Happy Crumbs!

Don't you just love it when a quilt project goes so quickly and everything just seems to work out perfectly.....it's Serendipity!!!

Happy Crumbs measures 48" x 60"....the perfect size for a toddler's cuddle quilt.

I just finished piecing the backing for Happy Crumbs....the little bonus quilt I worked on while making my Ripple Wave.




I had a few of the crumb blocks left over and as I like to use up everything I can when making a quilt, decided to incorporate them into the backing.

I dug into my stash and found that multi-color, tie dyed looking fabric and I think it is just perfect. Of course I didn't have enough to make the backing, so I went digging again....came up with the muddy lime green and added that. Still not big enough.

I went digging again and found a piece of fabric I had hand dyed about 10 years ago and decided it had lived in my stash long enough! I cut the backing length wise and added a strip.

Measured again and it still was not quite big enough so I added another little strip of the muddy lime green to the top.
Happy Crumbs will be bound with the purple border fabric.....the binding is already made and I used every last inch of that fabric.

Here is a photo of the quilt top and pieced backing hanging beside each other on my design wall. My quilting studio is not very big so I stood out in the hallway to take this photo....that's why is seems to be on such an angle.

Quilt Top, Pieced Backing, Binding are all together on a clothes hanger in my quilt closet....waiting to be quilted.

I have given myself a Personal Challenge!!!!

I am challenging myself to complete 30 quilt projects by March, 2015.

(to the ready to be quilted stage, as I want to quilt them on my new long arm when I get it).

I will work only from stash, unless I need background fabrics or bindings.

I know I have enough stash to complete 30 projects....in fact I have about half that many UFO's!

I already have quilt #3 up on the design wall ready to work on tomorrow. 

It is a One Block Wonder  project that I liked the fabrics when I bought them, but once I got the blocks made....not so much. I got bored and put it away.

Well it is now getting completed!!!!

I'll post a picture of that another day.

Happy Quilting everyone.

Wanda

What's on My Design Wall?

I am having such a great week....getting lots of quilting time in!

I finished piecing my Ripple Wave quilt. I did run into a wee, small snafu ...my pieced outside border didn't quite fit...I had to ease it in. That darned narrow inner border threw things off by about 1/2".

But "done" is better than "perfect" in my books.....so I am happy with the way it is.

I have already pieced my scrappy binding from saved binding endings from other quilts over the past few years. I didn't take a picture of the binding.....you will have to wait to see that until after the quilt is quilted, which might be a little while as I will probably wait until I get my new longarm.

 I searched around in my stash and came across this Christmas fabric by Marcus Brothers. So this quilt is getting a Christmas-y backing. But wouldn't you know it! Not quite enough...so I went rooting again and found another piece of Christmas fabric that will work with it. I will get the backing pieced, then hang finished quilt top, backing and binding on a clothes hanger in my quilt closet, ready to go on the longarm machine when the time comes.

Now while piecing this Ripple Wave top I ran out of a "leader/ender" project.
As I had lots of "crumb blocks" or "poverty piecing" as I like to call it I decided to do something else with them.
I trimmed my block centers to 4-1/2" square. I did 48 blocks. 
I cut 1-1/2" strips from black fabric and sewed to 2 sides of 24 of the  blocks, trimmed them, then sewed strips to the remaining sides. Then I went digging in my stash for something to frame the remaining 24 blocks and came across this fun, bright green. 

 I was having so much fun with this little quilt that it kind of took over and was no longer a leader/ender project. LOL

 Isn't it just too cute???  The blocks are up on my design wall, ready to be sewn into rows. This will end up big enough for a cuddle quilt for a small child.
So here is another really cute idea for those "poverty pieced block" that are so fun to make with all our scraps.

While searching in my stash today looking for backing fabric I came across all these fabrics I had bought to do Stack & Whack quilts. Now I am addicted to Stack & Whack quilts!!!!! I can never get enough of making them. I love seeing how each block will turn out....every one is a mystery!

So quess what my quilter's brain is thinking about next???

Happy Quilting everyone.

Wanda

Ripple Progress

I know it's been a few days since my last post....I've been working hard on my Ripple Wave quilt. So I decided to do an update to show my progress.

I made the choice to do my quilt with 9 blocks...the quilt was just getting so big.
My sewing room is not very big....I couldn't get far enough away to get the entire quilt in the photo, so I did it in segments.

 So the Ripple Block finishes at 24"x 24". I used 9 blocks sewn in 3 rows of 3 blocks.

 I then added a narrow border in red using strips cut 1". I needed to go with a narrow border that will finish at 1/2" as if I had used a wider inner border then my star point blocks I wanted to use in my pieced border would not have fit. Keep that in mind.

 I have started sewing the HST blocks into strips for my border, but it is not attached to the quilt yet.

 I am really liking how this is turning out so far.

I have no ideas yet for the next border, but I know it will come to me once I reach that stage.

Happy Rippling!!!
Wanda

Ripple Wave #2

Wow, I am really liking this Ripple Wave!
What a great variation on crumb blocks.

I have the block figured out. I just played with placement until I came up with an arrangement I liked. I love the pinwheel center and the star points that have appeared. I don't know if this is a traditional block with a name or not...I haven't done a search yet. If you know of the name please let me know.

The block will finish at 24" x 24". 
My quilt will have 16 blocks, so it will end up measuring 96" x 96" without borders. I plan to add borders to mine though, so keep watching. This quilt is going together really fast once the Ripple HST blocks are done. I have 5 blocks sewn together already....11 more to go!!

I placed the block against yellow fabric just so it would show up, as the block didn't show well against my white design wall.

So for each Ripple Star Block you will need:

Four (4) White Background squares- 6-1/2" x 6-1/2"

Twelve (12) Ripple HST squares - 6-1/2" x 6-1/2"

For all 16 blocks for my quilt I will be using:

64 White Background squares- 6-1/2" x 6-1/2"

192 Ripple HST squares - 6-1/2" x 6-1/2"

HAPPY RIPPLING!!!

Wanda