how it finished...

For the month of December, I made it my mission to clean up my UFO/WIP list.  Here is the final update, Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress; quilt finished!
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made; quilt top assembled, needs borders added
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies; have been working on it...still need lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete; 
16. Xplus - need more blocks; started December with 24 blocks, now up to 36,  I have decided I want at least 49 blocks for the quilt top
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted; quilt finished!
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

Over this past month I completely finished 4 quilts, finally got the HST BOM to flimsy stage, have Our Quilt close (originally started in June 2011) and made significant progress on Lucky Jam.  I also picked up my Hexie project and did a bit of hand stitching, and worked on blocks for my Xplus quilt.  I'm kind of hoping xplus is my first 2014 finish.  I consider this past month a huge success!  Now to keep the momentum up going forward!

2013 - In Review

And so begins the plethora of posts closing out 2013 and preparing for 2014...so today I'm sharing with you a revisit of my 2013 goals and how they finished plus all my finished quilts of 2013.  Up first...the 2013 finishes:

I'm so proud of these quilts!  I really branched out on some of these...and many would never have come about without some Instagram inspiration...You can check out my Finished Quilts tab at the top of the page to find links to each quilts blog post and all the details.

and now...looking back at my 2013 goals...where I ended up with them is in red.

1. Work on FMQ. I really would like to improve in this area (not that it will take much to improve!!!) I have definitely worked on this one after I learned more about FMQ (see this post) and I have successfully FMQd a couple of quilts.
2. Make Girl a Christmas Quilt (fabric is already picked out, pattern is already picked out, just need to do!) Finished on Christmas Eve!
3. Make a quilt for me (Sister's TEN BOM) Part of my BOM addiction...I have made a handful of blocks and that's about it
4. Finish Terrain Swoon (quilt top is made, need to make the backing and get this puppy quilted and finished!) another zero...
5. Make a quilt for Guy done!  see his quilt here
6. Attend Sew South Retreat (this should be easy!!! :) ) DONE DONE DONE! 
7. Make Christmas gift quilts for 2 of my nieces (I really want to get this done EARLY this year!!!) this didn't happen.  I gifted one handmade item for Christmas this year...
8. Move my sewing space upstairs (this was a goal in 2012, had to extend the goal, need more time to accomplish it!) DONE!!!  See post here
9. Make a bottled rainbow quilt (really looking forward to this!!!) completely lost interest in this one
10. Continue with the 15 minutes a day challenge! I'll call this one a success, I've done the best I can each week!

So I finished up 5 goals.  Not bad.  Some I pretty much lost interest in, so I consider 2013 a pretty successful year goal-wise.  Ideas are starting to form on what type of goals I would like to set for 2014...but I have another day or so to get that list going.  

I'll be back tomorrow to close out my December challenge...today I've got to get a run in, and then get ready for some football!!!  HOOK EM HORNS!!!

just a few days left...

Each Friday for the month of December I update the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress; quilt finished!
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks; 
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted; quilt finished!
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

Two more quilts finished!  And now a few days left of the year to see what else happens on this list!  Thankfully I'm off work until January 2nd...so plenty of time to dabble here or there with one or two more things.  And I will likely be adding another project to this list...but that's a different post.  Off to sew I go!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas!

I have another finish to share with you...put the final touches on this one last night...I call it Christmas in St. Louis after using this St. Louis 16 patch tutorial to make the blocks.

Front:

Back:

This may be absolute most favorite quilt so far.  I love the color combos, and I love how the backing worked out.  Plus I used a red pin dot for the binding that I adore!  Girl says she loves it too, which is great, since it was made for her!

And now...off to have some quiet time before Guy and Girl wake up.  Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Details:
Fabric - Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey, In from the Cold by Kate Spain, and some Joel Dewberry Heirloom, Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets and Bella Pistaschio; all backing fabrics and binding from Joann Fabrics
Pattern - St. Louis 16 patch
Thread - Piecing and quilting: Aurifil
Batting - Soft n' Crafty

Christmas Countdown...

Has been underway for awhile now...best title I could come up with for a blog post!  Posting late this evening after a marathon day of sewing, cleaning and baking all in preparation for the next few days.  I have so much still to do and I feel like I've got zero time left! (I have a few hours tomorrow...) Anyways...I wanted to share with all of you what had me up and stitching early this morning...my Countdown to Christmas quilt is finished (quilt top originally finished September/October 2012)!

Front:

Back:

(which you can hardly see much of anything in that pic...the fabric is a bunch of peppermints, but it does have a label!)

and now off catch some z's before a really busy day tomorrow (we have some family headed our way for the day tomorrow)...

Details: Pattern - Disappearing Nine Patch
Fabric: Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater,  black and green border are from Share the Joy by Deb Strain, cream border is from Christmas Spirit by Holly Taylor, backing is a print from Joann Fabrics
Thread: Piecing - probably Mettler, quilting - Isacord and Aurifil
Batting: Soft n' Crafty

the skull

Since I first started working on this particular quilt back in May of this year, it's been referred to as "the skull."  That's it...no fancy name, nothing but "the skull."  So that's what I ended up naming it...and now, it's finished!

Front:

Back:

I added a label and now it's off to it's new home!

Details:
Pattern: Free Pattern from Free Spirit Fabrics by David Butler
Fabric: all from Joanns (I know one print was from a Denyse Schmidt line, but that's about all I could tell you)
Thread: piecing - no idea; quilting - FMQ: Isacord, other: Aurifil
Batting: Soft n'Crafty (I purchased a roll of this from Joanns, and man oh man...I really like it!  It has washed up very well! and quilting with it is no problem, a slightly thinner version of warm n white).

the challenge continues!

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks; 
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

I feel like I've made so much progress since I last posted about this challenge!  My UFO list is now down to only 16, having finished 2 quilts, and will soon be down even more when I get the other two quilts that are basted (and one 1/2 way quilted already) finished!  I want to get some more Xplus blocks done, so maybe I'll work on that in between quilting.  Or finally get my other machine set up.  But I still have one Christmas present to work on...so we'll see what all actually gets done!!

Simply Finished

Woohoo!  A quilt finish to share!  My Simply Herrinbone quilt is 100% done!  (Including making it's way through the washer and dryer)!  I used this fabulous tutorial by Maureen Cracknell, and the top came together pretty quickly! 

Front:

Back:

and now it will be off to it's new home (as soon as I finish something else up that's supposed to go to the same place!)!

Details:
Pattern - Herringbone by Maureen Cracknell
Fabric - most of the fabric is Simply Color by V&Co, with a few cuts of Art Gallery Fabrics Squared Elements, a Pearl Bracelet or two and a bit of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie&Camille, plus one single solitary Denyse Schmidt print from JoAnns.  Backing also from JoAnns.
Thread - piecing and quilting: Aurifil
Batting - leftovers from my batting stash (mostly Warm and White, maybe some Pellon)

My weekend sewing…

Still have a bit of sewing planned for today…but wanted to share a little bit of what I've been up to the past few days…

finally got the skull quilted…now to figure out how to quilt the background (and somewhere in the middle of all of it I completely finished off a spool of Isacord)

and then I got to working on a few other things…getting blocks 8 and 9 finished for my Lucky Jam quilt, finally adding the border to my HST quilt, and then getting some binding pieced together for Simply Herringbone (hope to really finish that one off today!)

for now, it's time to enjoy a little football and time with the family!

Challenge update

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any changes to the status of an item on this list are in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete

No where near the progress I'd like to have made but quilting the skull is taking me a bit longer than I thought.  No worries...I have all weekend to get some stuff done.  May set up my other machine so that I have one set for piecing and the other for quilting.  Funny enough I'm kinda itching to start something new!

a little more FMQ with a side of Craftsy...

Way back in August I shared a little bit of my journey to learning how to free motion quilt...well this weekend I dipped into another Craftsy class to expand my "knowledge" of FMQ designs...this time it was Leah Day's Free Motion Fillers Vol. 1. 

The class includes a great overview of some FMQ basics, and then jumps into the 50 different FMQ designs.  This class moves at a bit faster pace through each design that the first Leah Day class I took, and thankfully I'm not having any issues keeping up.  I am only through about 10 of the designs, and I decided on one of them for The Skull quilt:

Hope to have the quilting finished on this quilt by this time next week (it's a gift for someone, so I need to get it out the door).

On a different note, I did get my Simply Herringbone quilt finished:

and I decided to add a label:

and now it just needs some binding!

Challenge status...

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here.  Any changes to the status of an item on this list are in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress

I'm pretty happy with some of the progress so far.  I have not sewn at all since Sunday...so it's pretty darn good progress for just working over the past weekend.  I've decided that Simply Herringbone and the Skull are going to be Christmas gifts, so I really need to get those done so they can be sent off in time.  I've also been playing around with the idea of actually labeling my quilts.  I have made and either kept or gifted 32 quilts since I started quilting.  Not a single one of them have labels.  I'm ok with that, I feel zero urge to track any of them down and stick labels on them.  But lately I've been thinking it would be nice to "leave my mark" so to speak.  We'll see...the biggest thing I've been trying to figure out is HOW I want to label them.  I need to make a decision because part of the reason Simply Herringbone ISN'T finished is that I stopped quilting to decide if I was going to add a label (so that they label would be quilted over a bit and really attached to the quilt).  Decisions decisions...

keeping busy...

Wow…I've been a busy little sewing bee this weekend!  Something about having goals and challenges just gets my motivation up and running!  So let's see what I have done since my last post…(all pics via Instagram, you can follow me over there @lesleyworth)…

I did a teensy bit of shopping…fabric and running pants (odd combo?)…

minus the gray print and the black and white polka dots…all of the above fabrics were purchased for quilt backs…

so then I got to stitching and finished up my simply herringbone quilt top:

I'm going to be 100% honest here…there is something about Quilt-as-you-go that doesn't sit well with me…I think it's because of the stretch that can happen and make pieces a bit wonky…this top does not lay very smoothly…so we'll see how the finishing goes…(not to mention the mess it makes of my machine)

and then I pieced 4 quilt backs…(not pictured…it was…well…kinda boring)

and in the middle of all of this I decided to make us new Christmas stockings:

and then I basted the herringbone quilt and this one

and then I took all the leftover bits from the St. Louis 16-patch and stitched them all together and now I have this:

and I have no idea what to do with it…might become a table runner…might just sit there!

and now it's time to do a little bit of quilting...

Challenging myself...

Earlier this year I created a tab to track my UFO/WIPs.  I'd like to roll in to 2014 with as many things cleared off my plate as possible, so my challenge to me for the last few weeks of 2013…clean up this list! As of today…here is what is remaining on the list and where it is in the process:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border and then quilted
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - nemeds backing, quilting, and binding
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 
16. Xplus - need more blocks
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble

I really really want to see quite a few those flimsy's finally get quilted…some have been waiting for over a year for it to happen!  I'll let you know how it goes!

Simply Herringbone

After getting my St. Louis 16-patch flimsy done yesterday, I got busy using this fantastic tutorial by Maureen Cracknell and this Jelly Roll:

and some other cuts pulled from my stash (some FQs of Simply Style, some Pearl Bracelets, a DS Quilts print from Joanns, some Art Gallery Fabrics squared elements, and one or two bits from Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie & Camille)...I now have two panels done and sewn together of my next quilt that I'm calling Simply Herringbone

It's a quilt-as-you-go project and the batting I'm using came from left over pieces from previous quilts...so that makes 2 quilts I have worked on since Friday that come completely from my stash...as a matter of fact...not sure I've actually bought fabric specifically for a quilt in a long while...

Don't tell my husband though...I'd hate for him to realize just how many quilts I could probably make from my stash alone!!

And now back to work...lunch break is over!

Sewing inspired...

Reviewing my 2013 goals really kick started me to get one of them finish.  Girl's Christmas quilt.  I have been planning it since last fall sometime…I knew I wanted to use Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas…but only had 12 fat quarters…my LQS had some of the yardage so I had picked up a cut or two…but most of those ended up being used in other things…

Inspiration struck in the form of the St. Louis 16 patch, and I happened to have some Kate Spain, In from the Cold…and the two lines worked together with a few other fabrics being pulled from my stash…some Bella Pistachio and Pearl Bracelets in a really light grey, a little Joel Dewberry heirloom…and a fat quarter that I'm not entirely sure what it is or where it came from…

These blocks go together so fast!  So before too long…I had a lovely stack of blocks, and now I have this:

A finished flimsy!  I ended up making mine 5x5, so I made 3 "scrappy" 16-patches to bring me to the correct number of blocks.  Girls says she loves it.  I love it…there may be some fighting over this one…once I finish it of course!

Revisiting goals...

So on January 1st of this year, I published a list of goals I would like to accomplish in 2013.   I thought I should consider revisiting them to see if I've made progress or if they changed or if I blew them all off!

1. Work on FMQ. I really would like to improve in this area (not that it will take much to improve!!!) I have definitely worked on this one after I learned more about FMQ (see this post) and I have successfully FMQd a couple of quilts.
2. Make Girl a Christmas Quilt (fabric is already picked out, pattern is already picked out, just need to do!) Yeah...nothing going here...but a new idea is brewing
3. Make a quilt for me (Sister's TEN BOM) Part of my BOM addiction...I have made a handful of blocks and that's about it
4. Finish Terrain Swoon (quilt top is made, need to make the backing and get this puppy quilted and finished!) another zero...
5. Make a quilt for Guy done!  see his quilt here
6. Attend Sew South Retreat (this should be easy!!! :) ) DONE DONE DONE!  Unfortunately not to be repeated in 2014...next year is way to crazy to plan for anything along those lines...maybe next fall...
7. Make Christmas gift quilts for 2 of my nieces (I really want to get this done EARLY this year!!!) ummm...haven't done anything with this, not sure if I will or not...this might still happen
8. Move my sewing space upstairs (this was a goal in 2012, had to extend the goal, need more time to accomplish it!) DONE!!!  See post here, back when it was clean and orderly...not the disaster area it is today!
9. Make a bottled rainbow quilt (really looking forward to this!!!) completely lost interest in this one
10. Continue with the 15 minutes a day challenge! I'll call this one a success, I've done the best I can each week!

So...by my calculations, that makes 5 of 10 goals complete, 1 goal sort of started, 1 goal completely off my radar, and 2-3 goals that might still see action before the end of the year.  Not bad!  I don't make these goals to determine if my sewing year is a success or failure...I make them because it may be helpful to see where I want to go, to give myself a bit of a starting point when the year is fresh and open for all kinds of things.  Not accomplishing some of these is merely a reflection of how things change over the course of a year.

With just over 5 weeks left in the year...who knows if something else on this list is completed.  I'll revisit the list at the close of 2013, see if any of these have sparked some motivation or drive for the rest of my 2013 sewing.

Pardon the interruption...

(Blogging via phone so if it doesn't look right...that's the reason)

Taking a bit of a blog break.  I have done a bit of sewing, but had a bout with some kind of unpleasant bug and for the past few days have been at a family members while they had surgery (nothing crazy, but it was necessary I come visit while it was going on).  Thankfully all appears to be on the mend and I will be making my way home later today.  I'm ready to get home to Guy, Girl and my fur babies.

Once I get caught up with regular life, I'll be back to chat about what I've been up to stitch-wise.

Later!

Pretty Little Finishes

A pair of finishes for you today.  Both are baby quilts for one little baby soon to make her appearance!  First up:

back:

Details:
Fabric - Noteworthy and Sunkissed by Sweetwater, Athill Range and Northcote Range by Cabbages and Roses; backing Tea Dots by Michael Miller Fabrics
Pattern - Vintage Baby by Amy Hamberlin
Thread - piecing: Aurifil; quilting: Isacord

Then at the last minute (the afternoon before the shower) I decided to make another one…this one was incredibly simple…2 pieces of fabric, throw in some batting and get it quilted together!

and then I decided to add her name to the front just to add something else to it:

and I'm seriously in love with the backing fabric! (it's just black with silver dots, and I want more!!)

Details:
Fabric - Hello Kitty and backing both purchased from Joanns
Thread - Aurifil
Extra - Wonder Under by Pellon

Both quilts were delivered to the shower yesterday, which I unfortunately had to miss as I fell ill a few hours before.  I will see them again, and I know they will be well used…which is the best I can ask for of any quilt!!

15 minute challenge...where I pretend to sew

Another week to check in with Kate and the 15 minute challenge...another week I post a day late...oh well, it's one of my quirks! Anywho...not a lot of sewing was accomplished this past week...as in...

Tuesday: none
Wednesday: none
Thursday: zip pouch
Friday: none
Saturday: none
Sunday: none
Monday: none

only 1 of 7!  However, I do have an excuse...I was busy running, and out of town for most of the week.  I can say I already have started this week out right...but probably only because I'm on a deadline.  (more on that later...never know who might be watching my blog!). 

I've been a bit scattered lately...not sure what or where to head next with my sewing.  I want to get a quilt finished that will actually fit on my bed!  And I have one waiting to be quilted that would work (my Terrain Swoon) and another in pieces (Our Quilt) that would fit also.  But I also want to start something new...just not sure what.  And, in a spell of good news...I have a wedding quilt to get to work on...I'm very excited about that, but nervous also.  The bride has given me an idea of colors...and I can almost picture what I want in my mind...but it's fleeting...maybe I need a mood board for each quilt I want to make...to help me focus my ideas.  I'll have to look into that.

Oh well...off to work I go...

Bestest run EVAH!!!

Real quick like...To all that have served and continue to serve, Happy Veterans Day! 

WOW!  I had such a blast over this past weekend!  If you've followed along for a little while now, you'll know that earlier this year Guy and I started running, and it quickly moved on to doing races and in September, we ran a half-marathon (recap here).  Well, since we didn't want to lose all that we had been building towards, we decided to add another race to the schedule.  And this past Saturday, Nov. 9th, he and I ran the Rock'n'Roll Savannah 1/2 marathon relay!  And it was the best run I've ever had!!!  (We both set new 10k PRs!!!). 

Savannah isn't a bad drive at all for us, so we got there Friday around 5 and hit up the expo to check in for the race.  We didn't stick around too long, and went off to meet up with our friends that were running the 1/2.  We got set up the night before and were quickly off to sleep since we had a 3:15 am wakeup!

It was so cold Saturday morning!  We were up so early so we could get our group to our designated parking area before the roads were closed.  So we were sitting around for a long while (thankfully in the car where we were warm!).  We finally headed to the starting area about 5:45...Guy and I were bundled up and having fun!

And then it was almost time to start the race, so I left Guy once his corral started moving along (does he not look a little bit creepy in this pic???):

and headed to the relay transition area:

where I patiently waited with a lot of other folks.  It was fun watching the elite runners come through and cheering them on!  Guy was moving pretty fast (for us!) and was at the transition at a great time and I passed off my long sleeves to him and got to running!  The weather was gorgeous (bit of a breeze, sunnyk, and in the 50's/60's when I started running ) and the crowd support was phenomenal!!  I tell you...the people of Savannah know how to host a race!  The course was amazing, relatively flat, and fast fast fast!  Not to mention beautiful scenery!  The miles just flew past, and I looked at my GPS watch a couple of times and was shocked at how far I had already come!  I was at the finish almost before I could realize it! 

and then we crashed for a couple of hours!  It was a great trip!  Guy and I are already planning on running the 1/2 next year instead of the relay.  And we are already planning out a few more races for between now and our next 1/2 scheduled in March. 

Happy Monday! 

15 minute challenge...call me bag lady

Wow...this week is going slightly faster than I thought!  I'm a day late posting for the 15 minute challenge...oh well, better late than never!

Tuesday: none
Wednesday: none
Thursday: none
Friday: 241 tote
Saturday: fleece blanket, 241 tote
Sunday: Cargo duffle
Monday: none

So only 3 days of 7 the past week, but man oh man...those 3 days were pretty awesome!  I spent the majority of time working on bags!  One for Girl, one for Guy.  Both bags are patterns by Anna Griffin of Noodlehead and both bags I would seriously make again in a heartbeat!  Her patterns are pretty awesome.  I also whipped together a fleece blanket for Girl as she has been asking for one...it took me 20 minutes...and now I really need to clean my machine!

I have no true rhyme or reason to my sewing right now...I think more than anything it's just the sheer desire to create...I think it's time to pull another quilt out of the UFO pile and get it finished...and then maybe start a new one.  I am also thinking about making bags for all of my nieces this year for Christmas.  I think the 241 tote is perfect for them...and I may get started on that soon.  This week will not be a big sewing week as I have some outside plans that will be taking up the majority of my time (more on those later).

Hope your week is sew-rific!

When quilts grow up...

I have a long list of unfinished quilts.  Some are at the flimsy stage...some are in pieces...some have a single block complete with no idea where I'm going after that.  I'm very proud to have such a list...I enjoy sewing for the act of creating something...it keeps me sane.

Some of these quilts are made just to make them.  My Starburst quilt is one such project.  The quilt-a-long looked neat and I wanted to try it out and I had plenty of fabric...so I made a quilt top.  I even purchased a few yards of fabric for the potential backing...but it was just going to sit there for some time as I hadNO IDEA what the quilt was for...who it might go to...or if it would join the pile of sofa quilts that I, Guy and Girl rotate through.  But, last night I decided...this particular quilt is going to go off and do something really awesome.

My red, white and blue Starburst quilt is going to grow up and become a Quilt of Valor.  An instagram friend was looking for some donation blocks as their local chapter, Operation Sew Thankful, has been invited to present quilts on November 11 - Veteran's Day.  Well…I had planned on making some blocks and sending them on to her.  And the more I thought about it…the more I thought…why not see if they want your quilt top.  Many of you may not know that I come from a long line of Military Veterans.  Both my husband and I served in the US Navy (10 years for me!), both of my parents were US Air Force, my grandfather on my mom's side was Navy, my grandfather on my dad's side was Royal Canadian Air Force, my aunt was Army Reserve, my brother-in-law also Navy.  I'm very proud to be part of such a long family history of military service.  And now I'm over the moon to be able to give in some small way to other veterans.

I am nervous as heck that my flimsy will arrive and they not be able to use it for some reason.  I read up on the requirements on the website, and mine looks to fall within the rules.  As always…we are our own worst critics and I see some flaws…but in the end…it doesn't matter.  This quilt has grown up and is about to head off to do something really and truly great.

Super love for a Supertote!

Had a great weekend spending plenty of time sewing (Saturday was a bit of a bust, but there was fabric shopping done that day...so it's all good in my book).  Sunday was the big sew day...I finally got to work on a Supertote (pattern by Noodlehead).  It took me a grand total of 8 hours to get this puppy put together!  The first 3 hours were spent on cutting and fusing interfacing...that always seems to take forever, but once I got past that...it was pretty clear sailing.  The pattern is so clearly written and easy to follow.  I had a problem with one part...and that's all me, not the pattern itself.  I don't know what it is with me and zippers...but every time I use a pattern that calls for a zipper...I have to read the instructions 20 times.  The first time I read the steps for this one...I could not understand it...and then I read it 5 more times...still didn't get it.  I had to take a break and then come back and read it to finally understand what it was saying...I think it's mental...I see "zipper" and my brain shuts down. 

Anyways...like I said the pattern was really easy to follow, and I am thrilled with how this bag came out! (all pics from instagram because I've gotten lazy and haven't been getting out my real camera lately to capture some good pictures)

"Front" side (the pink panel is a pocket, I made it fully lined and am so thrilled with how the piping looks!)

Back side

Sort of picture of the fully finished tote (love the recessed zipper!):

Inside

This particular bag is not for me...I'm making this to serve as a diaper bag for my friend (that I've been working on the other baby stuff for).  But I already have (at least in my head) planned a couple more of these!  Now that I know how it all goes together, I can definitely see it taking less than 8 hours per bag, and I will add the magnetic snap that is listed as an option in the pattern.  I didn't add it this time because I just didn't want to take the time to do so.  I know they don't take long...but at hour 5-6...I just didn't feel like it!  LOL!

And now I'm off to work on a different bag...Girl would like a new one, so I'm going to try out the 241 tote (pattern also by Noodlehead).

Details:
Supertote pattern by Anna Graham
Fabric: Kona Cotton in Bright Pink and Med. Grey, the rest are prints picked up from Hancock Fabrics and a black denim also from Hancock
Thread: Coats and Clark universal (worked great, a bit linty, but my machine didn't balk at all!)
Interfacing: Pellon 808 (I used what the pattern recommended)

15 minute challenge...

Let's get down to it...my weekly results for the 15 minute challenge...

Tuesday: none
Wednesday: none
Thursday: baby stuff
Friday: none
Saturday: baby stuff
Sunday: Supertote
Monday: none

Only 3 of 7 days.  Not exactly what I was hoping for, but some of it was pure laziness on my part!  And after the marathon of Super-tote-ness on Sunday...I was a little in need of a break yesterday.  (speaking of which...my Supertote post will come along here later today!  have it all written, just gotta add pics!).

I'm definitely feeling the urge to be sewing right now instead of at work...so that's a good sign.  I've started thinking about Christmas presents I'd like to make...and a family member recently got engaged, so perhaps a quilt as a wedding gift...and I still have some more baby stuff I want to get done...so lots of plans...so little time...best get busy!!

because it's so cute

to work on baby stuff!  Last night I polished up my plain onesie and made it into a Ruffle butt onesie!...using this tutorial.

I'm just hoping that the thing holds together for at least one wash so that the baby that will be coming along before the end of the year actually gets to wear it!  (Just once is all I'm asking for...if it lasts beyond that...AWESOME!).

I now have 3 onesies (size 0-3 months) complete.  I have a stack of burp cloths to work on, some more onesies in a slightly larger size, a couple hats and a little pink outfit to polish up.  And since I've been doing these, I've found only like 100 more things I want to do...so I better get on it!

15 minute challenge...

Happy Tuesday!  I'm feeling so great right now having gotten back in my sewing space over the past week!  I wasn't 7 for 7...but let's see how it all worked out in the 15 minute challenge this week:

Tuesday: none
Wednesday: none
Thursday: the slab, Starburst
Friday: Starburst
Saturday: Starburst, applique
Sunday: appliqued baby stuff
Monday: none

So...4 of 7...not bad at all!  Plus I started working on a new skill...and learned a tiny bit about applique.  So far I'm enjoying it, but I want to learn more! 

Taking a bit of time off (even though it wasn't by choice) was both a blessing and a curse.  It was great because I felt invigorated...I was ready to conquer the world and get all kinds of stuff done...at the same time it was terrible because just starting on anything was a bit overwhelming.  All I could see was piles of UFOs staring at me (not really, many were packaged up and out of the way).  So I faced them...pulled out several and decided on one to finish up.  So my Starburst quilt top got finished.  Of course who knows when it will get quilted and bound and officially finished...but it's not sitting in pieces any more...so moral victory!!!

A weekend's work

I have so enjoyed some quality time in my sewing room this weekend!  It started Thursday night and hasn't really stopped since (I have taken breaks to spend time with the family, do a little eating, a little shopping...a little running).  And as of this afternoon...here is what I have gotten done (since my last post of course):

Finished Starburst quilt top (which for some reason blew my mind when I realized how large it was...not that making 32" blocks would have been a clue or anything):

Tried appliqué for the first time and made this crazy skittles-looking pillow for Girl (this was my test piece):

and then took those skills and tried them out on some baby gear:

(Is it odd that I have a thing for pink elephants...I love pink elephants!)

A good friend of mine is expecting a baby girl before the end of the year...and for whatever reason I got it in my head that I should appliqué some onesies for her...hence the need to learn how to do some form of appliqué...I used this tutorial.

In my search for onesie ideas...I came across a ton of flipping adorable outfits...so I picked up some bibs (ridiculous how difficult it was to find plain white bibs) to play with too!  I'm excited, and hope it all comes out cute...or I'm going to have to figure something else out for my friends gift!

Later!

Late night stitching...

So here is what I did last night (all pics via instagram @lesleyworth)

Pulled out some scraps to try out the slab "method" for perhaps a new quilt (Missing U from Sunday Morning Quilts)

got one block done

then went digging through my bins and stuff and pulled out a UFO I haven't seen/touched since February

and got to work trimming the last 32 HSTs (which is why this project was a UFO...I hate trimming HSTs!)

and laid out 1 of the last 2 blocks

and now I'm off to get it pieced together!  Hope to be back with a finished quilt top later today!

Excuses.

As in...I'm all out of them!  I got my computer back on Friday (and let's just say I'm not yet convinced it's 100% healthy again)...got new phones on Friday...got a new soundbar on Saturday...so we have the electronics all straightened out...but not necessarily me and the sewing yet.

I had great intentions of sewing over the weekend...didn't happen for any number of reasons...big thing is...it didn't happen. 

I'm starting to get the itch and think about sewing non-stop...so I really just need to sit down at my machine and get going!

So I'm back on the 15 minutes a day bandwagon starting today.  I WILL make time to sew.  Even for only that short period of time if that's all the time I've got.  My creative side needs to be fed!

Kryptonite

It appears I have acquired magical powers capable of destroying electronic equipment just by coming in contact with said equipment.  My iMac is deader than dead.  The crash and subsequent wipe of the hard drive I reported in my last post did not last longer than a week.  And the good folks of Apple were very helpful on the phone in letting me know that there was no hope.  The hard drive is a goner.  Thankfully it is covered under warranty and I won't have to pay for a new one.  Unfortunately it's now in the shop and won't be home for close to a week if not longer.  And that's what I managed to mess up on Friday night.  I won't discuss the cell phone issue that occurred on Friday afternoon other than to say I did not manage to break a cell phone, just couldn't get mine replaced, for now...I hope.

Sunday afternoon, my electronic kryptonite like powers returned and the sound bar for our TV went poof completely unexpectedly.  The helpful people of Vizio let us know that it was a goner...however this one is no longer under warranty...so we'll get around to replacing it when we get around to replacing it.

In the meantime I have done zero sewing.  My mojo has fled.  And I'm also a tiny bit scared that if I turn on a machine it too will go POOF! 

I gotta get this turned around!  Perhaps I'll try working on some x plus tonight...or maybe I'll just mope a bit longer...I'm actually kindasorta hoping that the longer I keep typing the sooner my work computer will go bye-bye.  One can hope!

Why hello there...

It's been a few days.  Life has been a bit busy the past two weeks...and unfortunately that has led to almost no sewing time (I did work on a few xplus blocks the other day though).  And then...my computer crashed...hard.  So now I'm without any pictures or anything until I figure out at what point in my time machine to go and recovery data from.  C'est la Vie!

Hope to be back up and sewing soon!

Good intentions...

On my quiet sewing day, I have a finish to share with you...this particular quilt was started with the best of intentions back in the spring.  It has not ended up where it was first intended to go...so it will stay here at home with me to remind me to always set out with good intentions...even if it doesn't always end as originally intended...

the backing fabric was just a print I picked up from Hancock fabrics:

Details:
Fabric - Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie&Camille
Pattern - Lawn Chair Quilts by Monica Solario-Snow
Thread - piecing: Mettler, quilting: Isacord
Batting - Pellon

a quiet day

I had other, really awesome plans for today.  But I woke up this morning with my sinuses all funky and not feeling the urge to drive 2 hours with a sinus headache.  So I'm gonna medicine-up and spend a quiet day in my sewing room.

and since I love lists...here is my quiet day list:

1. Bind Lawn Chair
2. Work on Lucky Jam
3. Work on X-plus
4. Baste Baby A's quilt

I'll check back later today to let you know how it goes!

15 minute challenge...

ooops!  I'm a day late in checking in with the 15 minute challenge.  But what can you expect from someone who woke up yesterday morning convinced it was Friday?  (it was not fun to realize it was definitely Tuesday!).  We are knee deep in what should, hopefully, be the last major event at work for the year, and I'm just ready for it to be over!  Anyways, here are my stats:

Tuesday: X plus
Wednesday: X plus
Thursday: none
Friday: X plus
Saturday: X plus and Lawn Chair
Sunday: Lawn Chair
Monday: none

Another 5 of 7 week!  I'm very excited about my trend lately towards actually finishing up projects.  Lawn Chair was pieced way back in April, basted in August, and finally quilted in September (perhaps it will be bound by December?).  It will be my 3rd finish of the month!  I have FMQd this one and the last one I finished and I'm really enjoying how that is going.  The time I spent learning more about what FMQ was, and how to do it has really paid off (you can check out this post to see more about my path with FMQ).  However, I don't think that this is a skill that can just be left to sit and will need practice or the skills will be lost.  I also haven't made it all the way through one of the classes, so there is still tons to learn.  I will say that one of my goals for this year was to improve upon my FMQ skills, and I can consider that goal met!

Bring me a dozen!

X Plus blocks that is!  These blocks are a lot of fun to make, even though there is a ton of pressing involved, just to see the fabrics come together!  I'm up to 12 blocks:

(not the greatest pic...poor lighting this time of night!) As more fabrics get mixed in, I really can't wait to see how they all work out!  I had considered adding a few more fabrics, but then I would be tempted to buy fabric just to add to this quilt...so I'm sticking with what I've got...and so far...love it!

15 minute challenge...back in the game!

After taking the summer off and stepping away from the regularly scheduled sewing, I am so happy to say that this past week put me back in the thick of it!  How I have missed making time regularly for myself at the sewing table!  So here we go with this week's 15 minute challenge with Kate!

Tuesday: Zig Zag
Wednesday: Zig Zag
Thursday: none
Friday: RWB
Saturday: RWB, xplus
Sunday: RWB, xplus
Monday: none

5 of 7!  Feeling good!  This month's fostering creativity theme is "learn something new every day."  Wow.  That's a tough one.  I'm by profession, a teacher.  This is what I tell my students regularly (of course they are all over the age of 18, and mostly male, so they rarely listen...and one of my current students happens to be my husband...so we are really working on the listening!).  There are times around my department (training) where it is often a running joke that we learned something new that day.  Truth is...we really do.  We learn from out students, from each other, from our children...etc.  Now, how does this apply to fostering creativity...well, not sure that it is so easy to apply to ones creative piece.  Some days I'm sewing the same block over and over...doesn't feel like I'm increasing my knowledge...but at the same time...those seams are getting straighter and more accurate the more I go.  So instead of "learn" something new every day...it may be in the "practice" something every day.  Stuff for me to think about. 

Hope you have had a great stitching week!

What I did over the weekend

Here was the list I had for myself:

1. Work on Lucky Jam quilt blocks
2. Quilt RWB (it's been basted and waiting for several weeks now)
3. Quilt Lawn Chair (same as above)
4. Start a new quilt (fabric picked and I think the pattern is picked, but that may change)

Well, I finished item #2, and started on item #4.  The RWB finish is posted here.  Now let's talk about item #4.

I've been wanting to make an x plus quilt for a long while.  But it's something that's really just stayed in the back of my mind, zero effort made towards actually working on one.  Until Friday night when I completely tossed my plan out the window for my Nordika fabric, pulled out all my Art Gallery fabrics (I have a bit of Carnaby Street and some Squared Elements) and a generous piece of Kona Ash from my stash and got to cutting.  I used this tutorial, and once I got going, I'm even more excited to see how it ends up!

Here are my first four blocks:

And now, I'll add this to the list of WIPs...and pretty much stick to it for a little bit.  I'm in love!