Dashed Hopes

Dashed Hopes

I finished this UFO today!. It was pieced last year, and has finally worked its way to the top of the pile

It's an enlarged version of this quilt:

 from this book:

It will be donated to Ampersand Families, a QBB initiative.

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Completion!

I pieced this string top last January, and never got back to finishing it.  I finally took the time last week to get it layered and quilted.  I'll be using it in the guest room when all our remodeling is complete and the house gets put back together. 

Between being sick and then spending a lot of time travelling, I accumulated quite a backlog of UFOs last year.  There are 8 or 9 *top, back, batting and binding* bundles languishing in the To-Finish  laundry basket, and at least a dozen other projects in varying stages of noncompletion piled up here and there.  This exceeds my comfort zone for UFOs, so I'm really trying to get caught up -- slowly but surely, one at a time.  I'm also rethinking several of my sew-along commitments.  Ideally, I'd like to be working on just a couple of things at a time, while they are current and still exciting to me.  The old and long-term projects get pretty stale.

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Stringalong

I haven't looked at this project for quite a while. 

 Here's where I left off:

And I made it all the way to 'assemble top' today!

My starting point was this quilt:

from this book:

but I enlarged my version 

and rearranged the order of the sections.
Mine is about 50" x 70".

My special helper:

Enjoy more strings at 

HUMBLE QUILTS STRINGALONG

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April Stringalong report

I got several more string sections sewn up earlier this month.  I think I have maybe four more sections to go.

I'm making a large version of this quilt: 

from this book:

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Stringalong Report - March

This month I completed the two largest sections for my string quilt.  Now I can use the cut-offs from these and continue working on the smaller strips.  I enlarged these sections in both width and length.

I'm making a larger version of this quilt:

From this book:

More string fun at

HUMBLE QUILTS STRINGALONG

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February Stringalong report

I finished my first string project of the year last month, and already had a new one in mind!  This new book by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene was published a few weeks ago, and I couldn't wait to receive my copy.   

 There are several nice quilts in the book that I'm looking forward to making, but the one that I jumped into immediately is called 'Dashed Dreams'. 

No shortage of 1800s-style scraps and leftovers here at my house, so I'm on my way sewing strings into strips.  I roughly sorted a jumble of strings into short-medium-long groups, and I'm sewing my way through the longest ones first, to create the widest sections.  Then I can recycle the cut-offs into narrower sections. 

 I'll be making my sections a bit wider and longer than those in the book's instructions, so my quilt will be somewhat larger that that one, with no particular goal other than 'use up string scraps.'  At this point it's just a background activity, filling odd bits of sewing time. 

  This is a fun and easy project, and I'll have a nice scrappy lap quilt soon!  Enjoy more string inspiration at
HUMBLE QUILTS 

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January Strings

This was fun!

I finished piecing my string top, 

inspired by this photo of a vintage quilt: 

It will be added to my To-Be-Quilted basket, and will eventually become a donation quilt.

I already have an idea for my next string project!

Linking to Lori's 2019 Stringalong at Humble Quilts

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Strings

Progress report on my string blocks -

Thirty-two blocks done, and not much string variety remaining at this point.  I'm running out of several of the colors and prints I'd earmarked for this project, which were odd scrap pieces to begin with.  I'd definitely need to pull more fabric and create more strings in order to support the eight more blocks I'd originally intended.  Maybe this is enough, though.  Time to start making decisions about sashing and final size of this quilt, which will eventually be a donation quilt.

My inspiration photo -

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Strings

A progress report on my string blocks ~ 

I don't piece on foundations, I just sew strings together until the piece looks 'big enough.'

I confirm the size with a paper template.

When the size is correct, I trim away the edges.

These blocks are trimmed to 6 1/2" x 9 1/2".

Two dozen blocks done, they were tidier before Jake wandered in to see what I was doing.

I'm working toward 40 blocks, as based on this inspiration photo.

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Strings

A couple of string sew-alongs are kicking off this weekend, and I'm ready to jump on the bandwagon!

Moda String-Along

Humble Quilts Strings 2019

There are so many string quilt possibilities!  

While browsing though my inspiration file,

 this very informal utility quilt caught my eye.

 The picture is from a book by Roderick Kiracofe,  published in 2014.

According to the book, my inspiration quilt, titled STRING WITH GRID, originated in Alabama circa 1950.  It measures 64 x 84.  I don't intend to make an exact reproduction, but rather a similar quilt that captures the mood of the original.  

My stash being what it is, I was easily able to pick out some good candidates for the sashing strips

 and cornerstones.

 I rummaged through my scraps and strings and came up with a starter assortment that I felt could offer the same 40s - 50s utility vibe as those in the picture.   Needless to say, there are plenty more strings available where these came from!

I'm going to make my string blocks 6" x 9", with sashing strips and cornerstones at 2".  I don't plan to use foundations to piece on --  I detest pulling papers off, and it will be easy enough to trim rectangle string blocks down to exact size.  My quilt top should finish up at about 53" x 72".  With everything ready to go, I expect to zoom through this first string project pretty quickly.  There will certainly be other string quilts on my horizon as the year progresses ... 

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Scrappy half log cabins

I finished piecing this top yesterday.  I would have liked it to be a bit longer but I extended the light and the red fabrics as far as they would go.  I don't have any destination in mind for this quilt right now -- it was undertaken just to consume scrap fabric.  I did empty the targeted bag, so I met my goal!  It will be added to the To-Be-Quilted-When-Needed queue. 

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Patriotic!

I made this small lap robe this week for Pax, a comfort dog program at the VA hospital.

My first finish for 2017!

While I had the patriotic fabrics out, I sewed up these RWB blocks for a swap I'm in.

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Clearing away some scraps ...

Just finished this string quilt using leftovers accumulated from  recent projects.  In Gwen Marston's "Liberated String Quilts", this style is called STRING BARS.

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Red Strings

I was cleaning out a UFO storage tub and came across this top. I sewed it up a while ago for a guild activity that didn't happen, and put it away and forgot about it.  Just a simple basketweave block arrangement, but red always makes me smile.

Now that it's out in the light of day again, I'll add it to my To-Be-Quilted stack. 

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Aurora Borealis

 

Suddenly, a top!

 

Once I took the string stars out of their hiding place, I became fixated with them -- I spent all yesterday evening assembling this top.  I've been sewing up the stars sporadically for the past two years for Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2013/2014.  I think my original vision for this project was a bit different than this result, but I'm quite happy with the conclusion.  And I'm delighted to have a completion to report to RSC14, and to the String Thing Along group! 

 

This will most likely be the last quilt project I do this year.  I have binding to be hand-sewn on a couple of quilts during odd moments, but the holiday festivities are commanding most of my time right now.  I will continue to make plans for 2015 in a back corner of my mind though -- feeling creative and excited about the future :)

 

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Stash report - week 47

Used this week: 6.00 yards
Used year to date: 221.25 yards
Added this week: 3.50 yards
Added year to date: 117.50 yards

Net used for 2014: 103.75 yards

Another UFO moving along -

This is  from my backlog still remaining from the beginning of the year when both parents were in the hospital.  It will be a guild comfort quilt.
 

 

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Slow Stitching Sunday

Now that February is behind me and the calendar has turned to March, I'm making an effort to settle back to regular life as much as possible.  I'm going to try to resume some/all of the activities I had going before Dad went to the hospital.  Not much reactivated yet,

but the intent is there :) 

 

So far, I've been puttering along stitching this binding down for the past few evenings, and plan to finish it up tonight.  The simple repetitious hand stitching has been relaxing when I finally sit down each evening and unwind.  It's a start anyway, a step back to normal.   

See other  Slow Stitching Sunday inspirations here.

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Stash report - week 4

Used this week: 4.00 yards
Used year to date: 22.00 yards
Added this week: 9.00 yards
Added year to date: 26.00 yards

Net used for 2014: -4.00 yards

 

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Valentines

 

Here's the half-log cabin hearts project that I've had simmering since before the holidays.  I was wanting to try a string project that was a little more orderly than some of the other string quilts I've done, and this worked out just like I'd hoped.

 

The starting square for each block was cut at  4 1/2", and the strips were cut at 1 1/2".  I finished each block with a round of background strips so the hearts would float rather than touch.  

 

I'll stitch down the binding this week so I can take it to guild for show-and-tell next Monday, and then I will use it for February home décor, probably in the sunroom.

 

This quilt was my NewFo2014 project for January.

 

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Watermelon strings

 

My guild's comfort quilt inventory is reeeeaaaally low right now, so I zipped up an extra one for this month's meeting.  These were **interesting** fabrics from the guild's stash.  Just need to turn that binding to the back and it'll be good to go.

 

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