Like an Inch Worm

 

I've been inching along.... I don't think I'm even half way finished with the blocks.

 

I've been working on these Confetti Star quilt blocks diligently all month
(I started these blocks TEN YEARS AGO!!) with the hope that I'd at least have all the blocks completed before the end of the month...but...

It has come to my attention that that is not going to happen, so I changed the plan.....

New Plan:  Work on these blocks through today and then do something else....I need a break, and I have a couple other projects that need attention.

Confetti Star Progress: All set up for chain piecing... Bonnie Hunter* would be proud.

Twenty-Two blocks...I am starting to like it....

The purpose of joining a UFO club is to make progress...that is what I'm doing. 😁

AND, so far I have not purchased any new fabric...using up bits and pieces of what I already have.

Good On Me!!

 

* Bonnie Hunter's Leaders and Enders HERE

On The Road Again

With my dad in convalescent care, my sister and I have been taking turns sitting with him, tending to his needs (competent help in care facilities is scarce, to say the least.)  There is no time for anything but sitting with dad, and work.  Every other past time has been put on the back burner for now. No Quilting, No Ukulele and No Gardening.

 

But, I did get a little reprieve this week with the annual software forum in Lincoln, NE.....YEAH
(sorry, sister, adding to your responsibilities.)

I decided if I did not live in KY, NE would be a nice place to live.

While there, of course, I spent some time with my college roommate, bestie, Cori.  We always have a few good laughs and a couple of good meals.  This visit was no exception. 

And I even managed to work in a visit a very nice quilt shop.  

Country Sampler - Click Here
Follow the link and visit their website.
It's a nice experience, even on line.

What a NICE shop!  Nice fabrics, nice displays and really nice people!  This would easily be my favorite place to hang out if
I lived in Omaha!  And, even though quilting is on hold for a time (because of dad) I still managed to spend almost $200. 
Oy, Vey....

I am not a Halloween fan, but I really like Halloween fabrics.  So, I could not resist buying fabrics to make this throw quilt.

Not Halloween fabrics, per se, but Halloween colors.

This will be for my nephew's daughter, JayCee.  Since their visit this past summer, I've been watching for a quilt pattern
I thought she might like...she is 13.

Front Row (L to R):  JayCee, Abby, Jason
Back row:  Sister Joy, B-I-L Mike, and me.
Our family tradition, breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the last day of the visit.

 Other fun displays in the shop.

Vintage Sewing Machines!

If you are passing through Omaha, I highly recommend a side-trip to the Country Sampler!

After a few days in Nebraska, it was off to California and some R & R with my babes... and a visit to In-N-Out Burger.**

The burger is almost bigger than Catalina!

(L to R:  West, Catalina, Gabrielle, Cash, Presley)

Good food for the tummy, and good company for the soul. 
Soon enough it will be back to the every-day responsibilities of real life.

**This burger chain is very popular....long lines to order food.  And, I've heard it is a great place to work.

Look What I found!

 I Love this quilt !!  I saw it on Facebook, the Scrappy Girls Club page.  It looks so fresh and clean, but whimsical.

Each of 9-patch squares is 1.5 inches....that is pretty small.

 

The creator, in her post,  said it took her 18 months.  But I like it so much.  Looks like a good leaders and enders.

Same quilt pattern--different fabric choice! 

This one looks like a completely different quilt pattern! 
It reminds me of blue dishes, comforting.

I did an internet search for "Jack's Chain" and found so many examples and tutorials.  It would not be possible to post links to ALL the examples and tutorials I found.  Here is one, Carpe Lanam.  Looks helpful.

What can I say...I just like it!  I just might have to add it to my list for 2022 (Along with the Ice Cream Quilt.)

UPDATE:  I've been thinking about "Dishes" since I posted this.  (I really like bowls.)

There IS a quilt pattern called Broken Dishes. Click HERE

Dawn of First Light Designs wrote of the Pickle Dish Quilt.  Click HERE 

I found a quilt pattern simply called Dishes.  Click HERE

Leaders and Enders, Take Two

 

What a difference placement and fabric choice make! (And, it helps if the assembler pays attention.)

(See the post from April 7 for the before picture. )

This is Carolina Chain by Bonnie Hunter.

This is most likely not the final block placement, just pinning to the design wall as I go.  

The blocks are on point.  While studying the picture it came to me in a vision just how I'll sew the blocks together. 

Start with a 4-patch.

Then  sew the 4 patches together.

That way I don't have to match the seams of so many long, long rows of smallish blocks.

Carolina Chain is from Bonnie Hunter's book, Addicted to Scraps. 
It IS addicting, that is for sure!  I call it the Accidental Quilt because it is what you get using Leaders and Enders while piecing other quilts.  

This will be another Birthday quilt for either August, 2021* or January 2022, I haven't decided. It is so fun and easy, relatively speaking, I just might make two! AND, it certainly does reduce Mt. Scrapmore!**

*For those of you paying attention, yes, I did add another B-day quilt.  My sister, Renee.
**Mt Scrapmore is a term used by Karen of Just Get It Done Quilts,

It's a Mystery to Me!

Can you solve the mystery?

There really IS a pattern here!

 I'll give you a hint....I created these blocks using Leaders and Enders.

Note to Self: you still have to pay attention! (...even if it is a scrappy quilt that you create while using Leaders and Enders.) 

I'm not going to tell you the pattern name because I do not want to slander the pattern author's reputation...yes, this actually is a published pattern.  The problem is Charlotte wasn't really paying any attention at all to color value or block placement.  

So, Now What?  What do you do with a bunch of blocks that are not that attractive? 
Well, I believe I have a couple of options: Option 1)  I could just continue on this path until I assemble enough blocks for a lap quilt for my daily snooze on the sofa.  Or Option 2) I could combine them with a stack of orphan blocks I have and make something wonderful. I am leaning toward Option 2.

Some time back I watched a YouTube video by Just Get It Done Quilts about creating a quilt from orphan blocks.  She made it look really easy and it was so beautiful when she was finished.... Click Here to Watch.

So now it is back to the design wall.....

The Spirits Join Forces

My Creative Spirit
My Oregon Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle Spirit
My Dave Ramsey Save-Money Spirit...have all come together.....

The Storm At Sea, birthday quilt for my son is all pieced and put together.  Next Step....removing the foundation piecing paper from the backside...ick....that'll take a while.  (I'll make a reveal post when it is quilted and bound.)

In the meantime, I need a short break but I still have the need to be creative.  I've been watching YouTube videos. 
Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet and Laura Coia of Sew Very Easy are two of my favorites.  Their videos are not just quilting related but all manner of fun stuff.

While watching Lori Holt, I came across this video:  Making a Design Board.

Friendship Star Sashing
from a Baby Quilt I made in 2016

Some quilt designs are a bit tricky i.e., Friendship Star sashing and complicated boarders as in the one I used for my nephew's Motorcycle quilt a couple years ago, etc.  What I need to do is lay out the pieces so I can see them. 
 

Jason's Motorcycle Quilt Border, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dilemma: laying out the pieces on my work surface without knocking them around, getting them out of order or even dropping them on the floor. 
 

The Solution:  Lori Holt's Design Board!  (FYI:  These are sold in Bee in My Bonnet Etsy shop if you are so inclined. 
Even so, very nice of Lori Holt to share her secret with us, don't you think?)

 

Step 1:  Grab left over batting from a tub of scraps kept on a high shelf.

 

 

 

 

I feel like the Romper Room Lady, looking
through her magic mirror;
I see strips from (many quilts in the past.)

Step 2:  Search through the strips bin to find something cute.
(These are not all the strips I have... I have four strip bins.)

 

 

 

 

Step 3: What to use as a base?  A yard sign I hung from my balcony announcing the Christmas Eve service at my church will work!

NOTE:  This sign is some kind of plastic.  While a hot glue gun was great for attaching the batting to the face of the board, it was no bueno for attaching the binding to the back (to flip forward). 
It would not stick.  I had to use Elmers glue and A LOT of clips...then wait, wait, wait for the glue to dry.

I was able to switch back to using the glue gun when I flipped the binding to the face of the board.  The batting is very porous, so that worked.

And, TA-DA!  While they're not perfect, I think they will do!  AND, no money was spent making this project. (And more importantly, no trips to the hobby store were made, since we are supposed to be safer-at-home.)

Two Rabbit Trails:

RT One.  Making the binding (this is not like a regular quilt binding as you may have noticed from Lori Holt's video).  I took this opportunity to try out a little gadget I purchased how many years ago????

 

Sashers by Pauline's Quilt World.  I purchased these at some quilt show and I cannot remember the year.  I'd like to say the process was so much easier than the long way, but I found them cumbersome.  The fabric kept twisting.

To be fair...I didn't stop and watch the how to video because this was a quick and dirty project and I frankly didn't want to spend that much time.  

But now that I've broken the seal on the package, I think I'll try to incorporate them into my binding-making and learn the proper way to use them.

RT Two-The pieces on my new Design Board: Some time back (again, I don't remember how many years back, but I was already living in my new state so not more than nine years) my friend, Miss Mary,  gave me these acrylic templates Scrap Crazy 6 by Karen Montgomery.  I started cutting scraps and arranging them in a storage box. The box was placed on the shelf and there it sat.  Looking for some pieces to act as models for my new Design Board
I spied with my little eye.....

 

Now that I've dusted off the top of the box, I think I'll use these as Leaders and Enders.  If you are not familiar with Leaders and Enders, check out Bonnie Hunter's website and blog, Quiltville.  I think she is the original Leaders and Enders lady. 
As an added bonus she has so many ideas and loads of free patterns, too!  

Using these pieces as Leaders and Enders will someday give me an Accidental Quilt!!

Picture plucked off Pinterest.  Cute idea!
I like the top stitching making it look like a Crazy Quilt.

UPDATE:  I do like these Design Boards.  But, I found an easier way.....

Use Elmers Spray Glue to stick the batting down and skip the cute borders.  I made two sizes.  Really useful!