I have started a second Crumb Quilt. These blocks are so easy to make and do not require any concentration at all. They are great blocks to make when you only have a few minutes to spare.

Sometimes quilt inspiration is like a dry well and you just can’t get motivated to quilt. This is the perfect prescription for the un-inspired quilter. Working with leftover bits of previous projects jump starts the creative process again as you reflect on the memories of quilt projects past. (This is where the Ghost of Quilting Past appears!)

Instead of just sticking to one particular colour like I did with the green crumb block quilt, I have decided that anything goes with these blocks. It is hard to believe that a tangled mess like this………………

……………………………turns into beautiful blocks like these!

I have made 30 blocks so far. I plan on making this into a queen size quilt so I will have to soon decide on the setting so that I know how many blocks to make in total.

I have set these blocks on a black background to take their picture. I am playing with the idea of alternate blocks of black or black sashing strips between the blocks. The advantage of plain alternate blocks is that there is room to showcase some quilting.

Since this quilt looks like it will have quite a bit of black in it, there is no danger of it being snatched by the quilt-napper, my mother. That means that this one will likely make it to the prospective gift pile. I need to get a few quilts ahead as I have two nieces that were recently engaged and are planning weddings for next Spring.

This is a picture of my first quilt that was quilted by machine. This quilt is called Fall Log Cabin. This quilt was pieced in November 1997 during one of our group’s Pre-Christmas Quilt Weekends.

This top sat for years – until 1999 – in an un-quilted state until I took some machine quilting lessons and tackled the quilting.

This quilt was also entered in our Fall Fair that year and won first place in the Medium Patchwork category.

I see a lot of quilters on-line talking about their first quilt. That made me go back and see if I could find a picture of my first quilt. Here it is…………………Crazy About Chickens.

I put the last stitches in this quilt on September 17, 1999, the day before the deadline for entries to our local Fall Fair that year. I won first place in the “Beginner’s First Major Quilt” category. The top was crazy pieced on a muslin foundation. I tied the blocks and machine quilted the border.

I used my Grandmother’s Singer treadle sewing machine to piece the blocks for this quilt. I have many fond memories of my Grandmother sewing on this machine. As a child I was allowed to play with all the fabric scraps left from the many clothing projects she made. The only fabrics in her stash that were off limit were the large “whole” pieces that hadn’t been cut into yet.

We still use this quilt on our bed. It is one of the quilts that keeps us warm in the winter. It is no longer visible as a much prettier quilt now lives on top of it.

Often we have bits of fabric left from making larger projects. I like to make miniature quilts from these left over bits. These are two Trip Around the World quilts I have made from leftover bits of fabric. Because they are so small in size, I have named them Short Trips Around the World. If the quilt is smaller, the trip must be shorter, right?
When I machine quilt on my DSM, I like to use this serpentine stitch.

I thought I should start showing some of UFOs that I am working on. I do not start a project and see it through to completion before starting another project. This is why I have an endless list of UFOs! I am often tempted to try a new technique, put together a new block based on an exciting new quilt I have found, etc. in between projects that I am currently working on. As well, I become bored with a particular project and often shift gears to another project.
This quilt is named Everything but the Kitchen Sink because it has many blocks in it that were sitting around without a home. There is no plan to this quilt – it will be finished when it is queen size. I have no idea how it will look when totally finished as the decision for what to do on the the next round is not made until the previous round is finished. I still have a box of log cabin blocks that will eventually make their way into this top as well.

The intent of the quilt is merely to use up orphan blocks and reduce my scrap stash. No plan, no rules!