a pretty awesome weekend

This weekend there was nothing on the agenda other than an oil change, so I got to do some of my own stuff!

I was thinking about trying to catch up on my scrap blocks, but it's gotten so far out of hand, I'm ready to throw in the towel.  I'm still going to try to use my scraps and make quilts, but why not make the same blocks?  Simpler blocks.  I stumbled upon a pattern on Pinterest and sadly don't remember what it was called, only that the link to the original photo was spam.  But I'm pretty good at drawing a block from a photo, so away I went...

I cut what I thought was everything on Saturday and then took a break.  20 blocks at 18" each.  Then today I started to sew them together and realized I needed 8 color squares, not 4, for each block.  So I dug out the remaining scraps and did what I could, but had to add an orange and a few mismatched squares to fill everything out.  But it's a scrap quilt, and I say it's okay.

I got two blocks put together completely today, showing that I'm not a complete failure at drawing a block from a photo, and then got sidetracked.  (Not to mention it's rather warm in an upstairs bedroom with no air conditioning and an iron going!)

Pretty simple blocks, right?  Getting that ric-rac fabric going the right way threw me for a bit of a challenge on the first block, but I've got it down now.

The quilt will finish 72x90 without borders and I've already cut the binding!

But then...

JoAnn Fabrics had a 1-day sale today.  50% off all their Keepsake Calicos.  Since many of them are $7.99 and $9.99, I'm very cautious in my purchases for new quilts.  But at 50%, I could buy without as much restraint!  But I didn't have any quilts needing to be made.  So I talked myself out of going.  Then the hubby talked me back into it, saying that I'd need a project or three for when we'd be on vacation next month and he'd be out fishing all day every day.

Hmmm...

There are a few quilts I'd like to make one day...for me...  (And we all know that no quilter has any unfinished quilts anywhere, right?)

So after a few hours of debating with myself, I made the decision to go for it.

4 quilts on the list.

Originally I was just going to tease you with this, but as I was sorting colors and getting ready to throw some in the washing machine, I realized I may not remember which fabrics are for which project.  Particularly the larger pieces.  So I took a few more photos.

First up is the most recent to make my list: a Quiltmaker Scrap Squad version of Mandarin Express:

I pretty much copied the colors because, well, that's what drew me in.  The original would never have appealed to me, so it's fun that Quiltmaker has their Scrap Squad to change things up a bit.

Next up is a quilt I've loved from the time I saw it with a grey background: Supernova.

I couldn't find a grey I liked to go with all of these, so the grey-black is going to have to do.  I think it will make the colors pop even more.  And those fabrics...so many are fabrics I would have NEVER chosen on their own, but I was going for 5 fabrics in a family with an eye towards variety in shades and trying to push out of my comfort zone.  Now that I look at the blues (my first set of fabrics), maybe I didn't do so well, but I'm confident it's all going to work out.  I had a lot of fun choosing these, just grabbing and evaluating and putting back.  Needless to say, with 21 fabrics here, my cart began to run over...and I wasn't done yet!

And then there's Nicole's Sofa Quilt.

If we're being honest here, the fabric requirements for this quilt have been in my purse since Judy over at Patchwork Times showed the first drawing.  About a year ago.  I was hoping for the courage to buy the fabrics to make this quilt for myself and finally had the opportunity.

And finally, I bought only the background fabric for Swoon.

I broke down and bought the pattern at a quilt show not too long ago, having found it right there, convenient and not too expensive.  And I'd bought this fat quarter bundle a while back...

...loving it and knowing I'd save it for something special.  I haven't looked at how the background works with these yet, but it's a nice neutral that will get used eventually if it doesn't work here.  And it was what I had in mind when I left to go shopping, so that's a bonus.  (Usually you never find what you're looking for if you go out looking for it, right?)

So in all, I spent a pretty penny, but in comparison to the PlayStation 4 the hubby pre-ordered yesterday, I got by cheap.  (And considering that he won't take possession of the game system until...oh, wait, we don't know when...I also have something to show for my shopping spree!)

I've started washing fabrics, but then realized I'm out of fabric softener.  Go figure.  I guess I didn't really want to iron all those pieces of fabric all at once anyways.  (Never mind that two of the largest cuts went in that load that got fabric softener...)  And we don't leave for vacation for a few weeks either, so maybe it's better I don't have them ready for me so soon.

I hope you've all had a wonderful quilty weekend.  My upcoming weekend is going to be crazy.  I'm travelling out of state with my brother to a family reunion (we're both leaving the spouses home) and planning to have a great relaxing time.  And that starts a month of much travel for me.  I'll try to share photos and whatnot as I get time, but if I fall off the blogging bandwagon in July, that's why.

Happy quilting,

Katie