getting closer

Well...must admit, my lofty goal from my previous post fell decidedly short.  Didn't get anything accomplished on my sister's quilt until this weekend.  Started Friday with this:

not too bad...by Monday I had this (after we shuffled the different sections around quite a bit):

big dog has to stay in the kennel while i lay this stuff out, otherwise she is all over the quilt, much like little dog here:

little dog is much easier to move out of the way than big dog!

and by yesterday afternoon (late) I had this:

Girl was really not thrilled with me by the time I got all of the pictures taken...she's decided the role of standing on chair to display quilt really should be filled by someone else!  I say...she'll get over it!

Hope to have this all sandwiched, quilted and bound by the end of next weekend, but we'll see.  On night shift this week, so just going to play it by ear!

ahhh...Friday....

I am so glad it's Friday!  I'm looking forward to a great weekend, and I'm hoping today is a fabulous kick-off!  No pics for this particular post;  haven't spent that much time sewing this past week.  I am close to finishing the second panel for my sister's quilt...but I'm still taking it nice and slow.  I am starting to get excited about getting the quilt top completed and then moving on to basting, quilting and binding.  This particular quilt looks good (well, at least that's what Guy tells me...Girl is pretty ambivalent about it) as the panels come together, but I honestly think the finished product is what really looks great.  At least the finished quilt top!  LOL!  Hopefully I'll get some time this afternoon or Sunday to really get the pieces put together...maybe then I can quilt next weekend.  I'm still not entirely sure what I'm going to do for Julia's quilt.  I have some fabric that I love, but not sure if it's her style.  That and the list of people I want to make quilts for has grown...as has my fabric stash.  When I last went to the LQS, I picked up some pieces that weren't specifically for the quilt I was working on at the time...but I thought they were great and am very curious to pull them out again and play around and see if I actually have enough of a stash of items that work together!  I guess we'll see!  I can honestly say that what I'm really looking forward to is seeing what happens next! 

180 sets

Ahhh...finally got all of the sets completed for my sister's quilt...

(yes, that's a box of bandaids in the background...quilting is a dangerous hobby for one's fingers...especially if one is less than graceful with sharp objects!).  now it's just time to put them together!

and now I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the quilt top!  (actually a little more than that...but 1/3 sounds good;  and forgive the wonky picture...Girl wasn't awake yet, so had to stand on a chair to get a pic as opposed to having girl stand on a chair holding the quilt!)

I am using the Random Reflections pattern by KarrieLyne of Freckled Whimsy.  I found this particular recipe via Moda Bake Shop (so many lovely patterns over there...but this one in particular caught my eye!).    So excited to see this quilt all put together...but for now...I'm in the pin, stitch, press, repeat process...so off I go!

working on the chain...piecing!

still working away on my sister's quilt...slowly but surely...trying to take my time and not feel too rushed like I did as I was finishing up Mom's quilt (which was entirely self-imposed!).  Anywho...so with the quilt I am working on (can't tell you what pattern I'm using just yet...again, my sister wants to be surprised!) there is a lot of chain piecing to be had.  Chain piecing (once I learned what the heck that was) will make this quilt go so fast...and it gives you something pretty to look at:

and once I got about 20 sets done, I got set to press the seams...I must say that I love the combination of fabrics for this quilt, and even though this was most likely not the BEST of ideas, I just let everything fall into a pile just for the purpose of a picture!

after I got everything pressed, it was time to start cutting, so my own form of assembly line took place...the pressed sets on the far right, area for cutting to the left...and in between...the strips that will now have to go back into the machine for chain piecing...

the process of this quilt is quite relaxing, chain, press, cut, repeat...but I am looking forward to actually getting all of this cycle done, hopefully this weekend!

and we're off!

but not quite running full steam with Angela's quilt.  Now that I have fully decided what pattern to work with, and actually have all the fabric...

I did get some cutting done yesterday!  See...proof...scrap pile is starting to develop!

Won't say what the quilt will look like, or include the link to the pattern just yet, my sister did say she wanted to be surprised!  Anywho...fighting a bit of a head cold today (and Girl just told me...oh...I forgot...I have a concert today for choir) and we'll be out running around...not my favorite to do when I'm sick...but hey...that's what Mom's do!

good intentions...

So...the end tales of the road to mom's quilt (each quilt I have made is essentially referred to using the name of the person for whom it was made...i.e. Girl's quilt, Guy's quilt, and now Mom's quilt)...I had TRULY good intentions once I got all of the strip sets sewn together...got everything cut (which went very quickly!) and sorted like this:

well then after reading the next step in the PS I Quilt Postage Stamp Quilt Tutorial, I started gathering my sets for each block...and had it all laid out...

and got to sewing!  and then i realized...I was off somewhere in my layout of sets...everything was going to be off!  So then I picked through the yummy sets and well...it started to look way less organized:

eventually I had to just condense it all back down to the original stacks and keep going from there. as I got the blocks done and then the rows completed, I was really falling in love with how the color story played out:

it was yummy looking (to me at least!)...and then came time to assemble to full quilt top...and I had all of this to put together...and panic set in!  This quilt was going to be much larger than I had realized...and I figured there was NO WAY I was going to get it done!  (I am really not ready to quilt something that large...I haven't even put together a HST yet!!!).

So...it was decision time...and I decided to go with a lap size quilt (which will actually become two lap size quilts when I get around to finishing the other one, the quilt top is just about done for it already...)  And since I was going with the lap size...I added a border to increase the overall size just a bit...got it basted, quilted, and bound...and here it is (modeled by Mom!):

and the back:

I LOVE this quilt!  I think it's my most favorite yet!  and now...time to change my fabric on deck stats on the side and move Patisserie (by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda) (red fabric for binding and strip in backing is from Martinique by 3 Sisters for Moda, the white solid is a muslin I picked up from my local store, no idea manufacturer) to the finished column!

best laid plans...

I want to start by saying that I did indeed finish the quilt for my Mom in time to deliver to her for Easter...however all did not go as planned.  Lots of pics about the journey to completion...some funny (well at least in hindsight) stories about how planning is sometimes the dumbest thing to do...and the pics of the completed quilt...all to come later!  After spending the weekend out of town...lots to catch up on before I can get to the fun bloggy stuff!!