Working Working

Hi friends and followers!

Ever since the photobucket fiasco I've neglected the blog because I didn't know what to do. Well, it's time to get back into the swing of things.

I've got some new graphics and I'm going to teach myself how to get this back up and looking pretty.

There are so many things I've made that I can't wait to share with you, but first, I need to get rid of all of the "3rd party hosting" ugliness.

So...bear with me, check back to see the progress and get ready for some exciting projects coming soon!

Julie

More Quilts for Peace

This week I received three more quilts to bind for the quilts for peace project. I dropped them off yesterday and am so proud to be able to help out with this project.

My hope is they bring comfort to those impacted by the loss.

My contribution to Quilts for Peace

Photo credit L. Cors |  Lake of the Ozarks

As a member of the Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild, we have been working with both the Dallas and McKinney Modern quilt guilds to make, assemble and finish blue heart quilts for folks impacted by the violence in Dallas.

Our president, Ann texted me to ask if I would mind binding a quilt. Now for those of you who know me, you already know the answer. I replied back, "only one"?  I got one and here it is. We recently went on a 9 hour car ride and binding in the car is my absolutely favorite place. I like all of the natural light and it is a great way to pass the time.

The only problem, I was done a few hours into it. Sigh. I'm meeting her this weekend, so maybe when I turn in this quilt, she will have some more for me do.

Starbucks Mug Rug Swap | Round 7

This swap is now hosted in Instagram, but it started on Flickr. I sat out a few rounds, but really missed it so for Round 7, I got back in. My partner likes color so this is the mug rug I made for her.  What possessed me to think I could do a hexagon shaped mug rug, I don't know. I wanted it to be unique this allowed me some practice with binding corners.

My partner sent a little late so I got a nice surprise the other day as my package came in. 

She made me not only a mug rug, but also a zip pouch and a clear pouch too. The mug she sent was Utah, which I need for my ever growing You are Here Collection.

I love this swap and Yvonne over at @quiltydream is a wonderful hostess.

Pinwheel Quilt for Baby Madison

Today, I'm sharing with you a glimpse of a baby quilt I made for my boss.  She had a little girl and loves neutral with pops of color so I selected mint and coral with light gray.

I used Elmer's glue to help me match up the points.  Have you ever tried it? If you haven't - do it! It's works wonders. My only comment would be you have to press to the side when you do this. If you were to press open it would gum up your iron.

Sorry for a small glimpse, I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the whole quilt before I wrapped it up and sent it to live with Madison.

Q3 Finish Along | 2016

Oh the things I have on my list. I've read that when you write down your goals, the percentage of you completing them increases, so in hopes this post will give me the motivation I need to complete them (and at the same time have a chance at some wonderful prizes). Here we go!

• Make One Take One item for Fall retreat
• I have this one all ready in my mind. I've done a little paper piecing so start, but I'm not sure that I like the mixed low volume background. Going to try round 2 with cohesive background and colorful emphasis
• Baby Girl Quilt for R and K

• Pattern picked out, colors of coral and grays - need to get fabric, cut and get to work
• Baby Girl Quilt for Bella
• It's quite embarrassing to say that she is already over a year old - acck! bad friend. I really should rename this to toddler quilt
• Pillow for my Sister
• I'm so excited to make this for my dear sister. She asked for it a while ago and I want to surprise her and send to her on her birthday, which is the first week of August - tick tock!

• Zip Pouch for unnamed person (who reads my blog)

• Quilt Big 10 Quilt
• This quilt was made sooo long ago. You know what is holding me back? I basted it with the safety pins. The horror! I'm a certified, proud to yell it "spray" baster, but I wanted this one to not shift.  Ugh. It's a chevron pattern and I can't imagine quilting it on my machine and moving it through the throat, and....taking out all this pins.  You know the saying, nothing worth having is easy and I'm determined to finish so I can cuddle up under it during football season.
• Finish Black and White pillow
• Pink piping with bias binding. All kinds of new things. Can't wait to see how this turns out. Normally I don't share when projects turn out bad, but this will force me to show you a beauty or share some lessons learned.
  
• Finish Fabric Baskets (3)
• Trying to get a jump on Christmas projects and these just need some top stitching

• Quilt Triangle Quilt
• one of my most favorite patterns and fabrics 
• Quilt Sisterhood Quilt
• this quilt is very special to me. 
• Make a United States pillow
• Butterfly Pillow for local charity
• Science Pillow
• This is a stretch goal, but living in the DFW area, my guild is putting together some blocks to support the families who had an officer impacted by the recent violence. Instead of just making some blocks, I hope to make a whole quilt top to donate, and possibly even a whole quilt. I'll need to find somewhere to long arm though.

Color for the Kitchen

One of my dear friends asked for embellished dish towels for her birthday and this is what I came up with.  I was fortunate enough (thanks, Amazon!) to find some colored flour sack towels. I find the flour sack towels to be more absorbent than the waffle weave type of material and the colors - that's just a bonus!

These are 3 inches from the edge and folded over, you know, for over the oven handle, isn't that where you put yours?

I am hoping these get used, but if they don't and they are just on display, then that is just fine with me too. If you need a thoughtful gift for someone dear, consider making these.

Happy Birthday Deb!

Secret Sister

My annual pilgrimage to Amish Country in Pennsylvania is going on right now!  We have been assigned secret sisters and my "sister" likes elephants. Since I've already surprised her with not only the basket but the goodies too, I can show you what I made.

I finished this basket back in July and have been adding goodies to it for a while now.

One Hour Basket | Tutorial from Hearts and Bees

Welcome, September.

It is September already - can you believe it? Where does the time go?

I have been a very busy bee.  Less then two weeks until I meet up with my very dear sewing friends.  We are meeting in Amish Country, in Pennsylvania.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it up there and can't wait to go back. 

But...there are a lot of projects that need to be completed first.  We got a bit overzealous last year and did a paper piecing bee, a birthday package, a traveling quilt and now that retreat is here, a secret sister.  I didn't even mention the make one take one swap.  Seriously no idea what I am going to make for that.

A lot of my projects can't be revealed yet (since my sewing girls read the blog) but I am sharing a block that I am proud of.  It's slightly different than most stars, but still complimentary to most standard stars.  This is for the traveling quilt that I am in charge of completing the top for.  Once we have presented them to one another, I'll show you the start and finish.  I expect them all to be fabulous!

Happy September to you. Thanks for stopping in.

Birthday Placemats

I belong to a wonderful sewing group, and this year we decided to shower each other with gifts. on our birthday.

For July, our woman of honor was Tiffany.  Now Tiffany is either really hard to design for or really easy.  She is always very specific in what she likes, and doesn't (which is the easy part), but I'm always afraid that if I don't follow her likes exactly then I'll mess it up and she won't like the project at all.  (the hard part)

I'm probably being too hard on myself, but that's where we are at. I was going to do a sew kitschy theme but couldn't find a color combo that I think she would like.  I had already committed to placemats so I had to think some more.  She does like the Tallahassee block and I like to paper piece, so this seemed like the perfect marriage of the two.

She loves eggplant purple, grass green, aqua (not blue) and coral (not orange).  Notice there is some pink in there? Well she loves Joel Dewberry too, so I added some Notting Hill too.

for Tiffany

These arrived safely and she said they are perfect.  The placemats finished at 12x12.

Quilt for Addi

This quilt is for a daughter of one of my co-workers.  He is such a positive, easy going guy and recently got news that his 8 year daughter has leukemia.

Every three weeks she has to go through chemo, which I hear is cold, so I am hoping this quilt can give her some warmth and comfort during those sessions.

When I asked about her style, I was told that she really likes pink. So pink it is.  Pink fabric, pink thread, pink binding.  I would have went searching for pink batting, too, if it would have been visible (thank goodness it isn't).

I added her name, smack in the middle of the quilt, with one row of stitching in black thread.  I wasn't entirely sure it was going to show up, but after washing, for the crinkle factor, it turned out to be a nice touch, although understated.

I gave it to him this morning, so I hope this afternoon, when she unwraps it, it warms her heart.

I started out quilting this with straight lines, but as we all know, that takes time.  So...I decided to quilt part of it with a meander stitch.  It's true!  The more you do, the easier it gets.  I see more meandering in my future.  

The back of this project was more pink, with a scrappy pink border, hand bound (my favorite part of making a quilt) by yours truly.

This pattern is called Strip Tango, by designer Kelly over at Quilt Infatuation. Thanks Kelly!

Q3 2015 | Finish Along

Hi! Although I have been quiet, I have been busy.  I didn't get my post up in time for the 2nd quarter FAL finish, so I just sat out, but 3rd quarter is different. I'm here, on time and am going to proclaim to the blogging world everything that I want to accomplish in the next 92.5 days!

< - - -  Finish Addison Quilt [1]

-finish quilting | label | bind | give away












Facing East [2]

-continue making blocks | hand applique | backing | quilt | bind | enjoy

One Hour Basket for Secret Sister [3]

-assemble | finish | fill with goodies
                      ----->

Placemats [4]
-start sewing | quilt | bind | wrap

(no pictures of this yet, it's a surprise, I can reveal at the end of the quarter)

Cathy Quilt [5]

-finish blocks | sew rows | baste | quilt | bind | give away   ---->

Simply Solids [6]
-quilt | bind | enjoy

Solids Challenge [7]
-finish backing | baste | quilt | bind

Bionic Bag | Sew together Bag [8]

order zippers | start | finish

Big Ten Quilt [9]

quilt | bind

Splendid Spring Blocks

String blocks for sweet Marika! She requested pink and yellow. These are going to be fabulous all together.  This was part of Anything Goes Bee and Book Club for May.

Although we only had to make 3 each, I feel bad because the picture looks funny, it isn't balanced and nobody wants to see my carpet.  Next time, I'll just make 4.

Mix Tape Blocks

Aren't these retro and fun? They are for a bee mate, actually she is much more than that, she is my friend, Lyanna.  

She requested these for our Anything Goes sewing bee and this is what I sent her.  I am a bit worried about the bottom right one though.  If she wants to use low volume for the sashing or a border, then this one might fade away, but of all six, that one is my favorite.  These were a blast to make and also to see the variations that other folks made. Take a look here!

Great Pillow Fight | Spring 2015

This round of the Great Pillow Fight was delightful!

I received this beauty from Stephanie of Creative Reveries.  It is perfect for me.  Rainbow colors with text fabric.  I love love love it!


This is the pillow that I made for Kelleigh


From the sounds of her post, it was as much of a hit for her as what Stephanie made for me.  I LOVE to swap and this round was absolutely perfect, on both sides!

Sneak Peak at Sisterhood

I belong to a sewing circle with an absolute perfect group of ladies.  We live all over the US (and Canada too) and get together once a year for a retreat in Amish Country.

For 2015, we are doing a traveling quilt.  Each person participating started their quilt with 4 blocks and a roadmap for what they envision.  Every 45 days, the quilt gets passed along to the next person in line.

During April I was working on a Sisterhood quilt and made a couple of granny square blocks along with another large scale block too.

Here are the two granny square blocks, along with my thoughts.

Originally, when I saw these blocks I didn't like them.  You know why? Because when I first saw them they were in a traditional quilt in traditional fabrics, which just isn't my preference.  But over the past couple of years, as I have seen them more and more and especially in modern fabrics, I have really started to like them.

But....you have to cut off so much fabric on the edges - Owwza! That hurts me.  I know I save too many scraps but I'm not sure that I will make more of these just because of that.

What do you think? Do you like Granny Squares? Does it bother you to cut off so much fabric?

Baby Quilt Top

My friend, Jane and I both quilt.  Although she prefers traditional quilts (I like modern) and can't stand all over quilting (my #1 preference) we enjoy hearing about what each of us is working on.

One of the gals in our book club is having her first baby in or around July, so we decided rather than buying something we would make a quilt.  The catch, she doesn't know if they are having a girl or a boy.  My job was to order the fabric and make the top and she will baste, and quilt it.

Our conversation went like this:
Me: Yes, yes, that sounds great. I'll do the top
Jane: Perfect, then I'll baste, quilt and bind it
Me: No, I want to bind it, that is my favorite part
Jane: Well how do you bind?
Me: Hand of course
Jane: Can you do an invisible binding?
Me: Is there any other kind?

Then we both laughed. She really wasn't going to let me bind unless I did an invisible hand binding.

It is currently getting quilted, but this is the top.  I love this pattern.  Finally, I have learned to read past the pattern.  I chain pieced with each color and then, cut them apart.  The directions have you cutting each piece separately and then sewing, but it takes longer.

Q1 2015 Finish Along Check in {Progress}

Did you participate in the Finish-Along for First Quarter?
I'm usually very driven and finish most, if not all of the goals I set out to do.
This time, not so much.

The projects that I did finish include the following:

Beach House Mini - this was a challenge for the Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild where I did my first matched binding. I love the result and will do this again on a future project.

(original post here)

Mug Rug - this was a swap that I joined that not only included a mug rug, but also a Starbucks "You are Here" mug, which I collect. This is the mug rug I made for my partner, in her three favorite colors, along with a New Orleans mug.

In this round, I got Phoenix mug - along with some great goodies! Yeah!

original post here

That's it! Well actually, I did 2 birthday club projects but I forgot to take pictures so I won't get credit for them.  One was a set of placemats and another was one of those cute hexagon quilts. I made a mini for a friend of mine, for her sewing room.

Stay tuned in Quarter 2 as I try to finish up Quarter 1, and the new goals for quarter 2!

Pattern Test: StarGazing

I tested this for Diane of fromblankpages and this pattern is the Cadillac version.

One, it is available in 6", 12" 18" and 24".  Yes, that 24" is a whopper and the size I tested. I wanted to also use this as a pillow cover, but am not sure if it will make the cut. I think my color choices were perhaps a bit off.

Enough about color and back to the pattern! All of the following is included with this pattern: links to paper piecing and color and design as well as cutting templates, coloring pages, design and color inspiration.

Let's talk about cutting templates.  I usually think they are a waste and I don't need them.
But you know that feeling, in the pit of your stomach, when you flip over a piece of fabric and it isn't quite (big, long, tall) enough - ugh!  hate that. Well, cutting templates eliminate that completely. Yes, you have some fabric waste, but that is better than having to rip out a seam with a 1.5 stitch length - you hear me?

Another advantage to her cutting templates is that she has exact instructions on how to orient the cutting templates with your fabric if directional.

What I am trying to say is that I appreciate that the cutting templates were included in this pattern. Not all pattern authors include that component.

If you want one, go check out her etsy store here!

Beach House Mini | Challenge

I belong to the Fort Worth Modern Quilt Guild and our challenge for February included mini-charm squares, generously provided by Moda {Thank you United Notions!}.

We had a lot of latitude, make a mini quilt which doesn't exceed 24 x 24.  Gah! It was so hard for me.  Why? Well, The squares were too small to do HST's,  every pattern I looked at was quite a bit larger than 24" square and my mind just wasn't in this.  I had these laid out in so many configurations - really I thought an idea would just come to me and presto - it would be awesome. It didn't happen that way.

My favorite part of the quilting is the yellow (variegated orange/yellow thread) through the red and orange.  In the first picture you can see it better, but I love how it blends and pops at the same time.

Working in Finance I utilize graphs and charts frequently so I attempted to make this into a chart, but it seems like a big fail to me.  When I look at it I see no creativity, especially compared to the awesomeness that a bunch of ladies in my guild showed up with.  Look at all these varieties!

yeah, mine is basic basic basic. How could sewing little squares together be so difficult?

Well, I had to turn this into a positive. When I showed it at our meeting, it wasn't bound yet (call me a slacker, I deserve it) so after the meeting I was determined to finish this and make a positive out of it.  Binding! My favorite part - I love binding (by hand) so, I challenged myself to match the binding to the design.  See? Bet you didn't notice it earlier or did you? The blue around the red and orange and the orange (my special stash of pezzy print) around the blue and green. What do you think of that?

The bottom is 1/8" off, but I'm ok with that. I really like this look of matched binding and I hope to use it in the future..