WIP Wednesday: June 29, 2011

Nicer weather has resulted in less sewing recently. I can’t complain, really, as I sorely needed the sunshine and fresh air. I did manage to make progress on a few projects.

Check out Freshly Pieced for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Current Projects

Warm Cool Quilt Along: I started the Warm Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order this week. I made all the Half-Square Triangles. The next step is trimming. I am woefully behind as this week’s Quilt Along post was about quilting.

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #2:  The binding is now ready to be sewn onto the quilt.

Call Me Crazy {17/42 blocks complete}: One more block completed this week! I am running out of scrap options.

On Hold
Forest Friends Embroidery
Blueberry Pie
Color Book
Scrappy Nine-Patch {12/70 blocks complete}

Stats

New projects: 1
Completed projects: 0
Total projects: 14

Sixth Finish of 2011: Unicorn Pillowcase

A couple of weeks ago, I finished my unicorn pillowcase. This project was more about the process than the end result. I bought the unicorn transfers from Sublime Stitching. I intended the unicorns to be nostalgic and/or ironic and they turned out on the childish side instead. As such, this pillowcase ended up in the nursery instead of on my pillow. I really enjoyed stitching it, though. As I was working on it, I learned a new stitch (chain stitch) and relearned another one (French knot). Now I have to decide what pattern I want on my next pillowcase.

Finish It Up!

Well, I think I made decent progress this week. Since last Friday, I finished a project and started a new one, so I still have fourteen WIPs. Here’s an update:

1.       Yellow Brick Road #1: FINISHED

2.       Yellow Brick Road #2: Progress

3.       Unblogable #1: Progress

4.       Unblogable #2

5.       Baby’s Color Book: Progress

6.       Unblogable #3

7.       Paris Cats Quilt #1

8.       Batik Kit Quilt

9.       Unblogable #4

10.   Call Me Crazy: Progress

11.   Scrappy Nine-Patch

12.   Unblogable #5

13.   Forest Friends Embroidery

14.   Blueberry Pie: Progress

15.   Warm Cool Quilt Along: Started

Next week I’m going to focus on finishing the Yellow Brick Road #2 quilt and the Forest Friends Embroidery.

Check out more Finish It Up! projects at Fashioned by Meg.

Warm Cool Quilt Along: Fabric Selection

I do love Half-Square Triangles. When I saw the Warm Cool Quilt Along over at In Color Order, I instantly wanted to join. I talked myself out of it because I already have so many WIPs and other projects I want to start. Then I saw that the mini version can be made with 5” squares, and I caved. I have been cutting my scraps into 5” and 2.5” squares, so I have a bunch of squares already cut, just begging to be used for this project. My stash is heavy on the cool colors and light on the warm colors, so it took me awhile to pull together the fabric selection for this project. I’m using warm prints and cool solids.

WIP Wednesday: June 22, 2011

This week was a great week for finishes! I’ll save those for Friday, though. Wednesday is all about WIPs!

Check out Freshly Pieced for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Current Projects

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #2:  I worked on piecing the binding this week.

Blueberry Pie: Piecing in progress.

Color Book: The green, blue and pink pages are finished! I started piecing the red, yellow, purple and teal pages and finished gathering fabrics for the orange page.

Call Me Crazy {16/42 blocks complete}: Continued piecing.

On Hold

Forest Friends Embroidery

Scrappy Nine-Patch {12/70 blocks complete}

Stats

New projects: 0
Completed projects: 2
Total projects: 13

Finish It Up Challenge

I have really enjoyed WIP Wednesdays over at Freshly Pieced, but it has also made me a little sad. I have so many unfinished projects and there are so many more that I want to make! I did manage to finish one this week, but that means that I still have fourteen WIPs. I made a table that shows all of my current WIPs and what needs to be done to finish them. Then, I saw that Fashioned By Meg is hosting a Finish It Up Challenge. Just what I need to kick-start the summer!

Some of these projects have not been included in my WIP Wednesdays because they are gifts and/or secret and some have not been featured because I had not planned on working on them any time soon. When I was pregnant, I felt a huge urge to “use up” fabric before the baby came, which resulted in finished quilt tops for which I had no quilting deadline. I would really like to get some of these projects off my plate so that I can have a clear conscience starting some new projects I have coming up. I want to join the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy and the Warm Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order. Also, my mom and I are taking a Half-Square Triangle class from Katie of Sew Katie Did at the end of the month.

Here’s what I’m going to focus on first:

Yellow Brick Road #1: I have the binding sewn on three out of four sides so far. I should be able to finish the hand sewing this weekend.

Yellow Brick Road #2: I now have the fabric for this binding. A week or two should be enough to finish this.

Forest Friends Embroidery: This should only take a couple hours to finish.

My goal is to have less than fourteen WIPs on August 15, 2011. Let’s see how many projects I can finish before then! If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go finish up that binding now.

Flashback Friday #5: Heartz

My first lap quilt was made from a pattern called Heartz. I continued the blue and purple combination from my first quilt, but wanted a quicker pattern with less room for error. The piecing is semi-improvisational. The fabric placement was carefully planned, but the cutting was done freehand.  I finished piecing this quilt in 2005, but didn’t get it quilted until December 2007. It usually can be found on our living room couch, but migrates around the house as needed come winter.

Kaleidoscope Quilt Along: Fabric Selection

I am looking forward to starting the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy on June 23. I’m going to use a combination of blue, purple and cream fabrics, most of which I had on hand. I started with some Paris Cats fabrics left over from another project and added some Kona solids and a couple fat quarters from my stash. The final product is destined for the twin bed in the nursery.

 

WIP Wednesday: June 15, 2011

This week’s WIP Wednesday is brought to you by my mom, who blogs at A Quilter’s Table. We had a quilting day recently at her house, and she taught me how to machine quilt. She also watched my baby while I machine quilted not one, but two baby quilts! Thanks, Mom!

Check out Freshly Pieced for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Current Projects

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #1: This is the first quilt that I machine quilted! I also did the machine sewing on the binding this week. A few hours of hand sewing the binding on and this baby will be done!

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #2: I also managed to machine quilt this project. The fabric for the binding is in the mail.

 

Blueberry Pie: I finished cutting fabric for this quilt and started piecing.

Color Book: Still working on piecing the green, blue and pink pages. I need to evaluate how many scraps I still need for the other pages.

Call Me Crazy {16/42 blocks complete}: Still loving the improvisational piecing on this quilt. I only finished one block this week, but have a stack of half-finished blocks calling my name.

Unicorn Pillowcase: I had to look up how to do French knots in order to proceed on this project. It is close to completion.

On Hold

Forest Friends Embroidery

Scrappy Nine-Patch {12/70 blocks complete}

Stats

New projects: 1

Completed projects: 0

Total projects: 15

Sunday Stash #5

One of the things I like about a monthly fabric club is that I forget about it and am surprised when I receive the package in the mail. June’s offering for the Pink Chalk Fabric solids club was Sea Gem Studio and consisted of Moda Bella solids in teals and blues. My favorite is “Night Sky,” the darkest blue in the pack.

So Many Quilt Alongs, So Little Time

I’m really excited about starting the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy later this month. I just wish that it was the only Quilt Along going on right now so that I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out! I’d like to participate in the Warm Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order and the Synchronized Squares Quilt Along at PS I Quilt. There’s just not enough time in the day! Oh, well. There will always be more Quilt Alongs, I suppose.

UPDATE: There is also a Yoyo Along at sewtakeahike! I need to clone myself, or something.

Flashback Friday #4: Gentle Art

I learned to quilt from my mom, and we get together every so often to sew. Sometimes we even make the same project! I had a ton of fun making the Gentle Art table topper with her. I made mine out of the Celebrate Spring line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. It was a fun charm pack pattern. This project was finished sometime in the Fall of 2007.

WIP Wednesday: June 8, 2011

I haven’t had much time to work on my projects lately due to work and social commitments, but I’m happy with the progress I have made. There are so many other projects I want to start, though! My goal is to keep my number of WIPs under 15, which means that I am going to have to finish something before June 23^rd so that I can participate in the Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy.

Check out Freshly Pieced for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Current Projects

Blueberry Pie: I started cutting fabric for this quilt. It is my goal to piece the top out of gifted fabric only. I think between the family scrap swap and the solids pack I received for my birthday, I will have enough.

Color Book: So far I have cut and started to piece three of the eight “pages” for the color book: green, blue and pink. I was surprised how much pink fabric I had on hand.

Call Me Crazy {15/42 blocks complete}: This is still my favorite project right now. I have over a third of the blocks done! I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made so far.

Unicorn Pillowcase: Still plodding along on this. I don’t pick it up often, but when I do I get a lot done in a sitting.

On Hold

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #1

Yellow Brick Road Baby Quilt #2

Forest Friends Embroidery

Scrappy Nine-Patch {12/70 blocks complete}

Stats

New projects: 1

Completed projects: 0

Total projects: 15

My First Quilt-Along!

I don't need a new project at the moment, but I really like the looks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy. I am planning on making the baby quilt size and need to go through my scraps and stash to see what fabric would work for this. I am looking forward to my first quilt-along!

Flashback Friday #3: Seaside Rose Moda Tin

Just before the charm pack craze really exploded, Moda put out a series of charm packs tins. They each came with a charm pack, a pattern and a CD with a larger pattern and information on the fabric line. I loved collecting the tins, but only made up a couple of them. The first one I work on was a gift from a family friend. I started working on it while visiting my parents and finished it in September of 2007. I wanted a quick project and focused more on completion than precision, so the seams don’t all match. Coincidently, it coordinates with the pre-existing paint color in our downstairs bathroom, so that is where I hung it. I would like to use the pattern again someday.

Family Scrap Swap

I come from a strong family tradition of quilt making. My mother is a quilter, my husband’s grandmother is a quilter, and several of my cousins are quilters as well. Recently my mom organized a scrap swap with a couple of my out-of-state cousins. I really enjoyed going through my scraps and picking out fabrics that I thought they would like. Receiving scraps from them was fun as well.

I received a lot of blue and tan/brown fabrics and was having a hard time deciding what to do with them. I found the answer via last week’s WIP Wednesday event on Freshly Pieced. I really like the Bluberri Breezes quilt from Angel Scraps Quilting. I’m going to call my version Blueberry Pie. I think I’ll work in some of the solids that I have been stashing recently. The small bowl contains the fabrics that I will start my Blueberry Pie quilt with. The large bowl is the other scraps that I still have to play with. Some will end up in my baby’s color book, and I’m looking forward to finding projects for the rest!