First Finish for 2014 . . .

Starlight is done! 

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 123

The pattern Starlight is by Camille Roskelley for Thimble Blossoms (click here for pattern)

It finished at 66" x 70"

The large floral triangles are by Liberty of London

The rest of the fabric is random prints from my stash

It has approximately 781 pieces.

You may remember that I had a little trouble with this quilt when I didn't follow the instructions on my triangle ruler for cutting those large floral triangles.  A friend passed this along, "a quilt so nice you'll make it twice", and I did, and it was worth it. 

Some quilts look good with inner and outer borders and some quilts don't.  One of my favorite things about this pattern is how the design runs off the sides, like it's going to infinity and beyond.

Not only is this my first finish for 2014, it's a project off  my UFO list, now I'm down to 5 of them, what a way to start the year.  I hope your year is off to a great start too.

Read more

Dresden Doilies Update . . . .

Before . . .

And after!

I tried using a simple embroidery hoop for appliquéing my dresden blocks to my top and it's working out great.  I'm careful not to stretch the fabric and blocks already appliquéd, and only leave the hoop on while I'm stitching, not hours on end or overnight.  The center blocks will be the hardest I think because they have the most bulk around them.  I have to admit that each block is getting easier, all I  needed was something I could hold on to.

I plan to add one border at a time, appliqué the blocks, then go on to the next border, again, to cut down on the bulk.  Right now I'm thinking this project won't be a UFO for long.  

Just in case you've forgotten, the pattern is Dresden Doilies by Gerri Robinson and was in the September/October 2011 issue of McCall's Quilting. 

Besides working on this hand project I've been thinking about what I want to work on this year.  I'm going through patterns and pattern books coming up with my list.   I like to have some sort of plan in place, even if it changes as the year progresses, because you know what they say, "a goal without a plan is just a wish"!  I hope to share my action plan with you later this week.  I'm also piecing quilt backs and binding and getting some quilts out the door to quilters.  So there's some quilting activity going on at my house, just not much to show for it, or nothing you would enjoy seeing, right now!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great week!

Read more

2013 Summary

I finished 23 quilt tops in 2013.  I like to average one finish a month and I sure exceeded that goal, but last year I made more smaller projects than ever before, which I think is a good thing, more opportunities to experiment and play.

I have an eclectic mix of finishes, I can't say that I really have a style, but I love them all, the traditional prints and patterns, the traditional patterns made from more modern fabric, and all the bright colors that really spoke to me this year.

I won't talk about all 23 finishes, but if you're  curious just go to "My Second 100 Quilts" tab, I started the year with 100 and finished with 122.

Something else that I made, that is not on my official list, is my bag.  Yes, I made my first bag in 2013.

I keep patterns, quilt books, and quilt magazines that I want to read in this bag and leave it hanging on the doorknob on my sewing room door.  Anytime I'm heading someplace where I may have a spare minute, like the beauty shop or dentist office, I grab this purse, throw in my iPad, and I'm good to go.  I carry it somewhere at least once a week.  I've gotten several compliments on it and I'm pleased with the handles, they're showing no signs of wear.

Out of my 23 finishes I made pattern changes to 12 of them and created my own pattern for 4.  That leaves 7 finishes that are exactly like the pattern.

While I do enjoy changing a pattern, to  make it more mine, sometimes it's just hard to improve on perfection, I feel that way about these quilts in particular.

Carolina Lily

and Coastal Lily.

Additionally, of the 23 quilts I finished, twelve were sew-alongs, more than half.  I love sewing along with other quilters and really got into the spirit of it in 2013.  Here are a few of my favorite sew along quilts.

Autumn in my Garden

Summer Wind

Nantucket

Christmas Round and Round

Shower Shuffle.

I pieced my first quit using a black background last year and loved it.

Morning Joe

Of the quilts that I designed myself, these are my favorites, 

Happy HST 

and Hocuspocusville.

Although for Hocuspocusville, I have several reasons to love this quilt besides its design, the stitched blocks were a gift from a friend and it's very different from any other quilt I have.  The only downside to this quilt is that it's a seasonal quilt and not out on display year round.

Of quilts that I changed the pattern on, these are a couple of  my favorites, 

Dulcinea, 

where I added the geese and pinwheel stems, 

and Canasta, 

where I changed the center of the blocks and made a few extras, the "bikini basket block" is still my favorite.

So on my last post I talked about how I started but didn't finish 6 projects last year.  When I started reviewing my blog, and counting the projects that I did finish in 2013, I didn't feel so bad about not finishing 6.

And now for the numbers of 2013.  My finished quilts had a total of approximately 21,849 pieces and if you connected all the quilts you would have a top that finished at 1,363" x 1,446".  If you lined them up on a football field you would almost get to the 40 yard line.

Of all the the things that I remember from my 2013 quilting year, the thing I remember the most, I had a fun year, who could ask for more than that.  That's what I'm shooting for this year too, because as I have frequently said, it's not my job, it's my hobby.

Read more

Chicken Feed . . .

When I was looking at the quilts I had finished during 2013, I realized that I had forgotten to blog about one, this one!

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 119

The pattern is Chicken Feed by Carrie Nelson for Miss Rosie's Quilt Co

The fabric is Potluck by Jane Klop for American Jane by Moda

This quilt finished at 43" x 43"

It has approximately 397 pieces.

The top was quilted by Diane Tricka.  I'm crazy about the quilting in general,  but in particular love the design in those snowball blocks.

My favorite thing about this pattern, other than the fact that I made it out of my Morning Joe scraps, it took two days to piece, start to finish, and its size, are that the star points float!  I just love it when a designer floats the point of a star because try as I might, I cut the tip off at least one star point per project, usually more.  You don't lose any star points with this pattern.

You can buy and download this Schnibbles pattern now, click here.  

I've got this quilt out on my red couch,

I'm really enjoying how it brightens up my red couch, the room, and my spirits these gray days of January.

Read more

Carry Over . . .

Before I write my year in review blog post showing everything I accomplished in 2013, I thought I should blog about what I didn't accomplish in 2013!  I'm a start it then finish it quilter.  And if I start it and don't like it, I dump it.  So it's very unusual for me to have any UFO's, but more shocking still, right now I have SIX!!

First up, Dresden Doilies.  

I had no problem piecing the blocks or machine appliquéing the large blocks into place, but I wasn't happy with how my smaller blocks looked when I machine appliquéd them into place.  All the blocks are pieced, they just need to be hand appliquéd on.

I have limited hand appliqué experience and am struggling with the bulk of hand appliquéing those smaller blocks onto this big piece of fabric. I really need to just sit down and get to it.

Looking at the pattern finish is really motivating me to get this project done.

Second, Clown Pants.

I love hand appliquéing these dot blocks, they're easy, they're portable, and they go fast.

This is what I'm shooting for and I have a long way to go. 

I usually spend my evenings doing hand work, but between bindings and these two projects and life in general, I'm falling further and further behind.   I maybe need to think about dedicating one of my normal week day sewing room days into a hand appliqué day until I'm caught up.

Temecula Quilt Co mini basket project

I started this project in July.  The Temecula Quilt shop did this fun little sew along for the month of July.  And I hung in there the whole month and made my basket blocks.

Then came the end of the sew along and I decided I liked this setting for my mini blocks, which needs twice as many blocks as I pieced, I'm planning to work on this project again this July and finish it up.

Pineapple Quilt

 I started this project last April.  It's not the kind of project I want to sit down and work on all the time,  but I didn't seem to have much luck at working on it every now and then either.  I want a 100 block quilt, I'm not even half way there.

Mini churn dash blocks

I have no big plan for this project and started it on a whim.  I thought this would be a fun project to squeeze in between other projects.  Maybe I'm just not a squeeze in between kind of gal!

And finally, the heartbreaker, also known as Starlight.

I was going to town on this project until I cut all those large floral triangles the wrong size, requiring me to un-sew all my pieced sections.

It's just sitting on my work shelf in my sewing studio, waiting for me to fall back in love with it, and I think I will.

So that's what I need to work on in 2014, and I'm fairly confident all of these projects will be on my accomplished list this time next year!  Make that very confident, I can and will do it!

Read more