Christmas Prep and Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

Things are wonderfully busy around here, we're finishing up the last week of school (Connections Academy Online) before two weeks of break. We're all ready, especially me! 

I've been trying to make a flurry of gifts for the kiddos and for family and friends. Patchwork napkin rings and napkins, bags, knitting, wool felt. No matter how early I think I start, the holiday always seems to creep up on me. 

In fun news, I entered quite a few contests on Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day(week) and I won! 24 chevron fat quarters by Riley Blake from Stash Fabrics and a Sugar Hill charm pack and jelly roll from Quilt Taffy. I've already been looking for patterns for these really great precuts.

I hope all of your Christmas preparations are going smoothly and merrily!

Thanks For Stopping by!

Patchwork Ball

I made this sweet little ball for my daughter from the book I ♥ Patchwork by Rashida Coleman-Hale. I could make every project from this book. I used linen and scraps from my stash. It was my first go at english paper piecing and it was fun, I'm sure I'll do it again, not sure if I could make a quilt, but these small projects are not too time consuming.

A Mystery Part 3, Top Finished

I just realized I totally forgot to post about part 2 (I posted part 1 here) it was mostly cutting anyway, but here it is finished.
It was fun just picking fabrics without worrying about the final design. It's queen size so I think it's going to be a topper for my bed, about time I kept a quilt for myself!
Now to get quilting...

Thanks for stopping by!

Heather

I've joined Bea Quilter's 2012 Pin Cushion Swap!

Each month you make a pin cushion and send it out to a person on the list. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone makes.

There's room for more swappers, if you're interested head on over and sign up!

On My Needles

This is called Barb's Koigu Ruffle, there's quite a few stitches to cast on(648) but it's knitting up fast. I'm not sure what the yarn is, I bought it about 9 months ago and can't remember.

Trying Something New

So far in my quilting I've mostly followed patterns and used yardage. But an ever growing pile of scraps and a need for order brought me to Amazon, hoping to find a solution. I searched for "Modern Scraps" and came up with a few results, one of which was this book, "create your own free-form quilts". It sounded interesting and got good reviews, so I ordered.

Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts

The author of this book Rayna Gillman encourages you to sew, not think, kind of hard for me, but fun to do. She calls it Therapy Sewing, just cut and organize strips and start sewing them together. Try not to think about it too much, just pick quickly.  You sew strips together of any width by trimming them at the same time and then matching them together. There are no rulers used during the initial sewing process.

One interested side lesson has been sewing curved seams, which I've never attempted because it seemed too hard, but the way you piece the curved seams together in this book without perfection and stress, is a great intro to curved piecing without all the pressure. I may actually try that double wedding ring I've been avoiding for years.

So here are a few pictures of my results.

Green palette

variety of strips and cut up UFO blocks

Thanks for stopping by!

Heather

Scrappy Triangles

I've been spending a lot of time lately making these little 4.5" half square triangles for a scrappy quilt I'm making. The last time I counted I was sure I had at least a million, turns out it's only about 380. Each of the two piles are exactly the same, so unless someone decides they want to trade triangles with me, it looks like I'm making two very similar quilts.

I've cut into every fabric in my stash, and got through two massive tubs of scraps a friend dropped by the other day. For a true charm quilt I need 802. Starting to wonder if I care if it's really a true charm quilt or not. The girls in quilt group have promised to raid their stashes in search of suitable squares so I may still get there, only 420 more to go!

Some Wonky Log Cabins

I've been trying this technique with some success. As I do more I think I like the results a little better. 

This first one is not my favorite. I ran out of room with the strips so it's got super skinny strips on only two sides. That bottom strip is probably going to disappear when it's sewed together.

This one I like better, it's wonky but a little better laid out.

This one got a little rectangular, but I like the colors.

I'm planning to complete several more to finish up a round robin quilt.

Thanks for stopping by!

Heather

Baby Blossoms is Complete

I just finished binding and labeling this one. It will be off to school tomorrow with my son for his sweet teacher who is expecting. I used straight line quilting and washed it. It's super light weight and soft, perfect for a new baby in fall.

Baby Blossoms

I just finished this quilt top. I think I'll call it Baby Blossoms. I found the pattern on the Moda Bake Shop. The pattern is called Baby Lattice Quilt. The designer is Amy Smart and her blog is http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/.

I used the cotton lawn from Connecting Threads called Matsuri and organic cotton in white for the sashing. I've never worked with lawn, I found it to be a little slippery, but not too hard to work with. The weight is so light and should be perfect for a baby. The quilt will be for my son's teacher. I just found out she's pregnant and would like to get it her before school ends in a little over a week.  I don't know if she's having a girl or boy, but thought this palette would work for either. Now to get it pinned and quilted.

My Fabric ATC is in Cloth Paper Scissors

I posted about my fabric ATCs back in November. Our fabric ATC group leader sent some of the best examples in to Cloth Paper Scissors to see if they would publish an article and here we are 6 months later and mine was chosen to publish along with seven others. It's pretty fun to see your work in a publication. Joining this group has been really fun and we do a lot of fun special projects. If you are interesting in joining the group is here.

Green Mountain Growing Top/Center

A Mystery - Part 1

I'm working on my first mystery quilt. It was published in the January/February issue of McCall's and goes for 3 issues.

The first task was to pick 4 fabrics. I choose Alegria Blue Birds in Blue and Hearts in Pink, and Nature Elements in Ocean Breeze as well as white.

The blocks so far are 40 4-triangle pieced triangles and 20 3-triangle pieced squares.

One my fellow Piece Makers is keeping the patterns a secret, can't wait till next Monday for the next installment.

Denver National Quilt Festival

Ava and I went to the quilt festival here in Denver today. It was a little challenging keeping a 16 month old engaged, but she definitely liked all the bright colors and definitely had her favorites. I might have to sneak down on my own this weekend.

Hobo Progress and Nook Sleeve

I've been working on a few projects this year. Some of the ladies from my quilt group and I are making a quilt from the book Hobo Quilts. In order to have it completed by the end of the year we need to do six blocks per month. There are 60 6.5 inch blocks. There are a few mistakes in the cutting instructions for some of the blocks in the book, but it hasn't been too difficult to overcome. There are mostly pieced, a few applique and even fewer paper pieced blocks. I decided to go with a lighter, more modern palette, and I think I like the way it's turning out.

I also sewed up this gadget sleeve for my son's Nook Color. It came together very quickly and fits like a glove.  You can find the tutorial here on DixieMango.com. I think I'm going to do one for my Kindle too.