Design Wall Monday - January 29, 2024

 Here are a couple of pictures of my progress this week:

More hourglass blocks are being cut to their 2.5 inch size so they are ready to sew into the hourglass quilt.

More rows sewn together on the “Two Step” quilt that I had planned to get all sewn together by the end of January.  The first ten rows are completely sewn together and off the design wall, and this is as far as I am on the second ten rows.  Revised completion date is mid-February.  My self-imposed deadlines are easily moved.

The reason that not much got done is that our daughter visited us last week and we had a great time with each other.  She went home Friday, and I miss her already.

What are you making?  What deadlines are you meeting, or moving?  Join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and give us an update.  Thanks so much for joining in.  There were so many beautiful posts last week.  I appreciate you.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Design Wall Monday - January 22, 2024

 Good Morning Quilters!

This week I had the flu, and not much quilting was happening.  So it has been a week of getting extra sleep under cozy quilts, and taking care of myself.

But while resting, I thought about the snow.  Here's a picture of our mailbox:

It looks like a big marshmallow is on top of the post that's holding our mailbox. 

Snow has many benefits for me.  1) it brings back many childhood memories of fun times playing in it outside. 2) It gives me a sense of calmness and joy.  3) It reminds me of the beauty of nature, in every season that is so different from other seasons.

  "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow."   Anonymous

The Valentine quilts are on the stair railings, because everything looked so bare around here with the Christmas things all packed away.  I hope you enjoy these quilts and are looking forward to February and Valentines Day.

Hopefully you got more quilting accomplished than I did this week, but if not, there is always next week, right?

Please link up below and join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  We enjoy reading your blog and seeing your pictures.  Thanks for participating.  Please link back to this post and mention Design Wall Monday somewhere within your post.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Design Wall Monday - January 15, 2024

Good Morning Quilters! 

We have glorious snow here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  It is a winter wonderland outside, and is perfect quilting weather.

Pictures taken through my bedroom windows yesterday morning.  The poor pine trees are carrying a heavy burden.

Inside, on my design wall, I have half of the rows sewn together for the “Two Step” quilt.  (Info Here).  It is my January UFO goal, and so half finished is good for January 15th.

It is just a little too big for my design wall, with the blocks finishing at 5 inches square, and being 20x20 blocks when finished.  

I’m also busy making hourglass blocks for the challenge hourglass quilt.  (Info here). I need lots of these, and am using up some old fabrics that I hadn’t any special plan for.  They will be very happy in this quilt.  Here is this week’s progress on my lap:

These hourglass blocks finish at two inches square.  I intended to work on some appliqué UFOs also, but that didn’t happen.   Maybe it will happen this week.  

What are you working on?  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below, and tell us all about it.  I am interested in seeing your pictures of the snow in other areas too.  I do love the snow.

Please mention Design Wall Mondays in your blog post, and also link back to this post.  Thank you very much.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Design Wall Monday - January 8, 2024

 2024 - HERE WE COME!!

This is a new year, with new resolve to finish some of the UFOs that are in my possession.   This month I am sewing together 400 blocks to make a king sized quilt top.  I blogged about it recently (Here)   The pattern is named “Two Step” and is on the cover of a Barbara Brackman book.

My quilt will be 20 blocks across and 20 blocks down.  I plan to sew two rows a day, for ten days in January, and then it will be a quilt top.  Here are two days of sewing……forty blocks in the first two rows, and forty blocks in the 3rd and 4th rows.  It is interesting that all the center squares are the same size, but look bigger or smaller in comparison to other blocks because of the light and/or dark fabrics surrounding them.  It’s an optical illusion.  It is a very enjoyable project so far.

The two rows on the left haven’t had the joining seam pressed yet, and the two rows at right have been pressed.  They are temporarily hanging from my fabric storage cabinets until the design wall is empty.  

On the design wall is the hourglass block quilt that I am making (which wasn’t even on my UFO list).  The girls at the last retreat I attended showed an antique quilt and challenged everyone to make their own version.  My version has a combination of hsts and hourglass units, because I want to use up some of the  1,200 hsts in my stash that were from a group hst exchange.  Picture of original vintage quilt is (Here)

My quilt progress so far:

Someone said it reminds them of an old Dutch quilts, and that pleases me very much.  I love vintage Dutch quilts.

Since I think I know where I am going with this quilt next, I will take it down from the design wall to work on the next part——which will be six blocks deep of hourglasses all around the outside.  The hourglass blocks need to be made, and sewn into rows of six. That can happen “off design wall”  while the January Two Step…….“2 rows of 20 blocks each for 8 more days”  quilt progress takes shape on the design wall.  

I am so enthusiastic about completing some of the projects I have started over the years.  Have I told you that my UFO count is over 50 projects?  And that I love them all.   January always fills me with hope.  How about you?  

Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us what you are working on this week.  I hope you have January enthusiasm too.  If you don’t, I hope some of mine rubs off on you.  January is a good month to start things and finish things!

Hugs, Judy

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Design Wall Monday - January 1, 2024

 Happy New Year!

We get to start a new year, all fresh and unblemished.  The last month of any year lately causes me to plan and plot how to get more of my UFOs completed.   I’ve also done some sorting and thinning out of some of my stash.  It’s always exciting to look at all the projects I want to get completed.  I love them all.

Here is the current design wall picture.  Several friends are all working on a version of an old hourglass block quilt.  My version has hourglass blocks, but also I’m using a lot of hsts that were from an exchange I was in a few years ago.  Here is the center of hourglass blocks and part of the next ring of hsts.  After adding 8 more rows at the bottom, I plan on another border of indigo, and then hour glass blocks all around the outside.  We shall see.  This is one of those quilts that evolves and tells me what it wants.  

All the blocks finish at 2 inches square.  I also made two more blocks for the Jacob’s Ladder quilt that I plan to assemble in February.  I have 10 more blocks to make before then.  These blocks finish at 6 inches square.

It will be fun to get these Jacob’s Ladder blocks up on the design wall.  What’s on your design wall?  What plans do you have for 2024?  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us,  Thanks to all of you who participate.  

  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter