22 November 2010

How many projects can I work on at once?


This one is a commissioned project.  For a friend.  It's actually something I have wanted to do for years, but I am a little OCD, so the design was what was stopping me. . .She gave me the design, so I can work around that!


I follow Bonnie (of Quiltville - the link is her blog), she has the best site! I love all the scrappy ideas she has!! Well right now she is hosting a mystery quilt along, and I thought I would participate.  good thing it doesn't matter who finishes first ;)  The first part is to make 172 2" strips that are pink/green/pink.  I have 16 ;) I have a lot to go.  I tried to use as much from scraps as possible, but I just don't have that much pink or green.

This is my "basket" weave quilt.  Well more squares.  I need to lay it out and see how many more I need to do, I should be getting close (I hope so!)

I am still working on triangles for my values quilt.  and I need to pull out my brown bag quilt and just FINISH it! although I have a few months til it's "due" so maybe something will hit me so that I can make it just a little bigger.

My sister's tee shirt quilt is coming along nice.  I have decided how I am going to do the sashing, I just need to get it put on ;) I just want to do it perfect! Cause heavens knows her first quilt was far from perfect (but she still loves it, so I am ok with that :) ).

I've still had no luck finding my background for my BOM :/ I even tried a Jo-Ann's in Indy.  So far I have looked in Minnesota, Wisconsin and three stores (plus I called three) in Indiana! Let's hope that Iowa has SOMETHING!

16 November 2010

Exchange

I posted pictures of the quilt top I finished (the patriotic one) was an exchange. I finished that top and sent it back to it's owner.

And here is a picture of the quilt top I received. Let me say! She did an awesome with the fabrics I gave her!

I never would have done this, it's perfect! She did great with the kitty fabrics. I'm still just in awe of it!!

I can't wait to finish it up!

All caught up!!

 I am all caught up! This is November's block!


And here are all three blocks so far!  I was definitely iffy about the blue, but I really like it!!

I am quite frustrated though, I have gone to 4 Jo-Ann's, called 2 Jo-Ann's, and am not able to find anymore of my "light" the white with dots.  I even have the SKU # but since it's a clearance fabric they are being a little. . .hmm what's the most polite way to put this? They have not been the most cooperative with me.  We are going to Indianapolis, so I am going to beg my husband to take me to as many Jo-Ann's as possible praying that I can find it!

Well I have another project I am starting tonight!! I am quite excited!! not that I need another thing to work on :)

14 November 2010

Block 2!

I have the second block finished!


 I am not 100% in love with it, the brown/white is a little light compared to the light, but I think when it's all done I will like it.

And when I made the middle square I had some left over, kind of like a snowball block. . .so I have a pinwheel, and we all know how I am obsessed with pinwheels ;)

12 November 2010

Block of the month & new ironing board cover. . .

 I am sorry I haven't posted much, or been around much.  I think about posting, but then I haven't done much sewing, so what else could I post about?  The insane amounts of fabric I have bought at Jo-Ann's recently?  Which really has been a lot, but their clearance fabric was on sale, so it's 50% off the clearance price, so usually really cheap.  And this is the time that I normally get a little crazy about buying a bunch of fabric!

This is one fabric I bought.  It is actually a little bluer (see the next pic) but I just loved the pattern and the subtle gold in it!



I have had this ironing board (it's a mini one) since 2001 or 2002, when I was in college. . .It had the cutest blue bubble print on it, but the thing is, it was DIRTY! It was browning and fading, and just didn't look good. . .And I have been wanting to make a cover for it for a while. . .But I kind of cheated.  I just stapled it to the back instead of sewing a cover. . .But I definitely love it! I made sure when I took this pic I put my iron in it, I love that little Rowenta iron!! So much that after my cat broke mine, I bought the same (older) model that I already had, instead of their newer one. . .


As I said in my title, I am doing a block of the month.  I am doing it with a group of friends online. These are the fabrics I chose. . .The only problem is I don't have enough of the white with the dots of the brown with the flowers, and I can't go to the store I originally bought them at.  I am in Minnesota now (more on that later) and we stopped at a Jo-Ann's, but they didn't have it :( so if you happen to go into a Jo-Ann's and they do have it, and want to send me a 1/2 yard that would be AWESOME!  I hope we can check a Jo-Ann's or two on our way back home.  But first I shall check their website. . .and of course I don't have the SKU so I can't call Jo-Ann's to see if they have it. . .


And here is block 1.  I am actually a few blocks behind. . .this was started in August, so this is August's block, hopefully I can get the rest finished this week. . .

And those of you thinking didn't she already do a block along and NOT finish. . .Well kind of. . .I mean *my* top I made I haven't finished, but the one for my exchange I did :p so I think that evens out :) Maybe I will work on that next week!

So this doesn't really have to do with sewing, but I will tell you why I am in Minnesota this weekend. . .I have a very good friend that lives here, and there is a band that my husband and I really like, so we decided to come up for the weekend. . .And we were able to get two nights free hotel rooms!

So we'll be here this weekend, and then I will be able to sew a lot next week because it's the start of a new term at school so I won't have a lot of grading to do :)

02 November 2010

Tee shirt quilt

 So I mentioned last night I mentioned my sister's tee shirt quilt. . .Here is what I have so far.  There are 22 squares, it feels like SO much more!  I think I am going to cut some more to make it enough for 16 on each side :)

 I do plan on adding sashing, but that will be a surprise, cause I don't want my sister to know yet!
This is the pile of scraps that I had when cutting the pieces down after ironing the interfacing on!

This thing will be massive, I hope a month and a half is enough time to finish it!

01 November 2010

Away from da blog…

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted! I have been sewing…nothing finished yet (I have some WIPs I could probably pull out and finish 100%, along with 2 tops that need backs…)

I have been working on my "basket strings" quilt. I had about 80 4.5" squares, it was actually quite a big pile. I thought I had enough to make the top…not so much! So those will be leaders and Enders as I work on other things.

I got to hang out with Heather (retro-fabulous {I will link later when I'm on a computer}) and I were able to hang out and sew again. She gave me a cute idea for Christmas presents! And she is making the cutest ornaments!!

Let's see what else? My buddy Jan (sewsowinlove) and I chatted on the phone. It was nice to put a voice to a blog :) we discussed our brown bag quilts (among other things!) speaking of I need to just bite the bullet and finish it up.

The big thing I am working on is my sisters tee shirt quilt (from HS) she told me she wants a college one too eventually :) that girl sure has a lot of tee-shirts. Probably enough for the front and back to be ALL tee-shirts (with sashing).

Well that's what's going on in my sewing life. Sorry there aren't pictures. Nothing really NEW to share :/

Have a good night!

17 October 2010

a finished (kind of) project!

 So I normally get to sew every weekend (if you haven't noticed the pattern!)  Well my friend Heather was having a "sew-in" on Saturday and invited me over.  So I jumped at the chance to get to hang out with a friend and sew!

I took my spools to work on, along with my strings, and some other things, but those were the two things I worked on.

Here are some of the strings, they are 4.5" squares.  I am not sure how many I have done.  Quite a few more than are in this picture though :)

Here are my spools all put together.  It's not 100% done.  But you can see the dark brown I put between the rows.
 And here is the close up of that brown looking blob. . .Can you tell what it's supposed to be?
It's a kitty.  It's tail ended up a little wider than I would have liked, but I had to add a kitty to my sewing room wall hanging!! Hopefully I will get it finished and can hang it up!

I haven't added the pinwheels yet.  But I have A LOT, so we'll see where they end up going

 These are my extra "spools" I think I am going to sew them up and put them for sale on etsy.  I don't need two wall hangings :)

And my last thing is that I am excited to have found my sisters stuff for her T-shirt quilt!  Not enough time to get it done by the time I see her, but I have it, and hopefully by Christmas!

I haven't given up on my wonky log cabins, or my values quilt.  I just really wanted to get
the spools done!!

10 October 2010

A weekend sewing, what a surprise!

 Winding bobbins!
 Because they were all empty! (I took the picture after I filled one)
 Here are 5 full bobbins and an empty spool!  Since moving into our apartment I have gone through two spools!
 Here is my wonky stars quilt all done!! well not all done.  I think I am going to add a border to it.  Do you think the pink centers make it too girly?
And here are my wonky log cabins!! I am not sure how I am going to put them together yet. . .I might try to stick them together, but I think I am going to use a neutral border around them.

I also worked on my values quilt.  I have a lot of twosies that need to be put together!! And my top I posted a few months ago is a little bigger.  I am not sure if I will make that one much bigger.

What did you sew this weekend?

05 October 2010

Strings strings so many strings!

 I have a lot of fabric, and I swear it's reproducing!! Especially my strings/crumbs.  So I posted on stashbuster (a yahoo group, it's GREAT! you should check it out!) asking about ideas for strings, which is something I have made before (ie my mini thread spools and my string quilt) but let me tell you, even after making those projects, my strings just keep on growing!!

 I got some good suggestions.  One of the ones that really spoke to me was doing a "wonky" log cabin.  I love log cabin after making my first one this year.  So I separated my strings out by color (again! why did I put them back in the box again?!)


And this is what I have so far!
And here are my spools! I have about three of each of them so far!

So that is what I am working on.  I have a lot of going on projects and nothing finished.  But hopefully I will get some finished either this weekend or next.  this weekend is iffy since my husband will be home this weekend :)

What do you do with your strings? Do you save them? do you pitch them?

03 October 2010

WOW!! I've been a sewing fool!!!

I have been crazy sewing this weekend!! I went through THREE bobbins!! Well maybe not through, but I used 2 bobbins and had to pop in my third before I could finish up what I wanted to tonight!

Part of me is frustrated that I don't have more DONE since I spent so much time sewing.  But really I did get a lot done, just no projects FINISHED.  they are very close! And I will finish them up this week!

The first picture I have to show is from the fabric exchange I did.  (my first entry about it is here) You stuffed as much fabric as possible into a gallon size bag, send it to someone, then someone sends you fabric, you make a top with theirs and they make a top with yours and then you send the finished top to them.

I enjoyed making the quilt, the fabrics really came together well for a pinwheel sampler I think.  I wish I would have had a little more of the cream to be able to make it a little bit bigger.



So I got that sent off but I received some fabric! which I already showed you, but it's been cut up and sewn, but it's not all finished yet, so you get a mini teaser pic.  They are cut into 5" squares, I did have to add my own fabric, is the purple in the top left corner, the color's not perfect.  I need to charge my digital camera battery!


And the last thing is probably the thing I am MOST excited about!

I have been working on these "maverick" or wonky stars for a while and had NO clue what to do with them! (original pictures here)
 Because of the fall into fall give away, I found another blogger who did make a wonky stars quilt, and I loved how hers looked, not quite as scrappy, but very cool!  I commented on her post here) and she emailed me back, and I showed her mine, and she suggested I stagger them.  And this is what I got! it's kind of hard to see since they aren't all sewed together, but I used different sized sashings! I quite like it. . .I am not sure what I will do with it yet!

And here is a close up, you can kind of see the wonky-ness here! I was so excited to finally have something to do with this!

The other thing I worked on this weekend I was my Halloween quilt. . .except after sewing about 5 more blocks I cut them out backwards :( so I got a little discouraged with that. . .so maybe I will finish it next weekend. . .I think I am going to put that for sale when it's done.

I can't wait to see what you all have been working on!

01 October 2010

Fall into Fall Give away!

I am going to share a giveaway that is happening!! I told about one last week, but this one is slightly different.

This is a giveaway of 140 some bloggers and 7 businesses!! pretty impressive!! All the giveaways start today.

The best thing is the variety of things that are being given away!  It's not just fat quarters or sewing things.  There are finished bags, gift certificates and more!!

You should definitely check it out!

For more information about which blogs are hosting give aways and such click here

29 September 2010

Brown bags. . .

Well I shouldn't have JUST posted the contest entry.  I should have posted some of the stuff I have gotten done. . . But I blame it on being tired.  yeah I was tired ;)

What I have to tell you about tonight is the brown bag quilt contest.

There is more information about it here. (There is also a button on my side bar you can click) You sign up, send 2 yards of fabric to someone, they send 2 yards to you.  it's a great way to meet people and get out of your comfort zone!

I received my fabrics (and just got mine shipped! procrastinate much!) I received my fabric from Scrappy Pieces.

And here is the fabric I got:
It's going to be interesting putting this together, but these are not fabrics I would have picked out on my own!  I might have an idea of how to put them together. . . but we'll see!

I need to go to bed! I will talk to you all later!

26 September 2010

AccuQuilt Go Cutter Giveaway - repost!

Milliesquilting is doing a give away for an accuQuilt go cutter, and I thought I would go ahead and give it a whirl!


It's pretty easy to enter.  You comment on the post.  You get one entry.  You are following her you get one entry and if you repost it, you get another entry!


So this is me posting an entry about this!!

X-Blocks

 So today I met up with Heather today and she took me to my first real quilt shop.  From the time I started sewing Jo-Ann's was where I usually bought fabric.  But I think I might explore a little bit.  Next weekend there is a shop hop, that I might do!

 The shop was Needle & Thread.  I liked it a lot!! Not only was the woman working very friendly, they had some of the cutest patterns!! But I was good.  And didn't buy fabric.

These are some finished projects that I saw and want to somehow reproduce myself!

Those are NOT pictures printed on fabric, there are little corners to hold the pictures in there!! I would LOVE to make some of those! Hello Christmas presents!
I want to know what pattern this is!
And these! I really liked them both.  And as I went shopping through I found out that they are actually made the same way!! And I did BUY something. . .
The template for X-blocks!  Now I know I technically could have probably done this on my own, but I think it will work a lot better with this!!  And this is where I show you a mini tutorial on how to make X-blocks (the pattern is called pocketful of posies I believe)

While at one shop I saw a very neat nine patch with Halloween fabrics, and I realized that I have Halloween blocks and I could make something similar to that.  And then I got home, and realized that I could use the Halloween fabric to make the X-blocks!


Now I cut my fabric into 3 1/4" squares, now this could also be done with strips.  But I had bought some little pieces of fabric at a shop 9"x14", so I wouldn't have been able to get much of a strip!

I was going to use a purple Hallowen fabrics for the inside square, and then I realized I had a solid purple I could use!! Thanks Kathy!!

So you sew your fabrics into a 9 patch (I will try to remember to explain how I laid out my squares and why these are in the order they are in)

Then you put the template on the nine patch and match the lines.  I was using the solid lines.



And this is what your finished block looks like!


You do end up with some left overs, but I think you'll see them again ;)


I only made 4 blocks.  I didn't run out of my off white, but I am going to need to get some more, and I didn't want the new to all be with new, so I couldn't make many more tonight.

Hopefully you can see the pinwheel in there.  When it's all done there will be a black pinwheel and orange pinwheel.

Now what to do with my first Halloween quilt?!

I hope you all have an awesome Sunday!

24 September 2010

You know you're a quilter when. . .

 This was posted in a online quilters group I am a part of.  It orginally came from quiltingboard.com  The ones after 90 were added from my group :)

Which ones are you?  I must say, I was quite surprised at how many were me!

I was chatting with Jan and we both talked about something we did in common. . . and I mentioned this list to her, so I thought I would take the time to post it!!  I hope you all enjoy!

1. You pay more attention to the quilts in the movie than what the actors are saying.
2. Meals are an interruption
3. you see a nice shirt, skirt or dress, you mentally go through your stash to see if you have coordinating fabric and figure out what block the garment would look best in.
4. you rewind or pause a movie to get a better look at the quilt in the background.
5. you stop driving or walking to dig out a camera, cell phone, or paper and pen to capture an image of something for a new quilt idea.
6. You wish quilters got credit in films like actors and tech staff do.
7. you go to bed, you think about what you want to sew in the morning instead of what you plan to make for breakfast.
8. you trace a design in a hospital waiting room.
9. you look at the tile design on the floor and figure out how to piece it in fabric.
10. You pick threads off your clothes every time you walk out the door.
11. You pick threads off your spouse, the dogs, the cat...
12. You see quilt designs everywhere.
13. You dream about quilts
14. You are distracted by the carpet pattern underneath the buffet table.
15. You color your small square window panes in a nice 9-patch design
16. You plan your vacations around the locations of fabric stores.
17. You realize the fabric you are sitting on at the fast food joint would make a great quilt.
18. You copy tile patterns from hotels, churches, old government buildings...
19. Nobody eats in the dining room because your "project" is taking up the entire table.
20. You buy antique quilt at the swap meet even though it has too many holes.
21. Your dog has a coat made from an antique quilt.
22. You are covered with threads all the time.
23. you can't just sit and watch TV; you have to be sewing or quilting at the same time.
24. Your car is trained to turn in to every fabric store parking lot it passes.
25. You come home to find a purple bin filled with fabrics at your door that "a friend" bought at a garage sale and knew you would like it.
26. A neighbor says he likes the humming sound of your sewing machine late at night.
27. Your friends' clothes remind you of quilt blocks
28. you can't leave home without your sewing machine
29. You are thrilled to find a shirt, skirt or dress at the thrift shop that will work great in your next project.
30. A friend hands you a giant bag of her husband's old silk ties.
31. you go to a well-stocked quilt store and you can't find any accessories that you do NOT have
32. You miss your sewing machine more than your family
33. you disappear for the weekend into your sewing room
34. You save greeting cards and pictures from magazines for a future quilt design
35. you look for fabric that's based on ancient tile designs
36. you lay out floor and wall tiles based on a quilt pattern.
37. you are attracted to a man's tie because the fabric would look great in a quilt.
38. you tell your kids/spouse "Just one more row!"
39. you tell your family "whoever finds thread in their food wins a prize" at dinner time.
40. you find the stair railing in the courthouse has a very interesting pattern
41. you cut up carpet tile squares into triangles for the floor.
42. you bore your non-quilting friends with endless talk about quilting
43. you run out of storage space for fabric and unfinished projects.
44. you would rather spend money on fabric than new shoes or clothes.
45. you are directionally challenged, yet you can find quilt stores that are hidden in the woods
44. you quit volunteering at church because they threw away some antique quilts.
45. you sit down at your sewing machine at 7PM and before you know it, your neighbor is banging on the wall at 11:30PM and he wants to sleep.
46. your vacation consists of attending quilt shows and fabric shopping.
47. You decorate pies and cakes to look like quilts.
48. you go on vacation, you bring a list of all the quilt stores within driving distance of your destination.
49. you hear that someone sewed through their finger and your first thought is "That's awful! Another broken needle!"
50. You prepare to paint your barn or garage by looking at quilt block patterns.
51. your automatic response to any request from any family member is "just let me finish this one seam"
52. you observe that the quilting in the toilet paper could have been done better.
53. you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if you can sneak out to the quilting room.
54. your husband automatically turns the car around because you spotted a quilt shop on a side road
55. you meet another quilter for the first time and chat for an hour before either of you realize it
56  you seriously consider stealing your best friend's shirt because it's just the right color.
57. when your granddaughter brings the picture she drew in art class home from school and you want to turn it into a quilt.
58. you wake up earlier when you're on vacation than when you're working so you can have more quilting time
59. you get into the car and you realize you are still wearing a thimble.
60. you try to surprise your kids with a "fun new place to visit" and they reply "let me guess - a quilt shop?"
61. you take your sewing machine on a 10-day road trip.
62. you want to re-create the stained-glass window from church as a quilt.
63. The first place you visit in the library is the new display quilt.
64. you envision all the horses in the pasture wearing quilted blankets.
65. you make the dog wait to go out so you can finish a seam.
66. you ask to trace cardboard butterflies hanging in a florist's window.
67. your machine is out for its annual tune-up and you clean your house for "something to do"
68  you don't iron clothing, but you do iron scraps of fabric
69. you delay surgery to attend the state quilt convention
70  you "borrow" a napkin from a fancy restaurant so you can make a quilt designed like it.
71. you can't stay out of fabric stores, even though you already own enough fabric for a lifetime.
72. you redesign your kitchen to include an island large enough to baste a queen-size quilt.
73. you start sewing at 2AM because you have a lot of blocks to finish.
74. you don't remember the names of the towns you visited, but you do remember how to get to the local Quilt Store in that town.
75. you can measure a block from a computer image.
76. you can't stand the heat, but will sew in an unairconditioned room for hours, sweat rolling down your face.
77. you are in an airplane looking out the window and see many many quilt patterns on the ground.
78. your children/grandchildren refuse to go out with you when they find out you are only going to a fabric shop.
79. the ONLY shopping you like to do is for fabric.
80. you must stop at the fabric store before going to the grocery store (when you are out grocery shopping)
81. you practice quilting feathers and other designs with the lawn mower.
82. you are trying to figure out how to reproduce the light and shadow on the ceiling tiles in a quilt while laying back in a dentist's chair.
83. your spouse is trained to call you to the computer when he sees a quilt in a house listing photo.
84. you impress people with your ability to know the dimensions of something without a ruler.
85. someone says "what nice points", you take it as a compliment.
86. you offer to take your neighbor's donation box to the drop off so you can root through it for clothing that would make a nice addition to your stash.
87. you photograph brickwork for a future quilt design.
88. you select gift wrap because the pattern would look good in a quilt.
89. you cut a nice looking tie off someone's neck to use in a project.
90. you recognize yourself in this list.

91. Sofas are for quilts to sit on, not people.
92. You think it's entirely normal to find needles in the bed.
93. When you see something pretty, your usual way of expressing praise is, "That would make a lovely quilt!"
94. You ignore the main portion of a painting because you're too busy looking at the potential quilt designs in the border.
95. When you hear that someone is pregnant, it takes you no more than ten seconds to offer them a baby quilt. 
96. You sew through your finger, but rather than get a band-aid, you stick that finger in your mouth (so you don't bleed on the fabric) and finish the seam one handed.
97. You keep crayons and graph paper at work in case inspiration strikes.
98. You consider learning to weave to make your own fabric.  
 


19 September 2010

FREE FABRIC!!

 So my MIL was cleaning up her storage rooms.  And she had some fabric that she isn't going to use/used in the past and has left overs.
 These are some veloury type fabric, it might even be velvet. . .I don't know what I am going to do with it yet, but you will see it again ;)
 These are just a variety of cottons. . .There is a solid purple I am looking forward to using!!
AND THIS!! is the cream of the crop!  These were made by my husband's great grandmother.  She made a quilt like that for all her grandkids (my hubby's aunts and uncles) and these are the left overs!!

I don't know how to sew them, so I will have to do some research, but they are hand sewn, and SO cool!

12 September 2010

It's no longer a mystery!

 Well it's no longer a mystery. . .I will give it away!

String Spool Tutorial
So here is my brown block with the sides added. . .I chose purple a) because I LOVE purple and this is for *my* sewing room! b) because I got a GREAT deal on the fabric at Hobby Lobby!
And here are some of the finished blocks.  I wanted a white for the spools, but I didn't find a white I liked, so I went with a light brown. . .I am also going to do them a little different than hers, I am going to make them look like there are on a "shelf" with dark brown fabric between the rows of spools!


From making the spools I had some triangles, so I made some pinwheels!  they are pretty small as you can see by the mat! Barely 2"! I might incorporate these into it some how.

09 September 2010

It's a mystery PART deux!

So Jan was the only one that commented. . .So I am going to tease some more!

Here is what I got done tonight. . .

 Here is what the strips/strings ended up looking like once I sewed them on the foundation paper (in this case not only was I reusing old fabric, I was reusing an old phone book! and then some val*pak coupons ;) )
 Then I cut them down.  4"x6 inches. . .Getting any ideas of what I am making?

And just in case you heard foundation and strings and thought I was making a string quilt, I am here to tell you I am not. . .But I did make one last fall. . .and here ^^ is a picture of it.  It was all made of scraps or fabric that I already had and needed to do something with!

Of course it's not finished :p It's just a top, that needs a bottom. . .it will get there some day ;)

Well I need to get to bed!! It's getting late for me!