Stashbusting Saturday - Day 26

Today, I woke up with the urge to see what others are working on and go shopping! I went to the local Stashbusters meeting to see some projects and came away with a few cool tips.

Here are some of the quilts shown:

It's always fun to see new patterns and ways to use up all of the fabric we quilters tend to collect.

Then I went next door and found what I've needed for the last 2 months. I can't wait to finish this quilt now that I have the perfect backing fabric. (You'll have to wait for the big reveal coming soon.)

I also finished my friends' wedding gift and whipped on that binding like I was a pro! Check this out:

This chevron fabric made such a fun arrow when it was folded over. I really love the end result. I was able to do the continuous binding on my first try and my corners were so sharp, you could cut yourself.

18 Done and 2 to Go!

I finally glued down my last remaining Skillbuilder BOM.

I will sew them down tomorrow with clear thread and add them to my collection. I can't wait to put them all together.

What did you work on today?

Counting down... - Day 20

In 14 more days, I will officially be on vacation! I'm so excited that I can just burst.

I know this might sound odd but I'm using a big part of my vacation to work at home on projects that I never have time to complete. This is work that I actually want to do because I am getting rid of some furniture, sorting out my sewing room, and making a waist level cutting station and a proper design wall. No more bending over on this low table for hours of cutting need to make some quilts. I've been using the dining room table as a "design wall" for more years than I can stand at this point. It's something I've dreamed of doing for many years but now am taking the plunge.

Sunday's Sew Time

It took a lot longer that I thought it would but I finished my quilting on the table runner I mentioned in yesterday's post. I really love how it turned out and might just make another one for myself to keep.

(Echo quilting on this beast.)

Now, on to binding it!

Continuous Binding - My Nemesis

I spent some time today working on binding. I still haven't mastered the art of continuous binding so I wanted to practice before finishing up some bigger projects on the horizon. I made some little Halloween pot holders that would be the perfect size to work on this skill that seems to elude me. (I recently lost one of my favorite pot holders to a stove incident. I can laugh about it now but it really hurt.)

The rat's nest I kept getting when the fabric
got stuck in the feed dogs.

I kept getting it twisted up once I sewed it down.

After sewing and unpicking the same seam 3 times, I finally turned to Youtube for some sanity and found the most wonderful video. I've bookmarked this gem for future reference. The directions here were so amazing and simple. (I was almost to the desperate stage of just chucking the pot holders and ordering one of those fancy binding tools I've seen online for ten bucks.)

 I ended up with two pot holders and a few hours of frustrating attempts to make the binding line up on the diagonal and lay flat the right way so I can sew it down. I do feel that I am getting the hang of it and am not so scared to do it again next weekend.

 Hope your weekend was super fun and productive. Wishing you a great week ahead!

Getting It Done! - Day 19

Today, I decided to finish up some projects that are needed later this year. It felt so good to check things off of my "to do list".

Wedding Gift

I'm almost done quilting this table runner I started a while back for some dear friends in NC. They are getting married in November and this table runner will be part of our gift. I'll make the bias binding to attach it next weekend so I can have it in the mail soon.

A Dresden ruler was used to make this fun, curvy design.

Halloween Fun

I completed the front plate of my nephew's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume for Halloween. Since he already has a mask and turtle shell backpack, he just needed a few pieces to make his outfit complete. Here's the front that will be attached to a tank top to resemble the underside of the shell:

I just have to make the "leather" strap that holds his bo staff.

Anniversary Gift

I finally finished the Tetris quilt top for my friends' 10 year wedding anniversary. (I'll take a picture of the completed quilt when it's all done.)
My favorite part is the side where I made little mini Tetris pieces to resemble the upcoming pieces when you're playing. I embroidered the high score with their wedding anniversary date.

Since it's queen sized, I think I need a date with a long arm machine to have this thing quilted by March. I would love to have it done by Christmas but I don't want to rush it and ruin all the work that was put into it.

I look forward to a productive Sunday.

Did you get to finish something fun today?

Rainbow Fun Times

I had great weekend mostly away from work. The rainy weather allowed me to sleep in a bit and get some sewing done. I worked on two rainbow pieces that I started a while back. I'm really excited about them.

Rainbow Spiral

 I completed all of the quilting on this hexagon that "spiraled out of control". I machine quilted around the design and increased the distance in an attempt to imitate a water ripple. Now, I need to figure out the binding. (That's my least favorite part of making quilts. I need to find a binding master/mentor that can help make the process easier.)

Rainbow Wave

Using a Dresden ruler, I cut these pieces a while back but put them away when they became frustrating. I kept trying to make an actual circle using rainbow colors but could not make it work. (Six does not go into 20 very well, even with matching rainbow polka dot dividers.) I started playing with a half circle and it naturally formed into this wave. I cut circles in half using white fabric to cover the edges. I stitched the edges down and several pin pricks later I have the top done. It measures  36" by 18" so far and could be my next table runner. I have no clue how to quilt it yet and am open to suggestions.

Hope you have a healthy, happy week.