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?

Thankful! - Day 17

I am so very thankful for a lot in my life. I know I was pretty grumpy this week because of work but when I sit and really think about all that I have in this life I can stand back and appreciate my blessings.

My Love:
The love of my life gives me the space and time to be creative. I always hear praise for a completed project and suggestions to improve a piece when I am stuck.  My love is a math genius and a spatial relations guru that I use to help me when I can't quite make my math-challenged brain find a solution to a problem. After almost 13 years, I am still in awe of how lucky I am.

My Home:
I love the home I have in Florida. The space is perfect for the two of us. We have decorated it with colorful walls and lots of art. It's also filled with great memories. I have a whole room in the house (our former guest room) to be as messy as I want when I am sewing.

It's two blocks from an amazing lake front and park. I love how easy it is to soak in nature for a bit and take our dog out for her walks. (She doesn't love it as much now that she's getting older and is mostly blind, but we make her go anyway.) Our neighborhood is quiet for the most part and it's our place to call home.

My favorite view of Lake Monroe on my morning walk.

My Art:
Sewing, quilting, drawing. I love it all. It helps soothes me when I feel insane and allows me to be creative when I feel stuck after a crazy day of work. I am making more of an effort to be creative each day. Whether it's doodling in a notebook or breaking out the cutting tools, fabric and sewing machine, I do find solace each day in doing something that's just for fun.
After complaining in a previous post about feeling stuck on a project, I decided to put it away and make something colorful. Here's a quilt top that I started last night to break out of my doldrums. It was a simple and easy way to make a rainbow happen this week.

You:
I am thankful that you are reading this post right now. I appreciate your time and wish you a great weekend filled with fun and creativity.

Is it Fall yet?

Summer is the craziest time of year for me. My job keeps me pretty busy from April until September. So, of course, my blog gets put on the later pile of things to do.
I have made time to quilt and sew over the last few months even if I haven't stopped to share them with you. Some projects have kept me sane while I tackle the chaos that is my life once a year.

Picture Time!

Block of the Month (BOM)

Pippi Longstocking Block with an Afro.
I wanted my OMQG August BOM to look like me.

*Somehow I don't have a picture of my July BOM for the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild (OMQG) using the Snail Trail design. I guess in the excitement of choosing the BOM I forgot. It was made using red, black, gray and white colors. I'll be making more of those blocks so you'll see it again soon. (It's on the main website from the June monthly meeting in case you're curious.)

The Geo Swirl
Of course I made a rainbow swirl!

Chev N' Hex
Sewn by hand...never again I say!

Diamond Carat
Sewn by machine using clear thread...so much faster!

The Switz Block

Half way done with the Skillbuilder BOM

Half way done with the Skillbuilder BOM

I'm really in love with these rainbow BOM and can't wait to see how they will come together when they are done later this year. I enjoyed paper piecing more than I thought I would and will definitely take on more of those projects now.

In addition to my BOM for Skillbuilder and OMQG, I've also finished many projects for the annual Wayne County Fair. My "In-Laws" live in PA and each year I share my artwork in their local county fair. This started my passion in 2004 for creating unusual quilts, canvas work, and various household items to enter even if I don't win. I've made "modern" quilts before it was considered an actual art form in quilting and usually came in second or honorable mention next to traditional designs. I don't fault them for not getting my work. I think it was just too far out there for them to see what I wanted to present. If I knew there was going to be Modern quilt movement, I would have found "my people" years ago.

August Fair Items

Quilted Purse-Modified pattern from Modern Patchwork Magazine (2012). I added a strap and finished it with black borders. I also quilted the black and gray portion of the chevron for some texture. The straps can be tucked inside to make a fun clutch.

 

 

    

Baby Bunting-I created my own pattern with a huge poster board and used hexagons to create a fun little wrap for a little one. I sewed down one flap to keep the feet tucked inside and warm. At the suggestion of my sister-in-law, I didn't add any closure for the outside flap so there are no potential choking hazards or scratchy Velcro tabs. I didn't have actual baby or doll to try it out but it's soft and cozy to the touch.

Baby Blanket - Finished baby gingham stripped quilt. I used the left over squares to make a border and added a simple blue gingham backing fabric.

Christmas Gift Bag - Made a simple quilted bag with drawstrings for a holiday gift. I used a simple Santa fabric with green and red borders. (I didn't take any clear pictures of the front but I love the stripes on the back the most anyway. It makes me think of candy canes!)

Finished Home Items

Table Runner -Made from great Shoo Fly block Lotto win. Thanks to Michelle from OMQG I mastered the art of continuous binding and love the result.

French Press Cover- I used left over strips to make a fun rainbow cover for our beloved French Press. It's lined with Insul-bright to keep fantastic coffee warm. It's fastened with Velcro and (thanks to my girlfriend) found that it looks great in reverse too with the fun circle fabric I used as backing.

                                                     

Dog Blanket - My remaining dog blanket for the OMQG charity project. This was the last of my Michael Miller Noah's Ark scraps from my nephew's baby quilt. (He's now 5 and it was time to use them up!)

There is more to come later this month. I can't wait to share notes and photos from my class with Jacquie Gering!

Thanks for stopping by and reading all the way down to the end of this crazy-long post.

Works in Progress a.k.a Procrastination Sunday

I've been sitting in my sewing room for about 20 minutes watching Youtube videos and reading Facebook/Flickr comments because I'm procrastinating.

I have several projects that are in various states of "almost" done. I have quilts that have most pieces cut and need to be sewn. Some are projects that are mostly pieced but not sewn into strips/tops while others are done but not quilted. I even have one quilted piece that just needs binding. Don't even get me started on the fabric I've purchased with the intention of making specific projects that have not even been cut yet.
So now I am writing this post because I still don't know where to begin today...I have to work later tonight so I want to get something creative done.


Here's my first of two blocks for my next Skill Builder BOM. I basted all of the pieces last night as I finished up the last season of a TV show on Netflix. I will need to work on the diamond carat another day.

Chev N Hex basted, not pieced

 I saw a great tutorial on GEN X block library that I've always wanted to complete. I cut these pieces out a while back. They keep getting stacked and shuffled around on my sewing table but have yet to make it close enough to my machine to start sewing. I should finish up at some point this century.

Spiral Hexagon cut pieces

 I'm teaching a mini-lesson for the next OMQG meeting on hexagons. I shouldn't come to the meeting unprepared. I did cut them out so that's a start!

Hexagons for Wed. Tutorial

 I won these Shoo fly blocks last month and have most of my ideas on paper in my sketchbook. I  just need a few more sashes sewn to complete the tops I have planned.

Shoo Fly blocks from OMQG

 I scrappy baby quilt top for my good friend from work. They decided to let the sex of baby #4 be a surprise, so I thought, "You can't go wrong with every color in gingham". (Their son was born last Saturday so I need to get this done before he starts preschool!) I am hoping to complete this on a long arm and have some fun quilting it.

Finished baby top, needs quilting

 A finished blanket for my daughter-dog, Evie, who loves to sleep. A lot. She's 14 and mostly blind so I wanted to make something soft and light for her upcoming birthday in May. I love watching her circle and scrunch up her bedding to find just the right spot to relax.

Finished quilting, needs binding

 Here's a kinda sorta done Drunkard's path set of blocks that I am making, too. All pieces that I need are finally cut but I haven't finished sewing all of the pieces together yet. Then, I need to sew all of these rainbow/black blocks together for this crazy design idea I have in mind.

Halfway through Drunkard's Path Project

I often feel like the man in the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough At Last".
(Spoiler Alert: In case you somehow missed this awesome episode!) All he wants to do is read in peace but there is no time in his busy life. He's the last one standing after the destruction of the world and he's kind of happy to get to the library after wandering around a bit. He's finally settling in with a stack of books. He walks outside, stumbles and then breaks his glasses. ~In my case, I would break my sewing machine or there is no more electricity when I finally have enough time to sit down and sew all day. Oh, the horror!

Hope you had a great and productive weekend.

March BOM and Robots

I finally finished both blocks for the March Skillbuilder BOM. The woven star and chevron blocks look so intricate but are quite simple to put together. The scant quarter inch seams were a must and resulted in perfect 12.5 in blocks. I am more in love with my soon-to-be rainbow quilt.

Woven Star and Woven Chevron

My rainbow star using the Woven Star pattern

 I can't wait to put them all together in the fall.

___________________________

April is the month of many birthdays including my mom, dad, and nephew. Mom's gift has already been sent and I have a special gift in mind for a great little guy.

He loves robots and this has his favorite colors.

The fabric I ordered arrived in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to get started on his gift.