March Stash Report and From my Quilty Past

Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY!

This month I only got one quilt done, but I used quite a bit more this month than I purchased.  Thankfully that put me back in the red.  The only time I'm happy to be in the red.

Used this Month: 14.5 yards

Finished:
  Nuts and Robolts Quilt (generous twin quilt)

Used year to Date: 38.5 yards

Added this Month: 3 yards

Added Year to Date: 30.25 yards

Net Used for 2011:   - 8 1/2 yards ~ I am in the red!

This was the first table runner I ever made. Clear back in 2008. I had every intention of making a runner for every season. It doesn't look nearly as pristine as it did in this picture. Mostly because I never got around to making another one until last month! Poor thing has been used and abused on my table every day for the last three years.

Cheers,

Dionne

Quiltmaker Reveal and a GIVEAWAY!

This month I had the great honor of working on a Jaybird Quilts pattern for Quiltmaker Magazine. 

The pattern, Raspberry Dessert, designed of course by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts, can be found in the latest Quiltmaker Magazine which will be on stands in about two weeks.  I didn't alter the pattern at all, and the size shown here is a LARGE throw that measures 76.5" x 76.5"

I used all my primary bright fabrics against a black background to make this striking quilt. 

My neighbor saw me photographing the quilt top and asked me if I would make a twin size quilt for her daughter.  So I am currently making another Rainbow version of this quilt in a twin size.  I only needed to alter the pattern slightly for that version.

To make this pattern in the rainbow pattern I pieced it in sections by color.

Then I trimmed each section. 

Then I set my machine on it’s longest stitch length and did a stay-stitch a scant 1/4” from the edge of each section, to reduce stretch and keep any seams from popping open until I could get the sections sewn together and the whole thing quilted and bound!

I also made a large runner in spring colors using Julie's same pattern. 

Doesn't it look nice on my mantel top?  I think I like it better there than on the table, as I had it in the picture above.

But on to more exciting news!  Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts, has generously donated one of her patterns to offer as a giveaway!  I'm so excited, because not only will you get her Raspberry Dessert pattern in the latest Quiltmaker magazine, you also have the opportunity to win another pattern here.

But wait, that's not all!  Check out all my fellow Scrap Squad members' blogs to see their versions of Julie's pattern.  Each of them will also be hosting a giveaway as well.  And the final giveaway will be on Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures Blog.

For my giveaway, you have several chances to enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me which Jaybird Quilt pattern you like the best.
2. Become a follower and leave a comment letting me know (or just let me know you already follow).
3. Tweet about the giveaway (@iQuilty) and leave the tweet link in a comment
4. Blog about the giveaway and leave a link in a comment

Enter this contest up to four times before midnight (PDT, because that's where I am) on April 4th and I will be posting a winner on April 5th!

Also don't forget to check out the other giveaways and quilts:

• Linda at Linda's Quilting Blog
• Pat at Crazy Quilter Mama
• Donna at Donna's Quilts
• Kim at Pokeytown Kim
• Jane at Forest Jane
• Ruth at Threads of Mine
• Carol at her Connecting Threads Member Page
• Quilty Pleasures - Quiltmaker Magazine is hosting a fabric giveaway!

Cheers,

Dionne

Nuts and Robolts Quilt

So I finally finished my son's robot quilt.  I got the pattern from a Fon's and Porter magazine from about two years ago.  The fabrics are from P&B Textiles.  I also made two matching pillowcases.  I actually have a few more scraps so I'm toying with making a throw pillow for him as well.

Here is the front of the quilt.

And another picture.  This one is meant to give a little life to the picture.

And the back:

Here is a close up of the label:

Oh, and here are the scraptacular quilt blocks I made today.

Cheers,

Dionne

Green Piece Tree Medallion

It seems this quilt has been so long in the making. 

The center medallion is an applique tree in rich autumn colors, with two thin borders.

Now the quilt only needs two outside borders; one thin and one thick.  But I think the applique blocks might make the quilt a little too busy.  What do you think?

The center medallion is needle-turned applique, and measures 20" square.

Oh, and here are the scraptacular quilt blocks I made today.  Here is a link to the Quilt-Along.

Cheers,

Dionne

How Do You Organize Your Scraps?

There are so very many ways in which to organize, or not organize your scraps of fabric. There are many methods, containers, and philosophies. I’m curious, what method do you use?

• Do you keep your scraps in a grocery bag or a plastic tub?
• Do you consider only sizes smaller than fat quarter a scrap?
• Do you only keep scraps larger than a certain size?
• Do you keep the selvedges? (or do you prefer the alternate spelling: selvage?)
• Do you sort your scraps by size or by color or both?
• Do you cut them up as soon as you’re done with a project into desirable sizes?
• Did your method evolve according to your needs, or were you influenced by someone in the quilting industry?

When at the end of a project, I will keep anything larger than a fat quarter complete. But if my scraps are smaller than a fat quarter, I’ll cut it up into useful sizes. I know there are many ideas about what sizes should be kept. But over the years I figured that only squares and strips are useful to me. I never cut my scraps into bricks (2 x 4, etc.) Bricks aren’t flexible enough for me. Strips are easily cut down into the size brick I might need.

I cut strips as large as 4 ½” and as small as 1”. I’ve found 4 ½” and 3 ½” strips are particularly useful when I use my Accuquilt cutting system. Those sizes fit perfectly across some of my longer dies. I have the Studio cutter, so my dies are a bit larger and I can cut numerous layers at once.

I was keep my scraps sorted by size in plastic tubs, then by color in zip-lock baggies. But that is more time consuming than I have time for. So for now I just have everything sorted by size alone. Mostly I use plastic shoe boxes for storage, one for each size more or less. But I keep my wee little crumbs and my strings in two clear canisters.

I try very hard to stay on top of my scraps and cut them up as I go, or at the very least as each project is finished. But because I always have overlapping projects and multiple commitments to my family, work and elsewhere - as we all do, I get behind sometimes. When that happens I leave my scraps in a pile on my cutting table. I work on that pile as often as I can, but when it gets overwhelming, I sweep it off my cutting table into a plastic bin under my cutting table. That bin is getting rather full, I haven’t looked at it for quite some time, but I know that eventually I will have to pull it out and tackle that bad boy!

So, what about you? How do you organize your scraps? What sizes do you find most useful?

Oh, and here are the scraptacular quilt blocks I made today.

Cheers,

Dionne

#1 is Next.

Has it been cold where you are? It's been cold here.  Last week we had a snowy front pass through.

At my house we have a duel heating system, with a furnace upstairs for those rooms and a funace downstairs for the rest of the house. The only problem is, the funace upstairs is about a million years old, give or take a year of two. Because it's usually very mild here in Washington, and because the furnace isn't ideal to run, we opted to just turn it off. That has worked for the last year.

It was so cold, my son asked for an extra blanket on his bed. Since everyone else felt the same way, we were short on blankets. It was so cold my boy didn't even mind sleeping under a pink and green blanket.

I think it's time to finish up my UFO #1. It's a Robot quilt for my son's bed. And with a bit of re-shuffling, it's also the next quilt in Patchwork Times' UFO Challenge.

Here is how the quilt started:

It's a bit futher than the above (poorly photographed) slabs of fabric. But my goal for this quilt is not to end in a flimsy, as before projects. This quilt must be done in time for the Spring Thaw!

But that's not my only project this month! I'm also hosting a Scraptacular Quilt-A-Long HERE. Just three blocks a day, as my Sew-Between project, and at the end of the month results in a nice sized throw with border or baby quilt without border!

Here are the scraptacular quilt blocks I made today.

Come quilt-a-long with us!

Cheers,

Dionne

Pull out Your Scraps for a Quilt-a-Long!

Have you seen Nann's Scraptacular tutorial she did on her blog Freda's Hive?

I really enjoy this blog! And I love the quilt Nann did in her tutorial.  It's a fabulous way to use up all those extra 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" squares and extra scraps.

Nann's Scraptacular Quilt:

Isn't it beautiful!  I love that border fabric as well.  So, lets have a Quilt-a-Long!  Five minutes is all it takes to make three blocks!

First, head over to Freda's Hive for Nann's Scraptacular Tutorial!

Second, pull out all those extra 4 1/2" and 2 1/2" scrap squares.  If you don't have a nice amount already cut, just pop a good movie on the telly and have a nice cutting session with your scraps.

Third, sign your blog up on the Linky doo-hicky thing-a-ma-jig below so everyone can find you.  If enough people sign up, I'll put everyone's links up on my sidebar.

For a twin-size quilt (68" x 88") you need 156 squares, and two simple borders, just like Nann's.  That's just 3 blocks a day for two months.

Too big a commitment?  3 blocks a day for one month will be a nice throw or baby blanket!

3 Blocks a day, that's all I ask.  So COME ON, let's use up that stash!  Stop buying, start using!

I will post my progress regularly!

Cheers,

Dionne