Blog Hops!

I've been having fun participating and following along with several blog hops this month. Currently, the Back to School Blog hop is underway. If you click the image above it takes you to my stop on the blog hop. The full list of participants and dates are:

I've make the URLs for the people who have already scheduled their posts take you directly to their tips and tutorials. All the other links will take you to the blog where the post will be published sometime during the day listed.

Back to School Blog Hop Schedule

• Sept 15 – Geeky Bobbin – Press for Success! – https://geekybobbin.com
• Sept 16 – Katie Mae Quilts – Storage Solutions From The School Supplies Section – https://katiemaequilts.com/blog
• Sept 17 – Quilting Jetgirl – Make A Design Wall You Can Use Your Hera Marker Against – https://quiltingjetgirl.com/
• Sept 18 – Karen Bolan – How to Get Perfect Tension – https://www.karenbolan.com
• Sept 19 – Devoted Quilter – How To Trim HSTs Without A Specialty Ruler – https://www.devotedquilter.com
• Sept 20 – Sarah Ruiz – Calculating Quilt Backing and Binding Fabric Requirements – saroy.net
• Sept 21 – Andy Knowlton – How To Sew Quilt Blocks With Partial Seams – https://www.abrightcorner.com/
• Sept 22 – Lisa Ruble – Curved Piecing Doesn’t Have To Be Scary (Or Perfect!) – quiltyzest.com
• Sept 23 – Sarah Goer Quilts – Tips for Piecing Precise Points – https://www.sarahgoerquilts.com
• Sept 24 – Faith and Fabric – Spinning Intersections On Four Patch Blocks – The Easy Way! – https://faithandfabricdesign.com
• Sept 25 – Judit Hajdu – Draw String Bag – For Lunch Or Gym – quiltfox-design.com
• Sept 26 – Sugar Sand Quilt Co. – The Care And Feeding Of The Wild Longarm Quilter – https://sugarsandquilts.com/
• Sept 27 – Hilary Jordan – Quick & Easy Pattern Matching Technique for Quilt Backings – https://byhilaryjordan.com/
• Sept 28 – True Blue Quilts – Sketch Then Stitch…Better FMQ Through Doodling – www.truebluequilts.com
• Sept 29 – Sunflower Quilting – A Quilting Tip – www.sunflowerstitcheries.com
• Sept 30 – Slightly Biased Quilts – Perfect Hand Binding Tips – www.slightlybiasedquilts.com

Thursday, September 1

• Anorina Samelia’s Mum
• Brenda Songbird Designs
• Cheree The Morning Latte
• Denise For the Love of Geese

Friday, September 2

• Karen Karen’s Korner
• Nancy Grace and Peace Quilting
• Sharon & Susan Ms P Designs USA
• Nina-Marie Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever

Monday, September 5

• Karrin Karrin’s Crazy World
• Linda Texas Quilt Gal
• Yvonne Quilting Jetgirl (You are here!)
• Emily The Darling Dogwood

Tuesday, September 6

• Gail Quilting Gail
• Joy Days Filled with Joy
• Melisa Pinker ‘n’ Punkin Quilting & Stitching
• Carol Quilt Schmilt

 Wednesday, September 7

• Melva Melva Loves Scraps
• Tammy Tamarinis
• Leah Quilted Delights
• Patricia Faith, Trust & Breast Cancer

Fat Quarter Shop: Support Group Quilt Along

Patent Pending Group Quilt

Earlier this year, Patty from Elm Street Quilts asked if I would consider taking part in a group quilt. The theme of the project was given as Teamwork, and the design constraints were that we were to create a path for a ball to move across the quilt top in the style of a Rube Goldberg machine. I was intrigued and eagerly said that I would be thrilled to participate.

Patty’s idea was to arrange the quilt blocks in such a way that we knew where the ball would be entering our individual blocks and where we needed the blocks to exit. The only law of physics that we were to (loosely) observe was gravity, and we could assume the ball is very bouncy.

We were given fabric to make our blocks. The background fabric is purple, and each bundle also included magenta, black, and lime green or yellow (I received lime green). Each 12″ finished block was divided up on the edge into three-4″ wide sections to denote places the ball might enter or exit. My goal was to receive the ball in the upper left hand 4″ of my block, coming from a block made by Kitty Wilkin @nightquilter, and make sure the ball exited in the middle 4″ on the right hand edge of my block to give to Pat @peacockcreekdesigns.

I sent my block off to Patty to be incorporated together into the full quilt, which has been named Patent Pending, and today, the blocks are all being revealed. From Patty: “Patent Pending is a Rube Goldberg machine in quilting form. A Rube Goldberg machine is a chain reaction-type contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way. Since my least favorite task in quilting is to rip out a seam, Patent Pending offers a way to remove those unwanted stitches with ease.”

To see more about the other blocks and how the quilt came together, check out the #RubeGoldbergQuilt and #PatentPendingQuilt hashtags on Instagram. This really was a fun challenge that stretched my skills and I really enjoyed getting to see everyone’s creativity! One of my favorite aspects is that I was able to share my really rough pinball flipper with Sarah Ruiz @saroy and she incorporated it into her block as well.

Also, Patty is sharing the full Patent Pending quilt and details on her blog!

Sewing Studio Wrap Up

A big part of feeling settled is that my sewing studio is complete (well, until I get a new idea, anyway)! I love how it has all come together, and if you want to implement some of the things I've built, I've shared several tutorials for how we've put my room together.

For more details about my new sewing studio, you can visit all the relevante blog posts:

• New Sewing Studio Part 1
• New Sewing Studio Part 2
• The Quilt Keeper
• DIY Drop Sewing Table Tutorial
• Make a Design Wall You Can Use Your Hera Marker Against

Reader Projects