Monday - How can that be?

and...how can it be March already?

I have nothing new to show on my design wall.  It looks exactly the same as in my last post.  I have wrestling and show choir going on.

My DH had a problem with materials on a job so he switched gears and put the flooring in the boys room.  It went very well until the very end.  We are one board X 21" short.  That is the way projects always work out at my house.  We had to go buy another box of flooring for that 4" X 21" piece.  UGH!

Since the flooring was essentially done, that pushed me to get the paining finished.  I had the base coat of taupe on the walls, but I didn't get the stripes or the accent wall complete.  I looked at several tutorials on stripes, and I am pleased with how well they turned out.  I also managed to get the accent wall painted (sorry about the turned photo).  It is the dark blue.  The best part is both boys like the colors and the flooring.  Once we get them moved back into their room, we can work on the last bedroom that needs attention.  

I quilted 2 customer this weekend.  I quilted both of them with the pantograph popcorn.  I think it is the perfect choice of pattern.  It is funny that I received two different quilts with basically the same colors.  It made the thread choice really easy!

It feels good to check something off my March goal list so early in the month.

November Goals

I didn't post my my accomplishments for September because frankly I didn't get much accomplished. I am hoping to do better in November.  I did quilt 2 quilts for others already this month.  One was a runner, but I think that counts too.

To entertain you, I thought I would post some pictures of the chaos in my studio last month.  I believe this to be the worst disorganization that it has ever been in.  It is such a lovely space, however, it is hard to get inspired when this is the first look in the door.  

 The other side of the studio wasn't any better.  I have since done quite a bit of cleaning, purging, and organizing.  That is mostly what I accomplished in September and October.






Since it is the beginning of November, I want to set a few goals.

1. Quilt 2 customer quilts
2. Put borders on 2 quilts
3. Quilt 3 quilts from the UFO parade
4. Cut out the pieces for the new Bonnie mystery.

May Goals Recap and Looking forward to June

I did do a little quilting in May, but my UFO progress has stalled.  June marks the mid-year mark and I am still hoping to meet my goal of 35 finishes from the UFO list.

I quilted 3 customer quilts in May.  The first one was a swoon quilt.  I did a baptist fan pattern.  This pattern gives just enough texture to make the fabrics in the quilt shine.

 I also made the Bionic Gear Bag.  You can purchase the pattern from craftsy.  The instructions were written well enough that I made it to the finish line.  I used Moda Linen Mochi Dot on the outside.  I love all the little compartments in the bag.  I think it would make a great bag for electronic cords or even Camera stuff.

I will admit the first bag took way longer than it should have.  I started a second bag and it is going together much quicker.  I just have a problem with things that are not flat.

My favorite part of the bag is the space between the zipper pockets that is perfect for Aurifil thread.

 My June goals are as follows:

1. Quilt 2 customer quilts
2. Bind 3 Spicy Spiral Runners
3. CLEAN MY STUDIO (this one could take all month!!!)
4. Quilt 2 items from the UFO list.
5. Bind a customer quilt

These seem do-able to me.  I have 2 weeks with my mornings free which is really helping.  I quilted most of the day today finishing up some of my runners from the Moda Candy Club.  

Snow Day progress

I quilted this Bonnie Hunter pattern Virginia Bound lap quilt for my sister.  She used some of her Thimbleberries scraps for this one.  I quilted it with the same pattern as the Grandmother's Flower Garden.  I like how the baptist fan gives the quilt texture.  I used Thinsulate batting to give it a nice loft and warmth without the weight. 

Another snow day today!  What should I work on......

Grandmother's Flower Garden

I only have a few spots I am not happy with.  I think that is pretty good in the whole grand scheme of things.  Each one of these hexies is about the size of a bobbin.  The quilt measures approximately 76"X90".  It was never finished by the maker before she passed.  I have a soft spot for these kinds of things.  It was all hand pieced - not with English paper piecing- but with sewing an 1/8" seam allowance.  I didn't find a single hole while quilting it.  There are a few spots with fullness issues (how could there not be?).  I have done some pretty crazy quilting things, but if I had started this, it would have remained a UFO forever.

You can see how the the maker was still in the process of making it larger.  I have a couple bags of partial pieces and hexie flowers.  I believe the white is a percale sheet (which would have made it extra slippery to piece these little guys)

 This is the worst spot for fullness.  There is actually a very small pleat in the fabric.  I am trying to decide if I should take the quilting out her and see if I can work in the fullness.

I used a pantograph called baptist fan on this quilt with Thinsulate batting.  I would have used cotton, but I needed more loft to take up some of the fullness.  I used King Tut thread on the top with Aurifil 40 weight in the bobbin.  This is one of my favorite combinations for quilting.  I love the texture and warmth that Thinsulate batting provides.

WIP Wednesday

This is the view out my window, so I have no where to go today!!  I am thankful for the snow for this reason (and it's beauty).  It is really coming down and there is no sign of it stopping yet.

I am quilting this beauty today.  No pressure or anything.  The quiltmaker spent her whole life making it and never got it finished (did I mention no pressure)

Each hexie flower measures about 4 1/2" - they are tiny!  They are also pieced by hand with about an 1/8" seam allowance

 This is what the back looks like!!

 There was no way I was going to attempt to iron it before quilting.  I hope to get it quilted today, so send me all your quilt Karma.

In anticipation of the snow, I made bindings for 8 quilts last night.  I hope to get some of these stitched on in the midst of quilting.  So far so good on the goals for this month.

T-Shirt Quilt Denim Quilt

First I would like to say that this quilt is HEAVY!  If there is anyone in need of a therapy quilt for sensory issues, this is the one.  The customer used not only t-shirts, but sweatshirts fused to interfacing.  The batting was cotton, and the backing was flannel.  To add to the weight, all the sashing is denim.  I am glad I didn't piece this one.  I wonder how many needles were broken during the construction.

It is far from perfect.  Most jeans have spandex in them, so that made it a little stretchy.  Nothing like a little stretch in the jeans to go with the stretch in the shirts.  I didn't break any needles.  I did find 2 spots where I had a skipped stitch.  I went back and fixed those, and all was good.

It was a workout just hanging the quilt to get a picture.

The dark line is a shadow from the swingset.

The customer requested a simple stipple.  I kept it large to avoid being a distraction with the pictures.

Weekend Progress

In between games, I managed to get a customer quilt done.  I dusted off my rulers and put them to use.  This is the first time I have done ruler work in a very long time.  I was pleasantly surprised that I had improved.

This quilt was started by Angie last year at Shipse.  Angie was fairly new to quilting, and she didn't realize that diamonds were sort of tricky to line up.   She asked everyone about the pattern, and we all agreed it was really pretty.  Half way into the project...she wonders why no one told her it wasn't a beginner project.  She did a fabulous job of putting it together.  I don't know if I could have lined up the diamonds as well as she did.  Everything was nice and flat and I had no issues

The pattern is from this book.  I hope she likes it.

The fabric on the back was a tone on tone, so the quilting really stands out.  I used Thinsulate batting which lets the quilting show.

Working on the March Goals

I finished a customer quilt.  The customer requested a simple meandering.  I had a hard time choosing thread color, but in the end I went with a variegated red (dark to light red).  It turned out really nice.  The customer supplied the batting - Thermore® Ultra Thin Polyester by Hobbs.  It was a thin polyester, but it felt really stiff.  Have you ever used this, and what did you think of it?

 I used red thread in the bobbin also.  I generally match the backing, but the customer wanted the red.  I liked how it looked with the contrast.  I may need to do it again.

I quilted my first quilt for my March goals.  I started this quilt a few years ago for my oldest daughter.  I backed it with flannel and used Thinsulate batting (my family favorite).  I used a variegated thread on the top and quilted it with the popcorn pattern.  

 I used the 6 1/2" tumbler from Accuquilt to cut out the pieces.  I like the look of the tumblers on the diagonal.

2 more days until the retreat where the serious sewing will occur.  I still haven't decided what I am working on, but I am pulling from the UFO piles.

Monday Madness

Actually I am feeling a little less mad because I was able to play in my space this weekend.  Friday night was filled with wrestling, and Saturday morning was show choir.  Hubby and I spent the rest of Saturday spending the day together.  Just the 2 of us.  It has been a very long time since we spent time together alone without having obligations.  Hubby insisted we go to a quilt shop that I love since it was only a few miles from the show choir competition.  Since I gave up buying fabric for a bit, my DH bought a few things for me.  He was such a good sport about carrying my bolts around the shop.

I was able to finish this quilt on Sunday for Eleanor

I started quilting this quilt for another customer.  She wanted a simple stippling pattern so I should be able to finish it up this week.  She said she purchased most of the reds from Connecting Threads.  I think it is very striking

 

Last but not least, a picture of my FW blocks.  Putting the block up like this makes me want to finish them in order.  The "blanks" are all the blocks that I still need to complete.  I have lots of them cut out, I just need to find the time to sew them up.

I love the cheerful happy colors of the bright scraps.  My box is still really full of scraps.  Do you see any fabrics that were formerly yours?

Oh, and those trays on the floor.  Those are my most recent scrap acquisition.  They are sorted in piles by color and waiting to be filed or sewn into a new project.

Thanks for visiting stop over to Judy's to see what other are working on.

This weeks agenda is to finish the quilt in the frame and quilt one of mine that is on my March goals list.  I also hope to kit up some projects and get things ready for this weekend's library retreat.

Skirt is Quilted

I accomplished one thing so far this week- I finished quilting a tree skirt.  I have felt like I could take a nap at any given moment this week...wait I did take one last night.  I did a little line dancing in the squares, and some very bad ribbon candy in the tree trunks.  I keep practicing at this design, but I can't see much improvement.  This was made by my niece, and I knew she would just be happy to have it quilted.

Long overdue

Since my sister is coming to visit for the retreat, I felt the need (and deadline) to finish some of her projects.  I try as hard as I can to finish things in a timely fashion, but that is rare.  I did manage to quilt 2 of the 5 quilts of hers that I have here.  The other one is a tree skirt and I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it.  I am ready to load number 3 of hers.  I won't get it quilted before the retreat, but at least it will be staring at me.

I used Signature brights for the thread and the pantograph is Ebb & flow.  I love the texture it gives.

Swoon

I was just loving this pattern when by Camille first introduced it.  I convinced myself that it was just the colors I was in love with.  Each block is 24" big- not exactly my style, but I am starting to really love those big pieces.  I received a patriotic quilt recently in those colors.  Think the official quilt block name is Dutch Rose, but Swoon sounds exciting.  Customer wanted something with stars since it was for a soldier. 

Wouldn't this quilt look great in those Denise Schmidt prints I picked up over the weekend.  I contemplated cutting it out, then I remembered the stack of UFOs and I just dreamed about it.

A first for me

This is a customer quilt.  She wanted 60 degree diamonds in the border.  I am sure there must have been an easier way to accomplish this, but I wasn't able to figure it out.  It was difficult to make it work out when I went around the corners.  I struggle with marking light fabrics.  I have heard horror stories about marking pencils, so I only use school chalk.  I did freehand leafy design in the middle and did SID on the skinny border.