Celtic Solstice Clue #1 half way there!

 

I have started clue #1!! Using the tri recs ruler, which I got on a good sale at Jo-Ann's after Thanksgiving.

I am not in love with any of them yet. . .All the scrappy-ness is kind of blowing my mind, but I know it will turn out awesome, as do all my scrappy quilts.

I am about 90% done with the purple centers.  The neutrals about 50%!

Celtic solstice - my colors

I didn't end up doing Easy street this year like I had originally wanted to do.  But I am doing Celtic Solstice.  And even though I haven't had enough time to be in my sewing room much, I have managed to find enough time to start and have a good start on this quilt!

Bonnies colors were Neutrals, Yellow/gold, oranges, greens & blues.  I do not have a lot of yellow/gold or oranges, so I have changed my colors.

My neutrals will be neutral.
My yellow/gold will be pink
My oranges will be purple
My greens will be greens
My blues will be blues.

Although I don't have much in the way of neutrals!  I will have to see if I can find some remnants at Jo-Ann's.

More later!! I am going to sew some!

Heart block

I love this quilt block.  I was recently browsing and found this lovely quilt block.  It was not posted with a pattern because it was on a quilt block a day (for a year) calendar (what?! why haven't I gotten this?!)  So I had some math to do on my own.  I decided to use HST for the bottom, so that was fun to figure out the math!

No sewing. . .

I have been very busy with school, and when I finally go to my sewing room I just sit there.  Last night I cleaned up a little bit. But I sat in my room looking at my (lovely) fabric (and I even got SO much more on black Friday) and I just feel overwhelmed, I didn't know what to do.  Things have been so crazy I don't think I will have time to machine quilt all the Christmas quilts that I have to do. (long arming is no big deal, and I definitely prefer that to machine quilting!).  But where I have used the long arm had a fire, so they no longer have a machine I can use :(

I participated in a Kate Spain 5" block (charm/nickel whatever you want to call it).  And I think I have decided what I will do with that.  That definitely has helped my motivation, but then school gets in the way!

So here is to having some time to sew over Winter break!!!

November Goals

I haven't posted in a while.  I am sorry about that.  I haven't done much.  School and life have been real crazy.  And when I get the chance to sew, I don't take it.  I thought about why last night.  Right now I have four quilt tops done.  BUT I don't have the motivation to finish them.  I think it's because
I no longer have access to a long arm machine.  The quilt shop where I used to rent my machine had a fire, they are finally back open again, but the long arm machine isn't there anymore.

After using a long arm machine, I don't want to use anything else!! laying out a quilt, pinning/safety pinning it, then fighting with it through the machine, it's so much work! I feel it's so much more work than using the long arm.  I just need to suck it up though, since I have 4 quilts to finish by Christmas!

Going through my goals. . .

1. Post 100 times.  This is post 98! I think I will be ok on this one, I have plenty to talk about once I finish these quilts!!

2. Finish 7 quilts.  Well I have finished 2.  And as I said above I have 4 tops that are done, 1 I am working on.  So that would be my 7.

3. This one hasn't changed, and won't change, unless I can find time to work on my tumblers! I have tried a string quilt, which is new to me, I did rootbeer & bubble gum (in my own colors), and I would still like to try my tumblers quilt!

I am going to try to spend as much time as possible in my sewing room next week, it's the start of the trimester, so things should be a little slower in the grading department.  Maybe I can whip out one finished quilt.  Then I probably won't have a lot of time to sew until after Thanksgiving.  We aren't going to DC to spend it with my friend, because she has been deployed, so we will go visit my family, which means no time for sewing!

busy busy

Things at school have been SO busy lately! I haven't been able to sew much, I did a little over the weekend, but nothing I can share yet (nothing finished :/) but I have this one picture I have to share!

Pepé was in my medium strings bin when I came back from running some errands!!! He's too cute! (it helps me fit more in there ;) )

Green & brown quilt laid out

Generally when I am making a quilt I try to make as many of the blocks as possible before I lay them out, but I was SO excited about this, that I just had to lay it out to see how it's looking.

And I am just in love with it!!!  You can see in the bottom right corner I didn't have quite enough blocks yet.  I had thought about adding a border, but right now it's just about the same size as my backing I have planned for it.

I am linking up to design wall Monday

String top

I finished my first string top!! I am SO excited!! I have wanted to make a full string quilt for a while (I started one a few years ago, but still haven't finished it).

I loved the piecing of it.  I talked about it here (in January! where does the time go?!) I also love that you can use whatever, I pulled things out of my strings bins without caring whether it matched or how it looked.

I definitely underestimated the number of blue strips I would need, luckily I found another that was close enough.  I love the way it looks with the blue in the middle, but it was tough making sure it was centered!

I saw this picture (the picture is a link and takes you to the blog it is from) floating around pinterest and the blog world, so I decided I wanted to do that with my string quilt.  I did mine a little different though.  I chose to do the darks in place of the lights and lights for darks for the sashing.  It definitely changes the look, I think it's quite a bit more scrappy looking.  I pulled anything and everything out of my 1.5" bin to make this, great way to use up some of those scraps!

I showed this off at my sewing day.  I realized that it's quite a bit longer, but not as wide.  SO I think I will be adding another row down the side.  IT'S SO SCRAPPY!!! I love it!

September swap

This is the block I made for Janet.  She wanted a scrappy trips around the world block.  She said she wanted bright happy mix of solids and prints (I don't have much in the way of solids).

I was able to go through my 2.5" bin and pull out some bright fabrics

After sewing the long strips I cut them at 2.5" and then seam ripped one seam.  And this is what I came up with:

Now I haven't made one of these quilts, I have been "scared" to, wondering how it would turn out.  But this was fairly easy.  So I think I might end up making one of these!! But it will be on my long list of quilts I want to make.  I think this is the second quilt block I have done for block swap adventure that I have wanted to make myself!!! This swap is becoming dangerous ;)

I had some extra strips so I made this block for me.  I guess I am one step done to making myself a scrappy trips around the world quilt :)

And here is the adorable kitty she sent me.  (The background isn't that pink!)

Goals check in - october

Time to check in and see how I am doing on my goals for the year.

1. Post 100 times - I am at 92 right now!! I think I have this one! I am glad I did it, it really forces me to make sure I was posting.  I really like being able to go through and see the progress of my projects, it shows me where I have come from, and all that I have done.

2. Finish 7 quilts.  Well I have two (which I have mentioned the kitty quilt, and the quilt for my father in law).  I have three flimsies done.  Plus I am working on one.

3. I have tried a string quilt, which is new to me, I did rootbeer & bubble gum (in my own colors), and I would still like to try my tumblers quilt!

Sewing day - what I did

Well I kind of slacked on picture taking this weekend!! (I did spend most of my time sewing ;) )

I finished some bow tie blocks. 

I started some small (5") blocks, but I didn't get pictures! I sure loved how they looked up on the design wall!

I finished a top!! (no pictures until after Christmas :( sorry!)

I laid out a few things to get ideas. It was just so inspiring. I loved hanging out with "my kind of people"!!!

I love being to follow more quilters because they have such GREAT ideas.  I also love having people comment, because I love getting help and ideas from other quilters!

Design wall

One of the things I was so excited about Saturday was their HUGE design wall! I wish I had room in my house for one!! Course I loved that I could see it straight from where I was sitting, so I could put something up and just look at it!

I am linking up with design wall Monday.

I started these in the spring. I loved doing scrappy but in color.  I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to may it out, I had thought about a design like this, but wasn't sure how it would work, and now that I see it laid out I LOVE IT!! And I cannot wait to get it finished! As you can see I have a few more blocks to finish up, but this lets me see them laid out to know how many more I need :)

Sewing day

I'm part of an online quilting group. For quilters in the state of Indiana. Since I didn't have plans today I decided I would join them for their sewing day. 

This is the room we are in. Look at that HUGE design wall!!!

They also have three long arm machines!!!!

I'm so excited! I just hope I brought enough to work on!

Fiskars

I started sewing when I was in high school, I decided in my sewing class I was going to make a quilt.  I used scissors and the fold lines of a pack of fat quarters (I think) to make my squares.  Well I was talking to another teacher (not mine) and she taught me about using a rotary cutter, ruler and mat.

I frequented Jo-Ann's in high school (I received a student discount, and it was near my high school job!)  And since they had sales so often, I was able to pick this up:

It looked almost exactly like this!! grey rotary cutter, orange ruler and grey mat.  (I still have all of it!) But after a few years my cutter got a "cut" in the screw that held the blade in place.  It had been a few years, so I bought another one.  A pretty pink one.

When I worked at Jo-Ann's someone had returned a double sided mat because a corner was bent, and since that was bent it went on clearance, so with my discount I paid about $3 for my second mat! I was happy about that bargain!

A few years ago I noticed my cuts weren't as straight as they had been in the past.I realized that I had been slowly scraping the ruler with my cutter.  So I had to buy a new one, I really wanted a new fiskars one, I like the orange, where all the little lines are and such.  But they only had 6.5" rulers.  And I don't deal well with change.  So I bought an Omni ruler.  I didn't keep it.  It had TOO many lines on it, I couldn't see ANYTHING.  So I returned it, and bought a Olfa ruler.  It's been quite nice.

Now the cutter, I had mentioned I bought a pretty pink one, well I was shopping with my MIL after Thanksgiving at Jo-Ann's and she asked if I wanted anything, Fiskars was 50% off, so I said I wouldn't mind another rotary cutter, just so I had one.  So she bought me another pink one, just a brighter pink.

I don't know how long I have had that one, but I was cutting the other night (with a new blade) and it was missing spots.  So I took it apart and looked.  The little screw that held in the blade had ANOTHER cut in it (where the blade meets it).  I was SO frustrated, I had a lot of stuff I wanted to cut out, but I couldn't due to this!

I ran to Jo-Ann's to see if they were having a sale on Fiskars (never buy ANYTHING full price at Jo-Ann's they ALWAYS have sales or coupons.).  They were 40% off.  They had some colors that I was not too impressed with, but it's something I need for my quilting.  As I was looking at the package I saw their phone number.  So I decided to give them a call.

After waiting a few minutes on hold I got a human.  I explained the problem I have been having with the bolt, and she told me that she would send me some.  FOR FREE!!!! She asked for my address and said they would be on their way!

I am so excited to have my rotary cutter back! I have had so many things I have wanted to cut up, but I have been unable to since my rotary cutter was being difficult.

August Block swap

Sandi was my block partner for August.  I made her a block right when the partners were mailed out.  I made this cute kitty for her.

Well it came time for the September swap and I hadn't heard from Sandi. I asked her if she had received it, and she said no :( so I am making her a second block.  I hope the first kitty gets there!

But here is the second kitty she got!

And since I was on a roll making kitties, I decided to whip one up for myself!  Here is the pattern I used, it's quite easy.

It's not in my colors for the swap, but I wanted to try one "backwards", ie facing the other way.

And here is the block she sent to me:

Heart block

Here is another heart block.  I actually found this one online of someone that had done a block swap.  I like how simple it is.  I plan on making a blue one also.  I just haven't had much time to sew with school starting up!

Bow ties!

I was going through my blog and I noticed I haven't updated about my bow ties in a while.  I am constantly working on them, as my leaders and enders.  I actually quite enjoy it, because I cut up little squares of fabric I have recently worked on.

Here are some of them laid out.  It's hard to show you an update because I am still just making the mini bow tie blocks.  But I have quite a few of them so far.  The last time I did an ironing session for them I put them in groups of 10.

And I currently have approximately 130!!! Although I think Bonnie Hunter mentioned on her post she had about 700 bow ties, granted I don't know how big her quilt is, but I have a ways to go!

Sister swap received!!!

Today I received my sister swap box!

I received it from Tiffany.  It's some blue & orange fabrics for my hearts quilt.  Then a small heart pin cushion.  And some of her favorite thread.

Sister swap sent!

I took part of the it's a sister thing swap this summer.  I have two sisters, and I really love having sisters.  We are all quite crafty (thanks to my mom) but I am the only one that quilts.  So I was excited to be able to meet other quilters!

My "sister" to send to was Rachell. I've been stalking her blog, trying to decide what to send her.  I kind of wish that I could have waited two more weeks to send it, because she is pregnant and will be finding out the sex of the baby then! So without further ado, here is what I sent her (I know I stole her pictures, I forgot to take pictures!)

Since she has little ones I thought a baby friendly ornament would be nice to have.

I also included some fabric, some girly and some for a boy.

This is a Looney Toons apron.  

And lastly a small baby quilt.  Something that I think is kind of gender neutral.

I had fun with this swap! Thank you Michele for putting this together!

Scraptacular!!!

 

So this was what I decided to do with my left overs from the Jacobs ladder quilt.  I have also been cutting quite a bit more.  I think the only "issue" I am having is that I now have a box full of 4 7/8" squares.  So I have started cutting them 5" so that I can use them in other projects. 

I love how this quilt looks so far!! Most of the time when I lay out my scrappy quilts I don't fall in love with them as much, but bam! I sure do love this one! 

I am linking up to design wall Monday

Pieces of a quilt -

I was browsing Fons & Porter magazine September/October 2012 and I found a quilt that I quite liked, called Rootbeer & Bubblegum.  (here is a link). I loved the pattern, even though I just made a triple irish chain (here).  But this one is a little different, it has a design in the middle.  I was not too fond of the pink & brown.  But I thought brown & green would look nice.

Now pieces of this quilt have already been shown!  I showed how to make the three color hourglass blocks here.

I know I used differently measurements for the block, so I had a lot of math to do!  I chose to use 2.5" blocks so that I didn't have to cut AS many, and I could put them with my 2.5" square bin when I was done.  I didn't strip piece this, because I was going for scrappy.

I have a few pieces done now, and cannot wait to get a top done!

Goals Check in

Oops!! I didn't post this for July or August!! Boy was I busier than I thought I would be this summer!

1. Post in my blog 100 times.  I am at about 80.  So as long as I don't drop off the face of this earth, then I should get there :)

2. Finish 7 quilts (that aren't UFOs) I have the kitty quilt and the quilt for my father in law. So 2.  But I am currently working on about 5 :p I do have the black & white log cabin top done.   So 4 more flimsies to make before I can have a total of 7.

3. I have started my string quilt, I would count the heart blocks as a new pattern, and another project I haven't shared yet! (which uses parts of what I have done before and part of what I haven't.)

I think I picked good goals :) I am reaching them all, albeit slowly, but I will get there.

One thing I would really like to do by the end of the year is finish my husband's tee-shirt quilt.

Heart blocks

I think this might be my favorite of the heart blocks so far! And it is not even a heart :)  I found this block here.  I decided to do it a little different, I added a sashing between all the blocks, and I think I will be adding a sashing to the outside.  I might do it a little wonky (like the right wider than the left) but nothing is set in stone yet.)

I am linking up to freshly pieced WIP Wednesday.

Heart blocks

 

These are both "log cabin" hearts.  I love the scrappy feel to them!

 

 

I found both of these blocks on sewhooked.com If you have never seen her site, she has a lot of GREAT paper pieced designs.

 

And this has nothing to do with the quilting world, but I just wanted to give a shout out to my mom on her birthday today!! Love you!

Heart blocks

 

 

I am not sure where I found this block. It is a paper pieced block, but I used some strings I had had for the inside.  I LOVE the black background, but I think it's a little busy, so I think it shall be saved for sashing :)

Dr. Seuss

I posted in late June about how I was able to play with some fun Dr. Suess fabric.  (that post is here)  And this is what the final project was:

 

 

Curtains for my sisters classroom.  She teaches 1st grade, and has a Dr. Seuss theme, she asked if I would make her curtains, so we found the fabric online (and it was an excuse for me to buy more fabric hehe) and I sewed them up.  They actually didn't take THAT long, I serged the edges so I only had to turn them over once.  I think the hardest part was making sure they were both the same size! 

 

I have only made curtains one other time, and I hadn't realized that you were supposed to use double the width of the window! but I made sure it was big enough this time! 

Heart block

I had said I hadn't gotten much time in my sewing room, but then all of a sudden I was able to get into my room a few times and get stuff done!

I found the block here, I love how this one looks! and the blue and the orange works so well together!

Tote bag swap

I am SO far behind posting!! I received this in June, but I haven't been able to post about it!  I received this lovely bag from Sarah.  I think she did just a lovely job!! My only preference was the color purple.  And she did wonderful with it!! Very purple, and VERY me!

 

 

 

 

They will actually be doing another swap in August, I won't be able to join up because of school, but if you're interested check it out!