I Spy 80 Blocks

Last Tuesday, our weekly Sewing Group finished up the 1,600 "Jelly Roll" quilts and began cutting squares for "I Spy" quilts.  In order to have the width of the quilts no bigger than our batting on the roll, we chose to cut all the squares, 5 1/2".  (8) squares across and (10) squares down for a quilt size of 40" x 50".  The other important item we needed to consider was the width of most fabrics that we will be using for the backing.  Very few fabrics measure 45", most are between 42" to 43".

I'm happy with the way the quilt top turned out but it sure is "BUSY".  It should be quite entertaining for the little girl or boy who receives it.  Our group is gearing up for our local Project Linus Day on Sat., May 17th.

I Spy 80 Blocks

International Space Station

Just came back inside after watching the International Space Station go by.  Thankfully, our nightly news channel mentioned it and told us when to watch for it. 

Design Wall Monday

My Purple Quilt top is almost complete.  I would have finished it last night but in my excitement to finish it, I got some of the blocks mixed up and sewn and now the lights and darks are not in the correct order.  I knew a quick picture would be best but I couldn't imagine, I would mix them up.  Now, rows 6 & 7 need to be adjusted.  Here's what I have at this point.

DWM 04212014

Link up at Judy's Blog at: Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Last night, I stayed up way past midnight, cutting strips (3 1/2" x 9 1/2") and 3 1/2" squares, so I could make some progress on my Purple Scrappy.  This morning, I cleaned off one surface piled with fabric and continued to cut 2 1/2" strips for our 1,600 quilts.  This afternoon, I sewed the Purple Scrappy blocks.  The blocks at the top show Step 2 completed with each block sewn and the next 2 rows of blocks show Step 1 completed.

Be sure to visit Judy's Blog at Patchwork Times.com

Design Wall Monday

Teal and Purple Scrappy Quilts in Process

Finally finished the top of my scrappy teal beach scene for March.  It still needs to be quilted.

The purple scrappy blocks are the beginning of a quilt pattern I found in the May/June 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting; page 54.  It is called Paradigm Shift.  I have two blocks complete.  Only 40 more to go.
It will be fun to see how many purple scraps I can use.

Landscape Beach scene and Purple scrappy blocks

 

Design Wall Monday

So Scrappy's Challenge Color for March was Teal.  I seem to be running a little behind but I didn't want to miss making something with my teal fabrics.  I also wanted to make a landscape quilt.

The wall hanging is being named "Tobago Bay".  In 1975, after my sister and her husband retired; they took a two year adventure sailing from Sausalito through the Golden Gate Bridge, down along the coast of California, Mexico and through the Panama Canal.  Their adventure was completed with a 6 month stay in Beaufort, South Carolina.

The two sailboats in the picture represent their sailboat, "Tobago" and their friends' sailboat, "Yonder".
In an attempt to find the name of their friends boat, I went back and read some of the Log my sister wrote while on their adventure.  She typed the entire Log on an manual typewriter and then made copies and mailed them to friends and relatives in the states.  It's very interesting to read since it lists where they went, who they met and what foods were available in the different beach towns where they docked off shore.  

I wish I was brave enough to add some white breaking waves.  Maybe next time......  I do plan to add a shell or two at the bottom, along the sandy beach.

Be sure to check out what others have been creating today at Judy's Blog; Patchwork Times.com

Fabrics chosen for Teal Wall Hanging

Possible fabric choice for border

760 Strips of fabric-is that all?

My AccuQuilt Die Cutter was put to work over the last two weeks.  I organized and pre-cut the fabric into pieces 23" x 14" and then sent them through the Die Cutter, creating 2 1/2" strips.  There are now enough strips to make (19) Jelly Roll Quilts, a.k.a. 1,600 Quilts.  This morning, when I calculated how many strips were cut, it just didn't seem like enough.  It sure was a lot of cutting but I'm so thankful that my husband wanted to give me the gift of a Die Cutter.  These past two weeks, I put it to the test.

Our Sewing Group will be sewing the strips together over the next couple of weeks.  All the fabric was donated by numerous people throughout our community.

Strips cut and bundled for 1,600 quilts