Today… in the studio…

Clean!

Wow! You guys are blowing me away with your comments on the Mini Lone Star.  Thank you so much for all the quilty love!

The scraps have been shoved back into their bins, the floor has been swept, and the design wall has been cleaned.  I finally finished the third scrappy quilt top for our Birthday Gang friends. I’ll have to try and get a decent photo once the sun comes out.  It was really foggy this morning!

I cannot believe how 4 whole scrap quilts have not appeared to make even a noticeable dent in the scrap bins!  And I love hearing about all the scrappy projects you all are working  on. They sound fabulous!

threads

How many sheets of tape  on a roll does it take to clean the design wall?  Four.  And then one for the chair and a couple for my shirt.  And another for the ironing board.  And…  I might need to de-thread the whole house.

This mini quilt needs a good home!

Nothing but Scraps!

While I’m trying to decide what to do with my Scrappy Lone Star from Judy Irish’s class, I decided to make a Mini Star.  Most of my scraps are small pieces so this was a perfect match!

The finished size is approximately 27-inches square.  And… ALL scraps.  No new fabric was harmed in the making of this quilt. (I love saying that!) Including the batting, backing & binding.

Mini Lone Star

SO….  I’ve decided to give this one away.  Yup!   That’s right!  It could be yours!

In honor of all scrappy goodness…  and February being my blog anniversary… and because you all are SO great…  I am going to give this mini quilt to one  lucky reader.  All you have  to do is tell me what you are making with your scraps in the comments.

Let’s see…  Shall I draw a name on February 14th?  Valentine’s Day?  This could be a Valentine gift to you.  Comments will close on Saturday, February 13th… so don’t wait. Leave a comment now and this Mini Star could be finding it’s way to your home.

Signs of Spring

Leaves in the birdbath

Rhubarb sprout

Hydrangea buds

The first of the bulbs to bloom

The sun is shining and there are signs that spring is just around the corner.  I apologize to all of you East Coast folks who are getting pummeled with a snowstorm today!  But we have had a mild winter in the Pacific Northwest and spring seems to be coming early this year.  The first of the bulbs are starting to bloom, the anemone.  The are tulips and crocus starting to sprout up.  I barely made a dent in the yard work, trimming and raking a little.  And… I feel the need to wash the car.  Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

A peek inside my sewing world

even the bins themselves are multiplying

My sewing  room still looks like a hurricane swept through. But in the midst of the chaos, there is a method to my madness. Since digging through my scrap bins, I’ve had to divide and conquer by hunting for other containers to sort scraps into color families.  Before the scrap frenzy began, all of these scraps were smooshed into the three rectangular bins.  Now that the fabric is a little more “fluffed up”, it’s amazing how much was really in those bins!

power sewing

This week I have been power sewing on a test quilt for Clothworks Textiles. (Each quilt designed is sewn together by someone else to test the instructions for clarity) When I’m on a deadline, I like to production sew… cut, label, lay out, and chain piece.  I’ve really been enjoying the woven linen/dobby type fabrics in this collection, European Taupe III.

European Taupe III

It’s back to the scraps next week. And mixed in between will be some tool bags for a friend.

Collaborative Scraps

Collaborative Lone Star

At the time, it felt like a crazy decision to sign up for a class the day after we got back from our ski trip.  But I’m SO glad I did! My friend Linda and I wanted some girl time sewing together and decided to take a class from Judy Irish.  Judy Irish is the long-arm quilter behind many quilts by Kaffe Fassett, Liza Prior Lucy, and Freddy Moran.  The class was awesome!  And Judy is a hoot! She is a great teacher, offering to iron, rip, make suggestions, solve problems or whatever needs to be done so that each student ends up with a fabulous quilt.

We worked on the Lone Star quilt from the book Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again.  And… can you guess?  My star is made entirely from scraps.  I made a point of digging through my scrap bins for larger pieces and didn’t put any thought into what I was throwing into the bag.  As you know… I am completely addicted to my scrap bins at the moment.

Nothing but scraps

Now I’m trying to decide what to put in the background. In keeping with the “nothing but scraps” theme, I could piece together a bunch of whites, creams, and light fabrics.  I love being able to say that “no new fabric was harmed in the making of this quilt”.

Oh how I love checks!

However…  I LOVE this check fabric!  Dilemma number 1:  This would break my nothing-but-scraps rule.  Dilemma number 2:  The greedy side of me wants to keep the check for myself.  The plan was to give this quilt away as part of my scrap-quilts-for-friends plan.

The patched cream fabrics could be the backing.  Or…  I could  find another fabric similar to the check.  Or…  I could keep this quilt for myself and come up with another scrappy quilt.  I just found out (yesterday) that the birthday party & the Lost party have been separated into 2 different events.  So, now I have until the END of February instead of the beginning of February to finish three scrappy quilts.

I definitely see a mini version of this coming out of my scrap bins.  And possibly more than one!

Scrap on!