Whirly

Whirly

Some quilt designs express a feeling of motion, and these two fit that description. You can almost feel the breezes blowing.

Little windmill blocks in red, turquoise, black, and blue contrast nicely with crisp white. They are set with light blue dotted sashing to complete Whirly, a 35” square quilt bound with black & white dots. It's quilted with a decorative cross stitch pattern along the sashing and through the centers of the windmills. It sure brightens up my dining room table. 

Summer Pinwheels

Cheery pinwheel blocks are placed in diagonal rows with white sashing and a row of white blocks, creating lots of open space. Bright yellow and orange prints contrast well with the cooler greens and blues.  

Summer Pinwheels is 44” x 54” and quilted with white thread, creating swirls on the pinwheels and square maze outlines on the blanks. It is framed with a bright blue random mini-dot that I also used for backing and binding. 

 

Over the weekend, I took advantage of cooler temperatures to tackle weeds in my flower beds. All this time I've spent sewing has given the weeds a chance to take over. I may have to use a flame thrower or a 50 gallon drum of Roundup.

🔶🔶🔶

Fake people are like weeds.

They stunt your growth.

Remove them from your life,

and you'll have space to flourish.

Three Quick Projects

To say that I love to sew is an understatement. Even when I'm stuck choosing a pattern or selecting colors, I truly enjoy the process of creating beautiful items. I'm definitely on a roll this year, with 26 projects completed by the end of June. 

 

Slashed Nines

A scrap quilt using bits of my recently acquired fabric collection, Slashed Nines started as four nine-patch blocks that were slashed diagonally and rearranged. White sashing and the bright colors make this 28” square quilt very perky. Quilting was straight stitch, outlining the diagonal seams and adding center squares. It was finished in two days, a quick and easy little project!

 

Sewing Basket

Sewing Basket is a wall quilt made of coordinating sewing themed fabrics in turquoise, lime, red, gray and white. The 2/12” strips are set in a basket weave pattern. The back is several wide lime and white pieces bordering a center section of leftover strips. I pieced this 37” square back in February, but quilted it last month.

Table Scraps

A colorful table mat made up of 4” squares of random scraps is appropriately named Table Scraps. The blue and white binding and backing material reminds me of a vintage tablecloth. Finished size is 32” square, and quilting was simply outlining the  squares with a half inch offset.

And now, back to my happy place...the sewing room.

DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY,

AND BE DONE WITH THE REST.

Water And Sun

Seaside

Shades of aqua and yellow remind me of water and sun, the beach, and tropical paradise. My two newest quilts feature these colors.

The first, Seaside, is my version of the Speedwell pattern. Light shades of yellow, aqua, gray and white blend beautifully for a cool refreshing twin bedspread. The design reminds me of Mediterranean tile. I love the way the blocks spill over into the border in slightly darker colors. 

The center is quilted in straight channels. Borders have three serpentine rows, intersecting at the corners. I added an extra border to make the final size 78” square.

Seaside

Almost Square is a brighter quilt using large hot yellow and intense aqua squares and rectangles, split by contrasting white strips. Fabric from my new stash in chevrons, dots, prints and checks give this one a more modern feel. It's quilted with an overall scalloped stitch.  Finished size of 44” x 54” is good for a throw, child's quilt, or wall hanging.

Almost Square

I'm using both in my spare bedroom, along with newly stitched white linen curtain panels. Now I have a beachy retreat for a quiet read or a restful nap. Sounds good, but I have too much sewing lined up to nap. Maybe I'll just sit in there and brainstorm my next design. 

 

We dream in colors

borrowed from the sea.

Red Snapper

Red Snapper

I love this cute creation. Neutral gray and white print 6” squares arranged diagonally made a fine backdrop for red corner accents. The triangles were remnants from February's Tomato Soup & Crackers quilt. They were just big enough that I couldn't bear to throw them out, and I'm glad I didn't.

The back is a wide panel of gray and white triangle print with two floral red and white strips on each side. A binding of dark gray stripes frames it nicely. Finished size is 35” square. Red Snapper is hanging in my dining room right now.

Follow up: I am nearly finished sorting and cutting the small pieces from last week's amazing fabric find. I tossed a few old magazines to make room for three more plastic shoe boxes of folded small pieces. I'm so inspired by all those colors and prints that one little project is already finished, and I cut and pieced a new quilt top yesterday. I was already sewing up a storm this summer, but stay tuned for more, more, more!

You can't use up 

CREATIVITY. 

The more you use,

The more you have. 

Maya Angelou

 

Fabric Jackpot!

Lawdy mercy, I have hit the fabric jackpot! On Friday, we went to a yard sale and found sewing supplies. I got a grocery sack full of assorted cotton material and a dozen zippers for $13, then headed home. Thought about what I left behind. Saturday afternoon, I went back and paid $50 for all the fabric she had left. Oh my, four huge boxes filled to the brim were loaded into the back of my Escape. Thanks, Mary!

What an awesome find! The majority is cotton, ranging from scrap pieces up to 6 yard lengths. The colors are beautifully varied, with lots of chevrons, dots, stripes, and novelty prints including a few Christmas and Halloween. I spent the rest of the weekend sorting, measuring, folding, and merging it into my inventory. I concentrated on anything over a half yard first. The grand total of quilting fabric from this big find so far is 147 yards! 

I haven't even counted the basket of small pieces. Those I will press and cut into strips, squares, and fat quarters. Useful Remnants indeed, perfect for scrap quilts.

I also haven't started to check out the last large bin of miscellaneous material. There's burlap, minky, cotton duck, upholstery pieces, flannel, knits and blends for clothing.

I will definitely have to reorganize my shelves. If you're interested in my inventory and storage system, link below for previous blog posts. One change I've made is wrapping the folded fabric around comic book boards (like a mini bolt) to keep it from falling over in the baskets. It has worked great for me, and doesn't take long, although normally I only have a few lengths at a time to document and fold.  The system certainly makes it easy to see if I have enough of a particular material and to find coordinating colors.

A friend told me she was glad I found the sale since I may have been in danger of running out. She knows me well.  I am sure of two things: I am addicted to fabric, and I never want to be cured. It is my happy place, so I am pretty sure I won't run out.  

For inquiring minds, 788 yards is my current inventory total, not counting the small scrap pieces.  That should keep me busy and out of trouble for a while.   

LINKS: 

Keeping Track: Inventory System

Fabric Scrap Organization

Love is 

not caring 

how much fabric 

your wife buys.