Monday Meandering 4 - 3 - 2017

Long time readers will remember that I am a member of a bee group called FCQ Equilters.  The members were all members of Faithful Circle Quilters in Maryland.  We have all moved away from the area but 7 of us joined together to make blocks for each other.  We each have our turn requesting block(s) from the others.  Irma threw us all for a loop when she gave us a tangram challenge.  Here's what a tangram should look like.  

Irma gave us directions to draw the tangram on freezer paper starting with a 12" block.  We were to cut it apart and when we ironed it on our fabric we had to add our 1/4" seam allowance.  UGH.  I drew the pieces and cut them out.  I tried to draw a block. Double UGH.  I put it on my goal list nearly every week in March.  But last week I decided it was time to actually DO something. 

We were told to use solid fabrics. I turned to an old children's book, The Crystal Apple by Beverly Brodsky McDermott for color inspiration.

The colors on the page are so vibrant and WOW that I grabbed similar colors from my stash to give it a try.  I thought I might have to try more than one block to get it to work but, no I had success on my first block. Yea!

Here is the assortment ready to be cut. Irma recommended we add the 1/4" as we cut out the pieces.  It worked great for me as long as I remembered to leave a decent space between each piece.

Here's my first layout.  I found the dark green just overpowered the light pink.

So I replaced it with a lighter green and turned the lighter orange block around. And, yes, I did inset those seams.  I was pretty happy with the results overall.

Here's the most surprising thing -- Pat loved this block.  He thinks it is modern and the colors are bold.  WHAT? He likes modern and bold?  You'd never guess that if you saw our living room. I may have to make a modern and bold quilt for our bed.  But, that will be months, let's be honest, YEARS away. 

This will be going in the mail next week along with my block for the FCQ EQuilters since I'm up in May. 

So, how did I do on my goals this week?  Well you know one thing is definitely checked off! 

March 27, 2017

Make more pouches√ at least I prepped more

Continue cutting fabric for Hands 2 Help Quilt √

Continue knitting on Natalie’s hat√ done except tassle

Make tangram block√

Plan quilting for A Tisket, A Tasket quilt NO Ideas yet

And, now, what to do this week. 

April 3, 2017

Make more pouches

Make 6 folding boxes

Knit additional rows on Jenny’s scarf

Continue cutting fabric for Hands 2 Help Quilt

Make more blocks for stripe challenge quilt

Finish red RSC blocks and begin multicolored ones

Plan April OMG quilt

This is a bit longer than my normal weekly list but several items are pretty easy to get done.  And, honestly, I need to plan some finishes for this month.  

I'm linking up with my normal blogs Monday Making and Main Crush Monday. Wait, I couldn't find my link on MCM last week.  No cute bunny amongst the thumb nails.  I could have SWORN I linked up last week.  Oh well.  Take a few minutes to see what's happening in studios around the world.

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

What Does Your Stash Say About You?

Have you really looked at the colors of your stash recently?  Neither have I until I started looking at craft organization and studios on Pinterest.  I noticed my stash is not light and airy looking like some. In fact, mine looks rather old and dreary. I am trying to change my stash especially with the "Short Stack" of fabrics I am getting from Pink Castle Fabrics.   

My stash. The third section from the right has solids and kid fabric on the top shelf; light and dark print fabrics on the second shelf and who knows what on the bottom shelf. The rest are color-ordered.  

Hum, this is where I go to when I start a new quilt or need to add to an ongoing project.  It seems really dark and old fashion to me.  I like bright colors and there are some hiding in these neatly folded piles but for the most part I have saturated colors that won't be washed out in a quilt.  Compare my stash, which seems large to me but probably isn't all that large, to what I found browsing through the Internet and Pinterest.

Very neat, nicely displayed, color coordinated.  And it seems like a good mix of light and dark fabrics.  A nice collection of fabrics that look like they will go with each other.  And, I'm swooning for the reds. (I'm sorry I can't figured out where I found this stash.  If it is yours please let me know and I'll give you credit for it.  It is beautiful!) 

I buy red fabrics frequently but I always seem to be out of them.  I'm making 9 patches now to go with my red, white and blue X-Block quilt and I'm having a hard time finding fabric that I can use without cutting into a 2 yard piece. Even my fat quarter collection has been decimated. 

Ooh, I like the shallower shelves, no problem getting the center fabric out.  I think this stash looks the most like mine.  A good variety of fabrics but a lot of darker colors.  Look at those greens and blues. Source: mayangel_46/flickrphotostream. July 2009)

Now, here's a wall of fabric.  And, it is well organized and easy to see and get to. 

You can see more of this sewing space at http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/fabric-or-felt/.  Anna Wight is sharing her mother's studio at the above location. 

Do you have a stash purchasing plan?  I really don't but when I am in the mood to buy for the stash (which, honestly, I'm trying NOT to be) I do take a look at my shelves to see what is low.  And, frequently it is red and purple.  Heck, I don't even use all that much purple, or at least I don't think I do! Mostly I try to buy only for specific projects.  I recently bought borders and backing for the shaded 9 patch which is now a top center.  The borders need to be figured out soon. 

Share your ideas of what your stash tells about you.  Are you a bright, light kind of quilter or are you using a lot of dark fabrics?  Modern fabrics or more old fashion? 

Happy Quilting All! 

More Gorgeous Views and Color Inspirations

Friday Pat and I took off for Stroudsburg for our Friday road trip.  He has every other Friday off so we often take road trips to get to know the area better.  And we visit quilt stores too. We visited Pocono Sew and Vac.  It is an amazing store -- lots of sewing machines, a couple of frames & long arms (or were they mid arms?), vacuum cleaners, fabrics and .... I'm sure there was more but I was busy getting a quarter inch foot for my Janome Platinum.  And, I bought 1 and a half yards of a fabric.  (Jen -- Dad found Bona K so we got that too ... we'll let you know.) 

This picture shows us (in the wind...) with a background of the Delaware Water Gap.  That's New Jersey out in the distance.   

And, here is a color inspiration.  This is some type of pheasant. I was too busy trying to get a

decent picture to pay attention to what type of pheasant it was. What a bird.  Wow, what a wonderful tail feather!! Hum, do we see a quilt fromt he colors of this bird? Maybe. Over the next week or so I will add some more color inspirations. 

Happy quilting all! Bonnie