Design Wall Monday - January 28, 2019

This past week was one where I jumped from project to project with lots of partial progress.  Some weeks are like that.  Here’s what I mean:

1)  The cheddar baskets are sewn into groups of three for sashing and the quilt top is on the design wall right now.  I found I had one basket left over.  Maybe it will go on the label on the back.  Assembly of the quilt top is next.

2)  Lori of Humble Quilts (Here) is having a string quilt linkup at the end of every month this year, so when I saw this project in my stash, I added a few blocks to the pile.  These are small blocks that measure 4 x 4 inches unfinished.  Crazy small, but a friend started me on them, and they are fun to make.....well, fun if a few at a time.  I'm making them on muslin, so there are no papers to pull off the back.

3)  My postage stamp Valentine larger quilt is away being machine quilted, and I made a small Valentine wall quilt to go with it.  This is 14 x 15 in.  I like to have a small one to match every large quilt I make.  I don't always do it, but that is the plan.  It wasn't very hard to make, as all the squares were cut and ready in my 1.5 inch cuts box of squares.  I just had to sort through and pick out red ones and shirting ones.

4)  I continued making small 1.5 inch half square triangles to sew into broken dishes blocks (4 per block).  Here are 400 of them which will make 100 blocks.  I am trying to make 100 blocks a week, and they go pretty quickly.  This batch will make the count of finished ones 600 out of 1300.  Almost half way!

See what I mean about working on several things this week?  Hope you were able to get some projects moving along too.  It's going to be a snowy Monday here in Grand Rapids (predicted up to 10 inches) so I will continue on with my sewing fun probably stay inside all day.

Please join in the Design Wall Monday photos fun.  I love to see your pictures, and read your blogs.  As always, please refer back to this particular post somewhere within your blog post.  

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Design Wall Monday - January 21, 2019

I'm so excited about moving along with the cheddar basket blocks.  I finished the ones I was working on last week, and this week I'm ready to sew them into a quilt top.  The layout I was thinking about:

was to be similar to this rectangle one by Laundry Basket Quilts:

I want the white spaces big enough for the machine quilter to do something special there, and decided to put three cheddar baskets on each side of the blank squares.  However, the blue example quilt above has only two blocks on each side, making 127 total star blocks, and after doing the math, I figured out I would need 175 cheddar baskets to do the same layout.  I counted blocks, and I have 132 made right now.  That would mean 43 more baskets to make.  

I decided to change my layout to a square quilt instead of rectangle shaped.  After doing more math, I figured I will need 132 blocks to do that.  Karma!  I have 132!  I don't have to make any more cheddar baskets and can begin assembly.  I think it will turn out to be about 65" by 65" if there are no borders.

Here is a picture of the design wall with strips of three baskets sewn together for each side of the blank square.  I will need 18 sets of three baskets leaning toward the right and 18 sets of three leaning toward the left.  The corner baskets are similar to sashing "cornerstones" and I will assemble it as rows of blank blocks with basket sashing.  I hope to have the quilt top assembled next Monday.  

A total lunar eclipse happened Sunday night.  Did you stay up to watch it and could you see it from your house?  Even though it was really cold here, we went outside at 11:40 PM and the moon was almost completely hidden by the shadow of the earth.  I feel really small when I think about the sun, earth, and moon all aligned in the great sky above.   I had to get the Internet explanation for this phenomenon because I didn't pay much attention in science class:

The Moon does not have its own light but shines because its surface reflects the Sun's rays. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks any direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. The Sun casts the Earth's shadow on the Moon's surface.

Looking forward to seeing what is on your design walls today.  As usual, please refer back to this particular blog post somewhere within your post.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - January 14, 2019

It's Monday again, and it doesn't feel like I have progressed very far with my cheddar baskets.  I do have all but four of the handles appliqued down.  Some weeks the progress seems slow, and other weeks, I can see progress.  Last week was slow, but I'm looking forward to making completed basket blocks this week.

Here are the handles spread out on the bar top downstairs, with their other basket pieces.  Each little pile has two baskets of the same cheddar fabric.

The bar top is long and narrow, and it took three pics to show all of them, so I guess there has been some progress.  LOL

We went to the cabin this weekend, and here's a picture of Penny, enjoying the fire in the fireplace.  No snow there, but it looks like the rest of the U.S. got lots of snow!

She has been such a good girl lately.  The boot camp training was definitely worth being separated from her for a month.  She loves being at the cabin, as I do.  It is so peaceful there.  We visited my sister in Ludington, and took down her Christmas decorations and packed them away.  

What are you working on?  I see the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilters have shown lots of quilts online after the reveal.  Such variety in colors with the same quilt design is interesting to me.  Where you place a dark vs a light fabric really changes the look of the quilt.  If you made the mystery quilt this year, are you happy with your color choices?  I looked at some that I really liked, and think I may make the quilt using the values/colors that were pleasing to me.  I do like this year's design.

Thanks for participating in Design Wall Mondays.  I really appreciate you!  As usual, please link back to this particular post somewhere within your blog post.

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Design Wall Monday - January 7, 2019

Good Morning!  This past week I've been making blocks for two different quilts that I plan to finish in 2019.

First, the Broken Dishes blocks are continuing to be made.  Here are 25 green and shirting ones that I made this week:

There are lots and lots of these blocks in the quilt, so I am trying to make 25 each week.

The second quilt that I'm working on is a small cheddar basket quilt.  The baskets are pieced and the handles are hand appliqued.  I need about 130 baskets for my quilt, and have about half of them made.  This week I cut the pieces for the remaining baskets, and worked on getting all the remaining handles appliqued.  Here is the progress on the second half of the baskets so far:

Cheddar basket parts cut out:

Four handles prepped and pinned overnight, which helps get the handles to curve nicely before I applique:

Picture of the handles finished so far:

I am going to finish them this week if I do at least four basket handles each day. Then assemble the baskets in a later week.  It feels like an assembly line, but with two projects going, I can switch off when my attention span needs a change of pace.

I have decided on a setting of plain off-white blocks, with the basket blocks as sashing.  I am thinking it will look much like this pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts, called "Aurora", with my cheddar baskets where she has blue stars:

What are you working on this week?  I am looking forward to seeing your design walls.  Linkups are so appreciated.  Just provide a link back to this particular blog post somewhere within your blog post.

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