Sunday, February 28, 2021

February is for Lovers

Does that include Lovers of quilts, too? Quilts surely provide us with much warmth in these brutally cold weeks that we've had here in Ohio. I hope you are staying warm where you are. 

This month's focus for me has been my Patches of Blue BOM by Edyta Sitar. I have all the blocks completed now and am presently working on the several appliques of snowflakes, and  a gingerbread man.


My snowflakes are a little different. I am making mine using 1/2" hexagons. I love working with hexagons and these tiny pieces are definitely a challenge. Don't cut your nails if you attempt sewing these as there is not much to hold onto. 


I am also sewing up several hundred Half Square Triangles to make scrappy flying geese in the borders. I cut a few, sew a few, and keep a running record to help track to the goal of 348. I may have to make a few extra, depending on what the final dimensions are when all the units are sewn together. The first border should give me the fudge room I will need to make them fit. 


 

I have considered making a few extra blocks to extend the size of this quilt into a square size throw...but I really want to get this done and off the design wall. I am anxious to move on to the next UFO.


Another project I've been working on is Judy Martin's pattern, Ladders of Success. This is a very simple pattern because it is all squares but because of the arrangement, it tricks the eye and just looks complicated. 

I did make extra blocks for this one so it will be 7 blocks x 7 blocks finishing around 82" square. (Have you noticed I am partial to square quilts?) 


 

I have had this whimsical country fabric for years...like maybe 15years? It is Heritage Square by Sandy Gervais. When this pattern was mentioned on Stashbuster's group as a challenge, this fabric jumped of my shelf and said, "pick me!".  It was fairly easy choosing a few fat quarters that would coordinate and I had just enough of a quality backing from Maywood Studio to use for the background. So I really shopped my stash for this one! Almost feels like a "free" project, right?


 

For the month of March Tea and Brie is hosting a free National Quilting Month Scrap Challenge: Sew the Scrap out of March. Scraps are my favorite fabric choice so I just have to jump in. Besides, I have a project I have been working on and this might motivate me to get it to the flimsy stage by the end of the month. 


 

It is composed of crumbs that I have saved from the end of remnants used for other scrappy quilts. This should be a fun effort. You can click on the link above for more information. 


I participated in Sew the Scrap Out of March last year with Pat Sloan's pattern, Traffic Jam. It's a free one you can download here.

So, let's sew the scrap out of March and get to some finishes! Happy stitching!