Design Wall Monday

More Michigan Crossroads blocks this week. This is not my usual style, everything but the kitchen sink, but I'm trying to reduce the amount of scraps I have. This pattern uses 3 1/2" strips and 2" strips. It has put a small dent in my scraps stash. I can get the 3 1/2" strip drawer shut now. I'm going to have to make a few more quilts that use 2" strips before that one will close.

Design Wall Monday

I can't seem to focus on any one project so I worked on several over the weekend. The upper left is a rail fence based on a photo Mary Johnson posted on her blog. I couldn't find instructions so I worked it out myself. The upper right is a pattern from Quiltmaker (J/F '10) called Michigan Crossroads, although I changed around the position of the light and dark squares. The bottom row, left to right, is Old Kentucky Album from Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column in Quiltmaker, Pennsylvania Scrapple from Quiltmaker (S/O '01), my last Minnesota Star and Twist and Twirl from Quiltmaker (M/J '09).

Design Wall Monday

I worked on the Minnesota Stars this weekend. I laid them out on the floor but I forgot to take a picture. I had to pick them up when the dogs came back from being washed. So here is a sample block from a pattern called Old Kentucky Album. It was featured in Bonnie Hunter's "Addicted to Scraps" column in Quiltmaker's January/February 2010 issue.
Her instructions call for using all 2" strips and trimming the block down but that leaves bias edges around the outside. I might calculate the size triangles I would need before I make any more blocks to avoid that.

Design Wall Monday

More Minnesota Stars finished. This pic shows 18, I have 4 more waiting to put up and 11 more to finish. That makes only 33. I thought I had 35 cut out so I guess I'll have to do 2 more. That will make a twin size quilt. I made a huge mess trying to use up these scraps and get things under control. I cleaned up today so I wouldn't be tempted to take a photo and post it! Three or four times in the past couple of years I have knocked out a few quilts in an attempt to reduce my scraps but to no avail. I have some ideas for at least 8 more so I'll just keep going and going....

Design Wall Monday

I haven't been very motivated to get anything done lately so I started cleaning up my sewing area. The fabric scraps are getting out of hand so I cut up fabric and started some new blocks today. They are called Minnesota Stars. The pattern is a free download from Connecting Threads.

Design Wall Monday

Finally something new. I have been working on finishing projects that have been hanging around too long. I was using this project for leaders/enders. The pattern is called Fabulous Blues and is from Evelyn Sloppy's book 40 Fabulous Quick-cut Quilts.

Design Wall Monday

This first quilt is for the spring retreat challenge. The challenge fabric is the bird print I fussy cut for the center of the diamonds. I have to find more background fabric so I can finish it the way I want. If I can't, I'll just put a border on it and be done.

This next photo is my bed with my recently completed purple quilt. I made this quilt with the corners cut out to accomodate the posts. Quilts hang so much better this way I think I'll do it from now on. I am very happy with the way this one turned out.