Quilting is in my Blood

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us. I find goal-setting to be extremely helpful to get more accomplished, and since I’m always trying to get one more project done, I’m all for a little extra push and/or encouragement.

To-Do for the week of January 14th-January 20th:

1. Finish my modified Stargazer quilt top. – √ Done
2. Make the binding for my Medallion Lanterns quilt. – √ Done
3. Get initial items selected for Instagram destash, write a short description, and price items.– √ Done
4. Post my #2020FALQ1List on Instagram.– √ Done

To-Do #1

I got my modified Stargazer quilt top done a little earlier than I anticipated thanks to an unexpected snow day on Friday. See my The Color Purple post for more details about this project. There are some amazing purple projects on Sarah Goer’s Show Me Something Purple linky party. Below is a pic of the finished quilt that pretty much looks the same as the previous week’s pic when I had laid out all the blocks (I guess that’s a good thing!) I promise to take a photo of the finished quilt outside (and not on my bed!).

To-Do #2

The binding is done for my Medallion Lanterns quilt. I decided to take a picture of it with my new 2020 Kona Cotton Solids calendar in the background. I absolutely love the purple January quilt called Circle of Friends by Ariga Mahmoudlou who designed several other gorgeous quilts in the calendar. I especially like Waves and Night Stars. All three of these quilts use color gradient in such masterful ways. Check them out Here, and the pattern downloads are free (and it’s not required that you’ve purchased the calendar). I may have to make one or all of them!

To-Do #3

I pulled some items to start de-stashing on Instagram. That Instagram account is @mringer_destash. I think there is a nice assortment including some Downton Abbey Egyptian collection, Hoffman Bali Crackers, Moda Black Tie Affair layer cakes, some jelly rolls, two fat quarter bundles, and one fat eighth bundle. I’ve priced and described all the items and have handed them over to my friend, Kristen, who is figuring out the shipping/handling costs, and then she’ll get the items photographed individually and posted.

To-Do #4

Starting this year, Finish-A-Long, which has been hosted by quilting bloggers all over the world, is now being hosted on Instagram. All I had to do was post a photo of my handwritten list on my Instagram account (@mringer58) and use the tag #2020FALQ1list. This is definitely an easier format than writing a blog post, and I think a lot more people may end up participating. For me there is a downside in that many of my family and friends follow me on Instagram, so I really have to watch what I post on IG if what I’m writing about is a gift like the queen-size Medallion Lanterns quilt for Drew (note Item #4 below). I don’t think too many of them regularly read my blog posts (except my friend, Laura), so I tend to freely write about my ongoing projects on my blog (unless they’re for Laura!).

To-Do for the week of January 21st-January 27th

1. Make one more tree block to donate to the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild in Australia who are collecting tree-themed blocks for families who have lost their homes from the Australian bushfires.  See Bernie of Needle & Foot’s Bushfire Tree Blocks for Australia post for more information about this worthy cause and links to some tree block tutorials. Here is the tree block I made over the weekend using Kirsty of Bonjour Quilt’s cute Tree Quilt Block Tutorial.
2. Quilt (very simply) eight Reel Time mug rugs and finish them using the “cheater binding” method. My niece messaged me the other day asking if I would be willing to make some mug rugs to go with the Zen Chic Reel Time placemats and table runner that I made for my sister three years ago, and of course I said I would. My scraps from that collection are limited, so I pieced eight simple four-patch units using just two fabrics in the collection. Below are four of the units placed on the black X fabric that will be the backing and “cheater” binding.
3. Make 12 Solstice BOM Month 1 units. I am very excited to be participating in Rebecca Bryan’s 2020 Solstice Block of the Month Program, and I have chosen to make mine using the monochromatic colorway in a lovely ombre of blue. There will be six blue fabrics ranging from darkest to light, and I will be using a silver glimmer fabric for the nearly white color. Below are the four fabrics I’ll be using in Month 1: Dark (Kona Marine), Medium (Kona Astral), Medium Light (Kona Niagra), and Light (Kona Lake).

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #24.

My friend, Sarah Goer, is hosting a new monthly linky party called Show Me Something, and this month’s theme is Purple. I just so happen to have a purple project to share, but first a little back story is in order.

I joined Rebecca Bryan’s Stargazer BOM last year, and originally was going to use the main colorway in blue, green, and turquoise fabrics (after all, anyone who knows me is aware those are some of my very favorite colors). Take a peek at Rebecca’s finished Stargazer quilt. Isn’t it awesome!?! I decided to switch out the green solids for purple solids because my best friend (also named Mary) who will be the recipient of this quilt, is a total purple aficionado.

I had all the units completed and the base triangles cut by the end of the year, and on 1/1/2020 I started to sew the chevron arms of the quilt top together but had a heck of a time getting the seams to line up, and I wasn’t having fun (I realized after the fact that if I had nested my seams rather than pressing them open, I would’ve had an easier time).

I spent a little time looking at Modern Triangle Quilts (also by Rebecca Bryan), and that night, when I couldn’t sleep well at all, I started redesigning in my head the chevron sections of my soon-to-be-modified Stargazer quilt, using some quarter base triangle units from Rebecca’s book, which would also eliminate the matching of many other seams of the blocks that surround the chevron units. I eventually decided to modify the Stargazer quilt highlighting the block I like best (Rebecca calls it the Starbucks block) using purple and blue solids.

Today (on an unexpected snow day) I finished my modified 60” x 60” Stargazer quilt top, and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I will be sending it out for quilting Tuesday to Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting.

Completing this quilt top is my January 2020 One Monthly Goal. Linking up to Elm Street Quilts: Jan 2020 OMG Finishes.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us. I find goal-setting to be extremely helpful to get more accomplished, and since I’m always trying to get one more project done, I’m all for a little extra push and/or encouragement.

To-Do for the week of January 7th-January 13th:

1. Sew the other 3 arms (left, top, & bottom) for my modified Stargazer quilt. – √ Done
2. Sew the base triangles to paper-pieced triangle units to form 6.5” square blocks for the Stargazer quilt top. – √ Done
3.  Cut some 1.5” red squares for the red postage stamp quilt being made by Sandy of  Gray Barn Designs.– √ Done

To-Do #1/2

My modified Stargazer quilt is coming along (See Rebecca Bryan’s awesome original design Here). The four arms are made, and all the triangle units are now sewn into 6.5” blocks. My purple-loving best friend, Mary, (who will be the recipient of this finished quilt) is thrilled with the changes I’ve made. Thank goodness!

To-Do #3

I had a fair amount of red scraps on hand to cut some 1.5” squares for Sandy to use in her queen-size red postage stamp quilt. There will be so many squares in this quilt!!! I only had a small scrap of the fabric in the middle in the pic below but had to include a few squares since it is so adorable.

To-Do for the week of January 14th-January 20th

1. Finish my modified Stargazer quilt top.
2. Make the binding for my Medallion Lanterns quilt (See this Post and this Post for way too many details about this project!).
3. In the interest of being more organized and intentional with my quilting (a la Marie Kondo!), I have decided to start de-stashing my fabric stash. I’ve set up a separate Instagram account and have made an arrangement with my friend, Kristen, to do the actual posting, handle the direct messages with buyers, and mail out the packages. I’ve started to collect items that will be posted for sale. My goal for this week is to get the items priced and a description written for each item.
4. Post my #2020FALQ1List on Instagram. This has to be done by January 19th. I’m using the FAL Planner by Sandra at SewofCourse. This is a scaled-down version of the Finish-A-Long that I have participated in for the last several years.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #23.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us. I find goal-setting to be extremely helpful to get more accomplished, and since I’m always trying to get one more project done, I’m all for a little extra push and/or encouragement.

To-Do for the week of December 31st-January 6th:

1. Sew the Chevron arms for my Stargazer quilt. – Nope!
2. Go to Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver. √ Done
3. Make two more Pearson Tree Farm Blocks – √ Done

To-Do #1

I started to sew the chevron units together on Wednesday (the first day of 2020) and was just having a heck of a time getting the seams to line up, and I wasn’t having fun. I’m fairly good at matching seams, and I’m sure I could have eventually matched all the seams in the chevron units to my “good-enough” standard, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I spent a little time looking at Modern Triangle Quilts by Rebecca Bryan who is the designer of the 2019 Block of the Month Stargazer quilt (the units in Stargazer are adaptations of blocks in her book). And that night, when I couldn’t sleep well at all, I started redesigning in my head the chevron sections of my soon-to-be-modified Stargazer quilt, which also would eliminate the matching of many other seams of the blocks that surround the chevron units.

So I eventually decided to modify the Stargazer quilt highlighting the block I like best (Rebecca calls it the Starbucks block) using purple and blue solids. After participating in the Rebecca’s Playful Color Quilt Guild for several months now, my confidence in combining different colors has greatly increased, and I’m really liking how the colors play off of it each other. Below is a pic of the center Starbucks star on the left, and two blocks to the right of the center star (a simple diamond block made from quarter base triangles and another Starbucks star) form the right arm of the quilt.

To-Do #2

I did make it to Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver and found some lovely metallic Cloud 9 Glimmer fabric in Silver that will be the nearly white fabric in my Monochromatic in Blue Solstice 2020 Block of the Month Quilt designed by Rebecca Bryan. I truly love her teal monochromatic mock-up which is my all-time favorite color scheme, but I’m going for more of a blue Christmas lights kind of vibe for this quilt. Gotta branch out a little!

To-Do #3

These paper-pieced trees for the Pearson family went together quickly. (Please see my To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update #20 post for more information about these donation blocks).

To-Do for the week of January 7th-January 13th

1. Sew the other three arms (left, top, and bottom) for my modified Stargazer quilt.
2. Sew the base triangles to paper-pieced triangle units to form 6.5” square blocks for the Stargazer quilt top.
3. Cut some 1.5” red squares for the red postage stamp quilt being made by Sandy of  Gray Barn Designs.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #22.