Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge

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

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!

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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.

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?