Update on Dreamlines 2023 Linear Pieced Quilt Project

It’s been a while since I last posted about my progress on Brenda Gael Smith’s #dreamlines2023 project. Brenda has been sending a new improv pieced strip pattern each month to the folks who signed up in January to do her Dreamlines Project.

There are just two more designs before we begin to assemble our strips into a quilt. Since the patterns are released on the first of the month, I expect I will sew up my quilt sometime during October. She offered two sizes of strips, and I chose the large version. It looks like it will work up to be a lap size quilt.

I pulled a selection of bold primary color solids in January but last month started to run out of sections that were long enough to complete the strips. So I’ve added some lighter colors and I think it’s turning out to be a happy accident (necessity)!

I have two strips sections of most of the patterns shown above, and the ones not shown are sometimes made with a different combination of colors.

This finished quilt is sure to be interesting!

Gnome and Rainbow Strip Quilt

This is a fun quilt I made for a child who loves forest animals, happy gnomes and rainbows.

It’s an fast and easy quilt to make. It could easily be a weekend project.

I cut 2 1/2 inch strips WOF (width of fabric) from my stash Kona ® Cotton fabric. I added prints where I needed additional colors. I actually think that makes the quilt much for interesting.

The gnome fabric is a Spoonflower print “Gnome Sweet Gnome” by Lisa Kubenez. I fussy cut the strips to get as many as I could from the yard of fabric (5 strips) which meant trimming off bits of the design. But I cut the center strip slightly wider to include the full motif. I wanted to see the entire design at least once in the quilt.

The quilting is primarily straight walking foot quilting across the strips. I added decorative quilting in the top and bottom strips of the quilt and in the red patches I used to lengthen the gnome fabric to match the length of the other strips.

The quilt has gone to it’s new home and is already a much beloved item!

Lab Puppies Quilt

Lab puppies!!  I'm really looking forward to working on this new quilt project.  I'm using my Black Lab Puppies fabric, available at my shop at Spoonflower.com, and some of my stashed collection of 1930s feed sack reproduction fabrics.

The puppies are printed on baby blue, light blue, aqua, pink and peach backgrounds--all colors which coordinate beautiful with the 30s fabrics.

My fussy cut Lab Puppies block is 4 inches x 5 inches.  I'll pair them with striped blocks the same finished size. The strips for the pieced block are cut 2 inches wide.  Sewing 3 strips together with 1/4 inch seams gives a block 5 inches wide. The strip pieced section can then be cut in 4 inch lengths to make 4 x 5 inch finished blocks.

I've put my cut strips in my drawstring bag and am going to try random piecing for the strip blocks! (I'm not good at sticking to random. We'll see)!!

It's going to be a happy, scrappy quilt!

Mystery Quilt! Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Part 3

It's so easy sewing green!  Well, maybe not THAT easy!  But I was really happy to see Bonnie gave us straight strip sets for Step 3.   

I set up a fence on my sewing machine to get those 1/4 inch seams perfect.  My sets with 2 strips measured exactly 3 1/2 inches.  I had a harder time when all 4 strips were stitched together. I had to press the 4 strip sets with a hot iron to get them to measure 6 1/2 inches 

Here are my 2 strip sets ready to sew together.  I cut my strips at least 20 1/4 inches long with most about closer to 21 inches long.  That allowed me to cut ten 2 inch sections out of each 4 strip set.  Overall, I needed twelve 4 strip sets to make the required 120 8 patch blocks.

My Lab mix, Hazel, who is going to be 4 years old in January, has weighed in with a dog's comment the amount of time it was taking to sew Step 3:

Right Hazel.  I hear you!  Too much sewing, not enough play time with dogs!    (Shh--don't tell Hazel---I still have 110 8 patches to sew together to finish this step)! 

Click here for the Step 3 Linky at Bonnie Hunters blog, Quiltville.blogspot.com to see how everyone is doing!