Design Wall Monday ~ Scrappy Irish Chain

 

Design Wall Monday ~ On My Cutting Table

It has been a long, long time since I participated in this blog party 

Design Wall Monday @ Small Quits and Doll Quilts

This is the first block piecing I have done in over a year.

My vision has slowly declined and my hands are achy,

but I am enjoying being back in my happy sewing corner.

I decided the

Scrappy Irish Chain Scrap-Along @ Coriander Quilts

was a good way to regain my piecing skills before making a baby quilt

 for my grand-niece. 

Today was a two blocks sewn day and my seams and squares are looking better, 

so I am feeling good about my progress.

I now have all 12 of B Block completed and 3 of the 13 A Blocks needed.

I am not ready to roll down my temporary design wall yet.

Hopefully next Monday I will have a quilt top on my wall and ready to sew. 

Have a happy quilty week! 

On My Design Wall Monday Today

On my Design Wall today.

This is my Stay-At-Home-Round-Robin, 

which I last worked on Here in February

when I was actually caught up with the sew-along.

Then I worked finishing on a blog hop project and was distracted by other projects

and the SAHRR ended without me two weeks ago.

It is all good, though, as I will finish this in my own time.

In truth, the checkerboard challenge week proved puzzling to my quilty muse

and I sewed more than a few units that I set aside

before I decided to combine the checkerboard (four patch units)

 with the wonky star border ... 

... to make this 6.5" streaming star block. 

I have also been playing with the corners to extend the knot and chain units.

This is the orphan block that I chose when I started my SAHRR Here. 

This block was my Blockheads 3 Week 1 Star Chain Block. 

I hope to fill in the open spaces filled 

and have my borders sewed on by the end of the day.

Then I may have to let this project wait.

I do have a tentative plan for the last two borders. 

It is a sunny, cold and blustery Monday here in my quilty corner.

When I got up this morning, it was -4 degrees F ... brrrrr!

A good day to stay in and sew.

Right now I am pondering whether the double knot units in the corner 

are too much or if I should make the outer unit a chain.

Hmmmmm ?

What think you? 

~ 

Linking up today with

Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

~

What are you working on today? 

~ 

Playing with Cotton + Steel

Cotton + Steel

I am saving most of this to take with me to sew with My Girl when I visit her in September, 

but these fabrics are sew lovely that I have to play today!

Butterfly agrees.

Sew ... I am sewing!

I am also binding my Easy Lattice Charm Quilt today!

In the last few days, I pieced the backing.

Sandwiched and got ready to quilt ...

Katniss helped. 

I quilted.

Butterfly helped.

I bought a large quilting weight cone of white

Aurifil 40/2 Quilting weight thread in 2021

from Follow That Thread

I use the 50/2 thread in 2021 exclusively for piecing.

This is the first time I have purchased online from this shop although I have bought many cones and spools from Donna in nearby quilt shows but I was out of white quilting thread and shopped online this time.

As always, her service is good and I will definitely do so again.

I usually use Superior King Tut for quilting and Aurifil for piecing, but I think I am going to be buying more Aurifil quilting cotton in the future as my machine and I are very happy with this thread.

Today I am binding my quilt!

Butterfly is helping.

So I am also sewing.

This is an "improv"  project.

It will be a table quilt.

I am trying to decide on the next border band ... 

(1) ?

(2) ??

(3) ???

Katniss has no opinions and is snoozing next to my new little scrap jar'

that will only be for  Cotton + Steel.

Butterfly is no help because she is snoozing on my chair.

This mean I will be binding my quilt while I decide.

Would you like to help be decide ...

1 ... 2 ... or 3 ????

One thing I have decided is that there will be

some more easy lattice happening in this new project!

What are you working on today?

I am linking up again this morning with one of my favorite link-ups ...

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

As always there are lots of inspiring projects in the links.

Have a happy quilty day!

:)

On My Design Wall Today ~ Easy Patchwork Lattice

Easy Patchwork Lattice

I started my quilting experience with the old wisdom that

"If you can sew a straight line, you can made a quilt."

Today I am taking a step forward and saying to myself,

"If I can sew a straight line,

I can cut a straight line!"

On any quilt.

To make easy patchwork lattice.

To create a plaid effect.

To make easy interwoven quilts.

To make easy knot quilts.

The possibilities are endless!

My mind is whirling and full of quilts I want to make!

My quilty muse is sew happy!

Here is my method:

I sewed this Scrappy Charm Quilt



I tested my method by making this

Easy Plaid Patchwork Block

Then I was ready to go on my quilt top!

I cut strips WOF for the cross lattice and pieced them into long strips for the upright lattice.

I started pinning them to my quilt on my design wall to see how many strips I wanted to add to my charm top to create the lattice effect. 

I sewed the first strip onto my charm top ... 

I pressed my strip.

I CUT my QUILT TOP 

1/4" to the outside of my seam line,

aligning the 1/4" line on my ruler with my seam line

and using my rotary cutter to cut away the right side of my quilt in progress. 

This first cut was the hardest part.

It was a step in faith that I was going to cut my already perfectly pretty pink charm quilt to create something even more special.

I carefully moved my too short ruler up my seam line and continued to cut.

I took the two halves of my quilt back to the sewing machine.

Aligned my cross seams as I sewed.

I did not use pins.

I am vision impaired and I use touch to align many of my seams.

I pressed my lattice strip.

Looking good! 

I sewed the next lattice strip onto the top and then cut away.

By the time I was second cut all the butterflies in my stomach about ruining my quilt top weer long gone and I was confidant and happily playing with the fabric.

This is fun!

I sewed the cross lattice seam to piece my top back together.

I pressed.

I am impressed!

This "sew and cut" method works 

and it is easy 

and it is sew much fun!

Weekends are busy family times for me.

Monday I do my house cleaning and then I sew.

My top is waiting and I cannot wait to sew!

Linking UP today with all the lovely work in progress at

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

EDIT:

Here is my completed top.

For more details, click HERE

Thanks for stopping by my scrapatch today.

May you have a happy, quilty day, too!

:)

On My Design Wall

This striking Round Robin in progress 

is on my design wall today.

It is my turn to add to this beauty.

Annette expertly set this RR on point to add the 2nd border.

Click here for more.

Gina added the first border on this big bright center block.

Click here to read more

This is Tricia's RR and she has her own blog and posted the start of her RR HERE

Working on a round robin is a great learning experience.

Finding the right fabrics and designing a border is only part of the challenge.

Making your cutting and stitching and technique match with the other quilters so that the border will not only look good but fit right can be quite a challenge.

This RR is blessedly flat and square thanks to the expert efforts of my stitchin' sisters

 that have added their borders before me.

Over the years I have had to add borders to work that was not squared and one side might be an inch or two  more or less than the other borders and then it has taken all my skills to "make it work."

I have always done my best to pass along work to the next quilter that plays well with all the borders.

I stash shopped through my fabrics and think I found some that will work really well!

I also have this book out to piece part of the borders.

This shall be fun!

I love this book which was a find on a white elephant table once at a quilt show.

It is time for me to get my border on and send this on!

Linking Up today with all the lovely works in progress on ... 

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

... many lovely WIPS in the links!


Last day to enter my

Perfect Picnic Quilt Great Giveaway

Winner will be posted tomorrow!

:-)

Improv in the Scrapatch

 

An Idea:

 

Use these charms and background fabric and end up with a large block, about 28" by 18"

 

Cut and sew as I go.

 

 

Sewing

 

Making Progress

 



Pressing

 



The Block

 

To see where this is going, please visit again soon.

 

 

 

This is my 30/30 sewing of for today!

 

Click here for more details

 

This is fun!

 

Also linking up to day with

 

 

@

Freemotion by the River

and

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times
 

:-)