Wordless WIP Wednesday: 3/21/12

Blueberry Muffin

Name: Blueberry Muffin

Pattern: Improv

Fabrics: Scraps from Blueberry Pie

Dimensions: 18” by 18”

Started: February 2012

Finished: March 2012

Favorite Blueberry Muffin Recipe: Page 53 of The Cupcake Café Cookbook by Ann Warren & Joan Lilly.

Linking to: Tuesday at the Table at A Quilter's Table, Scrap Attack at Stitched In Color and Finish It Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Work in Progress Wednesday: March 7, 2012

This last week has been tough, so I haven’t been able to sew much.

However, I was able to finish the embroidery on the last 2011 Memory Quilt block. I hope to finish this mini quilt by the end of the month.

Stats

Completed: 0

Started: 0

In Progress: 9

Check out quilters who have been more productive than I at WIP Wednesday by Freshly Pieced.

Blueberry Pie (Pops)

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the consumerist mindset of always buying the latest and greatest fabric lines. I know I do now and again. More often, I find myself enjoying the process of working with the fabric I have on hand, especially scraps from other projects. For example, my recently finished Blueberry Pie baby quilt is composed almost entirely of scraps, both my own scraps and scraps from a family scrap swap. A few fat eighths that I received as a gift were the only non-scrap fabric.

When I participated in a family scrap swap last year, I wanted to start using the scraps I received sooner rather than later. At first, I didn't know which pattern to use, but when I saw Blueberri Breezes at Angel Scraps Quilting, I was motivated to make my own version. After the top was finished, I still had quite a few scraps left over. Inspired by Missing the Point by Ocheltree Design, I decided to cut the remaining scraps into 2.5" strips and piece them together end-to-end and see where that led me. I wasn’t expecting to make the backing entirely of scraps, but that’s what happened! I even incorporated the tiniest of scraps using completely cauchy’s Scraptacularity method, which I loved.

I quilted Blueberry Pie in a cross-hatch pattern following the design of the “front.” In the end, I like the “back” even better. The binding is also made from scraps, but I bet that’s not a big surprise. This quilt was so enjoyable to make, that I felt compelled to celebrate its completion with baked goods, specifically, Blueberry Pie Pops.

Pie making seems to run in my family, but I’ve never made Blueberry Pie (or Pie Pops) before. By combining Cakespy’s Pie Pop recipe and Macrina Bakery’s Classic Blueberry Pie recipe, I managed to make a passable Blueberry Pie Pop. Somehow I ended up with too much pie filling and not enough dough, so I will share my particular recipe after all the wrinkles are ironed out.

If you like either quilts or food, stop by A Quilter’s Table for Tuesday at the Table. If you like scraps, check out Stitched in Color’s Scrap Attack. I also plan to link up with Finish it Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Double the Luck

I like to make things for my mom, especially quilty things. When I found this cute fabric with blue and green clover made out of hearts, I knew I wanted to make a St. Patty’s Day table topper for her. The yardage languished in my stash for far too long before I came up with a pattern that I liked. This block must have a name, but at the moment it eludes me. Once I started working on mom’s version, I fell in love with it so hard that I had to make one for myself, too.

To make these little cuties, I cut 5” squares out of the focus fabric and my blue and green scraps. Then, I cut some of them into 2.5”x5” rectangles and some into 2.5” squares, so that the focus fabric and scrappy fabrics alternated.

I actually started these quilts in March 2011. It took me so long to hand quilt my mom’s version that I decided to machine quilt mine. I quilted the same pattern on both, as I had never compared the results of the two quilting techniques side-by-side. The hand quilting is homier, but the machine quilting is much faster and cleaner-looking.

Of course, a handmade present called for a handmade gift bag, so I whipped up one of my fabric gift bags, based on a block made by HoosierToni. After I figured out the math from scratch, I realized that there is a tutorial at thought and found.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

February is for Finishes!

Early on this February, I looked around my sewing nook and decided that it was way too cluttered. Half-finished projects covered every available surface, and even more were stored out of sight in plastic bins. Right then and there, I decided that enough was enough and that I wouldn’t start a new project until I whittled down my Work in Progress list and created some physical space for creativity. With that goal in mind, I managed to finish three projects in February: a Color Book for my sweet girl, my Sunshiny Day mini quilt and Blueberry Pie, which I will share with you soon. Here’s hoping I can keep this momentum through March!

Linking up with the fabulous Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts.