14 in 2014 - March Finish and April Goal

If you are looking for the Blogiversary Giveaway, go here.

Even though March was as crazy as it initially promised to be, I am proud to report that I have finished a quilt.  And not just any quilt, either, but the very first quilt I started when I came back to quilting after a many-year hiatus!  This one has been lying around in the WIP basket so long I honestly can't believe it's done.

In the spring of 2010, I bought two charm packs, visited Moda Bake Shop for the first time, and started sewing.

Some of the blocks actually got to this point...  (Sorry for the blurry photo - it's the only one there is!)  Others weren't much more than two rectangles sewn together.

And then I stuffed it in a zip lock bag, where it sat for - oh - more than 3 years.

So I'm more than a little bit happy to say, "IT"S FINISHED!!!"

Amanda had given me a bit of yardage to help it along.  And I added some Kona Red and the leftover squares.  There was no real plan to this back except to use what I had get 'er done.  (Yes, it DID require digging through boxes and bins, thank you for asking!)

I quilted it in a meandering square pattern, something I hadn't really tried before.  It was ok, but I kept finding myself in a corner with no way to get out.  Live and learn, I guess.

I'm not sure that you can see the quilting any better from the back.  Oh well.

So that's another one off the 14 in 2014 list, which, as you must know, makes me very happy.  I'm pretty sure that makes 4 this year so far; 10 more to go.

So, that means it's time to set my April goal.  This one hasn't been sitting around nearly as long, but I've had it sitting there already basted and waiting since last October, so April is going to be the month I finish this baby!  (Keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?)

Also in April, I hope to quilt my faux string quilt.  It's been sitting there ready to quilt since, um...  I honestly don't know.  But It needs to be finished.  Soon.

And, ever the optimist, I'm going to Stash Bash at the end of the month, so my fervent hope is that I will make SIGNIFICANT progress on this little baby, that's been sitting all wrapped up in a plastic bag since about May of 2011.  Oh, yes!  If I could make progress on this one, I would totally swoon!

So, there are my goals for April.  We'll see how far I get.

Wish me luck.

14 in 2014 - March Goals

If February was crazy, March promises to be equally so.  Youngest daughter is here for another week (yay!) so I know I will be doing lots of playing.  We have plans for field trips almost every day, including a trip to the nearest outlet mall, a trip to the local mall, and educational visit with a friend to learn about Photoshop Elements, and lunch with another friend.  The next week, WH is on Spring Break, and the following week I will be watching oldest daughter's children so she and her WH can go away for a few days.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it.

Nevertheless, I do want to make some progress on my 14 in 2014 project.  Since this Avignon Picnic quilt is all basted, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that I might actually get it quilted.  That would be awesome!

And my Modern Maples is also basted and ready to quilt, so it shouldn't be too hard to get this one done either, right?

And if I get these two quilted (and bound, hopefully), I should only have one quilt a month to actually complete the 14 in 2014 challenge.

Wish me luck!

A Little Progress Report (and some Confessions)

Thanks to Cindy Marvel for snapping these photos for me!

I've been working away in my little sewing room, despite the fact that there hasn't been much activity on the blog.  First is the finished Riley Blake Challenge quilt.  I presented it at the ECMQG meeting a couple of Saturdays ago and everyone wanted to know if it was a Drunkard's Path or a Dresden.  The general consensus was that it was a Drunk Dresden, so even though I don't drink anything much stronger than the occasional Diet Coke - ok, I admit that I have a slight Diet Coke addiction - the name seems fitting, so Drunk Dresden it is.

Here's a close up of the quilting.  I outlined the Dresdens in 7 rows of echo quilting, then used a double clamshell as the filler.  It gave it a lovely texture.

I used every little bit of the six Fat Eighth challenge fabrics.  I don't think I have so much as a scrap left.  In fact, I had to piece some of the blades to get the design to go the direction I wanted it to.  It was a fun little project, and I'm especially excited that I didn't buy anything to create this quilt.  I have a bolt of the yellow since it's the background/fence fabric for my Grandmother's Flower Garden WIP that I've been working on for - oh - a couple of years now....  The backing was a white sheet I bought on sale at Target for $4.00 way back in 2010 I think for just such a purpose....  I had the black Kona left over from something - I don't remember what, just now....  And of course, the MQG sent the Riley Blake Fabrics to the guild for distribution.

I managed to get the bookshelf quilt quilted last week, but sadly the backing shifted during the quilting (maybe I didn't use enough basting spray?  Or maybe it wasn't straight to begin with ?)  In any case, I had to make some strange adjustments to the back to make it work.  Oh well, maybe I'll just count this as a humility quilt.  It will still keep someone warm, right?

I'm now in the process of binding.  (BTW, I chose the green - thanks Krista!)

After 4 years (yes, 4!) I'm finally making progress on the Avignon quilt.  These were the very first charm packs I ever bought!  They are from the Moda line Breath of Avignon by American Jane.  I decided on a pattern from Moda Bake Shop called Avignon Picnic, and got all the blocks made...  And then it sat...  And sat...  And I moved it around some...  And it sat some more...  So I'm pretty excited to have a bona fide quilt top now.  Finally!  This baby has some quirks.  Not many of the seams match, probably due to the fact that it was constructed on at least 4 sewing machines - one of which was the serger.  The seam allowance is all over the place.  Nevertheless, it is going to be a quilt.  Soon.

Ironically, I ended up one block short.  Whether it got lost, or I was short of fabric and just never made it, or  I miscounted, I have no idea.  I knew I had some yardage set aside for the back...  somewhere.  Naturally, I had to dig through the stash.  And I never really finished the stash organizing project last summer, so I am proud to report that it is now done.  What you see is what I have, with the exception of bundles, which are in boxes, like the one on the top shelf.  Naturally, now that I've worked in my room awhile, I'm thinking it's time to reorganize because I need more {accessible} storage.  (I'm sure the hubs will be glad to hear that!)

I needed a baby quilt for a baby shower I was supposed to attend on Saturday, so while I was digging through the stash I came upon some leftover Honey Honey charm squares from the Charm Madness Blog Hop last year and decided they would be perfect.  Looks sweet and girly and fresh, doesn't it?  I started without much of an idea in mind, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  The center is just a 9-patch with a hot pink border, and then a gray (yes, gray!) border.  then I used some coral Kona, and then another strip of pink to bring it to the size it needed to be to do the charm border all the way around.  A fun, quick little project.  Best of all, everything was in my stash, so no shopping.  The backing was a sweet little heart print someone donated to me awhile back.  Although I finished it in time (which was in itself amazing) I ended up not attending the shower because of a head cold, since the baby was going to be there.  Maybe I'll actually get out and take real photos before I gift it.

And since I still had a few leftover charms, I decided to use them to make the siggy blocks I almost forgot to make.  I made siggy blocks for a swap last fall, but they disappeared into thin air (what would someone do with more than 1000 signed blocks, anyway?) so my friend Mary organized a new swap promising we would actually get our blocks this time.

Naturally, I had to mess up one...

In any event, that's what's been going on around here.

Thanks for dropping by.

Goals? Really? - 14 in 2014 Planning

I've been whittling down the massive basket of UFOs and working on my 14 in 2014 project.  Looking at this picture that I took around the first of November, I see a few quilts that are actually finished!  Woo Hoo!  But here it is the 10th of the month, so I suppose I should figure out what I plan to work on in February.  And it's a short month too, so I'd really better get on it.

T

The bookshelf quilt is all sandwiched and ready to quilt, so I think I can finish this one this month.

I even made a pieced back for it from a layer cake my friend gave me.  In fact, it was one of the quilts I practiced spray basting with at the January ECMQG meeting, so it's sitting there all ready and waiting.  It will be good to get it done.

I'm feeling the need to do some piecing, so rather than start a new project, I think I will try to finish this one.  This Breath of Avignon quilt has been sitting in this exact state for more than 2 years, so I think it's time to get it out and play with it.  Hopefully it will be an easy finish and the remaining piecing will satisfy that need I have to start something new.  I really don't need to start something new just now, although it would be a blast.

So, if I can finish 2 more quilts in February, that would leave 10 to finish in the final 10 months of the year, which should be pretty doable.  I hope.

So, I'm off to get creative.

TTFN (as Tigger says).

WIP Wednesday

I am sorry to report that I have made virtually no progress on any of my WIPs this week.  I have been sewing - a little - but these are not what I have been working on.  I had hoped to get several quilts sandwiched and ready to quilt at the ECMQG meeting last Saturday, but since I didn't get the backs made, I wasn't able to get that done.  I love the big floor in the fellowship hall of the church where we meet.  It has a lovely indoor/outdoor carpet that holds the quilt very well until I get basting pins in it to hold it together.  So, the Modern Maples quilt is still in the WIP pile, waiting to be finished.

The good news is that I now know exactly what I'm going to do for the back of this quilt, which I didn't know on Saturday, so maybe it's a good thing that I waited.

The bookshelf quilt is also languishing in the WIP pile, and for the same reason.  Since I took this picture I have added borders to the ends to make it just a tad bit bigger.  My friend Leona gave me a bit of this fabric (I think I have called it by several different names, but it is Santorini, by Lila Tueller) that I plan to put on the back, along with a coordinating solid, I think.

I decided that the Wonky Cross quilt needs borders too, since it's just not quite big enough to be useful.  Oddly enough, the borders will involve gray!?!  I'm going to get that done very soon (I hope) and then make a back for this one - maybe one large wonky cross?  It could be cool.  We'll see.

The Bento Quilt top is done too, and just needs a back.  AFTER I finished this quilt top, I found several blocks that I missed because they weren't in the bag with the other and which didn't make it into the quilt.  It's kind of a shame, because if I had seen them before, I might not have needed borders at all.  But, rather than take it apart again, I think I will use the extra blocks on the back for a little pizzaz.

Oh!  I almost forgot this baby...  This one still needs the fill-in piecing around the points of the stars, and then maybe borders.  Amanda says she put borders on one of her quilts of this pattern but not on the other, and I think it is almost big enough as it is, so I may just leave it, as it is quite large without borders.  We'll see when I get that done.

I actually dug these ancient (from 2010) blocks out of the basket last week.  This was one of the very first modern-ish quilts I ever started.  The fabric is Breath of Avignon by American Jane.  The pattern is a Moda Bake Shop picnic quilt called - oddly enough - Avignon.  These were among the first charm packs I ever bought.  In fact, it was kind of my return to quilting piece, and I started making the blocks on my old machine before I realized/remembered that my foot was not 1/4".  Putting this one together may be a bit of a challenge.  The good news is that the blocks have finally seen the light of day again, and I hope to put the top together soon.

So there's what's going on in my WIP pile this week.  We;ll see if I make more progress than I did last week.  I'm hoping I do - maybe it will get me motivated again.

Meanwhile, I have a question (well, technically, several questions, but they are all related)...  Do you use pins to baste your quilts?  If so, what kind?  Or do you spray baste?  (I've never tried spray basting.)  What are the pros and cons, as you see it?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Happy Fall!

Don't fall colors make you just want to sit down and CREATE something?

This morning I got up with a plan.  I really wanted to get a lot of things done.  I really needed to clean my house, but somehow the draw just wasn't there (the house will just have to wait until tomorrow ).  But I did have some goals, and I'm feeling pretty smug that I accomplished most of them. Of course, I'm totally exhausted...

I finished the "S" and "Z" blocks for the Avignon Picnic quilt from Moda Bake Shop.  The "S"'s were fine, but I had a terrible time with the "Z"'s.  I'm going to blame it on the fact that my sewing room was an oven and I really should have been taking a nap.  But I persevered, and I have my blocks done.   Tomorrow - to the floor for layout.

I plugged the holes in the former duvet cover so I can turn it into a quilt.  I meant to get it laid out and pinned except my backing isn't big enough.  I'll either have to piece it, do something creative with it, or go buy something.  I'm leaning toward one of the first two options.  Anyway, plugging the holes was an accomplishment all on it's own, so I'll have to be satisfied with that.  This one I had planned to embroider/quilt once I get the "sandwich" put together.  Might be a little ambitious.  Maybe I'll finish it in my lifetime.  You think?

I did, however, get the log cabin half of the duvet cover laid out and pinned.  Not quite sure what to do with it now.  I'm leaning toward machine quilting it.  It's actually quite a stunning quilt, if I do say so myself.  Even Wonderful Husband commented on it when it was all laid out on the floor, and he almost never comments on such things.  He said it reminds him of Arizona in the fall.  Hmmm...  I was thinking more "woodland by the lake", but whatever floats his boat.  Anyway, I really like this one.

I even got to the store and bought some perle cotton (way more fun than buying groceries!)  I checked both Michael's and JoAnn's and the color selection was very limited.  Couldn't find the color I really wanted, so I will have to make do with what was there. 

What I did not get done today was a project I wanted to do to go with Beautiful Daughter #2's tree quilt (which, incidentally, matches the leftover quilt I made from the - uh - leftovers).

I was inspired for this project by something I saw on Anna Maria Horner's website, although this project will be quite different, if it turns out.  I'll be sure to let you know.

Last of all, I received my 3 partners for my handmade ornament swap group.  Fun!!  What should I do?  I thought about smocked ornaments but there are others that look fun as well.  In searching, I discovered Fern's crafty blog that has some pics of some really cute Christmas ornaments that look like tons of fun to make.  So many choices!  And the contemplation of it all is so much fun too!  Ah, sweet!

In the meantime, I just found out that this is National Card-Making Day (it's true, I promise!) so I think I'll go make a card in honor of the occasion.

Or maybe I'll just go to bed.