Adventures with FMQ & a Scrappy Quilt

I've been watching all the FMQ videos I can get my hands on and this is the motif that I've been practicing on lately.  I learned this one from Lori Kennedy's video entitled Divide & Conquer on Craftsy.  Isn't this cute?  I just love it!  It's all done by drawing grid lines one inch apart.  The bows, placed at every other intersection, are just a small figure 8 and a larger figure 8, and the wavy lines just go diagonally from corner to corner.   I'm still a little bit shaky, but in spite of that, I really like how it looks!

The next motif I quilted on Ashley's quilt is a simple orange peel design.  I'm getting so close to being done!  I just need to decide what I'm going to quilt in the white squares between all the lattice work.  

What would you quilt there if you were doing this?

Last time I showed you the string project I was making inspired by Amanda Jean's book No Scrap Left Behind.  I've been having so much fun making these black background slabs.

I showed you a bunch of different solid fabrics I had auditioned for the cornerstones and decided to use a Kaffe Fasset print.   What do you think?

After I sewed a few blocks together I started second guessing myself about the cheddar color as the main squares.  There was a little bit of blue in the Kaffe Fasset fabrics so I auditioned a blue square in place of the cheddar . . .

I do like it with the blue but THEN I remembered why I had chosen the cheddar color in the first place.   This quilt is going to be one that we use on our couch over which is hanging a painting I bought.  Remember this?

I love the way the light is reflected on the wet sidewalk in this painting and that's where the inspiration for this quilt came from.

 Here's the most recent pictures of my progress.  To you ladies who so graciously sent me your black scraps, do you recogize any of your fabrics in here? I'm really having fun with this! 

Can't wait to actually have a quilt that I made to cuddle with on our couch!  But I gotta finish Ashley's quilt first and then get started on Morgan's!

Linking to:

Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

What is This Pattern Called?

I had a friend today asking what the name of this pattern is called.   It is definitely a hexagon shaped design, but is there a specific name for this particular design?  Anybody know?

Update!   Thank you to Vireya for identifying this pattern for us!  She shared:

Jinny Beyer's "Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns" calls it "Endless Chain", Alice Brooks, Detroit Free Press, Jun 5 1940. Also known as "Economical Chain", Laura Wheeler, Americana Designs Quilts, ca 1940.

Ashley's Next Quilt Design

I've been playing hooky from quilting for a little bit but finally got going again.  Here is the next design  motif I've been working on for Ashley's quilt.  I've always liked the look of scallops so I decided to try it freehand.  Not as perfect as using a drawn design, but not too bad in spite of the bobbles and it covers territory quickly!

Recently, I shared a request for scraps with a black or dark background.  Do you want to see what I'm making with them?  The black scraps are being cut into random size strings and the strings are being sewn together to make slabs like this . . .

The slabs are being used to make a design from Amanda Jean's book "No Scrap Left Behond"  and this is the quilt I will be making.  This is a picture of a picture so the colors aren't very accurate but you get the idea.

I will be using a solid cheddar gold color where the green squares appear in Amanda's quilt . . .

I auditioned lots of different ideas for the cornerstone pieces . . .

I wasn't really excited about any of those.  I finally found something I like but I will leave that for a surprise to show you after I get more slabs made.  I want to give a shout out to Janine at Quilts from the Little House and Nicole from Handwrought Quilts for sending me some colorful scraps with a black background.  Oh!  I almost forgot!  I won a pink scrap giveaway from Mari at Academic Quilter.  When I got the package I found she had also included some black scraps for my project.  Thank you, Mari, Janine and Nicole!  Quilty friends are the best!

In other "color" adventures, here are a few photos I took this week.  

So much fun and colorful photography material during spring!

 I have always been a collector at heart and I have developed a new attraction to miniature floral oil paintings.  I would like to create a small collage of these and here is what I have so far.  These are currently sitting in a bookshelf until I have collected enough to make a collage on the wall.  I found both of these at an antique store.  One of them for $5! The one on the left was more but I had to have it because I really liked the frame.   I am having fun being on the lookout for these.

I recently went on a trip to see my sister's youngest son gradate from high school.  Congratulations Dane!  Here he is with his three siblings and one brother-in-law!

While I was visiting, my sister took pity on me (sewing withdrawals) and dug out one of her UFO's and let me work on it for her!  It was a wall hanging that she and I had started together about 15 years ago.  I helped her choose fabric and she got a few blocks sewn.  That's pretty much all that got done.   She got out her sewing machine and let me finish piecing it!

The picture below shows the color we chose for the binding.

That yellow plaid drove me nuts as it is not printed straight!  I now have this project at home with me ready to baste and bind.  I'd like to have that done for my sis before she brings her oldest son back to school at the university where I work.

And to end today's blog post, I have to show off my granddaughters.  They are the CUTEST!!  Not that I am biased or anything (grin).  My daughter-in-law has a sister who is a self-taught photographer and very talented if I do say so myself.  

Aren't they stinkin' cute!!?  

Linking to:
Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Love, Laugh Quilt
Cooking Up Quilts
Bambi's Show & Tell Monday
Tish's Adventures in Wonderland