Scrap Happy Saturday - February

I was inspired to participate in the  Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2013, aka RSC13.  It came at the most opportune time since I had already written on my personal quilting bucket list to take back control of my scrap bins!  I considered doing this one drawer at a time. They are already sorted by colors, so that was helpful. So, I must be ready to do this challenge, right ???

I am a follower of Lesley over at  The Cuddle Quilter.  Last Saturday, her post for the RSC13 caught my attention, we exchanged a few words (LOL) and she convinced me that I could catch up.

Now,  my scrap bins are stuffed with every size and shape imaginable. I  love to paper piece, so I am not inclined  to toss out any piece of scrap. Is it big enough to be the twinkle in someone's eye (after seam allowances)?.....maybe I should keep it.

I decided to keep my challenge on the easy side, for now. I picked a block that would work up large and make a nice, finished quilt.  Now my squares are cut at 4-1/2 inches and the block finishes at 16 inches; a nice, hefty size  for a 12-block quilt. This doesn't solve the control of all those other scrappy strips and pieces.  I'm still pondering that situation.

In the meantime, I've caught up with January's pink and February's purple challenges.  I'm linking up with  Soscrappy  here.   Come check out all the other link-ups and see what other scrappy creations are being shared.

The Irish Have Landed!

I've finished my Shamrock wallhanging.   The background white fabric is so cute, those little dots are actually tiny shamrocks.  These fabrics were out of my normal range and fun to play with.  I re-created this design from a quilt I found in one of my google search travels.  It was a very old photo.

This is a little runner that is on my buffet.  It is a design that I improvised from a table runner displayed on a website.  It was very easy to put together....................except for binding the odd corners.

Last, but not least, is the little 12" x 14" mini quilt for the table top frame. The Irish have landed!

  Don't forget to check out the Shamrock Tote Bag  and  Skinny Mini Wallhanging
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  HAPPY  ST.  PATRICKS  DAY !! 

St Patrick's Skinny

It's been a struggle in the quilt cave today.  You know - those days when a little bit of everything just doesn;t go quite right?  I have been working on my holiday set  something like a production line .... do one task on all the items before moving on to the next task.

Now I am in the finishing stages - sleeves, hangers and bindings.  This next piece is ready for the wall - the St. Patrick's Skinny.  I like the feel of the applique motifs.

I was hoping I didn't have to change the thread again (which may be a clue as to why I don't use the embroidery part of my machine); but alas, I forgot to put the sleeves on the other pieces with the black thread.  That's the combo that was giving me fits.

I wish you all an early Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St Patty's Tote

This is the first item in my small series of St. Patrick's Day decor.  My Irish quilted bag.  I  want to add a closure that wraps over the top of the bag; but I will look for the decorative hardware first.  It's extra cushy.  The bag is quilted with cotton batting and the outer pocket layer is a separately quilted unit.

Stack and Whack - Finale!

It seems like I've been gone forever -- well, nearly two weeks!  I have been doing a mountain of work on this stack and whack creation.  It has been a project that kept evolving; step-by-step; piece-by-piece; strip-by-strip!

When I decided to take the bucket skill challenge for January, I had NO IDEA it would turn into a major fiasco.  Well, our new bucket skill for February has already been drawn and I'm just finishing up my stack and whack project.

When I began, it didn't occur to me that I would be making eight blocks.  LOL  I thought I'd stitch up a block or two and decide what to do with them later.  HA!  My conscience couldn't take this attitude with eight blocks, so I had to create a quilt around these blocks.  There was not enough fabric to finish it off with  borders on all four sides, so I started cutting it apart in strategic places; added gold or green or burgandy-wine fabric strips.  Some places I had to add some kona snow and some fancy machine stitching.

This is the result.  My quilt is finally finished and I just might be keeping this one for myself. (wink)

Thank you, Debby Kratovil, for your tutorial to make these blocks.  You can see all my posts for making this project  here.  Gee,  what will I do next?