Plus a Nine Patch Quilt

 Today I'm sharing another jelly roll quilt. I'm tickled to be making a dent in these and finally finishing  some quilts that have been UFOs for a while. I saw a picture online for this quilt called Egg Hunt, from the Fat Quarter Shop. It was just a picture and searching for it now, the only reference I am able to find is a post that leads to Facebook for a kit that is no longer available. 

I had this Little Ruby Jelly Roll 

and in an effort to turn my Jelly Rolls into quilts, I settled on 2 alternate blocks. I didn't use a pattern. I just alternated a 9-patch with a plus block, using the picture of the Egg Hunt quilt as my inspiration. 

I pulled the Riley Blake Swiss Dot fabric from my stash for the background. I pieced this quilt way back in May 2019 and finally handed it off to Jackie when I found this backing on clearance. Sandy quilted a design called Flower Trails across it, but it's a little hard to see - this shot probably shows the design better than others

I pulled this print from my stash for the binding

At 72 x 77, it will make a good cuddle quilt. 

The combination of 2 simple blocks made a darling quilt and those Jelly Rolls are thrilled to be living their best life! 😉

Spring House Quilt

 This quilt is from an old Moda Bakeshop tutorial called Sweet Menagerie. I've been on a mission to use up old jelly rolls and I thought this would be a good way to showcase these. I used a jelly roll called Spring House that I bought on sale back in 2013.

 I finished piecing this in March 2021. Blogs are good for record keeping. 😉 

The fabrics have a modern vibe - very different from anything I have ever used - but the colors are fresh and fun

It's 70" x 78" and Sandy used a fun pattern called Modern Squares that shows up nicely on the back

In an attempt to use up the scraps, I pieced the back

A sweet finish and I'm very happy to know that another jellyroll has been released and is ready to enjoy life as a cozy quilt

Under The Needle Update

 I used to be good about posting what was under my needle each month, but it's been a long time since I've had anything to share. However, I've been able to sneak in and out of my sewing room in small 5 minute increments. I'm still cooking for the crew, but we've eliminated breakfasts for them and that frees up some time. I may still cook breakfast for them on occasion when we brand, but in all honesty, after 35 years of making breakfast for the crew, this old body is not missing those 2-3 a.m. wake-up calls. This weekend DH and I fed, put out a lot of hay, and the babies are still being fed twice a day, but the fridge was full of leftovers so I didn't have to cook and DH checked water and sorted some cows, leaving me behind...so I spent some time in my sewing room.

I finished piecing the Moda Bakeshop Sweet Menagerie Jelly Roll top. 

And worked on piecing the back with the leftovers and some coordinating fabrics from my stash:

I also worked on piecing these blocks I worked on last year, into rows:

I'm using a Biscuits and Gravy Jelly Roll from a few years ago. I fell in love with the red main print and I think this pattern is a fun way to showcase it.

My bin of blue fabrics has really gotten out of control. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have 2 bins so in an attempt to make a dent in the overflow, I've been searching for a scrappy quilt pattern. I found it in Bonnie Hunter's Winter Blues:

I love the concept of her scrap users system, but it doesn't really work for the way I sew although if I have a small bit left, I will cut a 2 1/2" strip or a 5" square. I hate to strip things down when I may need a 5" strip or a 8" square. I never really know how I'm going to use my fabrics so it made more work and I've got a lot of cutting of 1 1/2" strips to do, but it was fun sorting through my bins and revisiting the various prints:

I haven't pulled my neutrals yet and I don't have a whole lot of those, but I've got  lots of blue 16-patches to stitch and I hope I'll be able to consolidate my blues into a single bin. Hope springs eternal!

I'll admit that two thoughts ran through my head while I was cutting:

1: Where on earth did all of this fabric come from?

2. I will never need to buy fabric again.

I hear you laughing. But honestly, I'm just not sewing enough to justify all this fabric and even if I sewed every day, I'd never use it all. Not even close. 

I'm still cutting, but I really felt the need to stitch so the strips are piling up:

and happy little blue blocks are beginning to appear:

My SIL and I were talking the other day and she said we needed to have all this fabric so we'd have enough to keep us busy when we retire. A bit later she said she couldn't wait to see this blue quilt finished. I replied, "Don't hold your breath. At the rate I'm sewing, it probably won't be finished until we retire. Come to think of it, ranchers don't ever really retire so I don't think there's any danger of ever sewing up my stash. And I think I'm going to keep looking for blue scrappy quilt ideas because this isn't going to make much of a dent in what I have. 

I'm also binding this baby quilt:

And I picked up the Safari quilt I made for us a few years ago from Jackie last Monday. I usually make the binding before I hand the top off to her, but I neglected to do that so I made the binding yesterday. A scrappy binding would have been fun, but I'm using this print because it's what I have:

 I guess the drought has extended to my stitching as well as the pastures, but it feels good to be working on something again and God's still working so I'm still praying.

A New Project

Last week I started a new project. I didn't NEED a new project. I have a long list of quilts I want to make and more project boxes than I am willing to admit to. And this project is not even on the list. Although technically, using my collection of jelly rolls is a goal. Why is it so hard to unroll a jelly roll? For me, I think it's just a case of finding the right project because when I saw this quilt

I grabbed this jelly roll

I searched for a pattern, but came up empty handed so I just did some figuring, cut those strips up, added a background fabric from my stash,

 and started making blocks

I didn't know how many I was going to make - I just figured I'd sew until I ran out of fabric so we'll see where that takes me, but for now, the stitching continues