To Do Tuesday: Quilt Projects for June

The start of a new month is a good time to do a "To Do Tuesday" planning post so I'm linking up with everyone over at Carol's Quilt Schmilt blog.

I already outlined my cross stitch plans for the Fat Quarter Shop's "Red, White & June" SAL,  so now I want to think about the slate of quilt projects that I want to work on this month under the same theme.  As a month-long list,  this will be a bit long at this point.  Hopefully I can try to keep up with shorter updates as the month progresses.  

UFO#1:  A Pillow To Finish

Quilted cover featuring the "Seeds of Glory" fabric line.

I had started this back in 2022 and all that needs to be done is the final assembly of the cover.  However that involves installing a zipper and working with a round pillow form so that may be easier said than done, LOL!  I've made a cover for this pillow before so hopefully it's like riding a bike and I remember how to do it.  I also sheepishly admit that I recently saw designs for two more pillows I'd love to make but I'm not committing to those until I can get this one completed.  

A New Start

Thinking about RWB projects, one that I am really excited about is to finally get around to making my long desired Laundry Basket Quilts "Alaska" project!   I had seen and liked the original Blue version that I believe premiered in 2019,  the Red and Green holiday version that, if I remember correctly, came out around the holidays later that same year and the Rainbow version that came out during the pandemic quarantine in 2020.  Then while reading Edyta Sitar's blog that year, I saw a version she had made that was Red, White and Blue!!  

Oh boy, RWB quilts are my jam so that pushed me over the edge to really wanting to make this design!  

I did try pre-ordering a pre-cut kit for it through Hancock's of Paducah that I saw in the Fall but my PayPal authorization timed out before the kits came in stock.  I thought that was the end of it for me but eventually I caught sales of her "Perfect Union" and "Sweet Sixteen" lines of fabrics.  Those were made up of Blue, Red and Pink prints from three of her previous fabric lines and she had used scraps from those lines to make her version.  When I found the same fabrics as the ones in the kit I had tried to order,  I gathered together what I needed to make my own kit. 

Edyta has  templates for this design and also has a Creative Grids ruler that was introduced in 2021.  However,  it always struck me that these were essentially Kaleidoscope blocks and I have long had and have yet to work with Marti Michell's ruler that makes those blocks.  

Marti is now retired but her books and templates are still available around the web.

So even though I am a Gadget Fanatic and love a new tool,  I am going to first try making the blocks with the ruler I have and only go the new ruler or template route if I can't make that work.

A Charity Project

When I had visited my MIL back in February, I joined her quilt guild: the Tar River Piecemakers Quilting Guild.  I've attended meetings with her when we've visited and even gone to a few of  their workshops and small group meetings so a long distance membership seemed like a good idea.  While there I also picked up two charity quilt kits to make and return to the guild for distribution.  One of them is for a simple Quilt Of Valor Staggered Bars Quilt.

The good news is that it's already pre-cut so it will be easy to get it started.  I had purchased the backing for it while I was down there since that has to be submitted with the top for one of their members to long-arm quilt it.  I would love to get this pieced up so I can send it down early enough to be finished before they need it for the award ceremony in November.  

UFO#2 But Not RWB

Lastly, I do have one non-RWB project that I want to also work on this month.  Ever open to prompts and encouragement to get through my UFOs,  I signed up for Rebecca's "Mission: UFO" group on her Sugar and Sand Quilt Company website.  There's no obligation to participate every month although you earn points towards prizes if you post projects you will resume work on and additional points for posting updates on them.  She also offers monthly prompts to help you decide on which UFO to work on.  The prompt for June is to work on a "Summer Bright" UFO.  That brought to mind my "Modern Bohemia" top.

It is one I've long wanted to get quilted so I impulsively threw my hat into the ring to try to get it moving!  I had planned this year to try to get a To-Be-Quilted-Flimsey done each month so I couldn't resist the opportunity to try to once again make good on that.   

Whew, I've gone back to the usual "full crafty plate" for this month!  However, I am ever hopeful of staying on track.  What I've learned in the past is that whatever gets worked on, even if only moved a little bit forward is still progress.  As always, Bonnie Hunter puts things in perspective:

Have fun checking out what everyone else has planned for the week (or even the month like me!) over at Carol's Quilt Schmilt blog.  Give everyone encouragement to get some things done!