350 Blocks Report-February

I got quite a few blocks done in February.

Buhl-Bushong:  3 blocks.  This was finishing the border, and I counted each flower section as 1.  I counted the other 4 last month.

Hattie's Baskets:  4 blocks.  

Cassandra's Circle:  1 huge block

Couch Project:  25 blocks.  I actually made this quilt into a slipcover for the chaise part of my couch.  Part of the blocks were made long ago in a swap with quilting friends.

Frolic:  3 blocks.  Not much progress on this due to other projects.

Ella Maria Duncan:  4 blocks

Lucy's Bag:  1 block

Dust Off a Book Blog Hop project: 21 blocks.   This is going on right now, and my day is Thursday so can't share yet. 

Pieces from the Past:  1 block

Pillow Cover:  1 block

Total for February 64 blocks.

Reporting in to Prairie Moon Quilts for my total last month.

One Monthly Goal- February-Done

It's time to link up finishes for February for One Monthly Goal @ Elm Street Quilts.  I so much appreciate this monthly motivation for finishes and many thanks again to Patty!

For February, my One Monthly Goal I stated here.  I call it my couch project.  The section of couch I sit on is a chaise type section.  Our couch is sort of a corduroy type fabric and last year I noticed there was a run in one of the low areas.  I didn't want it to get worse, so I ironed a large patch on the inside, but the patch was heavier than the weight of the couch fabric, that it bunches up around the edges like this, and it bugged me.

For awhile I had this quilt I made my husband years ago on top of it, and wrapped around the edges, but every time I got up, it came undone, and was wrinkly.  This picture is after I smoothed it out.

I really liked the configuration of this quilt, and decided I would do something similar and make quilt, and turn it into a cushion cover.  

I remembered I had some swap blocks.  I went to pull them out.  Many, many years ago, in 2005 I belonged to a Yahoo Group called "The Fat Quarters".  For awhile we did something called "Lotto".  We would all receive a focus fabric, and we would make a block.  At the end of the month, someone would pull a name, and that person would receive all the blocks.    

In September 2005, I won the 15 blocks.  The focus fabric was sort of a primitive Christmas, but you really have too look to see that the branches have ornaments on it.  

This was the focus fabric and every block had this in it.  

Several of the names you might recognize as block makers:  Bonnie Hunter @Quiltville, Lori DeJarnatt @Humble Quilts, Nancy Stevens @ Blogging, Near Philadelphia,  Randy Danto @Barrister's Block,  and the only other one I know that has a blog is Moira McSpadden @ The Quilted Snail.

I made my plan, and decided I needed to make 80 blocks total at 9" finished size.  So I needed to make 40 HST's and 25 more pieced blocks.  These were my Lotto blocks.

I got the blocks together and it looked like this.

I quilted it, and then I serged around all the edges because I wanted to wash it before I started making the slipcover portion.   It was way big enough before I washed it. 

But after I washed it, It  had shrunk about 4-5 inches all around.  It didn't matter so much in the length, but I needed it for the width.  So on the back of the piece in sewed in a strip of upholstery fabric that I happened to have.  This is the back side that I need to piece a strip into.  I just used muslin for the backing because it will be inside the cushion cover.  

I squared the corners so it would fit properly at the bottom edge of the cushion

This is the finished cushion cover.  I love how it came out, and how it doesn't keep unloose!

I'll be linking up to Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal.  Thanks again Patty for all you do!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been really busy the past week on various projects, part of which I can't show because of two upcoming blog hops. 

The Color it Red Blog Hop starts next week and I did finish my project yesterday.   This is hosted by Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt.    I can't wait to show this one.  I spent the past couple of weeks hand-quilting the project.  It is small, about 15 inches square.





Yesterday I started my project for the Dust of a Quilt Book Blog Hop which is the first of March hosted by Bea @Beaquilter. 



My project comes from a book published in 1990.  I have dearly loved this quilt for years, and it is a theme both my husband and I love.  The trouble I ran into yesterday was that I needed to cut 12 backgrounds 4.5 x 8.5 inches, and I had a strip of fabric I thought I could get them all.  I don't know what my problem was, but I cut the first strip too narrow.  Then I only had one strip left, and I cut the 4.5 right, but cut the 8.5 too short.  So I ended  up with 4 pieces and am having to use something else too.  This quilt has a LOT of little pieces, plus a Y-seam.  It will be challenging.

Okay on to what I can show.  My niece sent pictures of the baby on the quilt I made, and Lucy carrying her little bag.

Yesterday afternoon after I messed up my cuts on my Dust Off a Book project, I decided to move on to something else.  Grandson Jaeger brought over his Letterman jacket for me to add/fix some patches.  He just received it several days before.  My daughter sort of knows how to sew, but it is not her thing.  She tried to attach the patches by  hand, and the sleeves are leather so it was hard. 

Apparently Jaeger didn't tell her, like he told  me that the lining could be unzipped.  Or she didn't realize you could pull it away from the sleeves too.  It was a big mess.  I took all this out, pulled the lining off the sleeves, and attached all the patches.  Part of the big ones had been attached by the jacket company.

Now something I can show.  My One Monthly Goal for February is to put 15 swap blocks from long ago with others, make a quilt I am going to make into a slipcover for the chaise part of my couch.  

I did get the quilt part done.   I have one on my poorly lit design floor, and Jaeger kindly held it up across the street at the park.

Now I just need to quilt it, and assemble it into a  cushion cover.  I measured it and it is going to fit.  

That's it for now.  Let's see if I can cut accurately today!

Thanks for stopping by!