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March 28, 2023
Optical Illusion 2 Top from Fret Not Yourself

Obsession is a substitute for talent.
~Steven Martin

Quilting


Perhaps my repetition of specific ideas is a form of obsession but I prefer to consider it working all the angles. 



The result is better than expected - despite using only scraps. The design pulls the white center into a slightly curved shape and the subsequent rows and sashing enhance the effect. The blue corner has the best value progression. The corals (lower right) jump a bit more than ideal but I love the colors. As stated, I used fabric on hand, mostly from the scrap bin although some was pulled from ...

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March 21, 2023
A Second Optical Illusion Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.
~Jules Verne

Quilting


Happy Pi Day! Every year more and more people notice this mathematical celebration for 3.14. (It's easier to remember using the American date notation.. which I've always thought awkward. Most everyone else orders from smallest to largest units day/month/year.) That aside, this day is the perfect excuse to look for  circles. Here I go again. 

Since finishing the first Optical Illusion quilt I've been wanting to try it again with lighter fabrics. What if I switched values using lights for the ...

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March 15, 2023
Woo Pig Sooie Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

Life is about that little space between what's over and what's next.
~Norman Lear

Quilting


Like Audrey and several other people, I caught a heck of a cold and have been mostly out of commission for several weeks. Occasionally I manage some quilting time but quickly head back to bed. This silly illness wiped me out. I'm even eating canned soup!

However, my older son's lap quilt is finally a wrap. Red and white are one of my favorite combinations. {I need to make one of my own even though these aren't my college colors ...

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February 26, 2023
Something Old, Something New - Pulling My Heart Strings! from Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

Hi, all!

Have I ever mentioned that we have some great scrap quilters here in Tennessee?  And one of my favorites is Tracy of Tracy's Bits N Pieces.  We met several years ago at a Jen Kingwell trunk show in Nashville, and I've followed her on Instagram (@tracysbitsnpieces) ever since.  Her feed is a constant source of inspiration!  So when I saw this quilt pop up....


...I was (a) immediately enchanted, and (b) messaging Tracy to see if she minded if I created my own version for this tutorial series!  She graciously agreed, and suggested that I check ...

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February 14, 2023
Going in Circles Slowly from Fret Not Yourself

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the sky and he'll believe you. 
Tell him that a bench has wet paint on it and he has to touch it to be sure.
~unknown

Quilting


The plan was to have the quilting finished by now but instead caught a cold and spent a few days in bed. So I'm still circling. A large lap quilt instead of a baby quilt takes more time, too. The spiraling circle is complete; I'm filling in the four corners now. Progress.


Clear cherry reds may be my favorite color. Too ...

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January 31, 2023
A College Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. 
That is the only thing that never fails."
~The Once and Future King

Quilting


So far DS1 hasn't said much about wanting a quilt jacket, too. Just a few comments I'm not taking that seriously. But he admired the Arkansas quilts I'd made for his friends' babies. Recently I realized a 3x3 grid {instead of 2x2} would make the quilt almost lap size. Besides being my favorite colors, red and white are both Valentine and Arkansas colors. Sending him a ...

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January 10, 2023
Scrappy Strip/String Quilt from Tea Rose Home

I remembered that I didn't get around to posting this quilt I finished in November. I used the same method that I used to make strip pillows in October. I used 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" tissue papers for the pillow, but I used 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" papers for this quilt, that's it! It is done by exact same technique, just bigger. If you are in interested in the tutorial you can click the link.
After I finished piecing, I wondered how I wanted to quilt it. The options are:

A. Ask ...

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November 16, 2022
String Spiderweb UFO from Patchwork Sampler Blog

In my never-ending effort to declutter my sewing room I came across this String Spiderweb UFO. This project was started at a Bonnie Hunter retreat in 2017. I have never been a fan of string piecing but had loads of scraps left over from the 100 Days 100 Blocks project, so started piecing blocks at the retreat and got this far.

 

In December 2020, I made several more blocks and abandoned the project again. It’s a very slow process and messy to tear the paper off the back. I love scrap quilts, but this block is not my favorite ...

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September 27, 2022
Green Diagonal String Quilt from Fret Not Yourself

News media and public health initiatives target these moms to tell them it is their responsibility to protect their kids from an unsafe, risky, and contaminated food industry that puts artificial dye in crackers, infuses arsenic into baby food, and keeps kid's palates from developing by packing children's menus with cheeseburgers and French fries. Interestingly, moms today get the message that it is their job to safeguard their kids, not that it's the state's responsibility to regulate and monitor industry practices.
~Priya Fielding Singh

Quilting

Finished. How different the quilt looks  photographed from this direction rather ...

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September 17, 2022
blossom time from Making A Lather

I am using leftover strips from my maple leaves quilt for the new light blue blossoms for the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy. I made more stems and leaves and 4 patches. I think I will need to carry this project over to next year, to get all the blocks I will need.


We have seen our weather turn cooler, and, then, return to hot. Most of the garden is sputtering. I still have a few blossoms around the house. Nasturtiums are still blooming. Petunias and pansies are still blooming. Our old old apple trees are dropping apples. Hubby ...

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September 13, 2022
Final Set of Diagonal String Blocks from Fret Not Yourself

we are each other's harvest;
we are each other's business;
we are each other's magnitude and bond.
~Gwendolyn Brooks, "Paul Robeson"


Quilting


The last of these values in my scrap bag... for now at least. If you followed earlier posts, you know some of these were removed from the earlier quilts. Such quiet values now. They still look good together, perhaps because most are soft, greyed tones. That little bit of blue adds the right amount of interest.



Next I'll sew these together and quilt it since I'm really trying to work all the way ...

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September 10, 2022
hole and candy from Making A Lather

I have all the blocks I need to make this rainbow project into a top. I have really enjoyed making this. I liked using my smallest pieces to make the string rectangles into something useful. By using the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy. the colors are bright and happy. I have moved them to a box of their own and plan to take them with me to open sews for assembly.


I was one block short of having all the blocks I need for the candy quilt. I felt I needed a chocolate in there someplace.



This block has ...

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August 31, 2022
A Quilt from Palette Leftovers from Fret Not Yourself

Be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. 
Sometime in life you will have been all of these.
~Lloyd Shearer

Quilting


Lots of reworking of this layout, I'm still not sure this is the "best" but I'm sure this is enough messing around. Funny how the colors affect the mood of each quilt. The block is a simple, traditional scrap design with fabric on the diagonal. Examples abound from Rod Kiracofe's Unconventional and Unexpected to multiple books on scrap quilting. It's a classic ...

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August 27, 2022
hole in my scraps from Making A Lather

I am barely finishing these hole in the barn blocks for the month of August and the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy.



I think I have nearly all of them that I need for the quilt.

I have a few zipper blocks ready to go. I just don't have many orange scraps. I like orange in quilts, but it isn't an often used color.


still canning from the garden
I am linking to:

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August 20, 2022
candy from Making A Lather

 I have orange cream candy ready for the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy. They look yummy. I think I am nearly done with these blocks. I still need a bit of licorice and chocolate. I have certainly enjoyed making these this year, and I had PLENTY of strings I needed to use. I am looking for a string project for next year or maybe 100.



This tiny little squash plant taking over the garden was a volunteer from outside the garden, and we weren't sure what the frankensquash would be. It looks to be a regular zucchini. We ...

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August 17, 2022
fair and square from Making A Lather

Sometimes progress just takes time. A little bit here and there makes a difference over time. I have to remind myself of that often, as I grow impatient. I pressed and trimmed fair and square. And, I cut and added the black inner border. I had hoped to get the final border on the quilt, but, it didn't fit. That will be the next little bit of time I can find. I think it looks great. The end is in sight.


It has been harvest season for our little garden. The tomatoes are starting to ripen and a BLT ...

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August 16, 2022
Palette and Scrap Bag Leftovers from Fret Not Yourself

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. 
This is the principle difference between a dog and a man.
~Mark Twain

Quilting


This quilt began with leftovers from the Palette prompt. I added more of the brighter strips from my scrap bag. I am determined to empty that bag... again. How does it refill so quickly?



Now to sew the blocks together and quilt it.

The last few weeks have been focused on sorting the kitchen drawers. Many gadgets were tossed... after putting them in time out for a few months to ...

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August 11, 2022
AHIQ Palette Challenge Finished from Fret Not Yourself

Political correctness is not wrong, it is merely unfashionable. As the British broadcaster James O’Brien put it to those who resent having to suppress their  offensive thoughts: “Where would you like your sewage? In the pipes underground or flowing in the streets?”
~Nesrine Malik

Quilting


Finished. Just a bit late but now I can move to the next prompt with a "clear conscience." The hardest part was deciding to only work from the sky.

Blanca Sunrise baby quilt

My pile had many bright scraps but the softer, grayed ones better matched the photo... IMO. Although the pinks are the ...

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July 19, 2022
Finally Picking a Palette from Fret Not Yourself

It is the randomness of books, of taste and curiosity that ensures libraries remain a place where a broad cross-section of society can drop in, wander, browse, and leave when they like.
~Andrew Pettegree in The Library

Quilting


Well, not exactly choosing one... I just hadn't worked on my idea. Since Kaja proposed Picking a Palette this photo has been in my mind. The Navaho know it as the Sacred Mountain to the East. We climbed therein years past. The Great Sand Dunes National Park sits along the southwestern side. Snow usually lingers throughout the year making beautiful displays ...

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July 4, 2022
First row and then some from Quilt in Progress

On the quilt-as-you-go baby quilt I have completed the first row. Actually, it was completed more than a month ago, I just have found no time to write for the blog. I was trying to take a trip to Michigan to visit family in early June, but life happens and the trip had to be put off. One great thing about preparing for the trip is that I could use my mother’s sewing machine for this project. It is just about the most portable baby quilt project I have done. I started cutting the pieces I would need for ...

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