A Finished "Squirrel"!

This post has been a long time coming.  I've actually had this quilt finished since August of last year so it could be in the guild quilt show, but I didn't have time to do a post nor did I have decent photos of the quilt.  Finally the stars have aligned!  I've finally managed to get some decent photos and I have time to post!

"Falling Crumbs"
80 x 95 inches
hanging at the quilt show

First, an explanation for my post title.  You'll see a Squirrel! logo on my left side bar.  Quiltdivajulie at Me and My Quilts blog came up with the idea of a quilt project that you just HAVE to DO! that is just like a dog chasing a squirrel!   I'm a member of the Squirrel Club and that's what this quilt was for me.  A Drop Everything and Do It Right Now project.

You can read about when I started this quilt here.  I got  the top finished really quickly.  And I managed to find 9 yards of fabric in my stash that would work for the back, most of which I used.  It's a not great colors and outdated plaid fabric from a long time ago, but it worked and I didn't have to go buy any fabric.  Yay!  I had it quilted by Sue Bradbury, a local quilter, who did an awesome custom job for me. 

The quilt ended up being a lot bigger than I thought it would be!   Some of that was because I used larger crumb blocks and some of it was because it just needed a border. And that border grew and grew!

And that border used up even more crumb blocks!  The whole quilt just kind of grew on me.  LOL

I decided to go with the turquoise for the border because that color of blue was in the quilt a lot and it has become one of my new favorites, again actually.  And then I couldn't find a binding fabric that really worked, so I decided to use a rainbow fabric.  It just seemed to go with the quilt the best.  I've been saving that fabric a long time and I'm glad I used some of it.  It will go in other projects eventually as well.

I love the design Sue quilted in that corner square!  And I love feathers, so I'm glad she used them all over as well.

It was a lot of fun to make this, and I'd love to make another with this pattern some day.  Maybe using actual charms? LOL

This was the fastest quilt finish I've had in a few years, and it feels good to not have a project linger. 

Here are just a few more shots to show off some of my crumb blocks.  I've used up most of my backlog of crumb blocks now - it must be time to make some more!

We're supposed to be having "Snowmageddon" this weekend here in the Seattle area.  We had 5 or 6 inches of heavy, wet snow last Sunday and Monday, most of which hasn't melted yet due to our below freezing temps this week.  There is a lot of snow still on the trees too.  We could get another 6 inches from this storm.  I hope we don't lose too many trees/branches.  

Taken Monday Feb 4.  

This kind of snowfall is really unusual here in the Pacific Northwest.  So far, we've got about 1 1/2 inches this afternoon and then the snow stopped and hasn't started up again yet.  Update: It's snowing again, heavily!  We are all set with everything we need for a few days and don't need to go out anymore.  As long as we don't lose power, we're all set.  I'm hoping for some good sewing time!

I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation. (a day late!)

Just Poking Along

Still not much going on around here, but I did manage to get some sewing accomplished.  Yay for me!

My quilt guild was having a workshop on the Falling Charms quilt (which I first saw on Crazy Mom Quilts blog here, and then found out that Missouri Star's Jenny also has a tutorial here), so I decided to play along.  After some consideration, I realized that I didn't have 2 packs of charm squares that weren't already spoken for, so I decided to use my 40 Crumb Blocks that have been languishing for a few years.  At 6 inches, they were an inch bigger than the pattern calls for, but if you know me, you know that I don't do well at following patterns anyway!  So, after some quilt math and a few adjustments, I knew what I was doing and was hard at work getting fabric ready for the workshop!

Here are some of my blocks - just easy peasy!

Needless to say, I didn't complete my project at the workshop ( I just don't sew that fast!), but I kept working when I got home and eventually I completed the top.  I have to say, as easy as the blocks were. it was surprisingly difficult to get the blocks in the right position!  Suzanne, who led the workshop, gave us the tip that the white on the blocks should be "L"'s and "7"s.  That tip saved me some grief!

At that point I started thinking about borders.  I also had some 8 inch Crumb Blocks that I thought I should use up too.  They're not my favorites somehow.  So I considered how best to use them.
   

First I thought of slicing them into rectangles.  Ok, but not what I wanted.

Then I thought of cutting them into smaller squares.  Better, but not quite IT either.  But I like those crumb blocks once they're cut smaller! *grin*

Eventually, after looking at all of this laying on my "design floor" (the living room) for a few days, I got the idea to offset the squares some, just like in the body of the quilt.  That was IT!  More math was involved and I figured out how I wanted to accomplish that effect.  I'm no math whiz but for some reason, I can usually do quilt math!

So I've been sewing.  I went to my sister's and did more sewing there!  No photo yet, but soon!  I'd like to have one border on before my quilt guild meeting this Friday.  And then I can show you my progress. *fingers crossed*

Right now we're having a terrible heatwave and I cannot sew up in my quilt studio as we don't have A/C.  It's just too hot to sew anywhere at the moment! I'm crossing my fingers that the heatwave will break soon, hopefully on Wednesday, and then I can do some more sewing.

Recently my DH traveled to Israel for work.  He brought back some candy bars for us to enjoy.  We've eaten two of them and they were both excellent!  A little different from American candy, more like European candy but not quite the same either.

What was really interesting, to me at least, was the contents labeling on the back.  If the flap is folded one way you can read the Hebrew words.

But if you turn the flap the other way, you can read the label in Arabic.  Very clever!  It's always interesting to see how other countries are just so similar and yet different from Americans.  And bonus!  The candy is yummy!

Happy Scraps Revealed

I'm finally getting around to posting the photos of my finished quilt.  I really meant to do this sooner, but you know how life can get in the way.  I was so busy last week that I didn't know if I was coming or going!  

Happy Scraps
60.5" x 79.5"

So, finally, here is my crumb quilt "Happy Scraps" for it's official photo.

And here is the back of the quilt.  I think I over-estimated how much backing I needed because most of the third strip of the log cabin on each side has been trimmed off.  But better than too small!  I'm still not real enamored of this backing.  I love the panel I used in the middle but I wish I had used dark fabric all the way around it.  Oh well - Finished is better than Perfect!

Here is a block that shows off the quilting in the sashing that Shari, my long-arm quilter, did.  She used a multi-colored thread, which I love.

Of course Corvettes and rubber duckies go together!  *grin*

And here is the border quilting and the binding.  The border fabric has every color except blue.  There's a lot of the light blue/turquoise in the quilt, so that's the color I picked for the binding.  I usually prefer a dark binding on my quilts, but this just seemed right for this quilt.

So, now I'm picking out fabrics and packing my gear for my class with Gwen Marston on Small Quilts this Saturday.  I'm so excited about this class I can hardly stand it!  Nifty Quilts and Buffy of Rebels blog are going to be there too!  Whoo hoo!  I'll see you next week with a report on the class..

Festival of Scrappiness

It's finally time for the Festival of Scrappiness hosted by Rachel over at Stitched in Color.  On January 2nd this year, Rachel started the Scrap Attack and issued the challenge to all who were interested to make scrap quilts and projects.  Now it's time for everyone to show off their creations, and there's even prizes! 

Happy Scraps
63 x 82 inches

Here is my entry in the the festival.  "Happy Scraps" is all crumb blocks, which I learned about from Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville.  I made the very first blocks about 5 or 6 years ago.  We were in the middle of selling the house and moving and I had to put all my sewing projects away to show the house.  I kept out a small bin of scraps and my machine while everything else went into storage for the duration.  When we actually sold the house and drove out of town, heading for the Pacific Northwest, this also came along in the car with me.  I've worked on these blocks off and on ever since, and yesterday this got put into a box and sent to my long-arm quilter for her to work her magic on it.  Yay!  


This actually ended up much bigger than I had originally envisioned.  You can see my "quilt holder" up above is struggling to hold it all up!  I was thinking just a lap quilt, but now it's big enough to snuggle into, or even to use on the bed.  I'm still a little unsure of how all this large-ness actually occurred.  
  

I got somewhat of a wild hair and decided to piece the back.  I started with this panel that I love and then decided to make it a log cabin block.  The world's largest log cabin block?  Probably not, but it sure felt like it!  I was trying to use up some fabrics that have been in the stash for too many years awhile.  Now that it's done, I'm not so sure I like it.  I'm hoping that the quilting will help.

Here are some random blocks, letting you see some of the fun fabrics I used.

I've made lots of other crumb blocks since I started, and even finished a few charity quilts with them.  But these are some of my favorite blocks, with fabrics that have meaning to me.  Lots of baby quilts, pillowcases and scraps of other quilts that I've made are in these.

I also used some random orphans and rejected bits.  That just adds to the fun!  Anything really does go in these crumb blocks.

Recently my quilt guild hosted a "crumb workshop" for the members.  Many of the members had never heard of crumb blocks and wanted to know how to make them.  They were fascinated by my quilt top.  It was a lot of fun.  We made enough blocks for about 9 charity lap quilts, and still have so many blocks in process that we'll be having another workshop to finish them.  Everyone that came had fun, and I think many of them are "hooked" now.

If you haven't tried crumb blocks yet, I suggest that you give it a try.  It's fun, and I call it therapy sewing.  There are no mistakes and it's stress free.  Plus, you get rid of some of the scraps and end up with something useful using something that might otherwise have been tossed out.

And now, please go visit the Festival of Scrappiness and see what all the other quilters have been up to.  There are some wonderful quilts to be seen!  And thanks for the kick in the pants to get this finished, Rachel!

Snow Day!

We had our first significant snow this winter in the last 24 hours.  We've gotten about 2 inches so far, with more on the way.

Here's a photo of the backyard this afternoon, with lots of snow coming down.  It did this off and on all day, so I called it a "snow day".  Fortunately, no one had to go anywhere today.  We're far enough out in the boonies that we don't get plowed.  They plow the highway which is about 2 miles from here.  It warmed up enough today that some melted, but now we're below freezing again, so there's ice under all the snow.  I have to go to P.T. tomorrow, but not until early afternoon, so hopefully it will warm up enough to have the ice on the road melt before I get out there.

So, due to a "snow day", I couldn't possible do anything other than sew.  *grin*   Here's what I was working on:

My Crumbs quilt.  I got this put together the other day, and then decided it wasn't long enough.  So I was making more blocks to add one more row.  You can see that Shade was supervising me.  I decided that this final row was a "design opportunity" and made some blocks just for this.  I took some of my Parts Department blocks and leftovers and rejects and used them as the starting point for the blocks.  I added a rejected "S", a wonky star, a little heart and so on.  I also added some fabrics that are favorites or significant to me.  That was fun and it didn't take too long.  I managed to get that row finished and sewn together before dinner, but still have to sew it to the top.  Then it's time for borders.  I think I know what I'll be doing.  I can't wait to get this done - I'm so excited about it!

My guild is doing a Crumb block workshop this coming Friday.  I and another lady did a demo on crumb blocks at the quilt show, and everyone wants to have an intensive lesson on doing these.  Since we have a lot of scraps left from the quilt show (we were selling scraps next to the crumb demo), we'll make those into blocks for charity quilts.  It should be fun.  So I want to get my top mostly done.  I only had 3 rows done at the quilt show.  The other lady does bigger pieces and a more controlled color scheme for her crumbs, and I want to show the other end of the spectrum.  In other words, my usual crazy-ness!

Actually, this crumb quilt is going to be my entry (only one?)  in the Scrap Attack Quilt-Along that Rachel Hauser is hosting over on her blog Stitched in Color.  She's challenging quilters to use up some of their scraps.  Since that's my favorite kind of quilt, of course I've got to do it.  If you interested too, go here.  Fortunately, she's not requiring that the quilts be quilted and bound - whew!  And I already have enough crumb blocks sewn for another 2 (at least!) quilts.  The one above is all for me, so the others may be charity quilts.  I haven't decided yet.

I haven't made any more progress on the D9P I Spy quilt.  I'm still debating what I want to do for the border.  I'm tempted to just sew plain borders on to get it done, but that sounds pretty boring to me.  So, I'm still considering possibilities.  I don't have too long to debate with myself.  The quilt needs to be done in a month, which is when DGD's birthday happens.  Do you have a favorite border technique that you use?  I'm sure open to suggestions if you have some!

I'm Seeing Stars

Here are the crumb blocks I showed you last month, all together in a little quilt top.  It measured about 34 inches by 42 inches, and I got it handed off to someone else in the guild to quilt.  This will be a quilt for an ill child, and I thought it looked nice and cheery.  The binding is hanging next to the right side of the quilt.  I thought the rainbow stripe added a nice finish.  I had my usual math challenge figuring out the side and corner triangles.  I even looked up the formulas in a book, and still had trouble!  But when I finally got it figured out, it worked out perfectly! 

I don't think anyone in the guild had ever seen crumb blocks before . . . they were pretty quiet when I showed the top, like they weren't sure what to think.  I might have to do a little demo.  That would be fun! *grin* 

At my other guild meeting last week, we had Sharon T. as the speaker, and she talked about scrap quilts.  She was a fun speaker, and very informative too.  When she asked how many people in the guild had blogs, I think I was the only one to put up my hand.  Now, was I the only blogger, or the only one crazy enough to admit to it??

You might have noticed that there's a new button on my sidebar.  I periodically check out the block of the month at the Block Lotto blog, and last month they were doing the most wonderful scrappy, wonky stars.  I was curious about the Lotto, and noticed that Belinda (Brown Dirt Cottage) had joined.  So when I asked  her about the Lotto, she urged me to join.  So I did!

It was late in the month when I joined, so I hurried and made some blocks, which were 9 inches finished size.  We were allowed to make 9 blocks, and I managed to get 8 blocks done before the deadline. 

Here's my first batch of stars.

I got a little more adventuresome with the second batch.  I think my favorite is the one on the bottom right, with the dots and the crazy center!

Well, the drawing for the Lotto is on the last day of the month, which was Halloween.  So after all the trick-or-treaters were done, I went up to see who had won all the wonderful stars.  I couldn't believe it, but Belinda and I both won!!  We each will receive 48 star blocks.  What a great Halloween treat!  I've already started getting squishies in the mail, which is very exciting.  And I'm already thinking of what I'm going to do with my treasures!  Thank you, Belinda, for "twisting" my arm!!

Last week we had a few days of beautiful weather, so I had to get out and take some photos of the gorgeous fall colors.  The first two photos were taken in the yard. 

The Japanese maple in the front yard, with the sunlight coming through the leaves.  This tree has made me learn to love red-orange!  It's so glorious to see it out the front window in the morning with the sun on it. 

This is the maple tree in the back yard.  These leaves are about 3 or 4 times the size of my hand!

We had storms this past weekend and, sadly, now almost all of the leaves are on the ground.  It's starting to be pretty cold - down in the 30's at night - and it's been raining for 5 days.  We saw deer in the yard again yesterday, which means they've moved down from the mountains.  I guess it can't be denied now . . . winter is definitely on the way.

This was taken in the state forest about 20 miles from my house, up in the mountains.  We took off one day, just to go see the forest.  After the storms this last weekend, there is snow up there now!  Looks like we timed our little jaunt just right!

Lack of Focus

No, not the picture.  My brain!

I love these fall colors!  I think it's a wonder that they are all on one bush.

Here is where I found them - in my Japanese Maple in the front yard.  Of course, the sun went away right before I got out there, so it doesn't glow as much as in the sunshine, but still, I think it's beautiful.  This bush just up and changed overnight about 2 days ago.  Amazing.

I've actually managed to get myself into the quilt studio the last few days.  I don't have any particular project that I'm focused on.  Mainly I'm just putzing with a lot of different ones.  These are my house exchange blocks that my friends in California are doing, and were nice enough to include me in the exchange.  This is about 2/3 of what I need - we're supposed to make 12 blocks, enough to make a table runner.  But it seems I always have to do something different, so I'm making 16 blocks to make a wallhanging. 

Here are the other 8 blocks, all ready for me to do the stitching on them.  We don't have to have these done until January, but I'm hoping to have them done before Thanksgiving, if not sooner.  *fingers crossed*

Yesterday when I was trying to get some fabrics cut, Shade was "helping" by dancing right in the middle of it all.  So, rather than cut something that shouldn't be cut, whether fabric or feline, I decided I'd better sit down and do some stitching.  Shade likes to lay on the desk next to me when I'm sewing on the machine.  So, when I sat down, he calmed down.  Not having anything in particular to do, I decided to pull out the crumbs and work on some of that.  I always leave some blocks started, so that there's a starting point when I want to sit and stitch for a few minutes.  It eliminates the "brain strain" that could happen if I have to think about it too much!  *grin*  I got a few more blocks finished.  So, I decided to see how many blocks I had.  I had 57!  The ones that I finished brought it to 60.  They're all trimmed to 6 inches and will finish to 5 1/2 inches.  So, I started playing on the design wall.

I had been thinking of adding sashing, but decided that was more work than I wanted to do for a charity quilt.  Then I thought of putting them on point.  I think I like this.  I can't seem to be able to make up my mind about which fabric to use for the alternate squares, so I think I'll just use plain white.  A nice clean look.  So, now I'm back to cutting more fabric!  But this one should be done quickly.

Guess what?  I still have 40 crumb blocks left!  Quilt seeds!  To be played with and decided on another day.  I need to sort my bin of crumb fabrics too.  I've got too many itsy-bitsy pieces in there, and not enough of the larger pieces.

Last Friday I went to a Quilts of Valor sew-in.  I got one quilt trimmed and ready for binding, but forgot my walking foot. so then I got a kit and started piecing.  This will become a Disappearing 9-Patch.  I've got all the strips sewn and now need to cut for the next step. 

And lastly, I've spent two evenings picking out fabrics for pillowcases for Christmas presents for the family.  I see more fabric cutting in my future!  I hope Shade will cooperate!

Oh Hail, Where Did Spring Go?

Saturday we had beautiful weather! It was over 70 degrees, for the first time this year. Everyone was out mowing their yard, and wearing shorts and halter tops and other summery-type clothes. We were digging up a bush that was in the "wrong spot" (for us). We didn't really have a different spot for it and DS and DIL wanted it for their yard. So, we took it to them. A big undertaking, as it turned out. Here it is in it's new home. I think it will be very happy there!

Sunday we had to go to Home Depot to find something to fill the empty spot where the bush had been. I decided hostas would go well there. Didn't find hostas at H.D, but I found some fancy geraniums that were calling my name! Off to Fred Meyers looking for hostas. I did find some hostas there, but they were smaller than I was hoping for. I got them anyway. Hopefully they will grow! I also found MORE geraniums that wanted to go home with us! Aren't they pretty? I love the Martha Washington geraniums. I had to leave a whole bunch behind when we left California, and I couldn't find any last year.
We got the hostas planted that day, but ran out of steam and good weather to do anything else. Now the pretty new flowers are going to have to live in the garage for a few days. We're having unseasonably cold weather this week. I'd bring them in the house, but I think the wee hairy beasts would eat them. Probably not good for the flowers OR the cats!

Yesterday was cold all day, and then about 6 pm, when the granddaughters and I were going down to the mailbox (an excuse to use the umbrellas that came with them yesterday!), we had hail. Lots of hail. It was fun to be under the umbrella and listening to the very loud hail. It went on for about 15 minutes! The girls were really excited about it.

Here's what the backyard looked like. The hail hadn't melted after an hour! (It was about 40 degrees.) Now the weather report says we're supposed to have rain and cold weather all week, ending with snow by Friday or Saturday. Yikes! Here's a photo of the new hostas in the hail. They held up pretty well. I hope they don't mind snow!

On the quilting front, I haven't done a whole lot.

I've gotten some sewing done on some crumb blocks. I do

n't know how many I started with, but now I'm up to 60-something! It's so much fun and not much thinking needed. Here I was playing with lay-outs. I actually got 3 blocks on the floor before the cats came running to help! I've now come up with an actual quilt plan. I only need 30 blocks to finish with a decent size. Now I just need to cut fabric for the sashings, etc. Maybe tomorrow I can get it done??