For my first post of 2019 I’ve so far begun two projects. The first one I’ve joined in the One Monthly Goal for completing the top, as it appeared there last week.

This is another row quilt for Project Linus, using black and white charm packs along with solid colors. However, I got off to a bad start by piecing it without an overall plan in mind. This row had twelve blocks, at 54 inches too long for the 50×60 inch fleece backing. By chopping off two blocks it is now about 44 inches wide, requiring only 80 charms instead of 96. Whew, time saved.

However, I made the mistake of adding the black sashing on three rows without taking into account the dark/light positions. Two steps back right there, ripping and splicing to clear up my mistakes. Here are my markings for reworking the strips.

So, with the mistakes fixed, I played it safe by piecing dark/light pairs before doing any further damage.

One step at a time seems to be my speed these days.

The second project is my first Rainbow Scrap Challenge block, an 8-inch scrappy improv block in red. I plan on at least one or two more types of blocks each month.

I’m excited to see what everybody’s going to be doing this year with RSC19 and all the other plans and challenges ahead.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

My goal for January is to finish piecing my black, white and colors top. I’m also adding a black strip between each of the rows so I don’t have to do any matching of seams.

I’ve had a couple of Black and white charm packs sitting around for several years and it’s time to get them made into a quilt. The top will be about 50×60 inches and will use 96 charms. That will include two charm packs plus the solid colors.

I’m linking up with OMG at Elm Street Quilts.

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2019/01/one-monthly-goal-january-goal-setting.html

A year ago in January I took stock of my stash, which was overflowing the storage space in my one bedroom apartment. So I resolved to purchase no fabric in 2018 and use only my stash.

There were many temptations along the way, especially the daily online ads offering very tempting bargains. However, I did resist and am able to say that I did stick to the resolution for the entire year! I did however purchase quilting tools and other goodies.

During the year I made a number of Project Linus Quilts and tops to donate to Covered In Love, both very worthy charities. It gave me real satisfaction to be giving of my time and talents. I also donated quite a lot of fabric to a local church quilt group, who really appreciated it.

So 2018 was the year of fabric fasting and I’ve just begun 2019 with a little fabric feasting. I realized that there were almost no kids fabrics in my stash. I happened to check the Hancocks’s of Paducah website and their clearance section. What a fine selection of children and baby fabrics I found! Before I knew it I had a website basket full of enough colorful choices to qualify for free shipping, the only way to go.

Here’s what showed up at my door yesterday, eleven fun 1.5 yard cuts at 3.99 or 4.99 a yard, a good size for backings or any pattern uses. Many of them are Timeless Treasures selections.

Aren’t they fun? I’m so excited to get going on this new quilting adventure.

I will also be joining Angela’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge for the eighth year. I’m looking forward to what all of you will be doing as well.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

Looking back on my quilt blogging I realized it has been seven years since I first started posting with Angela for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. These have been wonderful times of making quilting friends all around the world.

I noticed that my quilt photo record, although not complete, contains a significant number of charm quilts. This is the result of lots of online fabric shopping, especially of pre-cuts in the beginning. In fact, almost all of my projects have involved the use of standard pre-cut measurements, partly because I don’t do any hand stitching such as hexies.

Here are several of my charm quilts in no particular order.

A staggered example and one using a bright charm pack and solids.

A set of boxed blocks with great 3-D effects and a row quilt of HST four patches.

A Project Linus quilt and a disappearing nine patch made for a dear friend.

Another row quilt with cars and trucks and a set of framed charms.

A winter quilt and a sports one, both for Project Linus.

Finally another row quilt, which I really enjoy because they don’t involve matching seams, plus a sample of my favorite little houses made from charms, plus strips with flip triangles for the roofs.

These bring back many good quilt memories and sharing them with all of you dear friends. I hope each of you has a healthy and happy New Year and I’ll be joining the Rainbow Scrap Challenge again.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

It’s the time of year for giving gifts and sharing with others. My husband grew up in a family who believed that love was shown by giving gifts, so he loved going all out with presents for our children. He would look at Santa’s bag and say, “We need another one for Beth because Chris has more than she does.”

I was too practical and would let him know what I preferred, such as a plant versus a bouquet of blossoms which did not last. He often would complain that he could not surprise me. Yet one of his gifts which delighted me was a large spray bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume, totally extravagant.

So this year I am giving a special gift to my granddaughter, but otherwise small gifts for each family member. In checking out my Christmas fabrics, I found a number of fat eighths, just the size for small bags. I stitched them up in no time.

Aren’t they cute? Of course they also were a way to use more of my stash. By the way, I still have not purchased any fabric this year. I do need to buy some upholstery fabric for a project, but will wait until the New Year.

Of course, the greatest gift of all was the Father giving us His Son, Jesus. That is the true meaning of Christmas.

May blessings, peace and joy be yours, dear friends, and may you have the chance to bless others.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

This quilt started out as two groups of totally unrelated blocks made just for the fun of it.

The houses came about by trying to make them as simply as possible out of pre-cuts. I had seen many versions online, but they all involved too many fiddly details like chimneys or windows. I had a large stash of charm squares and jelly roll strips., so this was the result of my experiment:

The other shortcut was the use of flip triangles for the roof. I also enjoyed searching in my stash for cute inhabitants or interesting textures for the walls. The result was a pretty good collection of houses, but no plan to use them.

The other fun blocks were the sailboats. Sailing was one of the best experiences of my younger years. My Norwegian uncle had sailed all his life and owned a succession of boats after retirement. We went sailing all around the waters of the Rhode Island coast with no sound but the ripples of water and the wind in the sails. It was both peaceful and exciting depending on the weather.

Several of you online friends were also making little boats at the same time. Sorry, I don’t recall your names, but I really enjoyed our sailing journey.

My boats are also easily made using 2-1/2 inch strips and flip triangle. I did not have any project in mind for these boats.

Finally I decided to use the houses and the boats for a strip quilt. The major problem was spacing them out to make WOF rows. Adding trees between the houses worked pretty well. The dividing strips became sky and grass or sea water.

Naturally, as with most of my quilts, it got put on the shelf and forgotten. These last few months I’ve been trying to get some UFOs finished. So today I pulled the top out and added the white border.

Here is the waterfront neighborhood ready to be layered and quilted. It will probably be a Project Linus donation, so I may decide to use a fleece backing and bind it in a contrasting color.

It’s really a good feeling to finish some projects before the New Year. I hope you all have the chance to do that in addition to all the holiday bustle.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/

In November I received a lovely group of fabrics from Mari at The Academic Quilter.

I decided to make a quilt top using this group along with a group of pre-cut batiks from a fabric exchange at our local guild. I stitched them into strips.

The colors blend very nicely. I decided to use them in a row quilt top and send it to Kat and Cat Quilts: Covered in Love. This is run by Kat, a nurse at a Texas hospital. She and her friends will complete the quilt. It will then be given to a family of a dying patient, a comfort in their time of grief.

I’m happy with the finished top, which measures about 46 x 60 inches.

I know that Mari will be happy to see that her generous gift has been used to bless a family in need of comfort.

If any of you are interested in helping with this quilt ministry, please contact Kat to learn more about it.

I’m linking up with Angela at http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/and Cynthia at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/