Project Quilting ~ Challenge 2

The second challenge for Project Quilting was announced last Sunday 

~ Carolina Lily.  

I really wasn't much of a fan but a challenge is a challenge!

 So I set myself doing a little google research. 

I didn't want to do a traditional block so I decided I would do a more modern version focusing on the blossom. 

I drew up a 6" paper pieced block on graph paper. 

I made 3 of the blossoms this size in a bright yellow orange (Kona paprika) with the bottom triangle being a bright green (Kona grass). To make the colors pop, I set them on a black background. 

While playing on my design wall with the layout I decided to make one more block that was 8" in size. So I enlarged the 6" block to 8" and using the same colors made one more block. 

After finalizing a layout, I began the puzzle of fitting in the remaining background pieces. 

This is what I came up with in the end.

The layout gave me plenty of negative space to practice some FMQ. I followed several tutorials from Lori over at The Inbox Jaunt. I used 3 different colors of threads, black, green, and bright yellow. 

You can see the quilting better from the back (besides the yellow Ü)

This little quilt finishes at 20" x 22"

Linking up to Project Quilting at Persimmon Dreams.

Created in Des Plaines, IL

A little bit of quilting

If you read my blog you know that very shortly we will be heading to Norway for some family time, hiking and relaxing (my DH grew in Norway and his family lives there). I haven't started a new quilt since I knew I would be going and didn't want to have a WIP that might turn into a UFO if I lost interest while I was away. Instead I have been working on smaller projects and putting more ideas in my head for when I get home. 

One of the things that I made yesterday was a block for the new Quilting for Kids project on Flickr. This quilt is a boy's I Spy Quilt based on Katie's (swimbikequilt) I Spy 10 Little Things quilt. 

Here is the block that I made ~ very easy peasy!

And while I was rummaging through my stash for boy I Spy fabrics, I found a piece that I thought I could whip up fairly quickly into a small girlie quilt since I needed a project for: FNSI and to meet my personal challenge to sew out of my older stash. Here is what I sewed last night. 

The Sunbonnet Sue cheater fabric was inherited years ago from my mom and was a panel to make a small pillow. Sorry mom, that was never going to happen. The pink with tiny red dots and the muslin was given to me by a friend of a friend whose mother could no longer sew but had a huge inventory of hoarded fabric. Someday I should take a picture of the stack that I received which was only a teeny, tiny bit of the total. But that's for another day.

The purple and green prints are from my stash of 30's fabric. 

I started by cutting out the little panels and framing them with the pink. After putting them together and measuring the length, I figured the width size and then searched my stash to see what I had to coordinate. I sewed the column of Sunbonnet Sue slightly off center and this is how it finished around 11pm before calling it a night. I will probably leave it as a flimsy until I get back from vacation (unless I get antsy to sew something) but I did find a backing fabric from my stash! Not sure what I should do with this quilt. Any ideas for donating it?

Join me here in seeing what others sew this Friday Night. 

A May Finish!

Back in January, I followed the Sew Scraps Along with Jodi over at Pleasant Home. I chose to make the scraptacular picnic quilt following the tutorial by Nanette here. I had finished the top way back in January (here) but put it aside since I had other quilts that needed attention before I could finish this one. So after several finishes and a few baby quilts, I finally finished my Scrap-yard Picnic Quilt! 

It is all ready for the picnic season once the weather starts cooperating as it has been raining here for days. Today the sun came out and I quickly took some pictures before more rain comes. 

This quilt is completely made from my scrap baskets or stash including the borders, backing and binding. The only thing purchased for this quilt was the batting. So this is the 4th quilt in my personal stash challenge!

What have you been creating?

Modern Mini Finish

I am very excited to join the Modern Mini Quilt challenge!  

After 2 weeks of mini quilt inspiration hosted by Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts, I started working on my own modern mini quilt. 

I must admit that I haven't made very many mini quilts before this and I am not a pattern or fabric designer but I wanted to challenge myself in my quilting. 

So many of the guest bloggers for this challenge said that mini quilts were a great way to learn a new technique, practice something that you want to get better at, or try something 'new to you' without a huge investment in time or fabric. I really wasn't sure how it all would turn out. 

I thought that it would be fun to use some bright colored solids keeping the design very simple for a modern feel. I started with a 7" base and I measured 12" from the base to the tip and then drew the 'legs' of the isosceles triangle. I used the freezer paper method to piece to insure that the points of the triangles wouldn't get cut off. The finished size is 12" x 25". 

I used 6 different Kona bright solids for the full triangles, and Kona charcoal for the half triangles. It is bound in Kona black to frame the quilt. 

The back is a brightly colored geometric print from my stash.

I straight line quilted in a spiral triangle pattern following the triangular shapes using gray thread.

I added hanging corners to the back on 3 corners so the quilt could be hung vertical or horizontal. 

I'm am pleased with my modern mini challenge quilt...Prisms.  I hope you like it too! Thanks Jennifer and all those inspiring guest bloggers. ♥

I'm linking up here!

FnsI Results!

Another Friday night enjoying sewing with all of you. ♡ 

I actually had most of Friday to sew. Lucky me! 

Remember this quilt? 

My day started with sandwiching it. I had previously pieced the backing but hadn't gotten around to sandwiching it. Sew now it is ready for quilting.

In the late afternoon, I spent some time hand quilting this mini quilt. I can only show a peek as it is a surprise gift to someone.

I have a few more cups to hand quilt and it will be ready to bind!

After dinner, I decided to work on another mini quilt that I have been wanting to try. A book shelf...

All the books are sitting on the shelf but I need to add the titles to the books. I did rummage thru my selvages and choose the ones I want to use.  There was some picking out going on last night...not my favorite thing to do. 

I used this tutorial for this project. 

What did you do on FNSI? You can find out what others have done here.

I also have added a few more flowers to my hexi garden this week.

And some beautiful tulips to brighten the day!

Have a wonderful day!

I'm joining...

...the challenge with Jennifer over at Ellison Lane Quilts.  You can head over here to get the details or find the button on my side bar.  

Last week and this week are inspiration weeks. There have been many guest bloggers showing their mini modern quilts to help the creative juices.  

Next week starts the creating and sewing weeks and finally the date to enter your mini into the contest. 

Yes, of coarse their are prizes but even so, everyone is a winner if they tried and created something new. That is my 'word up' word for the year...challenge! 

Stayed tuned for my Modern Mini Quilt!

I also found this group on Flickr that makes Quilts for Kids in foster care. I joined in to make a block. The request is for an asterisk block in the colors purple, chartreuse, and grey. I used this tutorial from Carla at Lollyquiltz. Here is my block. 

I had a lot of fun making this. I may have to make some more!

And don't forget FNSI is this Friday night. Won't you join the fun! Check out my side bar to find the link.

Another Flimsy Finish

After not getting much done over the weekend to complete my Scraptacular Picnic Quilt, 

I finished it this morning [or at least the top]! I decided to use a small white border as a stop to the busy scrappy patchwork and then add a blue and white checked outer border. 

I do love the picnic feel that the border adds to it. 

A red and white checkered border would have been great but I had the blue and white in my stash. That's what it's all about....using what you have.

All of the blocks were made from my scraps and the borders from my stash.

Doing 'scrappy' is a bit out of my comfort zone as I tend toward organized, symmetrical patterns. I'm happy with the results and that I took on this challenge as it has been on my 'to do' for some time. If you want some more scrappy inspiration, head over to the Sew Scrap Along Flickr page.

And speaking of challenge, I have finished the first book of my reading challenge. The category I read was: A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary

Well, what would a quilter carry in her backpack? A quilt, of coarse. Or even those hand pieces can be carried in your purse for the next spare moment to stitch. 

The book I read was The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

It is a mother/daughter story about their relationship and how it is changing as they move into a new season in life. The quilt is being made by mom on the long car trip to take the daughter to college. Oh, the things you learn about yourself and your daughter when you are on a long road trip. This story resonated with me as I have taken my daughters off to college and experienced many of the same feelings that this mom has. This book is an enjoyable, easy read with a simple message. 

Head over here to see what others have read.

A flimsy and some pins...

Yesterday I manage to finish the last 2 blocks as I'd hoped and since I was off today, I was able to finish the top! I am very pleased with the way it has turned out. What do you think? 

colors are not accurate

Although I was very careful in making those tedious HRT, I wasn't too sure that the points would match up. I'm glad to say that they really didn't give me any trouble. All these fabrics [except the Kona White] is used out of my 'less preferred' stash, the 3rd quilt of my challenge. Next up, I'll be looking through my stash for fabric that I could use for the backing. 

I am joining in on the Pincushion Parade over at Love Laugh Quilt! Here are some of my pincushions:

Life's a Stitch Dress Form

Sorry for the bad quality picture

 Tea Cup

Sunflower and Pinwheels 

I received the 2 pinwheel pincushions in a swap from Kelly of Charming Chatter

A Hen and a Velvet Tomato

Edit: the hen pincushion is a tutorial from my friend Deonn at Quiltscapes. 

 Heart

A FNSI win from Heidi of Handmade by Heidi 

The Ghastlie Knitters

From the Ghastlie blog hop

And a little play on words :D

On my way to check out some other pincushions. Won't you join me?

Refreshing

Sew the first week of the new year is over and it is back to work/school tomorrow.  Our house is once again quiet as we said goodbye to DD3 on Friday. Before she left, she asked if I could make a pennant banner for her dorm room.  So using the tutorial I pinned here, I made this.

Sew what else have I been doing on this first week of the new year? Organizing... Amber over at A LIttle Bit Biased posts Tuesday Tips about inspiring sewing rooms.  Anna from Thimbleanna guest posted a link about folding your fabrics nice and tidy. Hmmm...my stash is housed in an old dresser and each drawer is stuffed. Definitely not folded nice and tidy.

before

Sew I went about ironing and folding all most some of my stash. Here are some of the finished drawers.

stacked by color before going into the drawer

nice neat and tidy piles of stash

mostly blues, reds and greens in here.

I also weeded out smaller pieces and added them to my scrap bins. I did need to go out and buy 5 more bins. It's a good thing that I'm following the Sew Scrap Along over at Pleasant Home. [Button on my sidebar.] I haven't started on a scrap quilt yet because between ironing and folding,  I worked on...

...putting sashing and borders on my Birdie Quilt. I need to buy backing fabric and some batting before sandwiching this cutie.

I am also working on my 3rd personnel quilt made from my 'less preferred' stash fabric. Here is a peek at the blocks.

These finish at 16" and I have 7 out of 20 done. 

 Last year, Kelly from Charming Chatter challenged us to come up with a word for the year. My word last year was JOY. To feel joy in all areas of my life. One of the most joyful times of this year was celebrating our DD2's wedding and welcoming our SIL to our family! 

 My Word Up for 2012 will be 'challenge'. I already have challenged myself with my 'less preferred stash' quilt goal but I would like to challenge myself in other ways too! Sew to speak, try new things, think outside the box...not only in quilting but in all areas of my life. Here is a fun reading challenge I will be doing to start. 

I will leave you with this picture of my Christmas Cranberry Almond Coffee cake that, as tradition, we have on Christmas morning that I meant to post before but forgot. It is delicious!

Introducing Grammie Squares

Remember my personal challenge that I mentioned here? Well, here is the finished quilt using fabrics from my stash.  This is the 2nd quilt of my challenge and this one actually used up my entire stock of 2 different fabrics.  

The bright pink print was entirely used up where only tiny scraps remain. 

This print (inherited from my mom) is a cheater crazy quilt. 

The solid pink was left over from donated fabric from quilts I made with my church's youth group as a mission project. 

The backing is mostly made from a inherited piece I found in my stash. The pink and purple parrots are the perfect colors with just enough yardage when pieced with what was left from the top. Do you have a lot of inherited fabrics like me?   

The background and binding is Kona Champaign. 

(This was purchased for this project.)

All washed and crinkled...ready for snuggling.

I used a new to me binding technique. For years I was using a method that I was taught at my LQS but it is somewhat tedious. So I followed this tutorial from Julie at Jaybird Quilts. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? :D 

I really love how the binding turned out. Isn't it yummy!

The pattern is from Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew. She was a guest at Sew We Quilt  as part of the Wantobe Quilter Campaign and she taught this stack and whack technique.  I needed to change the dimensions slightly to accommodate my fabric yardage and I added the border. 

I straight lined quilted diagonally across the quilt and FMQ along the border. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Coming soon is the Ghastlie Blog Hop! 

It is sponsored by Madame Samm over at Sew I Quilt (and that other one she manages ;) Be sure to watch for it!

The results are in....

Yes they are! Last night was the monthly Friday Night Sew-In hosted by Heidi and Bobbi. Did you join in?

As noted in my last post, I had to take my machine in for a little tune-up so I was working with my second machine, my Husqvarna. I didn't want to work on my WIP's that I started on my Elna. Every machine is different and I just didn't want alignment issues. So last week I cut out some fabric for a new project.  Here is what I have finished after sewing last night ~ 48 blocks.


Edit: After reading several comments, I realized that I inadvertently lead you to believe that I finished all 48 blocks on Friday night. I actually had finished 16 blocks during the week and 36 blocks for FNSI for a total of 48 blocks. 

I saw this project on Sew WE Quilt when Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew was featured for the Wantobe Quilter campaign. 

It seemed like a simple project to use up some of my 'less preferred' stash. 

You see, I have a dresser full of many yards of 'less preferred' fabrics some which was inherited from my mom, some from the years I was sewing clothes for my family, and some even donated to me.  I have pretty much gotten rid of anything that was not cotton but much of what is left is leaning towards becoming 'vintage.'  Do you have a stash like mine? 

Hope I'm not alone...

Since I am pretty much running out of room for my newer, much preferred stash, I challenged myself to use my 'less preferred' stash in every other quilt.  This is actually my 2nd project...I joined Summer Bow Tie Quilts, making them only from 'less preferred' stash, but that is a WIP from my Elna. Pictures soon.

The busy, bright, cheater crazy quilt fabric was any inherited piece of fabric. To tone it down some, I partnered it with Kona Champagne. The technique is a stack and whack. My blocks started out 8" and will finish at 6 1/2", a little smaller than Allison's. There will be 72 blocks, 9 rows of 8 blocks. I'm pleasantly surprised at the results so far!

I also am getting ready for...

a project using this fabric! Ghastly isn't it? Stay tuned...

and 

a project using some of these.

I do have a finish for September! My Birdie Stitches BOM is done. 

Only 3 months to go....

I'll be attending a local quilt show today! So excited!

But first, follow me over to Heidi's blog to see what everyone was up to on Friday night...