Shiny Brite - A{nother} 14 in 2014 Finish!

It's amazing how much more likely I am to actually finish things when I have these quilts sandwiched and ready to go.  This one is Shiny Brite, designed by my own sweet daughter and published in the Westwood Acres newsletter last winter sometime.  I actually made 2 of these quilt tops - this one was from the rejected blocks that used the wrong background fabric (the bad news is that my daughter has very definite ideas of what she wants - the good news is that I got to keep the rejected blocks.) 

Her pattern called for sashing the same color as the background, but after a frustrating search for this color, I decided on a lovely aqua by Free Spirit, and I really like it.

The sashing stars  and the binding are from a red dot by Moda - I think it's from Eat Your Fruits and Veggies by Pat Sloan.  I didn't actually like this line much when it came out, but it's got some great basics in it that I actually like a lot.

As with all of my quilting projects, the quilting on this one was kind of learn-as-you-go, and the last quilting I did was much better than the start.  I pored through my copy of Free Motion Quilting by Angela Walters and then tried some of her designs.  I outlined each of the stars, both in the block centers and in the sashing, and then just left them puffy. 

I did the colored part of the blocks in a swirl, but it took me awhile to learn to move around inside the shape, so the early ones are a bit - um - primitive.  I quilted the cream background just with wavy lines, and they really aren't very consistent, but I like how the quilting sets off the blocks, although it might actually bring too much attention to the background and not enough to the blocks.  In the sashing between the blocks I did an hourglass shape.  I've actually tried this before, and this time the shape was much more what I was going for. 

 Finally, in the outside sashing, I tried a double swirl Angela shows in her book.  I never did get them really consistent, so they're not professional or polished, but I learned a lot, and maybe if I try them again they will be better.

The back is a piece of Simply Color I found on sale (60% off!!!) at the drugstore.  In fact, I was going to finish the bolt but there were these nice ladies at the other counter making a chemo quilt for their friend and this turned out to be the perfect backing at a perfect price, so I split it with them.  It's a tad boring, but by the time I had made backs for 5 quilts on the Friday before the last ECMQG meeting, I was just in a git-r-done mood, you know?

All-in-all, I'm pretty happy with this one. 

The Last Citrus Quilt - A 14 in 2014 Finish!

At the ECMQG meeting a couple of weeks ago - just before I got so distracted by the Treasure Map Quilt - I managed to get four quilts sandwiched before I passed out from exhaustion.  This one is the first of those finishes.  And best of all, it's on my 14 in 2014 list, so I'm pretty excited!

The blocks were obtained from the Spring Citrus Surprise Swap on Flickr in 2011, plus at least a couple of rounds of the 3x6 Bee.

In my last post someone asked for better pictures of the individual blockss, so here we go!

This is the fourth quilt I've made out of these Citrus blocks and there variations.  You can see the others here and here and here and here.  As you can see, these blocks have been hanging out awhile.

I FMQ'd with just an all-over loops design.  I love loops because they go so fast.  You're done quilting almost before you know it.  I think this 48x60 quilt took about 1-1/2 hours to quilt.

And I really like sampler quilts.  It always amazes me how you can take all these disparate fabrics and patterns that have nothing in common except color, and combine them to make something that looks like it was planned.

In fact, it's kind of amazing, but several people actually used the same fabrics, which really helps tie the quilt together.

And then when I reorganized my studio a few weeks ago - after I had the quilt top together! - I found three more blocks.  That's a total of 54 blocks and 4 quilts from these citrus blocks!

And those extra blocks look pretty awesome on the back I think.  But I have to say, this just may be enough citrus quilts for me for awhile.

And since my fabrics are organized now - by color! - and visible, I was delighted to find the perfect binding fabric just sitting on the shelf waiting for me to put it to good use!  It was exactly what I wanted for the binding on this quilt.  It's really fabulous to find the perfect thing ready and available and just patiently waiting for the right project, especially when it's already in your stash.  (Kind of justifies hanging on to all this stuff, now doesn't it??)

So what pretty projects have you been playing with lately?

{Scrappy} Trip Around the World

The Scrappy Trip Quilt has come back from the quilter and made its way back to be bound before it goes off to live with its owner.  This is one of the quilts I made Leona as part of our great bargain.  Yesterday, before the hubs left for Tallahassee I managed to get him to hold it for long enough to get its picture taken - at 84 x 84 it's too big for the fence!  He wasn't exactly patient, however, so I didn't have much of a chance to get creative. 

Leona chose all dots from her stash in bright, fun colors, and they look stunning in this setting, don't they?  I don't have nearly this many dots in my stash, but the temptation is strong to go dot shopping and make myself one just like it!  I really love how bold and bright these colors are together.

I think one of really fun things about the way this quilt goes together is how it looks like it's done on the diagonal, but in reality the blocks are square.  Bonnie Hunter's method for putting this quilt together is genius!

This is one quilt I'll be sorry to drop into the mailbox.  

Real Men {Do} Eat Quiche - A Recipe

I don't share too many recipes on the blog, mostly because I don't cook very much any more, but tomorrow is Father's Day, and so I thought I would share one of my family's favorites.  Maybe you're looking for something yummy to serve the guy in your life this Father's Day?  Back in the day, there was a book out called "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche", but that certainly hasn't been my experience with this dish.  It's a breakfast favorite, much-requested recipe by the men in my life!  My son usually requests it every time he comes home, and my son-in-law told me the last time he visited that it's one of the things he looks forward to when he visits.  (Or, having a ladies brunch?  Your female guests will love it too!)

This dish is perfect for family get-togethers - in fact, it's part of our traditional Christmas breakfast.



Oh, and did I tell you that you can substitute other goodies for the bacon?  Ham works great too.  During my daughter's vegetarian phase, I made her vegetarian quiche by substituting broccoli for the bacon.  Maybe you'd like mushrooms and spinach?  Whatever, this recipe is really versatile.  Let your imagination soar!


Best of all?  You can make it the day before, cover with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge overnight.  The next morning, just pop it into the oven about 30 minutes before you're ready to eat.


Perfect!

Real Men {Do} Eat Quiche

1 Pillsbury All-Ready Crust
4 - 6 Slices Bacon (cooked and crumbled)
4 Eggs
1 C. Sour Cream (sometimes I use plain nonfat yogurt to reduce the calories)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
2 C. (8 oz.) Grated Cheese (I use Colby/Jack or sometimes a 4-cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350*.

Cook bacon until crisp.  (I cook in the microwave at 1-minute per slice.)

 Place crust in pie plate or quiche dish.  (Sometimes this is easier if the crust is out of the refrigerator for a few minutes before unrolling.)

While bacon is cooking, beat eggs til frothy, then add sour cream, salt, pepper, and onion.  When bacon is done, cut or break into small pieces and add to egg mixture.  Stir in cheese. Pour egg mixture into prepared crust.

Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Quiche is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before cutting.  Cut and serve.


Enjoy!

Treasure Map

I had every intention of blogging a bit after the ECMQG meeting on Saturday.  In my last post I mentioned how I hoped to get a whole bunch of quilts sandwiched.  I spent Friday making backs for 5 quilts, and managed to get four of them sandwiched.  But then on Sunday afternoon, my daughter sent me a pattern to test, and it was so gorgeous, I just couldn't wait! 

I made the first block right away.  Since this was a Treasure Map, and since when you look for treasure you look for gems and jewels, and since Anna Maria Horner's fabrics are all in such luscious jewel tones, I decided to dig into my jealously guarded stash of AMH loveliness to create these blocks.  I really think the blocks are stunning.  In fact, we had just finished our AMH fat eighth swap at the ECMQG meeting on Saturday, so it was just serendipity that this pattern uses entirely fat eighths, except for the background. 

I really only intended to make one block, but once I got started, I couldn't stop. 

The next thing I knew, I had four blocks finished.

And I have to say, the trimmings were sure pretty.

And the more blocks I made the more excited I got.

And I just kept making blocks.  And pretty soon, I was turning them out pretty fast...

And by yesterday afternoon, I had a finished quilt top.

I am really jazzed by this quilt.  The only problem is, it adds another unfinished quilt top to the growing stack of unfinished quilt tops!  Ahhh, well...

Oh, by the way, you can purchase the pattern here.

New Month - Old Goals

To show you how much I really don't want to sandwich quilts, I started a new quilt top last weekend.  It's part of Kira's Fresh Flowers QAL..  Of course she started on April 1, but I'm really not good at keeping up with quilt-alongs.  I don't seem to have the gumption to start when everyone else does or the patience to wait for all the instructions.  I seem to do much better when I start when it's almost over.  Somehow, I think I'm missing the point...  You know, the excitement of seeing everyone else's pictures on IG as they choose their fabrics, make their first cuts, sew their blocks step by step, and then finally piece the top.  Nope.  I just can't get on the ball to do that.

I'll post more on this quilt later, because I think it's going to be one of my all-time favorites.  In fact, I just love these fabrics. Most of them are right out of the scrap basket (sorted by color, if you must know - I fought it for a long time, but once I did it, I was hooked.)  Anyway, I went shopping last weekend because the drug store was having a sale, and who can resist 60% off???  And those aquas just grabbed me, and I had to use them right now so I started a new quilt. Makes sense, right??

If you haven't seen Kira's Fresh Flowers quilt along, you will want to stop by there and take a look.  I really think this is going to be a gorgeous quilt, and it's a lot of fun to make. 

Sadly, as I said, it's not helping me get my goals accomplished.  It's really time to consider exactly what I expect to accomplish in June.  And since I didn't finish anything in May...  AND since I'm going to go watch the grands at the end of the month...  I guess I'd better get on it.

I'm really hoping to get Shiny Brite quilted and finished.  That one shouldn't be too hard.

And I think I might be able to get the citrus quilt done.

That would get me caught up.  And I really don't want to rush through Single Girl.  I think I'd like to take my time with that one.

So now I have goals.  All of which start with sandwiching quilts.  Alice says I should have a sandwiching party.  Anyone game??   I'll fix dinner...  Guess what's on the menu?

The Merry, Merry Month of May -- a 14 in 2014 update

I honestly don't know whether to be satisfied with May's progress or upset that I didn't actually finish a single quilt in May (with the exception of a couple of baby quilts, that is.)  I am putting it off because of the fact that I just hate sandwiching the darned things.  I would probably actually quilt them if I had the quilt sandwiches ready to go. 

My biggest accomplishment for the month was that I did manage to get this Single Girl quilt top put together after only 4 years of procrastination.  That was huge!  And certainly not as difficult as I had thought it was going to be.

I also finished my Shiny Brite quilt top that I started last Thanksgiving. 

And this one was technically finished in April, but I can't decide whether to put borders on it to make it just a tad bigger and maybe tone down the colors just a little bit.  A white border surrounded by a soft orange or yellow might change the whole look of it.  Maybe let me know what you think in the comments.  This quilt will probably be a Project Linus quilt, so size isn't so much of a big deal.  It currently measures about 48" by 60".

And while technically I made this quilt in April, I put the borders on in May, so I guess this quilt top was also finished this month (although this one is not on my 14 in 2014 list).

And then there was my attempt at curved improv piecing.  I'll finish this one and probably donate it to Project Linus also.  This one was started in March, so it's not a 14 in 2014 finish either, but it is a May finish, as I took it apart and put it back together several times in May before I ended up with this result, which will just have to do.

 

I made this quilt top from start to finish in May.  Luckily, she will send this one off to be long-armed, and I'll probably get it back for binding.  Hopefully there will be more photos then.

And I reorganized my sewing space in May, which is honestly really helping my process.  I still have some more things to find homes for, but I am actually using things from my fabric stash now that I can finally see what I have. 

And here's the other stuff I managed to get done in May. 

Hopefully, I'll make myself sandwich some quilts and I'll have some quilty finishes for June.  Keep your fingers crossed for me, K?