Around the Robin

I have participated in several stay-at-home round robins in recent years, but this is my first time reaching flimsy status.  It will finish at 46 inches.

A star salvaged from an unfinished table runner was my beginning block.

Round 1 - Block with first initial:  The star needed a border so I (Libby) chose to do London Roads.

Round 2 - HSTs:  I was fortunate that I had a stash of finished HSTs in the appropriate colors.

Round 3 - Stars:  I made Ohio Stars to anchor the corners of Round 2 and the upcoming Round  4.    (talk about a math challenge!)

Round 4 - Slashed Block:  I was able to incorporate the three colors of the star in several.

Round 5 - Log Cabin:  I chose to do a scrappy courthouse steps variation, giving me an opportunity to incorporate more pink in the quilt. The B/W center 4Ps were made from remnants of Round 1.

Round 6 - Kites:  I used those as cornerstones for Round 5 and finished the piece with a 3-inch border.

This was lots of fun and really gave my brain a math workout!  I appreciate all the thought and effort that went into organizing this challenge.

Linking up with  Quilting Gail for the final parade of quilts.

Breaking the Silence

No, I didn't give up blogging for Lent ... I've been through a challenging time, not much sewing going on.  

First, we attended a PGA tournament in Orlando in early March.  We had premier tickets with valet parking, clubhouse access, and on-site transportation.  We enjoyed the special amenities (including daily gifts) and the first two days of the tournament, but apparently the drive down had taken a toll on my legs.  They collapsed twice in one day, the first time being at the clubhouse in the tiny ladies' room stall with no grab bars and an in-swing door!  Fortunately an EMT was able to rescue me. 

So I ended up in the hospital for a day.  I woke from an afternoon nap to see a man standing in my hospital room, holding a vase of flowers and a bag of Trader Joe's chocolate-covered pretzels. 

The gentleman was the Development Director for the tournament and the flowers were from the staff that we had gotten to know those first two days.  I told him how much we had been enjoying the accommodations and complimented the staff and their thoughtfulness, but said the ladies' room definitely needed to be upgraded to ADA standards!  (And he agreed!  I think he was just glad we weren't going to sue!)

The long drive back home didn't help my legs, either so I've been taking it easy, but I did push myself to get the last border on my SAHRR so that I will have something to show in the parade on Monday

Overall I'm happy with the result.  Alex loves it.  I think I will hand it off to a local long-armer to be quilted soon.  I just need to find the right fabric for the back.

One Down, Three to Go

I finished the first side of the SAHRR Round 5!  I had my doubts since log cabin is not my favorite block as I said before.  But I've got to say I'm surprisingly pleased with the results.  Look!  It fits -- thanks to an extra "log/step" between each block.  Coulda knocked me over when I laid it out.

Not only am I happy with the courthouse steps, but now that I see everything together, I notice the totally unplanned repetition of 45-degree angles.  Overall it reminds me of an American Indian woven blanket.  

With luck and a little effort I may have it all together by the end of the week.

Nearing the Finish Line

That 5th round of the Stay at Home Round Robin (announced over a week ago) is taking WAY too long!  The prompt was for log cabin blocks and I opted to do the courthouse steps variation.  Let me just say that log cabin is probably my least favorite thing to sew -- boring!  And I can never keep them square.  

My cutting table is an absolute mess.

In the meantime I have already finished round 6 -- with four kite blocks for my corners.  

I had made a bunch of tiny 4-patches (2" finished) with the leftovers from Round 1; they became the base for my courthouse steps.  The "steps" are cut from 1-1/4" strips, finishing at 3/4".  So my blocks will finish at 5".  After several attempts at color options, I decided to make them all pink and black alternating with the background.  It feels like a never-ending process, but with luck I'll be finished with the top before the final reveal!  I'm thinking this will be the orientation with the black edge against the body of the quilt, but that decision will be made when I finish the courthouse steps blocks.

I'm anticipating that I'll add a border of one of the main fabrics when all is said and done.

Pardon the Interruption

I've taken a break from the SAHRR in order to work on a quicky project for my physical therapist.  She is expecting her first baby in April.  It's a boy and she has decorated the baby's room in a western/cowboy theme.  I have one more visit scheduled next week so I've been whipping up a quick baby quilt for her.  

The border is my own design and I'm thrilled with the overall look, not to mention how quickly it has gone together  (I won't talk about how many times I had to unsew the triangles to make them go in the correct direction!)  Only one intersection is slightly off, but I don't think the baby will notice.  The print fabric itself isn't particularly "western," but the colors remind me of jeans and bandanas.

It is a moldy-oldie, Polka Dot Garden by In the Beginning dated 2011, though I don't think I've had it that long.  The blue and red semi-solids by Kona Bay Fabrics are dated 2014.  The pattern was designed by Jennifer Heynen specifically for this fabric.

This project has been in my To-Do pile for a very long time!

I spent my time at Devo on Tuesday fussy-cutting the print fabric.  It was starting to look like Swiss cheese until I realized I could work my way up one side next to the selvage with a minimum amount of waste.  I have enough left over for the back, but I think I will use this neutral Teddy bear print on the back for a break from all the color, instead. What do you think?

I hope to get it ditch-quilted this weekend, once I practice with my walking foot....

Just In Time!

I typically review my day and think about tomorrow as I am drifting off to sleep each night.  So it was that Sunday night I was admonishing myself to not even look at Round 5 of the SAHRR until I had finished  Rounds 3/4.

But, alas, I couldn't resist.  So while I was thinking about what I would do for Round 5, I quickly assembled and attached the final strip of 3/4. The inset strips for the Round 4 blocks were cut from the eight leftover star points like the center square.

It's about 30" square at this point.  I don't think my holder's arms will be wide enough after the next round.  Time to clear off the design wall!

A Do-Nothing Week

 Actually, it's been more like two do-nothing weeks.  

I was rolling along, making good progress on a number of things, then I hit a creative wall.  Part of the problem is trying to regain momentum after being out of the house for several hours.  Last week it was PT on Monday and Wednesday (30 minutes into town) with a trip to Nashville (2+ hour drive) for doctor/dentist visits stuffed in between on Tuesday.  I did manage to get one piece near the finish line

I originally had five rows of blocks but it was out of proportion.  Not sure what I will do with it -- maybe a wheelchair quilt or a baby quilt.  I think it needs a border, but I'll need to shop my stash for something to go with it.  The remaining blocks will become a table runner.

Not only am I not yet driving, but we are down to one car after a pick-up recently smashed into the rear side of Alex's car (just a few feet behind my seat!)  So on Friday I asked a friend to get me out of the house to get a Valentine for Alex.  We incorporated lunch into the trip.  I forgot to text Alex that I had been invited out and he returned home from his charity work to an empty house!  Oops.

As I reported earlier, I had a plan for Round 3 of the SAHRR and was hoping that Round 4 could be blended into it.    I'm still cogitating on what should be a simple "extemporaneous" block; I'm having trouble fitting it into an otherwise "formal" setting.  So this is where I stand after Round 3 ...

I credit Diann/Little Penguin with the inspiration to incorporate Round 3 into the corners.  I can't attach the corners until I make Round 4.  I'm hopeful that I will have a solution before the end of today!

(Apologies for the poor quality of photos lately.  I'm learning a new phone and most of my photos have to be made while I'm sitting.)