rryder

Beautiful quilt, Irish!

elly66

SillySusan congrats on taming some of the scraps. Sometimes that's a huge undertaking. I have been cutting scraps for the double irish chain sew-along here on the board.

Irishrose that is a lovely quilt and granddaughter.

Grann of 6 and Rob those coupons are hard to resist. I have spotted a few FQ bundles that keep calling my name but must stay strong. I started the year so strong I would like to get firmly back in that mode. I would also like to save for a quilting frame but I'll never get there if I'm spending it on fabric.

Irishrose2

Thank you everyone for the compliments. She truly loved it. I'm so proud of her. She starts work today as a social worker for the state she lives in. The city she interned in made room for her as they didn't want to lose her to another. Miss M has been accepted into the master's program, so I see another quilt in her future. The color choice reasons are in the link.

Now to work on the Irish Chain for the challenge. That one will be for me - my first. Also FMQ a king size on my other machine - another first. Yesterday, the stitching wasn't good. I changed the needle and will try again.

jmoore

Wonderful quilt Irish...great colors and a delighted granddaughter.

Rob and GRann...you both deserve a pat on the back for your discipline. I considered the Pima thread deal but I recently purchased a handful of spools at MQX in April which should last me the rest of the year.

I am also doing the Scrappy Irish Chain sew along here on the QB but I didn’t have 4 yards of background fabric so I had to order some from MSQC...but luckily I had a gift certificate so I technically didn’t spend any money, right?

Iceblossom

Jmoore, if you use it, it doesn't count as stash and I say you aren't breaking the moratorium. At least that is what I tell myself! I only feel guilty about the fabric I buy because I want it, not the fabric I am using.

I'm continuing on the Wonky Bright 9-patch project. Got my first 70 set of 3-patches done, about halfway through the second set. I'll need to cut more strips today and am staying away from anything smaller than 3.25", those 2.5" strips were just too small. Am still debating for round 3 of the 3-patches if I will continue using 90 degree angles or if I will slope some of them. As I look at what I have and how the blocks will react once I cut them wonky, I'm thinking to stick with the 90 degree angles, but maybe a few that are 2.5 on the bottom and 3.5 on the type will help work with those problematic 2.5" strips... I keep telling myself to not overthink it. I am sticking together fabrics that I would not normally use together with wild abandon and keep telling myself "someone is going to love this (even if I don't!).

Irishrose2

My Challenge Irish Chain will be a stash buster. I ran out to the WOW I was using for the background and have nothing similar, so it will have a totally different one to finish. Good thing it's for me. I will have to hide from my oldest matchy-matchy daughter.

Iceblossom

Irishrose, first off what a lovely granddaughter and lovely quilt!

For your background issues, it all depends on how many blocks you have made and how many more you want. I'd suggest doing an outer row all around (which turns out to be about the same number of blocks as in the inside) with the matching ones inside, and the completely opposite around the edges. You might even want to make it a totally different color like a light blue so it's sure to be noticed. You can checkerboard the pieces as well, or make them into columns with a couple of rows of the alternate fabric.

On my recent purple project I ran out of the background I was using in my border blocks because of bad cuts from when I bought it. Isn't it amazing how they can cut it one angle on one side and the opposite angle on the other side... I was one 2.5" WoF short! I used a very similar style of print but the white on white is quite a bit brighter. Although I only needed two blocks, I made the four corner blocks all the same and am happy that I didn't buy a bigger piece so they would all be consistent but used up my scraps.

Edit/PS: Continuing work on the Wonky Bright project. Finished the second set of 70 3-patch units. Today I have to cut again for the last set. I am getting quite a bit free-er as I go along and I'm using up the bag of scraps like crazy but I have a nice bundle of stuff for my crumb quilter. I'm going to keep with the right angles and no skewed ones while sewing.

grann of 6

• My quilty friend was making a quilt here using WOWs scrappy ways. When it came time for a white border around the perimeter, she didn't have enough of hers left. So we went through my vast collection of WOWs and found one that was close enough to work just fine. I did the quilting on my longarm and you can't even tell it is not any of the WOWs in the quilt.
  
  I am currently using some JRs that have been waiting patiently for just the right project. The collection is just basic prints in what I would call autumn colors, orange, green, gold, maroon, etc. And I have a large chunk of fabric that I got from my LQS $5 bin, that is tan background with scarecrows and pumpkins on it. So the two shall become one. I am making Magic Boxes by Donna Jordan using the strip tube ruler, and putting a tan mottled strip in the middle, which is also a piece from the $5 bin. I am excited to get it finished because I already have the next project in mind. I need a sofa cover, so I am going to use some doggie prints that, again, have been waiting for just the right project. I am going to make another Oh My Stars lap quilt. The dog uses the sofa more than people do, so a doggie fabric is perfect. I will cut up a bunch of charm squares, and I have some primary color charms that I will throw in hither and yon. So, more stash busting.
  
  
• 
  
  

happylab

Thank-you every one for letting me know about the Irish chain challenge, I have a version of this I started last year and it’s a way for me to finish it. No new fabric needed, all from stash, just need to finish it.

I really think I need to forfeit chocolate and do sit-ups. I went off the wagon and landed hard on my head and bought fabric from several sources. Brain damage, I bought Several backing fabric, some fabrics to start to make 2-3 new projects, etc. so I’m going to try to stay away from fabric stores and places that sell fabric. Unfortunately, there is a quilt show next month that I will be going to (Kansas City regional quilt show). It’s over 3 days. I’ll be there 2 of the 3 days. It’s out of town so I will be using my out of town vouchers. I don’t need fabric, just backing fabric and quilting tables, or advice on quilting tables. I’m telling myself, “I do not need new fabric, I do not need new fabric.” Oh well back to sewing and jumping back on the wagon.

LindaJane

[ATTACH=CONFIG]613226[/ATTACH]Finished a rug from my box of strips left over from other rugs so lots of different colors and an almost empty bin of rug strips. Each rug takes between 12-14 yards of fabric so a great way to use up non-quilt shop quality fabric.