Life Scraps

Todays PSA

2012-01-27T18:47:00.002-06:00

When they say 'check stitching on back periodically'... they mean it is a good idea unless you want to spend 3 hours taking out quilting covering a 32" x 38" area rather than doing something productive with your day..... now back to regularly scheduled programming...

Leaves Fall

2012-01-20T09:02:00.006-06:00

I know, its January, most leaves that are going to fall have done so already..

But this is the Leaves quilt, that has finally fallen...

From the UFO list... to the completed category!

WIP 1/18/12

2012-01-18T09:29:00.003-06:00

New starts this week:

"Picnic" scrap quilt from Jodi at Pleasant Home's month of scraps.

Worked on this past week:

Quilting done, binding cut for D9P Leaves quilt.

Completed this past week:

Double Hour Glass pot holders rescued from the dark corner of a closet and completed. Also did a Courthouse Steps block as part of Randi's sew along and made it into a pot holder too.

Sitting quietly this week:Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, Juki Spring, American Jane blocks, 36 patch QAL, HST project, Storybook Quilt, New Wave, Pinwheel Sampler, 1-2-3 County Fair, Hope Valley round-and-round QAL

WIP Stats for week :started -1, ongoing -12, completed- 2 = 13 total WIP

Stash Enhancement

2012-01-15T06:50:00.000-06:00

I visited my favorite fabric stores this week....

The ones downtown, next to the girly clubs... not a nice neighborhood, but wow, was the trip worth it.... The above Grand Revival and Dolce prints by Tanya Whelan still had the plastic wrap on the bolt... It looked like there were about 10 prints total, but I stuck to the ones that could play well as stash and stayed away from the large scale focus prints...

These Anna Maria Horner were also new bolts.... two Garden Party and one Good Folks.

Brown and red Wild Thyme print that I love, and a pink Park Slope print... none of these are new fabrics, but all are favorites of mine, some hard to find, and did I mention they were $3.50/yard? I think I exhibited considerable constraint in getting only a yard of each....

Last, I got 5 yards of this lovely flannel that is targeted to be used for backing on the scrap quilt I started this week... again, $3.50/yard.

The backing is perhaps the only one that I can pretend that I need, but I could not pass up the rest... They were way too pretty to not come home with me.

Scrap 'Picnic' quilt

2012-01-14T08:30:00.001-06:00

I have been following along with Jodi at Pleasant Home's Scrap-Along. Last week she featured a great quilt from Feda's Hive, the Picnic Quilt. I got out my scraps and started sorting, finding that most of my stash was earth tones and got started....

I also found that I have a lot of 2.5 strips and not a lot of pieces that were in the 4.5" square range.... so I decided to adjust the 6.5 x 4.5 units to what I had, still using the original, but adding some other configurations as well.

This is the first 6 units, combined to make a 12" block up on the design wall.

I am not sure how big this will be, and don't have a target for completion, but I do visualize snuggling with it on my couch.

Friday - a hot whoop!

2012-01-12T19:44:00.009-06:00

This is the block I made as part of Randi's Fresh Squeezed Sew-along.

I wanted to play along but didn't want to totally de-rail my other projects so I made just a single block with the intent to make into a pot holder/trivet.

My husband painted in the kitchen and tiled the back splash behind the stove so I figured this would be my little addition to the updates. I used a layer of the heat resistant batting, but I find it stiff and it makes crinkly noises, so I sandwiched it between two layers of cotton batting. This made it nice and thick and ready to be a resting spot for a hot pot of chili.

Since I was working on pot holders, I decided to finish up these as well. They started as testers for double hour glass blocks. I then decided to sandwich them and use them as FMQ samples. I used two layers of cotton with the intention that some day I would finish them off and they would live in the kitchen where they now reside.

I am sharing at Sarah's whoop link party.

Have a great weekend!

WIP 1/11/12

2012-01-11T07:00:00.002-06:00

Well, we are well into the new year, everyone should by getting 2012 on those checks (and all the 20-somethings say 'checks, what are they'). And true to form, I have started 2 new quilt along projects... yea!

New Starts this past week:

(see post)

I also started a new queen sized quilt for our bed and a scrap project via Pleasant Home Scrap along. No pictures of those yet as I am in denial that I actually started them. They are distractions keeping me from my task which is working on the project below.
Worked on this past week:

I got the remaining sections completed as well as the extra strip on the sides so the top is all done, backing chosen and ready, so tomorrow is sandwich and quilting day... targeting Friday for completion.

Completed this past week:

I completed my Nicey Jane jelly roll quilt. I think I will be saving it to donate later in the year.

WIP Stats for week :

started -3, ongoing -12, completed- 1 = 14 total WIP<>

Cut the Scraps

2012-01-10T19:52:00.004-06:00

Anyone have this book?

Anyone use the Scrap Therapy method of fabric organization?

I heard about the book when Jodi posted about it as part of her Sew Scraps Along. After visiting 5 stores yesterday and not finding it, I called ahead to the only other place I could think of... they had one copy left and set it aside for me. I started reading the 7 steps and kept thinking yep, that's me with the pile and wad of fabrics unable to find anything when looking for scraps. but.... I am thinking of going 2.5, 4.5 and 5 inches. 5 to be used for charm pack patterns which are aplenty, but rather than 2 and 3.5 I am thinking of the larger because those sizes come with the GO.... easy cutting!

Before I start cutting into my pile of wadded fabric scraps, I would love to hear from anyone else that has the book or has used this method for organizing.

scrap block

2012-01-10T11:00:00.005-06:00

Randi at i have to say.... has the first sew along tutorial for her 2012 monthly series, a cute set of three courthouse steps block mini-quilts.

I wanted to play along so I made a single block, off set in that I skipped the last round of light fabric, and am planning to use the heat resistant batting and make a pot holder.

Randi does great tutorials so I am looking forward to all the things she has in store for us through the year!

Its Friday, its Friday....

2012-01-05T18:58:00.008-06:00

and I have a completed quilt to share!

I made this quilt top on New Years eve-eve. Its a Nicey Jane Jelly Roll sewn and sewn and sewn and sewn and sewn. I have seen this called a Jelly Roll Race quilt because quilt groups stage races to see who completes it first. It is also called a 1600 quilt, because that is theoretically how long the first strip is after the jelly roll pieces are all sewn together. ... that sounds confusing, and its not, so you can check out the directions here.

I found the backing in my stash... I think it matches pretty well in mood and color. The binding was from my stash too, so I only had to buy thread for this quilt!

I am linking today to get a whoop at Sarah's linky party,

and at Amanda's Finish it up Friday too.

WIP 1/4/12

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy WIP New Year! I cleaned up my list and dropped anything that I got completed in December, which were quite a few... I think I count 6 quilts that I started and completed since my last WIP post in November. So, starting the year with a clean slate and just reporting progress from the past week, here goes!

New Starts this past week:
I caved and grabbed a Nicey Jane jelly roll that had been sitting around forever and whipped this up, the Jelly Roll Race, or also called the 1600 quilt. I hope to be able to share this as a completed project next week.

Worked on this past week: This was #5 on my UFO list for 2012 and I have been working on it since Monday. I had one section done and added another so its half done. Target for completion for the UFO challenge is end of the month and if I don't get too distracted that should not be a problem.

I also worked on my 1" postage stamp over the weekend and you can see it here.

Completed this past week: nothing

(give me a break... I competed 6 quilts last month!)

what has 8670 parts?

2012-01-01T14:22:00.005-06:00

What has 8670 parts and pieces? A queen size postage stamp quilt. And thats not counting any border, binding or backing.

(My understanding is that a postage stamp quilt is 1x1 inch squares, so I did not qualify.)

I had two section done and ended up getting 4 more done this weekend so now I have 1734 1 inch squares sewn together, leaving a few less than 7K to go.

This was a project started in 2011 with Heidi's Postage stamp qult along.

I thought this was going to be a lifetime project, but now I think getting it done this year is doable. I had some issues because I started the quilt on my old machine and am now working on my Juki with the amazing 1/4 inch foot. The allowance using the old machine was a scant, causing about 1/2 inch difference in the completed strip. I fudged some, I took others apart, and may end up tossing those original 2 sections, but going forward this will not be an issue.

For now all the pieces are back in their bin ready to be put away until I get #5 from my UFO list done. I am trying to start the year with order and discipline, even on day 1.

How about you? Are you starting the year with new projects or working on finishing up some old ones?

My first quilt along for 2012

2011-12-31T19:01:00.002-06:00

Anybody see where on my UFO listing I noted that most of the outstanding projects were quilt alongs? Well guess who is jumping into the first one that comes along in the new year?

Hello, my name is Diane, and I have a problem...

I am looking forward to seeing what Jodi has in store for us this year... last year she had lots of great tips and hints. I am thinking spider web, but.... since I dug out the 1" postage stamp and and working on it a spider web too could be overly ambitious...

Happy New Year!

Whoop for DD1's quilt!

2011-12-30T08:10:00.006-06:00

This is DD1's Christmas present quilt. It was fun to do, lots of fun fabrics like this, Heather Ross Aliens...

when I got started quilting I decided to bubble the featured fishies... that was fun to do

This is Bjorn, the little guy who started this madness.... DD1 threatened to name her first born Bjorn if she didn't get a quilt with him some day which started my hunt for enough of the Heather Ross fish to make a quilt..

The free form blocks ended up being a bit more than expected when it came to making sure there was a white strip between each block... I finally came up with a plan but it was not easy peasy as I imagined it to be

The backing is a Michael Miller geo print that I got awhile ago and though you can't see it there is a 20" strip of solid turquoise through the backing

Another happy customer!

Sharing with Sarah for a whoop.

DD2's Christmas quilt

2011-12-26T15:29:00.004-06:00

I made this fence rail quilt for my youngest daughter for Christmas.

It coordinates with the Owl Quilt I made for her last year. Lots of the same fabrics.

The backing is flannel, all warm and fuzzy!

I think she likes it!

2012 UFO Challenge

2011-12-25T11:36:00.017-06:00

I am going to link up with Judy's 2012 UFO Challenge!

Here are my 12 UFO's:

1. Rainbow Blocks: I started these last April, a late comer to Rachels quilt along. I have about 1/2 the color blocks still to go but I have the fabric ready to finish up.

2. Chubby Stars: This one is TracyJay's quilt along that I started August 2010... ugh... The little chain squares are all cut of else I would have re purposed the fabric awhile ago. A finish on this one will be either completing it or re-using the parts for some thing else.

3. Juki Spring: I started this last April as a first project for my new Juki machine. I have the queen sized top done and it needs a backing and quilted.

4. American Jane blocks: Also started last spring, this is all American Jane fabrics from different lines that I have about 1/2 the blocks done.

5.D9P Leaf: I tried to get this done this fall, it was a carry over from the past fall, but it got pushed aside when Christmas projects popped up.

6. 36 patch: This is Crazy Moms quilt along from this summer that I need more blocks completed to make into anything.

7. 1/2 Square Triangles: I started this with plans to do 5 blocks per day and be done in a month... yep, that worked out well.

8. This pattern was going around this fall for Kids Charities. I got one cut and started, but that's as far as it got before Christmas project got started.

9. New Wave: Oh Fransson pattern that I started last year and got as far as cutting it out.

10. Pinwheel Sampler: I finally got the top done but I still need to put together the backing and get it done.

11. 1-2-3 Country Fair: Pattern is from Modern Basics. I enlarged to make a generous queen, but then stalled at trying to quilt it... Backing may be done, or just started, I just don't know for sure.

12. Hope Valley QAL: last.... this was Crazy Mom Quilts Round and Round QAL that I ran out of gas on... round and round, and I didn't want to make a twin, I wanted it bigger, so I need to review and get it done.

Bonus: This Quilt Along was started in Feb 2010, but I am not sure when I joined in. I long since decided this was a life long project, but I would like to make some progress.

So, that's my 12 UFO's, plus a bonus project. One trend I see is there are a lot of QAL on this list... I get suckered into the group project then lose interest since it was not my vision. This year I need to watch that trend.... but I am excited about some coming up in January that I have seen sneak peaks for.

Moms French General Christmas quilt

2011-12-25T10:07:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas one and all!

Now that presents have been opened I can share the other quilts that I made.

I will start with this quilt that I made for my mom... I chose the fabrics after visiting with her this summer. While sitting in her living room thinking 'hmm, what should I make for my mom'.... the French General reds and taupes came to mind so I started with a Layer Cake of this....

I love this pattern, I used it as an inspiration before on this quilt....

It is perfect for a layer cake... for this quilt I added some fabrics from a couple other French General lines to supplement the layer cake as well as stone kona cotton for the inside border as well as the binding. I used extra squares for the backing.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures, it was raining so I could not put it up on the fence or swing and I needed to get the quilt in the mail.

5 by 12 days

2011-12-16T10:17:00.002-06:00

This is my 12 Days of Christmas quilt, all done, on my bed....

I started this quilt on Monday, in a ill advised rush of inspiration... I was packing up extra Christmas fabric and thought 'self --- if you don't use this fabric you might as well get rid of it"... and thus the madness began....

The fabric was all what I consider 'outsiders' from my stash, those that I bought cheap and didn't love and had no plan for... That included the focus print and backing... I still have no idea what I was thinking when I bought the 12 day panel. The exception is the black kona cotton I purchased for the binding.... it had to be black...

I may have rushed it a little, and I may have run over my thumb in the process, but all is well that ends well...

This is the largest quilt I have completed myself with FMQ to date. It went through the Jukki super easy (as did the thumb) and I am now ready to try the other two queen sized that I have been procrastinating on... but not until I get the remaining Christmas presents completed.

Sharing at Sarah's for a Whoop-Whoop.

FMQ injury

2011-12-15T10:05:00.002-06:00

Needle went in on top and best I can tell bottom mark is not where it came out rather just where it ended and is like a little internal blood blister. Its red and swollen this morning but, I am still able to work on those 3 quilts that are in progress, just a little slower.

smart move?

2011-12-12T18:06:00.005-06:00

I'll let you decide....

What does one do when it is two weeks before Christmas, you complete 2 more of the quilts you need to get done (pictures after they are received), but still have 2 more quilts to go?

Well of course you start another new, unrelated, here-to-fore un-thought of project.

In my defence, it is a Christmas quilt, so there is a time factor involved. And it is not a secret project like the other two that I am still working on, so I don't have to work on it only when the house is empty of other occupants....

And its going to be super easy and simple because it starts with 6 inch panel squares... and I have promised myself that if it is not done by Wednesday I have to put it away until the others are done.... but that is negotiable....

Its begining to look a lot like....

2011-12-02T08:45:00.006-06:00

Christmas! Quilts that is... I have two that I am gifting done and they are ready to go into the mail as soon as the gift cards for nieces and nephews arrive to share shipping box!

This is a simple brick pattern made with the Holiday Happy line. I got a fair amount of this fabric last year in post holiday sales and then saw the simple pattern and it clicked for me... so much that I am making a second one with some variations for me....

I added a Denyse Schmidt print from Joann's for the backing... which can I just go down a rabbit hole and say that I loved the first DS Joann's line, the quality was wonderful, but they seem to be getting progressively worse... the second line was a little courser and the third feels like sand paper... just saying...

My Plus Christmas quilt is also completed... this was a hard one... not to make, but to figure out what to make...

I got this large scale print with some coordinates from the line Sheri Berry Holiday and could just not cut it...and could not find any more of the line... leaving me with few options... I ended up using it on the back and taking the color inspiration to the quilt pattern on the front...

I had doubts, as my husband walked in and admired the 'Easter' quilt while it was in progress... but I am thrilled with how it turned out.... I used many of my 'special' fabrics including FMF and pink as well as turquoise lady bugs.

Now only 3 gift quilts to get done and my Christmas quilt... How are your Christmas projects coming? Are you making projects for yourself as well?

11/2 WIP

2011-11-02T11:33:00.003-05:00

Completed:

AMH D9P done!

New Projects:

Because its no fun to work on something that is in progress when you can start something new!

Progress: see above

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave : Rainbow : Vintage Spring : County Fair : Pinwheels : 36 patch : Leaves 9 patch

Stats for now: New Projects - 2 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 16

Anna Maria Horner quilt

2011-10-31T10:50:00.001-05:00

Its done, with binding and everything! This quilt is a Disappearing Nine Patch using fabrics from 5 different lines from Anna Maria Horner.

The backing is blocks of Konna from the colors used on the quilt as well as a length of a print, Dance Floor from the Garden Party line.

I quilted it with an all over meander using a medium grey thread. I think that grey works on almost any quilt and is my go-to thread.... reminder, I need more....

Its now ready to package for the mail to be delivered to a newly married couple... its a couple months late, but... Emily Post assures me that anytime with in a year is appropriate for a wedding gift.

I am sharing today at Canoe Ridge Creations {Sew} Modern Monday.

Quilt ADD or Binding Phobia

2011-10-30T17:56:00.001-05:00

Binding is my least favorite part of making a quilt. I think it is the root of my quilt ADD because when faced with binding I lose interest and suddenly find lots of other projects to work on.... while this pile sat waiting for my Anna Maria Horner quilt look at all the other things I got done...

I had this large scale Christmas fabric that I finally decided to just use on the backing and made this plus quilt top to match it... though my husband thinks it looks like Easter not Christmas...

Then I decided to cut up my collection of Holiday Happy fabrics from Happy Zombie.

then I started on DD1's goldfish quilt blocks

sigh.... so instead of working on completing something, or even making progress on a WIP, I started three new projects.... the only good news is all three are Christmas gifts so I made a good start on the holiday sewing.

Flags

2011-10-13T16:13:00.004-05:00

These are them... the much discussed flags that I worked on in August. These were a bear to make.. the yellow was cut as one piece and the gold lemme and blue was cut to fit then sewn in. All cutting was done using a wood burner, a hot tool that helps to prevent the poly silk from fraying. Our technique is to use fabric glue to 'pin' the flag together then sew. It is really just a large applique project :)

The lovely girl in the front is my daughter and I am so proud of her and the group.

WIP 10/12

2011-10-12T07:10:00.003-05:00

Its time to share what has and has not been getting done around here these days...

Completed:

I got the Halloween table runner done! Its a small project, but its done!

New Projects: none

Progress:

No new picture, but I got the AMH D9P quilted and ready for binding.

Stats for now: New Projects - 0 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 15

Let the games begin!

2011-10-09T21:22:00.003-05:00

Football games and band competitions that is... Football is well under way, almost 1/2 way into the season and we are undefeated! Both my girls are in marching band... (I may have mentioned the flags in a prior post) This is the halftime show... Friday night lights and all that goes along with Texas football.

My oldest is in Color Guard and youngest plays the trombone. This is the first year they have preformed in the marching show together. (we are big on props... and have big props)

This is my oldest and a friend with their least favorite prop, the parasols that were nasty in the wind... the girls were getting pulled by the gusts and several of them flipped inside out. Even so, they swept their first competition winning all categories and 1st place in both prelims and finals!

So, unless I find a pile of dresses that stretched and need to be hemmed, or flags that ripped already, we will be back to sewing quilts next week! And hope to have a picture of the flags next week ... they have not yet gotten to the part of the show they are used.

Halloween Table Runner

2011-09-29T17:37:00.003-05:00

Last year I made up a random set of blocks from some Halloween material I had laying around.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them, considered growing them into a quilt, but I already have a Halloween quilt, and how many does a person need, really...

So, I threw on a border, grabbed some backing and used a bright orange binding...

I love this backing fabric... got it in December or so last year at Joanns for about $2/ yard.

9/21 WIP

2011-09-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

Its been over a month since I posted anything.... but I have been very busy, sewing flags for Band, sewing more flags, hemming costumes, sewing flags, and of course... holding fundraisers. Did I mention sewing flags?

Completed:

Nothing I can share, as it was all items for the Band show which is super secret until they take the field in the first competition.

New Projects:

I snuck in working on this between flags to stay sane... Its a disappearing 9 patch using various prints from four different Anna Maria Horner fabric lines. I hope to add it to my stack of completed tops today.

Progress:

I dug out my D9P leaves quilt pieces which consisted of a bunch of 5 inch leaf print blocks and have 1/4 done and another 1/4 in the works.

And I found this in the closet, something I made with scraps last year and have been messing around deciding if I want to turn it into a quilt or a table runner.

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave : Rainbow : Vintage Spring : County Fair : Pinwheels : 36 patch

Stats for now: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 16

8/17 WIP

2011-08-17T19:24:00.003-05:00

I have taken advantage of getting back into a schedule groove with the girls at band camp for the last week and my husband out of town. Evenings I normally do not sew, rather we spend family time, but since I am the only one in the house no one much cares what I do.... so I sew!

Completed:

Nothing is completed since it is too hot here to think about sitting with a quilt pile on my lap while I machine quilt, but my pile of completed tops is growing!

New Projects:
Another week that I have not succumbed to the temptation to start something new!

Progress:

County Fair quit top is completed.

I have more strips sewn for 36 patch blocks

And I dug out my Pinwheels and got them put together. It is 60x75 and I am trying to decide if I should put a 5 inch border on it in the Charcoal Kona cotton.

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave : Rainbow : Vintage Spring

Stats for now: New Projects - 0 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 14

County Fair

2011-08-15T14:19:00.003-05:00

I completed my County Fair quilt top.

It is queen sized and made from Denyse Schmidt's County Fair fabric line which is deco weight.

I had used pieces of the fabric in projects but have never done a whole quilt in this weight before. It will have to wait until it cools down a little to get quilted because it is a little hot to work with right now since it is heavier that nice crisp quilting cottons. The other thing I found that differentiated it from standard quilting cottons is that it frayed quite a bit more.

The pattern is 1-2-3 from Amy Ellis Modern Basics book. I wish I could comment on the pattern and directions but it is such a simple quilt I basically only used the pattern for the dimensions to cut the pieces.
The stunning pictures of the quilt in the book inspired me as I really wanted to do something simple with this fabric... I love how the top turned out.

8/10 WIP

2011-08-08T20:52:00.004-05:00

Not much quilt sewing going on here this week. Band camp started and with that comes china silk flags and fancy costumes, but I do have a little to report.

Completed:

Wonky Pastel Logs Cabin got completed. It does not match anything in the house but is currently on the sofa in the living room just because it makes me smile.

New Projects:
Is it possible, no new projects to report?

Progress:

All the blocks for the County Fair WIP are now completed and 1/4 are on the design wall.

I got some more 36 patch blocks done and I am featuring them posing with my favorite appliance this summer, the air conditioning units.

Two more rainbow blocks completed.

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave : 36 patch : Rainbow

Stats for now: New Projects - 0 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 13

Wonky Pastel Logs

2011-08-04T22:04:00.003-05:00

This quilt should be called 'what I worked on when I was supposed to be doing other things', but that seemed a little long.

I has three different pastel quilts going on and I started randomly sewing the pieces together, then added some solid Kona Cotton around the edge. I had just purchased 1 yard of a pretty AH blue flower print on sale cheap and used it for the border.

The backing is a 30's style print mixed with more Kona including my all time favorite, papaya.

The binding is a pale yellow. I have no plans for this quilt, I just made it because it makes me smile.

WIP 8/3

2011-08-03T08:14:00.002-05:00

I was able to get quite a bit of sewing in this week. Its too hot to go outside which leaves me with time in my sewing room.

Completed:

I completed my Hands2Help quilt and it was in yesterdays mail.

New Projects:

I broke out the stash of County Fair and started a quilt this week. Love the colors in this line.

Progress:

The Wonky Pastel Log Cabin got quilted, just needs binding.

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave : 36 patch : Rainbow

Stats for now: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 14

Crazy 1/4 inch foot

2011-08-01T16:00:00.002-05:00

This is the new 1/4 inch patchwork foot that I ordered for my Bernina 1080 after an extensive conversation with the very helpful lady at Sewing Machines Plus (dot) com where we discussed the old vs new foot on the Bernina and that my machine required the old style foot.

I kinda thought when I got the foot in the mail that it was supposed to be the 57, not the 57 N, but, I went ahead, put the foot on and look.... can you see where the needle hits the foot.... not good....

So I called and talked to a nice young man at Sewing Machine Plus (dot) com who got both feet out, looked at them and told me yes, you need the 57, and yes, the price sticker on BOTH feet said $19.95, not $49.95 which is what I had been charged, so, I am back to stalking the mail man, waiting for a little box that will have my 57 and a mail label to return the 57 N.

And these are my new quilt blocks, more to come on them later but I hate to post without a picture of fabric. I wanted to sew these on the Bernina with my new 1/4 inch foot, but could not wait to get started so I used the Juki instead. I love my Juki and the 1/4 inch foot that came with it. Technically the Bernina foot came with it too since I am using my gift credit that came with the Juki purchase to by the Bernina foot. I had no idea what I was missing until I started using the foot.

Do you use a 1/4 inch foot to piece?

Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge

2011-07-30T15:18:00.007-05:00

I got it done! The Hands2Help quilt challenge ended today and I got mine completed.

In this challenge we swapped 2 yards total fabric with a partner then produced a quilt aprox 60" square filling in the gaps with our fabric, using your stash was encouraged.

This picture were taken yesterday in the hot mid-day Texas sun and washed all the color out.... kinda like it saps all my energy, so I got up and took new ones at 6am, hoping the sprinklers would not start.

I was sent 8 FQ of fabric from the Lizzy line by Anna Griffin. I added the background which is an older Moda print that picks up the yellow and blue kona solids that I also added, as well as the solid blue binding.

I quilted with a loopy FMQ using a very pale pink that I had handy.

My trading partner was Sue and she did a fabulous job with the fabric I sent making a quilt she named Urban Cabin that is gorgeous !

You can see the other quilts that are headed to Romania at Sarah's linky party.

Pastels are out

2011-07-30T12:51:00.005-05:00

This spring I started several quilts, all in pastel colors. This is my H2H quilt, the wonky Pastel Log, and Vintage Juki Spring. Well, these colors do not speak to me right now... there is nothing blooming and springy when its been 100+ for 27 days.... so two of these are getting done and one is getting put aside....

So I can work with these beauties that have the sun washed colors of summer and the rich tones of back to school early fall.... I am so excited to get started!

Do you like to sew with seasonal colors? Maybe this is why I can never get into the whole Christmas in July thing?

Easiest Machine Cover ... ever!

2011-07-29T12:39:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to make a machine cover for some time, but, its been very low on the priority list given that this week I reported 14 Work in Progress projects. (yes, there may be emphasis on the word reported).

Yesterday I moved some things around in my sewing room and came across this bag from Moda Homegoods. You can kinda see the print on the side where it says Moda.

Inspiration struck and lookie, the easiest machine cover EVER! I think I have another one of these bags around somewhere that I can use for the Juki so they will be matching.

I am now looking at my other bags to see it I have one that is a little shorter and square so my serger can have a cover too.

WIP 7/27

2011-07-27T08:18:00.003-05:00

I have had a productive week, given the number of interruptions to take each girl to their summer camps and wisdom teeth extraction for the oldest... looking forward to school when I have the house to myself again :) but I will miss them.

Completed: Nothing

New Projects:

I started Crazy Mom Quilts 36 patch QAL. Love how this is coming out with the use of my 1/4 inch foot, so much that I ordered one for my other machine.

Progress:

Hands 2 Help quilt top is done and the back is pieced ready for basting.

The Wonky Spring Log Cabin top that distracted me so much last week is done and the backing pieced, ready for basting.

Two more blocks ready to sew for Bottled Rainbow this week and I got thread to match these and all the remaining blocks.

I was having such success with my 1/4 foot, I got out the Hope Valley Round and Round and did a round on it. I am considering options to modify this for completion. I still have 150 sets of squares that are cut/sewn but they can always be used in the backing.

And... marching season is upon us and I am refreshing all of the school flags for the Color Guard before we get into making the show flags. I have 25 done, 12 in progress and 12 that still need starting.....

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave: - 14

Confession - I'm a book junkie

2011-07-22T19:43:00.007-05:00

I think it is safe to say that if you are reading this blog, you have a weakness for fabric...

I shared this picture before, it is about 1/2 of the fabric that I managed to add to my stash during my recent 4 week/6000 mile road trip.

What I didn't admit to was the books that I also brought home....I justified it in that since I was not able to sew I could browse the books for inspiration...

Has anyone noticed just how many new quilting books there are out there, a lot of them based on popular blogs? I have bought most of them and to tell the truth, I wonder why.

Most of these books are a collection of simple patterns, many of them standards that can be found in tutorials online, but, they are nice eye candy and I continue to buy them, and have even made a couple quilts from them.

Little Man (modified larger) from Simplify and Valentine from Practical Guild ... pattern also in Fabric Treats and can be found with a simple search of String Quilt.

I have a long history of buying the books, I started with them 'in the day" before the Internet put everything at out finger tips. My first quilt was the Log Cabin made over 15 years ago via the Quilt in a Day method.

And this quilt took way more then a day.... to my recollection this was 10 years in the making.... and the new project that I want to get started next week will be based on inspiration from a book as well.....

So, what do you think.... what is the allure of the book format that are costly (these each are priced in the $20+ range) when the info is so readily available online. I can't be the only one buying these because they keep publishing these books.

Oh no she didn't!!!

2011-07-22T19:37:00.004-05:00

Ugh.... I did it, I joined another quilt along..... Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts sucked me in with her new project....

With 13 WIP, three of them being QAL's over one year old that are unfinished...

Including Amanda Jeans last quilt along... but....

This quilt has no sashing.... I dislike sashing and that is where I got stuck on both the Pinwheel and the Round and Round, two of my QA WIP's.....

You may notice this has something in common with the last two quilts that I showed, colored solids.... I have decided to use my stack of Kona for something other than for binding quilts so this quilt will be made from Kona and matching prints from my stash.... we'll have to wait to see how big its going to be... so far it is a table runner / topper size, couple more blocks and we will have a nice sized throw.

7/20 WIP

2011-07-19T21:40:00.008-05:00

Its been over 6 weeks since my last WIP. Part of that time was spent on a 6 state, 6000 mile road trip where not a lot of sewing (none) was done, although I purchased a BUNCH of fabric. Today's report is going to be more of a re-set of status to move forward.....

Completed:

This is part of the stack of fabric purchased on the road trip.... so if purchasing is an accomplishment, I got lot done!

New Projects:

I started this in late June but never claimed it. I used scraps from my Vintage Spring and H2H quilts and just started sewing. The 16 blocks are now sewn together and measure 60" square. I am deciding if I want to add a border or two to make it bigger.

Progress:

My priority is to work on Hands 2 Help quilt, originally planned as a D9P, now to be a modification of the pattern.... we'll see....

Vintage Juki Spring quilt top is completed, I need to put together the backing and get it quilted, after the H2H is done.

Two blocks completed for Bottled Rainbow this week, yea!

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave

Stats for now: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 13

Distracted Priorities

2011-07-19T18:40:00.002-05:00

I've been home a couple days now from our massive road trip and was happy to be sewing again.

These blocks were just a couple of starts when I left, made from the scraps I had from my Hand 2 Help quilt and other scraps from quits I had been working on. I had determined when I got home I would work on the H2H quilt since it is due on July 29..... well....

I have the 9 patch blocks for a D9P, but I am uninspired, so, I kept getting distracted by the wonky logs.... until they were all done.... so now I need to get back to business! I am going to take the 9 patch and border them with the kona which I think is butter yellow (?) then cut the blocks, making a modified D9P. The floral print is something from my stash that I think will work for the backing if all works as planned.

Do you ever get distracted, working on project that are not a priority when lacking inspiration?

Seasons

2011-07-08T18:03:00.005-05:00

I am going to to a series of 4 quilts themed by the season. I already have Spring started, Fall is cut out, and I have Winter well in hand, but am struggling with Summer....

Do I go with something like this, fresh berries washed in the sun....

Or these also speak summer to me, cherries and saturated colors...

but does anything speak summer as much as Red, White and Blue...

What do you think? What colors and patterns evoke the feel of summer for you? I think I may be held back in that I have a hard time associating quilts with 103 days so maybe I need to go outside after dark and soak in the cool evening.... something that will be scarce when I get back to Texas.

2011-07-07T23:49:00.003-05:00

Well, I am on 'vacation' (is that what you call driving over 5000 miles?) and do not have access to my sewing machine and have a hankering to start a project... what to do?.... well, I started surfing blogland and found all these Farmer's Wife quilt blocks, found a coupon for Joann's where the book can be found and BAM.... I joined another another QAL midstream.

If you have not seen these blocks, and I can't believe anyone has not.... check them out at the flicker group.

I head home next week... oh boy aprox 30 hours driving... and I will post pictures of the stack of fabric I have accumulated. In addition to visiting family we are touring some schools with my daughter who is going to be a HS junior this year... and, if there happened to be a quilt store around....

While visiting family and scooping our Warner Pacific University I managed to drop in at Bolt, a neighborhood fabric store in Portland that I wish was in my neighborhood!

We had a tour of California State University Chico which produced a visit to Honey Run Quilters where I found a great sale.... and 5 yards of Neptune damask and down the street there was a sale at The Rabbit Hole where I got a couple AH Gastlies. It sold out last year so I wanted to strike early even though I have no plans for another Halloween quilt.

We also had a tour of Southern Oregon in Ashland and somehow I missed getting into a store.... it does seem to be high on the list of schools so maybe a return visit?

6/1 WIP

2011-06-01T13:47:00.005-05:00

(click to see other WIP projects)

Well, its been a month since I posted anything... good thing I have a couple items to show for it.... but for the most part I have not been sewing.

Completed:

This is the Snippets Pinwheels that has been on the sitting list since the list started. I got these blocks sewen together with a quick Kona Cotton border so that I could use it to practice FMQ on my new Juki. It did take a little to get used to the speed of the Juki so I am glad I took the time to practice before moving to some thing larger. The backing is a pretty 30 inspired print that I thought picked up the colors well and my favorite Papaya Konna for binding.

New Projects:

I started on my Hands2Hands charity quilt.... combining the 8 FQ's I was sent with some solids from my stash.

Progress:

Still working on my Vintage Juki Spring quilt. I have 2, 1/4 sections done and the last 2 sections are both in progress.

I also got a couple more blocks done for the Bottled Rainbow, but I am very behind.

Sitting:
American Jane blocks: Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave

Stats for week: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 12

A Quick Angel

2011-04-22T07:07:00.004-05:00

You may have seen on my WIP post this week that I was asked to come up with an angel gown on a quick time line this week. Well, mission accomplished.

The fabric was chosen for me for the project so I will not take the credit for it looking somewhat like tin foil wrapped left overs...

My daughter graciously volunteered to model it for me and struck her best angel pose.

Be sure to click the botton to see other whoop worthy efforts!

spring cleaning?

2011-04-20T19:52:00.006-05:00

I am sure you have all seen this, the new Denyse Schmidt collection at Joann Fabrics. This was my first cut at the collection, I have since purchased some more... as recently as today...; got to love the 50% off coupons.

To make room I did some cleaning of my stash and came up with this stack ... over 2 feet high... and that is after I culled out the 10 fabrics that I used for the Vintage Juki Spring quilt. Some is over 10 years old, fabrics that I had when we moved to Texas, and some are more recent that I know I will never use because they are, uhm, ugly.

Then, since I had some extra room... I picked up these today... Love those bunnies... but the best part about this stack is that it averaged $3.30 a yard for the 16 yards. The top one is Michael Miller Crib Print, I got 5.5 yards and I think it will be great for a quilt back.... more to come on that over the weekend!

WIP 4/20

2011-04-19T20:24:00.006-05:00

(click to see other WIP projects)

I got something done this week! Yea! I also made some good progress on other projects....

Completed:

I got my first A&M quilt done this week... I still have another one to go but I want to get a few other projects done before I start.

New Projects:

Well, I had thought that I was going to get through a week without starting a new project... until I got a phone call about 9 pm last night... a desperate plea for an angel costume for the Easter play for Children's Ministry at church.... in 5 min I had a knock at the door and 4 yards of a slinky silver material for said costume.... I found this PJ pattern that I think will work well as just a tunic and I will add a sash... instant angel!

Progress:

A couple more grocery bags... I had these cut out and set aside... I hoped to have them done by now... they are not done but I made some progress. I am giving these to friends as my Facebook Pay-it-Forward challenge.

I got 1/4 of my Vintage Juki Spring quilt done and am working on another section. This will have to be set aside until the angel is done...

Sitting:
American Jane quilt is waiting for me to find Kona Snow... the rest are just waiting...Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: New Wave

Stats for week: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 14

Spring in Jukiland

2011-04-18T08:35:00.003-05:00

Ok, so Juki Spring may be the dorkiest quilt name I have ever come up with, but... I was sorting my fabrics, needing to clear out room for the stack of the new DS Quilt line I bought an Joann, and I had this nice stack of old prints (vintage? I think I re-bought this but I made a sundress out of that print on the bottom right when I was in high school, I think a sophomore, making it over 30 years ago) that I decided to cut for my fist project on the Juki. A Spring Queen size (90x90) that I would not have been able to get through the Bernina regardless of pulling and tugging.

I wanted a simple pattern so that I could concentrate on the sewing and learning the machine rather than on the block so this combo of 5" and 9.5" squares was my solution. I am making it in 4 sections that measure 45" square and section one was Sundays project du jour.

Machine sews like a dream. I had heard that it was loud... I did find that at all in fact my husband walked in and commented on how smooth it sounded. I had a little shock when I uncrated and saw the label panel... I had ordered a TL98Q so what the heck was this.... I got online and found this was the 'new' release and was the same with a couple upgrades like a LED light and a heel press for cutting rather than a toe press. It does come without the zipper foot but I figure I will be using the bernina for anything with a zipper anyhow.

I am linking to Modern Monday. Although these are old fabrics the pattern is clean and modern so I figure I qualify.

A&M quilt - done

2011-04-15T18:38:00.002-05:00

I got this completed and all washed up and crinkly ... its for a fund raiser at school. We are hoping that Alumni as well as those with kids headed to A&M will bid up the price. It was done on a short timeline so I made BIG blocks... 12 x 15.

The back in flannel with a strip of the main print fabric running across it.

I still have another of these to make for a friend that has a daughter that is attending A&M in the fall. I am thinking that the solid grey will be replaced with a smaller grey and a solid maroon.... but that will depend on how long I wait before I get started.

I am linking to the whoopy party! Check out what else we are whoopy about.

I love the UPS man

2011-04-14T18:31:00.002-05:00

Look what he brought me today.... more to come....

WIP 4/13

2011-04-13T08:33:00.005-05:00

(click to see other WIP projects)

I got back into a sewing groove this week! I am excited about the things I have planned to work on this comming week so I hope I will have something to report as Completed!

Completed: Nothing

New Projects:

Last Thursday I got started on this quilt and now it is pinned and ready for final binding run. This is where most of my time was spent this week.

While sorthing through my older fabrics figuring out what to purge to make room for some new I plan to get I came up with a nice stack of pastel mini prints that are all at least 15 years old. I cut them into 9.5 & 5 inch squares to make a quick spring quilt for our bed ... but somewhere I got confused and instead of cutting 100 total, I cut 100 of each size. Ugh... I see some baby quilts in my future for donation.....

Progress:

I did get a couple more Bottled Rainbow blocks in progress. My 16 year old daughter has already claimed this as hers.... she keeps telling me "I am not kidding, I want that quilt when it is done".... we'll see

Sitting:

I realized I never claimed these two projects that are cut and sitting so I am adding them to the list.

Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST: American Jane : Grocery Bags : New Wave

Stats for week: New Projects - 2 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 16

Help Please!!!

2011-04-12T18:58:00.006-05:00

I got this sewing machine at the thrift store last August. Its in great shape and looked like it had just been serviced, you know, with the little piece of fabric testing stitches still sitting on it, so I took it home rather than to the sewing machine man. In November I tried to sew on it and it just made a big thread knot and I was knee deep in Christmas projects so I just popped it back down in the table and said I would get back to it when I had time.

Today I decided I wanted to sew together some squares and my Bernina was all threaded up to bind my current project... I don't know why but threading a machine is my least favorite thing to do, so rather then pull that thread off and re-thread I decided to get out the Singer. I took the plate off, oiled it, pulled all the little nasty threads out of it, got the manual out (yes, there was a manual, feet and button hole attachment that came with) loaded the bobbin and threaded it up, only to get this....

You may not be able to tell, but this is the bobbin side, I flipped the block over.

Ack! Its a loopy mess! I tried it several times, reloaded the bobbin, re-threaded the machine, everything I can think of.... so HELP! Where do I start to correct this?

Update: I rethreaded (again), put a felt under the bobbin, tried some more... messing with the stich length and tension and go it to work! Thanks for all the hints and helps!

A&M quilts

2011-04-07T10:05:00.001-05:00

A friend asked me to make her daughter a Texas A&M quilt, inspired by the Raiders quilt I made for my husband.

I was able to find some nice fabric and was even able to get it 40% at hobby lobby. Although the second print has grey in it I was asked to not use any other grey, just Maroon and White, but not a lot of white because the daughter is somewhat messy. ... hmmm... I still have to get the Kona Burgundy (don't tell because A&M fans are touchy about it beeing maroon) and there is a reverse print of the top available as well.

For the Raiders quilt I used 5 different solids between black, white and grey so I am going to have to use a different layout and plan for this quilt, which is fine becuase I don't like making a quilt over again, I always want to make something a little different.

This is a mock up of one idea, what do you think? Too much white? The good news is I get to make two of them since I volunteered to make one for the Band Golf Tournament auction... so I will come up with two different designs and my frined can pick her favorite. Please let me know if you have any ideas for a design using these fabrics... quick and easy please!

WIP 4/6

2011-04-06T09:34:00.004-05:00

(click to see other WIP projects)

Not much sewing went on this week, but I sure did swap a lot of fabric. I sent out 6 packages yesterday...you can check out what I have to swap here.

Completed: Nothing

New Projects:

I fell victim to peer presure and started my own Bottled Rainbow quilt this week. These are a fun project and a wonderful way to use up those pretty scraps.

Progress:

I got a few more of my American Jane squares done. Lots of squares in mid progress, with 7 of 43 done. Righ now I am out of Snow Kona which seems like a sign to stop and get started on another project I commited myself to this week... a quilt for a school fundraiser.... more to come.

Sitting:

Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST

Stats for week: New Projects - 1 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 11

Paint by number deer

2011-04-05T21:37:00.006-05:00

Last week I mentioned that I has started trading fabric on one of the flicker groups... I was able to quickly complete my County Fair collection and fill in gaps of Katie Jump Rope.

I started looking around for some other fabrics to trade for and one of the lines that I developed an interest in getting is Moda Lush by Erin Michael... I know...Those of you familiar with the fabric are laughing...

anyhow, I am doing pretty good, but thinking I am NEVER going to get the paint by number deer and all of a sudden I have this memory that pops into my head... my husband pointing out the fabric to me and my poo-pooing him and saying yep that's nice... but that must be me making up the incident in my head, surly if I had seen this fabric I would have bought it!

So, I show him a picture of the fabric and ask if he has ever seen it and he respond oh yeah, I remember that... at which point I start yelling WHERE!!!

He has no idea since I drag my family to fabric stores whenever we are on vacation so it could be anywhere in a 5 state radius.

I keep closing my eyes trying to visualize where I was and what it looked like around me thinking I can recall where we were and call them and of course they still have it for me to buy, at retail.... but I keep coming up blank.... I would think I made it up if not for the fact that he remembers it too.

So, that is my paint by number deer story... I may remember where it was and get in my car and start to drive at any time....

Bottled Rainbows

2011-04-01T07:55:00.003-05:00

Are you working on Bottling a Rainbow?

I recently took a bloggy break and when I returned I saw these blocks everywhere! I am not much of a band wagon quilter. I have avoided hexi's, I have very little FMF and I would rather poke out my eyes than do a cathedral block.

But on Wednesday WIP posts there were so many wonderful blocks I had to go check it out and see how these were coming together. Rachel at Stitched in Color has done a wonderful job putting together this tutorial. She has great tips and ideas and has set up a flicker that is fully populated with blocks that have been completed.

This was my first block, pumpkin. I had lots of scraps to chose from for this block.

Mustard is next. I love how it is coming together.

Surprisingly the eggplant and ocean blue are two colors that I am having issues collecting scraps for. Guess I am going to have to make a new quilt using these colors so I have more scraps.

I am linking to Sarah's Friday Whoop.

WIP 3/30

2011-03-30T09:25:00.001-05:00

I actually sat at my sewing machine and got something done, well not done, but made progress.....

Completed: Nothing New Projects: None

Progress:

We established last week that buying fabric was making progress, so I made a LOT of progress this week. I started swapping too, gathering fabrics for a new quilt that is all mapped out in my head.

Rather than cut in to my new goodies, I restrained myself and worked on a project I had already started, but it feels new since I changed it up so much.

I pulled out my American Jane fabric Peas & Carrots that I had cut for the Square One quilt from Camile Roskelley's Simplify book and started messing with them. After taking another look at the pattern I reminded myself that I hated sashing and that was why the pinwheels blocks had been sitting idle for over a year.

So I took the original block design and added a round of solid, a print and another solid to the block. This will be a queen size quilt so the 15 inch block will work much better than the original 6 inch block. I added some Wee Play, Recess, and Punctuation to the mix of fabrics to balance the colors I had.

Sitting:

Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Mandy's fence : HST

Stats for week: New Projects - 0 : Completed - 0 : WIP - 10

Swaps

2011-03-27T16:42:00.004-05:00

Have you ever swapped fabric with your online quilting buddies?

I got lured in this past week and have found it quite addicting.

I can visualize the quilt that I am going to make with the fabric I am trading for.

The above are all fabrics I have available to trade and there are more in my flicker Swap Set.

If you see anything you like, let me know. I am concentrating on swapping for fabrics in the Urban Chicks 1974 line, any, not just the ones above.

WIP 3/22

2011-03-23T09:53:00.006-05:00

Returning from another bloggy break.... spring break and over all business and I am itching to start a new project! Lets see what I have hanging out before starting something new.

Completed:

(Not really, but out of my house....)

I know, this does not look completed, but I'm done with it.... its going to Sara Craig's Quilt Ministry to be completed and given to someone with lots of love. If you are unfamiliar with Sara and her work be sure to check out this post that tells the story of the last set of unfinished blocks I sent her.

New Projects:

My daughter, the one who didn't want me to make her any quilts, has been bugging me for months to make her another one since she got this one for Christmas.

I started working with what was left from the first quilt but decided to make it more blue. After several different ideas regarding the pattern I decided on the Fenced In quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's Practical Guide to Patchwork. I had made one using this as inspiration as a gift for Christmas and it came together quickly and I can easily make it bigger by adding a row.

So, about 2/3 of the strips are cut, but I am not feeling it right now.... its not calling to me, sew me now... I told my daughter that she shold look for this to be completed for her birthday in June or maybe Christmas.... since it has a nice warm flannel backing.

Progress:

Nothing Nada kaput... I did buy fabric, does that count?

Sitting:

I think I can get one of these to call to me.... I hope.... I tried working on the Pinwheels and it was a no go, so maybe the AM Jane squares or the Hope Valley QAL will see progress in the next week.

Hour Glass Pot holders : Pinwheel Quilt Along : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Am Jane Squares : HST

Stats for week: Actually the month

New Projects - 1 : Completed (shipped out) - 1 : WIP - 10

Make Life....

2011-02-18T07:21:00.000-06:00

Its Friday and time to Whoop it up with Sarah's linky party!

I have a friend who is very supportive of my quilting. She is very complimentary and even asked me to make her niece a baby quilt. She sews some so she understands the effort required and talks about wanting to make a quilt.

My friend turned 50 this week and I wanted to do something special for her but was not sure what exactly to make her or what materials to use.

Then her husband invited a group of us to celebrate with dinner and the invite specified that we all wear bright colors and the that theme was celebrating life.

I had my answer.... I had a jelly roll of Sweetwater Make Life and the Jelly Filled pattern that I had not yet used.

The backing and inner border is Snow Kona and the binding is Papaya.

And yes, I machine sew my bindings ala-Red Pepper Quilts.

snowy whooop

2011-02-04T12:35:00.006-06:00

My snowy day quilt is done! I quilted with straight line an either side of the seams using a light grey thread top and bottom. The binding is yellow corn kona. Backing is kona from my stash in sage, and two unknowns.

This is all new snow from this morning, sitting on top of 2-3 inches of ice. It was still snowing when I went out to take the pictures. I am sure that none of the sports commentators here for the Super Bowl that are complaining about the weather were here a week ago when in was almost 80 degrees.... no kidding, shorts on the golf course last Friday.

I am linking with Sara Craigs Whoop-Whoop linky party. Be sure to check out the other great whoop worthy projects listed.

2011-02-02T11:07:00.005-06:00

I had taken a little bloggy/sewing break the past 2 weeks, but am back with some progress on ongoing projects as well as a couple new starts.

Completed:

My latest figure 8 scarf, this one done on the cheap. The others I did as well as the details of the purchase power exhibited for this one can be found here.

Bags made for Pay-it-Forward handmade exchange on Facebook using a Keyka Lou pattern. I have these four done and have another 3 cut out.

New Projects:

This is my snowy day quilt. While huddled in my reading chair yesterday morning I decided I needed a warm cuddly quilt just for me. This quilt had been in my head for awhile, inspired by this quilt from Sara at Kindered Crafters. The squares are NOT part of the quilt, they are my block markers stuck on with tape. After taking the picture I am playing with actually putting some squares on with raw edge applique. The portion laying on the ground is the backing.

Flags are back! I am making 12 of these for the Winter Guard team at the High School. The first competition is this weekend and my daughter leads the program with a solo! Exciting times!

Progress:

Made some significant progress on the HST project. I decided that this project really needed a design wall for layout so I created one with some flannel I had that you can see peaking out on the lower right corner.

Sitting:

Hour Glass Pot holders , Set of 4: Pinwheel Quilt Along :Fishies 2, coins : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Am Jane Squares

Stats for week:

New Projects - 2 : Completed - 2 : WIP - 13

scarf-a-rama

2011-01-21T11:05:00.006-06:00

It started with this a couple weeks ago .... the Anna Maria Horner Figure 8 Scarf....

I decided I had to have it, and ordered the kit from her web site. It is the velveteen and the voile from Innocent crush....yum.

I loved it with my cardigan sweaters and decided I had some yarn hanging around, I would knit one, of course in grey which I love, and then in a deep red which is not showing well in the picture.

I really wanted another velveteen, but could not stomach the price since 2 yards of each the focus and backing are required. If I had a need for 4 identical scarves that would be something different, but to do the math, on a good day the AMH is $20 and $15 per yard.... yep, you see where I am going....ka-ching for a scarf. The kits are $25 but the other color combo's available did not appeal to me.

So, while at Hancock's I saw the solid cotton velveteen in a burgundy color that I matched a sweater. When I took it home I found that I did not have 2 yards of anything in my stash that matched, but this AMH Garden Party print looked great with it and I knew where I could get more... dirt cheap... so I hopped in the car drove to the seedy side of Dallas where the warehouse fabric stores are and got 2 yards for .... uhm $6.50 including tax. The velveteen was on sale, 10.99 less 40%, so that @ $14 for two yards including tax, so I got what I wanted, another scarf, and did not blow my budget, and can make 3 more scarfs if I wanted to.... maybe my Facebook Pay-it-forward buddies?

A note on the scarfs: The AMH kit is cut 18" by 72". I draped the fabric and thought it was too full and decided to cut down to 13". This worked out great because after I pre-washed the fabric the voile was barely 15". I don't know if this was all shrinkage, or if it was cut small to begin with since I didn't measure before pre-washing. Since I was using a 'normal' cotton rather than voile for the solid scarf, I was afraid it would add to the bulk and cut it 11". This turned out perfect (scarf is now done, completed since I took pictures this morning and got this post done, but am too lazy to include new picture).

edit : I am linking to Sarah Craig's new Friday linky party.

Please take a look at her post today that details how her quilt ministry was able to bless a sick little girl and my small part of this "Only God" story.

WIP 3.11

2011-01-19T09:56:00.003-06:00

This week I have slowed down a little. It took a lot of stealth sewing to get my husbands quilt done last week and then the girls had both Friday and Monday off school and I didn't want to hole up in my sewing room. That said, I did get a new project started...

Completed:

Raider Nation quilt

New Project:

I signed up for a Pay-it-Forward handmade exchange on Facebook and decided to make bags for my 5 recipients. I am using a Keyka Lou pattern that I got at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics and this is one of the fabric combos that I am using.

Progress:

Although I am still behind on my HST, I did get some sewn together in a block. My goal this week is to get back on track with these squares. See the feather print on the right lower corner? I kept thinking I would really like to get some of it for the backing and the other day I found it a Hancock for $2 yard. Guess what I am using to back this quilt!

Sitting:

Hour Glass Pot holders , Set of 4: Pinwheel Quilt Along :Fishies 2, coins : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Am Jane Squares

Stats for week:

New Projects - 1 : Completed - 1 : WIP - 11

Raider Nation!

2011-01-17T14:30:00.002-06:00

This is my husbands birthday present! And he loves it!

I had this novelty print fabric from a football party that I went all Sanrda Lee and used it as a table runner. If you have seen her show she is all about getting lengths of fabric and draping them around on the table and chairs...

Anyhow, I kept trying to come up with ways to use it in a quilt and was coming up empty until last Sunday morning I woke up and thought 'hey, what if I used some of those grey/black solids?' I decided it was genius and started sewing in a frenzy since his birthday was now only 6 days away and I wanted it to be a surprise which meant stealth sewing.

I used 5,7,9 & 12 inch squares of the print and finished the blocks out to 12" with the solids. The 5" ones I double sashed and some of the 7" I off set so the print is not centered. There are 4 colors of grey, black and white.

I had just enough (didn't plan it) for the print to go the width of the back and combined it with black flannel. I did not pre-wash which made me a little nervous as to if the novelty print would transfer or if the flannel would over shrink, but all came out well and is about 58" x 68". I quilted it out with loopys, black on the back and grey on the front. Binding is Crazy Dots by Kaufman.

I am sharing at Sew Modern Monday with Megan at Canoe Ridge!

Strawberry Hope

2011-01-12T19:20:00.006-06:00

This was Strawberry Fields when it was just a top. Thanks to all those who encouraged me last week to just get a back on this and call it done.... I love the way it turned out!

I knew I wanted to use this Hope Valley print for the back and searched on-line for yardage... finding it on sale at a LQS in Dallas I had not been to, City Craft, so I took a little drive and got it and a couple other Fiesta colorway prints.... I also got to see Greenfield Hill IRL which prompted an order to my favorite etsy store Fresh Squeezed Fabrics.... expect to get it by Friday!!! But I digress....

I have a habit of naming my quilts a combo of the pattern and the fabric so this became Hope Chained, Chained Hope.... didn't like the S&M thing going on there, so I stuck with Strawberry and this is Strawberry Hope. USPS currently has it in addition to Purple Squares, heading to CA to a new baby girl and her Grandmother.

And I had to include this shot of the BIG Texas snow fall we got over the weekend. To be fair this was taken the following day and since it has not gotten above 30 degrees there is still a trace on the ground, but... they interrupted football games to give weather updates on this?

WIP 2.11

2011-01-12T18:31:00.004-06:00

Does is seem like this year has been dragging already, or do you feel like its still 2010? I have yet to write 2010 on anything yet, so I think I am firmly into the new year. Now, for the last week, this is what I have done....

Completed:

Double Hour Glass Strawberry Hope

New Project:

Progress:

HST Mania is falling a little behind my 5-a-day goal, but I have gotten some in

Pinwheel Quilt Along is up to bat next and I started the sashing. You will see more of it in the coming week.

Sitting:

Hour Glass Pot holders , Set of 4 :Fishies 2, coins : Hope Valley QAL : Stamp QAL :Chubby Stars QAL : Snippet Pinwheels : Leaves D9P : Am Jane Squares

Stats for week:

New Projects - 1

Completed - 2

WIP - 11 (down 1 from last week!)

Sunday Stash

2011-01-09T13:36:00.002-06:00

If you have visited my blog before you have probably heard about the warehouse stores that I frequent in downtown Dallas.

I got these fabrics at one of those places. I got the large sunflowers because I saw the Kokka selvage and knew I could not pass it up at $3/yard and bought 2 yards. The other was in 'the bin' and was less. It is from Art Gallery and I have one yard.

So, if this was your fabric, what would you do with it? As you can tell from the inch markers, the sunflowers are a very large scale print.

I have this
Keyka Lou Grocery Bag pattern, but can't help but feel there is a better use for this fantastic fabric but I am at a loss what it would be. Ideas welcome!

Double Hour Glass Quilt

2011-01-07T06:56:00.002-06:00

This quilt has been sitting around for some time. My husband told me he wanted a larger wall hanging quilt for his office so I started this in early spring of last year.

Then my sewing machine went on the fritz and had to be taken in and was AWOL for about three weeks. During that time I was able to piece on my other vintage machines but was unable to FMQ so I ended up with a stack of tops..... this one ended up at the bottom of the pile since I had no real deadline for completion.

I had the back pieced and ready, the pretty blue binding waiting, I just could not get it under my machine until this week when I got a sudden burst of energy while re-organizing my sewing space. I decided a couple of projects needed to either be completed or start paying me rent.

So now its done, headed to the office to brighten my husbands day!

I am linking to Sew & Tell Fridays. All week I was thinking about this forum and that I wanted to get this quilt done on Thursday so I could take pictures outside and have ready to post of Friday.... now click above and see what other people have been working hard on to share with you!

WIP 1.11

2011-01-05T07:55:00.005-06:00

Its time... time to share WIP, and time to fess up to what I really have going on.

My 2010 posts I focused on Christmas projects and what I was actively working on and getting completed. In my 2011 goals I came clean on some of the WIP I really had stashed away, but sadly I missed some. So, for 2011 I am using Wednesday as the time and place to account for any projects which I have started cutting. (oops, while writing that I just remembered another)

Completed: Purple squares

Progress:

My hour glass quilt is all quilted and binding is cut and ironed and ready to be attached. I had a set back when my iron died and I had to go buy another, but we are good to go now and this should be done and ready to share on Friday!

I am also keeping to my 5-a-day for the HST Mania quilt that I re-started this week.

HELP:

I got out an old WIP and have been playing around with it and need some help. This is really old, one that I unpacked from moving so it has not seen action in at least 8 years. In my mind this has always been called Strawberry Fields.

The left picture shows the solid that I had originally paired with it as well as a darker solid and print from my stash. The right picture are the Fiesta prints from Hope Valley which continue to play in my mind for completing this project, so these are the potentials to work with.

Here is where I need help. The piece is 50" square. Should I throw a binding on it (the stripes) and call it good? I have a friend having her first grand baby that I could send it to. Or, should I work up a scrappy patchwork thing around the edges making it bigger and maybe a rectangle?

Sitting: (this is where it gets messy)

Hour Glass Pot holders , Set of 4
Fishies 2, coins
Pinwheels QAL
Hope Valley QAL
Stamp QAL
Chubby Stars QAL
Snippet Pinwheels
Leaves D9P
Am Jane Squares

Disclosure - I am not counting Christmas wine bags or circle pillows as both projects have been packed away with Chirstmas fabric until at least August. When they are unpacked, they will join the list.

Stats for week:

New Projects - 0

Completed - 1

WIP - 12

HST Mania

2011-01-04T06:43:00.003-06:00

Almost a year ago I was inspired by this quilt to start my own HST quilt. I started it random, then took all the triangles apart and redid as values (light/dark). I was not thrilled and set the project aside.

This last week after looking at lots of EOY quilt collages and reviewing my quilts I realized that although I like multi print (busy) quilts by others, I prefer to both work on and have in my home quilts with generous use of solids.

Out comes the seam ripper and all the triangles got taken apart, again. I have a healthy length of Kona in a light grey (stone?) and re-started the project.

My goal is 5 squares (10 completed HST blocks) a day at least 5 days a week.

Goals are good, I even did a post on my goals for the year and of course this was not even an idea at the time unless its loosely considered an outstanding WIP. Goals are flexible in my quilting, the only absolute being working on what I like.

Sunday stash report

2011-01-02T17:29:00.003-06:00

or, the story of how a trip to Sprinkles for cupcakes....

Blew my stash reduction numbers...

For those that may not know, Sprinkles is a well known cupcake emporium. They sell only cupcakes and they have a vast menu of flavors. My youngest daughter loves the experience of going there so as vacation dwindled we decided to make a trip downtown for this culinary delight. .... and the way my mind works, if I am headed down there, I really should stop by the stores in the warehouse district to see if they have anything new.

I was not disappointed... treasures abounded... The red mingle print on the right was the most expensive at $5 yard to the Amy Butler on the far left that was $2 yard. The others were all $3. I got a yard of each and am headed back soon to get more of the AMH Garden Party and AB Midwest Modern in the middle... at $3 I need to get it for future quilt backings.

So, here are my stash numbers to end the year ... this reflects the past two weeks.

In:

9 yards pictured above

6.5 yards Holiday Happy that I ordered when I realized I had not gotten nearly enough of the in my first order from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. So glad I got it when I did since it is now $9+ post sale.

Out:

3.5 table cloth using grey Ikea fabric above

8.5 DD1 quilt

9 - DD2 quilt

4.5 Purple squares quilt

Total for week... Reduction of 10 yards!!!

Total for Dec/2010 ... 12.5 increase

I think that in 2011 I will continue to track my fabric, but I will record it at the end of the month. I don't think that anyone else cares how much fabric I have or use, but recording it here gives me some accountability.

This is a random picture my daughter drew on the lid of the Sprinkles box... kinda how I feel about my fabric sometimes.

Reminder: Giveaway for custom labels closes tomorrow.

2010 done, give away for 2011

2010-12-31T08:11:00.002-06:00

This will be my last quilt completed for 2010. Not bad since it was on my 2011 goals list! We won't mention that its been a stack of completed blocks sitting in a basket for almost a year.

It was intended as a baby quilt, but is more of a toddler size, or a good baby floor throw coming in at 51" square before being washed.

The back is some of my favorite Michael Miller dainty damask. I love this print and it is so sweet in the grapey purple with pink back ground.

It was supposed to be rainy and nasty all day today so I rushed out last evening to get pictures and see that the late afternoon sun was a little dim. You can see the colors better in this picture done before binding. I do think that this is the best quilting I have done to date. I don't remember making any pointys which is my downfall.

And remember these? I still have 4 left that have 2010 on them. I may use them on WIP that were started in 2010 as long as they are done in FQ11.

Its time to print up some new ones for 2011 and since I print them a page at a time I will print up 6 labels for a lucky winner! Just comment to this post and I will pick a random winner on Monday. Winner can then tell me what they want printed and if they have a favorite of the styles I have going on so far.

DD1 & DD2 quilts

2010-12-29T14:08:00.005-06:00

While driving home from Thanksgiving break I decided I would add making quilts for my daughters to my Christmas to-do list. (while still working on one for my mom, and just cutting out one for my brother and sister in-law)

The only part of the plan that was not crazed is that I had the full complement of fabric for both projects. DD1 had expressed a slight interest in making a project in the spring so I researched and picked a pattern and bought fabric based on her criteria only to have her say she changed her mind, she wasn't that interested she just said she was to not disappoint me..... hhhmmm... another stack of fabric!

I knew the fabric would be perfect in her room which she recently painted lavender but I didn't want to use the pattern the fabric was bought for.

Camile Roskelly's Little Man quilt from her new book was my new inspiration which I modified to make it larger for my big girl. It suits her! Bright, edgy and orderly.

On the trip where I got the bright idea to make the quilts I had picked up some Urban Zoology Owl fabric by Ann Kelle. DD2 loved it so I decided to use it for her quilt, mixing it with blues and greens from my stash. The original plan was to sash D9P squares but that was a bit flat so I framed them in chartreuse kona and wonked them a little with white.

Backing is Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller - Whimsy - Curly Swirl.

Despite the expression on her face, she does love it and had been carrying it around the house wherever she goes, plopping down to snuggle up and read while wrapped in it.

Last WIP for '10

2010-12-29T13:47:00.002-06:00

Well, its the last WIP post for 2010 and I actually have progress to report! The above is a set of blocks that has been hanging out for some time. I put them in my 2011 goals list which spurred me to action. They are now all put together and ready to bind and be shipped to a friend expecting a daughter early in the new year. .... and surprise of all, its the only thing I have been working on this week... no ADD quilting, bopping from project to project!

And these are a couple of quilts that had been WIP and were completed before Christmas... good thing since they were gifts for DD1 and DD2. I have more pictures on these that I will be posting later in the week. I am super happy with how they turned out and the girls were surprised and loved them.

I look forward to tracking my WIP and those of others at Freshly Pieced in 2011!

2011 - Lists and Goals

2010-12-21T13:16:00.006-06:00

Elizabeth at Don't call me Betsy did a great list and linky party of 2011 goals and intentions. I was inspired to document what has been floating around in my head the past couple days as that things I want to work on first in the new year.

1. Complete misc projects in progress:

These two baby quilts have been sitting for awhile and are at the top of the list.

This double hour glass is waiting patiently to be sandwiched and quilted. I also have a quilt that I refer to as Strawberry Fields that needs attention.

2. Complete 2010 QALs

Recognize any of these? These are the 4 QALs that I started in 2010 ... I have agreed that the postage stamp will be a life long project, but the others must be completed before I join any new QAL parties ... well, lets amend that... at least one must be completed.

3. 2010 swap

These are my two blocks and in the bags are the ones I received from the no-sew swap. Full disclosure, I have another set too that is light green and dark pink. I would like to get these done and maybe donate the quilts.

4. New projects

Two new projects that I would like to start, but only after I have made progress on the others above... uhm... yes, I already started cutting the one which I guess makes it officially a WIP rather than a new project.

That gets me through 12 quilts, all of which I still love and am excited about.... ok, maybe not the swap ones so much... I have my eye on AmandaJean's Zig Zag quilt and that may work its was in here as well. I will be posting and sharing my progress on these at WIP Wednesday and Friday Sew and Tell.

Stash Report

2010-12-20T12:50:00.006-06:00

I missed getting this done on Sunday but my list was getting too long to wait any longer.

Do you start buying for next Christmas the day after the holiday so you take advantage of the sales? Well, that's kinda what I did with the holiday fabrics that went on sale the last couple of weeks. Stocking up for next year.

I got these lovelies on sale for under $4 a yard from Randi at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. Full disclosure, I have decided this was not enough so I have another order in transit as well. I also got some Alexander Henry Merry Modern since was just sure it is going to be all gone very soon.

So, here is the list of fabric that came in over the last two weeks:

Order from Fresh Squeezed - 6.5 yard
Order from Fabric Shack including Merry Modern and Kona for Hope quilt - 5.5 yards
Ikea table cloth fabric in red and grey - 7
Ikea Snow Bears in green for Christmas Quilt back and red for stash - 9
American Jane FQ's at LQS - 2 yards
Kona for WIP and stash (40% 0ff at Hancock's till Christmas) - 8 yards

Total in = 38 yards

I do have somethings to show for all that though.... Here's what got completed in the last two weeks:

Coffee Cozies - .5
Table cloth & runners - 3.5
Bottle bags - 1.5
Fenced in Hope quilt - 8
Christmas Quilt - 14

Total out = 27.5

That's in increase of 10.5 for the reporting period... but, I expect that next week will turn this tide as I finish up the last of the gifts and clean house on some WIP I have outstanding.

Anyone else have some QAL's that are hanging out still? Getting them done are at the top of my list for the new year..... and none of them require new fabric so I will have no excuses!

Its begining to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-12-18T15:06:00.006-06:00

Its done, and I love it. My Christmas Quilt is completed and in its place on the couch to be admired and to snuggle in during the holiday season (not too much snuggling since its expected to be in the 70's all next week). In case of a cold snap its plenty large enough to snuggle ending up at 65" x 85".

The backing is a yellow green I found at Ikea. I was going to use the dark green Michael Miller in the block above with some pieced blocks thrown in, but I could not get the 'snow bear' material out of my head and made an emergency trip to Ikea to get it.... ( BTW, Ikea is not close, its about 40 min away). My family says that they are hippos, but its my quilt and I can call them Scandinavian snow bears if I want to.

WIP - actually on Wednesday!

2010-12-15T10:12:00.008-06:00

Yea! This week I made time to post my WIP on Wednesday! And even better, I have some projects that move into the completed category!

Under New and Completed is my table cloth and runner.

Fabric from Ikea, perfect width and I was able to get it long enough for my table. I did a quick serge around the edge and done! Made matching runner for side table and a couple square candle mats to throw around in other rooms.

Also completed this week are my Fenced in Hope quilt (check out the back at the link!) and the 6 bottle bags required for hubbys office gifts.

Under progress made MY Christmas quilt is all put together, back pieced and ready for sandwiching and quilting, my project for today. DD1 quilt blocks are done and borders are cut.

Still waiting for time and attention are DD2 owl quilt, the felt circle pillow and the 5 coffee cozies that must be done today to be gifted tomorrow!

Check out other WIP's here.

Fenced in Hope

2010-12-15T09:51:00.006-06:00

Fenced in Hope is done and in the mail to its new home. I hope they like it as much as I do.

It is the largest quilt I have machine quilted myself to date (aprox 65 x 76) and it was not nearly the struggle I was anticipating. It took two football games on Sunday which was not too bad.

The inspiration for my quilt came from the Fenced In quilt in Elizabeth Hartman's Practicl Guide to Patchwork.

The fabrics are primarily Hope Valley, New Day color way with a couple others from my stash. I love these greys and blues and think I have enough left for something for me! The solids are Kona Cotton.

I blogged about my issue in matching the Sage Kona and in that hunt made a startling discovery... not all Kona is the same. It appears that the fabric sold at Joann's is different. If you have a piece from Joann's and one from Hancock's, a LQS or an online store compare them. Not just the color, the actual weave. The stuff at Joann's is much coarser and the thread count is low. I went through my full Kona collection and found this to be the case in every instance. Lesson learned....

Secret Project Revealed

2010-12-15T09:33:00.004-06:00

I made this quilt for my mom who does look in from time to time, but never comments (hi mom!) so I had to wait till she got the early Christmas present before posting too much about it. It started out as a table runner last year (see strips used in backing.. that's about as far as I got). At the time I had not yet graduated to anything larger and found a pattern on Moda Bake Shop for the two charm packs of The Caroler by Mary Engelbreit. I lost interest in the project and it got packed away with my other Christmas fabrics for projects in the coming year.

When I unpacked in the fall in preparation for getting started on holiday projects I was pretty sure I didn't want to make the table runner... Then it occurred to my that the bright strong colors might appeal to my mom. I got lucky when I found that the LQS had a couple of the prints still in stock for the border and backing and the solid is a Kona favorite, papaya.

It was a windy cloudy day when I took the pictures so there are ripples where the wind caught it. When I tried to use the swing as a prop, well, that didn't work well as the wind started rocking the swing.

wip ---- thursday?

2010-12-09T08:40:00.006-06:00

I tired and tried to get myself together to get this post up Wednesday, but it didn't happen. Luck for me Lee at Freshly Pieced keeps her WIP forum open a little past the calendar day for slackers like me!

I have a couple of new projects I started on this week...

These are quilts started for DD1 and DD2. They are both going to be simple and I hope to work on the blocks in between other projects and have them ready to put together sometime next week.

Have you seen the cute, cute, cute pillow that Amy made? Well I decided I needed one so I traced my circles and cut them out during intermission of the Middle School band concert last night.

I made a bit of progress on my projects I shared last week. The secret priority project made it to the mail....I will share pictures when I hear it has been received.

I also got all the blocks done and put together for both the Fenced Hope and My Christmas quilts, now working on backing.

After travelling to the 5 stores that I 'might' have bought the Kona cotton at for Fenced Hope and not finding it, I am waiting for an order in the mail and hoping it will match and then I can get the borders on and move ahead towards completion as this will be mail bound.

I am also working on 6 wine bags and 5 coffee cup cozies for hubbys work gifts. I always try to jazz up his bottles of wine and gift cards with a little handmade goodie.

Click here to see other WIP, actually posted on Wednesday.

Sunday Stash

2010-12-05T09:27:00.005-06:00

I bought the owls on a whim, no project in mind ....then while driving home from Thanksgiving it occurred to me that I could make my girls quilts for Christmas... I almost had the others to be gifted done and I would have almost 2 week of them still on school when I could work on them in stealth mode.... and I was sure I had fabrics at home to work with. (this would be an understatement)

When we got home I started pulling fabrics to go with the owls. My youngest is not a girly girl and she recently painted her room bright green... like the bright green owls. I wanted to make something that matched, but didn't glow..... maybe something to neutralize the current glow factor.... I am excited to got cutting on this... Its going to be a d9p featuring the owls.

While driving home I also started thinking about how much fabric I bought on the trip... 18.5 yards to be exact. I decided to start tracking my in/out with a goal of over all fabric reduction in the coming year. I am going to start now so that I don't mistakenly think December is a freebie month and start stocking up in preparation ... yes, I would do that.... it will also let me start counting with the gifts that are in progress so that I have all the 'grey area' cleared for the new year.

So, here goes... for this week:

Fabric in - 18.5 yards

Fabric out - secret project, 5 yards + 2 charm packs (1.5yds)
Net - Increase of 12 yards

Friday!

2010-12-03T11:07:00.002-06:00

Its Friday... Time for Sew & Tell.... where has the week gone?

Well, part of my week was spent completing the blocks for my Fenced in Hope quilt now lying on my fancy 'design floor' ready to be sewn together and completed when I find more Kona Sage in the correct dye lot.

I also snuck in a round here and there between the above and another secret project and got my Christmas string squares done....

and I have the pile of trimmings to prove it!

I did get a secret project all done and in the mail.... I will share afer the holidays ... I love it and hope the recipient does too.

Have a great weekend! I am off to find Sage Kona and to pull all those blocks into completed quilts!

WIP Wednesday

2010-12-01T11:04:00.003-06:00

I have three quilts in progress that I want to share today for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

The first is mine all mine... a paper pieced strip quilt in red and green. I keep sneaking in a round of strips here and there in between the projects I am supposed to be working on.

Then there is the Fenced in Rail quilt which is a gift. I took it on vacation and got it cut and the block put together, however I managed to take two different color lots of the Kona Sage to be used for the block edges so those still need to be cut and the quilt completed from there.

Third is also a gift ... almost all quilted, binding pending before it hits the mail.
This is priority one and the goal is to get it done and to the washing machine tonight...

confession time... I decided getting these three done is not enough so I started quilts for each of the daughters as well. One is cut and one is still a pile. I get bored with just one quilt and like to work multi at a time in different stages so if I find a tv show I want to watch I can trim blocks or cut rather than trying to hear over the machine sewing... and risk my finger in the process... but... I think I need to focus and get something done!!!

You can find other WIP here!

vacation = fabric binge

2010-11-29T12:32:00.003-06:00

My family has yet to catch on that any vacation/travel plans are well choreographed to include strategic stops for fabric adventures.

( Quilt Asylum in Mc Kinney Texas)

.

Thanksgiving has become a 'local trip' holiday since no one comes to visit us and we prefer to travel to California to see family when we can make it longer than a week.

(Sew in Heaven, a lucky unexpected find of Peas and Carrots)

For the past three years we have found places within about 6 hours drive to spend the week.... the criteria being someplace that is not flat which rules out most of Texas.

(more from Sew in Heaven, ladybugs and 1974!!!)

This year we drove north through Oklahoma and east to Arkansas to a lake resort outside of Eureka Springs. Its in the middle of the Ozarks so it was small rolling mountains and we were lakeside which was a nice treat!

(diva and 12 days panels from Banson Fabric Store)

I normally plot out a route and a plan, list of potential restaurants, attractions, ect....

(Country Fabric and Quilts, Hwy 69, OK)

This year we just had the google map to our destination and a rough idea about Branson, Eureka Springs and golf..... turned out great! We loved Eureka Springs, reminds us of several towns in northern CA.... kinda a cross between Truckee 10 years ago and Ferndale ... on the side of a mountain.

And I also found some fabric to bring home.

Sunday Stash - Bliss Love

2010-11-19T12:02:00.003-06:00

There is lots of bloggy love out there for the Bliss line. I am not sure if I am just drawn to the red/turquoise or if these are the ones that are out there the most.... I was even inspired with my own stash stack ... but still ended up giving in and buying some of my own Bliss.

But then I got some of he green/cinnamon Bliss and I am in love.... I may be just the season, fall browns and all that, but I do love these fabrics.... and I did find some fabrics from my stash to play along.

Sew & Tell Friday!

2010-11-19T09:48:00.007-06:00

This is a quilt I have been working on since about September. It is a Christmas gift for my sister, who I am quite sure does not follow my blog so I can share it before getting it in mail.

It is a disappearing 9 patch pattern featuring Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow fabrics with a couple others thrown in from my stash, most notably the brown border with unknown origins and the backing which is from the Pieces of My Heart collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda. The solid is Kona Cotton Gold.

I quilted it with a variegated gold/brown thread which I liked a lot! I did find myself heading towards the dark squares when the dark thread came up but that made my quilting a little more random.

I'll be sharing at Amy's Sew & Tell when the internet gremlins fix her linky party :)

And as a bit of house keeping, my husband (also known as the random number generator of the day) picked 21, which makes Shanan Z. the winner of the 100 post give away.

100th post give away!

2010-11-16T11:44:00.003-06:00

100 posts ... it took me a little time to get there, but this is my 100th post for my blog.

To celebrate I am giving away this set of 5 fat quarters of Merry Mushroom by Windham and 1/2 yard cuts of 2 of my favorite Kona cotton colors, Papaya and Green Grass. This was on e of those happy finds at Joann Fabrics in the FQ section that I over bought... think I got 5 bundles, so I thought if I shared maybe I would be inspired to use the ones I have!

To enter just leave a comment. You can say congrats on 100, you can tell me about a happy find you have made at Joann, or tell me if you know of any great quilt stores in the Banson MO Eureka Springs AR area as that is where we are headed for Thanksgiving next week. I will close entries on Friday.

And another give away, sort of..... some of you may remember awhile back when I ordered some quilt labels from Sweetwater. Well, after getting them it occurred to me how easy it would be to make them myself so I proceeded to do so. What I failed to consider was the number of quilts I made by the end of the year needed to match the number of labels printed with the year on them. I must have been feeling very productive that day.....

So, I have one that does not have my last name.... If your name is 'Diane' spelled this way... throw up your hand and I will stick this in the mail to you :) Come the first of the year when I print new ones for me I will give away a set with someone elses name on it, but for now, only 'Diane' wins.

50% off Kona Sale!

2010-11-13T12:41:00.003-06:00

This week I filled in some spots on my Kona collection card thanks to a 50% sale at Hancock Fabrics.... good till Sunday both in store and online!

I got indigo, chartreuse, mustard, spring and khaki Friday at the local store. Then today when I decided I needed to go to Joann to get some variegated thread for quilting I thought ... hey... they take competitors coupons, I wonder if they match add prices... so I printed the add and took it with me

Guess what??? They do! So, I supplemented my white and ash and added buttercup and med pink to the collection. The add also has a 40% off notion coupon so I used it for the thread!

I never pay full price for Kona (well, that's a lie... I did get a couple pieces online that are obscure that are not carried in stores... but for the most part.... ) Hobby Lobby ALWAYS has it for 30%... always. It does look like HL's price only applies to in store only, but right now they have a 40% off any item online. 3 out of 4 weeks HL has a 40% any item coupon in the paper/web site which I take to Joann ... can't use at HL since the Kona is already on sale. Now that I know I can use printed adds for price match, that will add Hancock to this mix as well.

Hmm, maybe I should get some extra.... looks like I have a milestone of 100 posts coming up and a giveaway of a selection of Kona might be in order.

Do you have a favorite Kona Color? I think mine is Charcoal, or Sage... I really like Sage.

Go (insert favorite team) Go!

2010-11-12T07:30:00.004-06:00

This was to be named GO Marcus GO, but the weather conspired against me from taking this as a good luck charm to the football playoff game last night and we lost.... in the last seconds.... pass to the end zone to tie the game was caught, but said to be past the line, out of bounds, no score, we lose.

See the blue skys and the toes in flip flops? Is was almost 75 degrees at game time and the temp never dropped below 65 making it a little warm to lug a quilt to the game.... maybe I should have anyhow.... for luck....

The loss officially ends the football / band marching season here, so.... I am going to instead name this GO Foothill GO in honor of my nephew being moved up from Varsity from JV to play the remainder of their season. The quilt will have to be good luck in abstentia since Foothill High School is in Northern California and the quilt is staying with me in Texas.

Here is the back, of the quilt and the holder... again, its the middle of November and its shorts and flip flops? Rain predicted and temps to drop this weekend.... I can't wait!

I am sharing this on Amy's Sew & Tell. If you are visiting from there, welcome! If you came from elsewhere, be sure to go check ou the other projects for the week!

Champions, hedgehogs and mushrooms

2010-11-11T09:32:00.002-06:00

My Texas State Marching Band Champion!

And, because although I am sure you think my daughter is lovely..... nothing gets the heart going like a pile a fabric....

this is mostly an older line of Micheal Miller I had been collection, with some hedgehogs and mushrooms thrown in!

Its HOW MANY days away?

2010-11-09T11:25:00.004-06:00

Someone needs to remind me how many days there are till Christmas because my list of to-do items is growing ... fast....

This needs to be completed for Thursday... just a little to go.... after I take out that section where the tension went fuzzy ... trying to quilt with red thread on the bottom and white on top is not fun....

This is next on the list and is a gift so although I have a month till it needs to be in the mail, I am terrified that in 4 weeks it will still be in this state.... so it is next!!!

This one morphed from an idea spawned from one of my new quilt books to what is now planned...actually found some yardage of this at a LQS to augment my charm packs. Those are my Whirlygig templates in the front.... It is a gift that I want them to have for the holidays so next Friday is the target to hit the mail...

This one is for me... can't get this pattern/fabric pairing out of my head.... I would like to have it done by Dec 1st to enjoy for the holidays....

And this is where I start to jump the shark... as I tell myself 'oh, but so-n-so would like this, it would be a great Christmas gift' .. as I order the Pie Basket fabric for the backing...

So help me out here.... think for me while I sew.... if you were to throw one of the fabrics of this bunch out which one would it be? I am thinking the darker larger dots towards the left. Also, which solid to use? The Charcoal or the Sage? I know, one kinds determines the other...

Sunday Stash

2010-11-07T10:58:00.003-06:00

I love playing with my fabric.... stacking it into piles of potential....

My husband calls in 'petting my fabric' .... I think he is jealous....

I bought these two books the other day, maybe they will provide further inspiration for turning the piles into reality.....

I already bookmarked a page in Simplify for this pile....

Fall Quilt Festival

2010-11-05T23:29:00.003-05:00

This is the first time I have entered anything to show in Amy's Blogger Quilt Festival. Last fall I found the on-line show and was amazed at the gathering of inspiration in one place and I managed to visit every single entry, although it took awhile.

I am so happy to be able to participate. I almost missed it between being out of town and coming back to a broken computer monitor, but looks like I am going to make it with time to spare.... very little time, but some left all the same.

I am submitting my Rick Rack Rocks quilt.

This quilt exemplifies my quilt work style. I picked a couple charm packs of Authentic by Sweetwater. This was the first charm pack I had ever gotten and I wanted to just work with the squares, but it was not going to end up big enough, so I decided to frame the blocks of squares, then I decided I didn't want the quilt to be square so to add blocks I added some blocks made from strips rather than squares.

When I was done with the top I was not pleased. It looked kinda washed out and blah.... I had some rick rack sitting around for another project, but I had never used it on a quilt. I put the two together and loved it so I rushed to the store to get enough for around the border.

This is definitely not the quilt I envisioned when I started, but I love the way it turned out.

Winner, Winner and Winner!

2010-11-05T14:42:00.004-05:00

First Winner:

Marcus High School Band was awarded 1st place for large bands in the State of Texas Tuesday at the State UIL Marching Band contest in San Antonio!

They also won first place in the Super Regional Bands Of America contest over the weekend also in San Antonio.

The show finale, check out the flags in the back... those are 7 by 11 feet! That's my daughter in the front on the right side of the 50 yard line.

Second Winner!!! a tie!

A tie between the San Fransisco Giants, winners of the World Series ....

and ME! For scoring these wonderful finds on sale while in San Antonio at the band competitions.

Both of the above piles were 50% off , the charm packs were 30% off!! I found Arcadia and it was on sale!!!

I also splurged and got these as a little treat.... not on sale.

Third Winner:

Sara Craig is the winner of the 4 fat quarters from the Bad Blogger Giveaway!

Thanks everyone for playing! And for the input on the disappearing 9-patch borders. With the competition season over (till Winter Guard starts) I hope to have a chance to get some of my projects going again and I always appreciate the input and comments that you in blog land provide.

5 girls and a disappearing 9 patch

2010-10-28T12:44:00.007-05:00

In my Bad Blogger Givaway post (check it out to enter) I mentioned that I did have some quilty things going on.... this is one of them.

I had a group of 5 girls that are all home schooled that wanted to learn to quilt. I had just completed the Fishies quilt and thought that would be a good pattern for them since it looks far more complex than it is. I made up the above quilt as my test run before starting with the girls.

It features the Dick and Jane fabric... so cute... I found it at Joanns as 2 sets of fat quarters.

I wanted to test drive a pillow case edge thinking it might be easier for the girls than a binding and used this as my sample. I quilted using stitch in the ditch around each fabric. This quilt will be going to the Downy Quilts for Kids program.

This is Shanon and Alyssa.... all basted and ready to tie... didn't they do great?

I had a couple assumptions regarding the sewing experience of both the girls and their mothers that were for the most part false, so what I had planned to be a 5 week class stretched to 8, but in the end there were no dead bodies and the girls all completed both a 4" 4x5 patch quilt for their baby dolls as well as a nice sized disappearing 9 patch lap quilt for themselves using 6" squares. I even had one girl who used free motion quilting!

I had the last session with the girls one-on-one to give them each individual attention to finish up, but only remembered to take pictures of the sisters. I hope to get pictures of the others soon and will share. All 5 of the girls did great!

Two of the moms participated as well, making a larger version of the quilts.

This is my quilt-along version I did with them, well, three versions of it. Which border/binding option do you like better? 1,2 or 3? I think I have a favorite, but lets see what you say.... and to sweeten the pot all opinions will get another entry in the Bad Blogger Giveaway!

Bad Blogger Giveaway

2010-10-26T14:59:00.003-05:00

I have been a bad blogger, I admit it, I have.

My excuse is that the parental involvement in Marching Band has been beyond anything I expected and has sucked up every spare moment. Fortunately, some of that time has been spent sewing. Sewing flags, sewing hems in cloaks, sewing decorations on outfits.... that kind of sewing. I also made myself a fanny cushion to sit on at competitions. I have a little quilty thing that has been going on.. but back to the bad blogger part... I'll tell you about the other later....

As a reward to anyone out there that might still be stopping by, I am going to giveaway 4 fat quarters of MM Mod Geo, one each of green, coral, aqua and lt blue.

This is them looking out the window, wondering where they will be going and hoping their new home has something great waiting for them.

Leave me a post letting me know that you dropped by even though I am a bad blogger. Let me know if you have been by before or if this is a random drop in. I will leave this open for a week (at least) and notify a winner.

And, heads up.... I have a few other things that I put aside while sewing band projects that I may be looking to giveaway in the coming weeks!