Welcome to my new Thread Thursday series! Each week I’m going to share a little of what I’ve been working on in the studio. Since my quilty New Years resolution was to add more WIPs to my project list, I thought updating you on the complete list is a great place to start. I hope you enjoy part one of my WIP report.
I’m up to nearly 30 projects right now, so I’ve broken them up into categories. Buckle up!
Current Quilt Alongs
Quilt alongs are a great way to keep a steady pace on a project, learn new techniques, and connect with other quilters online. I’m working on four right now.
Sunset Isle Quilt Along
This one is hosted by one of my favorite quilters in the world, Alyce Blythe of Blossom Heart Quilts. Each month is a row, which I’m absolutely loving since it’s going to make actually finishing the quilt top that much easier. (See Old Quilt Alongs below!) You can join us anytime you’d like on Alyce’s site. I also did a post about my first three blocks if you want to check those out.
I couldn’t stop wondering what yellow notions I had while I was making this block… including the several minutes I spent using the ruler drawing my diagonal lines!!
Conversation Sampler
This is another row of the month quilt that I’m just so in love with. I have a thing for rainbow quilts if you can’t tell! Anne Marie Chany is the genius behind this pattern, and I’m loving how the widening rows each month keep adding color to this project. I wrote a post on choosing fabrics for this project and the first three rows of Conversation Sampler that you can take a look at.
As the rows get wider, the colors get more… colorful?
Perfect Half-Square Triangles Quilt Along
I joined this quilt along because I was curious about a better way to make half-square triangles. Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced sure hasn’t disappointed! I love how accurate my HSTs are and how little trimming there is in creating these blocks. The blocks go together so easily, and I loved her fabric choices so much I decided to just go with it. The first three Perfect HST blocks post shows how I’m progressing.
This block is Dupont Circle. If you ever come to DC, I highly recommend Lorial Plaza for some great Mexican food!
Stargazer Quilt Along
Rebecca Bryan might just be my new paper piecing hero. Her method using freezer paper means less paper waste and no picking tiny papers out of your seams. Real truth: I started this one late and felt too busy to stop to learn her method, so I just did it the old-fashioned hard way. Yeah, that saved a lot of time. Well, I had some downtime between blocks three and four, and boy howdy, it her method so much easier. I definitely recommend you check it out. Here’s a post about the first three blocks that I did the hard way!
This month’s blocks and my fabric colors created a beautiful sun.
Old Quilt Alongs
While I love quilt alongs, I usually get the setting instructions at the end and think, “Wow. That’s a lot of work.” I’m usually ready to move on to something else, so those blocks will sit in a project box for too long. These are the Ghosts of Quilt Alongs Past that I’m trying to work through right now.
Clementine Quilt Along
Not gonna lie: I just downloaded the setting instructions for this one as I’m writing this post. Fat Quarter Shop hosted this quilt along for their St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital last year. My very good friend’s son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2017, so I thought about him and his family the entire time I worked on these blocks. I’m gonna move this one up the list so I can get it done and sent off to my friend so they can enjoy snuggling as a family with it. You can see all the blocks in this wrap-up post after block six was done.
Block 5: Pineapple’s Puzzle
Gravity Quilt Along
I bought the kit to make the Gravity quilt from Jaybird Quilts while I was in Flint, Michigan, in 2016 to respond to the water crisis. The few hours I had off from work while I was there were spent at a local quilt store and were so restorative for me. Gravity is basted and just needs to be quilted and bound. Wish me luck!
Piecing this top was a living room-encompassing event. A lot of furniture was moved in the making of this picture!
Bella Skill Builder
The Fat Quarter Shop hosted this quilt along in 2017. Each block used a different technique with modern ways to making them easier. I did all the quilting in the ditch on it and then put it away to decide how much and what kind of custom quilting to do on it. I guess it’s time to make some decisions and get it done!
This pineapple block was probably my favorite to put together.
Summer Sampler 2018
I made the first block of this one and hated it so much – operator error, for sure! – and never went back to fix the block and make the others. This one’s lower on the list of projects to complete, but that first block still hangs on my design wall to mock me each time I see it! In other news, the amazing team behind the Summer Sampler quilt alongs – Lee from Freshly Pieced, Faith from Fresh Lemons Quilts, and Katie Blakesley from swim bike quilt – are getting ready to announce the 2019 event next week!
I don’t know what I was going for with this block, but this… wasn’t it.
Dimensions Quilt Along
Dimensions is from Stephanie at Quilt Addicts Anonymous, and I had to start it because of all the amazing ombre fabrics it used. I got most of the way through the first block before I had to pack up the project to move. We’ll see if I can figure out the shading of the fabric when I get back to it!
I had to pull the official picture from Stephanie’s site because I don’t have any pictures of my own yet!
Aaaannnddd… I just realized how long this post got with just going through my first two categories! So I think this is a great place to break for now. I’ll be back for Thread Thursday next week to fill you in on the rest.
How do you organize your WIPs? I’d love to know if there’s a better way for me!
Quilt on,
Joni