Bookshelf Quilt Top Finished!

After a busy weekend, I finally had a chance tonight to finish the bookshelf quilt top. Overall, it doesn't look to bad. It did get a little wonky when I sewed the rows together but once I get it quilted, I don't think anyone will hardly notice. Next time, I will probably do things a little differently.

 

Bookshelf  Quilt Top

 I'm not sure what I am going to use for the backing fabric yet. I will have to see what I have in my stash. I do know that I am going to use white for the binding. I can't wait to get it finished!

Making Progress

Have you ever wanted to get home from work and just get working on a project only to get sidetracked, and not get much accomplished? That was me tonight. I thought I would have made more progress on my bookshelf  quilt, but that's alright. There is always tomorrow!

I decided to go with the white for the background fabric. I like it and I think it will work. My daughter is excited about this quilt since she is an avid book reader.

I have three cats and Alex refused to get out of the picture. Cats can be stubborn sometimes! It seems like they have a knack for being in the way. At least he wasn't lying on the fabric!

Bookshelf Quilt Started

For my next project, I have decided to make a bookshelf quilt. From the scrap dive back in October, I got quite a few 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inch strips. I thought that this would be a fun way to use them. So far, I've had to do little cutting since many of the scraps were the perfect size already. I am still undecided on the background fabric for this. I am leaning towards white since that is the color of my daughter's bookshelves. She loves to read books, so this will probably end up going to her when I get it finished. With that, I better continue on. Happy Quilting!

Half Square Triangle Quilt

These half square triangle quilts go together really easy. Start by taking two 8 1/2 inch squares and placing them right sides together. Next,  draw a diagonal line across the squares (opposite corners).  Then sew on both sides a quarter inch away from the line. Next, cut on the diagonal line that was drawn. Open up both halves, press and trim. The finished half square size is 7 1/2 inches. You can use any size you want, but if you want a quick, easy quilt, this size works pretty well. I have another one that just needs quilted. Hopefully I can get that one done this week as well.

Ready to quilt on the long arm

Finished HST Quilt

Close up view

Crumb Quilt!

Since I haven't figured out what quilt I want to start on next, I decided to work on my crumb quilt blocks today. I love making these little blocks. Once trimmed, they measure 4 1/2 inches square. If you are frugal like I am, these blocks can help use some of your scraps up. If you chain piece, the process can go a little faster. I usually keep my really small scraps in a small tote by my machine so I can work on them if I have a few minutes before work. It is amazing what you can get done when you are prepared. I have bright blue sashing that I plan on using that was leftover from another project. It should work well, plus I don't have to buy anything!

Jar Quilt Complete!

String Quilt Top

 Today has been a busy quilting day. I started off the morning with finishing a string quit top. The fabric I used for this was from the scrap dive in October. Hopefully I can get it quilted this week. After I finished the string quilt top, I worked on my jar quilt. I ended up using scrap binding that was from the scrap dive. It was nice to have half of the work already done. All I had to do was sew the strips of binding together. Time to figure out the next project!

Jar Quilt

Close up of the spider

Close up of the cardinal

Jar Quilt

Jar Quilt Top

I've been working hard this week trying to get a jar quilt finished up. The fabric that I used for the jars is part of what I got from the scrap dive at the Fort Dodge Area Quilt Guild Biennial Show in October. I ended up buying the rest of the scraps at the end of the show. So far, I have completed four quilts and started another eight with all of the scraps I got. The only thing that I have added is the backing and some background fabrics. My goal is to make twenty quilts out of the scraps. We will see what happens. This is the first jar quilt I have attempted. It went together pretty easy. Happy Quiltng!