Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid

Category Archives: Challenges

Two Finishes

Over the weekend the long arm saw 5 quilts.  I started off with 2 mystery quilts from the Brandon Quilters. Friday night I quilted my SILs, then Saturday morning I quilted my version.

This is Starflower, designed by Tyanne Agle. Tonight we are bringing our finished quilts (or tops) to show as last month we got the final installment.  After washing the quilt measures 45 1/2″ x 61″. I used the E2E design Pretty Paisley by Jodi Beanish of Willow Leaf Studios. The thread is 40wt Glide in Lilac. The batting is Legacy 80/20.  I used the same backing fabric as I did on the Go! Big Crazy Quilt, but I pre-washed the fabric.  I didn’t have near the shrinkage as I did on the other quilt.  This quilt was started 1/15/22 and I finished binding it 5/1/22. It will be donated via the Brandon Quilters.

Auction Crazy String #3 is done.  This quilt is on my UFO list as “Pink & Black Auction Crazy Strings”. When I decided to enlarge it to fit a twin bed, I needed more fabric.  This quilt will be donated to the Mississippi State Veterans Home via the guild.

I used Anne Bright’s B2B design “Bubbles”. It is quilted with 40wt Glide in Kiwi and had Legacy 80/20 batting. After washing it measures 72″ x 86 1/2″.

The other 2 quilts are still waiting to be bound, so I’ll show them then.

Progress, a Finish and a Start

There was plenty of machine time Saturday.

Progress: Catching up on the Brandon Quilters 2022 Mystery Quilt – Starflower.  Monday we’ll get the finishing instructions.

A Finish:  The Mississippi Quilt Association 2020 Block of the Month. I waited until Saturday to stitch the binding down as I had to order a walking foot for my Singer Genie. Formal portrait to come soon. At the moment it’s in the dryer.

A Start:  I found more of string blocks from the auction in 2018.  These were separated because they were slightly smaller.  I’m trimming to them to 6-1/2″.  I have just enough that with a 1″ sashing I can set them on point and get a twin size quilt.

Up next, is the binding on the Crazy Quilt.

 

A UFO Finish!

Way back in 2005 I took a hand quilting class in preparation to hand quilt my Double Wedding Ring (DWR) quilt. I got the grid work done and maybe one of the swirls and set it aside – possibly because I spilled tea or Diet Dr Pepper on it.  Anyway I went on to quilt the DWR as well as the pieced blocks in my nephews quilt and this sat in the bottom of the box of UFOs and on the top of my UFO list since it was my oldest ‘top’.

The back of the pillow is this sweet vintage print from my stash. I watched this video to make the pillow cover.  Oh – it is a 16″ pillow form that my SIL gave me.

 

A Quilting Challenge – Really?!!

I’m living in a house which has NO room completed, so naturally, I’m going to participate in my quilt guild’s UFO Challenge.  I’ve picked 12 quilts which need to be completed and shown by December 5th, 2022.

1- Hand Quilted White Work. This is my oldest quilt “top” from sometime in 2005.  I took a hand quilting class in preparation to quilt my DWR.

2 – QIAD Green & Cream Swap from the fall of 2006. It’s my 3rd oldest UFO.

3 – Johnny’s Strip Twist.  I started this at a quilt retreat in 2016. I had problems with my 1/4″ seam, so started over. I have enough sections to make at least 2 quilts.

4 – Pink & Black Auction Crazy Strings. I bought the blocks at an auction in 2018. This will be the 3rd quilt I’ve made from them. I pulled the fabrics when I thought I was going to a Sit-n-Sew in December so I’m counting it.

5 – Christmas Wall Hanging. My SIL and I purchased the fabric for this quilt at the same time — July 2018.  Hers is finished, I have part of 1 block done.

6 – Frolic the 2019 Quiltville Mystery Quilt. This looks like it just needs to be quilted.  But I need to make the backing bigger, so I’ll be making more blocks.

7 – Baubles ‘N Beads – I made this top in August 2020 and just need to quilt it.

8 – Shimmer – I’m using the leftover fabric from Bauble ‘N Beads and Atomic Starburst to make this quilt. I started it  August 2020.

9 – Atomic Starburst – the top was completed in March 2021, which is why it’s listed after Shimmer.

10 – MQA BOM – I finished the quilt top the end of September 2021 – so it is possible to piece with the house torn apart.

11 – Ruby’s Sampler – I started this the New Year’s Eve 2020. I still need to write up the patterns for the blocks and of course finish making the top.  I need to make 4 more blocks.

12 – SQG BOM – The first block came out February 2021. I made 3 blocks before I stopped sewing last year to start packing.  I didn’t get a picture of the 3rd block.

In addition to the above I’m participating in a Pizza Box Challenge – one block a month with one of my guilds & I’m considering a mystery quilt with the other guild.  The retreat usually has a lotto block – I’ll try to make one; a swap block – I’ll probably skip this time; and a mystery quilt – which I may not do either.

My goal is to not start anything new, but now that I think about it, there’s a pot holder and possibly a sweatshirt jacket in my future.

 

 

2021 Personal Quilting Challenge #1 – The Results

On January 13th I challenged myself to get a few things done.  You can read the complete list HERE.

I’m happy to say I accomplished nearly all of the list.  I still need to write the instructions, but I have time to get them in the mail as my sister-in-law is out of town until Monday.  Quilting the Alphabet BOM top was on my double stretch list, but I thought I might just get to done in time for the Guild meeting. It was quilted, but I didn’t get it bound. For that matter it’s still not bound.  Tuesday was the Guild meeting and Wednesday after work I went grocery shopping for the first time since early February. I think for the next few weeks I’ll just putter in my space, but I think there will be another challenge in my future.

 

 

Design Wall Monday – 2/22/21

The picture is not true to the colors, but my Alphabet  BOM top is complete!  I was part of a now defunct Yahoo! group which made these blocks over 2 years. The final layout was up to the quilter. This was one of three I came up with and the one my husband liked best.  I wasn’t keen on it because I wasn’t sure how to do the inner border.  Over the weekend the ladies at the Sew Day seemed to like this one best as well, so I figured it was a sign.  My first effort to get those corner blocks did not work.  I ended up getting the graph paper out and still didn’t get the measurement right, but at least it was too big. Just don’t ask me to explain how I did it.  I’m not sure I could easily repeat it.

This is the next to last thing on my Personal Challenge #1 for 2021. I still need to write the instructions for the BOM.

  • Alphabet BOM – Complete the top, I have a plan. – DONE
  • MQA BOM – Assuming the rest of the tops is released I’d like to get at a minimum the rest of the blocks made. – DONE
  • Red, White & Blue Wonky Broken Dishes – Quilt and Bind.  This is what I want to show at the meeting. – DONE
  • Moda U – finish the binding. – DONE
  • Ruby’s BOM – I’d like to get at least the next 4 blocks made and instructions written. – In Progress
  • Runaround Bag – Everyone needs a new start on occasion. This is mine. – DONE
  • Wedding Quilt – Finish the top. – DONE

While working on this I finished 3 more Easy Breezy Blocks.

  • 350 Challenge February = 55
  • 350 Challenge Cumulative = 111
  • Easy Breezy = 121

I’m linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday.

A Long Productive Day

Saturday was the my guild’s Zoom Sew Day.  I’m happy to report that I was able to finish framing the blocks and building the rows.  Saturday evening I managed to get 4 rows together. This is the next to last thing on my Personal Challenge.  I still have to write the instructions for the BOM.

At 5 o’clock I was racing to finish up the last 10″ of binding before the sun set so I could get a “snow pic” and I had help. I should have pictures of the finished quilt tomorrow.

 

  • 350 Challenge February = 52
  • 350 Challenge Cumulative = 108
  • Easy Breezy = 118

Progress

Friday I made more progress than expected on the wonky dishes binding.  I think I have less than 40″ to stitch.  I know there are many who enjoy this last step, but I’m not sold on it yet.  I will say, I am getting faster at hand binding.

I set aside the binding to circle back to the Sampler blocks.  The big 12″ block goes into the sampler.  I simply made lemonade from the mistake that I made and now have 2 new orphan blocks to add to the box.  Once the block was made, I pulled out the Alphabet BOM blocks to see what my next step was going to be.  I had 4 or 5 which I needed to adjust the seams on to get them to 9 1/2″.  Once I did that I started framing the blocks. I’m a bit over halfway done. During the Zoom Sew Day I hope to finish the framing and get the sashing and cornerstones attached.. I’ll also have to finish kitting up the rest of the Easy Breezy blocks.  I think I only have 2 more ready to go.

  • 350 Challenge February = 49
  • 350 Challenge Cumulative = 105
  • Easy Breezy = 115

 

Finished (or not) Friday – 2/19/21

As the deadline for my 1st Personal Challenge of 2021 looms, progress is being made.  This is the 3rd of the 4 blocks in this set of blocks for my sister in law.  I was on track to have the last block made, but apparently wasn’t paying attention when I was cutting the fabric and got my turquoise and pink swapped.  Since it will make a difference to the design, I need to cut more fabric.

Binding on the wonky dishes quilt is proceeding. During the evening the cats took turns briefly sitting on lap. It wasn’t until the 3rd cat got on me that things slowed down.  Although she wasn’t on the quilt, she was sitting in such a way that it was making it difficult to see what I was doing.  I suppose it’s fair my goal was 40″ and I was at about 48″.

Tonight I plan on pulling out the Alphabet BOM and making my final plan.  Tomorrow is the Guild’s Zoom Sew Day and I hope to make progress on the top.

I’m linking up with Alycia Quilts for Finished (or Not) Friday.

  • 350 Challenge February = 42
  • 350 Challenge Cumulative = 98
  • Easy Breezy = 111

 

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

I spent the better part of Saturday in my sewing room.  First up were 3 more of the Addicted to Scrap Blocks.   That’s Hot Cross Buns from Nov/Dec ’10, Scrap Basket from Mar/Apr ’11, and 4 Patch X from Sep/Oct ’10. I pulled out my bonus HSTs for the last two blocks.  My entire cutting board was covered in bits and pieces of leftover blocks and parts.  I was not working on ripping out the quilting on the Wonky Dishes quilt. Given I have a deadline, even if it is self-imposed, I shoved everything back in to the box and put away my Addicted to Scrap Blocks.  My current plan is when I receive each issue of Quiltmaker over the next 2 years, I’ll make the current block plus 6 of the ‘backlog’ blocks.

Eventually, I did get the quilting ripped out.  I finished up the feathered squares and found a feathered circle to put in the smaller blocks. In fact, I finished all of the quilting in the neutral squares.  Now I have to go back and quilt the broken dish units.

While the computer was running the machine, I made one of the sampler blocks for my SILs sampler quilt. I started another block but ran into issues with my instructions. Since this was about 10:30 and the quilting was done I decided to call it a night.

I have just 9 days left on my Personal Challenge and I oscillate between I’m not going to get my main list done and I might just make it happen.  Here’s the latest status:

  • Alphabet BOM – Complete the top, I have a plan.
  • MQA BOM – Assuming the rest of the tops is released I’d like to get at a minimum the rest of the blocks made. – Done 2/7
  • Red, White & Blue Wonky Broken Dishes – Quilt and Bind.  This is what I want to show at the meeting. – in progress
  • Moda U – finish the binding. – Done 1/25
  • Ruby’s BOM – I’d like to get at least the next 4 blocks made and instructions written. – in progress
  • Runaround Bag – Everyone needs a new start on occasion. This is mine. – Done 1/16
  • Wedding Quilt – Finish the top. – Done 2/6

I’ll go on the record and say none of the stretch goals are going to happen.

  • 350 Challenge February = 40
  • 350 Challenge Cumulative = 96
  • Easy Breezy = 111