Summer Joy:Quilting~Swimming~ Travelling

Stacking Up

Now that I've finished five tops( Blockhead 5, Shine Together, Black Tie Affair, Analogous Charms, and Block Challenge 2024 by A Quilt Life),  I'll prepare a few projects ahead by selecting the fabric for each pattern, starching all the fabric before pressing it, and store everything into a bin. Preparation for another quilt is a delightful process that I enjoy immensely. But the part I disliked the most about quilting was when I had to spend money on fabric for the background or backing. I've always looked for sales at quilt stores to reduce the cost and even started purchasing good cotton fabric at the Thrift store. I rarely bought new arrivals or novelty fabrics at their total value, which is crazy and ranges between $24 and $ 30/ meter. That is ridiculous.

In Progress

I'm currently working on the Kona Cotton BOF 2024 blocks, which are all done now. Only the border and rows have to be sewn together now. The Analogous, a secondary scrappy quilt, was completed while working on the Kona Cotton blocks.

 

Analogous Charm-Scappy Quilt

 

In Preparation

The Vintage Sunburst Quilt pieces are all starched, pressed, cut into pieces, and ready to sew. After I watched how Kimberly from Fat Quarter Shop pieced the paper pieces of the Sunburst together with tips on piecing and pressing, I was glad to see her helpful tutorial on the vintage Sunburst assembly.  

   

The Garden Petals by Riley Blake Design is an easy pattern, and I'll use fabric from my stash except for the backing and border. This month, hmm...maybe not. I'll try to precut all the pieces so I can sew the half-square triangles while working on the Barn Star blocks.

WHAT'S NEWISH

Scrappy Quilts
I'm always looking for a way to use my smaller pieces of fabric or precuts to make another scrappy quilt. Looking through my books, I found A Scrappy Quilt that fit a Queen and challenged myself to make every quilt from that book. Achieving this goal may take a few years, but that is fine with me.

Paper Piecing
Also, in 2019 I bought GEMOLOGY on paper piecing, and I didn't have the courage to get it started because I thought the blocks were 6". When I pulled the book out once again and read the instructions. Yes, I read the instructions first! Amazing. Anyway, I find out that there are four size block available: 6",8", 18", and "24". I set myself to make the 18" blocks and one block a month.

Quilt as You GoAfter watching many tutorials by Monica Poole, who demonstrated a few different ways to make a quilt as you go, I wanted to buy her book, of course. It wasn't available on Amazon, so I opted for this Quilt as You Go by Jera Brandvig. The book has good-quality pictures and instructions, but the method I sought, quilt as you go without sashing, wasn't mentioned in her book.

Buffet of Quilt Pattern

When you go to a restaurant with a buffet, do you tend to pack your plate with food stacked like a mini pyramid? We rarely go out for dinner, but I was thinking about the stack of projects I want to make that have already filled my 16 bins.  Am I chewing on more projects than I  can make? I don't mind if some of these projects take a few years. The vital matter is whatever brings joy and satisfaction while sewing in my little corner of happiness, my sewing room. 

Keeping up brainstorming ideas is a way to become acquainted with new pattern layout and to improve your skills. Far my part, I'm enjoying the summer and slowing my pace doesn't bother me one bit. 

Happy Summer!

Resource

Scrap Quilts: https://www.amazon.com/Scrap-Quilts-Fit-Queen-King/dp/1604681780

Gemology quilts:https://www.amazon.com/Patchwork-Lab-Gemology-Transforming-Fabrics/dp/1940655412/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Z48H57X6IRTC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ipQlBGJGDEdDSATLgIjuzd4rT2ls4yCI-XOBUYR4Lco-G4mWxkKTbhpcTZfYLOGP.yVDyAGgunm6SwY7m15iji58lFNCk3PeS1EibfWgahGo&dib_tag=se&keywords=gemology+quilt+book&qid=1720889633&s=books&sprefix=gemology+quilt+book%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C109&sr=1-1

Quilt as You Go:https://www.amazon.ca/Quilt-As-You-Go-Made-Vintage-Projects/dp/1617454729/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XU1J4BTOZ36V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.h1JfO6e_gYQxBvuMhnAmPovm9-urZQ38K8yK0DlbFnVFcdpHjJTvOLByf_pLoXB_waGwQhdds74N-nPpRmTAt78KYq-IZIC27DcOv7WeUhhV813iqnFCOIRXGvjHkmOFdFTJSwp4Dj3ccYD85o11AsQSyszJwr5BW8TzfzKakHamRcVr0fr6d_CeqPN82JcDfZez6AdnAj3V4DO49muhAUqSc7VXU5erwGRDsuSqbk5LNrBNylmUbdp8OEQ34FwEsVUXgkenNNv70ahb3AiGDTPhj65hNN-QcCU6QxCC-Kw.wEHP2sA0TjwEbOgQX-Wl43W_eYi-zIhcoKxMShoQytE&dib_tag=se&keywords=quilt+as+you+go&qid=1720889687&sprefix=quilt+as+you+go%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1