Quilt Lab clean up post #2

Project background: I'm spending the month of March cleaning up my quilt lab and blogging about all my hexie UFOs along the way...

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On Sunday I started cleaning up/out the Curio Cabinet. My SIL has an extensive collection of Precious Memories figurines and when she outgrew the cabinet my Dad made her a new one and I was offered the old one.

I didn't know what I was gonna do with it at first so we placed it in the quilt lab (only free corner) until I decided. I very quickly decided it could stay there to house UFOs and then it has gradually morphed into housing hexie UFOs.

Most of the projects are stored in plastic boxes. I am torn about buying more boxes since I hope to finish projects leaving empty boxes but I know myself and if there's a box I can fill it with something. With that said, I am at least buying one more box for the top of the cabinet as I have another large/long-term project I need a box for.


The top most box houses my "Salt & Pepper" project. After my cat, Pepper, died, I was moping around Pinterest and kept coming across the same pattern in different variations. I took it as a sign that I was meant to make that project. I can't quite remember how I picked the colors but it's been fun looking for just the right fabrics. Each star has a white-on-black center surrounded by black-on-white fussy cut jewels surrounded by burnt orange diamonds. The various diamonds will become 'baby blocks' when it's all stitched together. I am trying to use the black-on-white fabrics just once in the project but the others can be used more than once. I'm at a point where I have lotsa shapes cut already so I want to stitch them before I find any more fabrics or do any more fussy cutting.

fussy cut diamonds and jewels on the right
houndstooth for binding and inspiration "batik" on the left

15 finished star blocks and the Russel Stover tin they are stored in

The second box on the top is for my Patchwork of the Crosses (POTC) project. I found this fantastic red paisley that will be in every block and then I found the perfect red that will be the sashing. The cream blocks you see on each block is part of the sashing as well.

This box houses the bulk of the red and paisley fabrics, precut beige sashing pieces to stitch
 with thread ends and any other fabrics I think might work for future blocks.
You'll also see the 2 honeycombs I found on the cutting mat.

Only 4 finished blocks so far - this project isn't much of a priority at the moment altho I adore the fussy cutting.
The center will have more of the beige/red sashing fabrics and then a square of 4 fussy cut fabrics in the center.

Almost as soon as I became addicted to hexies have I wanted to make this tumbler pattern using 2 different size tumblers. I didn't have fabrics in mind - just the pattern. That was until I went to Gettysburg, PA with my family and we stopped at a "costume" shop that sold scraps of the civil war fabrics they used to make period dresses. I purchased 2 bags, at maybe $5 each, and was well on my way to another project. I purchased the purple for the large tumblers at my LQS. I started to cut some of the small tumblers cuz I wanted to get my hands into the fabrics but it's not a priority project at the moment so the fabric was just pushed into the box. I do think it will be a nice travel project since I'll need quite a variety of the small tumblers stitched before I can start stitching anything together.

Fabrics in the box haven't been pressed or fussy cut yet. Once I've used the fabric it's folded flat and placed
in the baggy. Cut pieces wait for me in the choco box and basted pieces are in the ball jar.

The colors in the picture just aren't doing this project any justice - I think there will be a nice
contrast between the purple and the other fabrics. I've started by cutting 10 of each repro fabric.
The 1" tumblers are a little fussy to stitch but I'm sure I'll get in a groove and be happy with it. This
might have been a time where I should have bought the acrylic template with a 1/4"
instead of a 3/8" seam allowance.

This next pattern is called Rose Star online but it's become my 'owl' or 'camping' project. Owl because there is a fussy cut owl in the center of each block and camping cuz I only work on it while I am camping in the ADK mountains. No reason to ONLY work on it then but it's been a fun tradition. This project started with a FQ bundle of coordinated fabrics that I added to, giving me a dozen fabrics to work with. My goal is to keep making as many blocks as I can until all of the FQ bundle is gone.

I think there are 15 blocks done already.
You can see the cream batik that will hook all the blocks together. I found the extra cream
fabric in a separate box and moved it into the box with the rest of this project.
Don't worry, I filled that box with another project already!

The stripe will be the binding and I finished the owl fabric bolt so there is plenty for a backing.
You can also see there is a decent amount of the FQ bundle left to make more blocks.

Yes, I was OCD enough to make a chart so that all the fabrics are used equally.

I bought myself the papers for George Town Circleand then my boss gifted me the acrylic set for Christmas. Woohoo! I started with fussy cutting the asian border fabric and will add in other fabrics as I get a plan for this project. I'm girding my loins for stitching curves...

I enlarged the pattern so that I could make notes on fabric, shape, etc.
Several of the shapes are similar from round to round but a slightly different size - it's gonna
take some advance planning to make sure I put the pieces together correctly and nicely fussy cut.

I'm pretty sure that's enough for today...I'm overloaded from hanging my head in UFO guilt and you from reading and laughing and reading and and and...

Check back tomorrow for more pictures of way too many UFOs...