Final Scrap Squad quilt

This morning on the Quiltmaker's blog, they have revealed my final Scrap Squad quilt. I must say that I am very excited to not have to keep any of my work a secret now! :)

The pattern is called Caribbean Vacation, but I named my quilt Caribbean Nights.



Here is part of the backing. I used a Comic book words print from JoAnn's and Batman and Superman prints from my stash.



I used a darker blue variegated King Tut thread in the top and a periwinkle Bottom Line in the bobbin. I quilted a stipple design.





I loved working on this quilt because of all of the small pieces and being able to do a lot of strip piecing. And I really like how it turned out. It is a monster at 88" square!

Scrap Squad #5 revealed!

If you are looking for the Modern Designs for Classic Quilts book giveaway, that is in this post.

There is still time to enter!

I wish I had known that this was going live this morning - I would've posted it on my Design Wall for today. Oh well... Another post is OK, too. :)

For you newer readers, QuiltMaker magazine has a Scrap Squad where the editors pick one pattern from each issue and the group of 7 squad members make the pattern up with their own fabrics. We then write up our experiences in a blog post that is posted to the magazine's blog page.

The past quilts that I have finished are ...

March/April 2012 issue - Chain Reaction
May/June 2012 issue - Ladder of Success mine is called Down on the Farm
July/August 2012 issue - Old Glory - mine is called Old Gory
Sept/Oct 2012 issue - Country Morning

And here is the quilt for the November/December issue - Bella Amore. You can read my post on the magazine's blog here.

I started with this fabric as my color palette.



I made a bunch of HSTs...



And QSTs.



I love triangles!!

And here is my quilt.





I started it at retreat and finished it exactly three weeks later! And now, there is just one more quilt left for me with this group. WOO HOO!!

WIP Wednesday - 10/24

I had a great week! It was mostly in part to going on retreat from Thursday to Sunday and really concentrating on sewing. :)

I got the 2 Midget blocks done.



I made the next set of BOM blocks for Paris in the Fall.



I actually put the final stitches into the binding of the blue star baby quilt last night. I just need to wash the quilt and I can give it to the new family. I love the movement in this quilt! I used the mini Ebb and Flow panto and a variegated Aurifil thread in the top with a Bottom Line in the bobbin. ***ETA - the pattern for the star quilt is from the book Sew One and You're Done by Evelyn Sloppy. The pattern is Garden Magic.





I also got the blocks made for my Leader/Ender project. Now, I can lay them out on the design wall.



I made great progress on the fifth Scrap Squad. The center is assembled and I just need to add the inner and outer borders! It looks sharp! I am going to work on getting it done this week so that I can have it revealed soon on the QuiltMaker's blog.



And for those of you who may have missed it, my fourth Scrap Squad was revealed. My post with the progression of the quilt is here. Check that post for a full view of this quilt.



See? A great week! I just have to keep the momentum going!

Last week... 
Two Midget blocks and pull fabrics for next 10
Make next 2 sets of BOM blocks - only made 1 set
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway
Make great progress on the next Scrap Squad

Next week...
Two Midget blocks and pull fabrics for next 10
Make next 2 sets of BOM blocks
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway
Make great progress on the next Scrap Squad

I linked up at Freshly Pieced.

Design Wall Monday - 10/22

Lots of things to show after a successful retreat!!

First and foremost, my fourth Scrap Squad was revealed on Saturday on the QuiltMaker's blog. See my post on Quilty Pleasures blog and my post on my blog on the progression of the quilt.



I also worked on the fifth Scrap Squad at retreat. I need to add the borders, quilt it and bind it and then it can be revealed as well.



I worked on the blocks for my leader/ender project. The blocks are made, but I need to iron the last seam and then I am ready to lay it out. I also have the setting triangles and border pieces already cut so maybe I can get this assembled quickly!



I also worked on a couple of Midget blocks that I will show tomorrow and then the next set of blocks for the Paris in the Fall BOM.



I'm linking up at Judy's blog, Sinta's blog and Lynette's blog.

Scrap Squad Quilt Revealed!

This morning, my post on my version of the Scrap Squad quilt was posted on the QuiltMaker's Quilty Pleasures blog. So I can share the quilt here!! Here is my post on the magazine's blog.

This was a fun quilt to make and see it progress on my design wall. When I made my blocks, I laid them out on my wall and then started working on adding the color and the paper pieced sections. Since the paper pieced sections needed to have one piece of fabric to match the fabric around the blocks, I decided to lay everything out and assemble the quilt as I went. And I thought ahead to take pictures of my progress to show how the quilt progressed.























Isn't that cool???

As soon as I got the first row done, I knew that this quilt needed some custom quilting and that I just don't have the capability to do that so easily on my frame set up. So I sent the quilt to Ruthie and she did some wonderful quilting on it!! I got the quilt back when I got to retreat. Look at what a great job she did!





This is definitely a keeper for me!

WIP Wednesday - 9/12

I didn't get as much done this past week as I would have liked, but I still made progress. This coming week, I should get more done. Yesterday, I had some dental work done and I will be off work until next Monday. I was able to get some sewing done after I napped yesterday so I am hoping to be able to spend some time at the machine every day for the rest of the week. It will definitely keep my mind off any pain I might experience.

I got a Midget block done...



And blocks for the new BOM I will be working on. Paris in the Fall by This & That by Sherri K Falls. The quilt has 6 blocks that are each duplicated so it should only take me 5 more weeks to get these blocks finished.



The rest of my time was spent on the focus blocks for the next Scrap Squad quilt. I can't show the blocks or the quilt until it is revealed on the Quiltmaker's blog, but here is proof that I got something done!



I need to contact the parents-to-be to get the quilt top and backing back for the blue and yellow quilt so that I can get it quilted this weekend and get it to them in plenty of time for the birth. I also need to make some goodies for the Giveaway so that I can mail the prizes off! I haven't forgotten about that, but just haven't made the time for it.

My to do list hasn't changed much from last week. Soon, I will be adding Retreat Prep!

Last week...
Make next Midget block
Make next BOM block
Scrap Squad #4 - get my focus blocks finished at the very least.
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway

Next week...
Make next Midget block
Make next BOM block
Scrap Squad #4
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced.

Stash Report Week 36, 2012

I am making great progress on my focus blocks for my fourth Scrap Squad quilt for Quiltmaker! Unfortunately, I can't show pictures of my blocks yet.

Trust me, they are looking fantastic!

I am trimming my scraps up into OBW pieces. Here is what I have from the first two pieces of florals.



And I am waiting to finish my set of blocks from the last fabric before I cut it up into OBW pieces. Turns out that I miscalculated the number of blocks I needed from each fabric and I only have this fabric left to use. I'd like to throw out a couple of blocks from the first set of blocks I made, but I am not sure if I can do that at this point.



Time will tell. I still have enough of this fabric left to make 2 more blocks. And if I have to do that, I just won't end up with enough One Block Wonder pieces to make a quilt. It will just have to be a wall hanging or something around that size.

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added YTD: 59.48

Fabric used this week: 4.64
Fabric used YTD: 106.36

Net Fabric Used: 46.88

The pups are enjoying time on the bed with me sewing and cutting away!

Stash Report Week 33. 2012

Another good week for me, if I do say so myself. I started working on the next Scrap Squad and got a little busted from that. This is all that I can really show until I get the quilt finished and shown on the Quiltmaker blog. Even with this little bit, it might be too much, but I will be a rebel for once. :)



I also got the backing made for the pink and green star quilt.



This week, I am going to have to get the backing for the blue and yellow one so that I can get it quilted and finished before September for the baby shower.

To prep for the quilting, I made the bindings for both quilts yesterday.



And instead of doing the many things that were on my To Do list, I spent some time straightening up my cutting and ironing table and all the scraps that were underneath of it.

Before...



After the much needed straightening! So much better! Now, I just need to go through the pile that is left and trim it up for the scrap bins.



And I am almost to 100 yards busted for the year! Woot!

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added YTD: 56.48

Fabric used this week: 4.02
Fabric used YTD: 98.76

Net Fabric Used: 42.28

And Lula is feeling better, but still resting. She started going up and down the stairs by herself yesterday evening.

Friday Night Sew In Results - 8/17

I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't get more done. I made myself a list while I was at work and I have a ton of things that I need to do this weekend, but since I didn't get my Friday night list done, it will set back the rest of the weekend. sigh

I have been working on the next Scrap Squad quilt for QuiltMaker magazine and I needed to figure out how to make blocks that finish at 8.5", but I didn't realize until last night that they needed to finish at 8.5". I thought that they needed to finish at 9". So glad that I realized that last night!!

I had found the block that I wanted on EQ and printed the rotary cutting directions for a 9" finished block and this is what I got when I made up the block.



Just a 'tad' off on the rectangle pieces. This is the first time that I have ever been disappointed with EQ in finding new blocks and getting rotary cutting sizes.

I looked through some books that I had and searched the web for a while. I also decided to turn on the first season of Downton Abbey to see what all the fuss was about and eventually I got sucked into that. But I kept making blocks to try and find the right size for my Scrap Squad quilt.



I finally got the sizes right on my 7th attempt! SEVENTH!! And that last attempt was actually this morning after a good night's rest**.

Now, my cutting and ironing area looks like a tornado hit it and I feel like I must sort through my scraps before I go any further. Oh bother!



** Maybe not such a good night's rest as I was worried about the baby of the house.



Lula had a visit with the vet yesterday to get all sorts of work done... Mani, teeth cleaned, spayed... They called me before they started on her and kept referencing LOLA. I wanted to tell them, "It's LUla. She's not a showgirl. She's a reformed hooker working for Vinny, the bail bondsman."


PS - for those on my FB, sorry about reposting my status, but I thought it was just too cute to not share.

PPS - I apologize to those of you who now have the song in your head. But I have been dealing with that since Friday at 8:40 AM. I'm happy to have the company now! lol