a break from lots of small pieces

to even smaller pieces...

I'm joining in on a sew along with Sharon Keightley, making a table runner from her book Autumn Bouquet.

The group is on Facebook if your interested at Sharon Keightley Quilts.
Linking to Confessions of Fabric Addict Fridays and to Em's Scrapbag :-)

short distraction

Sewing up the HST's into four patches this week

but I got distracted...
because I saw video by Stephanie from Quilt Addicts Anonymous on how to KonMari Your Stash. Two videos actually... here are the  YouTube links.
The first video...

and the second video

I had trouble getting these links right so if you have any problems with it, try searching YouTube for Quilts Addicts Anonymous and you should be able find them.
First, I started with my neutrals

I found  plastic boxes like she mentions in the video and some long thinner ones from Target that fit my drawers better. I was amazed it all fit.



Next I worked on my browns...from golden to dark and found it a little more challenging. 

I need to find a quilt where I can use a ton of brown!
I'm waiting for more boxes to work on other drawers. 
Not sure if I'll change anything up in these bigger cupboards

But it is kind of fun to be able to see what I actually have to work with.
I'm linking this post to Sarah's Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Emily's at Em's Scrapbag. Go check out the  beautiful progress from other quilters this week.

working out the steps

So I've got a good start on my Straits of Mackinac.  I cut out most of the pieces in about 3 days. HA!  Lots of pieces! 

I cut out strips for the HST's (half square triangles) and layered a neutral and a blue one right sides together and then used Bonnie's Essential Triangle Tool to cut out 576 triangles that are all paired and ready to sew together.  And then I cut out about 144 of just blue ones for the square in a square blocks and the squares needed. From strips, I also cut out some triangles using the Tri Recs ruler for triangles in a square block. Lots of cutting!
As I'm cutting, I make stacks of 10 and then gather 10 stacks and put them in labeled baggies to keep track of how much I've cut!

Last week I worked on getting my square in a square blocks more accurate.
I only needed 36 but it still took a bit of time.

This week I'm sewing all those HST's. I'm about done with the sewing.  I've trimmed off the dog ears and pressed more than half so maybe today I'll get these done and start putting them together in those 4 patch settings.

I mentioned back in the post right after my class that a friend ...who I didn't get contact info from! :-(   shared some really cute crab fabric with me.  I searched the Web and found one fat quarter still available.  Yay! So I'm thrilled to have these in my triangles.  Absolutely, my favorite here and they remind of a quilter's kindness.

 I will work on the strings needed for the triangles in a square block after the 4 patch units  :-)  Happy Fall Stitching everyone!

Linking to Sarah's  Confessions of a Fabric Addict  and Em's Scrapbag

Autumn Jubilee 2019

Today begins another fun yearly event of  quilty and seasonal inspiration over at Carole's  From My Carolina Home!  Head over to check out the frequent posts of quilting, stamping, decorating and recipe inspiration all through the month.  There are even prizes for participating from some amazing sponsors!  Here's the link to begin..

 https://frommycarolinahome.com/2019/10/02/autumn-jubilee-2019-begins-today/  It promises to be fun!