What to do?

So am off on a Monday for the first time in forever and I just don't know where to start. The list of UFOs loom and other non-quilt related projects seem to be everywhere. I wish I had a cloning machine so that I could make more things happen. (I don't want a Gremlin situation with too many multiples to handle though.)

I do want to share a few things since I last posted.

I delivered the Tetris quilt to my dear friends for their anniversary and they immediately put it on the bed:

It fit so perfectly in the room. They really loved it.



I joined another Bee with my Orlando Modern Quilt Guild and am in the paper piecing hive.

Here's the block I am asking the group to make for me:

Paper-pieced paper planes
(Say that 5 times fast!)
They can use print or plain white fabric.

I even asked for various sizes so I can make a quilt with perspective instead of worrying that they were all able to print them to scale. I found this pattern on Craftsy a while back and always loved the idea of making a giant quilt with them. (It reminds me of the last day of school when I let students make planes with their portfolio work to see whose plane can fly the farthest.)


I've finished my next Stash Bee BOM which I need to drop in the mail today.

Scrappy Mountains

I really love that she had a simple tutorial and she did not want us to sew the four blocks together. I was able to whip these up in less than an hour. (I think I spent more time going through fabric than actual sewing.)
Here's another block I made for her because I read the wrong blog posting about her being Queen Bee for the month. (It didn't occur to me that some people are members of more than one hive online and since I subscribe to her blog, I just followed the email and didn't bother to check the details. Oh well! It was a challenge to make but will be fun to see it when she puts them together.)

Scrappy Sochi-inspired design
(I love this word search fabric and made it the center block.)

The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild and I have also been helping a sweet group of 5th graders make a modern quilt for their school as their graduation present. I taught them a little about the history of quilt making and the modern movement. They were really interested in the geometric designs I showed them. Using graph paper, they came up with a really cool idea to make an ancestry tree which shows their families backgrounds. It tied into their history project so it was pretty perfect. They found several quilts online they like and I wanted them to really make this quilt unique. (Plus, I reminded them about plagiarism and that those designs are property of the original artist.)

Here's a sneak peek:

Bare tree

They designed this shape and the final look of this project. I did offer suggestions for the colors and fabric to purchase. It was so great to see this creativity and the excitement of the next generation of potential quilters.

We were invited to attend graduation this Thursday evening where they will present the quilt to the school and share the finished piece. I can't wait to see it and share it with you.

What are you up to this week?

Just Made the Deadline

I finally sorted my Sewing Room and am so thrilled. It only took most of March to do. I had to come the realization that I have a lot of fabric. When you're shuffling things around, it doesn't seem like it's out of control. When you have to box it up to add/remove furniture, it's another story.

I am reaffirming my pledge to not purchase any more fabric for the rest of the year. (Said after I placed an order today to use my expiring vouchers at Pink Castle fabrics. I couldn't let that deal go!) I am done with online fabric shopping. For real this time.

Now that I have my long desired design wall in place, it's on! I still have to figure out how to get more time to sew but that's another problem for another day. I'll share pics of my room later.

So, I also needed to make my BOM for my Stash Bee hive due in March. Since I didn't even have a place to sew for weeks, I was able to work on it last night and this morning. Finally.

I just made the deadline!

Here's my March BOM for hive #6:

Super Scrappy Sunny Day block

I love that I was able to chain piece each section as I went and whipped it together pretty quickly. This was a lot of fun to make for Melodee.

Hope you've been making a dent in your stash.
Enjoy your week!

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?

My First Modern Quilt - Day 4

Flashback Friday 

My first modern quilt was made in 2004 before I knew there was even such a thing outside of traditional quilt making. I used red, black and white to make a baby quilt for friends who were researching the use of these high-contrast colors. (They later decided to do yellow and green instead so this has been in my personal collection a long time.)

I entered it into a local fair as a baby quilt in 2005 thinking it would stand out and be an avant garde design. I came in second place to a quilt that was literally pastel squares in a row because the judges said it did not look like a baby quilt. I saw that as a compliment because I didn't want to make something you would find in a store.

The Design

I was chopping up this red-striped fabric I love and started arranging them in lines. Then I would cut through them and rearrange them sew and cut again. I stopped when I came up with a panel that spoke to me. I took the red, black, and white dots fabric and made rectangles. I cut them in half and added the white. I placed them in a diamond pattern to help frame the center.  I also wanted to use black satin binding because I didn't want a light color that would show all of the baby stains it could potentially acquire. I thought it needed some color to break up some of the black before I started quilting it. The scraps from the red-striped fabric were sewn together to make a top and bottom strip to help break up all of the black that seemed to over power it. (After all, they were not Goth parents.)

Here's the front view:

I wanted to make an interesting pattern on the back and cut the stripes on a diagonal. I lined them up so they would make a diamond pattern when sewn together.  I quilted it in a spiral because it looked so hypnotic to me.

Back view:

My quilting has come a long way since this first venture into what I called an avante garde baby quilt at the time. This quilt started my love for making quilts that are not what you would typically find in books or stores.

The current modern quilting movement has given me a place to call home.

Moving Right Along

I am feeling good about the work I was able to finish this weekend. I caught up at work (finally!) and was able to do some sewing. I even sat and picked out bad squares on a quilt I started earlier in the summer that was put away after a huge error was found. I love when things start falling into place.

Skill Builder BOM

I made progress on the Skillbuilder BOM. I am almost caught up with my blocks and am still debating how I want to quilt it. (Her tutorials on quilt at you go were pretty but not really my style.) I do know that I am falling more in love with this quilt and am so happy that I am making a quilt to keep.

 My first plan for the Saturn Block was to use this Free Spirit fabric to change up the colors. (This fabric reminds me of the doodles I used to do with Sharpies!) I could not get my stripes to work according to her directions. I also felt that it didn't match the other blocks after all.

First attempt at Saturn block

I decided to stop working on that block after feeling frustrated by the instructions. I moved on to the Candyland block. This one was a lot of fun. 

Candyland

Then, I started the Pixelate block. I love that I was able to just throw them together without following a set pattern. (I did make a rainbow on the bottom block just because I could.) The Pelon quilter's grid makes sewing tiny squares look so perfect.

Pixelate

After feelings of accomplishment on those two blocks, I returned for one last attempt on the Saturn block and loved how it turned out. I used the remnants of the Candyland block to break up the stripes needed for this block. 

Saturn's Rainbow

I have 3 more to go and then will be officially caught up on these BOM. I can't wait to put them all together. I hope to have the quilting design in place by then.

Charity Work

The OMQG is putting together charity quilts for Camp Boggy Creek. I was sitting at the table assigned to the RED quilt and was tasked with creating 5 blocks  I'm so excited about this cause because I know it will be put to good use. I've really love all of the charities we've supported so far this year.

Our table decided to use the January BOM from our guild. The fun was in going through my red scrap basket to find strips for this design. I remember all of the quilts I've made using these fabrics and it was a fun trip down memory lane.

All that's missing is the white border to make them 12.5 blocks. I think I will start on my scrap quilt next year. Since I've saved squares and strips from every quilt I've ever made there will be a lot of happy memories when it's all done.

More Halloween Blocks

I am determined to win the Halloween blocks on Wed! I wanted to make a few more blocks to increase my odds.

If do win, I will be making another quilt for my godson in NC who LOVES Halloween as much as I do. Even if I don't win, I will be happy to see them made into a fun quilt for someone else. 

Wishing you a fun and productive week!

QST and HST Make Me Happy!

I am such a huge fan of rainbows. The BOM quilt I'm making for myself this year is filled with solids in the various shades of colors I adore. I'm still on the fence about the quilt as you go method so I haven't put any backing on them yet. The tutorials seem easy enough, I think my reluctance lies with deciding on the thread colors I want featured.  I have a rainbow box of Gutermann in shades that match every solid I've selected but I want to narrow it down to 2-3 for the final project. I guess I can still decide later.

This month, both BOMs that I'm doing involved triangles by some strange coincidence. Making half-square and quarter-square triangles are nothing new but the designs are endless. 

Here's my newest Skillbuilder BOM that was so simple to put together. (The original design uses 3 colors and creates a woven pattern. I made a rainbow sketch with the template and decided to go this route instead.)

I am in love with this scrappy chevron for the OMQG's May BOM! I see many quilts with these half triangles in my near future. I found quadrilaterals of all shapes and sizes in my scrap bin to use for this one.

I think I will find more in all 6 colors and try my hand at a rainbow chevron. It could be a lovely baby quilt that's also unisex.

Birthday Month Spectacular!

I've been MIA from this blog  because of the January birthday extravaganza this month. There was so much love shared and so little time to write about it.

Here's a quick summary:

After ringing in the New Year with some of my favorite people on Earth, I set off to begin my quilting adventure. I met with my new guild in Orlando and had such a great time. It was a warm reception and I left there feeling so inspired by everyone's creativity. I can't wait to learn from these women.

Then, the birthday celebrations began in earnest with dinners chosen by the honored guest. Jos and I both picked Italian and Geeg picked steak! Yummy dinners were had by all. (On Geeg's birthday, we tried out a local steakhouse that I was always leery of trying because of its humble exterior. I can't believe I've lived in Sanford for over 10 years and didn't try it sooner. The meal was outstanding. The icing on this cake was it was completely paid for by a random stranger who didn't even know we were celebrating Geeg's 81st birthday! How sweet was that?)

Next, I headed to Miami to see my family there and had a wonderful and relaxing time away. I played with my nieces, took an afternoon nap, and spent time with my mom.My last night there was spent with my bff from high school, Lisa. We gossiped, watched reality TV, and slept really well. I came home feeling so blessed and rejuvenated.

In the end, I returned to a craft room full of new Christmas and birthday toys including gift cards, fabric, new rotary cutters, rulers, a rotating cutting board, a drawer organizer, and idle hands that needed to get back to sewing. I set to work organizing my space and putting away bulk fabric into vacuumed storage bags to make room for immediate projects. I plan to sort the quilting fabrics into separate piles by colors at some point.

So far, I completed and sent out blocks for my online Block of the Month group. I found all of the fabric I will be using for my skill builder BOM project. I'm so excited about this project because I will be creating the first quilt that I will be keeping for myself. I can't wait to start using the techniques described in this first lesson. It's going to be so bright and gay!

Tasting the Rainbow!

I also finished my next block for my local guild meeting in February. We were asked to create a green block with a neutral border. I didn't have much green to choose from in my collection but found some scraps from other projects that worked perfectly. I wanted to try my hand at a Bargello-style piece and really liked the resulting block. I will definitely use this technique again.

February's guild mtg piece

I'm looking forward to a very crafty year filled with lots of sewing and trying new things.
Don't worry, I will be sharing!

January BOM

So I decided to try various online methods of creating blocks each month. My goal is not only to learn new techniques, but to also have 1 or 2 large quilts ready in time for the holidays as super duper presents.If I can make a new friend or two then that's a plus!

I found a guild that meets in the area and plan to attend their meeting on Wed to see if we mesh well. (I really love the ideas on their website!) I also joined a few Flickr groups for inspiration. I was invited to try a unique quilting bee that "adds borders" to your original 6" square you send in as you can. There are no time limits and you can keep a block at any time. So, I may not get back the piece I started which leaves me leery of this option.I do appreciate the lack of a time limit because things will get busy with work in the Spring and I may not have time to create on a consistent basis.

Since my mama says not to show up empty handed, I created the first block which was more versatile that I was expecting. (My first attempt was politely called "busy" so I scrapped it and started over with simpler prints that matched the colors requested: blue, purple, orange and white.Perhaps I can send in the blocks created to the border virtual bee to see if someone can transform them?)

First attempt: Not in love with this result.

On my second attempt, I created 2 blocks that look as nice as the sample shown on the guild site. I plan to bring one to the meeting and keep the other for my own 2013 quilt.

Second attempt: So happy with the result.

Border added to fit 12.5 x 12.5 size requested.

I am not sure what order or direction I will finish my personal block. There are a few ways it can piece together. I will post the final result when I officially decide if I like the X or the O pattern.

(I think another goal of mine should be to learn more about photography and lighting so my projects can be seen in a clear light.)