up the made fabric for a dresden plate and was fooling around

with an alternate fabric.

In the end I went to all made fabric and put the check in the center.

Still not sure . . . It may get changed.

I do love the teal center on the kaleidoscope block!

And those colors are more true to the actual block.

Now . . .  what to do with them?!!!

Hehe, the wheels are turning.

A Finish

                      What Can You Make with 15 Min a Day?

                           Why Not a Medallion Style Cross Quilt?!

The last time I posted I thought these blocks would become my first on-point quilt but obviously that didn't happen!  Instead I went for this look which I felt was more graphic.  The quilting is all in the ditch and echo ... a tiny bit denser in the center area.  I felt it needed a border and the most difficult part finding something that would not compete for attention and I'm happy with the outcome.  So, 15 min a day, in my opinion, is a good thing for sure!

Preparing for the Blizzard/Nor'easter by ...

                                     ... making fabric ... lots of it ...

so that when the power goes out 

I will be able to cut out the pieces I need to make 

more blocks like these ...

And Kelly Makes Sixteen

I surprised myself by finding quite a selection of kelly green in my stash - some old, some new. When pulling fabrics, I thought "grass green". And what goes with grass? Sky blue, of course - and some bright pink and orange flowers, dandelions (haha), a couple of bugs, and a little dog too!

Completed Kelly Green block - each block is squared up with my 12-1/2" ruler, nice! One block a week, for 16 weeks - great way to get enough blocks for a quilt!

The Sweet Sixteen!

Rust or Bust! and - Who knew, I LOVE tomato red!

Lovely Liberty - I had just enough of the paisley for the "X" - I had LOTS of rust fabrics, from back in the day...but ended up mixing them with other colors - for example pink, which was a surprise. (I promise these are rust tones - even though they appear purplish in this photo.)

Juicy ripe tomato block - I also had lots of reds - mostly because I don't use them very much! But after the success of this block, I see more red in my future!

First 9 blocks, posing for a portrait. Say cheese!

Mauve Challenge

What is mauve? As I was thinking about this project, I remembered a quote: "Mauve is pink, trying to be purple." A little research yielded the source of the quote - the artist James Whistler.

What is it about this mauve challenge that got so many of us to try it? I even already told V I wasn't going to do it - but I loved seeing everyone's blocks - and here I am...

I USED to have PLENTY of mauve - I lived through the mauve years, but I've purged a lot of my older fabrics. All I could find was the mauve print in the center, and two batiks with mauve in them on either side.

I added lighter and deeper tones of mauve, plus more of the colors in the prints - love that orange in there (like Miki!). What block to make? V's X block has been on my "someday" list for a while, so figured this would be a good chance to try it out. I tried different fabrics for the X, settling on this deep purple, with a spot of the mauve in the center.

Ta da - it seems my tulips are in the mauve family!

Some Progress

Two weeks ago I posted my white blocks

with the made fabric crosses.

By themselves they seemed too white for my taste

so I made some negative crosses.

;-))

Then I played around to try to find a third variation.

Here you see a large white cross.

;-(

Now it's moved to the middle with some bars.

;-(

It'll be a few days before I play some more.

;-(

C'est un très bon cadeau!!!

Merci beaucoup!

Today there was a squishy package from France in my mailbox.

It was sent to me by my Lilies Swap partner, Béatrice.

I love the rich purple and all the hand quilting.

Very spring, very charming, indeed!

Old/New Project

I love all kinds of + or x blocks

and started this top awhile ago

and then put it away.

The made fabric makes the block

but I'm still not sure about all that white.

Since I've pulled it out again, I will continue

and, who knows, maybe I'll even come up with a better plan.

Serious stash swap... It's Christmas Again

Queen V you have done it again. This was a fantastic idea. Sharon sent my bundle of joy. It was Christmas all over again ... As I tore into the box to be treated by these lovelies. Sharon I hope you truly enjoy yours as much as I. Many of the fabrics I don't own, and don't have those colors anymore. (taupes and light blues) This is a treat. Now I must refrain from cutting them up tonight... Into heavens knows what. I shall let them sit a spell so I can let the ideas flow. They will not be put away, since I am on a fabric diet for a couple months... These shall represent a purchase.

15 minutes with Norma's scraps!

Well, it was more like two hours, but it was still the concept and involved Norma's scraps. She gave me a bag of scraps when we were sewing on Tuesday. I have always wanted someone to give me a bag of their scraps. Don't know why, but I read on other blogs about the "wonderful bag of scraps" someone gave somebody and they made a prize winning quilt. So I have always wanted someone's bag of scraps!

I began to sew the pieces together and worked diligently for several hours. At some point I decided it needed to become a pillow. I had purchased some 14 inch pillow forms with the big idea of making pillows for everyone for Christmas, but that crashed and burned. So I still had them. Next year....I swear....I will start my Christmas stuff in June!

Anyway. Back to the pillows.

I had been reading some tutorials on pillows and the various ways of doing them. In the end I just made the envelope and stuffed the form inside, like a reverse birthing. Then I forced myself to immediately sew the opening closed. If that didn't happen right then and there, it was still be open for the next three years.

Oh, and I just thought about this. I could have added the scraps from Dan and Amber's quilts. Darn, Darn, Darn. Then I could have given them that to go with their quilts.  Oh, well.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah all!

glen and the lonely little bassets!

15 Minutes to the Rescue!

So I had this idea for a little quilt for a special niece. I drew her name for this year's gift exchange, and got her a gift - but wanted to make her a quilt, too.

I had fun playing with a photo of her for the center portion, but then - what to do for the border???

And then I saw Victoria's awesome pillow, and voila!

I crazy pieced scraps onto a base of cotton fabric, in sections. I decided I didn't want the stitching to show too much, so I used a variegated thread in a narrow zigzag stitch.

Thanks for the great idea, Victoria!

A V-wonderful Friday Evening..

What a great evening/night. I hung out with BumbleBeans and I actually PLAYED...It has been so long since I just sat at a machine, dug in a bin of scraps and sewed them together without a thought.  Oh soo relaxing after a long work week.  (Remember Thanksgiving week was a short work week, smiles).


I used the wonderful make fabric concept that is the essence of this site.  So for those that need a quick refresher, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

This is how it begins...

Then you start to see this.

Time to cut it up even more....this is about cut number three...oh soooo much fun just slashing away.

Then I left and went home.  Allegedely to go to bed to get up early.  But it called me back.

And I was not tired till I was able to see these....

And that is a lovely 15 minutes of Play....I wonder what these will become...Thanks V...a great time.

Checkerboard Tutorial

You will need two pieces of fabric, I used one solid and one print. They need to be approximately 9 X 20 inches. If using fat quarters you can fold them in quarters. Fold selvage to center cut and them fold in half again. Cut along the fold. If using larger pieces you can use a ruler to cut a piece to size.

TIP: If your fabric pieces do not include a selvage, then mark or place pin at one end of each fabric piece to be used as "selvage" in this tutorial. Keep the marked edges together when layering.

Lay one fabric on top of the other, both with right sides up. Align as closely as possible. I show them a little offset for demonstration purposes.

To start you will need to cut thru both layers to make little strips. At the beginning you need to cut two sets strips so you can leave the 9 X 20 layered fabric pieces intact and cut the little strips from them. I used scissors and cut gentle curves. If this scares you, you can cut straighter lines. You can use a rotary cutter, but cut at an angle to give you the wonkiness. Please remember I am left handed and things may seem backwards. Try turning the picture upside down it you are confused.

TIP: The gentler the curves the easier it is to sew the strips together. Take you time when cutting to prevent angle cuts instead of curved cuts.

Take your two strips and separate the top and bottom layers. Lay one print next to one solid and one print next to a solid as above. Be sure the curves match on the two strips you have matched up. They should fit exactly and when lined up with a straight edge on the top where you start sewing the seam. This is true even if you are using straight lines.

TIP: To help keep strips correctly aligned start from the selvage edge. Keep the selvages or marked edges on one side, either right or left. You will know the selvage is always the beginning and should not have any seams on that edge.

Sew your two first little strips together. Do not pin. You will need to manipulate the fabric to fit the curved line you have cut. Even straight edges cut by scissors are not exactly straight and some manipulation will be necessary. The little strips may end up not seeming to be the same length, but this is OK. This is not an exact science. Amazingly they will lay flat. Press the seams. I am a fan of finger(nail) pressing, but do what you like to do. From your 9 X 20 inch fabric layers cut another strip.

TIP: Keep the curves gentle so the fabric is easier to manipulate while sewing.

Again align the strips as above. Continue to match the seam allowances. Keep the selvage edge on the right or left side. Since you are cutting thru both layers at the same time the seams should always match. Continue cutting little strips and sewing them, aligning and sewing them together until you come to the end of your 9 X 20 inch layer. Press after each little strip is attached.
TIP: I lay my two layers next to my sewing machine and make one cut at a time (except at the beginning). I lay each set of little strips out before sewing to ensure I am aligning the seams together correctly. It is worth taking a little time to do this as misaligned seams will not lay flat even with pressing.

You will now have two beautiful strips of little strips. They will measure approximately 9 X 14 inches. Exactness in not a virtue. You can even use the strips if you like, but onto the checkerboard part of the tutorial.

Lay one strip of little strips on top of the other. Keep the selvages on the right or left. I have offset the strips for demonstration, but you can see how the two strips are opposites...print on solid and vice versa.

TIP: You should have one solid and one print on top of each other at the selvage edge. If you have the selvage edges have the same fabric, you will end up with stair steps. This can be OK and fun too if you are not making checkboards. Onto the next step for checkerboards.

Sorry these two got repeated....now how did I do that?

Like the first set of little strips you need to make two cuts the length of the sewn strip. The curves should be very gentle since it more difficult to manipulate the fabric when sewing the seams. Keep the selvages layered one on top of the other.

Lay the strips side by side. The Seams should match and you should see the checkerboard starting to appear. Keep the selvages at the top or bottom to ensure everything comes together correctly.

Sew seams together. Do not pin. Manipulate the fabric as you sew to fit together. They may end up being different lengths. This is OK. Do not try to match the seam allowances.
This is a case of close enough is good enough. Press seams. Continue cutting strips the length of the layered fabric. I only managed to get 4 out of a 9 inch wide strip. The last strip is a little wide, but if you are sewing the strips together that will come in handy.

Now you have two strips of checker board fabric. Press. They should measure approximately

6 X 14 inches.

This can be used as is or cut in any shape you want....squares, triangles, rectangles, even simple applique shapes. They can be sewn together to make a 13 - 14 inch square.

Once you get the hang of this technique you can cut the size and shape the the pieces to be made into a checkerboard whatever size you want. Just keep in mind that the more seams the smaller you finished piece will be. You can calculate by how much is will shrink if you want by counting up the seam allowances but I would just rather have fun.

Please let me know is there is any thing unclear or confusing, so I can clarify it. Thanks and enjoy making checkboards or whatever you want from them. Contact me at bbbee at sbcglobal dot net or Thescrappybee123.blogspot.com.