WIP Wednesday: Junk Journals

I have 2 online swaps that I'm participating in this month at Junk Journal Junkies Facebook group so instead of sewing with fabric I've been sewing with paper the last week. And playing with scissors, glue, Mod Podge and lots of other fun stuff!

First up is my Mini Envelope Travel Journal. We were required to use a folded 6x9 manila envelope as our journal cover and have one signature (stitched in bundle of papers) for this swap. I'm waiting for some travel charms to arrive to decorate the ends of my binding waxed linen thread but the rest of the journal is done.

Birds eye view...

And a peek inside. I used a mix of scrapbook paper, regular paper and some items I cut using my Silhouette Cameo. We were required to create pockets and tuck spots to store extra items. I will be paired up with a partner at the end of the week... I will send her this journal and she will send me the one she has made.

The theme of the second swap was Junky/Scrap Journal. This journal had to be larger with 3 sewn signatures and we were to use pages from catalogs/magazines, junk mail, plain writing paper and off-cuts from other projects. It was challenging to think out of the box and really get junky!

For my cover I used a USPS small Priority Mail box turned inside out and collaged the exterior with tissue paper from a package, off cuts from my Cameo and scraps. I cut the title from a glossy mailer and used a pen to outline the letters. I dug into my vintage buttons to embellish the binding threads and make the paper clips.

The spine of this journal is just under 2" and it has over 100 pages (counting front & back) in it. I die cut my tags from pretty Kleenex boxes, packing material and glossy junk mail. I also used some tags from clothing as bases for collages. We were allowed to use only stamps and scraps for embellishments inside the journal.

This journal will also be mailed to a partner. It is so much fun to learn by doing and also by seeing techniques and items that our swap partner uses in her journal.

Now it's time to get busy in my Quilting Room and see if I can finish anything before May arrives Friday. Real life is weighing on my mind so I am once again seeking crafty therapy.

WIP Wednesday: All New

My design wall has a new attitude on the current project side - my Faded Memories UFO 4 patches are fully in the "Hmmm" stage and I've got my purple HSTs ready to sew together into a strip for my RSC14 ROYGBIV Chevron quilt.

"Hmmm" because I have WAY more of these 4 patches than I was thinking... only half of them are on the wall. It's a good thing I have plenty of the coordinating yardage to play around with. I also have another charm pack of the woven fabrics available to use.

I'm thinking my table topper might turn into a lap quilt or maybe a table topper for me and some to share. Such a pretty wash of colors and shabby fabrics to admire... more "Hmmm".

Miss Elsa finds my indecision nap inducing. I love the light and dark split of this photo. Our sun is back but it is still windy and cold out. But, at least no snow flurries!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday@Freshly Pieced.

Picnic in Serenade = Flimsy

It is unseasonably cold out today with a brisk wind and snowflakes falling intermittently so there will be no outdoor pictures taken. I'm afraid this flimsy might fly over the trees and right into our lake! Even Elsa is unhappy as she was enjoying spending her afternoons on the porch last week as we had temperatures in the 60's and low 70's.

 So here is Picnic in Serenade on my design wall instead.

This is one of those patterns that I fell in love with at first sight and I ordered the book because of the cover quilt called Picnic. It's very satisfying to see it come together after I started it 2 years ago as one of my UFO Reward projects (during 2013 I was able to start a new project after I finished 10 UFOs). I have three of Kim Brackett's books and think they are all great.

When I was finishing the blocks this winter I posted about my discovery of this Folded Corner Clipper. Not only do I love it for block construction...but it also made my joins of the angles go together smoothly when I sewed the blocks together. I didn't even pin between the block seams!

I just kept a careful eye to make sure my seam allowances were laying the right way and trusted Mr. Juki to do the rest. This tool is a keeper.

The fabrics are from Kate Spain's line called Serenade and it is an eclectic mix of patterns as well as an unusual mix of colors. I think they are well suited for this happy looking pattern. For now this top will go on a hanger and wait it's turn for quilting... and I'm ready to load up something new on my design wall which is always exciting.

RSC15 Catch-Up Day

The RSC15 color for April is purple which has so many delicious shades in my opinion. In fact, purple has been my favorite color for most of my life (minus the last 15 years when yellow took over). It is my favorite color to wear hands down too. Sewing with purple is always a pleasure!

I think my 5 purple bowtie blocks show off the glory that is purple nicely.

Since I'm playing catch-up with March I also have made 5 yellow blocks from my scraps to add to the mix. I think I used up my bright yellows in January when I was framing my blue crumb blocks with yellows but I think these blocks will play nice with the other colors and not steal the show like bright yellow tends to.

Here's a pic of all of the 2015 colors we've had so far mixed together. I am LOVING these blocks!

Next up is catching up on my blocks for RSC14 which I hope to do this week. It would be a step in the right direction to start May being current with this challenge.

I'm linking up to ScrapHappy Saturday@soscrappy and can't wait to see what everyone else has been making with purple.

Hello Quilting Room!

I was going to do a WIP Wednesday post yesterday but didn't get my act together so I'll try again today with more of a PIP post - Plans In Progress - starting with my design wall.

Someone in the house has decided that this wall is great fun to jump up on. A furry little someone who looks rather angelic at the moment...

Elsa has had a big day so far. There were two rabbits dining on grass near our family room windows for about an hour this morning and she was going crazy hopping from window to futon to chair to the other window watching. Then my cleaning friend arrived and Elsa likes to supervise her work (except when the vacuum is running). She is so crashed that she gave a little "mewp" when she heard the camera click but that was it.

My cutting table is a big old mess and is item #1 on my To-Do List once this post is published. You can see the missing strips for Picnic in Serenade which will go back on the design wall and then I will get those strips assembled into a flimsy (item #2). 

I've pulled out the baggie containing my Faded Memories 4 patches and will be putting them up on the design wall to play around with layouts (item #3). I had forgotten the cute woven fabrics paired up with the regular cotton charms. Aren't they fun? I'm such a fan of 3 Sisters fabric lines.

Purple is the color for RSC15 in April so I'll pulled my purple scraps to make my bowtie blocks (item #4). Lots of busy prints here so I might need to cut into a few FQs this month. And, since I didn't get to my yellows in March I'll be doing those as well.

Somewhere along the line I read/heard about having books spiral bound for ease of use and I finally did it. And wow how I love it! I took these books to Office Max last week and paid just $4.29 a book... let's just say I've already started a stack of my most used quilt books for my next trip. The "Art Doodle Love" book was a birthday gift to myself but the binding was so tight I couldn't open it all the way to write in. They also add a clear protective sheet to protect the cover which you can't see in my picture and you can choose between white, black or clear for the coil. 

If you look back to the pic of my cutting table above you can see the acrylic recipe holder I use to hold my book for my current project open. It works fine, but if I leave it in there too long the book ends up getting bent out of shape. I'm one to forget the measurements or get a block sub unit flipped the wrong way so I'm constantly checking my books. Sometimes the simple things make me very happy!

Q2 Finish Along Goals

After a fair amount of thought I've come to the conclusion (or should I say hope!) that pulling some fresh projects from my UFO Collection into the mix will get me going again this quarter. So I'm going to put some of the flimsies back onto hangers and pull out some UFOs that are in the piecing stage since that is my favorite stage of making a quilt.

I'm also going for the smaller projects in my Collection as you will see. I'm all about building momentum this quarter you might say.

"New" UFOs:

1. Kisses & Hugs - need to finish the paper pieced blocks, assemble into a top, quilt and bind.

2. Bouncing Balls II - need to finish the paper pieced blocks, assemble into a top, quilt and bind.

3. Faded Memories - I've had this stack of four patches forever... I'm thinking a table topper perhaps? 

4. Watercolor Wall Hanging - it needs an appliqued flower and finishing so I can hang it up!

5. My Favorite Chair - I'm going to frame this embroidered piece from one of Madame Samm's Blog Hops with fabric for either a pillow or a wall hanging.

"Old" UFOs:

1. Crossroads #1

 2. Crossroads #2

 3. Crossroads #3

That adds up to 8 UFOs ready for some finishing action in Q2... now all I need to do is park myself in my Quilting Room and get to it.  

Pretty much!

April Goals

I feel like April is going to be a turning point month for me. Our weather is still crappy and I've got UFOs to finish... it's that simple. I just need to get started.

I'm picking Crossroads #1 as my finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes. I see that purple is the RSC15 color of the month which is one of my favorite colors. No excuses. I've listed the rest of my goals for the month on my sidebar.

I returned from my trip east to see the kids on Saturday, had my typical post trip lazy day yesterday and am getting back on task today. I'm looking forward to watching the Final Four game tonight and getting into my Quilting Room tomorrow. Let's sew!