Carey Family

Quilting

RSC2022-squirrels on the loose

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“Simply Hexie” is done! My quilting partner & I bought these kits in July 2019 & kept saying we would make them when….. (fill in the blank). Late last year we pulled out the kits & via our FaceTime quilt group, worked steadily for a few sessions to piece the top, the back & make the binding. Then it was off to the quilter where it was done in an intersecting triangle motif. I finished the binding last night while watching TV, so here it is!

The back. The fabric is more gray than it looks in the photo.

So…squirrels. Remember those Rockabilly Swing blocks by Bonnie Hunter I said I was going to work on a little at a time? Well, after all the yellow cutting & prep at the beginning of March I decided to take a day to sew them. They are using up my little scraps in various sizes so it’s a mess of piles all over when I’m working on the paper piecing. The next day I decided to keep going. And the next. Then I decided to do some calculations & see how many more I needed as I’m doing a smaller quilt than the pattern. I kept going. Because there’s no quilt police that says I have to do anything in any particular order. Sew what’s fun! In a week & a half of sewing, I got them all made, then spent time sorting scraps & cleaning up. And I’m happy, even though it wasn’t what I planned at the beginning of the month.

I am also doing the Hyalite SAL from Plains & Pine on a whim. (no quilt police, remember?) I’ve done the week 1 cutting & am halfway through week 2, which is sewing the diamond blocks. So cute & all cut from Blueberry Park fabric bagged together in my stash, waiting for the perfect project.

And here’s the progress from this week’s quilt group. We’re working on Cookie Cutter, another long-time project we’re finally getting done. We have four of the quadrants sewn & decided to deviate from the pattern to sew the first three quadrants together to make the half circles & feel like we are getting somewhere. So cute!

My current status for the six RSC2022 projects:

  • four red & four aqua blocks from the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (yellow cut)
  • 1 red & 1 aqua twinkling friendship block inspired by Deb A. (yellow squares pulled)
  • 3 red & 2 blue Shine blocks from the free pattern by Melissa Corry – on target because no yellow
  • 8 red & 6 aqua Dancing Stars by Amy Ellis – running behind
  • 14 red & 16 aqua blocks for Sweet Kisses by Gigi’s Thimble (yellow cut)
  • 7 red & 7 aqua blocks, plus matching border string blocks for Catching Rainbows by Bonnie Hunter (yellow cut & 8 string blocks done)

RSC2022-March-enter yellow

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“Codes” is a finish. It’s been a long journey! After 6 years of learning to quilt & spending a little time on it regularly, I was tempted to attend a retreat, learn some new skills, & up my game. So in January 2015 I attended my one & only quilt retreat in St. George, Utah. My husband hiked all over the red rocks while I spent the weekend being completely overwhelmed by all these quilting people who knew a thousand times more than me & were way faster. I learned wool applique, did a class by Melissa Corry, learned to sew with tiny scraps & use a hexie template. I came home overwhelmed by all the projects to finish. I worked on them pretty steadily, except this one which languished on my shelf. I had made one block at the retreat. During the pandemic in 2020 when I started working my WIP’s, I pulled this out & realized that now that I’m experienced, there wasn’t a block in there I couldn’t make in a flash! So it came together quickly. I finally got it quilted & bound & here it is with all those fabrics I carefully chose & still love as I use up the scraps in my current projects. It’s called “Codes” because hidden in each block is a strip of traditional blocks.

On the Move Remix by Melissa Corry. I worked on the blocks this week & got rows 1 & 2 done & sewed with sashing; ditto rows 3 &4; also some blocks together in bottom half. I’m using Spotted charm squares & Grunge background.

As for yellow, it’s been a cutting & prep week. I got the sets cut for the Catching Rainbows blocks.

With all my leftovers from cutting, I got the 8 string blocks done for the Catching Rainbows blocks.

I also cut the little Tula Pink blocks so they are ready to sew. I had 4 picked out in yellow for my arrangement.

I cut all the pieces for the yellow & black star blocks for September Sky by Bonnie Hunter. I’ve previously made the green 9-patch squares that alternate with these. I set it aside since it’s a Christmas gift, but I figured the yellow month was a good time to get them going. I got the strip pieced 4 patches done, so now flying geese & HSTs. I adapted the pattern to make both these blocks with the no-waste method & 8 at a time HSTs. I hate sewing triangles for HSTs, so I did some quilt math. Which I also hate, so hope I figured correctly!

My current status for the six RSC2022 projects:

  • four red & four aqua blocks from the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (yellow cut)
  • 1 red & 1 aqua twinkling friendship block inspired by Deb A. (yellow squares pulled)
  • 3 red & 2 blue Shine blocks from the free pattern by Melissa Corry – on target because no yellow
  • 8 red & 6 aqua Dancing Stars by Amy Ellis – running behind
  • 14 red & 16 aqua blocks for Sweet Kisses by Gigi’s Thimble (yellow cut)
  • 7 red & 7 aqua blocks, plus matching border string blocks for Catching Rainbows by Bonnie Hunter (yellow cut & 8 string blocks done)

RSC2022-more Feb aqua

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Got a scrappy binding sewn onto this RSC2021 project so it’s ready for Christmas gifting. I changed the binding color as it goes around to match the blocks it stands by. This was tedious but came out super cute! “Hip to be Square” from “Splash of Color” by Jackie Kunkel.

The ombre jelly roll I’m using for the Shine blocks doesn’t have aqua, so I went ahead with the blue blocks. So happy to be finally making this quilt!

Made a couple more red Dancing Stars, but still need more of those, & started on the aqua. This may turn into a 2-year RSC project.

The upper left are my slabs for something future. Whatever that is. I got 7 aqua Catching Rainbows blocks done with the corresponding string blocks for the border. I really adore these blocks!

I have lots of these Rocky Road to Grayson blocks by Bonnie Hunter in various stages, but I wanted to feel like I was making progress, so I sewed some together so I would have a few completed. I am using up so many little scraps with this project!

My current status for the six RSC2022 projects:

  • four red & four aqua blocks from the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks – on target
  • 1 red & 1 aqua twinkling friendship block inspired by Deb A. – on target
  • 3 red & 2 blue Shine blocks from the free pattern by Melissa Corry – on target
  • 8 red & 6 aqua Dancing Stars by Amy Ellis – running behind
  • 14 red & 16 aqua blocks for Sweet Kisses by Gigi’s Thimble– on target
  • 7 red & 7 aqua blocks, plus matching border string blocks for Catching Rainbows by Bonnie Hunter- on target

On the Move Remix by Melissa Corry has moved out of the RSC2022 category & I’m just going forward with it. It felt right & I’m happy about that. It’s all laid out on the design wall & I’m working on the colored arrows.

RSC2022-February aqua so far

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There was no sewing done the first half of February, so aqua may dribble over into March. I’ve decided not to be stressed about that, but just let it be. There’s no quilt police & I can do what I do & still be successful.

The design wall looks like this today. I made progress on three of my projects, so yay! The left side are my aqua/teal blocks for Sweet Kisses by Gigi’s Thimble. I cut everything for this quilt in December, so it’s fun to sew now. Just pull out pieces & put together blocks. The low-stress sewing was fun, plus I love how they look.

On the right side of the wall is a sparkling friendship star inspired by Deb A. I’m making one of these/month this year to add to the 16 I made last year, & then I’ll have enough for a lap quilt. Also low-stress sewing.

Underneath that are my four aqua blocks from the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book. I’m making the Sliding Scale quilt from her book. I sat down in December & chose all the blocks, decided on the colors for each & drew up the layout. Now each month I look at my chart, find the numbered block for the color, go to that page, get the cutting directions, choose fabric, cut & sew. So each one is a small project that is a one-off & can be done in between other projects for a mind break.

So that’s February so far. We’ll see how I do on my other projects this week. They are: Shine, Cozy Stars, On the Move, Dancing Stars, & Catching Rainbows. I’ve made 8 blocks for the Covered in Love Jan/Feb Block Drive & was hoping for more, but that may be it this time. It all feels like a lot, so drifting into March doesn’t sound bad. Hope your aqua bins are going down faster than mine.

RSC2022-January red week 4

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I forgot to post my finish a couple weeks ago: Love Drops, pattern by Maker Valley. It’s going to be gifted for Christmas & used up a lot of scraps!

This is this week’s finish: Walk in the Park by V and Co. And yes, we made it exactly like the pattern! My quilting partner & I have been making ours for a long time & one of the things that drew us to it was the Ombre Confetti fabric, so we just followed the directions. I so rarely make a quilt that looks like the pattern as far as the fabrics go, that it’s a little shocking to see. LOL But it’s super cute. Mine has an aqua binding rather than the mustard, so I did vary from the pattern, after all.

I backed it with the new wide backing from V and Co. It’s ombre with confetti dots, but not metallic. I can’t tell you how darling it is!

I got my first blocks done for Sweet Kisses by Gigi’s Thimble. I’m really in love with scrappy low-volume backgrounds right now, so I’m just going with it. These will be in all the colors & set on point. These are the reds.

The first blocks for Catching Rainbows by Bonnie Hunter. Oh yes, I’m in love. The string blocks are for the border. The colors correspond to the colors of the matching blocks, so the rainbow goes around the outside.

So all my red blocks are done for RSC2022 except some more red Dancing Stars blocks. That may turn out to be a 2-year project with all the other things going on. I may make half the blocks this year & the other half next year. We’ll see.

This is why I might not get all the Dancing Stars done. I started a new project this week because I couldn’t wait. It’s Bonnie Hunter’s Rocky Road to Grayson. I’ve been sewing the string centers, but I wanted to put together one full block to see how it will look.

I made 4 more blocks for the Covered in Love Jan/Feb Block Drive, so now I have 8 of these quarter log cabin strings. I tried really starching the foundation old sheet pieces this time & voila! These four are more square with the firmer backing. I just pulled whatever out of my string boxes & they are really colorful!

After weeks of Covid, ICU, & oxygen, my quilting partner finally felt like she could sew via FaceTime for a while this week. It was so good to “get together” & we pulled out our Cookie Cutter project & worked on the third set of colored diamonds.