A memorable finish

Well, got one thing officially crossed off my list this weekend.  I quilted and bound the RWB quilt!

This quilt is a memory quilt for Guy's cousin.  She had saved many of her mother's shirts and sent them to me almost 2 years ago to make them into a quilt for her.  This quilt was very difficult for me to work on, as her mother is missed by all of us.  Today I finally got it finished and I'm very excited to get it sent off to Guy's cousin.

Front:

Back:

Quilting:

I used a pattern out of Natalia Bonner's book Beginner's Guide to Free Motion Quilting.  I marked each row with chalk to get the curve roughly the same (I did finish up the last few rows without marking as I felt I had a good handle on it) and FMQd with Isacord (once again, love this stuff!).

Details:
Fabric: all solids and blue polka dot from my stash
Batting: Pellon
Thread: Piecing and binding - Mettler Metrosene; quilting - Isacord

Shake n' Bake 2...finished!

Here it is:

please excuse the socks scattered about.  apparently the living room floor is where Girl thinks they belong.

I started Shake n' Bake 2 back in my holiday marathon sewing leading up to this past Christmas.  It was originally started as a "spare" gift, just in case I was leaving someone off the list.  Well, it ended up I was not leaving anyone out, so SnB2 quickly was reassigned to Guy.  I originally finished the quilt top the first week of January and picked up the backing fabric.  However, Guy asked for borders to be put on the quilt (he wants a big quilt to cover him, he's much taller than me, and most stuff I make is "my size".  So back into the pile it went.  And then I had my machine problems.  So it sat, borderless, for quite awhile.

When I first brought Sylvia home, one of the first things that was sewn on her was the borders for this quilt.  But then it went back in the pile.

And then last weekend came along.  Which happened to fall just before Guy's birthday.  So Girl asked...Mom, can you finish Dad's quilt before Monday?  and we were off!  I did some very simple quilting, a horrid binding job, and got it washed and dried, all in time for the birthday!  Guy is happy with it!  Woohoo!

Details:
Fabric:  Kona Steel (backing, binding); charms - a little of EVERYTHING!
Pattern:  My standard, cut a bunch of 5" charms, throw 'em in a bag, pull 'em out, sew 'em together
Thread: Piecing - Gutterman/Mettler; Quilting - Aurifil, 50 wt (LOVELOVELOVELOVE!)
Batting: Warm and White

just keep stitching...

I'm all out of catchy blog post titles, not that I have too many that are that catchy...anyways...here is what I've been up to this weekend!

I pieced together the Layers of Good Fortune quilt top:

and the Shake n' Bake 2 quilt top:

and today I started getting all the pieces together to finish the HST BOM quilt top:

It's almost time to get back to doing some quilting!

And another set of finishes...

These two quilts were delivered today, and well received I might add!

First up - Shake n' Bake (so named because I cut the charms, threw them in a bag, and shook them up.  I then pulled them out and pieced them however they ended up getting pulled out of the bag.)

Details:
Fabric - Kona Steel (backing and binding); charms - Aviary II by Joel Dewberry, Curious Nature by Parson Gray, Seasonal Little Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings, assorted KONA solids
Pattern - ummm...yeah
Thread - Piecing: Gutterman, Quilting: Mettler Metrosene
Batting - Warm and Natural

Next - California Girl (originally started over here)

Details:
Fabric - California Girl by Fig Tree (all of the quilt including the binding)
Pattern - Jelly Roll Race
Thread - Piecing and Quilting: Gutterman
Batting - Warm and White

the thread was flying!

I posted on Saturday this lovely list of quilts I am hoping to gift this year...the update after a weekend sewing bonanza is in red (black is the status as of Saturday morning when the post was originally written; pics via instagram (lesleyworth).

1. Rainbow scrap quilt - DONE
2. Rainbow strings quilt - need to add borders to the remaining 3 sides, quilt top done, backing made, basted

3. California girl - quilted, needs to be bound
4. B's quilt - fabric is cut and piecing has started, quilt top done, backing made, basted

5. G's quilt - nothing (I think I know what pattern i'm going to use, need to select fabric) fabric selected, piecing in progress

6. J's quilt - nothing (but I may have a plan for this one that will make life a little easier), dug out the 3 Strawberry Swoon blocks (last heard from in November 2011), made the 4th block, finished quilt top

7. N's quilt - newly added to the list, Girl was worried I was leaving someone out, so we'll see if this one gets done!  fabric selected and cut, piecing in progress

and my deadline is still 12/18!  and I'm thinking B's quilt may become N's quilt...and N's quilt become B's quilt.  I'm also thinking that I will need to name them soon to make it a lot easier to kepe track of!   I may have lost my mind...but man oh man...did I have fun this weekend!  I'm just hoping I can keep myself motivated and the energy high until they are all done!  One thing that made all of this easier was I stuck to ONE thread color.  Usually I switch thread colors every quilt (to whatever blends in best).  Nope...I've had the same neutral loaded in my machine all weekend, and until it's time to quilt something...it will stay the same neutral!   This made it possible to chain piece like there was no tomorrow...and I was able to work on multiple quilts at the same time!

 and that's it for now!  See ya tomorrow!

deadlines...

are approaching!  Do to some last minute travel plans decided on this week...my deadline to have any Christmas presents I am making has moved up a bit.  Well...some have moved up...some have moved out.  But now it all must be done the same date.  Because I won't have any time past that date!  So to recap...here are all the quilts I was hoping to gift this year and their current status:

1. Rainbow scrap quilt - DONE
2. Rainbow strings quilt - need to add borders to the remaining 3 sides
3. California girl - quilted, needs to be bound
4. B's quilt - fabric is cut and piecing has started
5. G's quilt - nothing (I think I know what pattern i'm going to use, need to select fabric)
6. J's quilt - nothing (but I may have a plan for this one that will make life a little easier)

and my deadline is 12/18!  Thankfully that means I have this weekend AND next weekend before the deadline.  Hopefully I'll get it all done.  I really really don't want to gift late...but it'll be ok if I do...I just really don't want to!  

and now some pictures (instagram) of the progress on B's quilt!

I'm thinking of calling this quilt "Shake n'Bake" because of the process I'm using to get it done.  I'll ponder on that a bit and see where we end up!

FNSI...the results!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!  I only got a little bit of sewing done on Friday as part of Friday Night Sew In...we had a big day ahead on Saturday so I couldn't stay up as late as I normally would have tried!  Anyways...here is what I was able to get accomplished:

1: purchased fabric earlier in the day to go with my Christmas quilt:

the black and green are from Share the Joy by Deb Strain, the cream is from Christmas Spirit by Holly Taylor.

2: pieced together my disappearing 9-patch blocks for my Christmas quilt (which I am now thinking I might want to make a few more 9-patches to increase the overall size...I don't want it to be ALL borders!):

The fabric is Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater, and I have a couple of fat quarters from this line that I may go ahead and cut into charms and piece a few more blocks.

3: cut all the fabric and did a tiny bit of piecing (1/2 the red blocks) for the September block in the FQS 2012 Mystery BOM. (the rest of the sewing on this block is what I did on Saturday night).

and that's a wrap!

15 minute challenge...week 9

Let's keep it simple...I sewed ONE day this past week.  In that day I managed to do all 105 minutes (and then a few more) that would normally take place if I sewed for 15 minutes a day...so I'm calling it a good week!

My project I worked on was my Christmas quilt!  Using 2 Countdown to Christmas charm packs by Sweetwater and a disappearing 9 patch...well...here we go:

Laying it all out

all 9 of my 9 patches

now 9 sliced, flipped, and re-sewn blocks!

Next up will be piecing these 9 blocks together.  Loving how this quilt is going to look when it's finished!  I'm planning on adding borders to increase the overall size!  Now I'm off to visit Life in Pieces and see how everyone else did this week!

15 minute challenge...week 7!

Where I finish a quilt...and face near devastation with another!

Let's check the progress for the week:

Monday: pinwheels

Tuesday-Friday: nothing

Saturday: finished the binding on Girls' SQ and worked on piecing the last bits of the Swoon top

Sunday: basted Paris Race

Monday: nothing

So let's talk finish...I FINALLY finished Girls' SQ (started way back here, quilted here, and now it's DONE!)

Front:

Back:

She loves it!  (or so she says...who knows what the opinion will be tomorrow).  Details: fabric - Solids are all Kona, Patterned fabric - seasonal purchased at JoAnn's, batting - Hobbs, thread - Gutterman (piecing and quilting); quilted in a completely random all over  free motion "scribble" by me

And now...near devastation...

I've been happily plugging along getting Swoon all pieced...and it was time to add the borders...got one border on...and then...as I was laying it out to pin the next piece...apparently I dragged one side/edge through a little...treat...that my puppy left me...right by my sewing table.  This after I swept and mopped the floor a few hours earlier, and right after the dog came inside after being in the yard for 30 minutes.  I about cried.  So I very diligently dabbed and patted and dampened the spots with cold water (and a tad bit of stain remover)...and laid it all out to dry:

I THOUGHT I had taken care of it!  And then on Sunday, went to add the final border...and found a spot that had been missed...so back to near tears...and dabbing and daubing, etc.  So instead I got a different quilt basted and I'll be working on that this week (need to have it done by the end of the week).

It was such a heart breaking moment that I'm almost afraid to touch my Swoon...in the event something else randomly appears on it!  (and HOPEFULLY get the final border on this week!).  I really need to figure out what I'm going to do for the backing!

And that's my adventure in sewing this week!  Linking up at Life In Pieces!  Have a great day!

finally....some good pics!

I finally got the opportunity this weekend to take some pics of My Hometown Quilt (previously referred to as MHQ).  With a fully charged camera battery, some gorgeous sunlight and blue skies, and a willing (ok...maybe I'm stretching that part) Guy to model...here she is:

and the back

which came together nicely with some Kona Coal and a couple of Hometown FQs, binding is Kona Red (maybe deep red (or real red)...I'll have to double check next time I'm in the store).  I kept the quilting really simple (cuz that's pretty much what I know how to do!) and I'm 100% in LOVE with this quilt!  Everytime I snuggle under it on the couch...it puts a smile on my face!

FRIDAY!!! time to sew!

woohoo!  it's FRIDAY!  and it's time for the Friday Night Sew-in!  I got started earlier today and got Girl's SQ top finished...so it's going to come off my list of projects to work on tonight...I'm thinking I am going to spend the time working on some Farmer's Wives blocks and then get some cutting done for the Facade class/workshop!  Here is a peek at Girl's quilt:

up-close

now...off to sew!  (Thankfully I also picked up some lovely snacks and some extra coffee creamer...just in case!)

Halloween prints by Joann Fabrics; Solids are all Kona (Tangerine, Chartreuse, Purple) and the polka dot border is some Pimatex Basics from Kaufman.

oh where oh where

has my camera charger disappeared to???  has anyone seen it???

apparently no one that lives in my house has either...which is rotten luck when you finish a quilt...use the quilt...then realize...oops...haven't taken pics of the finished quilt

(conversation went more like this...Girl: I'm cold...Me: I just so happen to have a fresh from the dryer gorgeous and fabulous quilt here to use...Girl: ok...Me: (that's all???  no...it's an AMAZING quilt Mom???) ohh..kay...Girl: it's warm...Me: oh nuts...I didn't take pictures...jump up on the couch and hold the quilt...Girl: REALLY???)

 ...and halfway through...poof...the camera tells you things...like...change battery...oh well....I gave up...actually, I tried to take pics with the iPad and my cell phone camera...but none were good enough...oh well again!

here is what I was able to photograph of my finished new-favorite quilt, the MHQ front:

and no pic of the back...which is kind of sad...as it's my favorite quilt back EVAH!  (and considering I have made so few quilts...that may not mean much...but I personally love it!)...

but what I do have might be even better...

my quilt in use (the best way to see a quilt!!! (IMHO)):

Girl was using the quilt (we were sharing...she thinks it's hers...and ignores me completely when I insist it is mine!)...and the dogs decided they were cold and wanted to snuggle...what's really funny...the 50ish pound boxer somehow managed to be the one UNDER the quilt...and little girl...well she ended up curled up on top...glaring at her sister!

and now...on to Girl's seasonal quilt...

mostly wordless

working on this:

used this: 

with Mountain Mist Cream Rose batting...depending on how this quilt washes...may be my new go-to batting...

meanwhile...this

is staring at me...seasonal fabric (means time limit)...at the request of Girl...

I best get busy

MHQ and some lessons

Happy Sunday!  I'm LOVING the weather we currently have here in SC...it's in the high 60's/low (LOW) 70's...sunny...bit of a breeze...LOVE IT!  The fall here is my favorite time of year...cool, but not cold (until night, when you want it to be a bit chilly and pile on the blankets!)...it's supposed to warm back up to the low 80s the next week or so...but I guess I can deal with that, because it seems as though fall is finally on its way!

Anywho...got my MHQ top finished!  WOOHOO!  This quilt top has gone together so easy...I love working on more long term projects, but it's a lot of fun to put something together a little more quickly here and there.  Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go ahead and start quilting it...or work on some farmer's blocks...dilemma!  Here is the finished quilt top:

and a big thank you to Girl (back on a chair) for modeling...speaking of Girl...she's decided she wants to learn to sew (she wants to make her own quilt)...so we pulled out the little machine...and started with a few "lessons":

mostly just practicing pedal control and learning about the 1/4" seam:

and to keep our fingers OUT from under the needle!  I really don't know HOW to teach someone to sew...let alone my own kid...who inherited my impatience and stubbornness...but...it appears

she's enjoying herself so far!

a new project and a dilemma

Ok...if I haven't told any of you...I'm obsessed with Sweetwater's line Hometown...I adore all of the prints...and the colors...and everything about it!  So...I totally allowed myself to be distracted from current works in progress to get started on a new project...and because I'm incredibly selfish...this one is all for me (and will now be referred to as MHQ)!

I started with 4 of these:

and because I love the prints and colors...I couldn't imagine cutting them down any smaller...so I started doing this:

and then that turned into this:

and well...a couple of days later...I have this:

and by the end of the weekend...I'll have a completed quilt top (I'd say a completed quilt...but I have to do yard work tomorrow (yuck) so I must put it off a bit!

And now...the dilemma...I was planning on using Pom Pom de Paris for T's quilt...and had a pattern all sketched out...but then...I picked up some of these:

and now...I'm very torn...to go with the original plan...or to try something else with some Ruby...or something very classic with the Butterscotch and Roses...oh who knows!  LOL!  I best make a decision soon...and I'm really leaning towards Ruby right now...but that may change after a good nights sleep...hmmmm....