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!