Scraptastic Tuesday - February Link is Open!

It's the second Tuesday of February so the Scraptastic Tuesday monthly link is open.



I decided that I needed to continue with my scrap strips and make more regular sized log cabins, at about 15" square. I might just carry on until the box of scrappy strips is empty.



I only managed 2 tonight. I did clean my sewing machine too, but my long walk earlier means I am sleepy now. I am still Quilt Con training and will have to figure out how to go for a long walk or two shorter ones tomorrow too.



In case you missed it, there are my scrappy log cabins from the weekend - now a 60" quilt top. I need to make these a back so I can get them quilted soon.

Now its time for you to share your scrappy projects, plans and ideas.

InLinkz.com

A huge thank you to our generous sponsors for providing the following prizes which will be awarded randomly among those of you who link up.

• Fat Quarter Shop - $25 gift certificate

• Sew Sisters Quilt Shop - $25 gift certificate

• Sew Me a Song - $20 gift certificate

• Massdrop - tba

• Fluffy Sheep Quilting - a €20 (20 Euro) gift certificate

• Green Fairy Quilts - $25 gift certificate

• Karen Lewis Textiles  - scrap pack

• Mad About Patchwork - a $40 gift certificate

Please join Nicky from Mrs. Sew and Sow and I by linking up a blog post or flickr or instagram photo sharing a scrappy project, in progress or finished, or your thoughts on dealing with your scrap mountain:

• You don't have to have joined us before, everyone is welcome.

• One link per person, and it will be your entry into the random draw for the prizes. It is the same link up here and at Nicky's blog - Mrs. Sew and Sow - so you only need to link up on one of our blogs.

• You can link up from your blog, instagram or flickr, but you have to link up to be entered in the prize draw.

• Please visit at least a few of the links, they are very inspiring, and leave comments too as everyone loves to connect. 

• Use the Scraptastic Tuesday button and invite your friends to join us too. Please share our button, or a link or the hashtag #scraptastictuesday in your linked post or photo.

• The link is open until next Monday night at 10:00 pm MST. We will announce the winners next Tuesday. 

• If you have trouble linking up, let me or Nicky know and we will get you sorted.

Best,

 Leanne

An InLinkz Link-up

I used a lot of my scraps this weekend

Last month I went through my scrap binds and pulled out all the strips - long rectangular pieces with at least one straight edge - and then I put them in a box. This weekend I took them all out again.



I picked the easiest block for different sizes of strip scrap - log cabins. Every log can be a different width and it does not matter, your log cabin can continue without issue. I picked blue as there were a lot of blue strips and it always makes me happy to sew with blue fabric.

For the first several rounds I could sew, lean over to press and then trim right on my table. Once the log cabin got too big I hopped up to the actual cutting table with each log.



I made giant blocks - about 30" square, more or less. This was block one, finished on Saturday night. I decided just random fabric placement was working fine - I mostly looked for the next strip by size.



This morning I made another. I figure it takes me about 1.5 hours to make one of these big blocks, working fairly steadily. At this point it was lunch, and time for a long walk - I managed 7700 steps today, I am in training for QuiltCon.



I figured I did not have enough blue, so I later this afternoon I started a green one.



Before supper I had three finished. After making the green one I was almost out of green scrappy strips, but I also realized that I had enough blue left for one more block.



After supper - my DH cooked and did the dishes and it was yummy - I made the last one. This is not a great photo as it was dark and in my hallway, and I edited it heavily, but you get the gist. A 60" quilt top, all from scraps! It's a bit scary that I can name almost every designer of every one of those fabrics too.

I know that the February Scraptastic Tuesday link up is not opening until this Tuesday, but maybe you are inspired to join Nicky from Mrs. Sew and Sow and I now. Those scraps can turn in to lovely quilts.

I might have to start another, I have a lot more scrappy strips.

Best,

Leanne

Twist - Ta Da! - a scrappy quilt made in part with scraps

Here is Twist - she is about 70" square. I named her Twist because she is a modern-traditional sort of quilt - a courthouse steps quilt that looks like lanterns, a log cabin quilt built as courthouse steps, a highly traditional pattern presented in an asymmetrical, non-repeating, modern colour scheme. Modern-traditional is a phrase that is contradictory, the unexpected ending so to speak, the twist - oh here is a highly traditional log cabin quilt - but then you look and see the twist. I'll stop now.



This quilt began  a year ago, when Daryl from Fabric Spark gave me the opportunity to curate a blogger's bundle. I picked magenta, navy and low volume white. I wanted to make something that would be bold. Twist is the result.

As I kept making blocks I realized that I wanted this quilt to be largish so I turned to my scraps and bits to finish her off. Having set out to create a non-repeating pattern it was easy to add in new fabrics as I went. It turns out that you can use your scraps in all kinds of quilts.

I blogged about the process of making this quilt a couple of times, in February here and here, then I wrote a tutorial about changing out those dark purple hearth/start squares after the blocks were made here, I put her on a list to keep working on in June here, I shared about quilting her in July here, I put her on my Q3 FAL list here, I showed the finished quilting here later in July, she went in a box for the move, she made it to the Q4 FAL list here. Finally, I found the box she was packed in and finished her off over the holidays.

There can be no suggestion that I was shy to share my process regarding the making of this quilt, progress that took place over the last 12 months, perhaps you are tired of hearing about her.



I had a great time quilting Twist. I decided to use my favourite industrial style unevenly spaced but close together lines - and then the twist - I quilted the lanterns so the lines change direction.

I also quilted the lanterns in their own colours, so I travelled along the quilt and had a lot more thread breaks than I normally do. If you carefully examine the photos you will see a couple of thread ends I missed on my mending in before I washed and dried this quilt - I'll be finishing those tonight. I have to say that the quilting makes the back of this quilt so interesting too.

I wanted to point out that I did not first quilt in the ditch around the blocks as a more traditional quilter might do and I drew the lines free hand on my longarm machine without rulers or channel locks. I thought about stitching in the ditch, but first my ditchstitching quilting is not that even and my ability and patience with rulers is worse. In the end I like this so much better anyway - another modern twist to this oh so traditional quilt pattern.



On the back I used big chunks of some favourites. The roses on the right are metallic gold - perfect I think for this quilt. I don't have a great photo for you of the binding, it is a white print with blue lines from Doe by Carolyn Friedlander -its the one at the very end of this post by Carolyn. I wanted the binding to sort  of disappear, not to hem in the pattern and it does just that.



There she is with a little scale on our wide front steps.

It turns out that Twist was also on my Q4 FAL 2015 list so I will link her up with Adrianne over at On the Windy Side here before the 2015 Q4 finish link closes - there is a day and 7 hours left so get your finishes linked up too.

And a reminder, please plan to join Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow - and I for the Scraptastic Tuesday link up next Tuesday, January 12 - the second Tuesday of the month. You will have a week to link your scrappy project - in progress or finished - and/or your thoughts on taming the scrap mountain. There are terrific sponsors for ST for 2016, and it's just one link per person from your blog, flickr or instagram.
And given how long this one took to finish, I am going to link this post to a few nice places where one can see beautiful and inspiring projects,  including Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday, and Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday.
Best,


Leanne

Mostly cutting stuff up - a little quilting too.

I decided to set the small log cabin blocks I showed you in the last post on a Kona Coal background. I sewed them down like a ticker tape quilt, which is also like raw edge applique.

Now I am making pebbles/bubbles around them. The variegated gray thread is interesting on the dark background.


I am hopeful that this will turn into an interesting wall quilt. It is rather compelling, making these circles, I expect I will finish this part soon.

Other than this, I have been cutting up stuff:

•  I cut up the dark gray, the white back and the batting for this project.
•  I cut up the sashing and the small accent bits for my Supernova Quilt. 
• I cut up 8 more backs and batting for the Bloggers Block-a-palooza blocks. 
• I cut up 6 backs for my Lily's Quilts QAL giant dresdens.
• Today I bought new batting for the giant dresdens, so that now needs to be cut too.

I am not fond of the cutting part of quilting.

Soon all those projects will be in line for quilting too. Good thing I like the quilting part.

Oh, and after everyone was burned using the old oven mitts, I felt compelled to make something we actually needed.


I hope you find time for some relaxing over this Easter weekend.

Best,

Leanne
ps I have linked to {Sew} Modern Monday, there are more interesting projects over there, just click the button.

Log cabin blocks and beautiful fabric

This has been a work in progress for a couple of weeks. If you want to see each of these blocks more clearly, here is the link to a set on my flickr page. I received these packages of Trimmings from Umbrella Prints:



There is a competition. These bits are trimmed from large pieces of linen and organic hemp/cotton fabric that has been hand screen printed in Australia. You make things from the Trimmings and post them on the Umbrella Prints flickr group. (There are many wonderful projects already posted, you may want to have a look.)
The contest closes May 1 and then, after 10 finalists are picked, people vote the winner.

I have been making these log cabin blocks and now I have to decide how to finish them off. They are not big, laid out all together they cover the end of my sewing table, which is about 17"x 20".



I am thinking that I might give them each a bit of sashing and quilt them into a mini quilt, or I might attach them with raw edges to a background as I love their raw edge look. Or maybe another idea will develop, I have all of the long weekend to play with them.

I did buy one more package of bright pink and red bits, but I think I will make them, somehow, into a bag. I'll let you know.

I'm linking this to WIP Wednesday, the projects linked there are always worth a look.



Best,

Leanne

Quilting Bees

Quilting Bees are messy!

But I made some nice blocks:




Those two are for the Aqua and Orange Bee - I get to use these amazing colours when it is my turn! We used the Quilt Dad tutorial for these (it is here).

And this one is for my other bee, the Twelve Month Quilting Bee:



The tutorial for this block is here, by Elizabeth Hartman from ohfransson! I have wanted to try this block  for a long time so it was great to have the chance. It is a much harder block to do than I thought, with a fair bit of planning along the way but the result is well worth it.

These are off to Melissa tomorrow. I wonder what blocks I will get to do next month, the surprise is another fun part of being in a quilting bee.

Best,

Leanne