It's A Finish!

 

It's a finish!

Orphan Winifred

40 x 60

The framed leopard blocks were given to me. 

I added the "jungle" around them. 

I quilted in some leaves and flowers. 

I made this and several other orphan block tops back in December 2024 and now I'm trying to get them all quilted and donated. 

I had to piece the back with an jungle looking collage fabric and a leafy yellow. 

Now it is ready for donation to Wrap-A-Smile.  There has recently been an urgent call for quilts because there are more upcoming Rotaplast missions than prevously anticipated. That's a good thing.

"Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. Working with local professionals, Rotarians, and other organizations, Rotaplast sends multidisciplinary medical teams to provide free reconstructive surgery, ancillary treatment, and training for the comprehensive care of these children." Wrap-A-Smile provides each child undergoing surgery with a quilt. 

I have donated quilts to Wrap-A-Smile since 2013 (I think) and every once in awhile it is fun to spot a quilt I made with a child. I just added a page at the top of my blog with pics of kids around the world I have spotted with a quilt I've made. 

If you are interested in donating quilts to Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) please read the WAS Guidelines and WAS Shipping Info.  Or you can email me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. 

And sew on...

A Kaleidoscope Finish

Kaleidoscope

It's a finish!

40 x 56

I had a few chunks of different yellows. A year or so ago I decided to use them along with 4.5 inch width scraps I had at the time in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month.  I use a Kaleidoscope ruler to cut parts. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with swirls. 

The backing is a kaleidoscope of color.  And I found just enough solid yellow pieces in my leftover binding box for the binding so I guess it was meant to be. 

Now it is ready for donation to Wrap-A-Smile.  There has recently been an urgent call for quilts because there are more upcoming Rotaplast missions than prevously anticipated. That's a good thing.

"Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. Working with local professionals, Rotarians, and other organizations, Rotaplast sends multidisciplinary medical teams to provide free reconstructive surgery, ancillary treatment, and training for the comprehensive care of these children." Wrap-A-Smile provides each child undergoing surgery with a quilt. 

I have donated quilts to Wrap-A-Smile since 2013 (I think) and every once in awhile it is fun to spot a quilt I made with a child. I just added a page at the top of my blog with pics of kids around the world I have spotted with a quilt I've made. 

If you are interested in donating quilts to Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) please read the WAS Guidelines and WAS Shipping Info.  Or you can email me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

I spy ephemerals along my garden pathways. Oh joy! 

Species or Wild Tulips

Wood Hyacinth or Spanish Bluebells

Daffodils

(About that plastic bag sticking up....My husband receives his nutrition via G-tube and a pump with IV bags that hold liquid food and water. Last year I took a bunch of his IV bags and put them over the top of all sorts of trumpet vines with very deep roots that had popped up everywhere and difficult to get rid of. I tied the bags shut with the bag tubing. Of course raccoons had to pull off some of the 30 or so bags but most stayed on from last spring to this spring and it looks like that method MIGHT have finally killed off all those bits and pieces of trumpet vine in unwanted spots.  I do have trumpet vine on a trellis in the middle of the cottage garden but I don't want it anywhere else strangling everything in sight.)

Bloodroot

Large Crocus

Miniature Daffodils

Muscari or Grape Hyacinth

 

Seeing Red (Scraps)

Boo Boo Patches

3 x 6 finished

1.5 inch scraps

Patches so named because when I first started making these I meant to cut the strip set into 2.5 inch lengths and ended up cutting them into 1.5 inch lengths instead. I just went with the flow and named them Boo Boo Patches. 

Four Patches

4 inch

2.5 inch scraps

At the beginning of the month I mentioned I had a box of 2.5 inch width bits and pieces that I wanted to empty. I have sorted most of the bits and pieces now and have a baggie of some doubles of 2.5 inch squares I'm going to make into Four Patches. After that I'm thinking they might join up with some 4.5 inch scraps and turn into some Double Four Patches. Maybe...

Red is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month.

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

And sew on...

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Finished two books in the Martini Club series - The Spy Coast and The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen. The Martini Club is a group of CIA officers who all retired and moved to a quiet small town.  When a crime occurs they (The Martini Club) use their super powers to work behind the scenes to help out the acting Police Chief who doesn't know until book 2 that they are retired CIA operatives.   Book 3 in the series is due to come out in November. 

 

It's A Finish! Orphan Zeke

It's a finish!

Orphan Zeke

40 x 60

I made the top last December from orphan blocks and pieces and parts that came from several different people. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with swirls.

The backing and binding.

Now it is ready for donation to Wrap-A-Smile.  There has recently been an urgent call for quilts because there are more upcoming Rotaplast missions than prevously anticipated. That's a good thing.

"Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. Working with local professionals, Rotarians, and other organizations, Rotaplast sends multidisciplinary medical teams to provide free reconstructive surgery, ancillary treatment, and training for the comprehensive care of these children." Wrap-A-Smile provides each child undergoing surgery with a quilt. 

I have donated quilts to Wrap-A-Smile since 2013 (I think) and every once in awhile it is fun to spot a quilt I made with a child. I just added a page at the top of my blog with pics of kids around the world with a quilt I've made. 

If you are interested in donating quilts to Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) please read the WAS Guidelines and WAS Shipping Info.  Or you can email me and I'll be happy to answer your questions. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts 

April Aims

Dandy Boho Stars

6 inch

33 out of goal of 225

I usually set a theme for each month to help me move UFOs forward. This month is "Free Range" meaning there really are no specific goals - just whatever suits my fancy.  I set "Free Range" for April because, depending upon weather, it is a month where a lot of time is spent in the gardens and very little time is spent in the sewing space. 

However, I am going to have a little quilting marathon. Hopefully I will finish up a lot of smaller quilts this month. Word went out last week that Wrap-A-Smile is in urgent need for more quilts for upcoming Rotaplast missions.    So, the last couple of days I pieced a few backings and pin basted a few quilts. 

On breaks from quilting this month I want to work on my Dandy Boho Stars UFO - the traditional block Dandy in a Boho color scheme of grays, browns, sky blue, electric orange and saturated purples.  I've made several quilts using a 12 inch block but this is the first time I'm making six inch blocks. I started making blocks last year - a surprise gift (someday) for someone I love who loves Boho. I have a lot of scrap chunks in those Boho colors tied up in a couple of boxes but I never seem to getting around to cutting and making blocks so I thought I would give it a try this month even if it is to cut and kit up pieces for blocks. 

Rolling Stone or Broken Wheel

9 inch blocks

I have 29 blocks towards a goal of 63.

Again, I have some scrap chunks in reds, aquas and purples tied up for this quilt. In between quilting this month I also hope to make or cut pieces for more blocks. 

Hummingbird (aka Periwinkle) Blocks

8.5 inch 

I have 21 toward a goal of 63.

Since I don't have a quilt ready for hand quilting in the evenings I will work on a few applique projects I have in the works. 

Minnie's Hummingbird appeared in the July/August 2011 issue of Quiltmaker. It was made by Minnie Jacoby Schultz c. 1930.

I loved this vintage quilt and in 2019 I made a couple of blocks following instructions in the magazine. Well, they turned out a little wonky and I decided I did not like making them so I figured I didn't need my version of that vintage quilt. 

Then a couple of years ago I came across an appliqued version of the block at Susie's Scraps and gave it a try. The block is easy to make with that method and so once again someday I might have my version of the vintage Hummingbird quilt.  (Note: I am using 3.5 inch squares and not 4 like in the tutorial. I am also using 9 inch background squares and not 10.5 like in the tutorial.)

This month I also want to clean up/empty out this box of 2.5 inch width scrap bits and pieces. The little bits just keep accumulating and now is the time to do something or somethings with this box of bits.  Since I took this pic a few days ago I have sorted through pieces and have been cutting some different lengths. 

So if I'm in my little sewing space this month I guess these are a few of the things I hope to work on. It's always good to have a few goals, I think even if I'm free ranging.

And sew on...

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

I finished a book! Every Precious and Fragile Thing by Barbara Davis. I've read a few of her other books - Echoes of Old Books , The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls and I thought they were all pretty good but I thought Every Precious and Fragile Thing was boring and seemed to ramble on. The story was okay but it could have been a much shorter book.  I read on my Kindle in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. Usually the books I read keep me awake when I should be sleeping; however, this book had me snoozing after a few pages so it took me awhile to finish. 

Speaking of snoozing...I watched the Amazon Prime movie Holland with Nicole Kidman that is billed as a thriller. It wasn't.  The reason I watched is because one of my brothers was an extra in the film (an optometrist in the bar at an optometrist convention) but his scene evidently hit the cutting room floor. Holland was filmed in Nashville, TN  in 2023 and my brother lives near there. He's retired and thought he might have a bit of fun "starring" in a film with Nicole Kidman. He didn't know until he watched the movie when it came out a few days ago that his scene was cut.  

A Framed Squares (aka Happy Block) Flimsy!

Framed Squares

I usually call them Happy Blocks.

It's a flimsy!

42 x 54

Last year I blogged about a baggie I received with a partial block set - 22 six inch (finished) blocks plus a few parts for more blocks. I made more blocks from scraps in similar colorway to those blocks received so that I had a complete block set of 63 for a child's comfort quilt.  I put all blocks in a baggie and then into the SAR (some assembly required) bin. 

And now the top is complete; bag is empty. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

  WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward. 

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

And now that the Happy Blocks are in a top I'm left holding the (empty) bag! 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

13 - Sawtooth Stars 

14 - Sawtooth Stars

15 - Switch Plates

16 - Happy Blocks

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

I've been enjoying my Ephemerals that are popping up everywhere.  There's something new to see every day. Oh, joy! 

Species or Botanical Crocus are the first flowers to bloom here in Spring. 

These have been growing for many years in the lawn near the clothesline outside the back door. There are so many little patches of them now so the area looks like a sea of purple. 

These are Giant Crocus (believe it or not) and they start popping up in the cottage garden a few weeks after the Species Crocus start blooming.  The Faeries planted them next to their little gazing ball and under a rose bush. 

The Siberian Squill also forms a sea of blue in the cottage garden and now I even see it popping up here and there in the lawn. 

There's also little patches of Iris Reticulata starting to pop up here and there along the paths in the cottage garden.

Iris Reticulata in blue. 

A few more Giant Crocus along the cottage garden pathway.

I cleared this area last year along the pathway down to the woods. I cleared the opposite side of the pathway a few years ago. I planted a lot of different ephemerals last Fall in this area and the yellow Species Crocus are the first to pop up. I don't remember what all I planted so I'm looking foward to what appears next if the squirrels haven't dug everything up and moved it somewhere else. 

Here's a close up of those yellow Species Crocus dotting that area. 

A Switch Plate Flimsy

It's a flimsy!

Switch Plates

60 x 82

I've been trying for a couple of days to get a photo of this top but it has either been raining or very windy. This was about the best I could get before the top turned into a kite and flew away. 

So I took some close up photos indoors.

I started making blocks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project back in 2022 I think. I made blocks from 1.5 or 3.5 inch scraps long enough for four 1.5 x 3.5 inch strips (the plate) and I used 1.5 x 3.5 neutral scraps for the center switch. 

Last year (2024) I had enough blocks for a top - 320. I put the blocks in a bag and put the bag in the SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin. 

I dug out the bag this month because emptying bags as well as moving UFOs with 1.5 inch scraps forward have been my focus for this month as well as using yellow scraps.

When I started to assemble the top I decided to stagger blocks in columns so made a few more Switch Plates so I could cut some in half to use at the top or bottom of every column. 

Sometimes I think they look more like windows than switch plates.

And sew on...

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

***

 WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward. 

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

And now that the Switch Plates are in a top I'm left holding the (empty) bag! 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

13 - Sawtooth Stars 

14 - Sawtooth Stars

15 - Switch Plates

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

I received a box of treasure (scraps) from Donna yesterday. Oh joy! They are already sorted and ready to be made into something(s).