Riley Blake Challenge 2019

Back at the first of the year I signed up for a fabric challenge hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild.  The fabric for the challenge was supplied by the Riley Blake Designs fabric company.  And included 4 different prints, with at least 3 of them having to be in the final quilt.

The design for this quilt was inspired by one of the tiles in this picture.   A gal that hosts a block swap I've been in several times is using these tiles to create the back splash in the kitchen in her new house.    They are so tempting for me, but I really don't want to take down the tile already up in my kitchen...lol.

However, the tile on the very left end of the row that is standing up against the wall did prove to be inspiration for the Riley Blake Fabric challenge that the Modern Quilt Guild is hosting this spring.

I finished the quilt top this pass weekend and will be basting it this coming week so I can start on the quilting for it.  Working name is "Hot Plate" because the blocks remind me of the burners on my electric stove when they are hot.










All of the fabrics in the challenge quilt have to be from Riley Blake.  The one I'm planning on using for the backing is the top one shown in the pic to the right.   It is from their Sew Cherry 2 line of fabric I believe.

At the moment I'll either bind the quilt in more of the background fabric or the red used for the large circle in the blocks.   Am leaning towards the background fabric though unless I decide to buy something else.   I do have a navy/white 1/8th inch stripe (only an fat-8th) that I think would make a fun binding, but the fat-8th that I have isn't enough to do the binding. 

I'm tempted to buy enough to do the binding, but hate the thought of paying as much in shipping as the FQ I need would cost me.....so not worth it.   I might tho, piece enough strips to get a small flange for the quilt.  Will have to think about it.

Meanwhile, while I work on this to get it quilted I'll also be working to make two pillow shams that I've been asked to make for a friends DD to match the quilt that she had someone else make.  Those shams need to be back in Idaho by May 15th.

Gratitudes:

1. For not having to make the hourglass units for the shams, altho I do have to trim them from 3.75" to 3.5" unfinished.

2. For a knee and leg that did not give me fits this morning driving into work.

UFO's - Cross-Stitch and CQ

A friend asked me this week where my CQ UFO's were..........well, I have three of them....and these are them.

The first one is this pile of what was to be the front piece on cross-body cell phone bags.  Have had them pieced for yrs, but have decided that I'll used them to make quilted postcards from.   Will trim them to 6:" square to use all that I can from the pieces. 

Probably won't do any embroidery on them, but I've got plenty of trims, beads, buttons, and other assorted items that I can use to embellish them.

This piece started with a piece of cross-stitch that I did years ago.   So it counts as a double UFO.....lol.   I added the vine (embroidered and beaded) several yrs ago and then couldn't figure out what to add next.  Fabric colors were laid out to give the impression of the sun in the upper left, sky along the top and upper right, and then grass/bushes and soil at the bottom and sides.

Still trying to figure out what to add next, but this is one that I do want to finish at some point.  Guess I need to do some searching online to see if I can find some ideas.   Any one got any good ideas of where to look for something more along the lines of motifs vs just seam treatments?

Close up of the kitten and the vine.

And then there are these 4 blocks.  The fabrics, well most of them, came from a CQ kit that I had been given years ago by a friend as part of an annual Christmas swap that I take part in.  I had bought the silky prints of the kittens and combined the two into these blocks.

I have laces, trims, beads and I'm not sure what all that also came with the kit.  The kit was put together by another quilting friend of mine.

The blocks have been made for years w/o me working any more on them.   I think part of the problem is that I don't normally work with pastel colors so that makes it really hard for me........

At this point I have no idea what I'm going to do with them....I do know I won't be making more blocks tho to go with them even tho I have more of the fabrics.....lol.

Gratitudes:
1. For having plenty of projects to work on so I can't claim to be bored.....lol.

2. For knowing who provides all things in spite of how it looks after not getting paid for 4 weeks.

Hands 2 Help 2019

I finished up the last of three quilts for the 2019 Hands 2 Help challenge this week.   All of them will be going to Jack's Basket which is a group that gives a basket of goodies to families who have a baby with Down's Syndrome.  More can be read about the organization by clicking here.

This is the first quilt finished, and it started with blocks I made to test out new quilt designs yrs ago.

This was the second quilt finished.  The center was pieced from orphan blocks that I had picked up in a scrap bag from a quilt store at some point.   All other fabrics in the top were either from remnants and my novelties.

Backing for the quilt was from two remnants that had been in the stash.

And the third and final quilt for this year.  Orphan blocks and an orphan strip set formed the basis for this quilt.   Black was a remnant, and the backing below came from my novelty stash.


Gratitudes:
1. That the storm this week did not bring severe weather with the 24 hrs of constant rain.

2. For the gift of being able to bless others through my quilting

May - Goals & Plans

Did not get a look at this for the month of April because too much was going on.   However I did get a lot accomplished.  My initial focus this month will be on the items highlighted in Yellow.

Completed -

1. The large commission was completed during the month.   Totals were something like 31+ stockings, 7 totes, 15 or more pillows, and 18 or so ornaments.   
2. Minky Blanket for K (~24" square) - Completed and I've made the left over fabric into an extra one to sell.
3. US Map wallhanging (from Moda panel) - totally finished and ready to hang when I get a curtain rod up
4. Three 36" square quilts made for Hands 2 Help for Jack's Baskets.  These were made from orphan blocks and scraps, with all from stash.  - Completed

Commissions -

1. 16" pillow from bodice of wedding dress for KA
2. 4 or 5 10" ring bearer pillows from wedding dress for KA
3. Christmas stockings for J and J for RG, due no later than July 2019- I know the style she wants now, just need to piece at least one more "blank" and might do two so that the fabrics in them are the same.
4. Quilted Pillow Shams for J and J to match the quilt made by someone else (using leftover blocks) for RG, due back to R by May 15th, 2019.  - Have the extra blocks in hand, need to to to Hobby Lobby to get matching fabric to the background fabric used in the blocks.
5. Repair Skirt for SN's Friend - in progress

UFO's planning on completing -

1. Eye Spy (H-Blocks) (For family who lost all in Campfire wildfire) - Top Finished
2. Eye Spy (Snowball blocks) (For family who lost all in Campfire wildfire) - Top Finished
3. Old time Baseball quilt (For family who lost all in Campfire wildfire) - Top Finished
4. Teddy Bear, full-sized
5. Scrappy snail (to be sold)
6. Scrappy kitten (to be sold)
7. Scrappy puppies (to be sold)
8. Wolf (to be sold)
9. Whale and Anchor baby quilt (to be sold?)
10. Perhaps pull out a set or two of UFO blocks and put into tops

New starts/ Ongoing projects - 

1. Riley Blake / MQG Challenge Quilt, must be submitted around mid-May - Designed and have fabric for it
2. Quilt top from Susan (For family who lost all in Campfire wildfire) - Top Finished
3. Maze (strings and 3-d bowtie blocks) (planning to submit for possible publication) - Still only half assembled
4. Snail quilt for me - In Progress, Top third now together, assembly on middle third has started
5. Make the planned curtains using my F2F blocks
6. Batik string blocks, no plan for them yet - In slow progress
7. Make setting for Bear Family Album and write up for pattern
8. 2019 Row-by-Row possible....not sure on this theme, but I do like winning....lol....
9. Develop better photography skills for use in my quilting
10. Lap quilt for wedding present for J&J (wedding in May 2019), true blues/wow/silver, traditional pattern (dbl wedding ring?) - Pattern and fabrics need to be chosen for this before end of March

BOM - 

1. Release Marine Bear - Sample block made
2. Release Coast Guard Bear - Sample block made
3. Release Air Force Bear - Sample block made
4. Release Setting
5. Decide on next BOM Theme

Quilts to Sell - 

Realistically go through my quilts and think about whether I really want them or have a place to use them and sell the ones that I don't.

Think I'll manage to get through what I want to do for March?

Gratitudes:

1. For the knee being enough better that I can at least drive and sleep w/o the brace on.

2. For friends who check to see if I'm doing ok.

Progress on the Snail Quilt

The first complete band across the quilt is almost to full width before any border is added.  I still need 6-9 inches to square it up to the width that I want before I think about a border.

Second band is started.  These will be on the left side of the band.  May be adding onto the bottom of the blocks depending on what goes next to them.

Gratitudes:
1.  No accidents on the way to work.

2. The pickle juice is seeming to help my legs after driving to work today.

Blessings in the Mail

There are a lot of giveaways on Facebook, Instagram, various blogs and so on lately and I've entered many of them, after all someone has to win right?

Well as it happens, I've been blessed to win two of them in the last 10 days.

First up was this new cross-stitch book given away by @snugglemonkey on Instagram.   There are some really cute motifs in the book, many of which will also work for the scrappy quilts that I've been making to sell.  =)

And the second thing that I was this FQ assortment from Benartex Fabrics.   It is from the Cat-I-Tude II line that is new and it is wonderful.

Here are the lovely fabrics that were in the assortment.  And of the 9 different precut assortments they were giving away, this is the one I really wanted.   SO much fun to get it.   Now to decide what I want to make from it.....hmmm, maybe a purse for me, or a quilt.....or?


Gratitudes:

1. Little blessings such as these prizes

2. The rain we've received over night and today.