Sunday, January 28, 2024

The First of the Year Quilt Alongs

I did this to myself last year too.  Being retired it was so easy to say, "I have lots of time for new projects."  Ha! Maybe that would be true if I'd just stick with one new project after the madness of the Bonnie Mystery that wrapped up New Year's Day.  But no, I really wanted to play along with 2 quilt alongs that started in January.  It took me all weekend, but I'm caught up on both!  

The Just Two Charm Pack Quilts quilt along sponsored by Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs kicked off on January 2nd.  I'm making the quilt Betty from the book.  I'm supposed to have half of the quilt blocks made by January 29th.  I finished those a day early. 




I'm not a pre-cut collector, but my blue/purple/green 2.5" strip bins were full. So I raided those blue and purple scrap strips for my version. I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it at this stage.  But I've got 10 more blocks and the sashing to add, so it's still possible that my feelings on this project will change. I have till February 15th to finish the last 10 blocks.  

The 2024 SAHRR kicked off on January 15th with the center block (you can see all of those here). Last Monday, Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts kicked off the first border of signature blocks.  I actually finished my first border today, just before border two comes out tomorrow. 




I'm pretty happy with how it worked out.  I went completely scrappy last year. I'm not going scrappy this year, I have a limited fabric palette to play with. It certainly goes faster when you aren't hunting up scraps the right size.   The center with the first border is 20" x 22".  I want to end with a lap sized quilt, so border two will probably need to be a larger block.  I'll come up with a plan once the next round is posted at Anja Quilts sometime on Monday, 1/29.  

Linking up over at Pieceful Thoughts for the first round of the SAHRR and my usual Monday linky parties for Patchwork & Quilts and the Monday Design Wall.  

17 comments:

Julie in GA said...

It's so easy to get swept away by too many new quilt-alongs and mystery projects. Your two new ones are both looking great! I love where you are going with the SAHRR.

Gretchen Weaver said...

Your quilt is is going to be a great autumn quilt. The next step has been published and is an easy one to complete, happy stitching!

Linda said...

I like the Betty quilt so much. As always, I'm amazed at how placement of color can make the same block look different.
Nice how you made your signature blocks compliment Queenie's eyes. ;) I love that fabric you are using.

Rebecca Grace said...

Oh how true, that scrap quilts can be slow going! I think I spent more time digging through bins to select each fabric strip for my pineapple log cabin quilt than I actually spent sewing the blocks. I've seen some quilters do truly random scrappy, just blindly grabbing the next scrap to sew, but I feel like that works best for those who tend to sew with similar fabrics all the time. No one wants to see a quilt with a scrap of Bob the Builder next to a scrap of Aunt Grace reproduction next to a scrap of batik next to a scrap of Santa Claus! Good luck with both of your projects. Your cat looks fabulous and I think the blue and white one is going to be really pretty.

Sara said...

Oh yes - your border #1 looks awesome. I like how you did the corners.

Bonnie said...

Your cat looks great. I especially like how you handled the corners with the signature blocks. This will be a cute Halloween project.

Kat Scribner said...

Your fabric for the cat block is waaayyy too awesom!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I don't think you can go wrong with a scrappy blue quilt for Betty, and I hope as you make more blocks that you'll like the outcome more. And the first border for the SAHRR looks fantastic!

Kathleen said...

I love your charm pack quilt and your SAHRR! Fabulous job on the two challenges.

Kathleen said...

You are having fun with both these QALs. Love the charm blocks - they are just gorgeous. You did a great job with the SAHRR and the signature blocks. Love this fun kitty center!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I'm loving your blocks for the Betty quilt - that's a pretty color combination! The SAHRR border looks great, too. I like how you connected the signature blocks in the corners! It's definitely hard not to join in lots of QALs when you feel like you have the time. They all look fun!

piecefulwendy said...

Oh, your SAHRR is very fun! That border works really well! Glad you are joining in with us!

Kim said...

I rather love Betty. Love those colours! Those corners in your SAHRR are fabulous. I've never joined QALs as I know I will never keep up.

Barbara said...

Good for you getting caught up! And your SAHRR is so cute. I’m going to enjoy watching it grow. I’m three weeks behind on my quilting challenge. Thankfully, the carpet is in, and my quilting machine can get put back together.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

You did very well managing 2 challenges! I love the SAHRR first row, it's going to be a scarry/fun project!
Thank you for sharing your stitching progress!

Jennifer said...

It's hard to do all the things we want to do, isn't it? I am planning to jump from one project to another today just to make sure I touch a little bit of everything and keep it moving forward, even if slowly. I really like your signature block border around the cat - this is going to be such a fun quilt!

dq said...

Your Two Charm Packs QAL is so pretty! I love the polka dot background.