Five Easy Pieces - Part I

My little blog has been neglected this week as I have set out to rearrange the sewing room to be more functional and to give me a better idea of what's actually in my stash.  I'll do a post on that later,  when I can actually document the finished {and hopefully clean} space.  With any luck, that will be the topic of tomorrow's post.

In the meantime, I have some finished quilt tops to show.  Most of these are things I took to Stash Bash, and made some progress on.  As I mentioned in this post, I didn't actually finish anything at Stash Bash, mostly because I was missing one little thing in order to complete it.

This guy is my crowning achievement for the last month.  The quilt that has been haunting me for four years  I got the fabric in the fall of 2010, and Amanda actually gave me the templates during quilt market in 2011 (it's just as easy to make two sets as one, right?), so it's been hanging over me at least that long.  I was totally intimidated by these rings.

I shouldn't have been.  They weren't as hard as I thought.  Funny how we let perceived difficulties intimidate us, isn't it?  This quilt is all about organization.  Keeping the pieces in order.  Putting it together in order, etc.  Even sewing the curves is easy - just pin the middle and go for it.

Nothing to be intimidated by there.  But I let the fear get to me for almost 4 years.  I feel pretty silly now.  But I'm glad to have a finished quilt top.  Can't wait to get this one quilted.

The pattern is Single Girl by Denyse Schmidt.  The rings are Spirit by Lila Tueller with some Simply Color by V and Co.  thrown in (it matched perfectly and gave it more variety.)  The background is Moda Bella White, which is my favorite white.  This used up the bolt, so it's time to buy a new one. It lasted almost a year, so that's a plus.  And just for the record, this is a 14 in 2014 finish progress report.

This post is long enough, so I'll share more of my Five Easy Pieces in a day or two.

Thanks for dropping by.

A Couple of Recent Quilt Finishes...

As we near the end of the year, it becomes more and more apparent that my quilting accomplishments for 2013 are all but over.  However, I do have a couple of finished quilts I haven't shared here, so I thought I would share them today.

First, I finally finished my Bento Blocks quilt, and I really like it.  A lot more than I thought I would.  It is so colorful and bright that it just makes me happy.  I had thought I would probably donate this one to Project Linus, but I may have trouble parting with it.

I just quilted this one with a basic stipple.  Funny how sometimes it's nice to go back to basics.  I love how the red polka dot and plain white borders tone down the madness of the bentos.

And best of all, this is a 13 in 2013 finish.

I also finished my Wonky Cross quilt.  These are the blocks I won in the ECMQG block lottery last summer.  I finished it off with a gray (yes, gray!) border and a fabric I really like called Peacock Gardens from the ModKids collection by Patty Young at JoAnn's.

I quilted it with swirls in the body and a herringbone in the gray border.  It's pretty hard to see the quilting in the Peacock Gardens border, but I tried the Bernina #4 stitch that I've seen people use, and it turned out OK. 

Here is the back, so you can get an idea of what it looks like.  It's a pity it doesn't really show up on the front.

I really love the way these blocks coordinate and how great they look together.  I appreciate the effort the ladies of the guild put into these blocks.

And now that Christmas is over I can share the quilt I made for my daughter for Christmas.  The pattern is Wallflowers by Allison Harris (Cluck Cluck Sew.)

The fabric is mostly Lush Uptown by Erin Michael which I purchased from my favorite fabric shop, with a bit of Denyse Schmidt Florence and a couple of random color collection FQ bundles from Pink Chalk.

I wanted to highlight the motifs from the Lush Uptown collection and the Wallflowers pattern was perfect for showcasing the lovely designs in the fabric.

 It is king size, so I sent it out to the fabulous Sarah Russett for quilting.

So that's it for my most recent quilty adventures.  Once my Christmas company leaves, I hope to get started on some new projects, perfect for the new year.

All the best!

Lark Weekender Bag - Take 2

I finally got the room in some kind of useable shape, and since I was so behind, I decided to delay the "decorating" and get to work.  This is the second Weekender Travel Bag made with the bonus HSTs from the Lark Swoon quilt I made for my daughter - and I still have enough HST's to make a couple more bags - or something else (which is more likely!)

I decided on chevrons and pinwheels this time, with echo quilting on the chevrons and straight line quilting everywhere else.  The piping is the black texty print from Madrona Road.  Love that fabric - will probably cry when it is gone.

 Pinwheels on the pockets - green on one side...

Blue on the other...  And lots of dots.

 One of the things about making a bag for yourself is that you can add all the little features you want to suit your needs.  One of mine was to add a strap so that the bag will fit over the handle of my roll on when I travel.  Hated covering up the cute little pinwheel, but the pinwheel was done and quilted before I remembered I wanted to add the strap and I

wasn't. 

ripping. 

it.  

out.  

Sorry little pinwheel.  The good news is that it was my least favorite one...

I added a zipper pocket to the outside in addition to the pocket on the pattern to stash stuff I need to have handy, but don't want to lose.  I'm thinking maybe cell phone and wallet here.

I chose some Denyse Schmidt fabric I found on sale at Joann's for the lining, which was great because since I had surgery on Thursday, I didn't feel like driving across town to the drug store.    Then, I added an elastic strap to keep my computer case corralled inside.  Still need some wide velcro to make this work, but the guts are there.

So that's my new bag!  It will be my sample for the class I'm teaching at Derrel's in August - the 15th and 22nd.  If you want to do a whole cloth Weekender as shown in the pattern, you can just come to the second session.  For a quilted bag, you will want to come to both sessions.

And then I think it may become my favorite travel bag.

Hugs and Kisses

Awhile back I mentioned the deal I made with my friend to trade her Accu Quilt Go! Cutter for my labor.  I haven't received all the Block of the Month packets yet - the May block was just mailed out - but I did get a chance to work on another of the quilts she requested over the last couple of weeks, and so I have a finish to report.

The pattern is Hugs and Kisses by Jaybird Quilts.  The fabric, of course, is Flea Market Fancy, by Denyse Schmidt.

The design uses this cool Lazy Angle Ruler by Joan Hawley.  It's really pretty easy to use.  Julie at Jaybird Quilts has several other amazing quilts using this ruler on her website.  Personally, I think I'd like to make the Unwind quilt for myself, although the one she calls Carnival is pretty too - but you know I am a sucker for any fabric by Kate Spain, which is the fabric featured in her cover quilt.

The quilt went together like a dream.  I love its dramatic x's and o's, but the dominant diamond shape and the strong diagonal lines appeal to me also.  Honestly, it was a really fun quilt to make.

The quilt is twin size, and my friend has plans for it to go on her bed.  I think she will really like it.

March Recap

I never feel like I accomplished as much as I wish I had, but there were a few finishes to report in March.

I finished my Madrona Road quilt using Ali's heximetry pattern.  Every time I see it, it reminds me of the quilt in this picture that Ali made and sent to Britton on the occasion of his arrival...

which was taken the day the quilt arrived.  Their mommy had no sooner put the quilt on the floor and placed newborn Britton on it in anticipation of a photo session, than his big sister had to lie down next to him for a chat.  I love this picture, and these children, and the quilt as well.

And here's another photo of our {then} new little guy {and the quilt, of course}.

Britton was a year old yesterday.  Look how far we've come!

... But I digress...  we were talking about March finishes, weren't we?  Let's see - Madrona Road...

And Jelly Roll Race...

And the wonky Hexie Scrap Basket...

And the little Selvage Pouch...

 And a {sorely needed!} new ironing board cover...

Leona's mug rug...

A table runner, napkins, market tote and pouch for my partner in the Wish List swap....

And my sister's Music Tote.

So, there were a few accomplishments.  And let us not forget that I had my first experience with a long arm, which was a blast!

So, that about wraps up March...  In addition to the Lovely Year of Finishes, I'm linking up with Richard and Tanya's Link a Finish Friday (even though this was posted on Thursday) because they said there were no rules.  =)


Here's to April!

A Tisket, A Tasket

Just after I got home from my grandbaby adventure earlier in the month, I received a wonderful bit of swappy funmail from Christina in the DS Quilts Doll Quilt Swap.  I've shared my struggles with the quilt I created for that swap, so it may be that this lovely little quilt coming when it did was just the burst of inspiration I needed to get that baby off in the mail.

And who could resist this bit of Flea Market Fancy goodness.  The wonky baskets are adorable, and the colors are to die for.  And we all know I'm a sucker for brights on white and hand quilting.

Isn't this just a fun little quilt?

And the back is {almost} as cute as the front.  Usually by the time I get this far, I just want to get the blessed thing done, so I slap some fabric on the back and head for the quilting.  You can tell that Christina took the time to create just the right backing to accent the front.  I love how the hand quilting shows up on the back as well.

And here's my quilt with the other fun goodies Christina sent.  Look at those yummy fat quarters!  You know I will have a ton of fun with those!

I really love this little quilt!  It's just perfect for me.

Thanks, Christina, for a lovely little quilt.

A Star {Doll Quilt} is Born

It's amazing what a little bit of fabric can become.  I started with a few bits of fabric and some hexie templates - a great project for airplanes and airports, as long as you're not squished into the middle of a row (your neighbors don't really go for being stabbed with needles, I think.)

A few {hundred} stitches later, it starts to take shape...

And grow...

A little at a time...

Until it actually starts to look like something.

And then maybe you mount it...

And quilt it...

And quilt it some more...

And maybe you need to add just a touch of hand quilting...

To come up with a finished quilt.

Add a label, and voila!  You're {finally} done.

No wonder this little baby took so long - a lot longer than I thought it would.

Sure hope my partner likes it.