{Post 1,479} Even More Crumb HSTs

I owe my b-friend (that's short for blog-friend) Natasha a big thank you for starting me on this journey of crumbs.  I already have a recipient in mind for this one.  I am using up the tiniest of pieces, and it's so colorful and pretty.  So much to look at in a scrap quilt, too.  

My square blocks are 4-1/2" unfinished.  I am getting some pieced light half blocks now, and that just adds more interest.

Eighty-two blocks now:

{Post 1,478} Red Zinger Finished and Labeled

This is my Red Zinger quilt, made from selvages and a favorite red Thimbleberries print.  It is 74" square.

A pic of the front and back, then a close-up of the back so you can appreciate my amateur machine quilting skills (this is a joke!).  I used cream thread on the selvages in a tight stipple, a feather in the border, and a specially-designed-by-me freehand design in the X's.

{Post 1,477} Move It, Move It, Move It

Fifty-six crumb blocks (4-1/2" unfinished) made so far.  Many, many in process.  

Last night I started playing around with settings.  There are legion.

Here are 4 I started with to get an idea of how these would play together.  The lighting is harsh...canned lights right above the edge of the design wall.  Not a lot of space in here for my 4' x 8' design walls.

Which one do you like best?  I have a few more ideas, but not enough blocks yet to implement them.

{Post 1,476} Sew Many Posts in a Row!

Is this truly my third post in 3 days?  Maybe I'm back!!

Here is a quilt top I'm machine quilting to give as a gift to a friend who is going to visit on Friday from Colorado.  I haven't seen her for a couple years.  She's the kind of friend that I just continue a conversation with as if I'd seen her yesterday.

This is my Red Zinger selvage top.  Click on the link to see all posts about the Red Zinger.

I came up with a unique design to quilt in the red X's.  The same shape appears in all 4 "arms" and they connect in the middle of the X.  I used red thread on red fabric, so I have a flashlight shining on it to get a good picture.  Hope you can see it!

I like the quilting I've done so far.  I used cream thread first and went through and stipple quilted all the selvage blocks, with a big feather in the border selvages.  Now I'm going back and doing the above design in all the arms plus a back and forth kinda squared off chain in the inner border in red.  I'm pleased with it.  Will show a pic of the whole thing when I finish, which I hope will be tomorrow.

{Post 1,475} More Crumb HSTs

Had trouble sleeping at 11 PM or so tonight (it's after 2:30 AM), so I got up and pieced some more HST crumb blocks a la Scraps a Plenty.

After taking this picture I pieced 8 more.  Each little block is 4-1/2" square unfinished.  This represents a chunk 16" tall by 36" wide.  Many more to go, but I have a big stack of pieces pressed and trimmed for adding on more units.  This is fun, but takes a long time.  It's kind of mindless sewing, so it is fun and relaxing.  Looking forward to seeing the finished product, as usual (way early).

{Post 1,474} Sew Long!!

Just glancing at my last post...it was nearly a month ago.  Where does the time go?  I won't bore you with my un-episodic (that may be a new word) life.  Suffice it to say that most of my time has been spent cooking large (very large) quantities of food (3 groups had 50, 150, and 35) and babysitting my cute (very cute) grandson.  Hardly any sewing at all, which is really a shame.  Maybe soon!

Here are two projects that I've made some headway on.

First is my oldest grandson's I Spy quilt.  Just put the borders on this AM although I started it right after he was born.  He's 2, so it hasn't been that long.  

It measures 60" x 72" right now.  Still needs to be quilted.  So many of these cute fabrics are personal favorites.  Hope he enjoys it for a long time.

Next is just one more blossom or so on my hand-sewn Grandmother's Flower Garden.  The exciting part is that I have border fabric picked out.  I decided to just make the top of the bed in the GFG and put an interesting border print at the bottom and sides.  I think this fills the bill.  It was the first fabric that grabbed my eye when I went into a quilt shop in Asheville last week.  I kept trying to look away, but while perusing the rest of the store, my eye kept coming back to this.

A closer look.  All the border is missing is a little purple.  But that won't stop me from continuing to use it in the center!!

At long last, my sewing room is about 90% organized.  I have a very difficult time working in a cluttered environment.  Hence the lack of progress and general depression.  But it's coming along.

{Post 1,473} Where Is Joan?

This has been a very busy month.  I have hardly sewn at all.  So many things fill in those few minutes a day of free time.

I machine quilted my Glory Bound top today.  I planned to just do a couple passes to try out a new-to-me free motion design, but I ended up finishing it.  It is 64" x 80", so it wasn't like it was a small quilt.  This design just went really fast for me.  I used a gold thread.

If you want to see the whole quilt, click on "Glory Bound" at the end of the post to see a shot of the whole thing.

I have also been knitting a shawl.  Will show that next time.

I love Easter.  I believe Jesus died for me, and that is the day he triumphed over sin AND the grave.  Happy Easter to you all.  Glory!