End of the Rainbow Quilted and Bound

I finished binding End of the Rainbow yesterday.  This quilt is on the cover of Melissa Corey's Irish Chain quilts.

End of the Rainbow is 75" x 75".  All of the fabrics, including the back were from my stash.  Getting the binding right was a challenge for me.  I wanted to do it like pattern, with the binding color matching the blocks as it went around the quilt.  It wasn't really hard, just a lesson in patience (which I'm usually out of by the time I get to the binding).

The quilting was done by Virginia Longarm in Goochland.  Melissa picked the pattern for me.  She has a great sense of which quilting pattern to use on a quilt, and I'm always happy with her choices.

Most of this quilt was made with RSC blocks. I am thinking about making another one of these quilts using whatever colors pop up in the RSC.

Linking up: https://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2019/08/craftsman-baby-quilt-finished-or-not.html
http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/2019/08/scraphappy-saturday.html
https://meadowmistdesigns.blogspot.com/2019/08/favorite-finish-monthly-linkup-august.html

Stash Report:

Used this week: 4.75 yards (EotR back)

Used year to date: 102.875 yards

Added this week:  9.25 yards (shop hop trip)

Added year to date: 107.875 yards

Net Added: 5.0 yards

Design Wall Monday

There are two hours left in Monday, so I'm posting my what's on my wall.  It's dark out, so my picture isn't great.

The past week I've been working on Witch's Night Out.  Pat Sloan is hosting a sew along, and her pace is one type of block a week.  I've gotten 4 weeks worth of blocks done, not two because we will have activities coming up that will prevent me from sewing for a few weeks.  If I get ahead now, I'll be on track later.  

The pattern shows a beautiful Halloween quilt in florals, peaches and grays.  Mine won't be as pretty as that one, but it will be more interesting, I think.  I'm using scraps and Civil War fat quarters.  

I'm also working on Sedona.  This is a block of the month, and I think I was ahead of the game until last month. I'm still on pace to finish it this fall.

My quick curve ruler technique isn't perfect yet, but improving.  When I make an error, it is usually in the squaring up step.

Linking up:  https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/2019/07/design-wall-monday-july-22-2019.html

One Monthly Goal, July

I finished my July goal: I  completed another Focus top.

 I chose bright fabrics for this quilt, which right now has no intended recipient.  I will probably give it to the next one of my sisters who has a health crisis.  Or maybe to my SIL who will be having her knee replaced soon.

This is a fairly quick quilt, but it has a lot of HSTs.  My advice would be to use busy fabrics. That way, if your points don't all match, no one can really tell.

Linking up: https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2019/07/one-monthly-goal-july-finish-link-up.html


Stash Report:

Used this week: 4.0 yards ( Focus 2 top)

Used year to date: 98.125 yards

Added this week:  2.5 yards (sale FQs Lancaster trip)

Added year to date: 98.625 yards

Net Added: 0.5 yards

One Monthly Goal, July

I am going to be out of town two long weekends in July, so I need my goal for this month to be something I can actually accomplish.  I want to get a Focus quilt top done.  This is a quilt I have already made once and gave to my SIL.

 My sisters said they liked it, so I'm making another. I got all the pieces cut out today.

There are 180 HSTs to make, so I need to get moving on this!

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2019/07/one-monthly-goal-july-link-up.html

Sew Many Strips, Quilted and Bound

I have been messing around with the binding on this quilt for about 2 weeks.  It shouldn't have taken me this long, other projects were just so much more appealing to me.  But I finished it today at last!  Here is Sew Many Strips:

My longarmer had a little trouble with this one.  It was either not straight on the frame or the backing was not straight.  When I got it back, the back looked like this:

Can you see how the green on the edge isn't straight?  I made my backing the right size by piecing a large green strip, a large blue strip then another green strip that was about 10 inches wide.  I think if she had anticipated where the small strip was going to land, she could have cut off some of the green on the large strip, and avoided the problem.  There was plenty of fabric in the backing to cut off 12 inches or more.

I was not happy with the way it looked, but I don't really blame her. She isn't as experienced or as expensive as other longarmers I use.  I am very pleased with the pattern she chose and the quality of the actual quilting.   Fixing it wasn't a big deal for me.  I just added a narrow blue strip along the side.  My repair could have been almost invisible if I had done it by hand.  But life is too short for me to do that now, so I fixed it by machine.

From the front, you can clearly see an extra line of stitching.  That's ok with me.  I don't think it detracts that much from the quilt.  I expect this one will be used a lot.  I'm planning to give it to my cousin.

I like this pattern so much, and it went together quickly for something with all those little pieces.  I will probably make this again in another color.

Stash Report:

Used this week: 0.625 yards

Used year to date: 94.125 yards

Added this week:  6.5 yards ( Focus Fabric)

Added year to date: 96.125 yards

Net Added: 2 yards