Nuture Do.Good.Stitches July Block

It is my month again for the Nurture circle of Do.Good.Stitches charity quilt. Since 4th of July is right around the corner I took inspiration from this quilt, called Americana Rose.

 I switched around the colors some and removed the 4 patch blocks. 

For these blocks I would like you to select  Cherry red, White and Royal blue prints that are tone on tone or solids. You can choose one fabric of each color or raid your scrap bin. 

Cut the following from your fabrics. 

A - BLUE - 3.5" X 6.5" - (4)

B - BLUE - 4.5" X 4.5" (4)

C - BLUE - 3.5" X 3.5" (4)

D - BLUE - 1.5" X 2.5" (20)

E - BLUE - 1.5" X 1.5" (20)

F - RED - 1.5" X 1.5" (40)

G - RED - 2.5" X 2.5" (5)

H - WHITE - 3.5" X 3.5" (8)

I - WHITE - 6.5" X 6.5" (1)

Step 1: Using A and H sew together 4 flying geese blocks

Step 2: Take the  flying geese you created and lay them out with C and I blocks in the pattern below.

Step 3: Sew together each row of pieces pressing toward the solid squares

Step 4: Sew together each row with the seams nesting

The final big star will look like this - kapow!

 And will finish up at 12.5" x 12.5"

For your second block you are going to create many many flying geese (so sorry!!!!)

Step 1 - Take your D and F pieces and create 20 wee mini flying geese....

Step 2 - Take 4 of the mini geese you created in the last step and add together with 1-G square and 4-E squares and lay out in the orientation below.

Step 3: Sew together each row of pieces pressing toward the solid squares

Step 4: Sew together each row with the seams nesting

 Repeat 5 times and you will end up with blocks looking like the ones below

Step 5 - Lay out your red and blue stars you just created with 4-B blocks.

Step 6: Sew together each row and press toward the solid blocks

Step 7 - Sew each row together and next the seams.

The resulting block will look like the finished square below.

It will finish at 12.5" square

Please send them to me at the address below.

Dhia Peach

519 Smith Road

Fremont, Ohio 43420

freshly pieced

Growing and growing.....

I'm growing, the baby is growing and this baby quilt is growing. One of several baby quilts in process. Hopefully I will get these done before the baby gets here!

Linking it up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

The creature from scrap lagoooooon

I can't decide if I love this project or hate it. I have been cutting my scraps into 2.5" squares and using them as leaders and enders on my machine. I had no business starting another project with several still needing to be finished up. There are some old favorites in these blocks and some really ugly questionable fabric choices. A find walk down fabric memory lane. I am trying to make something useful out of all the scraps I have horded over the years. Maybe I should have picked a color scheme, but maybe the lack of structure is what makes it fun. The blocks patchwork blocks are 49 2.5" squares with no duplicate fabrics in each. The white blocks have 12 2.5" squares along with the white pieces. I am going to have to find a source for the large white squares outside of my scrap bin. Finished blocks are pretty chunky at 14.5" We will see how it ends up.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

The stars at night are big and bright....

Revisiting a long time WIP that I made some headway on this week. In cleaning and sorting fabrics I found a piece to finish a star that I was short on. I could not for the life of me remember where or when I bought the fabric and I was one tiny piece short. I had about given up when I found an old orphan block that had the missing fabric. Happy as a clam!!!! I started running out of quilt Pati's pieces so I had to start joining some stars.

 On the completed front I finished up the quilt for my step daughter Michelle. I have been trying to get a decent picture of the quilt but the weather has not been cooperating. My husband and I rigged up an interior quilt hanging rod for pictures. 

This quilt goes with this pillow case. One more WIP scratched off the list!

Linking it up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Crazy Mom Quilts , Confessions of a fabric Addict and My Quilt Infatuation

Week In progress!!!

I have had the good fortune to be home this week and not traveling. Needless to say my evenings have been spent in my sewing room. Here is what I am working on this week. 

 My weekly WIP is a pastel scrappy star quilt inspired by this Spring Cleaning Quilt. I originally intended it to be a quilt for our master bedroom. But at some point I decided it was not the direction I wanted to go for our bedroom. I still don't know what direction that is. I decided to make this a baby quilt. I have enough centers for 5 stars and enough of the other pieces for 4 stars. I bit the bullet this week and put one together. I will see how I like the size of the quilt with 4 stars and may add more. 

My finish this week is for Do.Good.Stitches Nurture Circle. The directions for the block can be found here. I find that I don't have as many solids in my stash as are needed whenever a project comes up. So I used prints that were as close to tone on tone as I had in my scrap bin. I also find that wonky blocks make me a little edgy. I think it is just the fact that I am left with a lot of little scraps and I haven't figured out what to do with them yet. This will be sent off to make a lovely quilt for My Very Own Blanket. Can't wait to see how it turns out. I am the quilter next month so I need to come up with a block quick! 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

Showing my stash who's boss.....

          When we moved back to Ohio and bought our new house I was able to snag one of the bedrooms for a craft room. Over the past year I have painted, decorated and selected furniture. I am now kicking my fabric organization into high gear. My husband said he is putting down his foot and I can't buy any more fabric until I get all my fabric unpacked and put away. The nerve!!!!

           In malicious compliance I spent most of the weekend folding fabric, adding to my scrap pile and putting it all away. My fabric addiction will not be stopped. I still have a long way to go but at least I am making progress. During my fabric folding fiesta I was taking breaks and cutting my scraps into a few specific size pieces. I've decided to fold fabric to 6.5" x 11" pieces. The only exception is large multi yard pieces that are too large to cooperate. Anything smaller than 6.5" x 11" goes to the scrap bin.

            From the scrap bin I have been cutting down 5" squares if the piece will allow, anything smaller than that I cut into 2.5" squares. So I have two growing piles of squares that will be easier to use for scrap projects. Anything that is smaller than 2.5" and larger than 1" goes into the bin I will be using for small scraps and strings. I figure this way I am more likely to produce projects if the squares are already cut.

     I am not sure what the 5" squares are going to be used for

These are headed toward a leader-ender project, eventually ending in a triple irish chain quilt. Some fabrics I love, some are so ugly I wonder how they ended up in my stash.

 The 2.5" squares get paired up and are used as leader enders

These squares will end up 7 squares by 7 squares. I am trying to use all different fabrics in each block. 

Other than sorting and cutting squares I have been working on the February block for my Do.Good.Stitches circle. This is a wonky block which is turning out pretty good. I am not so comfortable with the wonky process but I am trying to enjoy it more. The request was for solids but my stash is lacking in that area so I tried to pick prints that were tone on tone or at very least read as one color.

In the end the block should look like the picture below. The instructions for the block are here if you wish to make this block at home. 

Another project I accomplished while I sifting through my fabric this weekend was my first completed pillowcase. I am making these to package the quilts I made for my stepdaughters. I learned the technique on my last trip to My Very Own Blanket workshop. I still haven't put a pillow inside. I guess I should before I count this a success,

 Here is a detail shot of the cuff of the pillowcase. I find I have a shameful number of colors of this same fabric pattern. I love this Art Gallery fabric print!

 I am linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

January Do.Good.Stitches Block

Well looking at the last time I posted I am the worst blogger ever!!! I have a list of excuses I can provide if you would like. I have been sewing a lot in an effort to get some projects done. Old man winter was keeping me from photographing them. I was able to get some indoor pictures of some of the projects that am kinda happy with. I am hoping to be able to post more regularly in the coming months. 

Below are the picture of the first block for do.good.stitches this year, I had the chance to go and sew at the blanket workshop in Columbus for My Very Own Blanket. They have moved into a new fantastic location. If you have projects or materials this is a great charity to donate to. 

This month we did a quilt as you go block. It was a pretty large block but a good way to use up some scraps. I have way to many scraps and am always looking for a way to squash my stash. The how to link is here if you want to follow along and make your own.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Another one bites the dust!

Last week was our one year House-A-Versairy (made up words I know). Over the past year since we have moved I have been working on my craft room. Refinishing the floors, painting, buying and hating many sets of curtains, rugs and furniture have been purchased and assembled. So much time and money has been spent working on this room and alas I am not yet done. I am close! I just have fabric to put away and design wall and quilt hanger to hang. Once the finishing touches are in place I will post pictures. 

During this process I have come across a number of WIP's that were shoved away with the best of intentions of completion some day. I decided that enough is enough and have started wrapping them up for good.

This quilt is for one of my step daughters. I have had the stars done for some time but couldn't decide on the layout. The more I tried the more I hated it. I bought several different fabrics to use as solid blocks in between the stars but could never decide on one I liked. I decided to switch gears and start sewing in a direction I thought I would like. The final top is not the original vision or even the 5th vision but I think it works well and isn't too busy. I may add another strip of fabric to the top and bottom for length, as of now the quilt is 72" x 82". Once it is quilted I am going to lose some in both directions. Now to pick the backing fabric (I have several good choices) and quilt it up. I just have to keep reminding myself that its only fabric and no one is as critical as I am.

It did remind me how much I love my fancy new Janome that I got last year for Christmas. These blocks were made on my old Bernina. The stitching is not nearly as nice on the old girl and the piecing was starting to come apart at the edges. As a side note look at the shiny, beautiful refinished floors! We have 4 bedrooms down and one to go! Thanks to my husband for all his hard work on the house this last year. 

Linking it up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

This block makes me want to punch a puppy.....

This is the October block for the Nurture circle of Do.Good.Stitches. It is a Moda bakeshop pattern and you can find it here. When I first saw the pattern I thought kick ass, I really like it...and I do, but it has so many pieces. My circle was making the smallest one, so 64 2" squares. So many HST, so much trimming and much piecing. Let me be honest this is an eye crossing, swear spewing, time consuming block. Looks great when you are finished and I think if I I was making one of the bigger ones it would be much more rewarding. These are finished and going in the mail. Maybe one day I will make the big one but for now I need a break from this pattern. God speed evil blocks, may you make a beautiful quilt for a lucky foster kiddo. 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced & Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

***No puppies were punched in the making of these blocks***

Keep on tinkering.......

I started making HST for this quilt. Originally it was intended to be all blue and low volume fabrics. I didn't have a strong reason as to why but I saw this quilt at Sew Crafty Jess and loved it.

As the stack of HST grew I started adding purple fabrics and playing with the layouts. 

I even tried the crazy no plan lay out that made my eye twitch. We started refinishing our floors last week and I lost my layout area. I have a bad habit of not planning out the number of pieces needed for a quilt and ending up with way too many. I was trying to avoid that and I had no floor space or design wall to work with so I started sewing. I also added green to the mix at some point.

I wasn't paying close enough attention and changed the layout some, so the seems in the colored areas are all running parallel instead of making squares. I think the colors it ended up with look lighter and more youthful. I'm still on the fence so to speak but I am not ripping apart these blocks!

Linking up to 

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Let's be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts

That's all I have to say about that......

I was the quilter last month for the Nurture circle of the Do. good.stitches circle. I picked this star that has no name as of yet. Summer star, Squash blossom star......It doesn't matter. All the blocks have arrived at my house. I have completed sewing together column 1 and 3, the other two should come together quickly. It needs to get finished and off the floor as we are scheduled to sand the floors this weekend and it will be returned to use as a bedroom.

I also completed my blocks for September do.good.Stitches. Turns out my stash does still need more fabric. It is lacking solids. I almost never buy solids and the ones I do have came from swaps and scrap bags. I am going to redo these with bold colors, red, pink, orange, and purple. To the fabric store! 

Linking up to Freshly Pieced

On the road again, like a band of gypsies we go rolling down the highway.....

I had great hopes for a few weeks working at home. Working all day, going on long bike rides, making home cooked meals and sewing in the evening. I had gotten back into sewing full force spending lots of time in my sewing room. I was starting new projects left and right. I got all the blocks for the nurture circle do.good.stitches and was playing with the layout and started putting it together. 

And then I got thrown back on the road again.....Its hard to plan for anything with my job. I am covering a woman that is out unexpectedly. So I am back in my home town of Pittsburgh. I working to work off the fluff while I am out on the road. We are trying to do a half marathon in November. I would say or die trying, but I don't want to tempt fate. Yesterday I decided to do the steps in the Cathedral of learning. 36 flights up up up into the sky. My father went to college at the University of Pittsburgh and used to take us there when I was young. I had lots of time to think about him while I was hoofing it up the steps, down the elevator and up again. I left looking like I had been rode hard and put up wet, very very wet.

On the sewing front I am working on my traveling scrap buster. I have been grabbing fistfuls of scraps from my bin and making these hexie stars. I have no color scheme other than trying to make the star and the border of the hexie play nice together. The purple and white star at the bottom doesn't quite hit the mark. There is not enough contrast between the fabrics. I am not sure if it is easily fixable or if I should take a deep breath and let it go. Selective bleaching? 

Linking it up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced