Hey Sewers and Quilters!
After being away from sewing for over a year, I have been carving out a little time each week for some "me" time sewing, making it a priority, and it feels great.
What you should know about me is that I have always been disciplined to work on only one project at at time. I feared if I got too many going I would lose interest and just keep starting new ones but never finishing.
What I learned by having several projects in the works is that it seems to keep away the boredom. I can bounce between projects, depending on what stages they are in and how much time I have to work on them. Below are some projects that I am working on: |
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Something Borrowed, Something Blue Quilt:
This quilt is made using the Blue Sky fabric collection by Andover Fabrics.
This one is really still in the design works and has not made a lot of progress the past few weeks. I started it looking for an easy block to create with 2 1/2 inches strips.
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And then, I really wanted to give a try at Edyta's new Silhouette pre-cut, pre-fused applique pieces. My design thinking will be 3 pieced "panels" separated with 2 applique "panels".
I quickly discovered my applique panels are longer than my pieced panels. So, I need to create more pieced blocks or cut the applique panels down to size.
This one has to stay in the creative time-out corner just a little longer. |
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Poppies Simple Irish Chain Quilt:
This quilt is using the Poppies fabric collection by Maywood Studio.
With this quilt, I wanted to conquer my fear of using solid white fabric. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of solid fabrics, I really like tone-on-tones, and white fabric specifically scares me. How do you keep it clean?!
This easy quilt came together quickly....so quickly that I have a ton of nine-patch blocks left over. You can say I got carried away with the ease of sewing 2 1/2 inches strips together.
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I picked a dark blue backing for this quilt to help bring out the blues in the quilt top. And I knew that I wanted the machine quilting design to show. I thought this would be a nice add to those open white spaces.
Nancy of Just Quilting in Portland Oregon did a great job. She listened to my design idea and worked her magic on her long-arm. I can't wait to show you the complete quilt - here is a sneak peek.
This one is now in the line-up for binding and a label.
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Poppies Watercolor Bargello Quilt:
This quilt was created using the Poppies fabric collection by Maywood Studio.
This quilt started out with no exact Bargello pattern. I started aligning wide to narrow strips for the Bargello pattern movement.
I have to admit it did not turn out exactly as I thought it would; I really wanted it to have deeper line movement in the Bargello, but I am very happy with it and learned what to expand on for the next one.
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With this quilt I knew I wanted to use the large double border from the collection and had to learn to do mitered corners for the first time. Silly me, it would have been easier to do a single mitered corner but I really like using a variety of colors in my borders, so I ended up learning mitered corners lining up three rows of border.
To me it turned out great. (An artist friend once told me, "never tell them or show them your errors; as creators we look at the details, as observers we look at the whole big picture.")
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| This one is also now in the line-up for binding and a label. |
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Crystal Farm Old-Fashioned Cutting Corners Quilt:
This quilt is created using the Crystal Farm fabric collection by Andover Fabrics.
Ever have a pattern that starts out as one design and ends up another? That is what happened with this quilt top. I was going to do a simple rail fence black....quick, easy, vintage looking and done. Yeah right!
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I saw a tutorial on taking the rail fence block and adding a solid block on top, sew around all the edges, then cut corner to corner and you get 4 new different blocks. (You can internet search Cutting Corners Quilt Block and find the tutorial.)
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I was hooked! What I didn't calculate is that the math was wrong. If you sew (5) 2 1/2 inch strips together, you get a 10 1/2 inch unfinished block. Then why are Layer Cakes 10" squares? Wouldn't it be better if they were 10 1/2 inch squares? (Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of precuts, it just got me to thinking!)
Anyway....off to trimming down my sewn strips to 10" squares. No harm done....a little waste but I did not have to square up my blocks later on; just trimmed off the dog ears.
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Don't you love how a quilt changes once everything is sewn together? This quilt came out much different than I expected and I love it! It looks very old-fashioned to me, with all the piecing and I can't wait to add the borders and send if off the quilting.
I was pleasantly surprised by the weight of this quilt top. While not as big as the gigantic Poppies Simple Irish Chain above, this top alone is hefty.
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Lined Drawstring Gift Bags:
These 2 little practice bags were created using All Things Christmas fabric collection by Red Rooster Fabrics and the crocheted cotton lace from La Conner by Lecien.
I created full size bags, in a variety of remnant fabrics, for upcoming Christmas gifts. I can't show you these until after Christmas...we have to keep the secret!
I took several free online tutorials and adapted the pattern to my own. The response on Facebook was very positive...THANK YOU! I may give a try at writing out the instructions for the way I created theses, in an upcoming blog tutorial. Stay tuned!
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| Here's a photo of last year's pillowcase gifts! |
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Thank you for spending a little time with me today! Happy Sewing!
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