Monday, January 28, 2013

Another one bites the dust!

 
Another UFO, completed!
 
According to this post I started this a little over 2 years ago.
I have worked on it here and there but when I pulled it out last week I was surprised at how little time it took to finish it up, at least once I got the 1/2 yard of fabric ordered and received that was required.
 
 
It  was a tad windy on Sunday when I took the pictures, and boy does that fence need stain.
 
The quilt includes lots of muted, non-bright fabrics, some are bits and pieces sent as 'extras' in trades. Its a simple 5" HST with Ash Kona cotton.  Love this color... not to grey, not to khaki.
 
 
Thanks to the wind I was able to get this picture of the backside...
don't look to close as it is a mess.
 
 
 
It comes out to 85 x 66, so a nice snuggle size.  I had already bought the fabric for backing, have it pieced and ready to go... but the myth of flag fabric being delivered continues so I will be stacking this in the corner for now.
 
 

 
And here is the first set of flags in use!  I didn't have to make them... after not getting the fabric all week we called found out it had slipped in the process and was never sent so they made them up for us free of charge! 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

I don't always...

 
 
I don't always pay full price for fabric
(actually hardly ever),
 
 
 
But when I do,
It better be good!
 
Why do I wait 2 years after a fabric comes out then decide I MUST have it? 
I was lucky that the only place on this continent that I found using google search that had at least two of the three colorways for this print was 30 miles from my house.  I only found 3 other places in the US that had one or the other... 
 
Friday I drove down and got them.
 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thursday WIP


Well, its Thursday, but better late than never, especially when I am not actually working on anything now, just waiting on fabric.

Since my last WIP check in I completed the Scrappy Trip along top.
 
 
 
I purchased Crocus Kona (way more purple than picture) for the border/binding, but am not in love with it and am thinking of ordering Cerise
 
 
 
While waiting for fabric to come in for flag work I pulled this out.  I ran out of the Ash Kona so had to order it as none of the three fabric stores in the area that carry Kona have this color.


 
 
 
The Scrappy String quilt has been put on time out pending completion of an UFO. 

That is my crazy plan for the year, each new project must be ballanced by the completion of an existing one from the list below:

 
 
Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, American Jane blocks, Round & Round, Pinwheel Sampler, postage stamp, Swoon, Arcadia (HST which is what got called from the list this week to work on)
 
 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Trip - done!

 
 
1744 pieces combined to make this quilt.  Most were from the scrap strip container, lots of binding ends and trimmings from backings since I allow about 4 inches extra on my backings.
 
 
Since I am pretty anti-random some rules had to be established, which you may be able to determine from just looking at it.  The first is that a dark ran through the middle, second was each block had a solid, third was each had a yellow fabric. 
 
When choosing the fabrics I eliminated brown tones.  I had satisfied my warm scrappy yearnings with Scraptastic last year.
 
I made the blocks with 7x7 rather than the standard 6x6 strips. The quilt is 6x6 blocks, 80" square.  I am pretty sure I will be adding a solid border around the edges, probably 5" which will make this perfect for my queen sized bed. The blue sky is inspiring me to maybe go with a blue :) 
 
However, border will have to wait as I got my flag order for the spring this week and once fabric arrives will be making 62 for the Winter Guard show.  
 
Sharing this weeks accomplishment with the Whoop Group!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Something has got to give

My design wall is 120 inches across, and I have filled all the space!
 
 
 
 
I am going to have to pick a project and make the other sit and wait for room to be freed up. 
Since the string quilt is the 'cousin' made from rejected strips from the scrappy trip quilt, logically it should be the one to be set aside, but its like choosing which child to keep, I love them both.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Delirium! Done!

 
 
Its done!  Its called Delirium because while laying on the couch on Christmas day with a fever it suddenly occurred to me how to use these blocks to make a quilt that would be done, completed, finished, and out of the UFO pile!
 
 
 
 
The blocks are from Crazy Mom Quilts 36 block quilt along which she started in July of 2011. 
 
I had 12 blocks made, no intention of making more and decided to use a wide 4 inch sashing in between the blocks and a 6 inch border in Kona Steel.  I like this new color, it is a nice option to Coal which I have used as a medium dark grey in the past.
 
 
 
The back is Michael Miller Flannel Ginger Blossom Bouquet Toss by Sandi Henderson that I had grabbed on sale some time ago and had in stash. It coordinated with the grey and pops the colors on the front.  The binding is Pomegranate Kona, also used in one of the blocks on the front. 
 
It finished up washed and ready to go at aprox 55 x 70, perfect for Daddy and doggy!
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

WIP 1/9/13

First WIP report of the year!
 (unless you count the UFO post which is technically the same thing)


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

 
 
I have been working on a couple things in the past week including, 
 
 
 my Scrappy Trip Along

 
 
 
and its cousin, the Scrappy String quilt done with all the pieces too short or skinny for the Trip quilt.

 
 
I also made lots of progress on an OLD UFO, Amanda Jean's 36  Patch quilt. Its all but done and I expect to have details to share on Friday.
 
 
And the following are still all sitting quietly in the corner waiting for thier turn: 
Rainbow blocks, Chubby Stars QAL, American Jane blocks, Round & Round, HST , Pinwheel Sampler, postage stamp, Swoon, Arcadia
 
 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Scrappy Trip and Binding Choices

 
Well, I caved, I started my own Scrappy Trip Along.  There is a huge flicker group dedicatedto this project  and you can't press enter on a blog these days without seeing another.  You may note that rather than using 6 strips, I went with 7.  It messes up the seam nesting a little, but it makes for a larger block and  I was aiming for a large queen aprox 100 x 100.  I say WAS aiming because, well, we'll see.
 
 
 
I got started on the project because I figured it was a good way to clear out some scraps which means fewer to sort for a cleaning of the sewing room.  Somewhere along the line I noted that my pile of too skinny too short strips was bigger than those to be used so I started sewing string blocks too.  I already had about 50 paper pieces cut with white centers ready to go so this was not as crazy as it seems.  I like having multiple things going at once so I sew the strips for the first quilt, then sew strings on each side of the string blocks then iron everything then move to the next on each.  Quilting ADD at its finest.


 
Meanwhile, I did get my UFO quilt quilted and got stuck on bindings.  The pink print is the back and I wanted to coordinate it with the Kona Steel background on the front.  I bought the first pink, too bright, next was a little more subdued, but not perfect, then I found Pomegranate, the darker of the three... perfect.  Now I need to get it going again before I am completely consumed with strips and strings.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

FMQ and NCIS

 
I think about doing something different...
 
Really I do....
 
 
 
 
But every time I sit to quilt, no matter what idea I have in my head, the only think that seems right is to meander stipple.  I can go big, or small, or medium like this, but even if I start with something else I rip it out and go back to this... and watching NCIS, I seem to always have to be watching NCIS when quilting which is much easier now that I have a DVR and currently have 61 episodes saved to watch.
 
I wonder if I would do lines if I was watching Suits, or waves if watching Hawaii 5-0?  Burn Notice ends up in stipple too so  maybe that's not the contributing factor.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Nothing but UFO's

 
These are the 4 projects that I want to work on in January.
 

 

 
This last one is the one to be completed as part of A Lovely Year of Finishes.
 
 
My Button

You can read about each on my 2013 UFO/WIP list.

2013 UFO starting line

 Its time, to own up to the UFO/WIP I have and set a mark to track against this year.
Making this list was easy since I just took last years list and added some status updates.   The good news is that I was able to remove 5 from the original list that I completed in 2012 and I only added two new quilts that I started in the past year that are not yet completed (that's a nice way of saying sitting in a pile...)


New starts in 2012:
Swoon: I started this Jan 2012 and have about 4 blocks done and I will get it done this year!


 
Arcadia: This is a simple stripe quilt that I got started on for my bed but it got lost in the flag madness.  It started with a jelly roll of Arcadia I had been hoarding and I added some coordinates to balance color. I want this on my bed late summer, early fall.







From 2012 list :


Rainbow Blocks: I started these April (2011), 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. update:  I did get some more done and have only 3 blocks left! 





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. update: I moved this from under the serger to the closet in the last year




American Jane blocks: Also started spring 2011, this is all American Jane fabrics from different lines that I have about 1/2 the blocks done.






 36 patch: This is Crazy Moms quilt along from the summer of 2011 that I need more blocks completed to make into anything. update: Look for this soon!  Top is done and it is getting basted, to be quilted today!!!





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.update: nothing.. I may have done a block or two, but this is going to the front of the line, well second or third in line







 Pinwheel Sampler: I finally got the top done but I still need to put together the backing and get it done. update: I can not believe I did not get this done... it just needs basting and quilting...  maybe this week?





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. update: I have a plan! 





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.





That's it, my list of UFO's coming into 2013.  There are a couple I am excited about and hope to get done in the next couple of weeks, and a couple that I am still thinking 'what was I thinking'...  and of course, I expect to start a new quilt this next week as well.