Placemat progress

I must say i'm a bit over sewing with this fabric....and i'm sure you are too! Hopefully this is the next to last post on the placemats! I have the final four quilted and waiting on binding. I do love how the quilting turned out though and because the placemats are 12"x18" it isn't a perfect square pattern..


I have consolidated my strips into this jar to keep them together and off the cutting / work table. I have added some solid strips from my scrap pile to give a little more diversity in the blocks. I'm not sure how many blocks i'm doing yet, but i have a feeling i may run out of this fabric stash - which really is the end-goal! I'm working on blocks 8-12 on these and have been doing them in group of 4 for no reason in particular...

One final strip to sew on the bottom of the rocketboy backing then on to the basting. Also piecing a backing for a table runner i'm quilting....hope to do today before the harvest festival...if i can get a certain little one down for a nap...happy sewing!

what i'm working on....

Here's a look at what I'm working on this week:

I finished 4 of the strip quilt blocks and have 4 more in process, a look at what a 'big' block will look like - do you see the 'X' through the middle that forms when you put them together?

Here is one of the Robot blocks for my bigger guy - he wants a new quilt. It will have oranges, greys and blues. A bigger modern pattern - inspiration here.

And here is a new small system for organizing projects (instead of piles on my cutting table / ironing board) It will work for now. Top row: placemats / sailboat quilt. 2nd row: Strip quilt blocks / fabric. 3rd Row: Pillowcase / fabric backing / Improv quilt fabric.

I have 4 more placemats done and pinned ready for quilting and binding. A bigger look at my studio / sewing space tomorrow!

String Quilt Blocks

I love the look of the string quilt block and how the 4 blocks form a pattern with just the strip in the center. I'm trying to use up the rest of this older Amy Butler Fabric and thought this would be a great way to use up scraps and my remaining yardage. This is my first finished block, although since this pic I finished 3 more!

this is a simple pattern and makes for easy sewing - I used this tutorial from Ashley at Film in the Fridge. The little tiny corners are also a great way to use those little triangles left over from mitering your binding!

These blocks are a tad more difficult to chain piece, for me at least. I tend to get 3-4 projects going and then spend time at the machine chain-piecing, then chain ironing and then re-pinning new pieces and then back to the machine. How do you do it? Do you just do one project or sew one piece, then iron then pin the next piece?