2023 SAHRR - Starting Block

30" square Delectable Starburst

Today is the beginning of the 2023 Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR), hosted by the fine folks listed alphabetically at the bottom of this post. Click on each one to see their introductory blocks!

SAHRR is a fun event that starts with each person having a center block (or orphan block), and borders are added by way of a "prompt" or suggestion from the hosts. Starting next Monday a prompt will be given each week for you to use in any way you like, and on March 13 there will be a parade of the final quilts or flimsies. There are several event sponsors, so there will opportunities to win a neat prize! Find out more by clicking on the logo above.

 

Pattern inspiration photo from Pinterest

Our posts today feature our center or starting blocks. Mine is called Delectable Starburst, and I first saw this photo of it on Pinterest. Clicking on it did not give me the pattern, so I searched all over the internet but never could find it. Then I tried to figure out the pattern myself but had no luck with this and finally gave up. A few weeks ago I was looking at photos I had saved and came across this ponto and fell in love with it again. I decided to send a message to the person who posted it on Pinterest. And after a few weeks I got a response!

I can't tell you how delighted I was to find that yes there is a pattern, and the pattern author, Carole Dietrich, very graciously refused payment and gifted me the pattern! Her only stipulation is that I do not distribute the pattern and to send her a photo when I make it. So you can see that I really want to do justice to this beautiful block!

Color inspiration photo

Toby approved the fabric selection

For colors, I chose the ones from the afghan bed runner I made last summer (read about it here). I love the variegated yarn with its brown, purple, gold, rusty orange, and various shades of gray. My SAHRR plan is to make at least a throw-sized quilt for the bed. Carol's instructions for making this block were excellent, and there were tips included that were very helpful. I was amazed at how everything went together, and it made 30 inch square.

2021 SAHRR All Roads Lead Home At Christmas

This is my 3rd year participating in SAHRR. My quilt for the 2021 SAHRR is one of my favorite quilts -  "All Roads Lead Home At Christmas" - and it graced the guest bed during the holidays. You can find the inspiration for the center block here at the blog of Pieceful Thoughts by Wendy.

2022 SAHRR flimsy

My 2022 SAHRR flimsy was originally a block called "Christmas Logs" from Moda's Countdown to Christmas 2018. I had intended to finish it for this past Christmas and forgot all about it!

Jack is checking for loose threads.

If you'd like to join in SAHRR for this year, it isn't too late! Just click here for information and jump right in - there are prizes to be had! Be sure to check out all the other starting blocks and check heck next Monday at any of the blogs listed below for the first prompt!

Anja at Anja Quilts

Chris at  Chrisknitssews

Emily at The Darling Dogwood

Gail at Quilting Gail

Roseanne & Sue at Home Sewn by Us

Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts

I am linking my post to the following blogs:

Quilting Gail

Monday This and That

Monday Musings

Sew and Tell

Kaleidoscope - A Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilt

I bet you're surprised to see a finish! I kind of surprised myself.

The week after Christmas I pulled out all the RSC blocks that had been residing in my closet since I stopped doing RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) in July 2021. After two years of RSC, I had strings, Scraptastic Stars, scrappy Irish chains, and Geese Migration blocks. In that post, I dubbed myself "The Scrap Whisperer" (you can read about that here). The scrap whisperer returned and became a scrap shouter, so I arranged strings and Scraptastic Stars into an acceptable design, and this is the result.

As soon as my husband saw the flimsy, he said "It looks like a kaleidoscope!" 

The backing is pieced with fabric from Good Neighbors and a bright turquoise from Joann's.

I needed to get it quilted quickly, so instead of using a pantograph, I did

an all over meander in light blue, which blended very well with all the colors

This wildly scrappy and colorful quilt is truly a "scrap" quilt

and even  has "Frankenbatting" as the middle layer. 

Scraptastic Stars is a free pattern from Melissa Corey, and you can find it here. I would love to eventually make a larger quilt using only these, because it makes such a pretty quilt, but the pattern is so labor intensive for me, and I'm not sure I have the patience. However, it would be a good time for me to practice "leaders and enders", so we shall see.

I hope the recipient enjoys looking at the text prints and fussy cuts

Yesterday I delivered the quilt to our daughter, who will give it to one of the pastors at Grace Avenue United Methodist, the church she attends. The pastor told Jenni that she likes to have a quilt or two in her office at all times to take to anyone who is undergoing chemotherapy or who is in the hospital. So I have finally found a local place to accept quilts! My hope is that whoever receives it will feel comforted.

Soft and crinkly after laundering Washed with two color catcher sheets - no bleeding! 

Quilt Details

Finished size: 59" x 71"

Finished size after laundering: 56" by 68"

Patterns: Scraptastic Stars and string blocks

Fabrics:

Front: All from my scrap bins

Back: Flower in the Round from the Good Neighbors collection by Amanda Jean Nyberg and 

turquoise with dragonflies from Joann's Fabrics

Binding: Dark turquoise stripe from Joann's Fabrics

Superior thread So Fine #50:

Piecing: #503 Genoa Gray and #402 Pearl

Quilting: #470 Big Sky

Binding: #519 Barely Mint

I am posting to these linky parties:

Melva's Sew and Tell

Brenda's Monday Musings

Joy's Monday This and That

Majestic! - Riley Blake Designs Challenge Quilt

Here is my finally finished 2022 Riley Blake Design Block Challenge quilt - Majestic! It is destined for my nephew, who loves to hunt. Gary was born to my oldest brother and his wife when I was 8 years old, so he has always seemed more like a little brother to me. Gary and his family live in Oklahoma, not far from the town where we both grew up. I made a quilt for his wife Shelli back in 2016, and you can read about that here. Gary is the father of Cory, whose wedding quilt I recently made, detailed here.

Pinned to my design board

I really like the blocks presented for the RBD quilt-alongs, and I also made a quilt for last year's challenge, posted here. It is a fun challenge for me because I enjoy the format of one block per week for three weeks, then one week off, and I like almost all the blocks presented by various bloggers. All the fabric requirements and block patterns are parked on one page and easily accessible. It is a well-run QAL, in my opinion. And the next RBD Block Challenge begins on January 3 - details right here!

After finishing the blocks, I was undecided about a layout. I had purchased this deer panel for the back, but after fussing a bit with a layout, I decided to let it be front center and place the blocks around it. I think he looks majestic, hence the name of the quilt. Everything was just too "square", so I decided to set the blocks on point with some dark brown Grunge as setting triangles. This increased the block size from 10-1/4 to 14-1/2 and made for a larger quilt - and that was fine with me.

I wish I had changed out one block - the second one from the left - and redone it with more contrast.

Once the blocks were finished, I needed sashing to make the dark blocks pop. I added 2-inch strips of the background fabric, Decostitch in Cloud, between blocks and around the panel. I had to order more fabric from Fat Quarter Shop (which is here in Texas and came a little faster!)

While I waited, I coaxed Toby off the backing fabric and pieced a backing. that I had purchased from That's So Janice, the Etsy shop of  Janice at Color, Creating, and Quilting. Janice carries older and out of print fabrics for very reasonable prices, and I got 6 yards of this soft paisley flannel for $6.00/yard!

For quilting, I decided on a design that is less dense and fits right into the theme of the quilt - Maple Leaves. Once I finished, I wish I had found a variegated thread to blend, but I am still pleased with the overall effect. I did make mistakes with positioning, and in one spot two of the leaves were about an inch off. I showed it to my husband, and he laughed and said in all his life he had never even looked at the quilting on a quilt and that no one but me would notice! So I left it as is and simply corrected the next row, and he's right - I don't notice it!

My husband suggested the flannel backing as binding, and it turned out to be the perfect choice!

I decided to go ahead and launder it, to make it crinkly and to make sure none of the red fabrics on some of the blocks faded (they didn't). Toby jumped right up afterward and slept there for 2 hours! Gary's daughter (who lives about 20 miles from me) will deliver both The Wedding Quilt as well as this quilt to my nephew when she drives to Oklahoma for Christmas later this week.

Quilt Details:

Front fabrics:

"Close Encounter" panel, artwork by Jack Paluh for Marshall Dry Goods

Decostitch Elements in Cloud by Art Gallery

Various fabrics from stash

Hot Cocoa Grunge by Basic Grey for Moda

Backing and binding:

Vintage flannel paisley by Peter Pan Fabrics

Superior Threads So Fine

Piecing: #503 Genoa Gray and #402 Pearl, both 50 wt

Quilting: #402 Pearl

Binding: #425 Brown Sugar

Quilt Pantograph: 

Maple  Leaves from Urban Elementz

Finished size:

65" by 83" before laundering

63" by 78" after laundering

I am linking up with Joy's Monday This and That and Melva's Sew and Tell!

Fir Good Measure Christmas Quilt And Other Squirrels

At some point I saved this free pattern and tutorial from Fort Worth Fabrics and re-discovered it the other day when I was weeding out my bookmarks. I just think it's the cutest!

Christmas stash!

I auditioned and found good candidates from my Christmas stash

SQUIRREL ALERT!

One of the riskiest activities for me is to visit other blogs. Thanks to other blogger "squirrel-spiration", now my squirrels even have their own page (see "Squirrel Alert" right below my header). Diann is a well-known squirrel-spiration for me, and others are being added to the alert list weekly. Nancy of Grace and Peace Quilting, Jocelyn at Canadian Needle Nana, Karen at Quilt's Etc, and yes, Diann at Little Penguin Quilts recently made the alert list!

Nancy is making RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) blocks using an Amy Smart pattern called Scrap Happy Rainbow Connection. I loved the scrappy look of Nancy's blocks (see them right here) and decided to purchase the pattern. I plan to use my scrap bins - not sure yet if I will make mine rainbow or not, but I probably should just to use up the most scraps.

NOT my blocks but aren't they pretty!

Jocelyn shared a link to the tutorial for those pretty pink string blocks (above photo) that The Quilting Cubby calls Diamond Strings. After making two blocks,  I realized I'm taking far too long to choose strings! Also I made some boo-boos, so I am going to try again, because I love the look of the blocks.

Karen merely posted a photo of her yarn stash, and that sent me to mine to pick up a circular afghan I've been wanting to make. I am crocheting in the evenings now that I can see again - lol! I'm using  Mandala Thick & Quick, and I've already gone through one skein of the four I have, so I ordered another three. Karen also mentioned Janie Crow's patterns, and that was another squirrel for me. Go look at Janie's website, all her designs are gorgeous! I purchased the Mystical Lanterns Blanket - I think it will be my next project.

Kathy Schmitz patterns!

Diann always has such cute embroidery going on, and her pretty teacup and flowers sent me to the Kathy Schmitz website, where I succumbed to the lure of some Christmas embroidery patterns - Winter's Brew and Noel. I'm off to Hobby Lobby later today to pick out some floss.

In other news, we got some very badly needed rain yesterday - almost an inch - and the 100+ temperatures seem to be behind us, fingers crossed. Our front garden has greened up overnight! More rain is in our forecast for the weekend and into next week.

I am linking this post to Joy's Monday This and That and to Melva's Sew and Tell.

Happy Fri-yay and hope you enjoy your weekend!

2022 SAHRR Parade of Quilts

Today is the 2022 Stay At Home Round Robin SAHRR) parade of quilts. I joined SAHRR for the first time last year and was not about to miss the fun this year. You can find a great definition of the SAHRR on Roseanne and Sue's blog Homesewn By Us. The suggestions, or "prompts", for each round were given and demonstrated by a different blogger each week and included curved borders, diamonds, stars, signature blocks, appliqued hearts, and shoofly blocks. I tried to keep these additions small and sparse.

Original block

My original block was one called "Christmas Logs" and was one I had left over from the 2018 Moda Christmas sew-along. I had made errors on cutting this pattern, and it was bigger than the other blocks, so it became an orphan. I love this pattern and the fabrics are some of the first beloved fabrics I bought after I started quilting.

Joy from The Joyful Quilter suggested that the big white center space would be perfect for some applique or embroidery, so I used my Janome for some slightly rough embroidery stitches, as well as a place for the appliqued heart.

White border on left and green border on right

I was inspired by so many other bloggers on this journey, and Sherrie of Food For Thought inspired my last border. The yellow border she sewed on her SAHRR started me thinking about a colored border instead of the white I had, so I changed mine to green and like it so much better.

I have decided to leave the top as it is until closer to Christmas when I will decide whether to make it into a wall hanging, a table topper, or use it as part of a larger quilt. When that time comes I will do a follow-up post.

Great big Thank-Yous to Gail, Anja, Emily, Roseanne and Sue, Wendy, and Chris for your fun and challenging prompts and for all your hard work in pulling off another successful Stay At Home Round Robin. I'm already looking forward to next year!

I'm linking with Quilting Gail for this Parade of Quilts. Take a minute to go see

the beauties linked up by other participants - they are gorgeous!

I am also linking up with Days Filled With Joy for Monday This and That.

Monday This And That - Pieces In The Garden SAL

Here is the first row for Pieces In The Garden sew-along hosted by Melva of Melva Loves Scraps. This sew-along is based on the story of Melva's maternal grandmother, Tressie Teegarden. You may click on the button in my sidebar for information. I'm joining Days Filled With Joy for Monday This And That!

These little blocks finish at 4-1/2 inches square.

Each block consists flying geese and half square triangles.. Due to the challenge of a "scant 1/4 inch" sewing, not all of the flying geese units I made were usable, so I decided not to remake any flying geese units but to use the units that were OK. The following two photos show the flying geese that are not in the placement suggested by the pattern, due to my "creativity". I am very carefully not calling them mistakes, because although they do not make the exact pattern as the rest of the blocks, they still have bows!

There will be 12 rows of blocks at the end of the sew-along. The name "Teegarden" brings to mind vintage tea sets and cottage flower gardens, so I am using as many small flowered prints as possible. As for my color choices, in light of the tragic events in Ukraine, now seems a very appropriate time for blue and yellow. I have a LOT of blue and yellow scraps, so there will be more than enough for the entire quilt. My guess is that the scraps will multiply as I use them though - isn't that how it works?

The next row is Friendship Stars, and these are fast to make. I've made one and chosen fabrics for some of the sixteen 3-1/2 inch blocks. It's not too late to join in! You can read the sweet story and grab the pattern on Melva's blog right here.

I'm linking this post to Monday This And That on Days Filled With Joy.