11 to 13 , But Now Tops!!

Last month I posted a similar picture of my bindings, that for me represent how many current "shorter deadline" Works in Progress.  I decided last month that 11 was to many, and that  I really needed to get piecing ;)    So it might seem odd, that even with 2 of the bindings gone from the last pic, I now have 13 bindings on my shelf.   

But, I am so happy to say that all but 2 of those bindings are finished quilt tops and backs that are just waiting to be quilted ;)    Yup, over the last month I have been piecing up a storm and this weekend I finished up 4 more quilt tops and backs!!!   Which now means I have 11 quilts waiting to be quilted.  So can you guess what my new focus is going to be over the next few weeks ;) 

And with all of that piecing, I got another one of my Leader and Ender Scraptasic Stars done in just 3 days!!!    I just love all of these happy blues together.    I have to admit, with each block, it is getting harder to keep this a Leader and Ender project.  I just want to see it all done, tee hee hee ;)    But I made good progress on the Navy block which is next, so hopefully I will be able to share that soon as well. 

And you might recall that I mentioned in my Scraptastic Stars Leader and Ender post, that I had gone a whole year without sewing Leaders and Ender's because I was still needing to do some cutting.  Well, I didn't want that to happen again.  So this weekend, while I listened General Conference  (where leaders from my Faith speak to church members) I did some serious cutting!!!  (Random Side Note - Does anyone else find they can pay attention better/longer when their hands are busy, or is that just me???)    I made one block of  Lissa Alexander's Surrounded quilt way back here and it has been in the back of my mind ever since.  This will be my next Leader and Ender project and boy does it have a whole lot of tiny pieces.   It is going to be so awesome!!!   I plan to make a Queen size version, and now it is all cut and ready to go.   I just have to finish up the Scraptastic Stars first ;) 

So ya, lots of Happy Cutting, Piecing, and Pressing going on around here this last month.   And now it is time for some Happy Quilting!!!  

How about you, do you have a pile of tops to be quilted as well??  If so, how many are waiting in your stack???

Two Quilts for Sew Much Hope!!!

I am so excited to share my two finishes from this last week!!! And these finishes are extra special because they were made to do good ;)    At the beginning of April I will be teaching at UQSM, an amazing retreat held in Salt Lake.  And there is still some room in my classes and I would love to see you there!!!  The cool thing is,  UQSM holds a Charity Quilt Auction where all the proceeds go to Sew Much Hope to help teach sewing skills in third world nations.  How awesome is that!!!   And I figured, if we talking about teaching the basics of sewing, why not make my Back to Basics Pattern!!!  And here it is ;)

I just love this design!!!  It creates some amazing secondary designs, that at first glance looks random, but with closer inspection, you see the pattern just jump out ;)    And I love the way this design incorporates the basic piecing elements of Squares, Half Square Triangles, and Flying Geese, but when put together in this awesome layout, it is anything but basic!!!  I really felt like that symbolized what this Sew Much Hope Charity is all about, teach the basics and the outcomes will be far reaching :)

For this project, everyone that is making quilts was given  8 prints from  Jen Kingwell's Looking Foward fabric line. I love the bright happy colors of this line and I figured, since I had so much fun doing a black background on my bright happy prints in my Pave the Way quilt back here, why not do another black background on these happy, bright prints.   And I just love how it makes everything about this quilt just pop!!!   So much fun ;)

When it came time to quilt it, I decided on an all over combination of swirls, echoed paisleys, and curls.   I know, it is kind of hard to see in this picture because the black blends so perfectly into the black background, but trust me, it makes some awesome texture ;)

And that is my Back to Basics Sew Much Hop quilt ;)   It is twin sized so I am hoping it finds a good home where it will bring a little pop of happy into someone room.    And side note, I just love this purple Cotton + Steel print on the back.  You all know how I love purple!!!     I am just so excited to go up to UQSM and see all of the quilts made for such an amazing cause ;)

And I was so excited about doing good with this fabric, I just had to use up every last piece.   So I cut up every last piece of scrap from the fabric that was sent into 3 1/2" squares and cut some grey solid squares as well.  And you just can't go wrong with some simple patchwork!!

This was so much fun to piece, and of course, went together so super fast ;)   I really love doing these simple patchwork quilts and these happy prints just shine next to that grey.  So fun!!!

When it came time to quilt, I decided on one of my favorite ways to quilt squares, the wavy orange peel.   It is just like making double arches, but instead of them being perfectly round, you make more of a wave shape.   And doesn't it just create the coolest effect when it is side by side in the patchwork.   I just love it!!!  

And for this one, I decided a pop of pink on the back, and a super fun purple binding, cause ya know, I love purple ;)    I think it just is that splash of fun to finish up this quilt ;)   And it is 48" x 54" so it will make a great little lap quilt.   And ya know I am totally wanting to make more simple patchwork quilts now!!!

So those are my two newest finishes that will be auctioned off for the Sew Much Hope Charity at the UQSM Retreat next month and I am just can't wait! for the whole weekend!!!  It is going to be so much fun and I just love being able to do good with this love of quilting ;)  Makes me smile from ear to ear!!!

Thanks for popping in today and sharing these finishes with me. 

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!! 

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Scraptastic Stars for my Leader and Ender WIP

 I have shared here in the past how much I like Leader and Ender projects.  They are such a great way to work with scraps, and make "bonus" quilts while working on others.  But this last year, I have been kind of slacking on the whole Leader and Ender thing.  Here's what happened . . .   In this post  (a year ago!!!)    I decided my new Leader and Ender Project for 2018 would be my  Scraptastic Stars Block . (pattern can be found here)   I gathered my squares and decided that  I was going to use 2 1/2"squares instead of 2" squares so that the blocks finish at 16" and planned on making 16 blocks. When I went to sort my stack of 2 1/2" squares into 16 piles I found I was needing more squares.  Quite a bit actually, as I was trying to stick pretty closely to tone on tone prints.    So the new plan was to just cut some extra 2 1/2" squares when working on other projects until I had enough.   Well here we are in 2019  :)

Seriously, if I just needed blues or greens, I would have been ready to go in a month as I cut a whole lot of fabric!!!! But there are just some hues of colors (like that gold one on the bottom) that you don't cut a lot of.  So last week I saw all these squares sitting on my desk and I thought, "why in the world am I still waiting to start this project on a few squares."  I pulled out the scrap drawer and after a bit of digging, found the colors I needed to finish the few piles of missing squares.   And TaDa!!   Bring on the Leader and Ender stitching!!!

I decided in way back to make this project more Leader and Ender Friendly I would change the pattern to do Stitch and Flip triangles for the star points instead of traditional HST's.  That way every piece is the same 2 1/2" square size to start with. (which meant more squares as well, 48 of each color to be exact :)  I have found that  I like grouping my squares into the three types of Leader and Ender I need for the project, then I don't have to think about what I need to sew, just pick up two from a group and stitch.

And after I had made everything into 2 patches, I figured I might as well continue on with the block.  So I added a third patch onto the two patches for the corners and then it was just sewing the Three Patches into the Corner Units and the 2 Patches into the Side Units. And then just finish the block.   I did all of this still as Leader and Enders.   This is a little different for me as I would normally do all the two patches for all 16 blocks, but I am thinking where this block has a few more "moving pieces" it makes it easier to do one block at a time.   And I have to say, it sure makes the process more fun to have little finishes along the way.  1 down and 15 to go!!!  (You knew I would start with the purple one ;) 

So I am hoping to share more Scraptastic Stars blocks over the next few months.   I am just loving getting back into the swing of Leader and Enders and I can't believe I let a whole year go by without these "free" quilt blocks :)   I think it is a good lesson for me to remember, just stop and cut so you can sew!!!!

How about you . . . do you have a Leader and Ender project that you are working on???

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day so let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway :)

The winner of the $30.00 Gift Certificate from Shabby Fabrics is . . .  Number #100 . . .   Congrats  Becky S. !!!   I have emailed you :)     

  

        

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.   Fat Quarter Shop is fantastic and they never cease to amaze me with everything they have going on at their shop!!!     And along with their daily Flash Sales, did you know that  Fat Quarter Shop also has weekly Precut Specials!!!  It's a great way to stock up on your favorite Precuts and there might be some of my favorite Sunnyside Up this week, just sayin!!!! 

And speaking of stocking up on pre-cuts, For today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Fat Quarter Shop is giving away a fantastic Sew Colorful Green Fat Quarter Bundle to one lucky winner!!! Isn't this just so perfect for all of your spring projects :)  All the shades of green in one yummy bundle, so great!!!  Just has me wanting to go outside and see all of the green come back into the trees and plants :)   

You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me how is your Green Thumb???  (Honestly, I am horrible at all things plants, I struggle to keep an artificial plant looking good :)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Fat Quarter Shop love.   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, You Tube or at their Blog.  You can Sign up for their Newsletter which will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Fat Quarter Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, April 9th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

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Threadology QAL - Royal Star Block

It's the first of April, and there is no foolin around here today :)   I'm back with the fifth block release of the Threadology Quilt Along hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop!!!!  And today's blocks are the Royal Star Block, and they are just so fantastic!!!!  I love a good star block, and this one is just so pretty ;)

So here are my 3 of the large blocks.  You might recall from my first post, I am doing a different setting that will use 3 Large an 6 Small blocks of each.   These blocks had a lot of points to line up, and you all know how I like points ;) The smaller blocks really had me smiling with all of those seams and points!!  There is just something about small piecing that is so much fun to do ;)  

So are you joining in the Threadology fun???  If so, you can download the block pattern right here and it is requested for each pattern you download to donate $5.00  to the Make a Wish Foundation :)  This is Fat Quarter Shop's annual charity QAL and $16,000 in funds have already been raised on the way to the $20,000 that Fat Quarter Shop and Moda will match.  So let's help them reach that goal ;)  

And while making your blocks . . .  like always, Fat Quarter Shop has made an awesome  You Tube video tutorial that walk you through making this month's blocks and Kimberly will share some awesome some helpful hints on working with all of those seams and points :)

Be sure to share all of your Threadology progress on social media with #threadologyquiltalong and check out Fat Quarter Shops post for Block 5 for lots more Royal Star Block Inspiration!!!

And that's it for the Fifth block in the Threadology Quilt Along!!!!   I will be back on the fifteenth of April with the next block.  So fun!!!  It's never to late to join in the Threadology Quilting Along?? We are having so much fun!!!

Thanks for popping in today ;)  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

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