A little finish: My March BOM

I was able to *finally* finish my Riley Blake block of the month for March.

Cute, right?

 

Three down, six to go.

I am still loving the solids.

I can't wait till this is finished.

I have a very special recipient in mind.

She has had a hard year, and has finally been blessed for all of her hard work.

 

I can't get too specific, because I believe she reads this blog from time to time-

So more to come later this year!

 

I also have a new WIP to start.

I have been given the opportunity to make a store sample for my little LQS.

They needed something to showcase their line of "Good Morning" from Me and My Sister designs for Moda.

I thought this would be nice for a summer display.

I opted for this pattern that they have in stock:

I felt that it would showcase the large print flowers.

 

...Maybe someday they will have MY patterns in stock...

 

I hope you all have a nice evening!

 

Linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday.

 

One last finsh for March

So, last we spoke I was knee deep in a sewing blitz...

I got her finished just in time to give to Ruby on her last day of work.

I even hand stitched the binding.

I quilted the cream borders with feathers. The printed centers with swirls.

The espresso sashing, I quilted with a back and forth design.

I tossed her in the washer and dryer before I gifted it.

So these texture shots were taken at about ten o'clock at night...

With my not-so-fabulous dining room lighting.

I found this darling mint chocolate polka dot for $4/yd on clearance.

I took a few left over scraps and created a label for the bottom corner.

Ruby loved it.

And I loved giving her a gift from my heart.

 

Things have been quiet on my blog...

but there has been good reason:

Spring has finally returned!

 

Have a wonderful night everyone!

 

 

 

 

Hear Me Roar!

My mom always used the phrase, "I am woman, hear me roar!" when she was pretty proud of herself.

 

Well, I'm feeling pretty proud...

I had this bad boy on my machine tonight:

Quilting on my little sewing blitz quilt is officially finished. Tonight. Woo hoo!

 

This leads me to a random question for the evening...

What is your favorite part about the quilting process from that first rotary slice to the last stitch in the binding?

 

Mine?

I live for the moment when I can take my quilted quilt and cut the rough edges away.

There is just something about that glorious clean edge and the feeling of accomplishment.

 

While I'm asking random questions- what do you do with your "warm-up" or practice pieces?

Mine are piling up around here, and I'm not quite sure what to do with them...

 

But of course, my favorite part of quilting leads to my least favorite part of quilting...

cutting threads.

Yuck.

 

I did try something new on this quilt.

I had heard or read somewhere that one should zig-zag the raw edges of their quilt down before quilting.

I have to say, this really didn't work for me.

I got about 18 inches down the first side of my quilt and gave up.

Things were bunching up and it seemed like more of a hassle than a help.

 

Does anyone else do this?

Do you find it helpful?

 

More to come on this quilt.

 

Have a wonderful evening!

 

 

I Might Have Lost My Mind

Does anyone out there have the self control to "Just Say No" to their quilting urges? When the creative fire is sparked, can you put it out of your mind and tell yourself: "No, <Name Here>, your house needs spring cleaning, you are hosting Easter dinner in a week, you work full time, you have little children, your husband has the weekend off, and you only have a week to finish your little hair-brained idea."

I don't have this so called self control.

Not at all.

A friend and coworker of mine has taken a new job in Florida. She is moving her family at the beginning of next month.

I have very much enjoyed working with Ruby. We both worked on the same hospital unit together as nurses- then she was the first of a small group of us on that unit that left our careers at the bedside and went into Nursing Informatics.

I give her lots of credit- because I really can't imagine uprooting my little life and moving across the country.

I had been rolling a quilt idea around in my mind- something involving hounds tooth, but just couldn't seem to latch on to the idea.

Then Tuesday night, as I lay in bed (because that's where so many great quilting ideas are born), I thought up this little number.

I quickly drew up my specs the next morning.

I had the perfect print from my stash in mind for the center square.

But it was at home, and I was at work.

I made the snap judgement to go to JoAnn's on my lunch hour anyway, to grab the fabric I needed to complete my idea - hoping that the colors of the fabric in my memory would match.

I chose Kona Cotton in Bone and Espresso:

When I made it home after work, I quickly pulled my print from my stash, and held my breath:

And took a sigh of relief.

They matched!

 Hooray!

I threw together my 12 inch blocks:

I was really quite nervous about the amount of cream in the print against the solid cream border. But, I really liked the look it created.

Because today was a work from home day for me, I was able to utilize my lunch break for my little sewing blitz.

Bock layout on design wall.

My dishes were done and my sweet children were both bathed and in bed by Eight this evening

(a red letter day in this household).

I dedicated my evening to sashing- and finished the top:

I was going for a neutral vintage modern look - I think it will 'fit' my friend very nicely.

Now, just need to get her basted, quilted, and bound to place in Ruby's hands next Thursday.

No Pressure.

(I work better under the wire anyway)

 

More to show you soon!

 

Have a wonderful evening, everyone!

 

 



 

 

WIP Wednesday: Excuses. Excuses.

I have a million excuses as to why I have been so quiet over here.

Working full time and children make up most of my excuses.

 

I was able to sneak away on Saturday to join in on drop-in sewing at my favorite LQS.

I spent most of my time jibber-jabbering, but was able to finish paper piecing half of my star:

I found this free template at Six White Horses. She has some awesome paper piecing templates.

This template has been slightly tricky-

My biggest problem has been cutting the right size pieces of fabric for my template.

It should be easier on the second half.

 

I would love to sit down to my sewing machine sometime this week.

It might have to wait until Friday night.

 

I HAVE to get my squares cut for my Amy Butler Charm Swap.

I am the queen of meeting deadlines.

I hope to get them sent out to Rachel on Friday during my lunch hour. 

 

Another WIP continues to be my Lilly Pilly quilt.

She is waiting patiently to be sandwiched, basted, quilted, and bound.

We'll get there...

 

Have a wonderful evening, everyone.

I'll be linking up with Lee.

 

 

Sunday Stashin': Holy Amy!

I joined the Amy Butler Charm swap that is being hosted by Rachel over at Sew Happily Ever After!

I took the very last spot. Woo hoo!

This is my first fabric swap ever here in blog land.

I'm so excited.

I started looking through my stash and was incredibly surprised at how much Amy Butler I actually had!

 Look at all of that!

Where did it all come from and why haven't I used this yet?

Are there any designers that you collect that you just can't bring yourself to cut into?

I'm envisioning some English Paper piecing for the charm squares that I will receive from this swap. I am flying out to Idaho for a week for work at the beginning of June, and am pretty sure my company will not pay the extra baggage fee for me to bring my machine along. ;)

So, I need to plan a good hand stitching project for my down time - and plan ride!

It's looking like I'll be sending the Love Sunspots and the Daisy Chain Deco Rose.

 

I'd also like to report that I have completed all of the zig-zagging on my Lilly Pilly quilt. Now I need to embroider a few pairs of feet and eyes and she can be basted!

 

And, I had my helpers in the sewing room with me today.

#1 'helping' me with my stash.

 

#2 keeping an eye on my progress. Gotta make sure she learns early!

Look how excited she was about me finishing my zig-zagging!
 

Funny story though: My foot kept getting confused between my foot pedal and her bouncy seat.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone!!

 

I'm linking up with Fiona at Finding Fifth for her Sunday Stash Linky Party.

 

Another Friday Finish!

Say What?!

That's right, for the second Friday in a row, I have a finish to share.

(We might want to mark this on the calendar, it's not going to happen again for a while- lol)

This is my quilt that I made with the Scrappy Stash Quilt Along hosted by Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts last fall.

I had a strong start with this quilt - and was working hard to have it finished in time to be part of the link party. But, being 8 months pregnant at the time, I developed complications that kept me on bed rest until the birth of my #2- weeks after the QAL was finished.

So even though I was not eligible to win any of the fabulous prizes that were handed out, I still ended up with this fabulous quilt.

This backing did give me a little grief. See that 5 inch strip along the right side? One should always make sure her math is correct and that the backing is wide enough for the quilt top- BEFORE she spray bastes it together. :)

I step back and look at this quilt and am so happy with its outcome.

This quilt was made 100% from my stash. The gray solid was actually a 90's mottled black and gold print that my mom handed down to me.

 I am so happy that I flipped this around and used the back - gives a much more modern feel, for sure!

 

This is also my first attempt at machine paper piecing. I drafted my wonky flying geese on freezer paper- it was WAY easier than I thought it would be.

I even figured out the math to make the triangles to set my log cabin blocks on point

 (All you need is Google and a Calculator)

I guess I feel that this quilt is a sign of growth for me as a quilter. And the finish is a sign that I can find some balance between my busy young family and sewing time.

 

I did back and forth quilting lines within the log cabin blocks. With the geese border, I wanted to create a sense of movement, so I added what I felt was a "breezy"quilting design.

I just love this luscious texture that I got after the washer and dryer.

 

I also have a confession: This is the first time I've ever used a cotton batting. I can totally see and feel the difference, and love the results.

 

Have I used the word 'love' alot in this post?

Guess that's why Melly + Quilts = Love.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

 

I'm linking up with Pat Sloan for Show and Tell Thursday and with Quokka Quilts for TGIFF!