Ingrid Whitcher

We had a very productive day during our monthly sew day. Four ladies were able to come and we got several quilt tops completed.

We were being so careful to keep the blocks lined up the right way but still seemed to turn two of them.

This is another quilt that was pieced by the Sew Group. Once again we used some orphan blocks and then set them with sashing from my scrap drawer. Each of the blocks have a different setting and so it seemed proper to quilt them all a little bit differently. It has a bright and cheerful pieced backing.

Storage Hint

If only a few inches are left on a piece of fabric, I cut them into fabric strips. My favorite width is 2 1/2 inches wide but I go down to as small as 1 inch. I only use fabric that goes from one selvage to the other. These strips can be used for lots of things like: binding, inner borders, sashing, and for sewing strattas.

This signature quilt was made by Brenda as a wedding gift to her son and new daughter-in-law. (at least I think that is right) The quilt top was pieced by several different family members which Brenda told me needed a little “unsewing” in places. The cream blocks were signed by wedding guests and the setting fabrics were scrappy but meaningful (tennis, military, boats) for the family. My biggest challenge for this quilt was coming up with a design that added texture to the signature blocks but did not overwhelm them. About two days before I started quilting Renae Haddadin posted a video of the filler design I used. Thank goodness for You Tube. I love the light green thread on the blocks and you can still read the writing well. Brenda also gave me a great backing fabric to work with. I used a Hobb’s 80/20 batting and a light green thread throughout. This quilt took a ton of thread.

Sometimes having accountability helps me to be more productive. There are a lot of “challenges” out there, I especially like the sewing challenges where they only wear clothes that they make – it is inspiring to me even though I do not sew clothes. I am so often working on other people’s quilts that my own creativity gets put on the back burner.

I have decided this year to challenge myself to at least one Circle block per week – hopefully more. It takes me about 30 minutes to piece one of these blocks depending on the complexity. Since I am doing this I may as share it.

All of the blocks will show up on my Circle Challenge blog posts. I will be posting drawings for each of the blocks that will be available for download. I am also posting a basic pictorial tutorial. Part 1 and Part 2 I am happy to help anyway I can. Just use the comments section and I will get back to you.

Enjoy!!

Lucy is already “cruising” and I am just now posting pictures of her quilt. This quilt was made during Sew Group and was one of our first quilts. I love the vintage looking fabrics – most of them I got from my sister. The quilting is so pretty with the soft yellow backing. Lucy was also going to have a “big” sister who was about 2 years old and in love with babies so we decided to make a coordinating baby doll blanket so JoAnna could hold her doll while Mom was caring for baby Lucy.