I Did It!

Looking forward to a few days of sunshine beginning today. It has been so gray and wet so far this spring, it will be so nice to have some warmer sunny days.  I set a goal of getting my plaid log cabin blocks this week.   I had 34 completed last week and I ended up with enough fabric to make a total of 81. Forty-seven are being chain pieced this week.  I generally get bored when chain piecing but these blocks are simple and as long as I pay attention and sew straight I am getting real good results. I pre-cut the logs so that with each log I could check my accuracy. Well, here they are all 81 blocks completed  Now I just need to figure out how I want to set them.

It makes me wonder if I should just stick to squares and rectangles when I piece. LOL Afterall, who needs HST's and diamonds???????  Oh yeah the two quilts that have been on my to do list for years Tree of Life and Lone Star.  Do you have a quilt pattern that you just know you have to make someday?  

Scrap quilt # 6 Log Cabin

It has been a very busy week. Much time was spent out of doors getting the garden planted. I still have to plant the cucumbers and some squash, but the rain came before I could finish. My garden isn't very large but living in the south, we are constantly battling the war on weeds. We got three inches of rain on Friday, so things are pretty soggy right now.

I ended the week with the start of a cold. Chills, sore throat, and an nasty cough. So it has been hard to get motivated the last couple of days. I was able to sit behind the machine and work on my log cabin blocks. I am determined this summer to use up this bag of plaids that I pulled out of my stash. It is time for these fabrics to become a quilt.  Last week I made sixteen blocks and this week I completed 18 more.

I also have a good start on the next 40.  So hopefully this week all of these strips will be added to complete the 40 blocks. That gives me over 70 blocks complete that could make a decent size quilt.  But, I like large usable quilts so why not keep going till I have exhausted these scraps. I am linking up with WIP BE GONE

Portable Slow Stitching

Kathy is hosting Slow Stitching Sunday as she so graciously does every Sunday. It is a time to slow down and put in a few slow stitches.  Sometimes we get caught up in life and need  help to unwind and relax.  Slow stitching does that for me and many others.  I will be working on adding some small applique pieces to the wing tips and tail of my appliqued eagle block today.

Slow stitchers often take their projects with them where ever they go. It is amazing how much you can get done if you find a few minutes here and there to stitch.  Kathy has asked that we add some photos of how we pack our scissors, threads and needles to take with us.  For me, I put everything in this box. I have a nice little needle book that Deb made for me that holds needles, thread and scissors. If I am flying the box gets left at home and I will put my block and needle holder in a simple zip lock bag that gets tucked into my purse.

needlebook and my finger pin cushion

I hope you find a few minutes to relax and put in some slow stitches!

Tribute to GW

I know I have mentioned that I am working on a quilt called Tribute to GW! I have been reading some books about George Washington and last summer I won some wonderful George fabric from Julierose. My plan is to include blocks that include some aspect of our first president's life.  The first block I finished was an  embroidered block of cherries. I here tell that the story of GW not lying about cutting down the cherry tree is not true, but the story was told to teach us a bit about his character. So I had to include some cherries!

Then I have been wanting to make a tree of life block and must say that Audrey over at Quilty Folk posts on her tree of life block made me give it  a try.  I used the instructions she shared, however I made a decision to trim a piece down and lost a couple of points on the trunk. The important thing is I figured out what I did wrong.   I added a bit of red to make it a cherry tree.

I definitely wanted to use the George fabric that Julierose shared and came up with this little block.  Doesn't it seem fitting?   He is a star in my book, such a man of principle and honor.

I also played around with some scraps to make a "G" and  a "W" block.  I love the blue and brown together.

I definitely wanted to add an eagle block as the eagle is our national bird.  So for the last few weeks I have been working on an appliqued eagle block.  With Spring arriving, I have spent quite a few days this week doing yard work so I am making slow progress but it is nice to have a little applique project going. I am working on his wing this weekend, but he really needs his head, a bit creepy without it.

A few more blocks, and I think I will start drawing up a layout!  Then I can have fun coming up with some filler blocks to bring it all together!

Slow Stitching Sunday

I hope to find some time today to finish round number 19 on my TATW.  It is really starting to grow!  Happy Easter and I hope you find a few minutes to enjoy some slow stitches today. I am linking with Slow Stitching Sunday!

March brings Two Finishes

I finally have a sunny day to take pictures of my two finishes for March.  It has been unusually cool and very very wet so it has been so hard to get pictures with the rain and cloudy days.  First, I finished my RSC2014 Pickle dish quilt.  I had so much fun paper piecing these blocks last year. Adding the polka dot binding really finished  it off nicely!

Then I was able to squeeze in making this chevron quilt for my daughter in law's birthday in May. It was made from a line of fabric from Moda called Red,White & Free by Sandy Gervais.  One layer cake added to a solid white and a 72X72 inch quilt is born.

 So today, I will be linking up to Julie's blog for Blinding Blitz to share my finishes and see the other finishes for this month.

Progress

I have so many projects going these days it is hard sometimes to know which one to work on.  Have any of you listened to Dave Ramsey on the radio. He is all about getting rid of debt and his talk of the debt snowball.  Basically you attack the smallest debt first and soon you will feel like you are rolling like a snowball down that mountain. LOL  Well, I don't know if we as quilters work that way. For me it more about what I feel like doing that day. The technique that most appeals to me at the time.  But sometimes we get close to finishing and we put the project aside.  That is what has happened to my Go With The Flow quilt. I spent a few minutes here and there in 2014 to string piece the parts to this block and just needed to sew the strips together to form the blocks.  

Each block just needs 5 strips sewn together!

They sew up pretty quickly

I  am on a roll

Then I squared them up to 10 inches

The goal today is to get the rest pressed and trimmed

I love string piecing no worry about matching seams etc.  But I must admit I was a bit worried about sewing the blocks together with all those seams.   All that worry for nothing,  With string piecing there is a lot of pressing involved, this really made sewing the strips together quite enjoyable with the use of my handy stiletto.  Now hopefully  I can find the perfect solid to  frame these blocks so it will become a top!