Sew Sew Modern

So I finally decided on the pillow I was going to send to my partner and got it off in the mail last Friday.  I decided after stalking her blog, her Flickr photostream and her mosaic that she would be happier with a more colorful selection.  And so the plus pillow is heading her way.  Honestly, the more I look at this one the more I think that I'm going to have to create another one - this time for me.

I quilted it by outlining the pluses about 1/4 inch away from the edges. This was my first quilted project since Penelope came back from the doctor, and the tension is a lot tighter now.  It made quilting this a bit of a challenge at first.  (Guess it really was time for Penny to have a check-up!)

 The inner border is straight-line quilted and the outer border isn't quilted at all.  I like the different textures this gives the pillow and the way the straight lines cross in the corner. (OK, small amusements for small minds, but hey! - )

I made her a 1-Hour Fat Quarter Tote to go with it.  This one is a little quirky, fabric-wise, but I don't dislike it. 

I used some Heather Ross sock monkey fabric (from Hancock Fabrics last summer) for the main part of the bag, along with some pearl bracelets that I bought for something else and didn't use, and some random yellow with orange leaves that seemed to tie the two together.

I quilted it with some super-fast and easy loops, but they seemed to go well with the pearl bracelets.

So here's the little package that is winging its way to my partner.  I hope she likes it.

Thank you... With a Cherry on Top

Well, I hinted in my last post that I might have a little something for someone who read all the way to the bottom of my last post, so here it is.  I really enjoyed reading what everyone was doing.  A few are even doing hexie projects.  It's a great project for the winter, I think.   After one of you commented, I realized that one of the reasons I'm not sewing as much at the machine is that the sewing room is kind of cold in the winter.  It's a very small room with a great big patio door on one side and the garage on the other.  Very hard to keep it warm.

Anyway, I had 17 people leave comments and I asked Mr RNG to choose one.  He chose

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

9

Timestamp: 2013-02-03 21:47:38 UTC

 Ellyn January 31, 2013 at 12:12 PM

it's all wonderful! I love BOTH pillows, I'm sure your partner will be so happy. I just started cutting strips for ANOTHER scrappy trip along quilt (yes, I'm crazy!) I hope you are healing well

 I'm glad to have you win this little goody.  If you will please send me your snail mail address, I'll get this in the mail to you tomorrow.  I'm going to dig around and see what other items I can throw in the package. 

Thanks to all of you for reading this little blog.

Catching up...

(Let me start out by saying that you may want to read to the end of this post...  Just sayin'!)  

It's been quite awhile since I did a blog post, hasn't it?  Well, first I had a little mishap with my machine.  I hit a pin, which has happened a million times, but somehow this one went down into the bobbin case and created all kinds of havoc.  I've hit pins before, but never with such a devastating result.  In the process of becoming accordion pleated itself, said pin dislodged the bobbin case, nicked the shield to the bobbin case, and generally prevented the machine from stitching.  Hence, Penelope made a quick visit to the doctor.  Thankfully, the repairman was able to fix her and get her up and running for only the cost of a service call (despite the up to $250 estimate I received - whew!).  And truly, she's been used hard this year, so a service call was sorely needed anyway.

And the other reason I haven't posted lately is that I've become totally obsessed with my GMFG quilt top.  It seems to consume all my spare time.  For some reason, I seem to work on it compulsively.  My friend made me 100-or-so yellow hexies for the fences, and so I was able to get to this point...

And I couldn't rest until I made about 100 more...

And so it progresses.

And it's a perfect project to do when you can't do anything else...

So, while I was following all the commenting on Flickr about my Waterfall pillow, I got the feeling that I was on the wrong track for my partner.  (But on the right track for my son, apparently - this is the only one of  my projects he has faved on Flickr!)

So I made another, which I hope is more to my partner's taste.  I love that I was able to use up some binding I had left over from my Outfoxed quilt, and lots of other scraps.  I've been wanting to make a plus pillow.  It was really fun.  There may be more plus projects in my future!

So that's what's been going on around here.  What have you been up to?  I'd love to hear!  Leave a comment and tell me about your latest project.  There may be a little something in it for you.  (Hint!)

TTFN

Waterfall

I feel like I've been procrastinating in this swap forever, but I suppose that is because it started before Thanksgiving and doesn't end til the end of January.  Seriously, my mother always said I work better out of desperation than inspiration, and I'm not one to start a project too early.  In this swap, you make your partner a large item and a small item.  My partner suggested several things she might like, among them was a pillow.

This shape has been haunting me lately, and I just had to do something with it.  So the other day I sat down and drew it, cut it out, added a seam allowance and cut it out again.

When I was at the Drug Store the other day, I found these three fabrics and they just sang to me, so I had to bring them home.

I really had a lot of fun making this pillow.  The quilting was fun too.  I used a teal print on the back with a little of the square tiles fabric, then used the leftover for the piping.  It's got a matching invisible zipper in the back - part of my $25-for-100-zippers purchase awhile ago.  I'm never at a loss for zippers any more, at least!

A really fun and fairly quick little project. 

I hope she likes it!

Sweet!

I think (hope?) I am finally out of my motivational slump.  I managed to actually create something yesterday, but since it is a swap where you know  your partner, I can't show the whole thing yet.  Since it was due on the 15th, I am a bit tardy, but not so much that I am going to feel horribly guilty about it.  I was in my LQS one day last week buying binding for Swoon, and found a few pieces of Sandy Gervais' Flirt that were just perfect for this project.  An idea popped into my head and I just ran with it.  This one is a Valentine mug rug in a conversation heart sort of style. I thought it turned out pretty cute, so I can't wait to send it off and see what my partner thinks!

In other news, Swoon was waiting on my doorstep when I got home from work on Tuesday.  Oh my!  Is she ever pretty!  Amanda wanted me to use the Lark gray stripe for binding with a 6-inch red piece.  So Wednesday after work I paid a visit to my LQS, as mentioned above.  I was just going to buy enough of the gray stripe to bind this monster.  Instead, a whole bunch of other stuff jumped into my buggy.

But the binding is on the quilt now and I've got about 1/4 of it hand sewn.  I must really love this girl, because I NEVER hand-sew quilt bindings.  And this one is 420 inches of binding.  True love.  Sweet!

Unmotivated...

As 2013 enters its third week, I find myself uncharacteristically unmotivated.  I just can't seem to settle down and get the things done that I need to accomplish.  I started the year off productively, getting two WIPs to the sandwich stage

and making the blocks for my 3x6 Bee - mates.

And that's pretty much it.

Well, if I'm honest, I guess I would have to say that I've become pretty much obsessed with my GMFG quilt.

It started out like this...

And I added a bunch of these...

And they became this...

And now I have this.  I have to say that it's a lot more fun to add the flowers than the fences, even though I'm very happy with this sunny yellow color.  I like the way it helps the other colors to pop.  But I think it will be awhile before I can add any more flowers.  Lots of fencing to do in this garden first!

Meanwhile, in hopes that some accountability will help me do other things as well, I've linked up with Leanne's Finish-A-Long.  Since this is a quarterly project, and since my goal was 13 in 2013, here's my plan:

January:  Ari's Anthropologie Quilt
February:  Fairy Tale Friends
March:  Jelly Roll Race Quilt

   

Oh, and I got word from the quilter that Swoon is on its way home - lots of binding to do on that one - it's 108 inches square! 

I have two swaps that I need to get done next weekend though.  For.  Sure. 

Block Party

I worked on bee blocks this past weekend. 

I was in the 3x6 Bee as caretaker of the Pinwheels hive, so of course I chose a pinwheel block.  For once I chose an easy block that was quick to make, which was good because I spent most of the weekend with my foot elevated.  Hard to do that and sew!

This was a block that I found on last year's calendar.  I really like it.

One of the fun things about the 3x6 Bee is that you make the same block in different colorways.  It lets you see how the colors play together.  My friend and I have been talking about making a quilt like this - the same block in different colorways.  I think it would be gorgeous.

Apparently the only picture I took of this block was with my phone.  The blue is the same as in the blue/green block above, but it doesn't look the same here, does it?  Anyway, you get the idea.

Two of the members of this hive wanted rainbow blocks.  I was trying to figure out how I was going to do that with this block when I noticed this crayon fabric sitting right beside the sewing machine.  I had been auditioning it for something else, but it was perfect for these rainbow blocks.

I also made a few blocks for my friend Marian in the Bee Awesome bee.  The tutorial for the Bee Simple block is here.  She asked for three blocks, and I told her I would make a few more.  At first I made 7.

But they were so easy and so fun, I ended up making a round dozen.  I usually don't like blocks with gray in them, but I have to say, this color combination is so soothing, I may have to make myself a quilt using these colors.  Every time I looked at the blocks I just felt good.  Maybe gray does have its place in the world after all.

Finally, I got out my GMFG blocks and started putting those together.

Progress is pretty slow, but it's coming.  It's a great project for sitting in the recliner with your foot up.

Sorry for the distracting background in this photo, but I am making progress.  I'm out of yellow hexies again, so it's time to make some more.  I think this is going to be an ongoing project, and although it's on my 13 in 2013 list, I will be very surprised if this one is done by the end of the year.  It will be enough just to have made some progress, since it's all sewn by hand.  I am really loving the way this is coming together.  I think this may be a favorite quilt, if it ever gets done!

So that's what's been going on in the prsd4tim2 studio this week.  What have you been up to?