Civil War Summer

After yesterday's post, I bet you thought I was on block 1 of 90 for the Block a Day Challenge.  It just ain't so!  But I'm not ready to show you where I am yet.  I didn't have enough to make the background all one color scheme, so I split it up.  Now, I'm playing with the layout to see how I like it best, and I realized that I don't have enough of the different colorways to show you my vision.  While I sew more, here is a sneak peak at one of my blocks.

I also mentioned that I was using the BaD as my Leader and Ender project.  Some may know what that is, but others may be wondering about it.  It is a phrase that was coined by Bonnie Hunter, and she describes it on her blog here.  I've also seen it referred to as the Bonus Quilt method, because you slowly make a second project while actively working on your primary project.

My primary project is my Civil War Summer quilt.  Last summer my boys and I toured several Civil War National Parks and Battlefields to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.  I've always been a history enthusiast, and I'm hoping that I can pass that interest down to my children.  Middle Tennessee had several major battles that took place within a short drive of our house, so I wanted to explore those sites with the kids.

 Little Punkin on a cannon at the Perryville Battlefield.

Little Buddy at Danville National Cemetery

The Boys meeting President Abraham Lincoln at the Nashville Public Library.

The Boys being sworn in as Junior Rangers at the Andrew Johnson National Historical Site.

To commemorate the summer, I started a quilt kit for a Civil War sampler.  Now, I am trying to complete it as a part of a UFO Challenge at 52quilts.com. If I can finish it in the next week and a half, it will be my May UFO entry.  Here is the progress so far:

In addition to the Irish Chain setting blocks, there are 8 sampler blocks and an irish chain setting border.  I am on block #3 of the 8, but I think I am going to stop and work on the border.  The borders are strip pieced and when I get it finished, I can use the scraps to cut the smaller pieces for my blocks.  This kit was assembled to be extremely close on fabric, so I need to be extra cautious with it.

I hope you are working on a great project too. I would love to hear about it.

Blessings to You,
Joy 

Let's Get Started!!!

My Hubby and I have been talking about me starting a blog for a while now.  But I didn't really know where to begin.  I'm not sure this is the right place, but let's give it a shot anyway.  The main point is to "Just Get Started!!"

That's kind of the approach I've taken with my sewing lately.  I enjoy looking at my stash and being all organized and pretty.  But the truth is, I didn't buy it to look at...I bought it to sew with.  So I just needed to start some projects and get over the initial...'Oh My Goodness....I'm using my stash!'

My stash usage project began with Aunt Marti at 52quilts.com taking over the Block A Day Challenge.  (It's not too late for you to start.  By my count, we are on block 60 of 90.  If you make three blocks a day for the next 30 days, you'll finish with all who started on day 1.  You can view her tutorial here.)  I didn't really have enough scraps to make a quilt, so I started going through my Mom's scraps.  I only pulled out a handful, but it was enough to give me some color inspiration.  When I got home, I started pulling from my own stash.  I used what I could from my fat quarters to give me lots of variety.  What I didn't have enough colors of, I pulled from yardage.  After cutting much of it down to size, this is what I came up with.

So this is the start.  My plan is to use it as my Leader and Ender project while I finish up my Civil War Summer quilt.  I'll post more about the quilt and Leaders and Enders in a future post.  For now, what are you working on?  Have you started anything lately?  I would love to know.